Chapter 112: Trapped (Fifth Update)

At least the old fellow knew when to yield. With a broad stroke of his brush, Zhao Huan granted the approval.

Zhao Huan had originally intended to pin the blame for the Daoist’s assassination attempt on Wang Fu, but he had not expected the man to be so sensible. Seeing that the scheme had failed, Wang Fu had sought to retreat while the tide was still high. However, Zhao Huan was not a man to be trifled with; since the man had tried to kill him, how could he be allowed to leave alive? Thus, while on his way back to his hometown, Wang Fu was ordered by local officials to commit suicide.

After Wang Fu’s death, Zhao Huan had all his family members exiled to Lingnan to support the Song Dynasty’s "Four Modernizations." As for Wang Fu’s assets, they were naturally confiscated in their entirety, filling Zhao Huan’s private treasury once again.

In the aftermath, a large number of court officials were demoted or banished, all of whom had participated in the palace coup. With this single, simple maneuver, Zhao Huan had successfully purged the treacherous elements from his administration. From then on, the Song court became a place of integrity and virtue, setting out on the path to revival.

However, Wu Jie was having a difficult time. He had successfully broken out of Fuping City with only twenty thousand men, retreating first to Daqing City and then to Huangtian Dang. By now, the number of soldiers under his command who were actually fit for battle had dwindled to fewer than ten thousand. If reinforcements did not arrive soon, his entire force would be wiped out.

That was not the greatest of his troubles, however. The most dire issue was the complete lack of food. Initially, many local civilians had braved the risk to bring supplies to Wu Jie’s troops at Huangtian Dang, but they were discovered and slaughtered by the Western Xia army. Even then, the common people did not cease their efforts. In response, the Western Xia military turned cruel, implementing a policy of collective punishment: if a single person in a village was found providing food to the Song army, the entire village would be executed. This effectively stifled the support from the local populace.

Consequently, Wu Jie’s ten thousand men were in dire straits, facing imminent starvation.

Fengrenduo Baozhong was in no hurry to finish them off. He toyed with the Song army like a cat playing with a mouse, keeping them tightly besieged within Huangtian Dang.

"General, this was sent by the Western Xia army outside the city," Deputy General Ye Long said to Wu Jie.

Wu Jie took the proclamation Ye Long handed him, read it, and chuckled. The contents were similar to the one Li Changqi had issued previously, but times had changed, and now, such a tactic had real potential.

The proclamation read: "Anyone who can bind Wu Jie and bring him down from the mountain shall be rewarded with one hundred taels of gold. On the day the city falls, they shall be spared from death!"

Wu Jie laughed heartily, tossed the notice aside, and remarked, "Well, well. Who would have thought that even at such a time, my life would still be worth so much?"

Ye Long sighed and asked, "I wonder what His Majesty is thinking. Why has he not sent reinforcements yet?"

"His Majesty has his own difficulties," Wu Jie replied helplessly. "We are fighting the Western Xia and the Jin Dynasty simultaneously; our military strength is severely stretched. Liu Qi’s army is pinned down by Wanyan Chang at Shuncheng, and there are simply no troops left to spare within the empire."

Ye Long said with deep concern, "General, our rations will not last another three days. I fear the morale of the troops will waver." He pointed to the proclamation. "Especially with this notice circulating, I fear some may take desperate risks to save their own lives."

As they were speaking, a soldier rushed in to report, "General, these men were plotting treason! They intended to capture you and surrender you to the Western Xia, but we discovered them."

Wu Jie looked at the three soldiers, who were bound hand and foot, and laughed. "Untie them at once."

The surrounding soldiers were shocked. "General, you cannot! These men plotted against your life; how can you just let them go?"

Wu Jie waved them off, stepped forward personally, and unbound the three men. "I have failed you," he said softly.

Upon hearing this, the three soldiers burst into tears. They were genuinely moved. A commander of an army of sixty thousand, faced with three common soldiers who had tried to assassinate him, not only spared their lives but even apologized. How could they not be captivated by such charisma?

"General, we are no better than beasts for even considering such a thing," the soldiers knelt before him, begging, "Punish us, General! We accept our guilt!"

Wu Jie shook his head. "By the Emperor's decree, I led sixty thousand imperial guards to defend the Guanzhong region. Now, only ten thousand remain. It is I who have failed you." He then turned to the other soldiers and ordered, "Hear my command: anyone who wishes to bind me and deliver me to the Western Xia is free to do so. I will not resist."

"General, you must not!" the officers knelt in protest.

"Carry out the order!" Wu Jie insisted.

The messenger had no choice but to relay the command. Yet, after the order was given, not a single Song soldier stepped forward. They were all completely subdued by Wu Jie’s indomitable spirit, and from that day on, the cohesion of the Song army grew stronger than ever.

On the Western Xia side, Li Changqi was growing impatient. He went to Fengrenduo Baozhong and demanded, "Our army has the Song forces completely surrounded. Why do you not order the attack?"

Seeing Li Changqi’s fury, Fengrenduo Baozhong smiled and said, "Young Prince, do not be impatient. The Song army is already a turtle in our jar. There is no need to hunt a cornered beast. If we force an assault now, we will suffer heavy casualties. It is better to keep them surrounded until their grain is exhausted; they will eventually open the gates and surrender themselves."

Li Changqi retorted, "How much longer will that take? To avoid further complications, we should attack immediately and wipe out the defenders."

Fengrenduo Baozhong insisted there was no need to rush. In truth, he had another motive: he wanted the Song and Jin armies to exhaust each other first. As the weakest of the three powers, the Western Xia would surely become cannon fodder for the Jin if they acted too rashly. Naturally, Fengrenduo Baozhong would not be so foolish, so he chose to drag the matter out.