Chapter 42: On the Verge of a Deterrence Standoff

The Jin troops had been full of confidence when facing the Song army, never expecting the incoming forces to be so formidable.

Three of them attempted to charge forward and attack Yue Fei together.

However, Yue Fei's speed was far beyond theirs. Even before the three could move, the dual iron maces in Yue Fei's hands seemed to possess eyes of their own.

He lashed out fiercely with his left mace, striking the shoulder of the Jin soldier on the far left.

The force of Yue Fei's blow was enough to crush even an ox, let alone a man, especially since this particular Jin soldier was not wearing armor.

The soldier collapsed on the snow on the spot, sliding a short distance across the frozen ground before crashing to a halt near the feet of his comrades.

His shoulder blade was shattered and caved in. Though he did not die instantly, he lay twitching in the snow.

Yue Fei's movements were extremely concise, entirely devoid of excess motion. Simultaneously, he brought his right mace down, smashing it squarely onto the crown of the Jin soldier on the right.

With a sharp crunch, the man's skull cracked, and brain matter seeped out from beneath his cap, killing him instantly.

As the third Jin soldier lunged forward, he was run through by Wang Gui's spear.

The Song soldiers in the rear surged forward, their cavalry momentum quickly tearing through the defensive line of the Jin troops.

Close-quarters combat erupted between the two sides.

This group of Jin soldiers was far from being elite; they were hardly even worth mentioning—merely a logistical unit rounding up corvée labor in the surrounding area.

By the Song dynasty, the armor distribution rate among soldiers had indeed increased significantly, yet it still had not reached one hundred percent. While the Jin army was renowned for its iron armor, logistics personnel like these wore none at all.

Before long, this detachment of Jin soldiers was routed by the Song army.

The battle came to an end.

Yue Fei did not order a pursuit, knowing that too many Jin troops roamed the vicinity and they risked detection by the main enemy force.

He had brought only three hundred men, acting on Liu浩's (Liu Hao's) orders to scout for information around Ligu Ferry.

Hearing that Zong Ze was heading toward that area, he hoped to effect a junction with him if possible.

The captured *mouke* commander was dragged before Yue Fei.

Yue Fei attempted to extract intelligence from him, but the man was merely a minor *mouke* officer in charge of logistics, entirely ignorant of the broader strategic picture.

He did not even know how many fortified camps the Jin forces had constructed near Ligu Ferry.

He only knew where his own main army was stationed, but as for their numbers, he was completely clueless.

He was practically useless.

"Take him away and behead him!"

The Jin soldiers pleaded ceaselessly for their lives as the Song troops dragged them out into the snow.

Broadswords flashed down, the blades biting into necks with crisp crunches, and severed heads rolled across the snow, staining the pristine white crimson.

The surrounding captive villagers clapped and cheered heartily.

Yue Fei questioned the villagers as well, but they could only report that the Jin people were forcibly conscripted laborers everywhere; beyond that, they knew nothing.

The world was a boundless expanse of white, and the snow continued to fall.

Yue Fei raised his eyes to gaze toward the south, the direction of Bianjing.

A surge of heroic spirit rose within his chest, accompanied by an urge to charge forward immediately and fight the Jin to the death.

Yet, he managed to suppress the impulse.

The only reason the Song army had triumphed over this detachment was because it numbered barely two hundred men and consisted solely of logistics personnel.

Had they encountered regular Jin troops, Yue Fei's meager force would not even have been enough to whet the enemy's appetite.

Nevertheless, this minor skirmish provided a much-needed boost of encouragement to the rest of the Song soldiers.

Yue Fei immediately led his men toward Huazhou.

Heaven and earth were silent and still, starlight tracing tracks across the vast wilderness.

Zhao Ning stood at the entrance of the Wende Hall, gazing up at the starry firmament.

On the night following the snow, the vault of heaven was clear and bright.

At that moment, Empress Zhu Lian arrived. Seeing Zhao Ning standing alone outside the hall, she fetched a cloak and draped it over his shoulders.

"Your Majesty, take care not to catch a chill."

"You're here."

"What is Your Majesty thinking about?"

"Waiting."

Zhu Lian asked with a puzzled expression, "Waiting for what?"

"Waiting for the year to end."

