Chapter 679: The Sky Has Changed, the Wind Has Risen

Blocked by Shao Dengyun’s Beizhou forces, the troops the imperial court had assembled in the north could not withdraw unless they fought their way through Beizhou’s army in a bloody battle.

When the news returned, Shang Jianxiong and the others were shocked. Wasn’t the Shao clan at odds with Niu Youdao? Why would Shao Dengyun obey Shang Chaozong as well?

Yan’s three major sects were furious when they heard. What enraged them was that Shang Jianxiong had actually dared secretly transfer the northern forces behind their backs. If the northern defensive line loosened and provoked Han into attacking, the consequences would be disastrous.

Shang Jianxiong and his people had wanted to turn the raw rice into cooked rice first and leave the three sects with no choice. In the end, the rice never even made it into the pot.

The three sects were also secretly relieved that Shao Dengyun had acted when he did. The situation was obvious: Shang Jianxiong had plainly intended to ignore their pressure and proceed anyway. Even if the three sects tried to intercept the troops along the road, they would have found it very difficult. Lu Congsheng commanded thousands upon thousands of soldiers. Surely the small number of men the three sects could spare could not actually go to war with him. Internal fighting at a time like this would have been disastrous.

With Shao Dengyun’s Beizhou troops blocking the route, however, matters were different. Once the three sects also pressured the cultivators accompanying Lu Congsheng’s army, the imperial court’s northern forces were immediately suppressed and could no longer withdraw.

Shang Jianxiong’s actions had thoroughly enraged the three major sects.

The result was that he was placed under something close to house arrest. Disciples of the three sects were assigned to remain constantly at his side, monitoring his every word and movement day and night so he would have no further opportunity to act recklessly.

If not for fear that pushing too hard might drive the imperial loyalists into desperate resistance amid the present crisis, the three sects might well have deposed Shang Jianxiong outright in their anger and replaced him.

When the news reached Meng Shanming, he immediately seized the opportunity.

He persuaded Gong Lince to have the three major sects cooperate with him, then once again took control of the grain and fodder for the northern defensive line, ordering Shao Dengyun to seize authority over its distribution.

Once the soldiers’ rations were in his hands, the northern armies could no longer move about recklessly.

At this point, the imperial court’s main military forces throughout Yan had effectively all fallen into Shang Chaozong’s hands.

Military authority was now firmly grasped.

A decisive war with Song was imminent.

All the Yan forces assigned to the eastern campaign had completed their concentration around the Dongyu River.

After reaching the riverfront, Meng Shanming did not rest. He traveled continuously along the bank inspecting the terrain. Whenever he encountered local commoners hiding nearby, he even invited them to eat so he could question them about conditions on both sides of the river.

This was not the first time he had attacked across the Dongyu River, yet he still did not dare be careless.

He investigated every aspect of the area, always seeking greater detail.

News that Meng Shanming had concentrated three million troops along the Dongyu River and was actively preparing river-crossing equipment, ready to launch an attack at any time, immediately made the Song court tense.

There was only one reason.

The enemy commander was Meng Shanming, the man who had once left a shadow over Song so deep that even now it had not completely disappeared.

Song Grand Commander-in-Chief Luo Zhao therefore came under considerable pressure as well.

He understood the mood at court. Quite a few people were already saying Luo Zhao was ruining the state and demanding that the army withdraw.

Luo Zhao resisted the pressure and held to his judgment.

His army continued advancing toward Yanjing.

Then word arrived that Yan’s three major sects had sided with Shang Chaozong, and that Shang Chaozong had taken control of Yan’s main military forces.

The atmosphere around Luo Zhao abruptly tightened.

He could sense it as well.

Once Shang Chaozong had concentrated Yan’s strength in his hands, he would not merely sit there as decoration.

A decisive confrontation was probably coming.

...

“Marshal Meng, it has already been three days. We do not have much grain left. Why have we still not attacked?”

Meng Shanming sat in his wheelchair beneath a flagpole.

From time to time, he looked at the clouds overhead, then at the pennant on the pole indicating the wind’s direction.

Gong Lince walked over and finally could not restrain himself from asking.

He knew perfectly well that the eastern expeditionary army’s provisions could last only a few more days. Yet after all the troops had arrived, this old marshal had actually settled down and shown no intention of attacking.

