Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 21: The War Arrives

  After returning to the Han Mansion, Yue Yun and Han Yan walked into the main hall, where they saw Han Shizhong discussing matters with several attendants.

  Two men were about to report the matter to Han Shizhong, but Xu Shu rushed in hastily. He excitedly told Yue Yun: "Young Master Yue, I used the water soaked with horse corpses to make cats, dogs, donkeys and pigs drink, and they all showed symptoms of diarrhea. It seems that the source of this plague has been found."

  Yue Yun had already judged in her heart that this plague was probably a gastrointestinal infectious disease like cholera in later generations. Although such epidemics break out quickly, causing people to vomit and diarrhea, and leaving them weak all over, they rarely threaten lives. As long as one rests for a few days, most people will recover on their own without treatment. The problem is that this plague was man-made. And what the person who triggered this plague wanted to achieve was already obvious.

  Yue Yun heard Xu Shuwei's words and smiled wryly, saying to Han Shizhong and the others: "Uncle Han, if my guess is not wrong, the Jin army will attack soon!"

  "What? The Golden Army is going to attack?" Everyone in the hall except for Han Yan was shocked.

  Just as Han Shizhong was about to ask a question, a guard rushed into the hall and reported: "Report to the commander! Our scouts in Huai Bei have made an urgent report that a large number of Jin troops have appeared in the north and are now rushing towards Chu Zhou. They are expected to arrive at the northern bank of the Huai River tonight!"

  Han Shizhong was shocked upon hearing this. Although he didn't know how Yue Yun inferred the future of the Jin army, he knew that as the commander-in-chief, he absolutely couldn't panic.

  He was only slightly surprised, and immediately slapped the table and scolded with a laugh: "Good! I just returned from Xuzhou a few days ago, and this Jin thief thought that Han Shizhong is weak and can be deceived? Daring to take the initiative to offend Chuzhou. Don't worry, Nephew Yue! Although the Jin thieves are coming fiercely, it's not easy to cross the Huai River. The navy of my Han family is enough to make them have no return!"

  Yue Yun's mind said, it seems that what should come has come. Jin Jun would not possibly just create a plague that would scare the people of Chu State to death, there must be more to it. But he also didn't think that the Jin army would come so quickly, without even giving the Song army any reaction time.

  Yue Yun then bowed his fist to Han Shizhong and said, "Uncle Han, I have 500 strong and healthy men who have not been infected with the disease. I would like to lead them into battle to defeat the Jin bandits! I hope you will support me!"

  Han Shizhong, although he despised the Jin army with his mouth, knew that most of the soldiers in the city were ill and even standing was a bit difficult. How could they fight? As a result, the combat effectiveness of the city had been greatly reduced, and there were also spies who had explored the situation in Chuzhou and reported back to the Jin army. The Jin army must have known the situation in Chuzhou like the back of their hand, making this battle even more difficult!

  Han Shizhong sighed and said, "Yue Xiang, you should go back and rest first. If you really need my help, your father and I are like brothers, and I am not a person who pretends to be reluctant. I will definitely come to ask for your help."

  Yue Yun knew that he was a guest for the time being, and with Han Shizhong's personality, he would not let himself go to war unless absolutely necessary. He could only observe the situation first and make plans later. However, this meant that his request for grain would be delayed even further.

  On the north bank of the Huai River, people were shouting and horses were neighing. A large army of Jin soldiers was advancing towards the riverbank, with a force of no less than 50,000 men. At the very front of this Jin army column, two generals in particular caught people's attention.

  The two leaders, one old and one young, the older about fifty years old, with a round face, wearing a yellow iron helmet, dressed in a suit of brass armor, with a large braid hanging behind his head, with a full face of flesh, his body slightly plump, but with a smile on his face all the time, like a laughing Arhat who deceives no one.

  And beside him, the young general was very young, looking only eighteen or nineteen years old, with a sturdy build and dark skin, but his appearance was not that of a rough and boorish man, and he even had a few handsome features, except that he furrowed his brow, with a look of deep concern.

  The old general smiled and said to the young general, "Liang'er, you don't have to worry about being blamed by your fourth uncle. If this operation fails, there's your ninth uncle up front to take the blame. If we win, you can still get credit for it. What's the point of worrying?"

  The young general, called Liang'er, still expressed some worry and said: "Ninth Uncle, I have also followed Fourth Uncle to fight a few battles in the past year or two. The army of Yue Nan is indeed formidable, even our military's most powerful 'Iron Floating Diagram' and 'Crooked Horse' were defeated by him. I heard that Han Shizhong is also a formidable figure in the Song army, if his troops are similar to those of the Yue family, can we take down Chu State with just 50,000 men?"

