pertwk Page 142
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"The 30,000 soldiers of Guan Jie's First Army and the 20,000 naval troops of Chao Jie's navy are the limit of what can be mobilized in Jizhou. More soldiers need to be transferred from east of Shandong, but there isn't enough time. Baimadu is too close to Kaifeng. We are the only army near the Song Dynasty and can't get support from others. With 50,000 infantry and Chao Jie's 20,000 naval troops, 70,000 men can easily defeat Guo Yaoshi's 40,000 men. But if we were to fight the main force of the Jin army of 140,000 men—it would be really difficult."
“It’s not a question of whether it’s easy or difficult to fight! Brother, do you think Guo Yaoshi doesn’t dare to fight us in a decisive battle? His Ever-Victorious Army is very strong. As long as we avoid the water, we can create a situation where 40,000 people fight against 50,000 people. The odds of winning are not small.”
Wu Yong sighed and rubbed his forehead, silently raising the level of the Song Dynasty's incompetence several notches.
"Because he was a surrendered general who had just surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, he did not have Wanyan Aguda's absolute trust. The 40,000 Ever Victorious Army was his only source of confidence. With this army, Wanyan Aguda dared not do anything to him. But if the Ever Victorious Army was wiped out or crippled, he would be at the mercy of the Jin Dynasty and would have no say at all."
Liu Hong succinctly expressed Guo Yaoshi's thoughts, and then understood Wu Yong's meaning: Guo Yaoshi had just surrendered to the Great Jin, and Liangshan had just been granted amnesty by the Great Song.
Even if I led all my brothers to fight a bloody battle against the 140,000-strong main force of the Jin Dynasty at the Yellow River ferry, and we managed to annihilate them and win, Liangshan would still suffer heavy casualties.
At that time, will the Song Dynasty court still value us Liangshan brothers so much? Will those old villains like Gao Qiu and Cai Jing take the opportunity to kill us?
"So unless you are blindly loyal to the court and Emperor Zhao, there is no need for us to fight this battle under any circumstances—besides, Emperor Zhao personally told you to withdraw your troops and let us pass."
Guan Sheng touched his jet-black hair and also disapproved of defying the imperial edict and starting a fight here.
"Once this battle begins, regardless of who wins or loses, Liangshan will be the one to lose in the end."
Liu Hong remained silent. Outside the tent, the entire Liangshan army was in an uproar. The news had arrived this morning, like a chilling frost that shattered all remaining passion.
The cession of Youyan (present-day Beijing and Yanzhou), submission to the Jin dynasty, and the payment of tribute made the Zhao emperor's nephew...
"Hahaha... Nephew Emperor! What a fine nephew Emperor!"
Inside the central command tent, Li Kui's maniacal laughter was more unpleasant than her crying. She suddenly kicked over the brazier in front of her, and burning charcoal rolled all over the ground, making her bloodshot eyes look like those of a madwoman. Her two giant axes directly shattered the Song Dynasty army flags in the camp, leaving only the Qi King's flag and the flag of acting on behalf of Heaven.
"I slashed down so many Tartars on the battlefield! All that blood I shed was for nothing! The lives of my brothers... were exchanged for this nephew emperor???"
The other brothers and sisters were also deathly silent, watching Li Kui's ridiculous antics. The usually boisterous Liangshan brothers seemed to have lost their souls. Ruan Xiaoqi leaned to one side, her six arms tightly gripping six empty wine jars. She was clearly drunk, her knuckles white. Suddenly, she smashed the wine jars on the ground, shards flying everywhere!
"Damn it! We brothers fought tooth and nail with our brothers at the mouth of the Yellow River, blocking the Jin army's warships... all to protect the Zhao family's empire! To protect that damned, rotten empire! If we had known this would happen, we should have let the Jin army march all the way to Tokyo and overthrow that damned imperial court! Then we would have supported our brother to establish a second empire in Shandong and become the new emperor!"
Liu Tang slammed his hand on the table and stood up abruptly.
