The summer rain is heavy.
Besides, summer is a time of heavy rain, and the fact that there had been no rain for many days before seemed to be just the accumulation of rain clouds for this heavy rain. The heavy rain was basically a forced truce document representing God's will for the two warring parties.
It is indeed God’s will.
First of all, as Xiaolin scholar reminded me before, no matter how fierce the battle was, it was just a field battle that lasted half a day, and there was no encirclement. The main force of the Jin army had sufficient livestock, and there were more than 10,000 fresh troops of Wanyan Huo Nu and Wanyan Salihe as backup in the north, so if the Jin army really wanted to withdraw to the north, the Song army would be helpless.
In addition, in this battle, from the foot of Yaoshan Mountain to Dongpoyuan, the Song and Jin armies suffered countless casualties. Although the specific figures have not been verified, it is easy to conclude that the Song army suffered heavy casualties, two to three times that of the Jin army.
This can be seen from the situation of the famous generals of the Song army... Excluding Zhao Zhe, the general who was punished by military law on the battlefield, there were five senior generals who were able to go directly to the emperor, including Qiao Ze, Li Yongqi, Jiao Wentong, Li Yanqi, and Murong Wei, who were directly killed in battle. This figure accounts for almost a quarter of the generals of the same level who participated in the war.
By this calculation, the brutality of this battle was so great that even if we thoroughly research the war leading to the founding of the Zhao Song Dynasty, we may not be able to find any evidence of it.
However, precisely because of this, when the main force of the Jin army moved north and the Song army was powerless, facing the Jin army's detachment led by Wanyan Wushu, which still had a chance of being encircled and suppressed, the Song army was determined to swallow up this force at all costs in order to expand the results of the battle and make up for their losses.
The effect was very direct. On the second afternoon after the battle, in the rain, Zhang Xian's troops of the Song army finally encountered the last large-scale battle group of the Jin army in the marshland on the east side of Wulong Mountain and the west side of Beiluo River. At that time, they were gathering together and trying to cross the Song army's defense line and go north to the Jin army-controlled area. When Zhang Xian arrived here after hearing the news, he did not hesitate and immediately ordered the entire army to abandon their horses and fight the Jin army on foot in the marshland in the rain.
This Jin army obviously had a senior general in charge, and they knew that going north was the only way to survive. In addition, they fought in the rain, so the battle was particularly fierce at the beginning. But soon, with the continuous reinforcement of the Song army, Xu Shi'an came from Wulong Mountain, Cheng Min, Liu Yan, and Li Yongqi's son Li Shifu led almost all the cavalry forces of the Song army to surround the north at the cost of casualties. The last effective resistance of the Jin army was easily extinguished.
Among the reinforcements, except for Liu Yan's troops who were willing to surrender, the rest were slaughtered wantonly. After one battle, a small number of the Jin army surrendered, and most were killed. Only a very small number of people desperately crossed the Beiluo River which had not yet risen, and continued to move eastward, trying to escape.
Amid the wanton slaughter by the Song army, Liu Yan, who held a low official position but obviously had a higher political status, learned from the captives that Wanyan Wushu and Han Chang were likely to escape to the east. He then commanded Li Shifu, who had the most murderous instinct, to lead his Dangxiang light cavalry to continue crossing the river in pursuit... He must cooperate with Dong Min, who had already blocked the Beiluo River-Liangshan passage before, to capture the latter two and bring them before the emperor.
Not to mention that Liu Yan's mentality as a scholar was never the same as that of other military leaders, nor how Li Shifu was blinded by bloodshed because of his father's death in battle. It was just that the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty, Wanyan Wushu, and the Jin army's Wanhu Han Chang barely crossed the Beiluo River under the protection of their confidants. They hurried all the way in the rain, but still saw no way to survive. They could only continue to move eastward to avoid being hunted down by the Song army.
Another day passed, and on this afternoon, they heard the sound of waves rolling ahead in the rain, and then saw a yellow and turbid body in the rain. Only then did they realize that they had been walking eastward all the way and had escaped for more than a hundred miles in two days and nights, and arrived at the bank of the Yellow River.
