Volume 3 Chapter 50 Famous Generals
On the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the Lantern Festival, spring rains arrived in Guanzhong and Shaanxi areas at the right time, but unexpectedly, the area was already rife with war.
In the dilapidated site of Tongguan, in the Jin army camp that was roughly built according to the old checkpoint, around a watchtower with obvious signs of fire, there were rows of armored soldiers and neatly arranged curtains. Soldiers carrying armor and weapons were constantly patrolling the camp outside, and they were not affected by the heavy spring rain at all... Obviously, this was a vital point in the army.
As expected, on the top floor of the watchtower, a Jin general in armor was sitting behind a desk with a frown on his face, watching the soldiers around him hurriedly take away his flag and set up a simple canopy above his head and around him. His brand new gourd-shaped silk-lined iron helmet with a red tassel was placed on the desk, but the red tassel had been wet by the rain.
At the same time, just behind him, the majestic Yellow River was still clearly visible in the very light rain...The so-called Tongguan Road surrounded by mountains and rivers was exactly here.
This Jin army general was about fifty years old, with a thin and yellow face, but a very large frame and eyes as bright as lightning... If Zhao Jiu were here, he would definitely think that this man was a bit like Han Shizhong.
However, no matter how down and out Han Shizhong was, or how prosperous was, he could never hide his ruffian nature. However, this Jin army general clearly had something in him that was the opposite of that ruffian nature, a kind of spirit that was full of bitterness, hatred, and yet a little cruel.
This kind of temperament can be seen in many senior generals of the Jin army. It should come from the fishing and hunting era between the White Mountains and Black Waters. It is a unique temperament brought about by the identity of hunters who are desperate for survival.
That’s right, this person is none other than Wanyan Loushi.
As we all know, the Jin Dynasty rose suddenly and emerged out of nowhere. In just 20 years, it achieved military hegemony in East Asia. Although anyone can give a so-called reasonable explanation for the rise of this country from multiple angles such as politics, economy, military, culture, and geography, in the final analysis, no one can deny that at that time, the Jurchen heroes gathered around Wanyan Aguda, the founder of the Jin Dynasty.
Otherwise, why didn't the Song Dynasty destroy the Liao Dynasty?
If we count these heroes carefully, there is Wanyan Aguda himself, not to mention his brothers Wanyan Wuqimai, Wanyan Jiemu, Wanyan Wusai, and Wanyan Xieye; his own sons, the eldest prince Wanyan Wuben, the second prince Wanyan Wulibu, the third prince Wanyan Erlido; his distant supporters Wanyan Nianhan, Wanyan Xiyin (Wanyan Gushen), Wanyan Yinshuke , Wanyan Bendu, Wanyan Moulianghu, Wanyan Ganlu... All these characters, most of them have experience in military affairs, and a few are both civil and military, but each of them is worthy of special mention.
However, the levels of these heroes are uneven, and they can be divided into grades or rankings if necessary.
For example, after the Liao Dynasty was destroyed, the general consensus within the Jin Dynasty was that the greatest hero was none other than Wanyan Nianhan, who was always called the "Prime Minister" by the people of the Song Dynasty.
Wanyan Nianhan was certainly extraordinary, and no one could deny his talent.
But he was, after all, the first meritorious official at the level of a political leader, the highest commander, and was supported by the entire Western Army of 100,000 men and the entire distant branch of the Wanyan clan. It does not mean that this person was a god-like commander of troops, unparalleled in military power, amazing in strategy, and capable of proper domestic affairs.
In fact, apart from anything else, everyone knows that in terms of specific military merits, 80% of Wanyan Nianhan's military merits were earned for him by his two subordinates, Wanyan Loushi and Wanyan Yinshuke.
Among them, Wanyan Loushi is generally recognized as being superior to Wanyan Yinshu.
There is no need to say more about this man's military achievements. Let me just say one thing: this fifty-year-old general who frowned in the spring rain was the first person to obtain the hereditary Meng'an status through military merit under the Meng'an and Mouke system of the Jin army.
He is the number one general of the Jin army!