"Exactly! I can't swallow this insult! Let's rebel! Shandong is all ours anyway! Let's go back to Shandong! Let's find a yellow cloak and drape it over our brother! Like the story of the founding emperor, we're not going to serve this court or this emperor anymore!"
Amidst suppressed sobs and curses, Huyan Zhuo, who had been sitting in the corner, slowly stood up. She could be considered a key figure in the Liangshan surrender faction.
"Hahaha...hahaha...loyal to the emperor...patriotism...protecting the borders...peace for the people..."
Huyan Zhuo also laughed, her laughter filled with endless sorrow and self-mockery. She recited each word one by one, as if chewing on the most bitter thing in the world.
"My Huyan family has been loyal and virtuous for generations, guarding the borders for the country and dying on the battlefield... this is called loyalty."
Huyan Zhuo suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the tent, looking towards the distant, peaceful and prosperous Bianliang, the capital city of Tokyo, his eyes filled with nothing but endless hatred.
"But what exactly am I loyal to? We endure the bitter cold on the banks of the Yellow River in the dead of winter, licking blood from the edge of our blades—every battle has seen brothers perish! All for the sake of the people behind us, for the sake of the Song Dynasty! But what about the court? What about the officials? What are they doing? Feasting and revelry, forming cliques and eliminating dissidents! When the Jurchens arrive with their iron hooves, all they do is kneel and beg for peace, acknowledging the enemy as their uncle! They throw away the land and people we fought so hard for, like a piece of rotten meat, begging for mercy!!!"
Huyan Zhuo suddenly drew his steel whip from his waist and smashed the table in front of him into pieces!
"This loyalty... disgusting! This court... disgusting! This emperor... utterly disgusting!"
Hu Yanzhuo almost roared, veins bulging on his forehead, and spat a mouthful of saliva onto the ground.
On the other side, Thunderbolt Qin Ming, also a member of the surrender faction, remained silent. She simply gripped his spiked club tightly, her already large, bell-like eyes wide with bloodshot veins, almost bursting open. Her chest heaved violently! All the illusory beauty her mother had taught her was now utterly shattered by the bloody, ugly reality she faced.
Inside the tent, the once boiling passion for loyalty and righteousness had turned cold, transforming into deep-seated hatred and contempt. They no longer cursed, for words were superfluous. Something deeper and more terrifying was taking root in the hearts of the surviving Liangshan heroes: a fundamental distrust and utter contempt for the entire Song Dynasty. Even Song Jiang was beginning to have doubts.
Am I, Song Jiang, really wrong? Is this kind of court, this kind of official, this kind of Song Dynasty really worth me risking everything to climb up the ranks for that official position?
Emperor Qinzong's surrender had a strange effect, completely disillusioning one-third of the Liangshan faction, who no longer harbored any illusions about the Song Dynasty. Instead, it brought Liangshan's unity to an unprecedented level!
Just then, Liu Hong stepped forward and ordered Lu Junyi and Guan Sheng to lead the army to retreat first. The Liangshan brothers felt extremely frustrated, and Li Kui once again rushed up in a whirlwind.
"Brother, are we really going to retreat?"
"Go and obey Guan Sheng's orders! Do whatever she tells you to do."
Liu Hong dared not reveal to this loose-lipped fellow that he had just formulated a strategy.
"Lu Junyi! Qin Ming! Pack your things and come with me! The three of us are going to Guo Yaoshi's military camp!"
"As ordered!"
Lu Junyi gripped his Golden Dragon Spear, while Qin Ming carried his spiked club. They followed behind Liu Hong on either side, riding their steeds. The three of them headed straight for Guo Yaoshi's camp, while the rest of the Liangshan army dismantled their camp, took the timber, and retreated eastward.
At this moment, the person who was most anxious became Wanyan the Pharmacist—Wanyan Zongwang had indeed successfully negotiated peace with the Song Dynasty, but the main force of the 100,000-strong Jin army was still packing up and lifting the siege in the suburbs of Kaifeng, far away from him.