At this time, Wuzhu looked around and found that there were only more than ten riders left by his side, and all of them were injured. Thinking of the heroism of leading 20,000 people to cross the Longmen River to the west just a few days ago, and the hardships of the march along the way, the shock of the battle that day, and the subsequent tragedy of being searched in the mountains and swamps and pursued relentlessly, as well as the dead end now, he could not help but feel sad and burst into tears facing the surging Yellow River.
When Wuzhu started crying, the dozen or so remaining Jurchen soldiers around him also started crying. The more they cried, the sadder they became, and the weaker they felt. They cried until they were hoarse, until they were completely powerless, and until they were just waiting to die.
But just this cry woke up a man tied to a horse.
"Why are you crying?" Han Chang was in a mess, with half of his face swollen. He had been tied to a horse's back because he had a fever and was unconscious before arriving here. When he heard the crying, he woke up slowly, but he struggled to straighten up and asked on the horse.
"Let General Han know." A soldier wiped his tears and took the initiative to explain. "We crossed the Beiluo River, but still couldn't escape. The Song army was everywhere, looking for us. We ran north several times but only got killed. We could only run east, but ended up running to the Yellow River, and there was no way out..."
Han Chang nodded, but then he looked at Wushu who was crying the saddest: "The soldiers are at a dead end, they can cry if they want, but why is the Fourth Prince also crying?"
Even though Wanyan Wushu was feeling miserable, he was stunned by the question. He wiped away his tears and looked at the man blankly: "Why can't I cry? Am I different from them and not at a dead end?"
"Dead ends are dead ends, but facing dead ends, people are not the same as they should be." Han Changzai immediately tried to shake his head, but even this action was difficult. "They are ordinary soldiers. No matter how desperate the situation is, it's just their own lives. They can do whatever they want. But you are the fourth prince of the Great Jin Dynasty. Do you think your life is just your own?"
It would have been better if he hadn't said this. After hearing this, Wanyan Wushu broke down and cried again: "General Han! It's my incompetence that has killed tens of thousands of men... Let alone this dead end, even if there were a bridge or a boat, how can I have the nerve to cross the river to see my brother?"
Han Chang sneered when he heard this, but the pain was unbearable. He could only lean forward and lie on the horse's back, biting the horse's mane to endure it for a moment, and then he lay on the horse's back and slowly spoke again:
"What the Fourth Prince said is very true... But the dead are dead, what's the point of thinking too much? You only think about the dead, don't you think about the living? After this war, how is the situation between Song and Jin? How are the Eastern Army and the Western Army? How are the King and the Grand Marshal? The Great Jin Kingdom has only been established for 20 years, is it going to be destroyed because of this war? As the Fourth Prince, you have an extraordinary status, so you can always do things for the country, right? Are you really going to cry and wait for death here? Are you ignoring the overall situation?"
Wuzhu tried hard to keep quiet and turned around to look at Han Chang, but he could only see him lying on the horse's back, with a bloody and dirty eye socket exposed on the wet mane... He was also horrified for a moment, and inexplicably shocked.
The fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom knew that the other party was right, but he still couldn't control himself: "General Han, what you said makes a lot of sense. I also have a lot of thoughts about the future in my heart... But now that things have come to this, where can I leave even if I want to? And you are so seriously injured, how can I abandon you?"
"Don't say such things." Han Chang supported himself with his hands and continued to sigh softly on horseback. "There is always a way out. In this situation, if you take off your armor and jump into the Yellow River... 90% of the time you will die, don't you still have a 10% chance of making it through? Leave your clothes here, pretend to jump into the river, and then take advantage of the rain to go to the north mountain overnight, isn't that another way? As for my life, even if you don't abandon me, how can I survive?"
Wanyan Wushu was speechless for a moment.
But Han Chang continued to urge him weakly, "Hurry up and leave. A real man should die like General Lou Shi, dying of exhaustion. It's ridiculous to cry and wait for death by the river like this... You have the energy to cry, but not the energy to run?"
Having said this, Han Chang was extremely tired and was just breathing heavily.
