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Biography: Wanyan Heda
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完顏合達，名瞻，字景山。 少長兵間，習弓馬，能得人死力。 貞祐初，以親衛軍送岐國公主，充護衛。 三年，授臨潢府推官，權元帥右監軍。 時臨潢避遷，與全、慶兩州之民共壁平州。 合達隸其經略使烏林答乞住，乞住以便宜授軍中都統，累遷提控，佩金符。 未幾，會燕南諸帥將兵複中都城，行至平州遷安縣，臨潢、全慶兩軍變，殺乞住，擁合達還平州，推為帥，統乞住軍。 合達以計誅首亂者數人。 其年六月，北兵大將喊得不遣監戰提軍至平州城下，以州人黃裳入城招降，父老不從，合達引兵逆戰，知事勢不敵，以本軍降於陣。 監戰以合達北上，留半發，令還守平州。 已而，謀自拔歸，乃遣奉先縣令紇石烈布裏哥、北京教授蒲察胡裏安、右三部檢法蒲察蒲女涉海來報。
Wanyan Heda, personal name Zhan, style name Jingshan. He grew up in the military from childhood, mastered archery and horsemanship, and could inspire men to fight to the death for him. Early in the Zhenyou era he served in the imperial guard escorting the Princess of Qi and acted as her protector. In year three he received appointment as Linhuang Prefecture judge and provisional right deputy army supervisor under the marshal. Linhuang had relocated for safety, and its people joined those of Quan and Qing prefectures in pooling their defenses at Pingzhou. Heda served under frontier commissioner Wulind Qizhu, who by emergency authority made him a military commandant in the army; he rose through successive promotions to army controller and was awarded the gold tally. Soon afterward the southern Yan commanders mustered troops to retake the Central Capital; when they reached Qian'an County in Pingzhou, the Linhuang and Quan-Qing forces mutinied, killed Qizhu, brought Heda back to Pingzhou, and made him commander over Qizhu's former army. Heda used a ruse to execute several of the mutiny's ringleaders. That June the northern general Handebud sent a battle supervisor with troops to Pingzhou; a local man named Huang Shang was sent into the city to offer terms, but the elders refused. Heda marched out to fight, saw he was outmatched, and surrendered his army on the spot. The battle supervisor took Heda north, left Banfa behind, and ordered Heda to return and hold Pingzhou. Before long, plotting to escape and return to Jin territory, he sent Fengxian magistrate Heshenlie Bulige, Beijing instructor Pucha Hulian, and Right Three Departments inspector Pucha Punü across the sea to bring word.
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In the eleventh month of year four Heda did lead his troops and the prefecture's people along the coast southwest back to Jin territory. He was promoted three ranks by edict, made military commissioner of the Zhennan Army, and stationed at Yidu to coordinate with Marshal Menggugang as special commissioner and overall army controller. In December the Great Yuan army overran Boxing, Le'an, and Shouguang and pushed east into Wei Prefecture; Menggugang dispatched Heda, who fought repeated engagements at Shouguang and Linzi. In the first month of Xingding 1 he was transferred to military commissioner of the Tongyuan Army and concurrent observation commissioner for Gong Prefecture. In the seventh month he was reassigned as military commissioner of the Pingxi Army and concurrent observation commissioner for He Prefecture. In the first month of year 2 he was appointed prefect of Yan'an and concurrent overall commander of troops and horses on the Fuyan Circuit.
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In the first month of year 3 an edict ordered war on Song, and Heda was appointed right deputy army supervisor under the marshal. In the third month he routed Song forces at Meilin Pass and captured the commander Zhang Shi. He again defeated Song troops at Maling Fort and seized a hundred horses. He also captured Macheng County along with its magistrate Zhang Ti and staff officer Guo Shouji.
