Chapter 55: The Decisive Battle of Jinyang (Part Two)

Model, the trusted and capable general of the art-school dropout, possessed a signature tactic known as the defensive stronghold strategy. Rather than engaging the enemy in a direct head-on collision during defensive operations, he would consolidate his forces and establish a series of heavily fortified strongpoints, luring or forcing the enemy to thread their way through the gaps between them. During this process, he would inflict massive casualties on the enemy forces using crossfire, landmines, and field fortifications, defeating countless world-class commanders with this single approach and buying a vast amount of time for the art-school dropout's dying struggles.

Coincidentally, the Anglo-Saxon gang's so-called Duke of Wellington employed a remarkably similar tactic during the famous Battle of Waterloo, severely battering the short Corsican's elite cavalry and playing a pivotal role in that world-renowned engagement.

Of course, Modu-the-Unattacking and the Anglo-Saxon bandits were not the only ones who instinctively knew how to use this trick. As the Khitan cavalry surrounded the Song positions on all sides, the outer layers of Song infantry and cavalry also shifted their formations. All the cavalry dismounted to fight, abandoning the conventional linear interception tactics against horsemen. Instead, they formed a dense array of small, staggered square formations. This layout not only left paths open for the Khitan cavalry to penetrate the outer zones of the Song lines, but also prevented them from charging smoothly into the interior of the Song camp to execute a decapitation strike.

Consequently, the formidable Khitan cavalry assault tactic was severely blunted. Following their usual routine, Khitan horsemen operating in squads of seven or eight hundred took turns charging the lines, yet found it exceedingly difficult to shatter the small square formations established by the Song soldiers in a single stroke. Upon meeting resistance, they were inevitably forced to veer toward the flanks, penetrating the gaps deliberately left open by the Song forces.

Next came the turn of the Song dynasty's powerful bows and heavy crossbows to achieve distinction. A dense storm of arrows poured incessantly from all directions onto the heads of the invading Liao troops. Liao soldiers and horses were continuously struck, with cries of agony and the neighing of steeds rising one after another. Meanwhile, the Song soldiers firmly braced their positions, thrusting fiercely with lances, pikes, and collision poles at the enemies attempting to storm the squares. While appearing to be at a tactical disadvantage on the surface, they were actually handling the situation with effortless mastery.

Naturally, the Khitan army was not foolish. Realizing the tactical trap laid by the Song forces, they did not dare to continue taking risks. Instead, they concentrated their forces to assault the Song square formations where the lines showed signs of loosening, hoping to throw the Song arrays into disarray and then slaughter them at leisure. Mid- and lower-level Song officers shouted incessant orders, demanding that their men hold their ground while using a variety of weapons to fend off the Khitan cavalry charges. At the junctures between the positions, bright splashes of blood continuously bloomed.

"The drawback of this tactic is that it must not be deployed too far from camps or walled cities. Otherwise, if the Khitan Liao barbarians simply adopt a strategy of surrounding without attacking and deliberately drag out the conflict, we can easily be worn down to exhaustion."

This was Li Jixun's patient instruction to Zhao Dezhao, who nodded hastily to commit the lesson to memory. Then, glancing back toward the southwestern city of Jinyang, Zhao Dezhao felt a considerable sense of unease, dreading that Gao Jiong might fail to contain the cornered beast of the Northern Han army, allowing them to break through the encirclement and join forces with the Liao troops.

Fortunately, Zhao Dezhao was clearly worrying needlessly on this count. Although inferior in troop strength, Gao Jiong and the more than ten thousand Song soldiers under his command successfully held off the frantic counterattacks of the Northern Han army, relying on the siege fortifications constructed earlier, and denied the Northern Han troops any opportunity to break out of the inner city.

This outcome was also closely tied to the morale and fighting spirit of the Northern Han army. Even Yang Ye, who was leading the assault, could perceive that his men's morale and combat drive were patently low; they possessed none of the grim resolve to fight to the death. The moment they encountered a bitter or grueling battle, they would choose to retreat. In his exasperation, Yang Ye cursed aloud, roaring incessantly:

"Have you all not eaten? Pull yourselves together for my sake! The Khitan army is waiting for us right outside. Once we break through the interception of the Song thieves, we can unite with our reinforcements! Charge! Charge! Go get them!"

