Volume 1 Chapter 64: Part 2
It is said that the Jurchen Mouke who received the order had already lost his composure, but he mounted his horse and galloped all the way to the government office in the center of the city. Relying on his status, he went straight into the back hall to see Wanyan Seri. Then, regardless of anything, he knelt on the ground, narrated what happened in the north of the city, and asked the commander to cancel the previous military order.
Wanyan Saili is about 26 or 27 years old this year. His life experience is basically similar to that of Wanyan Wushu who has wandered to the Huai River this time. However, he has two major differences compared to Wanyan Wushu:
First, although his last name was Wanyan, his biological father was not called Wanyan Aguda, which determined his identity;
Secondly, he is one of those people who are more influenced by Chinese culture. He is slightly educated among the Jurchen generals and seems to be very sophisticated... But to be honest, this characteristic may make him successful in the future, but it may not be a good thing at this time, because it will cause disgust among the old-school people in power, which will limit his future.
Back to the present, the man who was drinking with a young Han general also found the report unbelievable, so he put down the wine bottle in his hand and frowned slightly: "You saw it clearly, did seven cavalrymen really defeat our thirty cavalrymen of the Jurchens?"
"General! This is indeed strange. Normally, it shouldn't be like this, but I can see clearly from the city wall that there are only seven riders. They killed thirty of our Jurchen riders without losing a single rider!" The Jurchen Mouke who came to report also felt it was absurd as soon as he opened his mouth, but he wanted to get rid of the seven people even more, so he pleaded more urgently. "General, please quickly lift the restrictions and allow us to lead the army out to sweep! Even if the Song people have an ambush, what are we afraid of as a whole Meng'an?"
"You don't understand." Wanyan Saili shook his head slightly, but then looked at the young Han general opposite him. "Brother Liu, is there really such a brave man among you Song people?"
The man smiled slightly and answered awkwardly: "Of course there are. Isn't it the same for Han Shizhong and Wang De who are currently fighting against the Fourth Prince in the Huai River?"
"That's right!" Wanyan Saili suddenly realized and turned to look at the Mouke on the ground. "It's normal for the Song army to have one or two top heroes. Just think of it as Han Shizhong coming here. There's nothing to be surprised about... You're still not allowed to fight!"
The Jurchen Mouke who reported the incident was greatly disappointed, but he had no choice but to leave because of military law and class. But after the man left, Wanyan Seri and the Han general had not finished their meal when the other man actually returned.
"Why is it here again?"
At this point, Wanyan Saili was completely furious because the other party was already challenging his authority. "Isn't the military order clear enough?! Tell Da Ta Bu Ye that if he is not happy, he can find the other Meng An to discuss the military affairs in the evening. How dare he do this again and again?!"
"General, my Meng'an was captured alive!" The man looked ashen and kowtowed. "The Song army placed the heads of our Jurchen soldiers under their horses and asked their servants to urinate on their heads. He was indignant at the Song army's arrogance and went out of the city to confront them. As a result, the other side lost two of their horses' lives, and the powerful Song commander found an opportunity to rush over and grab my Meng'an with one arm."
Wanyan Seri was stunned for a long time before he stood up, but he didn't say a word and went straight to the back. The Han general was also embarrassed for a moment and could only stand up and wait.
A moment later, when the Jurchen commander returned, he was already wearing full armor. At the same time, the other Jin officers in the city also rushed to the government office after hearing the news.
The two sides met in the hall. Without waiting for the Meng'an and Mouke to speak, Wanyan Seri raised his hand first and said, "No need to say more... I didn't allow the battle before because the Fourth Prince was frustrated in the Huai River and couldn't advance or retreat. The war was already delicate. General Ali and General Erlubu both told me privately in advance that I should be prepared and must not lose my retreat. You don't know about this, so don't blame me."
Only then did everyone begin to realize what was going on.
"But since a Meng'an has been captured today, I can't care about many things." Wanyan Saili continued. "If I don't deal with him, you won't be convinced. Even if you are convinced... Let's not talk about anything else, just talk about how to appease the officer in the Meng'an, Da Tabuye? So I have decided to send troops to eat up this Song army, but before sending troops, we must make some plans."
"If it's just a few hundred cavalrymen, we can take them anyway, why bother?" Someone immediately responded, still a little indignant about the military orders of yesterday and today. "In fact, if we had been allowed to send troops earlier, even a single Meng'an from Da Tabuye would have been enough to end this matter, why did it come to this?"
