Chapter 149: Contradiction

Wanyan Wuqimai was ill, and his condition was extremely severe.

Whether it was due to an infection from his arrow wound or not, Wanyan Wuqimai had come down with a high fever.

Pursued all the way into these deep, dense mountains and old forests by the Song army, lacking both medicine and medical personnel, Wanyan Wuqimai's mental state had remained listless.

Wanyan Satan was extremely anxious. After three rounds of attacks by the Song army, the number of men following Wanyan Wuqimai had now fallen below ten thousand. If the main Jin army could not retreat in time, this remaining ten thousand men would not live much longer either.

With Wanyan Wuqimai seriously injured and unconscious, the Crown Prince Wanyan Dan had to take charge of state affairs. However, Wanyan Dan had been a good-natured person since childhood, possessing a rather weak character. Faced with such a situation, he felt even more helpless.

Most crucially, during the pursuit by the Song army, Wanyan Dan's eldest son and the Prince of Wei had become separated from the main army. In this environment, becoming separated was practically tantamount to a death sentence for the two imperial princes.

"Your Highness the Crown Prince, how should our army handle this now?" Wanyan Dan asked Wanyan Satan.

"Your Highness, the most urgent task at hand is to hurry and dispatch scouts to contact General Wanyan Zongwang and the other commanders, urging them to hasten their rescue. If this drags on too long, your humble servant fears the Emperor's condition will deteriorate further," Wanyan Satan replied.

Wanyan Dan nodded heavily and said to Wanyan Satan, "Let us proceed as the Chancellor suggests. Attend to it quickly, and make sure His Majesty is cured."

Wanyan Satan dispatched more than twenty scouts in succession. This way, even if one or two of them were intercepted by the Song army, the message could still be successfully delivered.

Meanwhile, Han Shizhong led his army into the Jin imperial palace in Shangjing.

Wanyan Wuqimai's flight had been so hasty that he had left behind countless treasures of gold and jade.

"Hahaha..." Seeing the gold and silver treasures filling the Jin imperial palace, Han Shizhong could not help throwing his head back in laughter. "Never did I imagine that one day I would lead an army right into the imperial palace of the Jin. How exhilarating!"

Wu Xiaodong was also in high spirits. Breaking through the city of Shangjing was an immensely great achievement. Once they returned to Bianjing, promotions and enfeoffments would certainly be guaranteed. Above all, it was profoundly gratifying. Ever since the founding of the Great Song dynasty, first fighting the Liao and then the Jin, they had never experienced such pure delight as this.

"Great General, although this city of Shangjing has been breached, our army cannot hold it. Calculating the days, Wanyan Zonghan and the others should be returning with their main army very soon. In this humble subordinate's view, we should as quickly as possible load these gold and silver treasures onto the ships, so that when our army retreats, we can take them back to Bianjing together," Wu Xiaodong said to Han Shizhong.

Han Shizhong nodded and said, "Well spoken. Immediately summon the soldiers to transport these treasures to the ships. Tell those rascals to keep their hands clean. If anyone dares to pocket anything for themselves during the transport, don't blame this general for enforcing military law."

Wu Xiaodong accepted the order and departed. The Song army then requisitioned dozens of large wagons, carting the palace's treasures batch by batch to the Song warships. It took a full hundred wagonloads just to finish loading the treasures from the imperial palace.

Han Shizhong prepared to put the Shangjing imperial palace to the torch, but Wu Xiaodong stopped him.

"Great General, His Majesty possesses grand ambitions and aims across the four seas. If our army wishes to conquer various nations, relying solely on military force is truly difficult. We must combine benevolence with might to win the people's hearts and truly unite the four seas," Wu Xiaodong told Han Shizhong.

Only then did Han Shizhong abandon the idea of burning down the palace.

Having thoroughly plundered the Jin imperial palace, the draft of the Song ships had noticeably deepened. Han Shizhong prepared to lead his troops on the return journey.

"It's only a pity that that arrow failed to strike Wanyan Wuqimai's vital spot, otherwise his life could have been ended right then and there," Yang Zaixing said with a hint of regret.

"Being able to inflict severe wounds on Wanyan Wuqimai is already a monumental achievement. General Yang should be happy instead," Liang Hongyu chimed in from the side.

"Now that our army has completed the mission entrusted to us by His Majesty and is preparing to return in triumph, do any of you have any opinions?" Han Shizhong asked his subordinate commanders.

Everyone remained silent. After a moment, Wu Xiaodong spoke up, "Great General, could our army wait at ease for the fatigued enemy and wipe out the vanguard of the Jin forces?"

Hearing Wu Xiaodong's words, Han Shizhong raised an eyebrow and asked, "Xiaodong, what idea do you have?"

Pondering for a moment, Wu Xiaodong replied, "This subordinate believes that the Jin army, having marched a long distance, must be utterly exhausted. Coupled with the capture of their capital, their morale will surely be at rock bottom. Conversely, our army has rested while waiting for the fatigued, and having just won a great victory, our morale is soaring. Using our strengths to strike their weaknesses, this battle can be won!"

Hearing this, Han Shizhong furrowed his brow tightly, turned to the surrounding officers and soldiers, and asked, "What are your opinions?"

Zhang Jun was the first to step forward in objection. "We have already completed the mission His Majesty assigned to us and are now ready to return in triumph. As for General Wu's proposal just now—if we win, everyone rejoices, but if we lose, the cost to us will outweigh any gains."

Hearing Zhang Jun's words, Yang Zaixing could not help muttering under his breath, "Petty villain, all he cares about is rising through the ranks and getting rich."

Zhang Jun never expected Yang Zaixing to openly insult him like this in front of a crowd. Infuriated on the spot, he stepped forward and demanded, "Yang Zaixing, what is the meaning of that remark?"

Yang Zaixing let out a cold snort. From the bottom of his heart, he held utter contempt for this pedantic Zhang Jun.

It was well known that the Song dynasty favored civil officials over military officers. Although Emperor Zhao Huan had been continuously elevating the status of military commanders ever since ascending the throne, the civil officials still considered themselves a cut above the military. Now that Zhang Jun was looked down upon so openly by a military general, hatred toward Yang Zaixing took root in his heart.

"You two, how old are you both? To still be pulling this kind of stunt at a time like this," Liang Hongyu said, sensing that the atmosphere was turning sour and hurriedly stepping in to smooth things over. As a woman in a male-dominated military camp, she served as an excellent diplomatic buffer, something even the commander-in-chief Han Shizhong could not match.

Hearing Liang Hongyu mediate, the two men finally shut their mouths. Zhang Jun shot a vicious glare at Yang Zaixing; if looks could kill, Yang Zaixing would likely have been hacked into ten thousand pieces by now.

Han Shizhong quickly changed the subject. "Zaixing, what are your thoughts?"

Yang Zaixing shook his head and said indifferently, "I don't have any particular thoughts. As long as there's a battle to fight, anything goes for me."

This war maniac was simply born for warfare.

After the group discussed the matter, to Zhang Jun's dismay, every single commander agreed to intercept the Jin army.