Such shouting proved futile. The officers and men of the Northern Han army remained spiritless and low in morale. Many muttered inwardly to themselves, thinking: *To make us fight the Song people to the bitter end—am I a fool? The Song people treat us as human beings; even if we are defeated and surrender, we can certainly preserve our small lives. Since that is the case, why should I risk my life fighting the Song people to the death?*

Meanwhile, new developments unfolded on the main battlefield outside the city. Seeing that the vanguard force under Tar was surrounded by the vanguard of the Song army and facing a perilous situation, Yelü Sha chose to dispatch two detachments of cavalry to envelop the flanks from left and right, hoping to coordinate with Tar's forces from within and without to shatter the Song vanguard.

Li Jixun resolutely implemented countermeasures, instructing his personal guards to hoist their banners and order Ding Deyu to dispatch two cavalry detachments forward from the main body to reinforce the heavily assailed flank of the vanguard. Puzzled, Zhao Dezhao quickly asked, "Uncle, why are we drawing troops forward from the main battle array? Vice-Commander Ding's force is already limited in number; won't this make our forces in the main array even thinner?"

"Your Highness, remember this," Li Jixun smiled and said. "On the battlefield, a defensive war is invariably easier to fight than an offensive one!"

Shortly after, seeing the Song forces draw reinforcements forward from an already limited main array, Yelü Sha decisively adjusted his offensive direction. He ordered his flank forces to launch alternate attacks, fiercely pounding the waist of the Song main array where the troop concentration was relatively thin, while leaving only the foremost Khitan cavalry to continue pinning down the main reserve force of the Song rear. He hoped to achieve localized numerical superiority and swallow up the Song vanguard and main body.

Witnessing this scene, the Song commander-in-chief Li Jixun temporarily relinquished overall command, choosing to sit upon his commander's dais to sip tea and rest, before smilingly saying to Zhao Dezhao: "Your Highness, the rest is up to you. If your stratagem truly succeeds, then this battle is essentially won."

Remaining silent, Zhao Dezhao simply turned his gaze repeatedly across the various sectors of the battlefield, thinking to himself in secret: *It is time for results to show. Please do not disappoint me.*

Zhao Dezhao's experience was indeed insufficient; he had yet to perceive the impact that the plague had wreaked upon the combat effectiveness of the Khitan army. However, the Khitan commander-in-chief Yelü Sha had long since noticed that something was amiss. First and foremost was the dismal performance of his capable favorite commander Tar, whose men shocked him utterly. Even when the Song vanguard was not exerting its full strength, Tar's force proved utterly incapable of fighting its way out of the Song encirclement on its own. Furthermore, even after receiving reinforcements from friendly units, the normally fiercely courageous Tar still failed to seize the momentum to break through the Song containment ring, remaining suppressed by the Song forces from beginning to end.

As for those Khitan cavalry tasked with assaulting the main array of the Song army, their performance likewise deeply disappointed Yelü Sha, Yelü Mo, and the others. Having taken turns charging the flanks of the Song main array five or six times, they not only failed to shake the Song positions by even a fraction, but instead suffered a noticeably higher number of horsemen collapsing before the Song lines than was usual.

That was not all. From his elevated vantage point on the command platform, Yelü Sha clearly observed that his own cavalry—renowned for their superb horsemanship—repeatedly suffered accidental instances of riders falling unassisted from their mounts even when completely disengaged from the Song forces. A growing drumbeat of unease began to sound within Yelü Sha's heart, as he realized these incidents must certainly be connected to the plague that had recently broken out within their own camp.

*Bang!* The sudden sound of a body collapsing interrupted Yelü Sha's observation of the battlefield. When he turned his head in puzzlement, he saw that one of his personal guards had suddenly tumbled to the ground, groaning in agony while numerous red spots rapidly sprouted across his face and hands at a visible rate.

"Smallpox! This one has contracted smallpox too!"

A slight commotion rippled through the banner array, and quite a few officers and soldiers instinctively stepped back a pace or two, terrified of contracting the horrifying disease. With a dark expression on his face, Yelü Sha gave instructions after a moment: "Carry him back to the camp and hand him over to the physicians for treatment."

Just as the guard acknowledged the order, a messenger galloped frantically up to the front of the banner array, bowed to Yelü Sha, and reported: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, General Yelü Yi has ordered this subordinate to inform you that while our unit was standing by, six soldiers suddenly came down with smallpox one after another. Their conditions are all extremely grave; how they are to be dealt with, the Commander-in-Chief must decide."

