boyutpedia Page 150
Page 150
Liu Hong remained silent, gently placing the light yet weighty imperial edict onto the table. Then, he turned abruptly, his voice, though not loud, carried an undeniable resolve, clear as the clash of metal, reaching everyone's ears:
"A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders in some cases!"
He paused, a fierce flame burning in his eyes, and said, word by word:
"Let Chao Gai and Lu Junyi continue attacking Licheng! Ignore the imperial edict, keep attacking! I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong! I'll hold the sky up if it falls! What is Lu Junyi afraid of?!"
Liu Hong was now suffocating under the weight of the Jin army, and he no longer had the strength to act. He suddenly drew his command token and shouted sharply:
"Just say that King Qi has ordered the frontline soldiers to return to their respective camps! The offensive remains unchanged! In fact, he's to increase the force by three-tenths! Fight day and night without stopping! Li City must be taken! Peace begging my ass!!!"
“Tell my brothers, we may have disobeyed the imperial edict and been considered rebels, but the people of Shandong will remember us! History will remember us! Future generations will give us a fair evaluation! Today we disobey the edict not to rebel, but to preserve the true land of the Great Song!”
"Tell Lu Junyi not to be afraid, beat the drums! Advance!!!"
Seeing that Liu Hong, as the Prince of Qi, was willing to bear all the consequences of disobeying the imperial edict, Lu Junyi, upon receiving the news, was no longer afraid. He decided to attack! Attack! Attack! Attack!
Outside the tent, the cowhide war drums, symbolizing the final assault, thundered after a few days of brief silence, their sound shaking the surrounding fields and completely drowning out the waves of the Yellow River. The Liangshan army responded to the King of Qi's roar with deafening battle cries and an even more ferocious offensive, as well as to the absurd peace edict from Kaifeng.
The war drums thundered, shaking the heavens and the earth! Thousands of Liangshan heavy infantry, clad in double-layered heavy armor, wielding massive shields and carrying siege ladders, surged towards the walls of Licheng like a black tide! Arrows rained down from the city walls like locusts, clanging and clattering against the shields. Soldiers fell from time to time, struck by arrows, but new recruits immediately filled the gaps, roaring as they continued their charge!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!" Dozens of heavy ladders were slammed against the crenellations of the city wall. The fierce soldiers of Liangshan, with sharp blades in their mouths, shields in one hand and ladders in the other, frantically climbed upwards, braving logs, rolling stones, boiling oil, and molten gold!
People were constantly being hit by boulders, falling to the ground screaming with blood streaming down their faces, creating bloody craters in the ground below; some were splashed with scalding hot oil, letting out shrill howls as they fell like burning figures; and some were even more tragically pierced through the chest by the guards' spears protruding from the crenellations, pinning them to the ladders!
Beneath the city walls, corpses piled up rapidly, and blood seeped into the soil, turning the earth into a dark red, muddy swamp. However, the Liangshan army's offensive showed no signs of abating; on the contrary, it grew even more frenzied!
On the city wall, Jin Wuzhu's armor was tattered, his body covered in blood, his former arrogance replaced by a trapped beast's crimson madness. He brandished his Golden Sparrow Mountain-Splitting Axe, roaring as he charged back and forth across the city wall, rushing to wherever there was danger!
"Kill! Slaughter all these southern barbarians for me! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"
With a single axe stroke, Jin Wuzhu cleaved a Liangshan leader, shield and all, in two as he peeked onto the city wall, scalding blood spraying across his face. Unconcerned, he used his demonic whispers to inspire the remaining soldiers, ensuring that all 60,000 of them could hear his voice. He kept morale hovering on the brink of collapse, barely managing to keep it rising, preventing a complete meltdown.
"Hold the line! Reinforcements are on their way!"
Knowing they had no way out, the defending Jin army unleashed their final ferocity. They slaughtered by every means possible: archers fired at near-zero distance, spearmen stabbed the climbers frantically, and strongmen toppled ladders, watching enemy soldiers fall like dumplings into a pot, the dull thuds and cracking bones echoing through the air. Even worse, some picked up the corpses of their comrades or enemies and hurled them down like rolling stones!
At the crenellations, soldiers from both sides were crammed together, hacking, stabbing, slashing, biting, punching, and kicking... Every breath carried the strong stench of blood. Severed limbs and torsos flew everywhere, entrails and intestines spilled out onto the ground, the groans of the dying mingled with the frenzied shouts of battle, creating a symphony of hell.