Was he truly going to wait until his own grain was exhausted and send everyone to their deaths?

Meng Shanming said, “Wait a little longer.”

Gong Lince asked, “For what?”

“No hurry,” Meng Shanming replied. “It should come within these next two days.”

As for his true intention, he refused to reveal it.

If word leaked, the consequences would be unthinkable.

News that Yan’s army was still refusing to attack reached Luo Zhao as well.

He was once again staying in an abandoned relay station along the road.

Luo Zhao stared at the map on the wall and considered it again and again.

At last he muttered to himself, “What is he waiting for? His grain is insufficient. What exactly is Meng Shanming waiting for?”

Su Yuanbai paced nearby.

“I fear the Grand Commander-in-Chief truly guessed correctly. Meng Shanming put on the appearance of preparing an attack because he wanted to draw you back for a swift decisive battle. You did not fall for it, and now he has no move left.”

“Even if he wanted to pursue us now, he could no longer catch up. He is stranded beside the Dongyu River, unable to advance or retreat.”

Luo Zhao kept his gaze on the map and shook his head slightly.

The grand strategy had been his decision. He did not want to say anything discouraging now and shake military morale.

Yet the way the situation had changed made him realize that Yan’s army had probably already resolved to attack Song.

Things were different from before.

Shang Chaozong now held overall control of Yan’s main forces, yet showed not the slightest intention of fighting Luo Zhao.

Yan’s position was already precarious.

How could Yan’s three major sects possibly sit by and allow that to continue?

Logically, they should have forced Shang Chaozong to fight.

Yet instead they had sided with him.

What did that mean?

It meant the three major sects had already understood that Shang Chaozong had another plan and had tacitly approved it.

And if so, the objective was obvious.

The army gathered plainly along the Dongyu River.

Attack Song!

What Luo Zhao still could not understand was how.

The Dongyu River’s defenses were heavily manned. How could they be broken so easily?

What exactly was Meng Shanming waiting for?

Luo Zhao was convinced the old marshal had some hidden purpose.

The more he thought about it, the more uneasy he became.

But after marching this far, turning back now seemed already too late.

Luo Zhao spun around abruptly.

“Transmit my order again to every force along the river. Strengthen the entire river-defense line. Every man is to exercise the utmost vigilance. Be cautious, then more cautious still. Guard against a surprise attack by Yan!”

“Tell them that anyone who makes the slightest mistake will be beheaded without pardon!”

“The moment anything unusual is discovered, it must be reported to me immediately.”

“Yes!”

The messenger accepted the order and hurried away.

The men inside the hall exchanged glances.

They could all hear the heavy concern in Luo Zhao’s words.

Dong Yinglai hesitated before saying, “Two million heavily armed troops hold advantageous positions along the river and are waiting at their ease. Yan has three million men who would have to cross dangerous waters under attack. Their chance of success is almost nonexistent.”

“More than that, the Grand Commander-in-Chief planned ahead. Every large and small boat along the river was either destroyed or dragged eastward to our side.”

“There is no way Yan’s three million troops can find enough suitable vessels in a short time. If they intend to put millions of men onto wooden rafts and cross under fire, isn’t that a joke? Every man standing on those rafts would be a living archery target.”

Luo Zhao thought: How could Meng Shanming fail to understand something even we understand?

But that concern was difficult to voice openly.

All he said was, “Meng Shanming cannot be underestimated. We must be cautious.”

That much was certainly true.

There was never any harm in greater caution.

The others nodded one after another.

Wen You knew Luo Zhao well.

From his unusual manner, Wen You could tell something else was troubling him and planned to ask privately when no one else was present.

Luo Zhao turned back to the map.

His chest felt clogged with unease, the worry in his eyes impossible to hide.

Once again, he silently cursed Wu Gongling for ruining everything.

He hated Wu Gongling for diverting the calamity eastward too soon.

If only the bastard had dragged matters out longer and allowed Yan to collapse internally first. How much better it would have been if Song had entered the war only then.

...

The sky had changed.

The wind had risen.

Inside the central command tent, Meng Shanming was studying the map when he heard the wind howl through a gap in the canvas.

Slowly, he raised his head and looked toward the wildly flapping tent curtain.

His eyes suddenly narrowed.

