Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 33 Misdirection

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  Yue Yun and others did not take the official road from Xuzhou to Chuzhou, but took a small path to avoid the Jin army's reinforcements.

  After they left for three hours, Xieli Zhining led his elite troops, about 13,000 Jin army, and finally rushed to Xuzhou.

  "How strange! Why are the city gates of Suzhou wide open, and not a single Song soldier can be seen standing guard on the city walls?" Zhi Ning looked at the quiet city of Suzhou in front of him, with no one on the city walls, and couldn't help but feel greatly surprised.

  These Jin troops, who were also making preparations for battle, had even transported some small and portable siege engines to attack Chu State. However, they found themselves with pent-up energy and nowhere to use it.

  "General, won't the Song army have set up an ambush inside the city? So they can lure us in by opening the city gates?" asked Xieli Zhining's deputy general cautiously.

  "Hmm! This is very likely! I remember that in the history books of the Han people, it was recorded: During the Three Kingdoms period, Lü Bu and Cao Cao had a battle in Puyang, where they set up an ambush inside the city. After Cao Cao entered the city, they closed the city gate and launched a surprise attack. Cao Cao almost lost his life because of this."

  Xue Shi-li nodded and said after a moment of contemplation: "You lead one thousand soldiers to climb up the city wall using cloud ladders, but be sure not to go through the city gate. I reckon that there are probably ambushes inside the city gate!"

  "Yes! Your subordinate obeys!" After responding with a single word, the deputy general carefully set up a cloud ladder at the foot of the city wall and climbed up...

  However, they searched the city walls but found nothing, and instead saw fires breaking out in all directions inside the city. Many people were crying and wailing, and defeated soldiers were looting property, with chaos and disorder rampant throughout the city.

  And this deputy was indeed cautious, and ordered the soldiers to take off their armor and enter the city, advancing slowly towards the city center, and capturing several defeated soldiers and civilians to ask about the situation, only then did they learn that the Song army had withdrawn.

  However, he was still not at ease until the army had occupied all the important places such as the prefectural government office and the official granary, and only then did he confirm that there were no Song troops hiding in ambush within the city.

  He then hastily sent someone to inform Shi Le Zhi Ning. By this time, it was already an hour later.

  After Xishi Lie Zining received the report from his deputy, he finally understood the current situation inside Shouchun City and realized that he had been tricked by the Song army. He was extremely depressed in his heart.

  He had originally wanted to lead his troops in pursuit, thinking that the Song army would not have gone far. However, at this time those wealthy households who had been robbed learned that the Jin army had killed their way back and again surrounded him with tears, saying that they had been plundered by Liu Zhenyuan, a Jin general who had already surrendered to the Song army. Moreover, the city was in chaos, if things didn't calm down quickly, there might be a riot.

  Helpless, Xieli Zhining had to give up the idea of pursuing the Song army and sent troops to capture those defeated soldiers and rioters, restoring normal order in the city.

  When Liu Zhenyuan learned that the Jin army had returned to kill again, he was so frightened that his soul left his body. His several subordinates who were accustomed to following the wind immediately tied him up and brought him to see Shi Lezhining.

  This time Xi Zhining finally found an object to vent his anger. He immediately ordered Liu Zhenyuan to be severely flogged to relieve his anger.

  In the prison of Suzhou City, Liu Zhenyuan was tied to a pillar in the yard, having been beaten until his skin was torn and flesh exposed. At this time, several soldiers who had a poor relationship with him accused him of accepting an official position from the Song army and becoming the commander-in-chief of the Song army.

  This made Xishi Zhining even more angry, he hated traitors the most, like Liu Zhenyuan who defected from Song to Qi and then from Qi to Jin, he looked down on him from the bottom of his heart.

  Liu Zhenyuan was also depressed, having just been appointed as the commander of the Song army for less than half a day when the Jin army counterattacked. He secretly cursed Zhang Li in his heart, who had withdrawn without even telling him and left him stranded here. Moreover, he had already offended all the wealthy families in Suzhou City and couldn't find anyone to speak up for him.

  However, he also felt a bit strange in his heart. Why did it come back to Suzhou, but it was not Wanyan Liang, but Xishi Lie Zhi Ning?

