Volume 1 Chapter 42 Documents (Part 1)
"Why are you so far away? Are you afraid that I will eat you? Well, this matter is not your business after all, and you are exempted from joining the army. Go away!"
Unexpectedly, the Fourth Prince Jin Wushu, who was cheated of a lot of gold and silver for nothing, did not get angry and kill people, or at least he did not vent his anger on the poor Shi Wenbin who joined the army. This made the latter so grateful that he left in a hurry.
However, after Shi Wenbin left, Zhang Taiwei played a trick on the fourth prince like borrowing arrows from a straw boat, and then rewarded the whole city. It became an established fact that he was determined to defend Xiacai to the death. At this time, Jin Wushu, whose strategy of persuading surrender had failed, had to continue to make strategic decisions. Therefore, that night, Jin Wushu quickly closed the military tent with the two captains who came after hearing the news, and discussed military strategies again.
"Fourth Prince, at this point, should we continue to prepare for the construction of a floating bridge to cross the Huai River, or should we make up our minds to attack the city instead?"
Of the two captains, Erlubu was a rougher man who didn't care much about money. Moreover, with the debt contract promised by Jin Wushu, he was even less interested in this matter. So, seeing that Jin Wushu had been silent for a long time, he simply asked directly. "Let the Fourth Prince know that our military force is limited after all, and the Song people have taken away many civilians from Shouzhou and Huaibei. If we want to attack the city, we can't be indecisive!"
Jin Wushu, who had been frowning all the time, just forced a smile at this moment, and then looked at Ali: " What do you think, General Ali?"
"I haven't changed since the beginning!" Perhaps because of the debt risk, Ali, who was usually a little narrow-minded, couldn't help but stare at the fourth prince when he spoke. "We Jurchens have rules for fighting... When encountering a situation like this, we should prepare to attack the city from the beginning. It's not a big deal if we fail to persuade them to surrender and get deceived. Next, we should prepare to climb the city! If climbing the city doesn't work, we can prepare to use artillery to smash the city, smash the city wall, fill the ditch, and send elite troops to fight in! Take this big city right in front of you, and then think about crossing the river!"
Jin Wushu shook his head repeatedly: "That was in the past. This time we are alone and only coming for Emperor Zhao Song. There is no need to waste military strength on a city like this..."
"But this city is so important that we can't just ignore it, so I thought of taking advantage of the situation and ended up falling into someone's trap." Ali said coldly. "When we were outside a few days ago, the Fourth Prince kept complaining that I was too long-winded, but today the three of us are having a serious military discussion in the general's tent. According to the rules of our Jurchens, we can say anything and forget about the dispute in the tent when we go out to apply the dust. How could I have said something?"
Jin Wushu let out a long sigh, but could only nod with difficulty.
By the way, there is a reason for the rules that Alibaba follows.
According to the tradition of the Jurchens, when discussing military strategies before a battle, as long as one can enter the commander's tent to participate in such core military discussions, everyone can sit together and speak freely, regardless of their status, and point fingers at the gray soil in front of them, which is similar to a sand table. Even the humblest person can argue with the commander in person; of course, the commander still retains the right to decide...
These are nothing, and the essence of this rule is actually at the end - according to the rule, after the final strategy is decided, everyone must work together to smooth out the dust in front of them that they used to point fingers at others, meaning that all disputes in the account are written off, and then everyone will go all out to implement the military plan according to the final decision!
In the future, no matter what the outcome of the war is, no one is allowed to hold anyone accountable based on anything that happened or said in the military tent!
This is of course also a simple style left over from the Jurchen tribal alliance period.
Back to the present, Ali, who has been given the right to speak, is unscrupulous:
"Fourth Prince, I am not here to mock you, nor do I want to force you to attack the city. You are the commander-in-chief, and you have the final say. Today I will only share two military strategies and one piece of advice for you!"
"Tell me about it!"