At least that's what the now-dead Wanyan Aguda thought on that day.
However, such a great general has been frowning and rarely smiling since the expedition to the south... After the shed was set up, Wanyan Loushi still sat behind the gorgeous tortoise-shell table, looking upward without saying a word. Except for his frightening eyes that occasionally flashed, he looked like a puppet. None of the generals and attendants on his left and right dared to step forward and speak, until the sound of horses neighing was heard downstairs and a man hurried over.
“Daddy…”
The man was about thirty years old, and was none other than Wanyan Huonu, the eldest son of Wanyan Loushi, who had just conquered Huazhou in the west. When he came upstairs and saw his own father, he could not help but walk up to him and asked in a low voice, leaning against the tortoise-shell table. "Is it because of the rainy weather that you are suffering from the old injury?"
"Can you still bear it?"
Wanyan Loushi finally laughed, and the officers and guards on his left and right were also relieved.
Seeing this, Wanyan Huonu also forced a smile... He naturally knew what kind of suffering his own father was going through on that rainy day, but in the end he was powerless to do anything.
"What about Fushui Town?" After laughing, Wanyan Loushi remained motionless, but asked about military affairs again. "Is there a sentence in the military order I gave you asking you to deal with that place before you come back?"
"Reporting to Father, we have slaughtered them all as you ordered." Wanyan Huonu replied immediately. "But the two Meng'an who took action also said that quite a few people fled to the south between Taihua Mountain and Shaohua Mountain... and according to them, the rain in the west is heavier, and even if the fire is lit, it is estimated that it will not burn out completely."
"Just kill them all." Wanyan Loushi nodded slightly, not taking it seriously.
Wanyan Huo Nu nodded, paused for a moment, but still took the initiative to ask: "Father... Fushui Town is opposite Shayuan Prison, between Chang'an and Tongguan. We have been here seven or eight times in the past few years. No matter how rich the village is, it has no money now. Moreover, there is no fortress or soldiers there, let alone any resistance. Why must we massacre them?"
"Military law cannot be abolished." Wanyan Loushi answered calmly. "In fact, it was my fault at the beginning. My back hurt the most before the rain, so I made a mistake in the amount of food and grass that should be sent here... If someone from their town had come to explain clearly, I would have changed it, but they just used old food and watered horse feed to fool me, so I can't let them off."
Wanyan Huonu nodded in understanding at first, but then sighed.
Wanyan Loushi followed the voice and laughed: "You are the commander-in-chief of Wanhu, and I am also the commander-in-chief of Wanhu. If the commander-in-chief is dissatisfied with the commander-in-chief, he can speak up. Why are you sighing and pretending?"
That’s right… Wanyan Loushi and his son Wanyan Huonu actually held the same official position and military rank at this time, both were Wanhu and Dutong.
It's not that the female officials were promoted too quickly, but that Wanyan Loushi had reached the limit of hereditary promotion... Under the hereditary system, when it came to Meng'an, the usual rank of commander was Wanhu, and the temporary identity for commanding military tasks was the general of various recruiting offices and military affairs offices. Going up further, the military position was the positions of marshals in the capital's marshal's office, and the political position was Bojilie.
In fact, considering the changes in the functions of the Marshal's Office, the general commander, who previously had the actual power of a marshal, now has less general power.
This should be due to the problems caused by the chaotic system of the Jin people, but it may also be related to Wanyan Loushi's background.
Because according to rumors, the Wanyan in Wanyan Loushi's name is not the Wanyan of the royal family, but the surname given to the Wanyan tribe after it defeated the Qishui tribe. Then the true identity of Wanyan Loushi as the head of the Qishui tribe is a bit like a position between a house slave and a royal family member.
But no matter what, perhaps it was precisely because of this background that although Lou Shi had outstanding military achievements and was trusted by both superiors and subordinates, and in fact had long enjoyed the command of the Western Route Army, he was never able to have the title of marshal and had always been the commander-in-chief of the Shanxi Military Command.