  "This... General Xieli... stop hitting, ouch... if you hit me again, I'll be dead!" Liu Zhenyuan cried out in pain.

  "You're such a despicable person! You're not even worth dying for!" Xī Shí Liè Zhì Níng exclaimed, his eyes blazing with anger.

  "General, I am a minor character who was forced to investigate the Song army's military situation, and had to endure humiliation and hardship, serving the enemy in order to survive..." Liu Zhenyuan said hastily to save his life.

  "Haha! I didn't expect you're still a good man who can endure humiliation and live!" said Xi Shi Lie Zhi Ning's deputy general with a sneer.

  "Exactly!" Liu Zhēnyuán saw a glimmer of hope and hastily said: "I've already found out that the commander-in-chief of the Song army this time is Zhang Jun's son, Zhang Li! Their total military strength is only over a thousand men, but they are all cavalry. Moreover, their weapons are excellent, and they are all elite troops..."

  "Oh? Then tell me in detail!" Xi Shi Lie Zhi Ning asked with a serious expression.

  Liu Zhenyuan didn't dare hide it anymore and honestly explained everything he saw.

  Xue Shi's expression became increasingly solemn as he listened. The Song army was absolutely not the two or three thousand men Li Cheng had said, and he had expected as much. These Han military leaders often exaggerated the enemy's numbers after a defeat, and he had heard of this before. But the fact that the Song army had over a thousand cavalry made him take extra caution.

  It is worth noting that the Song army had always been short of horses, and Han Shizhong had only over 500 cavalrymen, while Zhang Jun had just over 600. The cavalry forces led by Liu Qi and Yang Zongbao were also roughly the same as those of Han Shizhong. The only Song army with over a thousand cavalrymen was that of Yue Fei. Although Li Cheng claimed to have brought the Yue family army, neither Wanyan Zongmin nor he himself believed it.

  In their view, how could the Yue Family Army possibly run from Zhuxian Town to Xuzhou City over 600 miles away? Not to mention that they were already worried about resettling refugees, even if they had this ability, they would definitely go to Bianjing instead of attacking Xuzhou.

  Could it be that Liu Zhenyuan was right, and it was Zhang Jun's troops? But how could Zhang Jun's troops possibly have over a thousand cavalrymen? And did Zhang Jun have the audacity to launch a surprise attack on the Jin army? Or perhaps he had agreed to rescue Han Shizhong? Was he trying to use the tactic of "besieging Wei to rescue Zhao"? Zhenyuan was baffled and couldn't figure it out.

  However, for this elite cavalry of over a thousand people, Xieli Zhining did not dare to be careless at all. He knew that under the current situation, this cavalry of over a thousand could completely threaten the grain depot of the Jin army in Chuzhou. If added with Han Yan's 500 cavalry and Liu Bao's naval forces, it was feared that Kong Yanzhou's three thousand low-combat-effectiveness Han army alone would be unable to withstand.

  And if this cavalry army was indeed from Zhang Jun's army, wouldn't that mean the number of cavalry in the Song army far exceeded pre-war estimates?

  Moreover, if Zhang Jun has really decided to rescue Chu State, then our forces will be greatly insufficient. In the event of an internal and external attack, we might suffer a great defeat under the city walls of Chu State.

  Xishi Zhining recalled that before coming to Xuzhou, he and Wanyan Zongmin, Wanyan Liang and others in the army had discussed it and all thought that Zhang Jun would not come to rescue Han Shizhong.

  Now it seems that Zhang Jun is even daring to fight in Suzhou, what else wouldn't he do? The number of Zhang Jun's troops is not small, with more than 30,000 men in Huai'an alone, and his general Wang De has over 8,000 men in Huaiyang. No matter which route they take to rush to Chuzhou, they can deal a crushing blow to the exhausted Jin army under the city of Chuzhou.

  Xue Shi's heart was racing with fear, cold sweat pouring down his back. He hastily wrote a report detailing the latest situation and his own deductions, then dispatched over ten riders on fast horses to deliver it to the Jin army's main camp in Chu State at top speed.

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