East of Bianliang, near Qi County, a small village had recently grown lively.
Most of the original residents nearby had already relocated; the bustle now came from the steady arrival of armies mustering to the emperor’s aid from every direction. With the Wurui Battalion at their core, more than sixty thousand troops had already gathered near Qi County.
Even for a regular army, once numbers exceed ten thousand, it becomes a complete ecosystem in itself; at the scale of tens of thousands, a commander’s grip on military discipline becomes a serious test.
With the Jurchen army now at the gates and battle on the verge of breaking out, discipline naturally had to be far stricter than in ordinary times. Yet with several armies converging in this area, each belonging to a different senior military official, it had become an endless source of trouble every day—whose orders to follow, who to go to for logistics, where to billet. This on top of the fact that the Wuwei, Wusheng, and Wurui armies were each under different commanders. Beyond these three armies, the thirty thousand men of the Wujie Battalion had arrived from the west; aside from a few independent-numbered imperial guard units near the capital—such as the Pengri, Tianwu, and Longwu—which had already all withdrawn back to the capital, there were also various small-scale local government forces from around the country, plus all manner of relief armies converging from every direction. Every day it was an unending headache figuring out who answered to whom, who to request supplies from, and where to house everyone.
The Wu Dynasty’s military organization had always been rather chaotic, and with this massive gathering of forces, the regional pacification commissioners of each army were all technically equal in rank; with them all converging here, none of the armies had any authority over the others. Among the men serving as overall commanders—He Chengzhong of the Wuwei Battalion under Tong Guan’s faction, Liang Zhongshu under Cai Jing’s faction, and Huo Jue of the Wurui Battalion under the Right Chancellor’s faction—though they met daily to discuss strategy, none dared take the initiative to attack the Jurchens. As the various armies drew closer together, friction over logistics multiplied endlessly between them.
Within the capital, the man with the most prestige and ability to lead this great battle was, in fact, Tong Guan—however poorly he might be judged by later generations, at this moment he still genuinely held the position of the Wu Dynasty’s foremost military commander. But with the Jurchens marching south, the situation in the capital had grown complicated and ever-shifting; Tong Guan, having fled from Taiyuan, carried a stain on his record, and after returning to the capital, Zhou Zhe harbored no small amount of resentment toward him. Tong Guan himself had shrunk back as well.
It was for this reason that, when the time came to select the supreme commander for this defense of the capital, only the staunchly upright Left Chancellor Li Gang stepped forward. With the state of the realm so dark and its military leadership so incompetent, Li Gang had voiced many grievances over it. It was said that when no one at court dared step up, the old chancellor had no choice but to declare: “If His Majesty is not afraid to entrust military affairs to a civil official, this humble servant is willing to take up the task.” This was, for men like Tong Guan, a slap in the face delivered right there in open court. But the Wu Dynasty had always entrusted military command to civil officials in any case; Tong Guan lowered his head and said nothing, and Zhou Zhe, having found his scapegoat, gladly tossed the hot potato aside.
After taking charge, Li Gang, likely harboring some resentment of his own, had even torn down the garden of Cai Jing’s household in order to fill in the waterway. In truth, though he had held the post of Left Chancellor for several years by this point, he had long been constrained and hemmed in on all sides in his duties; the true power at court had always rested with men like Cai Jing, Tong Guan, Wang Fu, and Liang Shicheng. The old chancellor’s temperament was blunt and fiery, lacking the flexibility of Right Chancellor Qin Sinyuan, but with the fate of the entire court now resting on this one man’s shoulders, his outburst—delivered as a slap to Cai Jing’s face—left no one daring to speak against him.
Of course, all of this was something only the upper echelons in the capital privately understood. Though Li Gang now held supreme command and kept the capital tightly defended, commanding the several armies outside the city with the same ease as commanding his own arm was no easy feat. Under these circumstances, when all manner of scattered relief forces converged from outside the city—including some bandit groups that had previously surrendered and been granted amnesty—arriving in groups of three or five hundred, the question of who they should answer to and whose mess hall they should eat from became a genuine headache.
It was against this backdrop that a young general named Yue Fei, leading over three hundred men under his command, arrived at Qi County and found Ning Yi in a small courtyard in a nearby village—amid precisely this sort of chaotic situation.
Outside the main encampment where the great armies had gathered, all sorts of ramshackle small camps buzzed with noisy chatter, occasional outbreaks of friction, daily quarrels over military supplies and provisions, on top of a constant influx of various minor battle reports and wounded soldiers. The consolidated armies weren’t necessarily reluctant to absorb more men, but the efficiency of incorporating them into the ranks was terribly low—the Wu Dynasty’s cumbersome bureaucratic system was still very much in force, and things hadn’t yet reached the point where “expedient measures” could simply override the rules. And so the whole scene had grown tense and disorderly.
The more than three hundred men Yue Fei led had originally been stationed near his hometown of Tangyin. Though the Jurchens’ southward advance hadn’t struck Tangyin directly, the various chains of command north of the Yellow River had already fallen into disarray. Upon learning of his master’s death, he had led his three hundred-odd men in pursuit southward, and upon arriving near Bianliang, found himself uncertain which army to report to.
