Chapter 44 Repeating an Old Trick

The sneak attack by the Northern Han army actually started off smoothly. The two thousand elite soldiers led by Feng Jinke easily and quietly crept outside the Song camp, lurking in the darkness where they silently completed their assembly and assault preparations.

During this period, the Song soldiers on guard, sentry, and patrol duty not only failed to detect the arrival of the Northern Han forces, but Feng Jinke and his men could also clearly hear the sounds of string and wind instruments drifting from the Song central camp. It seemed that high-ranking Song figures like Li Jixun and Zhao Dezhao were still immersed in debauchery, drinking and making merry—it was even entirely possible that they were enjoying the songs and dances of beautiful women.

After confirming this situation, Feng Jinke secretly rejoiced. Patiently waiting until the third watch drum sounded from the Song camp, Feng Jinke decisively waved his hand to give the order to attack. More than twenty meticulously selected, fierce elite soldiers immediately bent low and crept forward, quietly slipping to the side of the Song camp gates.

With two faint swishes, two master archers among the Northern Han troops fired sudden, stealthy shots, instantly felling the sentries on the camp gate watchtowers. The remaining Northern Han warriors immediately advanced with gags in their mouths, swiftly moving aside the caltrops and sharpened obstacles in front of the Song main gate. At the same time, they quickly lifted the wooden crossbars, opening up a broad highway for the Northern Han army to assault the Song camp.

Such a fleeting military opportunity could not be missed. Without the slightest hesitation, Feng Jinke let out a thunderous roar, dug his heels fiercely into his warhorse's flanks, and spearheaded the charge toward the wide-open camp gate. "Charge—!"

"Dong, dong, dong, dong!"

"Kill—!"

The few accompanying military drums sounded almost simultaneously. With eyes glowing red with excitement and roars like thunder, more than two thousand Northern Han soldiers surged toward the Song camp gate like a tidal wave. Many of them already envisioned the scene of Song soldiers being hacked to pieces in their sleep, their morale soaring to the absolute peak.

However...

However, in a tragic turn of events, the poor Northern Han soldiers soon realized they had fallen into a huge trap. The vanguard soldiers who rushed into the Song camp to hack and slash freely were astonished to find the tents completely empty, devoid of a single human figure. Immediately afterward, accompanied by even more violent drumbeats, countless fully armed Song soldiers suddenly poured out from the depths of the dark camp, led at the very forefront by Song heavy infantry whose reputation struck terror even into the hearts of nomadic cavalry.

It wasn't just the camp that held an ambush; from the previously silent flanks on both sides of the Song camp, two more Song detachments simultaneously launched an attack, enveloping the Northern Han forces from left and right before they could even fully pour into the camp. Feng Jinke, who had already pushed inside, turned as pale as death and shrieked in despair, "It's a trap! Run!"

It was too late. The preparations had been thoroughly meticulous, and the earlier accidental setback had left the currently peak-conditioned Song troops bursting with pent-up fury. Thus, in just a brief moment, the Song army basically surrounded the caught-off-guard Northern Han forces. With swords slashing, axes chopping, and spears thrusting, they frantically vented their hatred. The wretched Northern Han troops, finding themselves at an absolute numerical disadvantage, were instantly slaughtered with heavy casualties, wailing like ghosts and howling like wolves.

By this time, Liu Jiye, commander of the Northern Han main force, had also realized something was wrong through the sound of the drums. Left with no choice, Liu Jiye hurriedly rushed forward with his main force to provide backup, hoping to minimize the army's losses.

Unfortunately, Li Jixun, Liu Jiye's opponent in this maneuver, was equally experienced. Anticipating that the Northern Han army would have a rear guard for backup, and commanding a force far exceeding Liu Jiye's in number, Li Jixun had deployed his favorite general, Yin Xun, to lead a separate detachment and lie in ambush outside the camp specifically to intercept Northern Han reinforcements. Therefore, before Liu Jiye's vanguard even came into view, they were met head-on and blocked by Yin Xun, forcing them into a desperate, head-on battle of attrition against the Song army.

Meanwhile, Song commander Li Jixun and the novice Zhao Dezhao had climbed to a high vantage point in the central camp to overlook the battle from above. Seeing the Song army successfully encircle the Northern Han vanguard, Li Jixun, who had suffered a bitter defeat not long before, burst into hearty laughter. He showered Zhao Dezhao with endless praise, repeatedly saying, "Your Highness's brilliant strategy! The rogue Liu Jiye has indeed fallen into our trap. This time, this subordinate can finally vent his pent-up spleen."

