Scholar Yu Yunwen retreats from the enemy

After the Shaoxing Peace Treaty, there was no war between the Song and Jin dynasties for twenty years. Emperor Gaozong of Song and a group of surrendering ministers were very pleased with this peaceful situation, building luxurious palaces and mansions in Lin'an, living a luxurious life, and forgetting all about the recapture of lost territory.

During this period, there was internal strife in the overall rule of the Jin Dynasty. The nobleman Wan Yanliang killed Jin Xizong and declared himself emperor, known as the Hailing King in history. Wanyan Liang moved the capital of the Jin Dynasty from Shangjing to Yanjing, with the sole intention of launching a war to eliminate the Southern Song Dynasty. Once, he had a dream in which he went to the Heavenly Palace and the Heavenly Emperor ordered him to suppress the Song Dynasty. He talked about this dream with the ministers, and some interesting ministers said it was a good sign and congratulated him. Wanyan Liang decided to send troops to invade the south.

The news of Wanyan Liang preparing to send troops has spread to Lin'an. Some officials wanted the court to prepare early, but were rebuked by Emperor Gaozong of Song for spreading rumors and causing trouble. Once, the Jin Dynasty sent envoy Shi Yisheng to Lin'an. Emperor Gaozong of Song ordered his minister Zhang Tao to receive him. Zhang Tao wants to gather news from Shi Guansheng. Shi Yisheng was originally an official of the Song Dynasty and wanted to reveal some news to Zhang Tao, but there were accompanying officials of the Jin Dynasty nearby, which was difficult to say clearly. He had to imply, "The north wind will blow hard tomorrow!" Then he picked up a pen from a few cases and said, "Pen, pen!" ("Pen" and "Bi" have the same pronunciation, "Bi" means "all come")

Zhang Tao received a hint from Shi Yisheng and quickly informed Song Gaozong of the news that the Jin army was going to march south in large numbers, but Song Gaozong only kept a close eye on it.

In September of 1161 AD, Wan Yanliang made all preparations and mobilized 600000 troops from across the country to form 32 armies, launching an attack on the Southern Song Dynasty. Before setting off, Wan Yanliang arrogantly said to the generals, "In the past, King Liang (referring to Wu Shu) attacked the Song Dynasty and spent a lot of time without achieving victory. This time, I will go on an expedition for at least a hundred days or a month, and I will definitely be able to conquer the south

Wan Yanliang's army is approaching the north bank of the Huai River, and the commander-in-chief Liu Qi (pronounced q í) defending the north bank is sick. He has sent the deputy commander-in-chief Wang Quan to Shouchun in the west of the Huai River for defense. Wangquan is a greedy and fearful person. When he heard that the Jin army was heading south, he was terrified and had no intention of resisting. Wanyan Liang crossed the Huai River, but the royal power had not yet seen any trace of the Jin army. They had already fled upon hearing the wind and had been fleeing along the Yangtze River until they stopped at Caishi.

Emperor Gaozong of Song became fearful upon hearing of the defeat of the royal army. He removed the royal power from his position and appointed Li Xianzhong to replace it. He also sent Prime Minister Ye Yiwen to personally inspect the Jianghuai garrison.

Ye Yiwen was also a coward who dared not personally go to the front line. He sent another official, Yu Yunwen, to comfort the Song army soldiers who were quarrying.

When Yu Yunwen arrived at Caishi, the royal power had already left, but Li Xianzhong, who took over his position, had not yet arrived. The Jin army on the other side is preparing to cross the river. The Song army had no main commander, causing panic and disorder among the people. Yu Yunwen arrived at the riverbank and saw Song soldiers sitting dejectedly by the roadside in small groups, throwing their saddles and armor aside.

Yu Yunwen asked them, "The Jin people are about to cross the river. What are you waiting for here

The soldiers looked up and saw that it was a civil servant. They said irritably, "The generals have all run away. What else are we going to fight

Yu Yunwen was very surprised to see the team gathering like this. He felt that it was too late for Li Xianzhong to arrive, so he immediately summoned the soldiers of the Song army and informed them, "I am here to reward the army on the order of the court. As long as you make contributions to the country, I will definitely report to the court and reward you based on your achievements

Everyone also perked up when they saw Yu Yunwen make the decision. They said, "We have endured all the hardships of the Jin people, and who wouldn't want to resist. Now that you have the final say, we are willing to fight with all our might

An official who followed Yu Yunwen all the way quietly said to him, "The court sent you to reward the army, not to supervise the war. Others have done things so badly, why do you have to carry this burden

Yu Yunwen angrily said, "What kind of words are these! Now that the country is in danger, how can I consider my own gains and losses and evade responsibility

Yu Yunwen is a scholar who has never commanded a war. But the sense of patriotic responsibility gave him courage. He immediately ordered the infantry and cavalry to form their teams and formations, and divided the Song army ships on the river into five groups. One group was in the middle of the river, two groups were anchored on the east and west banks, and the other two groups were hidden in the harbor as reserve forces.

