After lying in wait nearby for two days, Gao Dazhuang ordered Lou Mingyue to remain on standby while the others went in groups to gather intelligence.
They hadn’t received any orders, but they couldn’t afford to remain ignorant of the battlefield situation.
Most of the Liao forces were nomadic tribes on horseback. As in previous years, small units of light cavalry launched raids, each group no larger than five hundred men. Wherever they passed, they burned, killed, and looted. Over the past few years, dozens of nearby villages had already fallen victim.
The Great Song army still had no effective way to counter these light cavalry. By the time they arrived, they could only deal with the aftermath.
Moreover, each of those light cavalrymen could fight ten men, their ferocity unmatched. Five thousand Song troops might not even be able to stop five hundred of them. As a result, every time the Song army faced this Liao tactic, they were worn down to exhaustion. The feeling of being toyed with also left the soldiers’ morale at rock bottom.
Sui Yunzhu believed that this winter had lasted much longer than usual, and the Liao wouldn’t be satisfied with small-scale raids. At the very least, they would aim to seize several major cities to alleviate their own resource shortages.
General Ling Ziyue shared this suspicion, which was why he had submitted a memorial requesting the Emperor dispatch the Crane Control Shadow Unit to assist. Though his heart was wholly devoted to the Great Song, he knew that making such a request would only deepen the Emperor’s distrust of him. But if he hadn’t been forced into a corner, why would he resort to this? Over the years, he had trained many scouts, but these men were originally just farmers with no foundation in martial arts, so their effectiveness was limited. Meanwhile, the Liao spared no expense in recruiting elite warriors for their army, which was why their light cavalry was so unstoppable.
“Ah! I’ll defend the Great Song for as many years as I can,” Ling Ziyue sighed, standing at the edge of the wind-swept plain, gazing at the distant grass just beginning to turn green.
His deputy, following behind, said, “But General, we’ve already submitted five or six memorials requesting provisions, and still there’s no word of them being sent. The request for the Crane Control Shadow Unit was submitted long ago, and there’s been no sign of them either!”
“The Crane Control Army has already arrived,” Ling Ziyue said.
The deputy was stunned. He quickly glanced around. “Where?”
“At Zhao Ling’s side.” Ling Ziyue gripped the hilt of his sword at his waist, his brow furrowing. His voice was heavy with exhaustion. “It seems they take orders from Zhao Ling. As long as we handle Zhao Ling properly, we can still make use of them.”
As a loyal general who had guarded the border for over a decade—returning home only twice in all that time—being treated this way by his sovereign was undeniably painful. But he had long since seen through it all. He saw himself as nothing more than a mountain standing between the Liao and the Song. If the Liao wanted to pass, they’d have to trample over his corpse.
The deputy caught the deeper meaning in his words, his eyes reddening. “Back then, my mother told me to study hard, but I wouldn’t listen. Only now do I realize that failing the imperial exams means you’re a worthless man for life. No matter how much blood you shed for your country, you’ll still be looked down upon.”
“Hahaha!” Ling Ziyue laughed wildly. He raised his hand and gave his deputy’s shoulder a heavy slap, nearly knocking him off balance. “A man nearly thirty, still talking like a reckless boy. What kind of future can you possibly have?”
He turned and strode back toward the camp, the deputy rubbing his shoulder as he followed.
“If everyone’s busy spouting scholarly nonsense, who the hell’s going to stop the Liao’s armored cavalry?” Ling Ziyue joked. “The Great Song ought to send ten thousand scholars to the Liao to teach their kids properly. By the time I’m dead, their children will all turn into weak, moralizing Confucian disciples who can’t even climb onto a horse. Then the Great Song can finally rest easy!”"That's a brilliant idea, General!" Mocking scholars was one of their favorite pastimes, and the deputy general said cheerfully, "Come to think of it, reading really is quite useful!"
"Of course!" Ling Ziyue laughed heartily.
An Jiu peeked out from behind a tree, watching the two figures disappear into the military camp.
Her sharp eyes could see the streaks of white hair on Ling Ziyue's head, despite him still being in his prime.
So the Great Song Dynasty had men like this too! Yet before him stood the formidable Liao army, and behind him, the suspicion and wariness of the Song court.
An Jiu had never witnessed how civil officials and military generals interacted, but she often heard scholars casually throw around words like "brute" and "uncouth," their disdain unmistakable. It wasn't hard to imagine the low status of military officers in the Song Dynasty.
She stood there for a long time, her heart yearning to approach this tough man who could laugh so boldly despite being trapped in such dire straits. But in the end, she suppressed the impulse.
Under the cover of night, she infiltrated the camp and spent an entire day observing near Ling Ziyue's tent.
Ling Ziyue, a seasoned battlefield commander, lived up to his reputation. Though his mental strength was inferior to An Jiu's, his instincts vaguely sensed someone lurking nearby.
Without showing any sign of alarm, he quietly tightened camp security and carefully inspected confidential documents. Only after confirming they hadn't been tampered with did he relax slightly.
That night, he dismissed his attendants and stood in the tent, calling out, "Are you from the Crane Control Army's shadow unit?"
An Jiu heard the question from afar but merely pressed her lips together and remained silent.
"If you're one of us, show yourself. If not, don't blame me for being impolite!" Ling Ziyue's mental strength was formidable—when he unleashed it abruptly, even An Jiu felt a tremor in her heart.
Admiration aside, An Jiu had never been one to yield to threats.
For a fleeting moment, Ling Ziyue seemed to sense the presence of the hidden observer, but it vanished instantly, along with the feeling of being watched.
Ling Ziyue grew even more convinced that the intruder was from the Crane Control Army's shadow unit. But he couldn't discern their purpose—were they sent to assist in battle or to spy on him?
For the next two days, the camp remained undisturbed.
On the fourth day, someone tossed a crumpled paper into his tent.
Ling Ziyue was studying a map when it happened. By the time he reacted, the intruder had already disappeared. Hesitating briefly, he picked up the paper and unfolded it. Scrawled in crooked handwriting were a few lines:
Xijin Prefecture—150,000 Liao troops.
At the bottom of the note was an exquisitely detailed crane seal.
Ling Ziyue had seen it long ago—it was part of the Shadow Token used by the Crane Control Army's shadow unit! The message invigorated him, but out of caution, he dispatched scouts to verify the intel while urgently preparing for battle.
Xijin Prefecture wasn't far from Hejian Prefecture. If the Liao Dynasty had secretly amassed 150,000 troops there, it meant a major offensive was imminent.
An Jiu left the camp and returned to Zhao Ling's residence in Hejian Prefecture to regroup with the others.
"Delivered?" Gao Dazhuang asked.
"Mm." An Jiu paused. "He sent scouts to verify it and began preparations."
"Good." Gao Dazhuang yawned. "I thought we'd be risking our lives here, but turns out we're just lazing around."
"It's not lazing around—you refused the mission," An Jiu reminded him.
Gao Dazhuang shot her a sidelong glance. "You sound like you actually wanted to be a spy?""My kind of face, which always looks like someone owes me two taels of silver, doesn't have that kind of talent," An Jiu leaned against the wall, her voice drifting faintly from the shadows. "I don't even have as much femininity as you do." (To be continued...)
PS: Another book recommendation: "Rebirth of a Noble Poisonous Lady," author: Flying Without Wind.
Synopsis: The ex-husband was heartless, the new husband is unkind.
Reborn into this life, yet troubles multiply.
No good at domestic scheming? Weak in palace intrigues?
One trick is all you need!
This lady... only knows...
Poison!
: Light Cavalry
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