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四月，夏人犯通秦寨，合達出兵安塞堡，抵隆州，夏人自城中出步騎二千逆戰，進兵擊之，斬首數十級，俘十人，遂攻隆州，陷其西南隅，會日暮乃還。 六月，行元帥府事于唐、鄧，上遣諭曰：「以卿才幹，故委卿，無使敵人侵軼，第固吾圉可也。」 四年正月，複為元帥右都監，屯延安。 十月，夏人攻綏德州，駐兵於拄天山。 合達將兵擊之，別遣先鋒提控樊澤等各率所部分三道以進，畢會於山顛。 見夏人數萬余傅山而陣，即縱兵分擊。 澤先登，摧其左軍，諸將繼攻其右，敗之。 五年五月，知延安府事，兼前職。 上言：「諸軍官以屢徙，故往往不知所居地形迂直險易，緩急之際恐至敗事，自今乞勿徙。」 又言：「河南、陝西鎮防軍皆分屯諸路，在營惟老稚而已。 乞選老成人為各路統軍以鎮撫之，且督其子弟習騎射，將來可用。」 皆從之。
In the fourth month the Tangut forces attacked Tongqin Stockade; Heda marched from Ansaibao to Long Prefecture. The Tanguts sent two thousand foot and horse soldiers out to meet him; he attacked, took several dozen heads and ten prisoners, then assaulted Long Prefecture and broke through its southwest corner before withdrawing at dusk. In the sixth month he handled marshal headquarters affairs at Tang and Deng; the emperor sent word: "I have entrusted you because of your ability. Do not let the enemy raid across our borders—simply hold the frontier firm." In the first month of year 4 he was again made right deputy army supervisor under the marshal and encamped at Yan'an. In the tenth month the Tangut forces attacked Suide Prefecture and encamped on Zhutian Mountain. Heda led troops to attack them and separately dispatched vanguard army controller Fan Ze and others, each leading his unit in one of three columns, all converging at the mountaintop. Seeing more than ten thousand Tangut soldiers arrayed along the mountainside, he at once sent his forces to attack in separate groups. Fan Ze reached the heights first and broke their left wing; the other generals then pressed their right and routed them. In the fifth month of year 5 he was appointed prefect of Yan'an while retaining his previous posts. He memorialized: "Military officers are transferred so often that they often do not know the terrain of their posts—whether it is winding or straight, easy or difficult—and in a crisis this can lead to defeat. Hereafter I ask that they not be moved." He also said: "The garrison-defense armies of Henan and Shaanxi are scattered across the circuits, and in camp there are only the old and the young. I ask that experienced men be chosen as circuit commanders to keep order in each circuit and supervise their sons and younger brothers in mounted archery so they will be ready when needed." All of this was approved.
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In the eleventh month the Tangut forces attacked Ansaibao; their army arrived first, and Heda joined campaign marshal Nahan Maizhu in the defense. Heda devised a plan: "Before the northern army arrives, if we break the Tanguts first the rest will be easier." He then secretly marched troops loaded with rations by forced double marches and raided their camp at night; the Tangut army broke in rout, was pursued for forty li, and countless men fell to their deaths in cliffs and ravines. When the emperor heard of it he rewarded each man with fifty taels of gold and ten bolts of heavy silk, and issued an edict: "You have won a great victory, and I am truly delighted. With planning like this they should learn to fear us; in a few years you should be able to rest." An edict was also issued announcing Heda's achievement to all the commanders of Henan. That month he fought again at Yan'an alongside Marshal Maizhu, and both were seriously wounded. In the twelfth month, for preserving Yan'an he was granted a gold belt, a jade gyrfalcon plaque, and ten bolts of heavy silk.
