Chapter 102: Yue Fei Has Arrived

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“Commander Yue, there is a force of about ten thousand troops escorting several hundred grain carts heading towards Yanmen Pass. The soldiers don’t look like ours, but they march under the banner of Han Shizhong, the Training Commissioner of Taiyuan,” the scout reported.

Upon hearing this, Yue Fei furrowed his brows deeply. His instinct told him that there was something suspicious about this grain convoy, but what exactly was the problem?

As far as Yue Fei knew, the Song Dynasty didn’t have such a large cavalry force. Why was Han Shizhong leading them? And why were they heading toward Yanmen Pass? Could it be that there was really a battle brewing in that direction?

“Split into two groups. One group goes to Taiyuan city to gather detailed intelligence, and the other tries to infiltrate the grain convoy to carefully investigate the origins of these troops,” Yue Fei ordered.

Yue Fei only had five hundred cavalrymen, while the other side had ten thousand elite riders. No matter how brave he was, he dared not provoke them recklessly. He had even approached to scout and found that those cavalrymen were well-trained and far superior to his Song troops. This made him even more cautious.

But Yue Fei was not one to give up easily. Such a massive grain convoy could not move quickly, so it wouldn’t be hard to keep pace. What he could do next was uncertain; he could only proceed step by step.

Taiyuan was not far from Yanmen Pass, and since there was no war, the garrison at Yanmen Pass was sparse.

Before leaving Taiyuan, Zhao Yu ordered Liu Wenguang to issue another troop rotation decree, then commanded Wu Song to take two thousand iron cavalry to take over Yanmen Pass.

The remaining eight thousand iron cavalry were led by Yelü Huan, who led a thousand troops as the vanguard, four thousand troops guarded the left and right flanks, and Zhao Yu personally commanded three thousand to cover the rear.

The rear guard duty was originally Yelü Huan’s, but Zhao Yu, in a bid to buy loyalty through favoritism, forced Yelü Huan to take the vanguard instead.

If the convoy arrived safely at Yanmen Pass, it would be a major success because Yelü Min was waiting just outside the pass. Even if the Song forces reacted, they would be powerless to intervene.

Han Shizhong, standing beside Zhao Yu, felt conflicted. With that scoundrel Liu Wenguang around, no matter how much he explained, he wouldn’t be believed. In other words, there was no way back to the Song side for him, unless he could redeem himself by intercepting the grain supplies and capturing Zhao Yu.

But thinking of the two ghost-like bodyguards at Zhao Yu’s side, Han Shizhong had to abandon this impractical notion.

In truth, Han Shizhong knew he was captivated by Zhao Yu’s reckless ambition.

“All lands touched by rivers and bathed by the sun and moon are Chinese territory,” Zhao Yu declared.

Wasn’t that a line from the Book of Han? Could it be this young lord dreamed of unifying the realm?

This thought startled Han Shizhong and yet stirred a faint excitement. After all, this young lord was also Han Chinese. If he could restore the Yan and Yun regions to the Central Plains, Han Shizhong might just serve him...

Unaware of Han Shizhong’s inner change, Zhao Yu felt a sudden unease as they neared Yanmen Pass, sensing that something was about to happen.

Although scouts were deployed ahead and behind, this was not Liao territory; the scouts could not guarantee perfect surveillance.

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After ordering the vanguard to quicken their pace, Zhao Yu tried to ease his tension by turning his attention to Han Shizhong.

“General Han, do you think the Song army will pursue us?”

“Hmph! They will definitely come after you. You can’t escape,” Han Shizhong replied.

Though he admired Zhao Yu’s tactics, Han Shizhong could not help but feel some resentment.

“Who among your men has this capability?”

Suddenly, Zhao Yu thought of Yue Fei. The last time he sent someone to find him, it failed. Now that he was in Liao territory, recruiting Yue Fei seemed even more impossible.

“General Han, I heard you killed a Western Xia prince consort. Between my Youzhou troops and the Western Xia army, who do you think is stronger?”

“There’s no comparison. They’re all traitors and rebels,” Han Shizhong spat.

“That’s not very interesting. Surely you know how I came to Liao? Besides, I only sought to secure grain, never to kill any Song civilians wantonly.”

Being called a traitor and rebel dampened Zhao Yu’s mood. Suddenly, he raised his voice: “Take General Han to the vanguard and treat him well—no disrespect allowed.”

Better to slowly win him over than fight now.

Among the four generals of the Southern Song Restoration, Yue Fei was the least politically savvy, but Han Shizhong was different; he was no blind loyalist, which gave Zhao Yu confidence that Han Shizhong could serve him.

Though eager to press on, Zhao Yu’s army was too large to make a forced march to Yanmen Pass.

By nightfall, word came that Wu Song had successfully taken over Yanmen Pass, and the first batch of grain carts had reached nearby. Wu Song also sent a messenger to contact Yelü Min.

Hearing this, Zhao Yu breathed a sigh of relief and ordered camp to be set up.

Because there were not enough carts and horses at once, the grain convoy traveled in batches, with most of the supplies ahead. Zhao Yu’s escort guarded only the remaining portion.

With Liu Wenguang’s help, they had almost emptied the Taiyuan granary. Each cart carried five dan of grain; with several hundred carts, that totaled over a thousand dan. According to later calculations, one dan was about a hundred pounds, so this was over a hundred thousand pounds of grain—this would greatly ease Youzhou’s food shortage.

With food secured, the soldiers felt confident, showing great respect to Zhao Yu, their faces bright with smiles.

Seeing his troops’ morale, Zhao Yu mused that soldiers, regardless of their nation, ultimately desired little.

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Night had quietly embraced the earth, and the howling cold wind seemed like a wailing ghost, chilling to the bone.

After a day’s march, the exhausted porters and soldiers, except for those on guard, had long since crawled into their tents, wrapped in animal pelts to sleep.

But Zhao Yu could not sleep. Tossing on his bear skin for a while, he finally sat up.

As he moved, Yan Qing, lying in another corner of the tent, opened his eyes.

“Tossing and turning, can’t sleep. You sleep; I’m going out for a walk.”

Before Yan Qing could respond, a sudden agonized scream came from afar, followed by a rumble that shook the ground like distant thunder.

Zhao Yu was no stranger to cavalry sounds and immediately recognized the thunderous galloping of a large cavalry force approaching.

Yan Qing jumped up sharply. “The situation has changed. Your Highness, we must leave now!”

That scream alone said it all. Before Zhao Yu could react, shouts of battle and cries for help erupted outside the tent.

“Fire! Run! ...”

“Charge! Kill! ...”

Damn it, who timed this so perfectly?

Without giving Zhao Yu a chance to ponder, Yan Qing slashed open a large tear in the tent’s rear and dragged Zhao Yu out.

Once outside, they saw a great fire blazing southeast of the camp. The wind fanned the flames, which quickly spread throughout the encampment.

Amidst the flames, soldiers and porters scattered like headless flies, while a force charged in like a whirlwind.

Leading them was a young officer in white robes wielding a gleaming silver spear. His target was clear: Zhao Yu’s tent.

For some reason, watching the young officer rushing toward him, Zhao Yu felt a strange sense of déjà vu...