Of course, it's a bit out of place.
Therefore, Wanyan Wushu could not help but be confused: "In a place where we have no way to advance or retreat, do we still have the mood to talk about the scenery?"
"Why can't we talk about the scenery when we are at a loss?" Han Chang didn't even turn his head, but continued to look at the river and whispered. "In my opinion, such a beautiful scenery is just the right place for a hero like the Fourth Prince to die..."
Faced with such shocking words, Wuzhu remained silent. He knew that even his confidant Han Chang was unwilling to continue moving forward with him.
"Fourth Prince, don't force your way to the northeast to cross the remaining rivers." Han Chang said so, but he seemed to have another opinion. "There is something strange in the northeast, or it should be said that there is something strange in the Song army."
"What do you mean?" It might be because of the blow of the current situation, or it might be because he himself understood that this confidant by his side was his last resort to maintain his dominance in the army and suppress Balisu and Wulindatai, so Wuzhu remained calm for a rare time.
"I have thought about the experiences of the past few days carefully... There are at least two things that have shocked me." Han Chang said calmly. "First, the Song army is too bold, which is completely different from the previous Song army. They are very calm in night attacks, harassment, guarding the ferry, and retreating. They are brave and capable of fighting. It can be seen that the victory of the Zhao Song officials in Yanling-Changshe has greatly boosted the morale of the Song army, and they are no longer in the embarrassing state of the past. This is a big problem. I am afraid that our future battles with the Song army will be difficult."
Wanyan Wushu nodded slowly.
"Another point is that the Song army was so brave in fighting and so measured in their advances and retreats, so why didn't they take the opportunity to eat up our 4,000 men on the north bank of the Ru River last time?"
Wushu shook his head again and again: "How could the Song army defeat four of us in one night? More than a thousand casualties are already their limit."
"Maybe so, but I am always a little worried." Han Chang pointed at the flag on the other side and narrowed his eyes. "Others are fine, but this Yue Fei is not a man of false reputation, right? Not to mention Liangshanpo, once Yanling-Changshe was defeated, more than a dozen of us were killed in an hour, and he was the first to cross the Qingqi River..."
"What do you want to say?" Wuzhu suddenly interrupted.
"I always feel that the Song army is deliberately luring us to the northeast." Han Chang said seriously. "These days, there are casualties, but they are never big. There are delays, but they always allow us to continue to advance... But the military situation in front is unclear. When I came to my senses, I realized that this place is a dead end for cavalry, and it has become a situation where we can't advance or retreat! Fourth Prince, let me ask you a question, what if Marshal Talai is defeated again in the past few days? Wouldn't there be 100,000 Song troops waiting in front?"
Wuzhu instinctively wanted to speak, but then he was choked and broke into sweat.
At this point, Han Chang finally glanced at the Fourth Prince beside him, and then whispered a new piece of news: "Let the Fourth Prince know that Wang De and Hu Yantong have caught up from behind, have already broken through Wuyang, and crossed the Li River... Otherwise, if it was just Yue Fei's posture in front, I would not have guessed so much."
Wanyan Wushu was stunned for a long time before he responded: "Why did you tell me such military information only now?"
"Because I'm afraid that the Fourth Prince is too eager to capture the Zhao Song official, and upon hearing the news, he can't wait to cross the river, and even loses his mind." Han Chang responded coldly. "And if that's the case, based on my observations over the past few days, I'm afraid that General Balisu will directly lead his troops west..."
"He dares?!"
"Why wouldn't he dare?" Han Chang remained cold. "The Eastern Army was defeated in Henan in this battle. What can the Fourth Prince and Marshal Talan use to defeat the Western Army? Are Marshal Nianhan and Yin Shu just for show?"
Wuzhu was speechless for a moment, and then became more and more frightened.
"Not only that, he has already lost his own nephew in this expedition. If he loses his soldiers, how can his brother Yin Shu forgive him?" Han Chang continued to analyze calmly. "Fourth Prince, it is reasonable for him to leave... If he leaves, we will fall apart. When the Song army surrounds us from the north and south, this river will be the burial place of the Fourth Prince and this fool who will never abandon the Fourth Prince and leave! However, such a scenery is also suitable for the Fourth Prince's identity. I think the Fourth Prince must have no complaints like me!"
Wuzhu was completely speechless until the sun set and the surrounding soldiers began to light fires and set up camps. Only then did he reluctantly speak in a low voice: "Yuanji (Han Chang's courtesy name), what do you say we should do?"
Han Chang remained calm, and had obviously thought it through: "Pretend to cross the river, pack up and prepare dry food, then suddenly abandon the baggage, and all the cavalry will go northwest along the Ying River, turn from Gaoshi to Luoyang, and then plan other things!"
Just as Wuzhu was about to say something else, Han Chang finally lost his patience and said, "Fourth Prince... I did not speak out at the evening military meeting, but came here privately because there are some things that cannot be said in public. In this battle, the Fourth Prince was defeated by the Zhao Song official again! Whether in bravery or decisiveness, you are at a disadvantage. However, our army still has countless cavalrymen, so we can still take the initiative in the future. That's why I advise you to recognize the situation as soon as possible and don't make the same mistake again!"
After that, Han Chang stopped talking. After an unknown amount of time, Wanyan Wushu nodded in the twilight and said, "Just as General Han said."
Han Chang persuaded Wuzhu so much that he was completely relieved and was about to turn around and leave, but unexpectedly the Fourth Prince still stood still. Han Chang was helpless and was about to persuade him again, but with the help of the faint firelight around him, he saw the other party take out a thick arrow unique to the Jurchens from the quiver behind him.
Han Chang's heart moved, so he stood still, reined in his horse and kept silent.
As expected, Wuzhu had an arrow in his hand, but he took out a dagger from behind, cut the arrow and dropped it to the ground. He swore by the river: "Father Taizu, if I cannot destroy the Zhao Song Dynasty and kill Zhao Jiu of Cangzhou in this lifetime, I will be cut into pieces by this arrow!"
After saying this, he straightened his back, retracted his hips, and rode back to the camp under Han Chang's stunned gaze.
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