Glancing at Yelü Yi's unit waiting in the distance, Yelü Sha's expression grew even more grim. Yet, lacking the option to abandon these infected soldiers publicly, he hesitated before gritting his teeth and ordering: "Send them back to the camp for treatment."

Misfortunes never come singly. No sooner had he dismissed the messenger sent by Yelü Yi than the Liao general Xiao Jichang also dispatched men bearing an urgent report, likewise announcing the appearance of soldiers suddenly stricken with smallpox within his ranks. Helpless, Yelü Sha could only issue the exact same order for them to be sent back to the camp for medical care.

The trouble did not end there. Just as Yelü Sha's expression grew increasingly bleak, the supervisory commissioner Yelü Mo suddenly stepped forward two paces and lowered his voice to whisper in Yelü Sha's ear: "Commander-in-Chief, the situation is ominous! Among the Song thieves' forces, not a single soldier has been observed collapsing on their own. The situation is the exact opposite of ours!"

Hearing this, Yelü Sha was profoundly alarmed. Hastily raising his head to scrutinize the state of the Song troops, he quickly verified that no accidental collapses were indeed occurring among the Song ranks. Conversely, the casualties on his own side were markedly more severe than usual, with rear-tier soldiers inexplicably tumbling to the ground and losing their combat effectiveness without ever having engaged the Song army.

Worse horrors still lay ahead. Under normal circumstances, though many Liao soldiers housed within the camp unfortunately fell ill with smallpox, the tents and sundries obstructed line-of-sight, preventing anyone from seeing the full picture. Thus, the majority of Liao officers and men had little understanding of the epidemic's true severity; they merely knew smallpox was circulating in the camp, oblivious to the exact number of comrades already stricken or falling daily.

The current situation, however, was entirely different. Amidst the confrontation between the two armies, even though the Song forces maintained a persistent defensive posture without participating in combat, the Liao soldiers arrayed in waiting continued to collapse one after another. Groaning, their entire bodies rapidly erupted in red spots. Witnessing this scene with their own eyes, panic naturally gripped everyone in the Liao ranks, leaving every man terrified and trembling in suspense, dreading that the next unlucky wretch to suffer a sudden onset would be himself. Morale plummeted into profound terror.

It was not merely mid- and lower-level officers and ordinary soldiers; while standing in formation awaiting orders, the Liao general Yelü Ci began to sway before tumbling from his horse on his own accord. As his guards rushed forward with startled cries to lift him, they were horrified to find his body burning hot, with red spots rapidly spreading across his face and hands. Terrified, the guards simultaneously released their grip, letting Yelü Ci crash back to the ground and drawing countless stares.

When this development was reported at a run to Yelü Sha, he finally lost his composure and panicked. Destitute of plans, Yelü Sha issued a thoroughly brainless command: he ordered that the suddenly stricken officers and soldiers no longer be sent back to the camp for rescue, but instead instructed that these patients be gathered together and treated on the spot, citing that sending too many soldiers back to escort the sick was undermining morale and military discipline.

Yelü Sha would very soon bitterly regret this decision. Shortly after the order was given, dozens upon dozens of smallpox patients were gathered in the open space beside the battlefield, lying helter-skelter on the ground and groaning in agony—a horrifying and distressing sight. Upon seeing this, the Liao soldiers felt even greater panic and were utterly incapable of concentrating their minds on how to fight the Song army.

In stark contrast to the increasingly chaotic Liao forces, the entire Song army was galvanized into soaring morale upon witnessing the wretched spectacle of the plague-ravaged Liao troops. Li Jixun dispatched his personal guards galloping through the Song formation, shouting at the top of their lungs to spread the word:

"Comrades, do you see this? The God of Smallpox invited by our Highness has unleashed his divine power! The Khitan Liao barbarians are falling ill one after another! Our Great Song army is under the protection of the God of Smallpox, so we have nothing to fear from this disease! We are guaranteed to win!"

"Guaranteed to win!"

Cheers erupted wave upon wave. Witnessing with their own eyes how the enemy soldiers suddenly fell ill right before them one after another, while their own ranks remained entirely unscathed, the morale and fighting spirit of the Song soldiers surged to unprecedented heights. Consequently, even without Li Jixun dispatching reinforcements, the Song vanguard and main array repelled the enemy's attempts to shatter their flanks purely by their own strength.