Wuzhu stood up and was about to speak when he heard a cry of surprise from the soldiers around him. He thought that the pursuers were approaching, but when he looked in the direction of the sound, he realized what was going on - it turned out that on the turbid Yellow River, there was a thing like a white dragon floating from upstream, and then it was showing its fangs and claws in the rain, which was frightening.
Many Jin soldiers simply knelt down and worshiped, and the little hope of escape that Wuzhu had just been desperately encouraged by Han Chang was completely extinguished.
There are pursuers behind and a big river in front. Just when he wants to make a desperate effort to cross the river, a dragon swims downstream to block his way. In this situation, who can still have a little courage left?
However, as the object gradually approached, it got stuck on the side of a dead branch on the shore and continued to float up and down. Wuzhu and others bravely looked closely and saw clearly that the so-called white dragon was actually just a dead tree several meters long with its bark peeled off. It was only because the Yellow River was rising and the waves were rolling that it went with the waves and looked like a dragon controlling the water and showing its fangs and claws.
Wuzhu stood there in a daze, looking at the dead tree swaying up and down like a dragon's tail. He was silent for a long time, but suddenly began to tear off the remaining clothes and armor on his body, and after a while he had taken off most of them.
Then, the fourth prince turned around with his upper body naked, leaned over to the unconscious Han Chang on the gravel ground by the river and kowtowed vigorously: "General Han's words, I will never forget them for the rest of my life!"
After saying this, without caring whether Han Chang heard it or not, Wanyan Wushu turned around and waded into the water, grabbed the dead tree from among the debris, and pushed it hard into the river.
Among the dozen or so Jin soldiers who were accompanying him, no one stepped forward to help, and no one followed his example of taking a risk of death. They just watched in silence as the Fourth Prince rolled into the Yellow River with the piece of driftwood, tumbling up and down, and then quickly disappeared from their sight in the downstream waves.
Two quarters of an hour after Wuzhu disappeared, more than a hundred Tangut cavalrymen from Li Shifu's army arrived. The remaining Jin army informed Wuzhu of his whereabouts and the identity of Han Chang on his horse, and then asked for surrender. However, they were all killed by the Tangut soldiers who had received Li Shifu's military orders on the river bank. Only Han Chang and Wuzhu's armor were taken back overnight.
The next day at noon, the rain stopped early, and Han Chang was sent to the Yaoshan camp, where they were still waiting for news, by changing horses. Upon hearing the news, knowing that this person would be the finale of the Yaoshan battle, all the famous officers of the army went to the central army camp to wait and see.
"General Han, you must be a hero of the Han people. If you can surrender, you will be treated as a military governor immediately. Although your injuries are serious, they can be treated in time. Even if you have family members in Yanyun, we can take the initiative to reclaim them for you!" Seeing Han Chang being "escorted" to the general platform in front of the central army tent, a civil servant immediately came down from the top and persuaded him to surrender.
Although Han Chang had been bumpy all night and his eye sockets were numb, he was spared the rain and had enjoyed some soup before coming up, so he actually felt more energetic. He raised his head with great effort and saw that it was a middle-aged civil servant. He laughed and said, "Who are you? Do you keep your word?"
"I am Zhang Jun, the transport commissioner of the five routes of Bashu." Zhang Deyuan, who had rushed to the battlefield the night before the battle, said sternly. "Why doesn't it count?"
"What kind of transport envoy is this? He doesn't even have a seat. Your official has that... should be the prime minister , who is sitting there. If you really want to persuade him to surrender, why don't you come and do it in person?" Han Chang squinted his only eye and looked upwards, but he forced a blink at someone there.
Zhang Jun turned around to look at Emperor Zhao and the only prime minister Yuwen Xu Zhong who was sitting next to him. Yuwen Xu Zhong, who had just arrived yesterday, hesitated for a moment and was ready to step forward to persuade them to surrender.
But at this moment, Zhao Jiu spoke up directly from the audience: "Han Chang, you have repeatedly invaded the south, and your crimes are grave. I originally wanted to kill you to comfort the people of Henan. But more than one person said that you are from a great Han family in Yanyun. If you can surrender, you can separate the Yanyun clan and cause internal strife in the Jin Dynasty. Wu Jie said that you are a regular commander of the Jin army and a great general. Once you surrender, you will be able to shock the entire Jin Dynasty. And Liu Yan also said that you have always been brave in battle and are indeed a talented general... I thought about it and felt that what these four people said was indeed reasonable, so I agreed... Yes, if you can surrender, I will allow you to be the governor, and I will try my best to get your family back, even if you continue to lead the army!"