"The first thing about military strategy is what I just said, why not fight this battle in a safe and steady manner? Attack the city first, and then talk about Huainan. Don't rush for quick success just because that official is sitting on a mountain in Henan!"
"Aren't there two in the military strategy?" Jin Wushu became increasingly annoyed. "What about the other one?"
"Another thing is the same as what I said to General Erlubu. Please don't be distracted, Prince!" Ali continued to point fingers at him. "We came out with more than 20,000 people this time. After the three Meng'an scouts are sent out, it will basically be 20,000 people. Now a Wanhu has 10,000 people, but it is still the same as before. There are only five or six or seven Mouke (centurion) in a Meng'an (a thousand-man team, a thousand-man captain). The rest of the vacancies are mostly made up by newly surrendered Han people. And even the real Mouke are not as good as before. All the Xi people and Khitan people have joined in, so the manpower and combat power are actually insufficient... So in my opinion, since the city is still separated from Henan, don't think about crossing the river when attacking the city! Don't think about crossing the river when attacking the city! This is just like hunting in Liaodong in the past. You only have a bow in your hand, but there are both elk and fox in front of you. You want to take down both at the same time, but most of the time you won't get either one!"
This made a lot of sense, and even E'lubu nodded repeatedly.
Jin Wushu frowned slightly and could only nod reluctantly: "What about General Ali's advice?"
"I'm afraid that the Fourth Prince is young and will lose his composure if he fails again and again!" The short Ali continued to speak recklessly. "I know that the Fourth Prince is of noble status. Although it is a military meeting, you are actually the only one who makes the decision. I also know that the Fourth Prince wants to take the Zhao Song Emperor in Henan this time, and he doesn't care about anything else... But even if the Fourth Prince wants to take Henan, there is one thing that he must be careful about. It's okay for you to decide to take the Zhao Song Emperor in Henan today, but the Huai River is so wide and the enemy is so well-prepared. If we rush to cross the river without attacking the city, what should we do if we are blocked from crossing the river in the future?"
"What does General Ali say we should do?" Jin Wushu frowned even more.
"Come back and destroy the city!" Ali replied sternly. "Don't ruin your chance just because you lose face! After all, we Jurchens are still invincible, and the southerners are still vulnerable to attack... We should fight a tough battle step by step. The southerners are no match for us. I'm just afraid that the fourth prince will get into trouble!"
"So, I was wrong to resist Zhang Jun's provocation and not attack the strong city?" Jin Wushu finally couldn't hold back his impatience. "In my opinion, changing the plan to cross the river and attack a strong city like Xiacai because of this little gold and silver issue would be a waste of opportunity... Zhang Jun's move is clearly to make us angry, abandon the Emperor of Huainan, and turn around to fight him! The more we do this, the more we must not fall into his trap!"
Ali shook his head repeatedly: "I have said what I want to say, Fourth Prince, do as you please."
Wuzhu was furious for a moment.
However, Erlubu saw that the situation was not good, so he advised: "Don't despise the Fourth Prince. General Ali is an experienced person . Ali, don't deliberately contradict him. The Fourth Prince's composure is good... Although the enemy's camp is well-organized, we are invincible in the field. Whether it is a floating bridge or a ferry, as long as we can send three to five thousand people over, the situation will be settled!"
Ali and Wuzhu laughed awkwardly upon hearing this, but neither of them had the intention to pay attention to Erlubu. Erlubu had no choice but to be more straightforward: "So, the Fourth Prince means to endure this and try to cross the river first?"
"That's right!" Jin Wushu replied proudly. "We must not lose the big picture for the sake of a small gain! We must not fall into Zhang Jun's trap of leading us to attack the city just for a little gold and silver!"
"General Ali means that no matter what, whether or not today's incident happened, we should break the city with all our strength and proceed step by step?" After nodding, Erlubu turned his head and asked.