Of course, on the other hand, the fact that both father and son were commanders-in-chief and Wanhu also proved the prominent status of the Loushi family in the Jin army. Moreover, no matter what, no one could shake Wanyan Loushi's authoritative position in the Jin army's western army...even the marshal could not appoint or remove Wanyan Loushi's Wanhu, because the full name of Wanyan Loushi's Wanhu identity was Huanglongfu Wanhu.
It is the Huanglong Mansion where the enemy attacked Huanglong directly, which is a reflection of Wanyan Loushi’s special status.
Stop talking nonsense.
Wanyan Huonu heard her own father's joke, but she was still a little serious: "Dad... I still remember that day when my father and I defeated 200,000 Song soldiers here. At that time, you asked me to rescue the Song soldiers who fell into the water, and ordered the entire army not to slaughter or rob the people without authorization. You also appointed a large number of Song people as local officials. Logically, this should be the power and virtue that the Song people mentioned, right? But why are the Song people on both sides of the river still unwilling to be obedient to the Jin Dynasty?"
"Maybe the emperor of Song has returned again?" Wanyan Loushi looked at the rain in front of him and thought about something. "Why should I be a submissive subject to others when I can be my own family?"
"What about Xijing (Jin Xijing, referring to Datong)?" Wanyan Huonu immediately retorted. "Xijing was originally the territory of Liao, and the Khitans had long been gone. As a result, when the Mongols rebelled, they also joined the rebellion, and spent the entire winter suppressing the rebellion in the north, wasting their chance to move south..."
Wanyan Loushi thought about it for a while and shook his head: "That means there is something wrong with our Great Jin's strategy."
"Dad, I think we should learn from Hebei and give all the land and population to Meng'an and Mouke, and kill people like Zhe Keqiu..." Wanyan Huonu finally couldn't bear it anymore and said what she wanted to say. "Don't let the Song people rule the Song anymore!"
Wanyan Loushi finally narrowed his eyes and looked at his son carefully. He wanted to ask his son, is the situation in Hebei better?
Are the hundreds of thousands of so-called rioters in Taihang Mountains, who cannot be killed or defeated, stronger than the rebellion of the Khitan nobles in Datong?
The Khitan nobles rebelled, and Wanyan Loushi led his troops there, easily defeated them, and killed them all. But has there ever been a single day of peace in Taihang Mountains in all those years?
However, after a moment, the famous general of the Jin army suppressed his inner impulse, because he understood that it was normal for these young people to have similar ideas... He also thought so when he was young, but as he experienced more, his ideas gradually changed.
And the most critical problem is that he doesn't know what is right.
Should Hebei learn from Shanxi and follow the Song rule, or should Shanxi learn from Hebei and enfeoff Meng'an and Mouke in the local areas? Or is it that neither of them is right?
After all, at the moment, neither strategy has achieved its goal, and neither Shanxi nor Hebei is safe.
Thinking of this, the Jin army general frowned again and said, "This matter should be discussed by the king, the commander-in-chief and Bojilie. You and I should not say more... You go down and rest for a while, and wait for your brother to come back, and then we will discuss military affairs."
Wanyan Huonu immediately shut up... Although he had already entered middle age and his official position was theoretically equal, he was just an ordinary general in front of his father except for the father-son relationship. So, seeing that his father was actually a little unhappy, how could he dare to say anything?
Moreover, his father's old injury was unbearable on a rainy day, so how could he just go down and enjoy it? So he simply stood there with his sword in his hand like an ordinary guard.
Just like that, the father and son, one sitting and the other standing, sat quietly on the dilapidated Tongguan watchtower, letting the spring rain get heavier and their vision become hazy, and no one knew what each of them was thinking.
However, this silence did not last long. In less than two quarters of an hour, the sound of horse hooves could be heard on the road east of Tongguan. Then several riders galloped into the pass and turned under the watchtower.
When the leader came up the stairs, it turned out to be Meng'an Wanyan Mouyan, who had followed Wanyan Balisu to the east before. He was also the second son of Lou Shi, who was only in his twenties this year, and the younger brother of Huo Nu.