Zhao Dezhao smiled without a word, privately pondering how to invent a telescope ahead of time so he could better observe the development of future battlefields.

At this moment, Feng Jinke, who had unfortunately fallen into the cunning trap, was naturally fighting desperately to break out. The vengeful Song soldiers refused to yield an inch, surrounding the Northern Han vanguard on all sides and hacking away frantically. No matter how the Northern Han troops charged left and right, they could not pierce the Song encirclement, leaving Feng Jinke no choice but to abandon his horse and armor and hurriedly change into the clothes of a common soldier in order to flee for his life.

To Li Jixun's surprise, although his deployment could be considered airtight, he had still underestimated the personal martial prowess of Northern Han commander Liu Jiye. Amidst the fierce fighting, Liu Jiye took the lead, brandishing his long spear with fierce valor, successively striking down multiple Song warriors. Even when Li Jixun's favorite general, Yin Xun, personally stepped forward to engage him, he was almost skewered by Liu Jiye's spear and forced to retreat to avoid the razor-sharp edge, breaking out in a cold sweat.

As for why Liu Jiye was so ferocious—those who understand, understand.

It was precisely thanks to Liu Jiye's personal martial valor that the main Northern Han force finally broke through the Song interception, rescuing the remaining half of their shattered vanguard. Not daring to linger in battle with their inferior numbers, Liu Jiye hastily ordered the army to retreat along the path they had come. The various Song divisions pursued them with all their might, striving to maximize their victory. The Northern Han troops fled all the way, shedding helmets and armor, suffering catastrophic losses.

Directly pursuing the enemy right up to the exterior of the Northern Han camp, the high-spirited Song soldiers momentarily attempted to drive the fleeing enemy as a free vanguard to directly breach the Northern Han camp. Alas, Liu Jiye's defenses were also thoroughly comprehensive. The Northern Han defenders within the camp resolutely rained down volleys of powerful bows and stiff crossbows upon the Song troops and their own panicked, chaotic fugitives. Not only did this firmly block the Song army's path into the camp, but it also forced their own fleeing soldiers to scatter in all directions rather than blindly stampeding their camp gates.

Of course, the Song soldiers' hard work did not go unrewarded. Taking advantage of the great chaos before the Northern Han camp, the experienced Song troops took advantage of the opportunity to plunder, extensively destroying the dense caltrops and wooden barriers arrayed before the Northern Han camp, thereby opening up a wide avenue for a future frontal assault on the enemy camp. Only when dawn began to break did they reluctantly beat the gongs and withdraw their troops.

This battle firmly established Zhao Dezhao's prestige in the hearts of the Song soldiers. Between his ties as sworn brothers with Zhao Dezhao's opportunistic father Zhao Kuangyin, his personal connections with the father-son duo Liang Zhouhan, and now this victorious ambush, Li Jixun naturally treated Zhao Dezhao as an honored guest. He permitted Zhao Dezhao free access to the central military tent to participate in the formulation of various military plans.

The battlefield had been so chaotic that it wasn't until noon the following day that the Song army finally tallied up the losses of both sides. As it turned out, the combat effectiveness of the Song army during the founding period was indeed extraordinary; after half a night of fierce fighting, the Song army lost fewer than four hundred soldiers in total, while slaying over two thousand enemies, avenging their previous accidental defeat in grand fashion.

By this time, Li Jixun, one of the Ten Brothers of the righteous association, displayed his rich experience. No sooner had he finished listening to the report on the Northern Han casualties than he decisively ordered, "From this moment on, deploy double the number of scouts to keep their eyes glued to the enemy camp day and night. Report any abnormalities immediately!"

Not content with merely stepping up surveillance of the Northern Han camp, Li Jixun immediately shifted his troops, arranging for several generals and their respective men to take turns on duty, ready at all times to launch an attack. Zhao Dezhao, who possessed some natural talent in this area, quickly guessed Li Jixun's intention and asked, "Uncle, do you suspect the enemy is going to run?"

Li Jixun nodded and said, "Although the enemy only lost two thousand men last night, those who could participate in a night battle must have been their core elite troops; the actual damage is far more severe than it appears. Furthermore, the Northern Han rogue state has a small territory and few people, with limited military strength. To preserve their strength, the enemy will likely choose to withdraw their troops and run back to Jinyang to fight a defensive siege."

