Chapter 24: The Alternative Use of Fine Wine

  Originally, when the Golden Army invaded the Eastern Route, in order to achieve the greatest results with the least amount of time, they adopted a **, no rear logistics, relying on enemy supplies, and directly inserting into the heart of the enemy's strategic position. Except for a few strategically important passes and prefectures that must be taken by force, other counties along the way would be taken if possible, or temporarily set aside if not.

  The prefecture of Xiangzhou was still in the hands of the imperial court two months ago, and the governor of Xiangzhou was Wang Boyan, who later became one of the powerful officials of the Southern Song Dynasty. In addition to him, there were two more prominent figures in Xiangzhou: Zong Ze, the former governor of Cizhou, and Prince Kang Zhao Gou.

  Because before Bianjing was besieged, Kang Wang Zhao Gou, who had escaped by chance while being sent to the Jin State on an imperial mission, received a secret edict from his brother, Emperor Huizong, who was trapped in the capital. He was appointed as the Grand Marshal of the Two Rivers' military forces, with Wang Baoyan and Zong Ze serving as deputies, and was allowed to appoint officials and take actions at his own discretion.

  At first, Zhao Gou did quite well, gathering the troops from Ci Prefecture and Xiang Prefecture, and recruiting tens of thousands of local militiamen. Then, taking advantage of the frozen Yellow River, he led his army across the river with great fanfare, approaching Bianjing (the capital) to prepare for a "rescue the emperor" campaign. However, just at this time, Zhao Gou was on patrol with a small group of soldiers when they encountered a Gold Army vanguard. Several dozen fierce and ferocious Golden Soldiers charged forward, causing Zhao Gou's personal bodyguards to scatter in all directions.

  Zhao Laojiu was in his early twenties at that time, young and strong, and had been practicing archery and horse riding. He grabbed a fast horse and ran away, making a desperate dash for life. Luckily, he managed to escape. However, from then on, whenever he faced the Jin people, he never raised his bow again. He was one of the most severe cases of "Jin-phobia" in the entire Song Dynasty.

  After that, Zhao Gou's route to rescue the king began to become erratic. He first left Xiangzhou and went north to Damingfu, then drifted to Dongpingfu in Hebei East Road and stayed still, only ordering Zong Ze to gather troops from all over the world in Kaide Prefecture to make a show of rescuing the king. As for his parents, brothers, and sisters in Bianjing City, they can't resist the temptation of one sentence: "The emperor takes turns, next year it's my turn!"

  Zhao Kuangyin's luck was indeed not to be underestimated. He led the great army and had just left Xiangzhou when the Jin army's vanguard arrived hot on their heels. If they had been a little slower, this future founding emperor of Southern Song would have followed his father and elder brother to the Five Nations City in the icy lands of the north, where he would have "sat in a well and observed the sky" in a Jurchen dungeon.

  At this time, Xiangzhou had just fallen into the hands of the Jin army for more than a month. The surrounding counties and towns were mostly unaffiliated with the Jin people, and there were still remnants of government soldiers and righteous armies lurking around this large army. Whether it was government soldiers or righteous armies, perhaps they did not have the awareness and courage to respond to the call to defend the capital and attack the Jin army. However, the newly arrived large army was like a piece of fragrant and tender meat, and even if they could only take a small bite, their mouths would be filled with oil.

  Since then, there have been quite a few attempts by the righteous army to come and discuss the wildfire. Although they didn't even break through the outer guards of the Jin army, they were slaughtered clean. These guys who buzz around like mosquitoes trying to suck a mouthful of blood are really detestable, aren't they? If it weren't for the burden of supplies and women, relying on the Jurchen cavalry's speed and ferocity when heading south, these guys would have been wiped out several times already.

  Under the circumstances, he organized two vanguard troops, each with a force of five mu, plus some auxiliary soldiers, totaling nearly 1,000 people. The two troops combined had a total of 2,000 cavalrymen, mostly Jurchen elite riders. They were sent out hundreds of miles ahead to clear up the remaining enemy forces and ensure that the main army could march quietly without any disturbance. As expected, this time, the world was quiet. However, the main camp of Genghis Khan's army also became empty.