"I believe the words of the Emperor Zhao, and I am grateful for the Emperor Zhao's kindness." Han Chang took several deep breaths and finally became serious. "But unfortunately, I am a Han Chinese from Yanyun. Although I am willing to surrender to your majesty, the Southern Court, I am unwilling to surrender to the Southern Court... Your majesty is willing to say this, which is enough for me to die with dignity and leave my name in history books... But I have to let your majesty know that the Han Chinese from Yanyun have been away from the Central Plains for hundreds of years, and there are not one or two people who can look down on the cowardly Southerners! Now... I only want to die!"
When these words were spoken, many generals were angry and Zhang Jun also wanted to argue with him.
But Zhao Jiu did not leave any time for him to respond, and directly waved his hand: "General Han's words today, I dare not forget... behead him! After his death, first send his head to the armies of various states in Guanzhong as a warning to the public, and then bury it here according to the ritual system."
Everyone except Zhang Jun fell silent.
"Foreign general thanks you."
Han Chang's reaction was extremely quick.
Next, Liu Yan, the deputy commander of the imperial guard, stepped forward and "pushed" Han Chang off the platform. After a moment, he brought up the head for Emperor Zhao to see.
In response, Zhao Jiu just glanced at it, then turned back to the big tent behind the general's platform, and summoned the envoy Yuwen Xuzhong, the transport envoy of the five routes of Bashu Zhang Jun, the governor of Yanfu Road Hu Yin, and the Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo into the tent together.
The generals outside the tent were relieved to see Han Chang die so easily, but when they saw the four ministers enter the tent, they became nervous again... After all, with Han Chang's death, the battle officially came to an end, and some things should be said.
Sure enough, just a moment later, Hu Yin came out of the tent himself, holding a nearly blank piece of paper in both hands and called out to everyone, "Wu Jie!"
Wu Da immediately stepped forward nervously and bowed his head.
"The emperor has ordered that Wu Jie be in charge of the war and fulfill his duties conscientiously. Although he suffered setbacks in battle, he is still a great general. He will be dismissed as the commander-in-chief of all the routes in Guanxi, but will remain as the governor. He will lead the troops here and command the divisions to face the enemy in the north."
After Hu Yin finished reading, Wu Daru was pardoned. He knew that because of this battle, especially the final charge at Loushi, the emperor was forced to come down the mountain in person, so he would not mind being chopped to death. However, he did not expect that the emperor actually recognized his command and preserved his position as Jiedushi... He was relieved for a moment.
Then, Hu Yin stepped forward, stuffed a blank piece of paper into the other person's hand, and hurried away. Wu Jie took a closer look and saw that there were only eight words written on it: "Equal merits and demerits, a talent for a great general", and the official signature "Cangzhou Zhao Jiu" below... He was very careful, folded it carefully, and then put it away.
"Liu Xi!" Hu Yin turned back, and Zhang Jun came out of the tent again, but continued to hold a piece of white paper to carry out the post-war rewards and punishments.
Liu Xi, the governor of Xihe Road, was frightened and walked forward on his knees.
"The emperor has issued an oral decree that Liu Xi, the governor of Xihe Route and commander of the three western routes, put personal interests above public interest. He first quarreled with the commander-in-chief and then failed to perform his duties in battle, which almost caused a disaster. Considering his meritorious service in battle, he will be stripped of his official titles, demoted to a commoner, and sent to serve as a soldier in the Imperial Camp Navy. Once the roads are cleared, he will take up his post immediately!"
Liu Xi trembled as he took the white paper with the words "demoted to naval boatman" written on it, but he could not help but look at his younger brother Liu Qi.
"Liu Qi." After Zhang Jun finished reading Liu Xi's order, he did not turn back, but continued to pronounce his order to Liu Qi with his bare hands. "Liu Qi, the governor of Lizhou Road, has served loyally and bravely, and has made contributions without faults. He will continue to lead the troops in his original position, and will be rewarded after the battle."
