Ch.162Alliance (5)

“Huh.”

Contrary to my earlier determination, the enemy commander had pulled out a different card this time.

It was exactly the war of attrition strategy I had predicted earlier.

“He’s really toying with me.”

I gritted my teeth as I said this.

For good reason—when I predicted a war of attrition and forced the enemy into action, they mocked me by actively engaging in battle.

So when I anticipated this and switched to aggressive combat, they responded with a war of attrition.

To make matters worse, when I predicted both possibilities and committed all my forces to an all-out firepower assault, they simply locked their gates mid-battle and refused to respond.

“When I try to deploy Kerik for naval warfare while they’re locking their gates, they send fast-moving infantry to force us to divert our cavalry.”

This commander seemed to be playing games with my mind.

At first I was angry, but now I just felt dejected.

Victory always seemed within reach, yet remained elusive.

They maintained perfect balance, wobbling like a roly-poly doll that seems about to fall but never does.

And now, the time when Jin Dynasty reinforcements would arrive was drawing perilously close.

“If only we could be certain no additional Jin forces were coming, I would have launched an all-out assault…”

As I was grinding my teeth in frustration, a messenger suddenly approached me.

He began to deliver his report.

After hearing it, my eyes widened.

“Is this true?”

“Yes, Gurkhan.”

Seeing the messenger’s confident expression, I nodded.

And as soon as the messenger disappeared, I looked toward the Great Capital and murmured softly:

“Heaven is watching over the Ulus.”

The Ulus had been chosen by heaven.

There was no other explanation for such good fortune.

* * *

“Find Prince Wang immediately!”

“We must find him!”

Song Dynasty soldiers were shouting these words while searching everywhere with drawn swords.

Witnessing this scene with his own eyes, Prince Wang Wanyan Shunan gritted his teeth.

“Ungrateful Song bastards…!”

Despite his words, he was hiding himself.

He had no choice—revealing himself now to attack the Song soldiers would only expose him to their assault.

Currently, the Song forces overwhelmingly outnumbered those of Jin.

This situation had unfolded just a few hours ago, while a banquet was in full swing.

At that time, Prince Wang had been friendly toward Zhang Xiaoshang, who had shown him great respect.

He offered Zhang wine, which Zhang gladly accepted.

As Prince Wang and Zhang became pleasantly drunk, Zhang made his move.

Suddenly drawing his sword, he attempted to kill Prince Wang.

Surprised, the Prince hastily fled the banquet, saving his life.

After escaping, Prince Wang gathered Jin forces to attack the Song troops.

The Song forces numbered only 200,000, fewer than the Jin troops stationed nearby.

So he gathered his soldiers to punish the Song forces who had dared to draw swords against a Jin Prince.

More specifically, he planned to capture Zhang Xiaoshang, execute him as an example, and then absorb the leaderless Song forces.

However, Wanyan Shunan failed to achieve this goal.

This was because the Song forces weren’t 200,000 but had swelled to 700,000.

Their numbers had increased significantly while he was enjoying the banquet.

The biggest problem was that the Jin army had failed to notice such a large-scale troop movement, but it was too late now.

Spilled water couldn’t be gathered again.

“Damn it…”

“You must remain calm, Your Highness.”

“How can I stay calm in this situation? The Song bastards have brought 700,000 troops. That’s more than we have stationed here.”

Currently, Wanyan Shunan commanded several hundred thousand troops.

Though difficult to count precisely, he had been gathering a large force of 650,000 under the Emperor’s orders, bringing the current Jin forces to approximately 400,000.

A force of 400,000 was enough to easily crush countries like Mongolia or Goryeo.

This was because neither country could muster more than 200,000 troops even with full mobilization.

So Jin had arrogantly assumed that no other country except themselves could gather an army exceeding 400,000.

The consequence of that arrogance was now unfolding before Wanyan Shunan’s eyes.

700,000 Song troops.

This was an overwhelming number that made Jin’s 400,000 look insignificant.

“But as Your Highness knows, Song troops are poorly trained and lack proper discipline, don’t they?”

“Even with poor discipline, they still outnumber us by 300,000.”

“Your Highness, if you gather your wits and rally the troops for a counterattack…”

At that moment, they heard a commotion.

Then, seemingly out of nowhere, Song soldiers appeared with torches, shouting loudly:

“Prince Wang is here!”

“The Jin Prince is here!”

Prince Wang was startled by these shouts.

