Chapter Thirty-Six: Moved by Emotion

  "Oh, General Han has arrived? Then hurry up and let him in!" Wang Deyi heard this, although he was a bit puzzled as to why Han Yanzhi would come looking for him. But when someone comes to your doorstep, you can't just not see them.

  After a moment, the guard led in a young general wearing black clothes and armor, who was quite handsome. As soon as he saw Wang De, he hurried forward to greet him, bowing respectfully and saying: "Junior Han Yan reports for duty to Uncle Wang!"

  Wang De heard this, but his face changed slightly, and he hastily said: "General Han, why do you say such a thing? Your respected father is the Duke of England, and also the Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Route of Henan Province. I am just a small defender of Huai Prefecture, how can I be compared to your uncle?"

  Hanyan hastily said: "Uncle Wang is too modest. Uncle Wang and my father are sworn brothers, so I should naturally treat him with the courtesy due to an uncle!"

  Then he looked up to see Wang De clearly, and saw that he was a burly big man, about forty years old. Since he was in his own home, Wang De did not wear armor, but only wore a pointed-collared white robe, with a cluster of short black whiskers under his chin, each one as thick as a steel needle, dense black sword eyebrows, and large leopard-like eyes, with quite a heroic air about him.

  Han Yan thought of Yu Yunwen's words, that Wang De was a man who understood reason and valued loyalty, with a soft heart. If he explained the consequences of losing Chuzhou to him and moved him emotionally, it was highly likely that he would agree to secretly send troops to rescue Chuzhou without telling Zhang Jun.

  At this time, Wang Defang asked somewhat puzzled: "General Han Shao came to my Huai state, what is the matter?"

  Han Yan turned his eyes and immediately "plop" fell to the ground, crying out loud: "Uncle Wang save me from Chu State!"

  Wang De was startled and hastily helped Han Yan up, then asked: "General Han, what exactly happened in Chu State? Was it breached by the Jin army?"

  Han Yan stopped crying, but still sobbed: "This is not yet... But if Uncle Wang does not send troops to rescue, Chu State will be broken, and the entire Huainan situation will be implicated! So... Uncle Wang can't just stand by and do nothing!"

  He wiped away the tears that had barely squeezed out with his sleeve, and then told Wang De about the situation of the plague in Chuzhou, as well as his inference that once the Jurchen army broke through Chuzhou, they would head straight for Xuchang and Yangzhou, and then attack Shouchun and Luzhou from behind, cutting off the retreat route of the Southern Song army.

  Wang De's palms were sweating as he listened. As a seasoned and resourceful general, he immediately understood that Han Yan's deduction was highly likely to occur.

  After a moment of panic, he said with some difficulty: "General Han, it's not that I, Wang De, am unwilling to help, but as the defensive envoy, I am not the pacification envoy. If you want to lead the troops to rescue Chu State, this mobilization of over 1,000 people requires General Zhang's approval. He is currently in Haozhou, why don't you go find him and ask for a written order? Then I can dispatch the troops immediately!"

  "Zhang Jun? I've already gone to look for him!" As soon as Han Yan heard this, his expression immediately became wooden.

  "What's wrong, does General Zhang disagree?" Wang De looked at Han Yan's expression and knew that Zhang Jun was likely to disagree with sending troops.

  "Yes! I've already gone to find him, he was leading the army back to Jiankang at that time. He refused to rescue Chu State no matter what. So, I thought of you, Uncle Wang, now only you can lend a helping hand in time!" Han Yanzhi looked at Wang De with expectation on his face.

  Wang De felt very embarrassed now. What kind of person Zhang Jun was, he knew all too well.

  It can be seen from Zhang Jun's repeated embezzlement of his own military achievements that he is a person who does not move without profit. As for rescuing Chu State, there was no fame or fortune to be gained for him, but rather some risk to be taken. Given Zhang Jun's personality, how could he go to rescue? Not to mention that he had been at odds with Han Shizhong from the beginning.

  Deep down, Wang De wanted to send troops to rescue them, but the Song Dynasty's military law was extremely strict. Unauthorized dispatch of troops would be punished even if they won, and if they lost, nine out of ten times they would end up in prison awaiting punishment at the Imperial Court.