  The army led by Wanyan Zonghan had nearly 5,000 men and horses. Among them, the real Jurchen people were less than 2,000, and the rest were all indigenous peoples from various tribes in eastern Liaoning after the fall of Liao Dynasty, including Khitan people who surrendered after the fall of Liao, Xi people, Bohai people who scattered and escaped after the destruction of Balhae, Goryeo people captured from the Korean Peninsula, and more were Han people from the original Yan territory. These people were mixed together like fish and dragons, arrogant and unmanageable. If there weren't strong Jurchen people to suppress them, they couldn't be held together at all.

  Even so, the barely combined army of various tribes still couldn't get along, and basically each formed their own separate forces. During battles, each tribe formed its own unit, and when setting up camp, they also had their own separate camps. On ordinary days, when they met, they often didn't have a good expression on their faces, and there were even instances where they would fight with fists flying, or draw swords and guns.

  The Jin people are just watching from the sidelines, as long as they don't make a big mess, they'll turn a blind eye, and sometimes even secretly fan the flames. The conflicts and grudges between different ethnic groups are in line with the Jin people's interests of divide and rule. As long as it doesn't affect the war, let them fight all they want.

  The Jin army sent out thousands of Jurchen elite troops, advancing a hundred miles to clear the way. Due to the mysterious attack on the Jin scouts by the riverbank during the day, they lost several men without even touching a hair of the enemy. This enraged the Jin general, who dispatched over a hundred Jin soldiers to patrol along the riverbank to prevent any unexpected events. Additionally, each of the auxiliary army's camps had a group of about a dozen Jurchen soldiers stationed there. As a result, the main camp was left with less than five hundred Jurchen elite troops.

  Yang Zhechong's eyes lit up slowly: "In other words, in a large Jin army camp, there are less than 3,000 soldiers, and only 500-600 Jurchen people... what a great opportunity!"

  Di Lie nodded: "This is a good news, but for us, five thousand people and three thousand people, it seems to make no big difference."

  Yang Zhechong's head drooped slightly in despair, yes, they only had three people, or rather, only two. The enemy outnumbered them a thousand times, whether it was three thousand or five thousand, what difference did it make?

  Di Lie and Yang Zhechong didn't know that as they asked and answered, the tone of their conversation was like a whale swallowing a snake, which made the captive named Zuokai's heart churn with anxiety. The place where they were in Xiangzhou was already close to the Taihang Mountains. Since the destruction of Liao State, the Song army had been defeated and scattered all over the place. This Taihang Mountain range, which stretched across thousands of miles and traversed Yan and Zhao, began to have a flavor of "three no's".

  Bandits flying the banner of righteous armies, Liaodong people who had lost their country and family, and remnants of Song troops after several major wars with Liao and Jin gathered in the mountains and forests, causing trouble for all sides. At most, there were even as many as 100,000 people. In recent years, there was a leader named Gao Tuo Mountain, with tens of thousands of men under his command, who didn't take orders from anyone, causing headaches for various countries. Later, during the first Jin invasion of Southern Song, they took the opportunity to behead him and eliminate his stronghold.

  However, the tiger's death did not diminish its might, and his loyal subordinates still held high the large character banners, attacking in all directions. This time, one of the groups that caused trouble for Geng Xin was a part of the Gao family's righteous army.

  Before leaving, I lived under the Taihang Mountains and by the Yi River. The prestige of the Taihang Righteous Army still left a deep impression on me. Seeing the three people in front of me, those two big men's tone was so arrogant, they didn't even put several thousand golden soldiers in their eyes, unless they had experience with tens of thousands of horses and men, they wouldn't have such confidence. What's more, one of them is still the leader, if I can take this opportunity...

  This man, whose previous profession had determined that he was not only quick-witted but also quite clever, knew what would happen to him as a captive after being interrogated and having his information extracted. To survive and achieve his goal, surrendering and turning traitor was the only choice.

  His left leg couldn't bear the pain, his knees were numb and aching, his forehead was bleeding. He immediately knelt down and kowtowed several times, tears streaming down his face: "I am originally a good citizen, but I was forcibly recruited by the evil Jin army. However, I have never been to the battlefield to fight against the Song people, only guarding supplies. My poor family still has a blind old father..."

