Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 37: Wanyan Zongmin's Worries

  Thanks for Morphy's reward!

  The city of Chu State is now in a state of war, with flames and shouts filling the air.

  The Song army and the Jin army engaged in fierce fighting and vying for control of the city walls around Chuzhou.

  A large catapult with a range of five hundred paces was firing upwards at the city head, giant rocks breaking through the air, the whistling sound almost piercing the eardrum.

  Although this large-scale catapult requires a lot of manpower to operate, the Jin army now has sufficient personnel, so it can also guarantee the continuous operation of the catapult.

  With the strenuous running of groups of catapulters around dozens of catapults, and the pulling of dozens of ropes, huge boulders were rolling in mid-air, bringing with them a whistling sound as they smashed into the city walls. Every time a boulder fell, it sent dust flying everywhere, splashing blood and flesh fragments from the Song army on the city walls.

  Moats, battering rams and other close-range siege weapons continued to approach under the cover of long-range bombardment. Cloud ladders and large-scale scorpions that could shoot directly above the city walls were also gathered in large numbers, coordinating with the Jin army to launch a fierce attack.

  These siege engines were just transported from Qingzhou to the city of Chuzhou by the Jin army, and due to their large size and slow movement, although they set out with the main force at the same time, they arrived three days later.

  However, after arriving on the battlefield, the Jin army was relieved and immediately used these siege engines to launch a more intense attack on Chuzhou City.

  Correspondingly, the defensive strength in the city also increased. Not only did the number of defenders on the city wall increase, but also large-scale crossbows and some small catapults that had not been used before were pulled up to the city wall, engaging in fierce exchanges of fire with the Golden Army outside the city.

  Wanyan Liang wore armor and helmet, personally standing on the front line to direct the battle, ordering the Jin army to take turns fighting, not giving the Song army in the city a moment's rest.

  Ever since he learned of the fall of Xi Zhou, he had been anxious and uneasy in his heart. Taking the initiative to fight is a taboo in any army, let alone losing the city he was defending.

  Although Xieli Zhining patted his chest and said that he would definitely take back Suzhou for him, he was still frightened. Even if Wanyan Zongmin promised to speak up for him and spare him from punishment, it would also cast a shadow over his official career.

  At present, the Jin Dynasty's court is controlled by his father Wanyan Zonggan and fourth uncle Wanyan Zongbi (Wuzhu). But who knows what dramatic changes will occur in a few years? Two years ago, Wanyan Tahan was also in power, but after only one year, he became a ghost under the knife of his fourth uncle Wuzhu and his own father.

  It's safest when you hold the power in your own hands, just like what my father said.

  So now Wanyan Liang had no choice but to grit his teeth and go all out, having already paid such a huge price. If he still couldn't capture Chu State, he estimated that he would only be able to slink back to the capital and take up some idle post.

  After learning that Geng Zhong had been placed under house arrest, the Jin army shifted its attack to the south of the city. However, what they did not expect was that although the Song army in the south did not have Geng Zhong's command, with Han Shizhong stationed there and Geng Zhong's brother Geng Bian assisting in command, they remained brave and unyielding, and did not collapse at the first touch.

  Moreover, after discovering that the Jin army's attack focus shifted to the south of the city, Han Shizhong immediately transferred troops from the west and east of the city to support, causing the Jin army to repeatedly attack without success.

  At this moment, Jin Jun's latest attack also failed. Wanyan Liang looked at all of this, his eyes wide with anger, and with a "clang" sound, he drew out his curved knife, shouting loudly: "Everyone advance! This time I will personally lead the charge on the south gate! I don't believe we can't take it!"

  The guards behind him were afraid that he would lose, and they hastily summoned the Jurchen elite troops who served as the general reserve to follow up...

  Outside the city of Chu State, the Jin army's camp stretched for miles, with banners fluttering and swords and spears shining brightly.

  In the Chinese military camp, messengers came and went in a hurry, with an atmosphere of tension.

  Wanyan Zongmin sat in the central military commander's tent, leaning against a table, flipping through a copy of the military situation report. After synthesizing information from all sides, he gradually developed an uneasy feeling.