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元光元年正月，遷元帥左監軍，授山東西路吾改必剌世襲謀克。 權參知政事，行省事於京兆。 未幾，真拜。 是年五月，上言：「頃河中安撫司報，北將按察兒率兵入隰、吉、翼州，浸及榮、解之境，今時已暑，猶無回意，蓋將蹂吾禾麥。 倘如此，則河東之土非吾有也。 又河南、陝西調度仰給解鹽，今正漉鹽之時，而敵擾之，將失其利。 乞速濟師，臣已擬分兵二萬，與平陽、上党、晉陽三公府兵同力禦之。 竊見河中、榮、解司縣官與軍民多不相諳，守禦之間或失事機。 乞從舊法，凡司縣官使兼軍民，庶幾上下相得，易以集事。」 又言鹽利，「今方敵兵迫境，不厚以分人，孰肯冒險而取之？ 若自輸運者十與其八，則人爭赴以濟國用。」 從之。
In the first month of the first year of Yuanguang he was made Marshal Left Vice Commissioner and granted the hereditary company commandership of Wugai Bila in Shandong West Route. He was made acting participant in the Secretariat and handled branch secretariat affairs at Jingzhao. Before long he received formal appointment. In the fifth month of that year he memorialized: "The Hedong Pacification Commission recently reported that the northern general Ancha'er has led troops into Xi, Ji, and Yi prefectures and encroached on Rong and Jie. The season is already hot, yet he still shows no sign of withdrawing—he surely means to trample our grain and wheat. If this continues, the land of Hedong will no longer be ours. Henan and Shaanxi also depend on Jie salt for supplies; this is precisely the brining season, yet the enemy is harassing the area and we shall lose the revenue. I beg that relief troops be sent at once; I have already planned to divide twenty thousand men and join the armies of the Pingyang, Shangdang, and Jinyang ducal headquarters in a joint defense. I have observed that in Hezhong, Rong, and Jie the local officials and the soldiers and people are often unfamiliar with one another, so that defensive opportunities may be missed. I beg that the old practice be restored: let prefectural and county officials also command soldiers and civilians, so that superiors and subordinates may cooperate and affairs may be handled more readily." He also spoke on salt profits: "With enemy troops pressing the border, if we do not share generously with the people, who will dare take risks to obtain it? If those who transport it themselves receive eight parts in ten, people will compete to do so and thereby supply state needs." The court approved.
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Jia Prefecture army controller Wang Gongzuo told Heda: "Last October, after the northern army took Jia Prefecture, they built a pontoon bridge across the river. Gongzuo made camp at Beishishanzi north of the prefectural seat, gathered more than two thousand survivors, and hoped to retake the prefectural city. His soldiers were all men who had fled south from the north and had no armor or weapons; he had asked headquarters for troops to burn the pontoon bridge and retake Jia Prefecture, but headquarters refused. He also asked for troops to escort the old and young inland, but headquarters again did not respond. Now the people of Jia Prefecture, pressed against the enemy frontier, are all losing heart. If enemy cavalry return this autumn, Gongzuo's strength will give out and he will die at their hands, and the surviving people will be slaughtered as well." Heda then memorialized: "Your subject wishes to ride at once to Yan'an and consult with Marshal Maizhu about using troops to escort Gongzuo's soldiers and civilians to Wubao and waiting for an opportunity to strike." The throne ordered the Secretariat and Censorate to deliberate, and Heda was then ordered to lead troops to retake Jia Prefecture. At Fu Prefecture, chiliarch Zhang Zizheng and his men killed myriarch Chen Wen and were about to sack the town. Heda had already drawn up his troops in readiness; Zizheng and the others fled the city, but Heda overtook them, the men returned to the ranks, several dozen ringleaders were beheaded, and the army was restored to order.
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In the sixth month Heda memorialized: "We have repeatedly captured spies, all reporting that the north has already made terms with the Tanguts and will enter Shaanxi by way of Hezhong and Jia Prefecture. Autumn defense is near, and we should plan ahead. Shaanxi's main forces are now split between two branch secretariats, yet Jingzhao is more than six hundred li from Pingliang; if the enemy blocks the route between them and cuts off communication, we isolate ourselves. The Pingliang branch secretariat's imperial clansman Ba Sa should be ordered to lead troops east and join me in a coordinated defense to shield Tong and Shaan; after the enemy withdraws we can revisit the question of dividing the offices." The throne approved this. In the second month of year 2, for preserving Fengxiang he was promoted in rank and granted gold coins and a rhinoceros-horn belt. By then Hezhong had fallen, and Heda led troops to retake it.
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In the seventh month of Zhengda 2 Shaanxi suffered severe drought; Heda fasted and prayed for rain, rain fell in abundance, the year brought a great harvest, and the people erected a stone monument in praise of his virtue. Yan'an lay in ruins; Heda ordered cattle purchased on the western route and entrusted to household heads, gathered the scattered and displaced, and helped them reclaim land for farming, so that the people of Yan'an gradually recovered the benefits of agriculture. In the eighth month Tian Rui of Gong Prefecture rebelled; Heda marched against him, and as the armies pressed the attack he issued a proclamation: "Guilt rests on Tian Rui alone; no one else will be questioned." Within a few days Rui's younger brother Ji killed him and surrendered; Heda kept his word and pacified the whole prefecture, and the people were restored to peace. In year three he was transferred by edict to the Pingliang Branch Secretariat. In the second month of year 4 he was recalled to court, appointed chief councilor of the Secretariat, and enfeoffed as Duke of Rui. On the first day of the seventh month of year 7, a gengyin day, he was removed from the chief councilor post and made vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Earlier Pu'a had memorialized in person: "Heda has spent years in the field; at this crisis moment he sits in the Secretariat—this misuses his strengths. We wish to join the Bureau of Military Affairs in handling military affairs; promoting him to chief councilor can wait." Hence this appointment.