Now, the main force of Liangshan has broken camp and retreated, and Liu Hong has only taken two subordinates and three riders to the banquet, saying that the Song and Jin dynasties have reached a peace agreement and we are now friends, so let's have a drink before we go... What the hell is this? The Prince of Qi of the Great Song Dynasty wants to have a drink with me, the former Prince of Yan of the Great Song Dynasty??
Chapter 414: The Three Riders' Night Raid
The Yellow River, shrouded in ice, flowed eastward with a mournful murmur. On the south bank, the Ever Victorious Army's camp stretched for dozens of miles, its watchtowers heavily fortified, and barbarian cavalry galloped back and forth, kicking up clouds of snow. Countless banners proclaiming "Ever Victorious" fluttered in the sky above the camp.
Liu Hong rode alone at the front, wearing Shadow Dragon Scale Armor, a blood-red cloak slit in his shoulder, and a pair of gilded giant wings soaring into the sky, like two huge golden banners that fluttered and blotted out the sun.
To his left stood the Jade Kirin Lu Junyi, his spine ramrod straight. He wore a golden scale armor and a crimson brocade robe, his face solemn, his chin slightly raised, exuding an imposing aura without anger. His eyes were like burning stars, radiating a Samadhi fire that could ignite even the soul.
To his right stood Thunderbolt Qin Ming. He was clad in heavy black armor, his tiger-like eyes bloodshot beneath his phoenix-winged helmet, fixed intently on the massive command tent before him, as if he wanted to burn it through with his gaze. His knuckles creaked from gripping his spiked club too tightly, and each step of his warhorse on the frozen ground sounded like the dull thud of a war drum.
At the camp gate, Wanyan Yaoshi was also on high alert. He first sent light cavalry to check if Liangshan had really retreated. Only after confirming that the main force of Liangshan had indeed left did he dare to come out and receive Liu Hong in person. He directly led a hundred armored giants, each over three meters tall and wielding axes, as his honor guard, standing on both sides of the camp gate with arrogant and contemptuous eyes, trying to intimidate the enemy.
However, Lu Junyi was already three meters tall, and now, riding on a Qilin, he looked down at these three-meter-tall giants as if they were children.
"I am Wanyan Yaoshi, the garrison commander of Yanjing in the Great Jin Dynasty. I am deeply sorry for not welcoming you properly, Prince Qi!
Wearing heavy armor and surrounded by a group of trolls, Wanyan Yaoshi personally came to greet him, showing his sincerity.
"What brings the King of Qi here?"
"I just wanted to see how the Prince of Yan, who surrendered to the Jin, is doing."
Liu Hong's extremely cryptic answer left Wanyan Pharmacist completely unsure of the young man's purpose. With only two people, a fight seemed unlikely. Therefore, Wanyan Pharmacist smiled and invited Liu Hong into his tent. Inside, the charcoal fire burned brightly, a stark contrast to the bitter cold outside. The aroma of wine and meat filled the air. Wanyan Pharmacist ordered a new table to be added at the head of the table, placing Liu Hong next to him. Lu Junyi and Qin Ming were seated in the most prestigious seats to the left, while to the right sat four of Wanyan Pharmacist's generals: Zhang Linghui, Liu Shunren, Zhen Wuchen, and Zhao Heshou, their eyes fixed intently on the three men.
Why did Brother Guo surrender to the Jin Dynasty?
Liu Hong asked casually, and Guo the pharmacist immediately became serious.
“Serving in the same court is like being on the same boat; I just fell into the water first. There’s no need for the Prince of Qi to laugh at me from the dry shore. This time, we finally managed to block the Yellow River and were about to cooperate with the Song army to wear down and annihilate the 140,000 Jin troops. Such a great achievement was right in our hands, but the emperor ordered us to withdraw. I’m sure the Prince of Qi is not happy about that.”
Guo the Pharmacist laughed and leaned back, sizing up Liu Hong.
“I have been surrendering to the Song Dynasty for two years, and the grievances I have suffered are even greater than those suffered by the Prince of Qi.”