"There won't be only a few hundred cavalrymen." Wanyan Saili shook his head repeatedly. "As I expected, there must be ambushes on the bank of the water! Didn't you remember before? It was said that a Song general, named Yang Weizhong, has now arrived at Guangji Army in the west and is gathering troops. You wanted to attack him, but I denied it. This person's arrival is strange, and it is most likely related to Yang Weizhong."
"Even if there are ambushes, so what?" Someone else responded dissatisfiedly. "After all, with 5,000 troops, who are we afraid of? Yang Weizhong just gathered a bunch of rabble, can he withstand our full force?"
"Even if we can take it, so what?" Before Wanyan Saili could respond, someone nearby said indignantly. "If one charge doesn't work, we'll charge twice. If two charges don't work, we'll charge three times. When have we, the Jurchen cavalry, ever been afraid of a tough fight?!"
"I've already said that we must send troops this time!" Wanyan Saili angrily slammed his palm on the table. "But since we are sending troops, you must obey my orders... First, you must leave a few hundred people to take care of the newly surrendered Han people to guard the city; second, the lake in the north is a hundred miles in radius, and I have never seen such a large lake in my life. We are good at cavalry and infantry battles, but we are not good at water battles. The Fourth Prince suffered a great loss in the water battle on the Huai River this time. The Emperor of Song was on the other side of the river, but he still doesn't know how to cross the river..."
"Then don't go into the water!" The officer below thought it made sense, but he was still impatient, so he agreed directly. "We agreed in the hall today that after the troops go out, they are not allowed to dismount and go into the water. They can only chase on hard ground where they can fight on horseback or on foot... How do you think?"
"That's what I mean, but besides that, you are not allowed to get close to the reed marsh." Wanyan Seri added another point.
"If there are ambushes, they must be in the reed marshes. If we are not allowed to approach the reed marshes, how can we defeat them? Even if the Song army outside the city wants to escape, they will surely flee to the reed marshes... If we are not allowed to approach the reed marshes, how can we save Da Tabuduye?" This was the second time that someone took the initiative to interrupt the commander's speech.
Wanyan Seri was helpless when he saw the public outcry, but he remembered his duty and gritted his teeth and shook his head to refuse.
"It's better to prepare more things to start the fire."
Just when both sides were at a stalemate and both felt extremely embarrassed, someone suddenly spoke up and made a suggestion. Everyone looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was the Han general who had been accompanying Wanyan Saili. They all had different expressions, but no matter who it was, no one showed any hostility... because this person's father was Liu Yu, the former governor of Jinan Prefecture in the Song Dynasty, and this person was called Liu Lin, and was Liu Yu's biological son.
Moreover, since Liu Yu surrendered, he knew that he would not be tolerated in the south, so he served the Jin people wholeheartedly. And he naturally tried his best to flatter the deputy commander of the military supervisor, Wanyan Talan, and was very liked by Talan. But even so, how could he dare to neglect Jin Wushu, the fourth son of Aguda, because he was too busy to do so.
However, before Jin Wushu went south, he divided his troops among Wanyan Seri, asking the latter to first quell the rebellion in Jinan Prefecture from Talan, and then go south to Jizhou, a transportation hub, as a rear support. This gave Liu Yu an opportunity. He sent his own son Liu Lin out and led dozens of cavalry to accompany Wanyan Seri as a guide, hoping that if there was a chance, he could let his son get close to Wanyan Wushu.
And for the sake of Wanyan Saili and Wanyan Talan, this group of people certainly gave this hereditary Song traitor some face.
"Generals!" Liu Lin was pleased to see that the people in the hall did not reject him, so he quickly explained. "It is just the beginning of spring, the reeds have just turned green, and the dead branches and leaves of winter have not yet sunk into the mud, so it is still easy to set fire. Let's chase them. If the Song cavalry retreats into the reed marsh, whether there is an ambush or not, our five thousand cavalry... no, our four thousand five hundred cavalry, if each of us throws a fire, they will naturally flee, and it will be easier to fight! Isn't this perfect?"
Everyone cheered, and Wanyan Saili pondered for a moment, but finally nodded heavily:
"That way, everything will be fine! Let's follow Master Liu's advice and march our entire army forward immediately!"