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On the first day of the tenth month, a jiwei day, an edict ordered Heda and vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs Pu'a to relieve Weizhou. Earlier the court had stationed Duke of Hengshan Xian at Weizhou; the ducal headquarters and the prefectural government lacked unified command, and the court wished to merge them. By then the armies north of the Yellow River had besieged Wei; inside and outside had been cut off for months, and one could only see signal fires raised on the tower from time to time. When Heda and his force arrived, they first sent three thousand imperial guards to probe the enemy; the northern army fell back slightly, and the siege was lifted the next day. The emperor ascended Chengtian Gate to reward the army; all were granted hereditary company commanderships, given fine horses and jade belts, and paid their full monthly salaries in kind—an extraordinary mark of favor.
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Before long Pu'a was made acting participant in the Secretariat and joined Heda in handling branch secretariat affairs at Wenxiang to prepare the defense of Tong Pass. Earlier the Shaanxi branch secretariat had submitted defense plans; court officials met to debate them: the best plan was for the emperor to take the field in person, the middle plan was to move the court to Shaanxi, and the worst was to abandon Qin and hold only Tong Pass. Those deliberating argued that the only option was to reinforce the Shaanxi army for a decisive battle; if Shaanxi could not be held, Henan could not be saved either. By then even the territory west of Shaanxi could no longer be held.
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In the first month of year eight the Mongol commander Subutai broke Xiaoguan, ravaged Lushi and Zhuyang, and laid waste to more than a hundred li of countryside. Tong Pass overall commander Nahan Maizhu led Jiagu Yidilie and commandant Gao Ying to resist them and sent to both branch secretariats for relief. The branch secretariat sent Chen Heshang with one thousand Zhongxiao Army troops and commandant Jiagu Ze with ten thousand men in response; the northern army withdrew, and they pursued to the valley mouth before turning back. Both secretariats at once reported a great victory to court. Before long the northern army attacked Fengxiang; the two branch secretariats led troops twenty li beyond the pass, fought the army north of the Wei River, and by evening withdrew back inside the pass; Fengxiang then fell. The two branch secretariats then abandoned Jingzhao, and together with Yaguta moved the residents to Henan, leaving Qingshan Nu to hold the city. In the ninth month the northern army entered Hezhong; the two chief councilors had returned to Shaanxi after autumn defense and sent a limited force through Lengshuigu as a show of support.
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In the eleventh month Deng Prefecture reported that the northern army was coming by Raofeng Pass and marching east from Jin Prefecture. The armies of both branch secretariats then entered Deng and dispatched army controller Liu Tianshan with a letter to the Xiangyang pacification commission, proposing joint resistance against the northern army and requesting military provisions. The two branch secretariats had set out on the guimao day of the previous month, leaving Yang Woyan's army to hold Wenxiang. Woyan soon received orders to take the Luonan route into Shang Prefecture, encamp at Fengyangchuan to guard Shangjin, and coordinate with Duke of Hengshan Xian in a pincer. Heda again left Defensive Honorific General Wanyan Chen Heshang fifteen li south of Wenxiang and then marched on. Chen Heshang followed as well. Woyan's eight thousand troops and the forces at Mugua Plain in Shang Prefecture raced three hundred li in a day and night to Taohuabao; learning that the northern army was marching east from Fengyang, they turned east as well and joined the main army at Zhenping. Duke of Hengshan Xian's ten thousand men had originally been stationed at Huling Pass; they now came to join by way of Jingzikou and Shunyang. On the first day of the twelfth month all reached the outskirts of Deng and encamped at Shunyang. They then dispatched Liu Tianshan as envoy into Song territory.