  "Heh heh, Liang'er, although the Han army is slightly inferior to the Yue army, they are not far apart. Moreover, the Chu state region has a dense network of waterways, which makes it unfavorable for cavalry battles. If we really want to launch a hard attack, even if we had 100,000 men, it's not necessarily guaranteed that we can take it down. However, this time when we attack Chu state, I'm afraid the Song army in Chu state won't be able to stand firm. Taking it down will be an easy task!" The Ninth Uncle said with a pleased smile.

  "Oh? Since Ninth Uncle knows that the Song army in Chu State is also a hard bone, why does he say they can't stand firm?" The young general called Liang'er asked in surprise.

  "Haha! Liang'er, your father is indeed a brilliant strategist, worthy of being our Da Jin's first wise advisor, which is why he became the Grand Chancellor of our Da Jin kingdom. From now on, you should also use your brain more when fighting and taking action! Don't learn from your fourth uncle who only knows how to act rashly. We Jurchen people conquered the Central Plains relying on military power, but if we only rely on military power, it's impossible to conquer the world! Although the Han people are weak and the emperor of the Southern Dynasty is a foolish ruler, there are many more Han people than us Jurchen people, so if we want to conquer them, we must first understand them, absorb their strengths, and eliminate their weaknesses. Only then can our Jurchen kingdom be stable!" said Ninth Uncle with a smile.

  "Does Ninth Uncle mean to capture Chu State by strategy?" That Liang'er, being a prince of the Jin dynasty and also the son of the prime minister, normally read a lot of Han books, naturally reacted.

  "Yes! A few days ago, I was on the road to Xuzhou and saw a village that was plagued by an epidemic. Those who were sick all had symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, with no strength in their limbs. I originally wanted to take a detour, but my royal physician said this was 'diarrhea disease', which occurred several years ago in several villages near the capital. This disease is not fatal, but it can cause people to vomit and have diarrhea nonstop, and feel weak all over. So five days ago, I sent several of our agents, disguised as horse merchants, to bring the carcass of a dead horse from the epidemic-ridden village to Chu State, and dump it into the river upstream from where the city gets its water. I had already investigated that most of the military and civilians in Chu State drink water from this river. After the diseased horse carcass contaminated the river water, most of the military and civilians in the city would fall ill with vomiting and diarrhea, and lose their strength. Although this disease won't kill them, it will render most of the Song army unable to fight, making our attack much easier! Yesterday, those agents returned and reported that everything is set - now most of the military and civilians in Chu State have fallen ill, even the city gate guards are too weak to change shifts, everyone is in danger. When my Jin army arrives, won't we be able to take Chu State in no time? Who knows, maybe we can even capture Han Shizhong!"

  That young general was overjoyed and said, "The fourth uncle hates no one more than Yue Fei and this Han Shizhong. I heard that more than ten years ago, Han Shizhong had trapped the fourth uncle in Huangtian Dang for many days, almost losing his life. If we can capture Han Shizhong this time, I'm sure the fourth uncle will greatly reward us!"

  These two commanders of the Jin Dynasty, one old and one young, were Wanyan Zongmin, the ninth son of Emperor Taizu of Jin, and his grandson Wanyan Liang. The fourth uncle they spoke of was Wanyan Zongbi, who now held all military and political power in the Jin Dynasty, also known as the famous General Yue Fei's arch-nemesis, Wuzhu.

  He was originally a skilled archer and horseman, but in recent years he had been living a life of luxury and his physical strength and ambition were no longer what they used to be. Last year, the Jin Dynasty experienced a great upheaval, with the war faction led by Wanyan Zongwu joining forces with Wanyan Liang's father, Wanyan Zonggan, to launch a coup, killing several high-ranking officials including Wanyan Tahan. He had chosen to remain neutral and escaped unscathed. However, Emperor Xizong of Jin respected Wanyan Zongwu but was wary of his growing power. There were rumors in the capital that if Wanyan Zongwu returned victorious from his southern campaign, he might use his prestige to declare himself emperor. Therefore, Emperor Xizong had ordered Wanyan Zongmin to come to the front lines, ostensibly to boost troop morale, but in reality to observe whether Wanyan Zongwu had any intentions of rebelling.