Chapter 442: Kaifeng Prefecture - A Hell on Earth
Meanwhile, Wanyan Aguda sat upright in the Kaifeng camp, his fingertips lightly tapping the battle report that recorded Liu Hong's disobedience to the imperial edict and his continued encirclement and annihilation of Jin Wuzhu. Instead of anger, a cold, calculating smile appeared on his face.
He had prepared two plans in the first place.
If Liu Hong heeds the orders of the Song emperor and withdraws his troops in peace, then we should first rescue Jin Wuzhu, then break the agreement and continue the siege of Kaifeng! After that, we can besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, and fight a decisive battle against the Qi army, which has already lost a third of its men, is exhausted, and has come from afar to rescue Kaifeng, on the flat plains of Henan. The advantage is in our hands.
If Liu Hong defies the imperial decree... then use this incident to pressure Emperor Qinzong of Song: I originally wanted peace, but you are being disrespectful and even ordered Prince Qi to attack the flank. You killed my Zonghan, imprisoned my four sons, and captured hundreds of thousands of my troops?
I think Kaifeng is perhaps a bit too urbanized.
"Well said, well said, 'When a general is in the field, he may disobey the emperor's orders.'"
Wanyan Aguda muttered to himself, his voice full of amusement, "You little brat, Emperor Song, your imperial authority seems to be worthless in the eyes of your 'loyal ministers'."
A few days later, the envoys of the Jin Dynasty once again strode arrogantly into the Bianliang Imperial Palace, slamming a new, extremely strongly worded peace treaty clause in front of the still-shaken Emperor Qinzong of Song, Zhao Huan.
The envoy, head held high with arrogance, relayed the wolf lord's words, each one like a whip lashing the faces of Zhao Huan and the entire court:
"His Majesty originally wished to cease hostilities and make peace with the Southern Dynasty, appreciating Heaven's benevolence towards life. However! You are so ungrateful, allowing Prince Qi Liu Hong to defy the imperial decree, attack and kill Wanyan Zonghan, a pillar of our Great Jin, besiege our Fourth Prince in a desperate situation, and slaughter and capture 200,000 of our soldiers! Such acts of betrayal and insubordination are truly a great disgrace!"
The envoy abruptly changed his tone, shifting from reprimand to blatant extortion:
"However, His Majesty is magnanimous and still wishes to grant you a glimmer of hope. The previous peace agreement stipulated an annual tribute of seventy million taels. This time, due to your misdeeds, the price must be doubled! His Majesty has decreed: twenty hundred million taels of silver! Not a penny less! Delivery is due by the deadline. If you dare to delay... don't blame my Great Jin cavalry for flattening your Bianliang city. By then, we will all perish, and it will be too late for regrets!"
This astronomical indemnity struck Emperor Qinzong of Song like a bolt from the blue, leaving him pale and nearly collapsing on his throne. A wave of immense fear instantly overwhelmed him; he could almost see the Jin army breaching the city and the ancestral temples crumbling in devastation.
"I'll speak to the King of Qi! Quickly, issue twelve imperial edicts ordering Liu Hong to withdraw his troops!!!"
"As for the money, here you go! I'll give it to you! Find a way! Quickly gather the money for me!"
He roared at the court officials as if he had gone mad.
"The national treasury! How much is left in the national treasury? Take it all out! If it's not enough! Order all officials to donate their salaries! Order all officials to donate their salaries! Immediately! Right now!"
As soon as the imperial edict was issued, the entire Kaifeng Prefecture was plunged into a terrifying storm of looting.
The corrupt officials led by Cai Jing and Gao Qiu had mountains of gold and silver hidden in their homes. If all of their accumulated wealth were taken out, it might actually be enough to make a fortune.
But would they really use their own money to fill this bottomless pit? Not to mention the treacherous officials, even Zong Ze in the entire court refused to donate money, calling on the soldiers to fight to the end and resolutely refuse to suffer this humiliation.
As a result, Gao Qiu and others took the lead in responding to the imperial decree, but they shifted the pressure down to lower-level officials, and even corruption and embezzlement occurred, which infinitely magnified the number.
All you could see was officials and yamen runners from all levels of government pouring out like wolves and tigers, pouncing on every merchant, every wealthy household, and even every ordinary citizen with a little savings in Kaifeng!
"By imperial decree, we are raising funds to resist the Jin invaders and save the nation! You must quickly hand over your family fortunes!"
"No money? This silk shop is quite good, confiscate it and put it to the public!"
"This mansion is quite large; we'll offer it as a discount to the silver price!"
"Dare to hide? That is treason and collusion with the enemy, punishable by immediate execution!"