  One flip of tears, unexpectedly provoked Ye Die'er's eyes to redden, and she gently pulled on Di Lie's sleeve from behind.

  Di Lie said slowly and clearly: "I only ask you one question, did you participate in last night's incident?"

  Facing Di Lie's gaze, which was like a raging fire, Zuo Kai almost shouted out in protest: "I swear on my honor, I absolutely did not participate! If there is even half a word of falsehood, may the gods and humans punish me together! In fact, last night's incident mostly occurred within the Jin army's central camp, because those women were mostly imprisoned there. The Han army camp where I am located had no opportunity to...".

  Di Lie stared coldly at Zuo Kai until he was drenched in sweat and almost couldn't hold on. Di Lie nodded: "Your life is spared."

  He suddenly felt his whole body lose strength and fell limp on the ground.

  Di Lie hesitated for a moment, then said: "You say you're in charge of guarding supplies. What kind of supplies are you guarding?"

  He tremblingly reached into his bosom with his left hand, pulled out an object and held it up with both hands: "It...it's this..."

  Under the moonlight, it can be vaguely seen as a small calabash.

  Di Lie took it over, pulled out the stopper, and a strong aroma filled his nostrils. Di Lie's eyebrows furrowed: "It's wine!"

  Zuo opened his mouth in a low voice: "Yes, it's the famous wine of the capital 'Fengquan'. There are thousands of jars of fine wine in the cellar where I'm stationed. But because Golden Dog loves wine so much, yet is so stingy, he lets me guard the door but won't even give me half a cup to drink. In anger, I... stole some wine and snuck out of the camp to drink it, and as a result, I met you good people..."

  Di Lie lost his smile: "You're quite eloquent, have you read books?"

  Zuo Kai nodded: "My father was a master of accounts in his early years and also taught me some literary skills."

  Di Lie didn't say anything else, but tore off a piece of cloth, then poured the wine onto it, soaking it.

  Yang Zhe, who was standing beside him, sniffed the strange fragrance and couldn't help but say: "Boss, what are you doing? If you don't want to drink it, then don't spill it. Otherwise, let me have a taste..."

  Di Lie didn't bother with him, he simply used his dagger to dig a hole in the ground, threw the cloth soaked in wine into it, and then took out a military windproof lighter and lit the cloth with a "pop". The dark blue flame, like a dancing spirit in the night, quickly wrapped the long cloth in a fierce blaze. Since the cloth was burning in the pit, and Di Lie's body consciously blocked the light, the flames were not discovered by the Jin army camp patrol personnel in the distance.

  Yang Zhechong was tongue-tied with amazement, such an exquisite fire-striker was truly unheard of, this leader's hands held too many good things?

  Seeing the cloth strip burning, Di Lie nodded in satisfaction and asked Zuo Kai: "How much of this strong wine is stored in the cellar you are guarding?"

  Zuo Kai replied without hesitation, "Golden dogs come from the extremely cold land of Liaodong, they love strong liquor and the stronger the better. They wouldn't even give a glance at clear wine, let alone pack it up to take away."

  "In other words, the wine cellar is full of strong liquor." Di Lie glanced at Zuo Kai with a hint of indifference, "Want to redeem yourself?"

  Zuo Kai's heart was filled with joy and his mind was racing, he vaguely guessed what Di Lie wanted to do, so he quickly patted his chest and said: "Thanks to the leader for sparing my life, I have nothing to repay you with, I only wish to follow your orders and work hard like a horse or a dog."

  Yang Zhechong didn't like this smooth-talking guy at all and said in a low voice, "Are we really going to take this guy in?"

  Di Lie smeared mud on the dagger to conceal its reflection, and replied, "One more person means one more share of strength, besides, we need him to lead the way at present."

  "What's the plan?" Yang exclaimed excitedly.

  Di Lie folded up his dagger, lifted his head, and his eyes shone brightly in the darkness: "I want to give the Jin people a big gift."

  "Send, send gifts?" Yang Zhe's brain was a bit dizzy, "What big gift to send?"

  "It's this." Di Lie flipped his wrist and the small gourd filled with strong liquor spun around in his palm.