  Today is already the fourth day, Jin Jun has used all his strength to attack, with all his might, and some Jurchen troops are also somewhat overwhelmed by the intensity of the attack, but the Song army still has not collapsed.

  What made him even more incredulous was that from the mouths of the captured Song army prisoners, he learned that his divisive plan had taken effect, and Geng Zuo had been placed under house arrest. The plague was indeed rampant in the Song army, but why were they still fighting tenaciously now? Moreover, the soldiers on the city wall seemed to be full of energy, as if they had rested for several days.

  Was the plague that had been raging in the city of Chuzhou already extinguished? This thought suddenly flashed through Wanyan Zongmin's mind.

  "It can't be! This is impossible! This plague is rare, unless the Song army doesn't drink water from the canal, it's possible to eradicate it in a short period of time. But how would they know that the source of the epidemic comes from the water? Moreover, in such a hurry, where do they have so many people to dig up large wells and change the water source?"

  Wanyan Zongmin immediately denied this idea. However, he could not have imagined that at present, the military and civilians in Chuzhou City were drinking water strictly according to Yue Yun's requirements, boiling it before consumption, and the epidemic bacteria in the water had long been killed.

  Just as Wanyan Zongmin was about to bring the Song captives for further interrogation, a Jin army messenger rushed into Wanyan Zongmin's tent and said breathlessly: "Report... Report to Your Highness, Xieli Zhining General ordered me to report back that our army has retaken Suzhou, but we discovered over a thousand mysterious elite cavalrymen of unknown origin who have gone missing, please be cautious!"

  "What? Over a thousand elite cavalry?" Wanyan Zongmin heard that Sichuan was taken back so lightly, and his face initially showed joy, but upon hearing that over a thousand Song military elite cavalry had appeared, he immediately became restless.

  As a Jurchen general who grew up on horseback and had fought against the Song army many times, he was all too aware of the great advantage cavalry had over infantry in flat terrain.

  He immediately said to the messenger: "Don't panic first, tell me slowly! What's going on?"

  "It's like this! After our general led the troops to Xuzhou City, we saw that the gate was wide open..." The messenger hastily told him about the whole situation of Shi Zhongying's conquest of Xuzhou.

  The more Wanyan Zongmin listened, the tighter his brow furrowed. Although these thousand-odd elite cavalrymen were not enough to shake his army's advance on Chuzhou, they were sufficient to pose a serious threat to the grain and supplies stored in the rear of the main camp north of the Huai River.

  Although he had already sent the experienced general Kong Yanxun to lead three thousand soldiers to garrison, the Jin army that was stationed there were all originally from the fake Qi's Han army. The quality of the soldiers and their will to fight were not as good as those of the Song army, and they were all infantrymen. It is uncertain whether they could ensure the safety of the grain supplies.

  However, Wanyan Zongmin knew that the Jin army attacking the city could no longer afford to lose any more men. Xieli Zhining had already taken away 13,000 people, and with the casualties of the soldiers in the past three days, there were only 30,000 people available for the attack, mostly weak Han troops. On the other hand, the Song army in Chuzhou was becoming increasingly stubborn in their fighting will, showing no signs of fatigue at all, and the attacking force could not be weakened any further.

  He pondered for half a day and found that the only ones who could be mobilized were the 2,000 elite cavalry beside him. These cavalrymen were useless in attacking cities, but they could patrol around the campsite in the rear and prevent the Song army's cavalry from launching surprise attacks, which was quite useful. However, now that the Song army had all retreated into the city, they basically couldn't be put to use.

  Wanyan Zongmin was not very confident in the defense of his own grain and grass camp, so he finally decided to lead the army to the grain and grass camp to check it out himself, to see if Kong Yanjiu had built good defensive works according to his requirements.

  "Alright! You go and inform General Liang that I will personally lead 2,000 Jurchen elite cavalry to the rear logistics camp to inspect the grain supplies, ensuring they are not lost. During this time, tell General Liang to be cautious of a possible sneak attack from the Song army from behind!"

  The messenger responded with a sound and hurriedly went to the foot of Chuzhou City, while Wanyan Zongmin immediately ordered his heralds to gather the 2,000 Jurchen cavalrymen around him, cross the Huai River from the floating bridge in the north, and go to the grain storage place.

  ————————————————————————————————