Moma Liangshan

Chapter 225 The Princes' Internal Strife, Lin Chong's Transformation

Yelü Ding remained silent, while Yelü Xinilie gradually gained control of the situation. Looking around at the crowd, he asked, "Among the tribal kings, is there anyone unwilling to participate in this transaction?" The king of the Tieli tribe glanced furtively at Yelü Xinilie. Although he was reluctant, he had no choice but to step forward and refuse Yelü Xinilie's proposal. After all, compared to weapons and armor, the fiefdom promised by Yelü Ding was what they urgently needed. Moreover, the Tieli tribe had already abandoned most of its warhorses and livestock in order to evacuate as many of its people as possible. However, just as the Tieli king was about to step forward, Meng Hui stopped him. The Tieli king looked at Meng Hui with confusion. Meng Hui remained expressionless, simply shaking his head slightly. The Tieli king then looked at Yelü Ding, only to see Yelü Ding's face dark, his eyes closed in thought. King Tieli was caught in a dilemma, thinking, "Although Meng Hui is a confidant of the King of Qin, he is ultimately just a servant. Does his insistence on my silence reflect the King of Qin's will, or is it merely his own conjecture?" While he hesitated, Yelü Ding suddenly composed himself, his gloomy expression vanishing. He stood up and said, "The tribal army's armor is worn and tattered. Forcing them into battle will only increase casualties. If we could equip them with Song army gear now, we could indeed improve our combat strength in a short time and alleviate the crisis in Shangjing. Therefore, I request three thousand sets of armor from my fourth brother on behalf of the Tieli tribe!" King Tieli was surprised and began to look at Meng Hui with new respect.

With Yelü Ding taking the lead, the various tribal kings expressed their support. Yelü Xinilie, seeing great potential, was overjoyed and said, "Weapons and armor have always been the most important weapons of a nation. The Duke of Bohai has obtained a quota of 50,000 sets from the Song Emperor, which will all be delivered within a month. The first batch of 8,000 sets will arrive at Dagukou in three days!" Upon hearing about Dagukou, the people showed no urgency but were secretly delighted, as Dagukou was over a thousand li from Shangjing, and it would take at least ten days to half a month to reach it. This gave them another reason to avoid battle. King Lei pondered for a moment and said, "The 100,000 troops in Shangjing have been fighting the Jurchens for many days, and their weapons and armor must be severely depleted. Should we send half of our weapons and armor to Shangjing?" Yelü Xinilie shook his head and said, "Shangjing already has sufficient weapons and armor. Moreover, the Duke of Bohai is in Shangjing, and he probably knows the situation on the front lines better than any of us!" King Lei nodded repeatedly upon hearing this. However, Yelü Ding stood behind them, silently watching Yelü Xini Lie and Lei Bu Da Wang singing in unison, his face full of disdain.

After leaving the Rilian tribe, Yelü Ding impatiently ordered, "Immediately send someone to find out the details of the Lei tribe!" Meng Hui frowned and asked, "How does Your Highness intend to deal with the Lei tribe's king?" Yelü Ding gritted his teeth and said, "I want him dead!" Meng Hui reminded him, "Today, the Lei tribe's king repeatedly flattered the Zhao king, clearly intending to surrender. If we act rashly, firstly, it will be extremely difficult, and secondly, it is very likely that the Fourth Prince will use this as an excuse, even causing Your Highness to lose the hearts of the people." Yelü Ding did not think so, saying, "A hypocritical and greedy Lei tribe's king is not enough to cause me to lose the hearts of the people!" Meng Hui was somewhat puzzled and said, "Why does Your Highness say that the Lei tribe's king is hypocritical and cunning?" Yelü Ding snorted coldly and said, "If he were truly worried about the war situation in Shangjing, he wouldn't be hiding in the rear avoiding battle. At least he should have sent out a feint force to create a show of force, but did he?" Hui paused for a moment to recall, then said, "No!" He continued, "But in these chaotic times, only strength is the true foundation. King Lei has already won His Highness Prince Zhao's trust, and in the upcoming allocation of troops and armor, Lei will undoubtedly be given priority. This is a golden opportunity to strengthen our forces!" Yelü Ding sneered, "But don't forget, Prince Zhao has controlled the Great Compassionate Division for many years, and he has always been a ally in battle. If he takes my fourth brother's troops and armor, he will inevitably be drawn into the fray!" Meng Hui suddenly realized, "Fifty thousand sets of troops and armor are enough for His Highness Prince Zhao to build an elite army. Once deployed to the capital, they will become a force to be reckoned with. Moreover, the Pacification Commissioner is only a temporary position; the Great Compassionate Division is the true authority responsible for controlling the tribal armies. At that time..." Before Meng Hui could finish, Yelü Ding interrupted, "At that time, my fourth brother will probably truly usurp the throne!"