Their slogans were grand and righteous, but their actions were no different from those of bandits. Cries, pleas, smashing, shouts from officials, and maniacal laughter filled the streets and alleys of Kaifeng. Shops were forcibly sealed off, goods were looted, and homes were broken into, with only money, jewelry, and even rations being taken away. The once prosperous capital was transformed in an instant into a scene of chaos and devastation, a living hell. But how could two hundred million taels of silver possibly be gathered in such a short time?
Upon receiving the secret report of the chaos in Kaifeng, Wanyan Aguda coldly added an even more vicious order, which was relayed through an envoy:
"His Majesty, out of consideration for the Southern Dynasty's potential shortage of cash, has granted you permission to offset the cost with the number of people you have. Within Kaifeng, each able-bodied young man can be exchanged for ten taels of silver! You may raise the funds yourselves!"
This order became the final straw that broke the camel's back, unleashing the deepest evil in human nature.
From then on, the government's methods were no longer limited to confiscating property, but began to involve open looting!
"Where are the men of this household? Take them away to pay off the debt!"
"Grab him! This kid's worth ten taels of silver!"
"Sisters, tie them up! Send them to the Jin camp!"
The army, government officials, and even driven mad deserters joined this frenzied operation of capturing their compatriots in exchange for ransom. Fathers were dragged away from their sons, husbands were snatched from their wives' arms, and young men were openly bound in the streets... Even some righteously indignant young men who volunteered to join the army and fight against the Jin on the city walls were bound by their officers and sent to the Jin camp, all to raise 200 million taels of silver!
The entire city of Kaifeng was no longer the capital, but had become a huge population market and hunting ground, with its own people as the prey.
Wanyan Aguda's wicked scheme has succeeded completely.
Faced with a formidable enemy, the people of Kaifeng were originally united in their resolve, rallying behind Song and facing the national crisis together.
But before these passionate young men even went to the battlefield, the very emperor and dynasty they were determined to defend with their lives destroyed their families' businesses, robbed them of their wealth, and even captured them as slaves!
Wanyan Aguda did nothing but write a few letters, yet he not only extracted enormous wealth from Kaifeng, but also used the most cruel methods to completely tear apart the last shred of dignity and cohesion of this dynasty from within.
Before the Jin army could breach the city, the Song court itself had already turned Kaifeng into a killing field and a chaotic mess. Everyone was suspicious of each other, and even Zong Ze couldn't muster an army actively resisting the Jin from Kaifeng's million inhabitants.
Chapter 443: The Army is Besieged in Two Cities and is in Crisis
Kaifeng had been besieged for months, its walls filthy and its inhabitants filled with fear. The initial demand for exorbitant reparations had been like a boulder pressing down on the city, draining its wealth. However, the demand for 200 million taels of silver was far from being met. From Wanyan Aguda's golden tent, not a single horn of retreat sounded; instead, like a hungry wolf that had caught the scent of blood, it bared its even more menacing fangs.
The new envoy once again strode arrogantly into the Chui Gong Hall, bringing not a silk edict, but a cold bronze token engraved with Jurchen script, and a message more chilling than the dead of winter:
"His Majesty has decreed: if silver is insufficient, then people shall be used to make up the difference. Since there are not enough young men, then children shall be used to serve as palace servants. Each child is worth five taels of silver. If you cannot make Liu Hong withdraw his troops, then quickly offer up young boys and girls! If you do not comply, on the day the city falls, not a single chicken or dog will be spared."
Upon hearing this, the entire court fell into a deathly silence. Extortion of money was already utterly humiliating; now they were demanding children! Some officials in the hall who still possessed any backbone turned deathly pale, almost vomiting blood. However, Emperor Qinzong on his dragon throne was already terrified, and with trembling lips, he tacitly approved this inhumane demand.
With the imperial edict issued, Kaifeng Prefecture was instantly transformed into a living hell once again. Government officials and their thugs, like wolves and tigers, broke into homes and snatched young children from their parents' arms.
In an instant, cries, pleas, and curses shook the heavens and the earth. Some fathers fought the officials with kitchen knives and were beaten and maimed; some mothers would rather throw themselves into a well with their children than let their own flesh and blood become slaves of the Jurchens.
The streets and alleys were filled with heart-wrenching farewells of life and death. Children, bound with ropes, were driven out of the city like livestock and sent to the Jin camp, their future uncertain. Once again, a huge, bloody rift appeared between the people of the city and the imperial government!
However, these children still weren't enough to cover two hundred million taels of silver, such a terrifying number.
Wanyan Aguda continued to send envoys to read the imperial edict.