He immediately summoned his personal guards to hold back the approaching Song forces.

“Keep them from approaching. Meanwhile, I’ll reorganize the remaining troops.”

The soldiers nodded at the Prince’s command.

Having been forced into a defensive position, Prince Wang had no choice but to engage in battle.

He planned to reorganize his forces, gather scattered soldiers, and face the Song army.

“His Highness is here! Soldiers of Great Jin, gather here!”

“Heed the Prince’s call! Gather here and punish the Song soldiers who have rebelled against Great Jin!”

At that moment, Jin soldiers who had regained their senses gathered around the Prince.

Though hastily assembled, some Jin units that had been stationed near the Yangtze River, always prepared for possible Song provocations, responded very quickly to the emergency.

Seeing this, Wanyan Shunan inwardly sighed with relief.

With this level of organization, he thought they might have a chance even though Song outnumbered them by 300,000.

Just as he was thinking this,

Suddenly, Song cavalry appeared.

“Charge!”

“Ram straight through there!”

They were crude cavalry compared to those of the Ulus or Jin.

But they were cavalry nonetheless, effective at breaking through the temporary infantry protection around the Prince.

Hiiiiing

With that sound, the cavalry charged.

The Jin infantry collapsed like scarecrows in an instant.

“Aaaaargh!”

“Kuhek!”

Thus, the Song cavalry broke through the forces near Prince Wang.

Then they turned and continued their attack.

After two cavalry charges, the Jin infantry was in tatters.

So Prince Wang tried to send a distress signal to Jin cavalry stationed not far from there.

But Song wouldn’t just stand by and watch.

Song soldiers, with impressive organization, prevented Jin units from joining forces.

This level of organization shocked Wanyan Shunan.

Before his eyes, the Jin soldiers protecting him collapsed.

The shock was even greater because they were defeated by Song soldiers whom he had previously dismissed as weak.

“All forces, converge here! Slaughter the enemy before us!”

At the Prince’s cry, Jin soldiers gathered again.

But due to interference from Song’s 700,000 troops, it was difficult to assemble in one place.

As a result, they remained fragmented.

In such a fragmented state, the Prince’s continued calls for assembly couldn’t resolve the situation.

In any case, despite commanding 400,000 troops, Prince Wang found himself isolated.

Song continuously deployed cavalry forces, putting more pressure on the Prince.

Under this military pressure, the Prince finally reached his breaking point.

“Re…retreat! I am a Prince of Great Jin! Who dares to point weapons at me!”

He began to resist, shouting these words.

Then, a man appeared from among the Song cavalry.

At his appearance, the Prince’s eyes widened.

“You are…the Song general…Zhang Xiaoshang…!”

“That’s right. I am Zhang Xiaoshang, Military Commissioner of Great Song.”

“You and Song have betrayed Jin’s grace. This is an act that will be condemned by everyone under heaven.”

As mentioned repeatedly, though Prince Wang was Jurchen, he was completely immersed in Han culture.

So his behavior and speech were all typical of what a Han person would do.

Hearing these words, Zhang Xiaoshang laughed loudly.

“Hahaha! Barbarians imitating Central Plains people look just like monkeys. Did you really think such behavior and speech would make you truly one of us?”

“You…!”

Wanyan Shunan glared at Zhang Xiaoshang with these words.

Zhang Xiaoshang met the Prince’s anger without flinching.

“Considering the humiliation my country, Song, has suffered, I would like to kill you right here and now. But your life still has value, so I won’t.”

Saying this, Zhang gestured to his soldiers.

They approached Wanyan Shunan and bound him.

“Release me! How dare you lay hands on me!”

“It would be better to surrender quietly, barbarian. If you move your tongue once more, you might lose an arm or leg.”

Faced with Zhang’s brutal threat, Wanyan Shunan had no choice but to keep quiet.

Having secured the Prince, Zhang Xiaoshang drew his sword and shouted loudly:

“Surrender! Your commander is my prisoner!”

At this, most soldiers except those of Jurchen origin laid down their weapons.

This was because they were Han Chinese, not Jurchen.

Therefore, they had no reason to refuse the words of Zhang Xiaoshang, who was also Han.

In this way, Song captured Jin’s Prince Wang.

As a result, the 650,000 troops he had been gathering simply evaporated under Song’s control.

These 650,000 troops were reinforcements meant to save the Emperor in the Great Capital.

With their dissolution by Song, the Great Capital naturally fell into crisis.