Sheets of paper on the table were whipped into disorder by the gusting wind.

A soldier immediately appeared and secured the curtain.

Meng Shanming said heavily, “Push me outside.”

Luo Da’an, who had been reading nearby, immediately put down his book, rose, and pushed Meng Shanming out of the tent.

The moment they emerged, the roaring wind caught Meng Shanming’s clothes and sent his beard flying in disarray.

He raised his head toward the pennant on the flagpole.

Then he looked toward the sky.

A dark mass lay across the horizon.

Thick black clouds were rolling toward them.

“At last,” Meng Shanming murmured. “A heavy rain is coming.”

With weather like this, rain was inevitable.

Before long, the black clouds covered the sky.

Heavy drops began striking the ground with a rapid patter.

Soldiers ran in every direction.

Except for those on duty, everyone hurried back into the tents to shelter from the rain. Even the sentries quickly raised shields over their heads first.

The rain grew heavier and heavier.

Soon Heaven and Earth vanished into a gray curtain.

Nothing remained but the rushing roar of rain.

Night came early.

...

Across the river from Beizhou, within Han territory, bright sunlight still shone over endless military camps.

Inside the central command tent, Grand Marshal Jin Jue of Han stood before a map with several generals, studying the war between Yan and Song.

“This Meng Shanming is short on grain, yet he sits motionless beside the river. What trick is he playing?”

Ever since receiving the reports, Jin Jue had been considering the same question.

He was far more capable than Shang Yongzhong.

With a great war approaching, he had personally come to the front to command.

One general said, “Luo Zhao would never launch an invasion recklessly. He prepared his rear long ago. The river defenses are solid as iron and heavily manned.”

“Meng Shanming is unlikely to break through. Could he simply be out of options and putting on a show?”

Jin Jue had an honest, broad-featured face.

He stroked his beard and shook his head.

“Is Meng Shanming the kind of man who merely puts on a show?”

“I crossed hands with him years ago and suffered several heavy losses. If retainer cultivators had not helped me escape in time, I would already have died at his hands.”

“His use of troops combines hardness and softness. It is strange, shifting, and endlessly variable, with methods difficult to predict even for ghosts and gods.”

“‘Yan has Shanming’ is no empty reputation.”

“He cannot be underestimated.”

“Luo Zhao has never personally experienced Meng Shanming’s methods. If he treats him with this kind of arrogance and disregard, I fear he will suffer a major loss.”

Another general said, “Luo Zhao’s arrangements can hardly be called careless. Judging by his conduct since entering Yan, his command is disciplined and methodical. He has fought every battle beautifully.”

“Plainly Luo Zhao is no mediocre commander. He may suffer some disadvantage, but surely not a major loss?”

Jin Jue shook his head without committing himself.

Just then a clerk entered and presented a letter with both hands.

“My lord, a letter from the court. They warn that internal disorder has appeared in Beizhou.”

Jin Jue gave a small sound of acknowledgment and took the letter.

It reported a serious disagreement between Shang Jianxiong and Shang Chaozong.

The Beizhou forces had nearly fought the Yan court’s northern army, and relations between the two sides had become extremely tense.

The Han court was asking whether this might now be the opportunity to send troops.

After reading the letter, Jin Jue passed it to the generals.

Then he asked, “What does everyone think?”

What else could the generals think?

They had been watching Song’s army rampage through Yan for some time and had long since grown impatient.

One general cupped his hands.

“My lord, Song has already sent troops. If our side attacks now as well, Yan must fall and we must win!”

“Exactly, my lord. Luo Zhao is already riding through Yan staking claims to territory. Whoever occupies land now will own it. Afterward, if we ask Song to spit some of it back out, we will have no justification.”

“It is time for us to move too.”

After hearing everyone out, Jin Jue still waved a hand.

“Shao Dengyun is not an easy opponent. The timing is not right yet.”

“Wait a little longer.”

“Better to proceed steadily. Better still to be steadier.”

That was also the opinion he sent back to court.

After the generals left the central command tent, one of them muttered to a colleague in dissatisfaction, “If we do not attack now, then when? Are we supposed to wait until later, decide we received too little territory, and then seize it from Song by force?”

“Ah, you know our Grand Marshal. He is the famous ‘Steady Marshal.’”

[End of Chapter 679]