"His Majesty, mindful of the difficulty you have faced in raising these funds, has granted you further favors. The boys and girls can offset part of the debt, but there is still a huge shortfall. Starting today, each elderly person will be paid three taels of silver to perform miscellaneous tasks in the camp. If there is any further delay, His Majesty's patience will run out!"
Demanding the elderly is even more insidious! The elderly are the root of the family and the source of wisdom. Although their physical strength may decline, they are often the core of maintaining family cohesion. This order not only further exploits the population but also aims to destroy the family system and ethical norms of the Central Plains from the root.
When the government once again wielded its sword, the resistance was far more intense. Many elderly people, unwilling to burden their children and grandchildren, hanged themselves or voluntarily left the city. Filial sons and grandsons fought desperately, leading to large-scale clashes with the officials who came to arrest them, resulting in frequent bloodshed in the streets. The court's prestige was utterly destroyed, and public resentment boiled over. Yet, under the sword, batches of elderly people with white hair were still being herded out of the city like pigs and sheep. Family ties and filial piety were trampled to pieces in the face of survival and fear.
When the old man was also sent away, Kaifeng was like a ransacked tomb, lifeless and desolate. Everyone sensed that the giant wolf from the north had not yet satisfied its hunger. An adult male was worth ten taels of silver, a child five taels, and an elderly person three taels; the ever-decreasing prices meant that Kaifeng could never fill this hole.
As expected, the final and cruelest order arrived on schedule. A hint of mocking cruelty even appeared on Jin's face:
"His Majesty has shown mercy and allowed you to pay your debts with your last remaining women. You must send young women to serve in the tents of the various Meng'an and Mouke. This is the final deadline! One woman, one tael of silver."
This order became the final straw that broke the camel's back, and it also completely completed the division and disintegration of the Jurchen people.
The order was issued, but instead of immediate chaos, Kaifeng fell into an extreme, suffocating silence. Then, the volcano erupted.
This time, it's no longer a simple confrontation between officials and the people. The darkest side of human nature has been completely ignited.
Some families, in order to protect their daughters, would marry them off to disabled and poor men overnight, just to seek their protection.
Some powerful and wealthy families paid large sums of money to bribe the government in order to have their daughters removed from the list and replaced with the daughters of poor neighbors.
Even worse, local thugs and ruffians seized the opportunity to serve the government, leading raids on households and robbing women in order to curry favor with their new masters!
Government officials, the army, clerks, powerful figures, ruffians... everyone is struggling, scheming, and fighting each other in a mad vortex.
Even more terrifying is that the young men have already been plundered, the children have been plundered, and then the elderly. All three types of people have been sold. Who can protect the last remaining women?
Wanyan Aguda didn't even need to use a single soldier to attack the city. With just a few extremely cruel orders, he successfully tore apart and disintegrated a magnificent city with a million inhabitants from the inside, eliminating them one by one, turning Kaifeng into a self-destructive battlefield.
He sat in his golden tent, listening to reports of chaos and tragedy coming from within the city, a cold smile perhaps playing on his lips. His plan had succeeded; Kaifeng's walls were indeed sturdy, but its interior was rotten to the core.
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However, Kaifeng was in dire straits, and Licheng was also on the verge of collapse under the siege of the Qi army!
As time went on, Jin Wuzhu's army had long since run out of food. At first, they could still kill horses for food and peel tree bark to fill their stomachs, but as the Liangshan army's siege tightened day by day, even their warhorses were almost gone, and tree bark and grass roots were also plundered. Hunger, this most primitive and cruel torment, began to mercilessly devour this once invincible army.
In desperation, Wanyan Wuzhu had no choice but to target the Han Chinese.
The landlords and officials who surrendered to the Jin dynasty at the time believed that by attaching themselves to the Jin army, they could preserve their wealth and status, and even rise to a higher position. They offered up their granaries, guided roads, helped maintain order, and suppressed their own clansmen. Jin Wuzhu also treated them with great courtesy, promising them high-ranking positions and generous salaries.
However, when the shadow of hunger loomed over the entire army, their pitiful value vanished instantly. The former heroes immediately became the most conspicuous fat sheep. The Jin army's quartermasters, along with their hungry and ferocious soldiers, no longer collected grain, but instead kicked down the vermilion gates of these wealthy households.
"The general has ordered that your family reserves be requisitioned to supply the army!"
The slogans remained grand and dignified, but what gleamed in the soldiers' eyes was the green light of the moving grain stacks.
"Search! Search thoroughly! The cellars! The hidden walls! Don't miss a single corner!"
