Located at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains and north of the ancient Yellow River, the Hebei West Route served as a crucial barrier for defending the capital of Bianliang. From north to south, it encompassed the four prefectures of Zhongshan (present-day Dingzhou), Zhending (present-day Zhengding), Xinde (present-day Zhaoxian), and Qingyuan (present-day Xingtai). Six armies, namely Tianwei, Beiping, Ansu, Yongning, Guangxin, and Shun'an, were stationed there, totaling 50,000 men.
On December 13, the Jin army attacked Zhongshan Prefecture.
The Song general Zhan Du fought tenaciously against the Jin army outside Zhongshan Prefecture and killed Pucha and Shengguo.
On December 15th, the Jin army bypassed Zhongshan, advanced southward, and attacked Zhending Prefecture.
Li Miao, a general of the Song Dynasty, was guarding Zhending Prefecture. He had less than 2,000 soldiers and less than 110,000 dan of grain. Although the city was besieged for several days, it was not captured.
On December 20th, the Jin army bypassed Zhending and continued southward. Qingyuan and Xinde prefectures were captured and they approached the Yellow River.
On the north bank of the Yellow River, Song general Liang Fangping fled in panic after being questioned, and the 20,000 defenders were captured effortlessly by the Jin soldiers.
On the south bank of the Yellow River, the 20,000-strong defending army led by Song general He Guan saw the Jin army attacking, and the only measure they took was to burn the ropes on the bridge to slow down the Jin army's speed of crossing the Yellow River.
On December 23, the Jin army took three days to use small boats to cross the Yellow River, planning to attack the Song capital Kaifeng directly.
Heavy snow fell for seven consecutive days. The Jin army rested on the spot and committed all kinds of atrocities in the city, including burning, killing, looting, raping and pillaging, which greatly shook the morale of the people.
The first day of the first lunar month welcomes the New Year.
Wanyan Zongmou was drinking and having fun with his men in the city lord's mansion. The naked former Liao princess Yelu Guyu was held in Wanyan Zongmou's arms and touched all over. Her body was covered with bruises, and it was a horrible sight.
Yelu Guyu's eyes were dull and he let himself be manipulated like a puppet.
"Grand Marshal, we beg you to be gentle and not kill her again. The most beautiful princess of the Liao Kingdom, your subordinates are eagerly waiting for her."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"You've been causing trouble for Song women these past few days, so why are you still so hungry?"
"Grand Marshal, how can this be the same? It's not just about a woman's looks and figure; her status, position, and reputation are even more of a pleasant poison. Thinking of these high-ranking young ladies, talented women, princesses, and concubines enjoying themselves beneath me, I feel a little more pleased..."
The Jin man grabbed the trembling woman beside him and kicked her into a corner with a powerful kick: "This kind of place only has the daughters of ordinary magistrates. It's not exciting at all. It took me a long time to feel anything..."
"Rude, barbaric! You've already killed several people in the past few days. Aren't your subordinates just waiting for you to tire of them? And you still have the nerve to beg the Grand Marshal..."
"Hahahaha!" The Jin man took a big gulp of his wine. "That's because they're incompetent. I told them that all they need is the heads of a hundred Song people to take a beautiful woman from me. It's so easy. A bunch of cowards actually said they were tired of killing..."
"Whatever the boss is like, the people under him will be like him. If one soldier is cowardly, the whole army will be cowardly."
Someone joked: "100 is too few, these are just two-legged sheep, so they can be killed at will..."
"The Jin man said with a ferocious look, 'Bullshit! You dare call me a coward? Come out and let's coach each other.'"
"Just practice, am I afraid of you?"
The people around started to cheer: "Let's do a fight, let's do a fight..."
"It's New Year's Day, stop arguing. She's just a former Liao princess. Once we conquer Bianliang, she can have whatever she wants. If you're still thinking about Yelu Guyu, I'll let you have some fun for a few days. But be careful, don't let me spoil you..."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
"The Grand Marshal is mighty!"
Just as the party was getting busy, someone suddenly came from outside to report that a secret agent from Bianliang City had arrived to deliver a message.
"Let them all out!"
"Grand Marshal, this woman is beyond saving."
"Drag him away!" Wanyan Zongmou glared at the man angrily. "There are more than 60,000 men in the barracks. You should restrain yourself. Many of our brothers have never had sex."
A Song man walked quickly into the house, took out a metal box from the lining and handed it to Wanyan Zongmou.
Wanyan Zongmou took out a small key from the cloth bag he carried with him and inserted it into the metal box.
“Crack!”
Wanyan Zongmou opened the metal box and took out a secret letter from it. His face turned pale at the first glance.
The metal box moved along Wanyan Zongmou's hand and rolled onto the ground, making a crisp sound.
"How dare he? How dare he?"
"Zhao Huan, you and I are irreconcilable..."
"Wang Zongchu, Niu Gao, Liang Chen, I will cut you into pieces to comfort my third brother's spirit in heaven..."
"Come here, pass the order down: Send troops immediately to attack the Song Dynasty and avenge my third brother."
"Grand Marshal, what's wrong?"
"When two countries are at war, envoys are not executed. The Song State actually broke its promise and sent people to surround and kill my third brother. My third brother died heroically in order to prevent the underground passage leading directly to the city of Bianliang from being exposed."
"Grand Marshal, I understand your feelings, but Zhongshan and Zhending are still holding out. If our army marches directly south, we'll have concerns."
The Jin man took the secret letter and his eyes widened. "Behead 217 Jin envoys and build a Jingguan to warn the enemy."
"Fuck him."
"When did the Song Dynasty become so bold..."
"Grand Marshal, I'm sorry."
"There's no point in talking nonsense, let others mourn as well."
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
Soon, Wanyan Zongmou led his generals to the battle. No one noticed the woman lying on the ground, her chest rising and falling slightly.
……………………………………………
The City Lord's Mansion was deserted in an instant, leaving only devastation.
Bai Sanniang's consciousness was fading.
She was probably really going to die.
She was not very afraid of death. Instead of continuing to endure the cruel torture of the Jin soldiers, death might be a relief.
In a daze, Bai Sanniang suddenly felt a hint of warmth on her frozen body, and heard intermittent sounds in her ears.
"Brother Yue, it seems we are a step too late and Wanyan Zongwang has escaped."
"The best time to assassinate them is in the city. Now they are resting in the barracks after a long march. We don't have any chance to attack them anymore."
"Brother, with your martial arts skills, taking the enemy general's head amidst a huge army is as easy as taking something out of a bag or reading the lines on your palm. Why go through so much trouble..."
"That's a fight to the death... When it really came to the critical moment, I replaced him."
"First, find an opportunity. In addition to assassinating Wanyan Zongwang, we must also gather the fleeing militia and garrison troops and unite them to fight against the Jin army."
"How can we possibly defeat 60,000 Jin soldiers with just a few of us? We still need to expand the anti-Jin forces."
"Whatever my brother says, I'll do."
"Well, save people first."
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