The Song army's deployment has just ended, and the Jin army has already begun crossing the river. Wan Yanliang personally waved the small red flag and commanded. Hundreds of Jin army ships sailed towards the south bank, loaded with Jin soldiers, facing the river wind. Not much time, the Jin army has already landed one after another.

Yu Yunwen ordered his general Shi Jun to lead infantry to attack. Shi Jun waved his twin swords and charged towards the enemy formation. The soldiers' morale was high and they charged forward desperately. Since the advance of the Jin army, they have never encountered resistance, and when they encounter such a strong opponent, they all collapse.

The Song army warships on the river also charged towards the large ships of the Jin army. Although the Song army's warships were small, they were very sturdy, like sharp steel knives, piercing into the Jin army's fleet and cutting off the enemy ships at the waist. Enemy ships were hit and sunk one after another. Half of the enemy fell into the water and drowned, while the other half stubbornly resisted.

The sun has set, the sky has darkened, and the battle on the river is not yet over. At this moment, a group of Song soldiers who had escaped from Guangzhou (now Huangzhou, Henan) arrived at Caishi. Yu Yunwen asked them to organize their team and gave them many battle flags and military drums. They would wave the flags from the front of the mountain, beat the drums, and walk around to the riverbank. The Jin soldiers on the river heard the deafening sound of drums on the south bank and saw countless flags waving behind the mountains. They thought it was the arrival of a large number of reinforcements from the Song army and fled for their lives.

The Jin army suffered an unexpected defeat and was so angry that Wanyan Liang was furious. He vented all his anger on the soldiers and beat all the soldiers who fled back to death.

Yu Yunwen anticipated that Wan Yanliang would not be willing to accept failure. That night, the warships were divided into two teams, with one team sailing upstream and the other staying at the ferry crossing. On the second day of dawn, Wan Yanliang indeed sent the Jin army across the river again, and Yu Yunwen commanded two teams of warships to launch a pincer attack. Jin Bing had tasted the power of Yu Yunwen and had no intention of resisting. Three hundred large ships were trapped at the river center and ferry crossing, and the Song army set fire to all the enemy ships.

Wanyan Liang failed to cross the river while quarrying stones, and killed a group of their soldiers indiscriminately before taking the remaining troops to Yangzhou, intending to cross the river there.

After the Song army's great victory in quarrying, the main general Li Xianzhong arrived with his troops. Li Xianzhong greatly admired the situation of Yu Yunwen commanding the battle.

Yu Yunwen said to Li Xianzhong, "After the enemy fails in quarrying, they will definitely cross the river in Yangzhou. There is no preparation on the other side of Zhenjiang, and the situation is very dangerous. You stay here and I will go over there to take a look

Li Xianzhong immediately assigned a team of troops to Yu Yunwen, who led them to Zhenjiang.

Zhenjiang was originally defended by veteran Liu Qi. At that time, Liu Qi was already too sick to get up. Yu Yunwen arrived in Zhenjiang and first went to visit Liu Qi. Liu Qi lay in bed, tightly holding Yu Yunwen's hand, and said with a heavy heart, "The country's wild soldiers have not made any military achievements for thirty years. I never expected that you, a scholar, would still be the one who made great contributions. As generals, we are truly ashamed

Yu Yunwen comforted him for a while before returning to the military camp. He ordered the navy to conduct exercises by the river. The Song army manufactured a batch of vehicles and ships, driven by soldiers, to patrol around Jinshan by the river, flying back and forth like flying. The Jin soldiers on the north bank were very surprised and quickly reported to Wan Yanliang. Wanyan Liang was furious and slapped the person who reported.

At this time, the Jin army suffered frequent defeats and were afraid to fight. Some soldiers secretly discussed escaping, and when Wan Yanliang discovered it, he gave orders: soldiers who fled should kill the generals, and generals who fled should kill the main general; And it was announced that the entire army would cross the river the next day and be executed in fear.

The soldiers of the Jin army could no longer tolerate the cruel rule of Wan Yanliang. Before Wan Yanliang could retract his order to cross the river, they rushed into his camp that night and killed him.

As soon as Wanyan Liang died, the Jin army retreated.

When Wanyan Liang led his troops to invade the south, there were also incidents within the Jin Dynasty. Some ministers who were dissatisfied with the rule of Wanyan Liang and supported Wanyan Yong as the emperor were Jin Shizong. After the Quarry War, Emperor Shizong of Jin sent people to the Southern Song Dynasty to negotiate peace in order to stabilize the internal situation, and the Song Jin War temporarily came to a halt.