Liu Hong smiled and turned to ask Guo Yaoshi what suffering he had endured in the Song Dynasty over the past two years. This immediately opened up Guo Yaoshi's floodgates, and he poured out all his grievances, his brothers' dissatisfaction, and the emperor's suspicions. The two talked and drank, and before they knew it, wine jars were piled up around them. They drank from dusk until late at night.
Meanwhile, the Ever-Victorious Army relaxed their guard. They had indeed suspected Liu Hong might be up to something, but there were only three of them. Unless he was insane, he wouldn't throw his life away. When it was time to sleep, the alert level returned to normal.
At that very moment, the Qi army, which had just retreated, had already returned under the cover of night! Liu Hong's thinking was simple: a war between Song and Jin was inevitable. Even if the Jin army retreated this time, it was only because they were too reckless. 140,000 men had penetrated deep into enemy territory, their logistics had been cut off, and Song reinforcements were arriving from Shandong one after another, setting up a strategy of besieging the city and attacking the reinforcements in Kaifeng. Wanyan Zongwang saw that the situation was not good, so he retreated.
Give him some time, and the Great Jin will come back! The second time they march south, they'll be the fully-fledged Great Jin!
Since that's the case, then at the very least, we must wipe out the Ever Victorious Army and destroy one of the main forces of the Great Jin! Weaken their strength!
"General Guan! Military Advisor Wu? What are you doing? This is unacceptable!"
The imperial envoy was terrified when he saw the Liangshan army turn back at lightning speed.
"Didn't I show you the imperial edict? His Majesty has made peace with the Jin! Because Wanyan Aguda is of the same generation as the old emperor, the current emperor calls him 'uncle'! Now the Jin army is our ally! You are attacking our ally!!!"
"Huh? You're talking strangely."
Guan Sheng snorted coldly.
"According to the army's clerk, our army decisively defeated Guo Yaoshi's Ever-Victorious Army on January 17th! We killed countless enemies, and it wasn't until the 18th that His Majesty sent an envoy to request a ceasefire! What nonsense are you spouting here?"
"You and I……"
The angel was completely dumbfounded when he saw Guan Sheng lying through his teeth. He immediately and subconsciously brought up Gao Qiu and the emperor to intimidate others.
"General Guan! Is this what you mean? If I report this to the Grand Commandant and His Majesty, you will be committing the crime of deceiving the emperor!"
"roll!!!"
Guan Sheng was furious when he heard Gao Qiu's name and kicked the angel to the ground.
"I am the former general of His Highness Prince Qi! What is that scoundrel Gao Qiu? Does he think he can tell me what to do?! Get out! The army clerk has recorded the facts: our army decisively defeated the Ever Victorious Army on the 17th. You only arrived on the 18th, understand?!"
The angel was so enraged by Guan Sheng's twisted words that he almost vomited blood. But after Guan Sheng played the villain, Wu Yong stepped in to play the good guy, personally helping the angel up and explaining the situation to him with a smile.
“My angel, look, you have three choices.”
"First, you arrived on the 18th, which wasn't late. It's just that we acted a little too quickly. You are innocent to the court, and we also gave Prince Qi some face."
"Second, if you insist on going back to complain according to your own ideas, then do you think that with the Prince of Qi now in charge of the strongest army in the Song Dynasty, what can the Emperor do to the Prince of Qi?"
"Third, if you insist on making trouble, then on your way here, you might have been stopped by a Jin army patrol..."
"One, one! One!!!"
The envoy was terrified when he saw Wu Yong's smiling face, which concealed a knife. He nodded vigorously. Guan Sheng snorted and abandoned all supplies except for the cannons. He led his army into the night and charged back into Guo Yaoshi's camp, where they had let their guard down and were extremely lax!
Chapter 415: Dragon Cannon Cavalry and Three Armies Working Together
Guan Sheng acted swiftly, dispatching the Ten Generals of Daqi to lead the most elite cavalry as scouts to clear the way. The scouts and sentries of the Ever Victorious Army that they encountered along the way were almost instantly wiped out by Liangshan!
