Chapter 19 Casting a Net to Wait? Can One Catch Sharks in a Net?

  The night is as black as ink, the cold moon at the horizon looks like a hook, the river flows quietly, and occasionally there are whirlpools that make a low humming sound in the dark night.

  In a thicket of wild grass over a hundred paces south of the Wan River, six pairs of shining eyes watched vigilantly for any movement on the opposite bank.

  Di Lie was determined to teach the Jin army a lesson, but that didn't mean he wanted to engage in a fierce battle with the enemy. Avoiding the strong and attacking the weak, making false moves to distract the enemy, hiding one's strengths and waiting for an opportunity to strike, launching surprise attacks under the cover of night - these were the eternal principles of mobile warfare and special operations.

  Dark night assassination, Di Lie is an expert in this field; Yang Zhechong is the most elite soldier of this era: Scout, equivalent to a reconnaissance soldier in later generations. In terms of technology, compared to Di Lie who has undergone rigorous training in later generations, it may be a bit rougher, but in terms of experience, it is not inferior at all - at least, the number of lives he has taken is no less than Di Lie's. Therefore, this time, he strongly requested to participate in the night raid.

  Yang Jie was from the Western Army and used to be under the command of General Xiao Zhong, who was in charge of the Pingyang Road. His main opponents were the Western Xia people. Among the three powerful opponents that the Northern Song Dynasty faced for over a hundred years, the Western Xia was relatively weak. In the wars between the Song and Xia dynasties for over a hundred years, the Song Dynasty won fewer battles than it lost in the early period, but had victories and defeats in the later period. Overall, the Song Dynasty could basically suppress the Western Xia. However, when facing the Liao people, the Song Dynasty was defeated from start to finish. As for the Jin people... the result is self-evident - they were destroyed in two years, what's worse than that?

  As the last elite of the Great Song Dynasty - the Western Army, they have been fighting on the front line of the Song Dynasty's borders. They have had brutal battles with countries such as Xia, Liao and Jin. Yang Zhechong, who has served in the Western Army for four generations, is only 26 years old this year, but he has already been in service for ten years, participating in all the wars against Xia, Liao and Jin.

  When Yang Jie clashed with the Western Xia vanguard, he was brave and made some gains. The military rank of Di Gonglang was obtained at that time. However, when facing the Liao army's Far Interception, they felt extremely struggling, needing to pay a heavy price to have any harvest. In the Battle of White Gorge River between Song and Liao, facing the Liao army like a setting sun, the Song army with superior forces was defeated miserably, suffering heavy casualties. This is the most painful memory for the Song Dynasty and also for the Western military officers.

  And when countless Western soldiers like Yang Zuo rushed to the north, facing the barbarian nation that rose from the white mountains and black waters, in the midst of the vast wilderness, they were almost powerless against the fierce cavalry that trampled the snow-covered land like devils.

  Chrysophobia! During the tumultuous years at the turn of the two Song dynasties, not only the emperors and high-ranking officials on the throne were afflicted, but also ordinary citizens, merchants, scholars, and even soldiers of the Song nation were all widely infected with this terrible symptom.

  Yang Zhe, who was once a prisoner of war of the Jin army, also had an inescapable deep-seated fear of those rough and dirty yet formidable Jin soldiers. This fear, however, was shattered by this miraculously appearing man, whose crushing defeat of the enemy with ease, like tearing paper or splitting silk, left him stunned and speechless.

  Watching those arrogant and invincible, whether it's riding and shooting or close combat, the strongest and most ferocious of the Golden Army's elite warriors, being torn to shreds like paper at a distance that is barely visible to the naked eye, as if it were child's play.

  Yang Zhe's daze was like a dream, and his fear of the enemy was completely gone. His fierce fighting spirit and will to fight were rekindled in his heart once again.

  This is the difference between a victorious army and a defeated one: an army that always wins and one that always loses, even if they have the same weapons and equipment, differ in combat effectiveness by several levels. Most importantly, the morale of soldiers, their desire for battle, and their confidence in victory are worlds apart.