  After Wanyan Zongmin arrived at the front line, he found that Wuzhu had been defeated in battle after battle. The rumor that he was going to take advantage of his victory and start a rebellion on his own was purely unfounded. However, seeing Wuzhu's repeated defeats, he felt a resurgence of ambition. He thought to himself that Wuzhu, this martial artist who only knew how to be brave, could never defeat the cunning Han people. If it were him, Wanyan Zongmin, fighting instead, his military achievements would surely be much more brilliant than Wuzhu's.

  Although Wuzong had suffered a defeat, he refused to hand over any military power. Wanyan Zongmin proposed several times that he lead an army alone, but was rejected each time by Wuzong, who claimed that he had already made contact with the Southern Court's envoy and was preparing for peace talks. With no other choice, Wanyan Zongmin pretended to go to another place to inspect the troops, leaving Wuzong in control of Bianjing.

  Wanyan Zongmin soon decided to go to Xuzhou in Huai North to find Wanyan Liang. Firstly, Wanyan Liang's father, the Left Chancellor Wanyan Zonggan, was his elder brother and had a very good relationship with him. Wanyan Liang could be said to have grown up under his care and would listen to his advice. Secondly, due to Wanyan Liang's noble status and his love for showing off, he had the confidence to persuade Wanyan Liang to disobey Aguda's military orders and engage in battle on his own accord. After all, as long as they emerged victorious, Aguda would not possibly punish someone who had achieved meritorious service. In this way, his reputation at court would also be greatly enhanced, and Emperor Xizong and other members of the imperial clan would look at him with new eyes. Who knows, he might even be able to take up the position of Right Chancellor.

  Wanyan Liang was originally a warlike and ambitious person. Although he was young, he had great ambitions. He also admired Wuzhu very much, but he was extremely dissatisfied with the sudden change of this fourth uncle from the main war faction to the main peace faction. Now that the ninth uncle Wanyan Zongmin came over from Shangjing, claiming to have a way to make him achieve a great merit, he naturally couldn't help but be moved. Anyway, if he lost, there was the ninth uncle to take the blame, and if he won, it would be his own credit, so no matter how you looked at it, he wouldn't lose out.

  However, Wanyan Liang was still afraid of being blamed by Wuzong, although Wuzong would not kill him, but taking the initiative to go to war was always a major taboo in the military, and Wuzong had repeatedly instructed that they were currently negotiating with the Song Dynasty envoy and must not take the initiative to start a war. If he went to war himself, even if he won, he could not avoid being punished and flogged.

  So, Wanyan Liang was indeed somewhat fearful in his heart, after all, the one who held the power in the Jin state was now Wuzhu and not Wanyan Zongmin. After thinking for a while, Wanyan Liang decided to go and persuade another Jin general, Xieli Zhining, who was stationed in Huai North, to take action together.

  Wanyan Liang calculated that with his and Xieli Zhining's troops combined, they had a total of over 50,000 soldiers. Attacking Chu State, which only had 30,000 soldiers defending it, even if they couldn't win, they could still retreat safely. Xieli Zhining was originally dissatisfied with being cooped up in the camp every day, wrestling and hunting, so when Wanyan Liang sent someone to persuade him, he immediately agreed to the proposal of going into battle.

  This settled Yelü Dashi's mind, as Xieli Ning was the son-in-law of Wanyan Zongbi, and with his ninth uncle Wanyan Zongmin taking responsibility from above and Xieli Ning taking responsibility from below, he had nothing to fear from Wanyan Zongbi's blame.

  However, just as Wanyan Zongmin and Wanyan Liang were getting excited, Xieli Zhining rushed over from the front, shouting that scouts had discovered that the Song army was already deployed on the south bank of the Huai River, making a surprise attack across the river unlikely, leaving only the option of a strong assault.

  Wanyan Zongmin was so angry that he was choked with rage. But Wanyan Liang knew that although the Song army had not stationed troops on the north bank of the Huai River, there were many scouts and spies, and many local people were secretly loyal to the Song dynasty and often informed them of any news. Therefore, he was not too surprised.

  The three of them discussed it and thought that the Song army had already discovered the Jin army, so they couldn't launch a surprise attack anymore. Moreover, the sky was already dark, and the Jin soldiers were not good at water battles. In the darkness, they couldn't distinguish between friend and foe, and they couldn't take advantage of their numerical superiority and archery skills. Additionally, the Jin army had been marching continuously for a whole day, and the soldiers were exhausted. It would be better to rest for a night and then force a crossing at dawn the next day.

  Just as the Jin army set up its large camp, the Han Mansion in Chuzhou also began to hold a tense war meeting.

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