Seeing the Qi army returning to Shandong, and their commander still drinking and making merry in his own camp, the Changsheng Army had become complacent. Such lax sentries, facing formidable generals like Hua Rong and Xu Ning, couldn't even manage to escape and report the news. The army had stealthily advanced to within a kilometer of Guo Yaoshi's camp; now, the most troublesome part was yet to come.
Guan Sheng calmly made arrangements. In the last kilometer, the Ever Victorious Army's scouts and sentries would inevitably spot them, so they had no choice but to force their way through. Guan Sheng led Hua Rong to attack the first wave, Ling Zhen's artillery to attack the second wave, and the remaining nine generals of Daqi led the cavalry to attack the third wave, striving to break through Guo Yaoshi's camp in one fell swoop!
The generals obeyed the orders and went off. Hua Rong drew his bow and nocked an arrow at a distance of one thousand meters. In just six seconds, he fired twelve arrows in quick succession, killing twelve sentries on four watchtowers in succession. This bought Guan Sheng more time. Guan Sheng took a deep breath and instantly transformed into a majestic azure dragon.
In an instant, half of the night sky's clouds were shattered and torn apart by her majestic and terrifying dragon might, and the cold moonlight poured down like a waterfall, outlining the towering silhouette of the dragon hovering in the sky.
Layer upon layer of azure scales covered the long and terrifying dragon's body, reflecting the flickering firelight and the cold moonlight below like an ancient bronze mirror. Its mane, like thousands of golden threads, danced gracefully in the gale. Its enormous body meandered through the night sky, its head and tail nowhere in sight. Its massive size almost covered half of the camp, casting a shadow that seemed tangible, making it hard to breathe!
The dragon's head was lowered, its face still faintly retaining the cold and beautiful features of Guan Sheng, but it was now covered by inhuman divinity. Its eyes were like two stars burning with bluish-white flames, and everything in sight seemed to be pierced and frozen.
"Hurry up! You're too big! And the sentry's body is in the camp; it could be discovered at any moment!"
While sniping and clearing out the scouts and sentries, Hua Rong called out to warn them.
Guan Sheng nodded, then suddenly lowered her head, and an indescribable torrent of cyan-gold light erupted from her dragon's mouth! It was not fire or air current, but a torrent of energy bursting forth from the extreme compression and condensation of spiritual energy! The Destructive Dragon Breath, its core a dazzling white-gold, its edges wreathed in a boiling, roaring cyan halo, distorted and blurred the space in its wake!
The destructive ray, condensed like a giant flaming sword wielded by a god, instantly slammed into the continuous wooden walls of the Ever Victorious Army!
There was no explosion, only annihilation! The wooden barracks, watchtowers, and fences instantly vaporized upon being touched by the bluish-gold light, transforming into a towering column of scorching smoke! The rays continued to spray, like a red-hot blade cutting into butter, carving a bottomless, terrifying trench in the ground with melting, boiling edges. The soil and gravel on both sides, under the terrifying heat, all turned into a crystalline, glassy state, bubbling and sizzling.
And this is just the beginning!
Guan Sheng's burning pupils shifted slightly, seemingly examining the fruits of her destruction, or perhaps searching for her next target. Her massive head tilted slightly—and the destructive cyan-gold ray swept across the area accordingly!
This sweep will bring about a natural disaster!
The destructive dragon's breath was like the brush of death, using the earth as its canvas to wantonly paint destruction! Wherever it swept, hastily erected obstacles, panicked crowds, or solid camp walls were completely evaporated and decomposed within a hundredth of a second! The trajectory of the rays left behind crisscrossing, several-foot-deep, lava-flowing ravines of destruction, as if the earth had been etched with unhealable scars of destruction!
With just one breath of dragon's breath, an entire section of the camp wall, along with the watchtowers and barricades behind it, vanished completely, leaving only a huge, shocking gaping hole in the ground, emitting scorching blue smoke and melting, along with the thick ozone and the strange, burnt smell of completely decomposed matter permeating the air.
“Charge! Charge! Charge!!!”
