Chapter 42

The commander's bravery also ignited the fighting spirit of the Song army soldiers. The dozen or so wolf soldiers who had rushed to the top of the city wall were all killed, and the tiger-shooting archers performed exceptionally well, shooting down over twenty wolf soldiers on the siege ladders, allowing the Song army to withstand the first wave of the attack.

Deputy Commander Yang Yuanqing took over the command and shouted, "The commander is only lightly injured; there's no need to worry."

He promptly stabilized the morale of the troops, directing the soldiers to hurl rolling logs and stones at the enemy. The axe-wielding soldiers seized the opportunity, continuously hacking away, and more than half of the thirty siege ladders had lost their crossbars, leaving the enemy with only nine siege ladders.

The boulders and rolling logs hurled from the city wall inflicted heavy casualties on the Jin attackers, with bodies piling up like mountains on the city wall, and the offensive clearly weakened.

Commander Chen Qing leaned against the battlements, exhausted and dizzy, a sign of blood loss.

A medical soldier was nervously bandaging his wound, which had cut through his iron armor, leaving a three-inch-long, half-inch-deep gash. The medical soldier was extremely worried, unsure if the tendons and bones were damaged.

Chen Qing waved his hand, indicating that he was fine.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The retreat bell sounded, and the Jin soldiers raised their shields and slowly retreated.

This was a withdrawal, not a retreat. The Jin army's rules were extremely strict; anyone who turned their back to the city wall during a withdrawal would be immediately executed by the military supervisors, and their families would be enslaved.

The morale of the Song army soldiers on the city wall soared, and they raised their spears in celebration.

The order to withdraw was issued by Wanyan Wulu. Han Chang was filled with frustration and anger; he had lost two thousand soldiers, including the wolf soldier commander Xiao Ta, but still failed to capture the city wall.

But the facts were clear, and no matter how angry he was, there was nothing he could do.

Han Chang spurred his horse forward, clasped his hands, and said, "I am incompetent and cannot relieve the general's worries!"

Wanyan Wulu waved his hand, "This is not your fault. The enemy is too cunning, cutting the crossbars of the siege ladders. No matter how brave your men are, they cannot climb up."

"I can change the crossbars of the siege ladders to wrought iron bars, which will counter the enemy's strategy."

"For now, we will not launch a full-scale attack. We need to change our strategy!"

Wanyan Wulu looked at the mountain peak and said calmly, "Although they are at a higher position, there is a place even higher than them."

...

The Arrow Pass is located on a branch of the Long Mountains, with steep terrain and dense forests on the mountain top, rarely visited by people. Only herbalists and hunters would venture into the mountain forests.

A Jin army unit consisting of over 120 Jurchen and puppet soldiers, led by a hunter guide, climbed up Arrow Mountain.

There were no paths on the mountain, only thorny bushes and rugged rocks. They climbed over rocks and through dense forests and thorny thickets, taking two hours to reach the top of Arrow Mountain.

A Jurchen soldier stood at the mountain peak and looked down. The Song army soldiers in the pass looked like ants, and the pass resembled a square wooden block wedged in the middle of a canyon.

"How is it?" the centurion asked from a distance.

The Jurchen soldier nodded, "Below is the pass. If we have enough stones and logs, we can indeed launch an attack from above."

"What about the archers?"

The centurion came over, looked down, and frowned, "Archers might be a bit difficult, but it's not impossible. The key is to have enough numbers."

After a thorough inspection, the hunter looked at the sky and politely said to the Jin soldiers, "It's getting dark early. We need to hurry back."

The centurion had no intention of returning; his mission was not yet complete.

"Is there a path to enter the pass from the mountain?" the centurion asked.

The hunter shook his head, "There is definitely no path. To go down, we can only use ropes to lower ourselves. It's at least eighty zhang from here to the foot of the mountain, and it's very dangerous."

"If I want to go to the southern canyon, is there a better path?"

"There is, but it's a detour of about thirty li. There's a small path that leads down to a very deep and narrow valley. From the valley, it's five li to the south of Arrow Pass."

The centurion looked at the opposite mountain and asked, "What about the other side?"

The hunter shook his head vigorously, "I said when we were climbing up that the eastern side is much easier to climb than the western side. To climb the western side, we would have to go several dozen li to find a small path, and it's all cliffs and steep slopes."

The Jurchen centurion had done his homework before setting out. They had even brought along surrendered soldiers who were originally stationed in the pass from Qianyang County.

The centurion called over a puppet soldier and asked, "Where is the water source inside the pass?"

The puppet soldier clasped his hands and replied, "Reporting to the general, the water source inside the pass is in a cave behind the warehouse. It's a spring, but I don't know where it originates."

The centurion looked at the hunter, who said with difficulty, "There are indeed springs on the mountain, three of them, but I don't know which one is the water source inside the pass."