  Under the influence of Di Lie, who defeated an almost invincible enemy with minimal cost and created a miracle by single-handedly defeating hundreds of enemies, Yang Zhe's confidence also swelled unconsciously. If someone had suggested using only a few people to challenge a large camp with thousands of elite soldiers just a few days ago, Yang Zhe would not have said a word and would have directly broken the person's head. But now... Good heavens! He was actually doing such a thing.

  Di Lie's main task for Yang Zhechong was to take good care of Ye Die'er. For this kind of nocturnal raid, it was better for him to do it alone. This wasn't because he looked down on others, but rather he felt that Yang Zhechong might not be able to coordinate well with him, and doing it alone would be more convenient.

  However, Ye Die'er firmly refused to wait in a safe place for news and insisted on going to the Golden Camp herself to find out about her sister's life or death. Thinking of the miserable situation and fragile survival environment of those women, Di Lie also felt that this matter could not be delayed, and it was better to clarify Ye Die'er's sister's life or death as soon as possible.

  Ye Die'er has gone, so Yang Zhechong naturally got what he wanted.

  On the north bank of the river, there were not a few Jin soldiers on patrol, holding torches and galloping back and forth to inspect, their hooves clattering, shattering the stillness of the dark night.

  Yang Zhechong held up the night vision scope and muttered to himself, "Those openly carrying torches and rushing about are probably over thirty people. In the mound of trees half a mile away from the riverbank, there are nineteen or twenty ambushers hiding with strong bows... Ah, what cunning Khitans! They've set up such a large formation for just a few of us. But they didn't expect that my treasured scope would see right through their tricks. These guys still don't know any better, just standing there like foolish birds, waiting for us to fall into their trap!"

  "Alright, let's get a clear view of reality and prepare to cross the river."

  "Are we really going to... jump into the net?"

  Di Lie gave him a cold glance: "The Jin people cast their nets to catch fish, and we are the fish that drill into the net. Only, it's not the big carp they imagined, but sharks! Now let's see if the net they set is strong enough to hold us few big sharks!"

  Shark? Yang Zhechong, growing on the Loess Plateau, can't imagine what a shark looks like. Is it bigger than the yellow river carp?

  Di Lie didn't mind at all, and the animal he casually mentioned was challenging his companion's poor imagination. He took off a dense and heavy rope coil from his back, like an automobile tire. The ropes that made up the coil were torn into strips of bark, then rubbed into long and tough fiber-like objects, and then woven together like braids, with a length of over 120 meters, which was enough to cross this river with a width of hundreds of meters.

  Ye Die'er silently and wordlessly unfolded the rope with Di Lie, under the clear moonlight, her crystal face shone like jade, with a melancholic beauty.

  When weaving ropes during the day, Ye Die'er was very diligent. Her slender and delicate white hands were also cut by several mouths, and the sticky tree sap soaked her palms, leaving a foul smell and a messy color that couldn't be washed off for a while. But she never complained, silently doing it like this, and several times Di Lie told her to stop and rest, she didn't respond.

  Di Lie understood that Ye Die'er was using this repetitive and monotonous work to numb herself, thereby temporarily forgetting her inner fears. From a psychological perspective, this was also a way of coping with mental crisis.

  Now, it's time to see the truth. Can heaven pity this weak but strong girl?

  "Want some more dry rations?" Ye Die'er asked unconsciously just before departure.

  Di Lie smiled and shook his head. Some people need to eat something to relieve stress when they are nervous, but he is not that kind of person. Moreover, the pancakes Ye Die'er baked before leaving Wangshan Mountain were not bad in taste when they just came out of the pot, but after being soaked in rainwater for two days, they were no longer the same.

  "I'll go eat at the opposite side, I heard those barbarians can't cook well, but their barbecue is not bad." Di Lie comfortingly smiled and waved his hand, then grabbed one end of the rope and slithered down to the ground like a snake, crawling forward, his figure gradually disappearing into the thick night fog...