"That's right." Ali also said frankly. "It's too risky to cross the river without taking the city... Our army has come from afar, and we are alone in deep territory. The area north of the Huai River in Shouzhou has been relocated by the Song people in advance. No matter what, we should first gain a foothold. Otherwise, if we delay and waste time, we will lose our composure and have no place to stand on the flat ground. We will have to retreat. By then, not only will we fail to capture the emperor of the Song Dynasty, but we will be laughed at by everyone!"
At this point, Jin Wushu and Ali looked at Erlubu again, and Erlubu sighed slightly, but also expressed a concern:
"I only know how to fight and charge, and I have never been involved in such matters before. But today I have a question for you, Prince Four... What if the inner ferry of Xiacai City that we have been talking about is completed when we plan to cross the river?"
Jin Wushu immediately twisted his beard and sneered: "Since you are determined to plan to cross the river, you only need to keep an eye on Xiacai City. What does it matter whether the inner crossing is repaired or not? I don't believe that the Song people dare to go out of the city to fight in the wild?!"
Erlubu suddenly realized, "I was confused! Then I have nothing to say! I don't think I will end up like Ali, unable to survive in the wild... Who are we afraid of in a battle in the wild? With these 20,000 troops, we are not afraid of even 100,000 Song soldiers!"
"Does this mean you won't make any statement?" Jin Wushu laughed.
"That's right." Erlubu spread his hands and replied. "You two decide for yourself! Just call me when the battle comes!"
Ali kept shaking his head, but Jin Wushu breathed a sigh of relief... After all, if it was self-determination, Jin Wushu had to be the commander-in-chief, and didn't he say that he had to follow the wishes of the Fourth Prince?
Since the three of them had agreed to focus on crossing the river and preparing a pontoon bridge to cross the Huai River, there was nothing more to say and they had to disperse. Everything before the preparation of the pontoon bridge was left to Jin Wushu's discretion.
Sending away the two commanders and wiping off the dust in the tent could not wipe away the depression in Jin Wushu's heart... Any young commander who was fooled by the enemy and taught a lesson in person by the veteran general would always feel uncomfortable.
In addition, it seemed that it would take several days for the pontoon bridge to be ready, so the Fourth Prince couldn't help but have wild thoughts. He worried that the Emperor Zhao on the opposite side would run away just because Xiacai City was ready; then he thought that the other party would simply leave, leaving the other side empty, and he could just abandon Xiacai and chase after him; then he turned around and felt that the Emperor Zhao on the other side actually dared to cross the river to reassure the people, and actually dampened his courage to enter the Huai River at night. He became more and more indignant and even had some ideas of being angry.
In short, during the interval of the war, Jin Wushu, who had forcibly suppressed his intention to attack the city, could not help but want to do something after being obviously frustrated... and suddenly, the Fourth Prince did come up with an idea, but sent someone to call Wenbin back again.
"Don't be afraid!" Jin Wushu, who stood in the tent with his hands behind his back, was helpless when he saw the man on the ground trembling with fear. "I've already said that this matter has nothing to do with you. Even if there is punishment, it's Zhao Qiu who deserves to die... and he's already dead!"
Shi Wenbin had no choice but to kowtow and express gratitude.
"I have a favor for you now." Jin Wushu turned around and said seriously. "Once you are ready, I will immediately reinstate you as a soldier..."
What else could Shi Wenbin say? Could he refuse? He could only say yes repeatedly.
"It's like this. The emperor of the Zhao Song Dynasty may not know that our Jin Kingdom has recently gained two new ministers. One is called Duke Hun De and the other is called Marquis Chong Hun. You write a letter to explain the matter and persuade him to surrender, saying that I, Wushu, recommend him to the title of king... Then you can be my envoy and send him across the river!" At this point, Jin Wushu's momentum gradually returned, but he couldn't help but puff out his chest and belly. "I want to see the reply from that bold Song Emperor with my own eyes!"
Shi Wenbin raised his head, not daring to refuse at all, but he couldn't help feeling complicated, so much so that he burst into tears.
"Why are you crying?" Jin Wushu, feeling relieved, sat back in his seat and urged her again and again. "Write quickly!"