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初，宋人于國朝君之、伯之、叔之，納歲幣將百年。 南渡以後，宋以我為不足慮，絕不往來。 故宣宗南伐，士馬折耗十不一存，雖攻陷淮上數州，徒使驕將悍卒恣其殺虜、飽其私欲而已。 又宣徽使奧敦阿虎使北方，北中大臣有以輿地圖指示之曰：「商州至此中軍馬幾何？」 又指興元雲：「我不從商州，則取興元路入汝界矣。」 阿虎還奏，宣宗甚憂之。 哀宗即位，群臣建言，可因國喪遣使報哀，副以遺留物，因與之講解，盡撤邊備，共守武休之險。 遂下省院議之，而當國者有仰而不能俯之疾，皆以朝廷先遣人則於國體有虧為辭。 元年，上諭南鄙諸帥，遣人往滁州與宋通好。 宋人每以奏稟為辭，和事遂不講。 然十年之間，朝廷屢敕邊將不妄侵掠，彼我稍得休息，宋人始信之，遂有繼好之意。 及天山以劄付至宋，劄付者指揮之別名，宋制使陳該怒辱天山，且以惡語複之。 報至，識者皆為竊歎。
For nearly a century the Song had addressed our dynasty's rulers as lord, elder brother, and uncle and paid annual tribute. After the southern crossing the Song ceased to regard us as a threat and broke off all contact. When Emperor Xuanzong campaigned south, soldiers and horses were so depleted that scarcely one in ten survived; though several prefectures north of the Huai were taken, this only let arrogant generals and fierce soldiers indulge in slaughter and satisfy their private greed. Palace Secretariat commissioner Aodun Ahu was also sent on a mission north; a northern minister pointed to a territorial map and asked: "From Shang Prefecture to here, how many troops lie in between?" He then pointed to Xingyuan and said: "If I do not come by Shang Prefecture, I will take the Xingyuan route into your territory." When Ahu returned and reported this, Emperor Xuanzong was deeply alarmed. When Emperor Aizong came to the throne, officials advised that the court could use the period of national mourning to send envoys announcing the bereavement, add gifts of leftover goods, negotiate a settlement with Song, withdraw border defenses, and jointly hold the perilous pass at Wuxiu. The matter was referred to the Secretariat and Censorate, but those in power were too proud to bend; all refused on the grounds that if the court sent envoys first it would damage national dignity. In year 1 the emperor instructed the southern frontier commanders to send envoys to Chuzhou to open friendly relations with Song. The Song side each time pleaded the need to memorialize and await approval, and peace talks never got anywhere. Over the next ten years the court repeatedly ordered border generals not to raid recklessly; both sides gradually gained a respite, the Song began to trust this, and the idea of renewing friendly relations took hold. When Tianshan arrived in Song with a directive—a zhafu being another name for a military order—Song commissioner Chen Gai angrily insulted him and replied with abusive language. When word of this reached home, those who understood the situation sighed in dismay.
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On the wuchen day the northern army crossed the Han River heading north; the generals thought they could strike while the enemy was half across, but Pu'a refused. On the bingzi day, after the troops had all crossed, they fought before Mount Yu; the northern army fell back slightly and encamped thirty li away. The two chief councilors reported a great victory by express courier; officials submitted congratulatory memorials; the chief councilors held a banquet in the Secretariat; Left Assistant Chief Councilor Li Xi, both joyful and in tears, said: "If not for today's victory, the calamity that would have befallen the people is beyond words!" They believed it was truly so. Earlier, when Henan heard the northern army had come through Raofeng Pass, people fled into walled cities and fortified strongpoints; when word came that the enemy had withdrawn, some even stayed calmly in place; within two or three days roaming cavalry arrived, people had nowhere to flee, and all had been misled by the victory reports.