"Hey! That old bastard has a few sacks of wheat hidden in his backyard! And live chickens too!"
"Take this woman away too! Our brothers have been defending Licheng for seven days! They're exhausted; let's use your daughter to comfort them!!!"
Resistance was futile. Any hesitation or attempt to explain was met not with empty pleasantries, but with cold blades and brutal fists. The servants were easily slaughtered, the women dragged away crying, and years of accumulated wealth were looted! Several landlords died with their eyes wide open, regretting their decision to throw gold away.
Although most of his servants were freed and most of his land was redeemed by following Liu Hong, he was still a wealthy man in the area.
Investing money now is not even a way to save your life!
Chapter 444: Reinforcements Arrive from Two Fronts
Having gained absolute strategic advantage over Kaifeng and completely brought the capital of the Song Dynasty under his control, Wanyan Aguda was complacent, but he also had to spare some attention for the crisis in Shandong. The news that his beloved son, Jin Wuzhu, and his tens of thousands of troops were trapped in an encirclement and in imminent danger was like a thorn in his heart.
Although Wuzhu was not as ambitious and resourceful as Zonghan, he was still one of the four great generals, commanding 20,000 elite Jurchen troops and 40,000 auxiliary soldiers, all of whom were the backbone of the Jin dynasty. With Zonghan dead, one of the four great generals had been lost, and Wanyan Aguda could not afford to lose another arm, even if Wuzhu was the weakest of the four generals.
Wanyan Aguda weighed the pros and cons, concluding that victory at Kaifeng was assured and the Song emperor was trapped, so temporarily halting the offensive would not be a major problem. However, if Shandong were to fall entirely, the Jin's eastern front would collapse, leading to endless troubles. Furthermore, cavalry was not very useful in siege warfare, so he decided to redeploy most of his cavalry to reinforce Wanyan Wuzhu.
That night, the moon was dark and the wind was high. A large cavalry legion quietly broke camp, avoiding possible Song army eyes and ears, and like a black torrent flowing in the dark night, it quickly left the outer camp of Kaifeng.
At its core were 20,000 genuine Jin army Iron Pagoda Cavalry and cavalrymen, all heavily armored, making them unparalleled weapons in open field battles. They were supplemented by 30,000 lightly armed archer cavalrymen composed of elite Khitan, Bohai, and Xi tribesmen, who moved like the wind and were skilled in harassment and mounted archery.
With a total of 50,000 elite troops, all of whom were cavalry, the army drawn by Wanyan Aguda was terrifying. It was led by Wanyan Zongwang, another of the four great generals known for his steadiness and bravery. They marched day and night, bypassing possible ambush routes, and headed straight for Licheng in Shandong! Their mission was clear: to break through the Liangshan army's encirclement at all costs and rescue Jin Wuzhu!
As for Kaifeng, these cavalrymen left at night, extremely vigilant and careful, without revealing a single clue. Moreover, Wanyan Aguda used the tactic of increasing the number of cooking stoves, reducing the number from five men to two men per stove, so the amount of smoke from the stoves did not decrease the next day. Kaifeng had no idea that the 150,000 Jin troops outside the city had been reduced to only 100,000. And those who left were all elite troops.
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Meanwhile, outside Qingzhou City in Shandong, Liu Hong, who had just won a pyrrhic victory and completely trapped Jin Wuzhu, had not yet finished cleaning up the battlefield and comforting the wounded and the dead when he received a flood of urgent documents and death warrants from Kaifeng.
"His Majesty has been acting like a madman these past few days, issuing twelve imperial edicts ordering us to release Wanyan Wuzhu. He says Wanyan Aguda is demanding 200 million taels of silver, and since Kaifeng can't pay it, they're selling their own children..."
The strategist Wu Yong spoke with a bitter tone as he handed Liu Hong a heavy stack of silk that felt as if it were burning his hand.
"Sometimes, I really think that if Wanyan Aguda were to march directly into Kaifeng and kill the emperor, the situation would be most favorable for us."
All the generals in the tent were indignant. Guan Sheng narrowed his phoenix eyes, Lin Chong gripped his spear tightly, and Li Kui was so angry that he roared.
Despite his anger and curses, Liu Hong knew that Kaifeng could not be left unrestrained. It wasn't out of loyalty to the incompetent emperor, but for the greater good, for the legitimacy of the realm. If the emperor were truly captured and taken to the north, the land would be without a ruler, plunging the empire into even greater chaos. Ambitious figures would rise up everywhere, making the situation even more uncontrollable. The emperor and the core of the court had to be rescued, even if they were just puppets, to preserve a banner that could unite the people.