"Daddy! Big brother!" Wanyan Mouyan's big and strong figure inherited his father's skeleton. He came up sweating profusely and greeted his father and brother first.
"Brother, you've arrived just in time." Wanyan Huo Nu greeted her second brother when she saw him coming. They were very different in age, and the elder brother was like a father, so they were very close. "Daddy is waiting for the second brother to report!"
Wanyan Loushi knew that his two sons had always been proud of their Jurchen identity, but now they were so familiar with using the Song people's address to address each other as brothers. He was confused for a moment, but the military situation was like this, so he was too lazy to think too much, and just nodded to his second son.
"Father, Shanzhou cannot be attacked!" Wanyan Mouyan said. "I followed your orders and went to Shanzhou City with Balisu. Balisu led the main force behind. Wulibu and I led 2,000 elite soldiers to block the Song army on the narrow road in the east. However, we did not expect that the main force of the Song army had already left the narrow road and occupied various key points to set up camps, as if they were going to respond to Shanzhou City... Wulibu and I rushed into a camp that had not yet been set up and killed two or three hundred people. However, the number of Song army members increased, and the number of bows and crossbows became more and more dense. We really could not hold on. In addition , my father had ordered me to come back today, so I came back directly. On the way, I met Balisu again and reported to him. He asked me to bring back a message saying that Shanzhou cannot be attacked."
After hearing this, Wanyan Loushi said nothing, but Wanyan Huonu asked solemnly: "Second brother, have you seen clearly how many reinforcements the Song army has?"
"There were more than 10,000 of them when the battle started, but they are still going on, so the number could be upwards of 20,000." Wanyan Mouyan was just a general and was too lazy to think too much, so he simply answered to his father and brother.
Upon hearing this, Huo Nu sighed and looked at her father again: "Dad... Shanzhou's terrain is narrow, which is not conducive to siege and cavalry field battles. Now the 20,000 reinforcements have occupied the narrow road behind us. I'm afraid Shanzhou City will receive continuous support. In addition, Li Yanxian is deeply loved by the people of Shanzhou and is good at military affairs. I'm afraid it would be stupid to go to Shanzhou to confront him head-on."
Wanyan Loushi nodded slightly: "What do you mean? Should we attack Chang'an?"
"That's how it should be." Wanyan Huo Nu held her sword and armor, then nodded immediately.
Wanyan Loushi did not answer, but shook his head slightly, then looked at his second son again: "Mouyan, where is Han Shizhong's flag with the Shanzhou reinforcements?"
Wanyan Mouyan immediately shook his head: "I know Han Shizhong, there is absolutely no such person! Judging from the flags, they should be the ones in the Song Dynasty's imperial camp, but I didn't see the big flag with the word "king" on it, which is also strange."
Wanyan Loushi nodded, then looked at his eldest son without saying a word.
Wanyan Huo Nu was confused for a moment, but after a little thought, she suddenly realized: "Dad, you mean that Han Shizhong is taking a detour from Wuguan to support Chang'an?"
"That's right." Wanyan Loushi finally nodded. "Han Shizhong's Huaixi Army has always been behind the defense line and is not connected to the front lines. So once there is a war, his Huaixi Army is the first army that can support other places. Now that the Song people have sent a large number of reinforcements, if they mobilize troops from other places, they will definitely not move Han Shizhong... and Han Shizhong is not in Shanzhou, so he can only go to Chang'an from the back."
"So should we attack Chang'an or Shanzhou?" Huo Nu was finally at a loss.
Mou Yan seemed to remember something at this time, and spoke to his father again: "Dad... Balisu scolded you in Dongmianhu City seven or eight days ago, saying that you were confused and kept the troops in Tongguan for several days and did not allow him to advance, which wasted the opportunity for war!"
"Does Balisu want to die?" Huo Nu was furious. "If he dared to say that in front of me, he would have been dead long ago! He is just bullying you because you are just a marching Meng'an! You don't even have a hereditary Mouke!"
Mou Yan fell silent immediately.
Even though Huo Nu was furious, she couldn't help but explain for her father who remained silent: "Dad obviously wanted to secure his retreat and ensure the retreat route before attacking... This was a proper move."