The Liu brothers were finally relieved.
"Li Shifu, father and son are both loyal and brave. Li Yongqi was posthumously awarded the title of Nanyang County Founding Duke, and Li Shifu inherited the title without any reduction!" Zhang Jun turned back, and Lin Jingmo turned out again, but he also read out the general disposition of the two. "Qu Duan has lived up to the emperor's grace, and he will continue to be the governor of Huanqing Road... The specific rewards and transfers will still be carefully reviewed after the war."
Up to this point, everyone has understood that this should be a post-war reward or punishment in the form of an official edict for several of the most outstanding and highest-ranking officers... This is also expected. After all, rewards of this level cannot be achieved overnight. The specific rewards and treatments will probably have to wait until this war is completely over. Therefore, they can only use this group of top-notch people to make a gesture first, so that the upper and lower levels can have an idea and feel at ease.
And the most critical questions, for example, are whether Wu Jie's performance as the commander-in-chief is satisfactory?
For example, Li Yongqi died in battle, but his son shot Wanyan Loushi with an arrow and grabbed his head, and then captured Han Chang. These contributions should also be commended as soon as possible.
For example, the Liu Xi brothers had one merit and one fault. After this incident, the government should not turn a blind eye to any flaws. What should we say?
Now that the government has given the answer, people will naturally feel more at ease.
However, the problem is, these people all have it, but why doesn’t Han Shizhong have it?
In fact, Han Shizhong was already frightened at this time, because the title of Nanyang County Founding Duke of Li Yongqi and his son was not given out of thin air, but was simply a natural additional title when he was awarded the title of Shaobao and the two town governors. But now it has become a title for a Dangxiang kid? Could it be that the government has long disliked this scoundrel of his, and after this battle, his prestige has been determined, and he is simply going to be disliked?
"Han Shizhong."
At this moment, Prime Minister Yuwen Xu walked out, looked around, and called out the name that everyone was waiting for... But to be honest, Prime Minister Yuwen's expression was a bit too serious, so Han Shizhong did not dare to neglect it. He immediately stepped forward and knelt on one knee, bowing his head next to Han Chang's head.
"The emperor has ordered that Han Shizhong, the commander of the left army of the imperial camp, the governor of Huaixi, and the governor of the two camps, is loyal and brave, and has great achievements and reputation. He has always been my backbone. This time he has made extraordinary achievements, so he should be promoted to the position of junior teacher and the governor of Taining, Wu'an, and Ningguo..." At this point, Yuwen Xuzhong paused for a moment in front of the almost blank hemp paper, and then continued to speak seriously. "Tell Han Liangchen that I will never forget the words in Jingou Town in the past, and make him the Prince of Yan'an! The food, resettlement, and favors will be discussed in detail after the war! You can still lead the troops as before! Return to Tongzhou and carefully monitor Hedong!"
There was no sound in front of the tent for a while, and no one made any movement. In the silence, Yuwen Xuzhong had no choice but to step forward and personally hand the hemp paper with few words on it to Han Shizhong on the ground.
Han Shizhong took the white paper in a daze. He didn't care that he had just learned to read with a few children and didn't recognize many words. He looked at it in a hurry. He saw only four words in the middle of the paper, "dare not forget", plus the private signature of Cangzhou Zhao Jiu at the bottom. But at this point, who would still think that this kind of white paper is useless? Han Wu was almost trembling, carefully folded the white paper and stuffed it into his arms.
Immediately, Yuwen Xuzhong quickly returned to the tent, obviously he still had a lot of things to do.
As soon as Prime Minister Yuwen left, Han Shizhong took the opportunity to stand up, but he raised his head and looked around, without even looking at the generals and officials around him. He walked down the platform amid everyone's silence and astonishment, then jumped on his horse and galloped away, intending to return to Tongzhou to do his work.
It was a full half a quarter of an hour after the Prince of Yan'an had been gone before someone moved in front of the tent. It turned out to be Liu Xi, a new boatman of the imperial camp, who smashed his head heavily on the hard flagpole.
But soon, he held his breath for fear of disturbing the people in the tent.