"Then won't the enemy suddenly withdraw at night?" Zhao Dezhao pursued the question.

"That is precisely what worries me the most," Li Jixun snorted. "Tuanbai Valley is only thirty-odd li away from Jinyang City. If the enemy retreats under cover of night, a forced march for half the night will allow them to escape back to Jinyang. If that happens, we will miss the opportunity to further weaken the enemy in field combat."

"Uncle, is there any way to know the enemy's retreat time in advance?" Zhao Dezhao continued to press.

"Where under heaven are such easy things to be had?" Li Jixun laughed upon hearing this. "To avoid being pursued by us, the enemy will surely try every possible means to conceal their retreat. My arrangement of double scouts to closely monitor the enemy camp is actually just trying our luck. Let alone discovering it in advance, even figuring out what's happening the moment they start retreating will be a major problem."

Zhao Dezhao was someone who liked to use his brain. After hearing Li Jixun's words, not only did he not abandon hope, but on the contrary, a thought began to brew in his mind. He muttered to himself, "Can we really not discover it in advance? While relying solely on scouts makes it indeed difficult to achieve, can we use other methods to find out ahead of time?"

As he cranked up his brain—filled with the waters of the Ganges and Fukushima—to think hard, Zhao Dezhao inadvertently leaned back. Using the corner of his eye, he caught sight of Wang Zhifa attending close by. Then, in a flash of lightning, he remembered a plotline he had once read in a book—a protagonist dug traps in the same place for two consecutive days, and managed to make the exact same enemy fall into them twice!

Having recalled this fictional plot, Zhao Dezhao's mind suddenly cleared up. He hurriedly said, "Uncle, I have a way! I have a way to know precisely when the enemy will quietly retreat!"

"What way?!"

No matter how rich his battlefield experience was, Li Jixun was still greatly startled by Zhao Dezhao's declaration. Zhao Dezhao grinned grimly and said, "It's very simple: we will arrange the time for the enemy's night retreat for them!"

***

Unlike the joyful Song camp, the camp of the Northern Han army after its disastrous defeat was naturally shrouded in low morale and a depressed atmosphere. Northern Han commander Liu Jiye was deeply worried, acutely aware that time was running out for him. If he did not make a prompt decision, he feared even the opportunity to withdraw to Jinyang would cease to exist.

Feng Jinke, who had sprained his foot the previous night, also saw that the situation was dire and advised Liu Jiye, "Great Marshal, should we consider how to retreat? The Song rogues won a great victory last night, so their morale must be soaring. Their reinforcements will soon arrive, leaving us at an even greater numerical disadvantage. Forget holding Tuanbai Valley; even retreating back to Jinyang to defend the city will become harder than ascending to heaven."

Liu Jiye wore a grave expression. After a moment, he said, "I will report the situation to His Majesty right now and ask for his permission to abandon Tuanbai Valley and withdraw to Jinyang to assist in defending the city."

"Then we must act swiftly," Feng Jinke hurriedly advised. "No one knows when the Song reinforcements will arrive. If we don't retreat promptly, our plight will only become more dangerous."

Liu Jiye remained silent, silently picking up a writing brush to draft a memorial to the current Northern Han emperor, Liu Ji'en. Right at that moment, however, a personal guard strode into the central command tent and reported to Liu Jiye, "Great Marshal, that Song envoy named Wang Zhifa from yesterday has come again. He insists on seeing you."

"That dog still dares to come?!" Feng Jinke flew into a rage upon hearing this, roaring, "Seize him! Chop off his head and hang it from the camp gates as a warning to others!"

"Hold on!" Liu Jiye stopped him hurriedly, his face dark as he said, "When two nations are at war, we do not execute the envoys. Losing a battle in the field is due to our own incompetence—what good is killing an envoy to vent spleen? Bring him in and see what tricks they are trying to play this time."

***

Thus, thanks to Liu Jiye's display of mercy, Wang Zhifa narrowly escaped a decapitation crisis and was once again escorted before Liu Jiye and Feng Jinke. However, the shrewd and smooth-talking Wang Zhifa no longer dared to be as arrogant as he had been yesterday. The moment he laid eyes on Liu Jiye, he bowed deeply and said, "This humble one, Wang Zhifa, greets Great Marshal Liu of the Han. May the Marshal be blessed with perpetual peace."