After a while, the once-deadlocked situation was finally broken completely. Propelled by the bloody valor of the Song soldiers, the vanguard wiped out the forward elements of the Khitan army, forcing the Liao vanguard general Tar to flee while wounded, abandoning many of his own men who remained surrounded by the Song forces. The Song soldiers swiftly dispatched these remaining adversaries like slicing melons and vegetables. At the sound of battle drums, a comprehensive Song counteroffensive was launched.

The Song army of the early dynasty period surpassed later eras a hundredfold in tactical flexibility. Amidst the rolling drums and the guidance of command flags, the Song vanguard and main array—having just undergone intense combat—did not rush forward immediately, choosing instead to reorganize their queues on the spot. The main Song force led by Li Jixun detached a body of cavalry to intercept the Liao horsemen in the rear, while splitting into two columns to advance from the flanks, preparing to wheel around to the vanguard position and assume primary assault duties.

Instantly piercing Li Jixun's intent and objective, Yelü Sha resolutely drove his forces forward, attempting to prevent the main Song army from regrouping before the battle lines. Unfortunately, while Yelü Sha's choice was entirely correct, the soldiers under his command were this time incapable of executing the task. Even when forced to advance and attack under duress from their officers, they collapsed at the first contact, utterly powerless to block the advancing footsteps of the main Song force.

*Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong!*

Accompanied by increasingly fierce battle drums, the main Song force—still operating as fresh troops—completed its regrouping and immediately launched a ferocious frontal assault against the Khitan army. Shouts and battle cries shook the heavens, and the momentum of their formation resembled a rushing torrent, moving slowly yet with absolute determination toward the front of the Khitan lines in a truly magnificent spectacle.

"Hold your ground! Hold your ground!"

Yelü Sha refused to abandon his final, desperate struggle. Under the direction of his command flags, Liao officers raced back and forth before their troops like madmen, shouting incessantly in an attempt to block the frontal impact of the Song army and avert total collapse.

Such struggles were futile. The morale of the Liao army had plummeted to an extreme state of panic. The moment the two armies collided, the Liao soldiers scattered in all directions, fleeing in such wretched panic that they only cursed their parents for not giving them two more legs. Meanwhile, the Song army surged forward in triumphant song, continuing their charge and breakthrough toward the Liao banner array.

An expression of agonizing despair appeared on Yelü Sha's face. Shaking his head in resignation, Yelü Sha could only turn his horse around and sigh heavily: "Sound the gongs to retreat. We have already lost."

This grand battle consequently became the greatest victory achieved by the Northern Song dynasty against its arch-rival, the Khitan Liao army, since its founding. Amidst the cries of battle, the high-spirited Song soldiers hacked their way forward like cutting melons and vegetables, leaving the retreating Liao soldiers strewn across the fields with corpses and rivers of blood. The entire Liao army, utterly devoid of any will to fight, fled headlong in blind panic. Countless Liao foot soldiers and cavalrymen—including the commander-in-chief Yelü Sha himself—did not even dare return to their plague-ridden camp, simply abandoning it altogether as they fled northward in headlong flight.

Faced with such an extraordinary opportunity, the advancing Song soldiers naturally kicked over the Liao camp in passing, capturing countless military supplies and warhorses, and taking six to seven thousand sick Khitan soldiers prisoner, reaping a bountiful harvest of victory.

At that moment, joyful news likewise arrived from the inner battlefield of Jinyang. Observing from afar within the inner city of Jinyang that the Khitan army had suffered a total collapse, the Northern Han forces within the inner walls were forced to abandon their endlessly futile breakout attempts, meekly withdrawing back into Jinyang's inner city to continue enduring passive punishment.

Hearing this report and witnessing the disheveled and miserable rout of the Liao troops, Li Jixun, Ding Deyu, and the others burst into hearty laughter. Li Jixun clapped Zhao Dezhao on the shoulder and praised him: "Your Highness, for this great victory at Jinyang, your contribution is unquestionably the greatest! I will certainly report the truth to your imperial father, letting him know that his lineage has a worthy successor!"

Smiling, Zhao Dezhao was just about to offer a modest reply when he suddenly noticed something fluttering before his eyes. As he instinctively reached out a hand, a crystal-clear snowflake drifted down to land right in his palm, causing a sense of foreboding to strike him inwardly: *Oh no, it is snowing! I recall the early Northern Song was still at the tail end of a Little Ice Age. I wonder what kind of conditions this year's climate will bring? If it becomes overly cold, will we still have the time and opportunity to take Jinyang's inner city and the entire Northern Han territory?*