Meng Hui, seemingly enlightened, said, "Your Highness, you ordered me to investigate the Lei tribe. Could it be that you have a plan?" Yelü Ding replied, "The Lei tribe's king is hypocritical and greedy; it's impossible for him to manage such a large tribe as a unified entity. If I find a suitable person within the Lei tribe, it won't be difficult to replace that arrogant fool!" Meng Hui readily agreed, "Your Highness is wise!" After a moment, another idea came to him, and he said, "I have another idea, and I would like to ask Your Highness to consider it!" Yelü Ding said, "Speak!" Meng Hui said, "If Your Highness personally intervenes, you should be able to persuade Zhao..." "The king has obtained ten thousand sets of armor, but even so, eighty percent of his troops will still be beyond Your Highness's control. However, if we keep King Lei a little longer, we can secretly plot and allow the Lei tribe to obtain as much armor and weapons as possible from King Zhao. Then, they will defect in battle, surely infuriating King Zhao to the point of vomiting blood!" Yelü Ding answered without hesitation, "Good!" After a moment's thought, Yelü Ding added, "At the appropriate time, cooperate with King Lei and make that hypocrite show as much loyalty as possible to King Zhao!" Meng Hui replied, "Yes!"

Outside Shangjing, the Jurchens were increasingly mobilizing troops, and Li Cangbai's scouts had repeatedly discovered that Jurchen soldiers were cutting down trees to build siege weapons. Fortunately, the area hundreds of miles outside Shangjing was almost entirely grassland, and the few remaining forests had long been cleared away by the Liao army, as both attacking and defending the city required a large amount of timber. Lin Chong's recruitment of soldiers went surprisingly smoothly; the day after the recruitment notice was issued, over a thousand people had signed up. Besides the generous compensation offered by Wang Hao, the desire to leave the war-torn Shangjing was also a major reason. After several days of selection, Lin Chong had recruited over six hundred men and, following Wang Hao's previous instructions, was preparing to enter the two-out-of-two selection phase. However, Lin Chong approached Wang Hao and explained his new plan. Wang Hao, who held Lin Chong in high regard, immediately summoned him and asked, "General Lin, have you come amidst your busy schedule? Is there some new development?" Lin Chong shook his head and said, "This humble general has suddenly come up with an idea, and I would like to ask you, sir, to consider it!" Wang Hao's interest was immediately piqued, and he said, "Please speak!"

Lin Chong said, “Han Xin recruited soldiers, the more the better. Although I am not as capable as Han Xin, I have served in the army for many years and consider myself to have some experience. I initially recruited 655 men. If we follow the rule of two men advancing to the next one as set by you, I should be able to retain more than 300. However, I recently learned from Li Cangbai that the Jurchens are heavily logging trees to build siege weapons. Because there are no usable timbers within hundreds of miles of the capital, the Jurchens have had to send out small teams to search for them. I intend to lead my troops to hunt down these scattered Jurchen soldiers!” Wang Hao understood Lin Chong's thoughts, but still asked, "Why?" Lin Chong replied, "Although our soldiers train day and night, they are ultimately out of practice on the battlefield and have never been tempered by iron and blood. No matter how well-equipped they are, such an army cannot become the war kings you envision. I hope to step out of the camp and select the true elite wolves in the field!" Wang Hao reminded him, "In that case, elimination means death!" Lin Chong did not hesitate at all, saying, "War is a matter of life and death!"