However, after saying this, Huo Nu herself felt it was ridiculous... Since when did her own father always want to retreat when fighting? The battle in which a few thousand people defeated 30,000 Xixia cavalry was simply a matter of dividing the troops again and again, relying on a small group of elite troops to rush over long distances to defeat the Xixia people.
Even when he had fought a decisive battle with Fan Zhixu's army of 200,000 here before, his father, who only had 10,000 cavalrymen, had never been "safe".
Even earlier, when the Jin army crossed the Yellow River to the south for the first time, they had no boats and faced hundreds of thousands of Song army troops. It was this father who sent his own son and daughter upstream and led 300 cavalrymen to float across the river from Mengjin, scaring the tens of thousands of Song troops on the other side of the river away in one day.
How could Wanyan Loushi be competent at that time?
In fact, there were many suspicions about this expedition, and it was only after Wanyan Loushi had special communication with the Marshal's Office that it was put into effect... But after the army went south, it stayed in Tongguan for more than ten days. Even Wanyan Huonu was confused at that time, not knowing what her father was up to.
"On the 15th..." In the awkward atmosphere, Wanyan Loushi finally spoke and finally stood up, leaning on the table. "We raided on the day of the New Year's Day. If the military intelligence reached Tokyo on the 3rd or 4th day, then the Song people would have sent a large number of reinforcements from the surrounding areas of Tokyo without stopping. Otherwise, how could they be so fast?"
"That should be the case." Wanyan Huo Nu came to the conclusion after a quick calculation.
"Then assuming that Han Shizhong received the military order one day later, he should be able to reach Chang'an in four or five days, right?" Lou Shi turned around, holding the tortoise-shell table, and walked straight forward into the rain.
"Almost... but it's hard to say. Wuguan Road has a great reputation, but we have never been there, so we don't know what it is like." Huo Nu hurriedly followed. "But Chang'an will be difficult to attack anyway."
"Yes." Lou Shi sighed as he looked at the Yellow River, which was now only an outline. "Han Shizhong is Han Shizhong after all. He is the backbone of the Zhao Song emperor and has great prestige in the Western Army. Once he arrives in Chang'an, it will not only be a matter of tens of thousands of reinforcements, because once he goes there, he can calmly dispatch reinforcements from Jingyuan Road, Yanfu Road, and even Sichuan and Shu to gather in Guanxi..."
"Then we really can't fight." Huo Nu gritted her teeth behind him. "But there is still a chance to fight... Daddy, Yuwen Xuzhong is just a civil official, I'm afraid he won't be of much use. I will go now, lead 20,000 cavalry to cross the middle town and head straight to the city of Chang'an to see if we can break it in one blow."
Lou Shi shook his head repeatedly: "Wait four or five days, when Han Shizhong really arrives, it won't be too late for you to go to the city of Chang'an again."
The girl was stunned, and for a moment she felt that she did not hear clearly what her father said.
But soon, as Wanyan Loushi, the war god of the Jin Dynasty, turned around and spoke again to his second son, Huo Nu was sure that she was not dreaming.
"Mou Yan." Wanyan Loushi looked at his second son. "Tell Balisu to wait for a while until the Song reinforcements have completely passed the narrow road and their numbers have been counted, then go and attack Shanzhou City... Tell him that if he dares to disobey my military orders, I will kill him. Anyway, Yin Shu has gone to Yanjing, and no one will protect him!"
This time, not only the girl who had served as the commander-in-chief for many years and had experience in commanding troops, but even Wanyan Mouyan, who was only in his twenties, felt dry mouth and tongue, and almost thought that his invincible father had gone mad.
But both of them understood that this man was their biological father, the most famous general of the Great Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Loushi... Others might not recognize him, but could they not recognize him?
So, after hesitating for a moment, Wanyan Huo Nu came forward and asked in a low voice, "Dad, what did the Emperor of Song promise you? Is he going to give Shanxi to our family?"
Wanyan Loushi, who had been tortured by pain for several days, was made to laugh by his son for the second time today.
