Putting aside the discussion of how Ali and Shao cut off the Yongji Canal after they returned to the camp, let's just say that evening, the moon was waning and the stars were sparse. After seeing the two off, Wuzhu wanted to turn back, but when he thought of Ali's words about "scratch the situation", he knew that if he wanted to really launch an attack, he still had to wait for the Yellow River to freeze over. He became anxious and decided not to rush back to the camp. Instead, he took Tai Shi Nu and other attendants while it was still dark, and walked slowly downstream along the embankment of the Yellow River, close to the water surface. He asked the attendants to test the ice condition at the edge along the way, in order to observe the ice situation.
After all, the current temperature situation is already very delicate.
For example, in the Yongji Canal, a thick layer of ice had formed on the surface because the Jin camp had ignored it. Soldiers had to break the palm-thick ice to get water. The Yongji Canal section on the Song army's side probably had to rely on comprehensive ice-breaking to transport water.
The same was true for the Yellow River. Every day from early morning to dusk, Song soldiers and civilians would work non-stop to break the ice in order to delay the flooding as much as possible.
In this situation, if there is another one or two drops in temperature, or an ice and snow event, the weather may gradually freeze over.
In this way, Wanyan Wushu followed the river upstream under the cover of night. Along the way, he could clearly feel that the ice layer on the river bank was getting wider and thicker as time went by. But when he walked all the way downstream and faced the area of the Song army camp, there were only ice debris on the river bank... This was understandable, because Wushu saw with his own eyes that in the middle of the night, there were still many Song army civilians holding torches and riding small boats on the river, pounding ice overnight. What surprised Wushu was that there was a lot of movement around the Song army warships. It was obvious that the ships were anchored in the river, and the freezing was directly caused in just the first half of the night, forcing the Song army to do so.
It seems that the freezing of the Yellow River is inevitable, and the Song army knows this, but they are just doing their best to transport supplies and control the river as much as possible.
It was the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, halfway through the night, with a strong northwest wind, and the moonlight and starlight overhead were not very bright. It was a typical cold winter night.
However, at this time, the camps on both sides were dense and large, and the bonfires were connected for dozens of miles. Wuzhu stood on the inner side of the river bank and saw the fires on both sides reflecting each other. There was a faint light in the river due to the ice flowers and water color rising in the dark night. After getting a glimpse of the situation, he became a little dazed.
The river flows for thousands of miles, and when it reaches the lower reaches, it splits into two, and then into five. It looks vast and magnificent, but in fact the amount of water inside is no longer as abundant as that in the upper reaches. Even the source of the water inside has changed, making it difficult to find its source.
In fact, Wuzhu secretly thought that if not for this, the river might not be frozen every year.
But, on second thought, a river is still a river after all. Even in low water and with only one fork, it is still magnificent, with boats still sailing across it, making hundreds of thousands of troops sigh in despair at the sight of the river, unable to make the slightest progress.
Compared with the natural environment and geography, what are the mere human affairs? And how should we deal with the general trend?
Should we learn from the words in the newspaper of the Zhao official residence in the south and have the determination to conquer nature, or should we go with the flow and disperse? Or should we do our best and leave the rest to fate, and do what we can?
In a trance, the ruling prince of the Jin Dynasty was actually a little crazy again.
However, just as the Fourth Prince was sighing out of habit, suddenly, the Grand Master's slave, regardless of etiquette, dragged Wuzhu directly to the river bank. Wuzhu came to his senses and saw two boats in the river heading straight to the west of the bank. The people on the boats were clearly flashing in light and shadow under the glow of the two banks, and they were clearly the elite soldiers of the Song army in armor.
Perhaps they are an elite squad of Song army coming to cross the river for reconnaissance. Although it doesn't seem like they are coming for him, there should be no big danger. But a gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall, so there is no need to do so... While thinking, Wuzhu hurriedly climbed up the river bank with Tai Shi Nu and other attendants, preparing to turn back.
However, this action exposed their whereabouts, and the two ships came directly towards this side.
When Wuzhu arrived at this side of the river bank, he heard the sound of boats hitting the thin ice on the other side of the river bank. He was about to get on his horse, but at this moment, someone on the other side took the initiative to speak with a smile:
"I wonder which general of the Jin Kingdom came to the river to watch the scenery instead of going to sleep at night?"
When Wuzhu heard the other party's loud voice and calm words, he knew that he had met a general of the Song army. He was slightly moved and while mounting his horse, he gestured to Tai Shi Nu and others.
Tai Shi Nu and other attendants quickly bent their bows and drew their arrows just in case. At the same time, they took down a large shield and jumped on their horses to cover Wuzhu. On the other side, across the river bank, there were the sounds of bowstrings and the rattling of armor, as if they were also preparing.
When Tai Shi Nu and the others were ready, Wushu smiled and said, "The Great Jin Kingdom's Privy Councilor, King of Wei, Wanyan Wushu, is here. I wonder which general of the Song Kingdom shares the same sentiment as me and wants to enjoy the view by the river late at night?"
There was obviously some commotion on the other side, but it soon quieted down, and then the one who had been there continued to respond with a smile: "The Marshal of Hebei Road of the Song Dynasty and the Commander-in-Chief of the Front Army of the Imperial Camp, Yue Fei, is here! Fourth Prince, it's a rare opportunity for us to meet, why don't we go over to the embankment and chat?"
Wushu was also stunned for a while, and Taishi Nu and others were also in an uproar for a moment, but soon, Wushu smiled bitterly and said, "I have heard that Marshal Yue is the best in Hebei in archery, horsemanship, swordsmanship, and spears. Even in the army, he is only slightly better than Prince Han because of his seniority... You are so brave that I am afraid I will be shot by an arrow if I go over now... Marshal Yue, if you are willing, why not come over here, I will definitely treat you well."
The man opposite, Yue Fei, laughed even more after hearing this: "Don't try to fool me, Fourth Prince. No matter how strong my martial arts skills are, at this distance, if I get hit by a heavy arrow from the Jurchens, I will be crippled if not dead... Why bother yourself?"
"That's right, that's right." Wuzhu nodded repeatedly, sighed, and seemed to be thinking about something. "If that's the case, why don't we just shake hands and chat across the embankment?"
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