"Take us to find them one by one!"

...

At night, the Jurchen camp was still brightly lit. In the command tent, Wanyan Wulu was discussing the strategy to attack the pass with his generals.

"As the general predicted, the enemy's forces are around a thousand at most!"

Han Chang loudly said to everyone, "Although they are very tenacious, their numbers are limited. If we launch a large-scale attack and attack day and night, I believe we can capture the pass within three days!"

Wanyan Wulu waved his hand, "If we include Xia Jin's three thousand troops, we have already lost five thousand men. The loss of troops is not the main concern; the key is the siege weapons. These are the weapons we prepared to attack Dasha Pass, and we don't have many of them.

In just one morning, we lost sixty siege ladders, which is one-third of our total. Although we still have siege towers and battering rams, I don't want to waste them on Arrow Pass. So we need to change our strategy and use a different method to attack."

Han Chang was frustrated. He had just found a way to attack, but now it was paused. His two thousand elite soldiers had been sacrificed in vain.

Despite his dissatisfaction, he did not show it on his face, as he was not the commander and was a Han Chinese, with no decision-making power.

At this moment, a soldier reported outside the tent, "General, the mountain exploration team has returned!"

Wanyan Wulu was delighted and said, "Let the leader come in!"

Shortly after, the centurion who led the exploration team quickly entered the tent, knelt on one knee, and presented a map to Wanyan Wulu, "This is today's harvest. The points of concern to the general are marked on the map."

Wanyan Wulu quickly took the map and examined it, pointing to the mountain arrow and asking, "Can we go down to the pass from the mountain top?"

"Reporting to the general, we can only use ropes to lower ourselves. There is a slightly flat area in the middle, but we need at least thirty zhang of rope to climb down, and it's easy to be discovered by the enemy."

This would make them sitting ducks. Wanyan Wulu rejected the idea of using ropes and asked, "Is there a path to the south of the city?"

"There is, but it's a detour and the path is not good."

"What about the water source inside the pass? Did you find it?"

"I found three springs, all of which flow into the mountain, but I don't know which one is the water source for the Song army."

Han Chang finally couldn't hold back, "General, the Song army must have a water reserve. A siege usually lasts several months. With the battle at Shangyuan imminent, we don't have time to drag this out."

"I understand. The mountain is just an auxiliary method. We will use multiple strategies. I want to see how many troops the Song army has to fight against us."

...

Inside the city, the lights were still on. After several bloody battles, Chen Qing and the generals knew where their defenses were weak.

Ultimately, their forces were too thin, unable to form a strong offensive. Moreover, they had already lost nearly two hundred soldiers, which made Chen Qing very worried. If the enemy adopted a war of attrition, he might not be able to hold out for a few days.

Chen Qing also wanted to send a message to Wu Jie for reinforcements, but Wu Jie had only given him two carrier pigeons. One was sent when they captured the pass, and the remaining one was to be sent if the pass was lost, not for requesting reinforcements.

"We cannot rely on reinforcements. Even if they come, it will take over ten days."

In the room, Chen Qing said to the generals, "Our next step is to minimize casualties. We cannot expect the enemy to show mercy. I mean, we need to protect our soldiers as much as possible, such as with armor and medical treatment, and prevent any accidental injuries."

Yang Yuanqing asked, puzzled, "What kind of accidental injuries are you referring to, Commander?"

"Any injuries not sustained on the battlefield should be considered accidental. For example, soldiers being harmed by feigning death during battlefield cleanup, or being shot by enemy scouts while on patrol. These injuries can be prevented if we are careful, and we must prevent them."

Everyone nodded silently. Zheng Ping said, "The Commander mentioned medical treatment. We should quickly help the lightly wounded soldiers recover and return to the battlefield. Currently, we have thirty-seven lightly wounded and fourteen severely wounded soldiers. These thirty-seven should be treated as soon as possible."

"How is the Commander's injury?" Yang Hua suddenly asked.

Everyone then remembered that Chen Qing was also injured and had overlooked him. They all looked at Chen Qing.

Chen Qing smiled slightly, "It's a minor injury, not affecting my tendons or bones. The medicine given by Yang Dazhi is very effective, and the wound has already scabbed over. We just need to wait for it to heal quickly."

"Commander, be careful. Try not to engage in combat for a few days. If the wound reopens, it will be troublesome."

Chen Qing nodded, his gaze falling on Luo Gan, who seemed deep in thought but remained silent.

"Luo Gan, say something!"

Luo Gan bowed slightly and said, "I am considering whether the Jin army will use a surprise attack to capture the pass."

Chen Qing was startled; he had not considered a surprise attack by the enemy. He quickly said, "Please elaborate!"

Luo Gan thought for a moment and said, "For a pass like ours, a surprise attack can only come from two directions: underground or from above. I am worried that the enemy might come from the mountain."