Fortunately, though he was loyal and straightforward by nature, he wasn’t without cunning. After forming his unit, he had quietly made inquiries and learned that his reinstatement had come indirectly through orders issued by Qin Shaoqian. He had never before met such a high official of the court, but upon arriving near Qi County, he spotted people from the Bamboo Chronicle and made his way over to find Ning Yi.
The Bamboo Chronicle had gathered quite a sizable presence here—well over a hundred people—and occupied a large courtyard near the Wurui Battalion’s camp. After some inquiry, Yue Fei learned that the scattered soldiers gathered around only knew that this courtyard saw people coming and going constantly, unusually busy, with officials occasionally passing in and out, though no one knew exactly what went on inside. Some guessed they were responsible for helping transport logistics and provisions for the court. But when Yue Fei announced himself and was let in, all he heard was someone cursing furiously.
“…You ignorant fool, you have no idea what’s at stake here—this concerns the life and death of countless people! Is this some place for petty men like you to seize the opportunity to play power games?! How many died at Chenghuang Slope? How many more at Yuangang? I will not let the people under my jurisdiction go to their deaths! Staying in the city, holding the walls—at least that gives them a chance at life—”
The scolding rang out sharp and righteous. Yue Fei had no idea what it was about, but then another voice rose in response.
“My lord Yu, I’ve told you, you’ve misunderstood. The Bamboo Chronicle’s people are only helping coordinate the evacuation on the court’s behalf, since we know the local roads well. My people are helping coordinate timing and routes for you—whether it’s done or not is up to you. I’m just a commoner; how could I possibly force you to do anything…”
“You’re twisting words!” the man cut him off sharply. “Ning Liheng, do you think I don’t know? I, Yu Wenfeng, may be a minor county magistrate, but I’m not without connections either. Everyone knows the Bamboo Chronicle has the backing of the Right Chancellor’s household, and this whole business out here has all been coordinated through you people. Your Bamboo Chronicle people drop things off and leave, but the moment I refuse to go along, an official document arrives that very afternoon—do you think I don’t know what’s going on?! With the great battle imminent, you people carry on with this absurd business all around us—and you call yourself a well-read man! Aren’t you afraid the dead will come back to haunt you from beyond the grave—”
“Someone, see my lord Yu out. My lord Yu, you’ve got this all wrong. If you don’t wish to evacuate, then don’t. This humble one still has much pressing business to attend to—official matters piling up. Once things here are settled, I’ll come personally to apologize and explain myself…”
“A real man stands tall and speaks his mind—Ning Liheng, do you dare act but not dare speak of it? Do you dare not face me on this—”
Amid the commotion, the sound of someone being forcibly thrown out could be heard. An official was shoved out the door. At this point people were bustling in and out of the courtyard, and Ning Yi himself emerged from the gate, a few men following behind him. Yue Fei was about to step forward when the sound of a galloping horse stopped just outside the courtyard, and a man with impressive lightness skills came dashing in, speaking a few quiet words to Ning Yi. Yue Fei, being skilled in martial arts, caught something about three thousand-odd men somewhere. Ning Yi frowned and said in a low voice, “Which army’s nearby—a scattered unit? Have Brother Wenren go get the order. Brother Yong, could you trouble yourself to lead a group over there—as long as there’s food, they have to move…”
The man addressed as “Brother Yong” nearby was Qi Xinyong, the Soul-Seeking Spear. Yue Fei had crossed paths with him once before in Jiangning; the man simply gave a cupped-hand salute and departed. Only then did Ning Yi finally turn and stride quickly toward Yue Fei. “Brother Yue, it’s been a long time. You’ve made your way here too.”
Yue Fei stood ramrod straight and returned the salute with cupped hands. His friendship with Ning Yi wasn’t particularly deep—back in Jiangning he’d once lent a hand in the rescue of the Su family, and they’d met and talked a couple of times since. Ning Yi regarded him as a “benefactor,” but Yue Fei, having been trained by Zhou Tong since childhood, had at the time simply been chasing down bandits and hadn’t thought it any great matter. Coming here now, he had no wish to be seen as someone leveraging a past favor for personal gain.
Moreover, though the two of them had briefly fought side by side back in Jiangning, Yue Fei later learned that this scholarly-looking young man had a ruthless streak—after the massacre of a certain family, he had pursued the culprits all the way to Liangshan and slaughtered half the stronghold there. In the jianghu, opinions of him remained decidedly mixed, both righteous and sinister. Having just now overheard that county magistrate’s furious tirade, Yue Fei instinctively kept a bit of distance from him.