  Moreover, Wang De listened to Han Yan's words, and the two main generals of the Jin army's eastern route, Wanyan Liang and Xishi Zhining, had arrived, and even Wanyan Zongmin, that old fox, was present. This battle of Chuzhou was not easy!

  Han Yan also saw at this moment that Wang De was struggling inwardly, and his embarrassed expression could be seen on his face.

  Thinking of this, Han Yan thought deeply in his mind, thinking about how to persuade the old general.

  After a moment, he indeed came up with an idea and thought of a past event. He hastily bowed his head and said: "Uncle Wang, do you remember the time when my father and you had a hearty drink together in Jiankang during the third year of the Shaoding era?"

  His words, however, changed Wang De's expression and stirred up his long-suppressed memories.

  Wang De's eyes revealed a melancholic and nostalgic expression, and he said sorrowfully: "How can Wang De forget what happened that day..."

  What Han Yan said was seven years ago when he had just been transferred from under Liu Guangshi's command to be under Han Shizhong's command.

  At that time, he was only a Tuanlian, and his deputy Chen Yan Zhang was a distant cousin of Han Shizhong. In the battle with the Jin army, Chen Yan Zhang fled in disarray, causing the Song army to fall into chaos. Wang De killed Chen Yan Zhang on the spot to prevent the entire army from collapsing, stabilized the battlefield situation, and led the Song army to retreat safely back to Caishi.

  Afterwards, Wang De was always uneasy. When Han Shizhong arrived, he immediately dismounted his horse to apologize. However, Han Shizhong didn't think much of it and said that this was just a small matter, if he were there, he would have also beheaded Chen Yan Zhang. He then set up a banquet in Jiankang with Wang De and they drank heavily together, which made Wang De very moved. Even now that he has returned to follow Zhang Jun's command, he still remembers Han Shizhong's magnanimity at the time.

  Han Yan saw Wang De's expression and thought to himself that there was something fishy going on. He quickly took advantage of the situation and said with a bold and stirring tone: "Uncle Wang, my father also remembers the events of that year very clearly. He often reminds me about it, saying that Uncle Wang is a great hero and a man of honor, not only brave in battle but also righteous in his dealings. He told me to take you as a role model and become a hot-blooded young man who can drive out the Jin invaders and restore our Great Song Dynasty!"

  He spoke so generously that Wang De couldn't help but be moved, and a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes.

  At this time, only a "plop" sound was heard, and Han Yan's knees fell to the ground. He said solemnly: "Wang Shu, now my father is trapped in the city of Chu State, and the soldiers and civilians inside the city are also in a state of extreme urgency! I still hope that Uncle Wang will save my father and all the soldiers and civilians in the city!"

  Having said that, he started knocking his head against Wang De.

  Wang De was startled and hastily went forward to help Han Yanzhi up, his heart also surged with a wave of hot blood.

  He thought for a moment and finally made up his mind, he couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

  Then he stood up, with a serious face and said: "General Han! General Han Yu was lenient to Wang Mou, not pursuing his past mistakes. How could Wang Mou be an ungrateful person? I will immediately mobilize the troops and go to Chu State with General Han! As long as I am alive, I will not let the bandits invade Chu State!"

  Having said that, he immediately ordered the deputy general and several staff members who were still studying the map in the study to gather all 8,000 troops in Huaiyang City and head towards Chuzhou.

  That general listened, startled, and hastily reminded: "General Wang, we've all gone, what about Huai Prefecture? Moreover, sending troops to neighboring prefectures should be reported to Commander Zhang according to the usual law..."

  Wang De's face turned stern, and he coldly snorted: "No need to say more! Chu State is lost! Can Huai State still be kept? As for Commander Zhang, I will go explain myself! You just gather the troops!"

  That official did not dare to say more and hastily went out with several attendants to gather troops.

  Han Yan was so moved that he knelt down and bowed, saying: "Uncle Wang's great righteousness! My Han family army will forever remember it in their hearts..."

  Wang De hastily helped Han Yan up and said, "Alright! General Han, if you continue to speak like this, I, Wang, really can't bear it! You rest for a while first, and we'll set off for Chu State in two hours!"