Having finished his salutes, Wang Zhifa hastily lifted the gift box he had brought and said with a flattering smile, "Great Marshal, this is a gift my king instructed this humble one to present to you—it is the finest tea cake tribute sent to our Great Song court by the ruler of Wu and Yue, worth a thousand gold pieces on the market. Please kindly accept it, Marshal."

"Convey my thanks to your king on my behalf. Tell him I accept his good intentions, and if the opportunity arises in the future, I will surely return the favor." Liu Jiye readily accepted Zhao Dezhao's gift and asked, "Speak, what brings you here this time?"

"Pardon this humble one's offense, Marshal, but I have come to deliver another letter of persuasion to surrender." Wang Zhifa produced another letter once more, speaking with extreme care. "You are undoubtedly well aware of the current situation, Marshal. Valiant though your forces may be, they are far from a match for our Great Song army. Furthermore, our reinforcements will soon arrive at the Tuanbai Valley battlefield. Once our two forces combine, no matter how sturdy your camp here may be, it is absolutely impossible to hold. Therefore, my king wishes to ask you, Marshal, to make a wise choice as soon as possible for the sake of your officers, men, and your own future."

"When will your reinforcements arrive?"

Liu Jiye's question was extremely sudden and delivered with great speed. Wang Zhifa, caught off guard without much thought, blurted out, "Tomorrow or the day after..."

Realizing his slip, he abruptly clamped his mouth shut, collected himself for a moment, and then forced a smile, saying, "Marshal, this humble one is merely a castrated eunuch—how could I possibly know such top-secret military matters?"

Liu Jiye remained silent, signaling a personal guard to fetch Zhao Dezhao's letter for a closer read. Seeing that Zhao Dezhao had indeed written to urge his surrender once more, Liu Jiye finally spoke: "Go back and tell your king that my loyalty to the Han court is as clear as the sun and moon. Taking my head is easy, but making me turn traitor and surrender is as hard as scaling the heavens! Ask him not to send anyone else to urge surrender in the future; otherwise, next time I will have his envoy beaten out of the camp with sticks."

Wang Zhifa repeatedly nodded in compliance, promising to deliver Liu Jiye's message, and then added, "Marshal, my king has one more unrequited request. He wishes for you to inform your emperor that for the sake of the thousands of commoners in the Jin territories, our Great Song army is willing to resolve this conflict through negotiations. If Your Majesty is willing, he may dispatch envoys to contact our Great Song army at any time; our Prime Minister Li and my king will personally welcome them with open arms."

Liu Jiye fell silent for a moment before finally nodding. Wang Zhifa, who had been walking on thin ice the entire time, let out a sigh of relief and hurriedly bid farewell. Liu Jiye did not detain him, once again instructing his personal guards to politely escort Wang Zhifa away.

Naturally, the matter was not over yet. As soon as Wang Zhifa walked out of the tent, Feng Jinke asked Liu Jiye, "Marshal, what is the meaning of Zhao Dezhao's stunt this time? Our attitude has already been so resolute; why does he keep sending people to persuade us to surrender?"

"Urging surrender is false; delaying tactics are real," Liu Jiye sneered. "The Song rogues are afraid we will seize the initiative and retreat to Jinyang to defend the city, so they are feigning an invitation for us to send envoys for negotiations, hoping to temporarily stabilize us and buy time for their reinforcements to arrive."

Recalling Wang Zhifa's expression and reaction just moments before, Feng Jinke nodded and asked, "Then how should we respond?"

Liu Jiye's expression grew even graver. After a moment, he made up his mind and commanded, "Pass down the order: have our men prepare for a night retreat. At the second watch tonight, we will abandon the camp and flee back to Jinyang!"

"We're leaving tonight? Isn't that too rushed?" Feng Jinke asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, it must be this rushed!" Liu Jiye said with absolute sternness. "Just now, that eunuch let slip 'tomorrow or the day after.' Even if it wasn't the absolute truth, there is a strong possibility it could be. Therefore, if we don't retreat promptly, and the Song reinforcements really arrive at Tuanbai Valley tomorrow, wanting to retreat safely then will become infinitely more difficult. Thus, the safest choice is to leave tonight!"

Pausing for a moment, Liu Jiye added, "Moreover, the Song rogues achieved a great victory only last night, so they will surely want a sound sleep tonight. Choosing to retreat tonight is, relatively speaking, the safest course of action!"

Finding this reasoning sound, Feng Jinke did not hesitate further. He immediately declared, "The Marshal is brilliant! We shall go and make arrangements right away and retreat back to Jinyang under the cover of night!"