Seeing Yue Fei had come looking for him, Ning Yi of course understood why, and before long had Qin Shaoqian brought over to make the introduction. At this point Yue Fei was still an unknown, whereas Qin Shaoqian was already a major general in the army—having lost an eye holding off the Jurchen forces at Shouzhang, he carried an intense, imposing air of ferocity. Yue Fei simply assumed Ning Yi was deliberately trying to build connections for him; Ning Yi told Qin Shaoqian that this young officer surely had real skill in battle, and Qin Shaoqian took it merely as flattering words. He then had Yue Fei’s three-hundred-odd men incorporated into the main army and given provisions and supplies, before placing this unit together with the Bamboo Chronicle, to be temporarily under Ning Yi’s command and direction.
Yue Fei’s original reinstatement had come about through connections Ning Yi had pulled for him, and now here Ning Yi was again, going out of his way to help. As Qin Shaoqian saw it, this was either Ning Yi repaying a debt from Jiangning, or he genuinely believed this young officer had real potential and wanted to build a friendly connection—perhaps to recruit him as muscle down the line. At this time military men were widely looked down upon; though Qin Shaoqian himself was a military man, as far as he was concerned, a minor officer commanding a mere three hundred provincial troops running errands under a chancellery aide like Ning Yi was nothing to be ashamed of. And besides, even though no one at this point was particularly confident about the necessity of what Ning Yi was doing, the relocation of over a million civilians around the capital was, in truth, an enormously labor-intensive undertaking.
One of Yue Fei’s major reasons for heading south had been the death of his master Zhou Tong, and to find himself instead assigned as a bodyguard to a group of merchants doing who-knew-what left him more than a little resentful. But having served in the army for several years, he understood a fair bit about military and official affairs, and so naturally wouldn’t do anything rash. And in this period, with well over a hundred thousand men gathered together, all that occurred were fierce but small-scale skirmishes—everyone was in a standoff, holding their positions—leaving a mid-to-lower-ranking officer like himself rather puzzled by the whole situation.
By all rights, with the Jurchens already at the gates of the capital, and over a hundred thousand troops gathered here on top of nearly a hundred thousand more within the city, surely everyone should want to drive the Jurchens out as quickly as possible—so why was everyone just sitting around here in such chaotic disarray?
Though he couldn’t quite make sense of Ning Yi, Ning Yi for his part had no intention of neglecting him, and in the days that followed, despite his busy schedule, would come by to greet him and chat for a while. When Yue Fei asked about the situation, Ning Yi, who certainly knew of the unrest inside and outside the capital during this period, could only say, after some thought: “Busy with negotiations.”
Both inside and outside the capital, negotiations were indeed the order of the day.
Within Bianliang, after weathering the initial wave of fierce assaults, the Jurchens had sent envoys to deliver terms for peace negotiations. The peace terms comprised four articles:
First, the Wu Dynasty would compensate the Jin state for its military expenses: five million taels of gold, fifty million taels of silver, ten thousand head of cattle and horses, and a million bolts of silk.
Second, Zhou Zhe would honor Wuqimai as his paternal uncle.
Third, the territories of Zhongshan, Taiyuan, and Hejian would be ceded.
Fourth, an imperial prince and a chancellor would be handed over as hostages to escort the Jurchen army safely back north.
In theory, with the battle not yet even joined, these four terms together amounted to something that, for any nation, left essentially nothing to negotiate. Yet at least according to the intelligence reaching Ning Yi, the capital at this moment found itself in a peculiar position: Zhou Zhe, on one hand, backed Li Gang’s staunch defense with tremendous displayed “resolve,” while on the other hand, the court was genuinely deliberating the question of suing for peace—it was said envoys had already been sent twice to the Jurchen camp to negotiate terms.
“I hear the capital’s in an uproar over this,” Ning Yi said with a sigh to Yue Fei as the sun set, watching the vast, bustling encampment. There wasn’t much more he could say about it. Within the capital, the emperor had placed the responsibility for defending the city and prosecuting the war on Li Gang’s shoulders, only to turn around and discuss peace talks behind his back. Li Gang had already cursed furiously in the throne hall on several occasions, with words like “this brings joy to our enemies and pain to those close to us” and “what face would we have to show the men fighting at the front” already spoken aloud—yet most everyone else, when raising the matter, spoke only of the fate of the realm, carefully skirting around this forbidden subject.
Zhou Zhe, too, avoided the topic, and simply sought to placate Li Gang: “We do intend to fight. Given the state of the realm, the fault lies with Us. But Chancellor, for the sake of the realm, the soldiers need only concern themselves with fighting bravely—We, however, cannot help but prepare for both outcomes.”
Having failed to press his point, Li Gang had also requested that he himself be allowed to go negotiate directly with the Jurchens. But Zhou Zhe, ever perceptive, did not grant this request, sending instead the more pliable Li Zhuo.
Qin Sinyuan had said nothing throughout all of this.
Qin Shaohe had been holding Taiyuan for a full month now; with communications cut off between the two sides, his current situation remained unknown. Though Qin Sinyuan would never dream of bringing up his own son fighting at the front as leverage at court—that had become, in itself, a forbidden subject no one could raise.
After all, the very people the rear might sell out were, at this moment, fighting for their lives at the front, their fate uncertain…
A few days later, an imperial edict arrived: Qin Sinyuan was dismissed from his post as chancellor.