Guan Sheng roared three times in succession and charged forward. The first wave of attack came from Ling Zhen's artillery. Four hundred fine horses pulled two hundred carriages and charged forward like madmen! Each carriage was equipped with a small cannon and three artillerymen.
This approach maximizes the mobility of artillery. As for the problem of insufficient firepower due to the small size of the cannons, it can also be solved by mobility—fire directly at the enemy's face! If small cannons lack power, then make up for it with close-range firing!
Hooves pounded the ground, dust billowed into the sky, and two hundred two-horse-drawn sidecars, like a moving steel jungle, broke through the pervasive smoke at an astonishing speed. The wheels rolled over the scorched earth and shattered corpses beneath the dragon's breath, making a dull rolling sound.
They dispersed and spread out with practiced ease, then came to a sudden stop at the edge of the ruins created by the dragon's breath, making a sharp 180-degree turn and instantly forming a wall of death.
The side panels of each wagon were quickly lowered, revealing the dark muzzles of cannons. There were two hundred carefully set-up, lightweight cannons, whose firing angles were being rapidly adjusted by the gunners on the wagons, the cold metal gleaming eerily in the firelight.
"Fire!!!"
At Ling Zhen's command, two hundred small cannons roared in unison, the sound so dense it almost tore eardrums, like the urgent knocking of death! Large plumes of scorching white smoke billowed from their muzzles, instantly forming a thick wall of smoke! One hundred of the cannons fired solid shot, while the other hundred fired shrapnel, countless scorching pellets swarming towards the already collapsed camp like locusts!
Human flesh and blood appeared incredibly fragile before this ferocious storm of metal. The soldiers at the forefront were instantly riddled with holes, blood and bits of flesh splattering backward as they fell in droves. Some had half their heads severed, some had gaping holes in their chests, and some had their limbs snapped at the root, screaming as they rolled to the ground, only to be engulfed by the subsequent hail of bullets.
The camp ruins looked as if they had been hit by a storm of steel. The already dilapidated fences were smashed to pieces, burning tents were torn to shreds, and corpses on the ground were repeatedly whipped, splattering more blood and bits of flesh.
After one cannon fired, the assistants inside swiftly and mechanically cleaned the breech, reloaded, and tamped the ammunition… then fired again! Two hundred small cannons roared continuously at an astonishing rate of fire, forming a near-intermittent barrage of death! The smoke was so thick it was impossible to dissipate, and the acrid smell of gunpowder completely overwhelmed the acrid smell of burning. The flashes from the muzzles were incessant, illuminating the numb yet focused faces of the gunners beside the cannons, and also illuminating the continuously ravaged land.
After the artillery bombardment and suppression, the nine Liangshan generals immediately led their cavalry forward with the force of a landslide, roaring and charging into Guo Yaoshi's camp through the gaps created by the dragon's breath and the artillery fire!
At this moment, inside Guo Yaoshi's camp, the eight men were still drinking and making merry. Shocked by the sounds of dragon breath and cannon fire, Liu Hong, upon hearing Guan Sheng's dragon breath, reacted instantly. He hurled his wine cup and, along with Qin Ming and Lu Junyi, began killing people in Guo Yaoshi's command center! The five highest leaders of the Ever Victorious Army were all inside the commander's tent, and all were drunk. If they were eliminated, the entire Ever Victorious Army would be like headless flies! They would have no way to continue resisting!
Chapter 416: Lu Junyi Catches a Turtle in a Jar
"Liu Hong!!!"
At this moment, Pharmacist Guo immediately realized that Liu Hong's three riders had come to the meeting for this very reason! He immediately revealed his true form.
His roar was no longer a human voice, but a mixture of metallic scraping and the piercing sound of icy winds sweeping across the abyss. A blinding silver-white light burst forth from beneath his skin, and his body expanded and stretched wildly amidst the teeth-grinding cracking of bones. An expensive sandalwood table was easily crushed and burst apart by his gigantic limbs! The entire tent was violently ripped open from the inside out by an overwhelming force, and tattered canvas, wood, and metal components shot out like garbage in all directions!