"Your Majesty can rest assured, the coming year will surely be an auspicious one."

The year-end was approaching. In past years, Dongjing City at this time would be ablaze with lights and echoing with firecrackers, with joyful crowds spilling into the streets.

Children would be wearing tiger-head shoes, their laughter ringing out.

Festive lanterns would hang from every eaves.

People would exchange auspicious phrases, bidding farewell to the past and welcoming the new year.

Yet, this year, there was nothing.

At this moment, Dongjing City was terribly quiet. Every night, the residents dreamed of Jin troops breaching the city walls, frequently waking up in a start to grab the weapons by their bedsides.

The entire city remained shrouded in anxiety.

And the person harboring the greatest anxiety of all was undoubtedly Zhao Ning.

For he alone knew what kind of scene would unfold once the Jin troops breached the city.

He was waiting.

Waiting for the tide of the situation to turn.

All he could do for now was hold Dongjing City with every ounce of his strength.

Everything else depended on the actions of Zhao Gou, Zong Ze, Yue Fei, and the various armies of the Shaanxi routes.

If his memory served him correctly, according to the historical trajectory, Yue Fei had already joined Zhao Gou's loyalist relief army, incorporated under Liu Hao's command.

Leading three hundred cavalrymen, he was currently pushing toward Ligu Ferry to gather intelligence.

Zong Ze had also mobilized, and Liu Hao's detachment would soon be assigned by Zhao Gou to Zong Ze's command.

In other words, Yue Fei would officially become Zong Ze's subordinate within the next half month.

By next month—the first month of the second year of Jingkang—Zong Ze would arrive at Kaide Prefecture (Puyang), merely two hundred *li* away from Dongjing City.

Here, Zong Ze would achieve thirteen victories in thirteen battles!

And Yue Fei would make his brilliant debut during these campaigns!

Naturally, they would not be facing the main elite forces of the Jin.

Even so, it would be enough to boost morale and make commanders like Wanyan Zonghan hesitate and grow cautious.

If he could hold Dongjing Bianliang, Zong Ze's forces north of the Yellow River would at the very least exert immense pressure on Wanyan Zonghan's supply lines.

Should Zhao Gou's loyalist relief armies fully assemble, the Jin forces would become even more wary, even if they did not launch an attack.

If things proceeded as expected, within two months, both sides would enter a state of mutual deterrence.

The Jin troops would deter Kaifeng, Zong Ze would deter the Jin northern supply routes and fortified camps, and Zhao Gou would command a nominal million-strong relief army that, even without marching, would deeply intimidate the Jin forces deep within the territory of the Great Song.

Such a stalemate would not be decided by a frontal battlefield, but by who had more grain, whose military morale remained steady, and who could endure longer.

This was precisely the strategic situation Zhao Ning desired!

Yet, before this situation could materialize, Wanyan Zonghan would launch one last large-scale assault on the city.

He certainly would!

Time flew by, and the end of the twelfth month was already upon them.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month, Zhao Ning personally visited the Directorate of Military Weapons once more.

Wang Si stood with dark circles under his eyes and reported, "Your Majesty, everything you requested is right here."

Wang Si was visibly thinner than he had been a month ago, and his appearance was far more haggard.

It was evident he had not rested well over the past month.

"Your Majesty, our raw material reserves are nearing their limit. We cannot get out, so..."

"I know. You and your men have worked hard during this period."

He looked at the people around him and said, "Thank you all for your hard work."

Turning immediately to Mei Zhili, who had accompanied him, he instructed, "Have the Ministry of Revenue verify the accounts and issue a round of salaries to everyone first, so they can spend the New Year in peace of mind."

Mei Zhili replied, "Your Majesty may rest assured, this minister will cross-check everything thoroughly with Directorate Supervisor Wang."

Zhao Ning added, "Inform the Ministry of Personnel to promote Wang Si to Vice Director of the Directorate of Military Weapons."

Wang Si hastily knelt. "This minister thanks Your Majesty."

At that moment, Gao Qiu hurried into the Directorate of Military Weapons.

An official of the Directorate rushed in, his voice tense as he reported, "Your Majesty, Commander Gao is outside requesting an audience, saying that the Jin people are launching an attack on the city."