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九年正月丁酉，兩省軍潰于陽翟之三峰山。 初，禹山之戰，兩軍相拒，北軍散漫而北，金軍懼其乘虛襲京城，乃謀入援。 時北兵遣三千騎趨河上，已二十餘日，泌陽、南陽、方城、襄、郟至京諸縣皆破，所有積聚焚毀無餘。 金軍由鄧而東，無所仰給，乃並山入陽翟。 既行，北兵即襲之，且行且戰，北兵傷折亦多。 恆山一軍為突騎三千所沖，軍殊死鬥，北騎退走。 追奔之際，忽大霧四塞，兩省命收軍。 少之，霧散乃前，前一大澗，長闊數裏，非此霧則北兵人馬滿中矣。 明日，至三峰山，遂潰，事載蒲阿傳。 合達知大事已去，欲下馬戰，而蒲阿已失所在。 合達以數百騎走鈞州，北兵塹其城外攻之，走門不得出，匿窟室中，城破，北兵發而殺之。 時朝廷不知其死，或雲已走京兆，賜以手詔，募人訪之。 及攻汴，乃揚言曰：「汝家所恃，惟黃河與合達耳。 今合達為我殺，黃河為我有，不降何待？」
On the dingyou day of the first month of year 9, the armies of both branch secretariats were routed at Three Peak Mountain in Yangzhai. At the battle of Mount Yu the two armies faced off; the northern army spread out and marched north; the Jin army feared they would exploit an opening to strike the capital and planned to march east to reinforce it. The northern army had already sent three thousand cavalry toward the river for more than twenty days; Biyang, Nanyang, Fangcheng, Xiang, Jia, and all the counties on the route to the capital had fallen, and all stored supplies had been burned without remainder. The Jin army marched east from Deng with no supplies to draw on and entered Yangzhai along the mountain route. Once they set out the northern army immediately attacked; they fought as they marched, and the northern army also took heavy losses. The Hengshan army was charged by three thousand shock cavalry; the men fought to the death and drove the northern horsemen back. In the midst of the pursuit a thick fog suddenly closed in on all sides, and both branch secretariats ordered a halt. After a short while the fog cleared and they advanced; ahead lay a great ravine several li long and wide—without that fog the northern army's men and horses would have filled it completely. The next day they reached Three Peak Mountain and were routed; the full account is given in Pu'a's biography. Heda knew the cause was lost and wanted to dismount and fight to the death, but Pu'a had already vanished. Heda fled with several hundred cavalry to Jun Prefecture; the northern army dug trenches outside the city and attacked; he tried to flee through the gate but could not escape, hid in a cave-room, and when the city fell the northern army dug him out and killed him. The court did not yet know he was dead; some said he had fled to Jingzhao; the emperor issued a handwritten edict and sent men to search for him. When they besieged Bian they proclaimed: "Your house relies on only two things—the Yellow River and Heda. Heda is dead at our hands and the Yellow River is ours—why not surrender? What are you waiting for?"
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Heda knew the enemy well, was skilled in battle, valued honor over wealth, shared hardship with his men, distributed booty immediately, and always led from the front without flinching; his troops gladly followed him—his character speaks for itself. Left Assistant Chief Councilor Zhang Xingxin once recommended him: "Wanyan Heda is the finest general of our time."
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A Khitan by origin, he entered military service young and through merit rose from qianhu (commander of a thousand) to army marshal. Early on, when Emperor Aizong was crown prince and controlled the Privy Council, Pu'a was chosen commander of the imperial guard and wore a gold tally. In winter, in the twelfth month of the second year of Yuanguang, on gengyin, Emperor Xuanzong fell gravely ill. The crown prince's elder half-brother Prince Ying Shouchun entered first to attend him; the crown prince came from the Eastern Palace, knocked at the gate seeking audience, and ordered Pu'a to don armor beneath his robe, gather troops, and encamp at Genyue against any emergency. When Emperor Aizong took the throne, he once told his close officials: "Had it not been for Pu'a, how would matters have come to this?" He was then remotely appointed vice administrator of Suizhou and acting Privy Council judge; from then on many major state and military decisions passed through him.
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In the twelfth month of Zhengda 4 armies from north of the Yellow River suddenly entered Shang Prefecture and ravaged Zhuyang and Lushi. Pu'a marched out to meet them and fought as far east as Lingbao; he encountered a dozen roaming horsemen, captured one man, and the rest withdrew at once; Pu'a promptly reported a victory. He was rewarded with a hereditary company commandership and generous gifts. Everyone knew he was deceiving the throne, but none dared speak out; Ministry of Personnel bureau director Yang Juren drew anger with a subtle remark.
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On the bingchen day of the second month of year 6 Pu'a was made acting vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs. Since the previous summer the northern army in Shaanxi had pressed steadily toward Jing Prefecture and blocked the grain route to Qingyang. Pu'a memorialized: "Shaanxi was given two branch secretariats to shield Henan; the northern army has been coming for three years now, and those branch secretariats command two or three hundred thousand troops yet have never faced the enemy in battle or broken a single arrow—what use are they?" Bureau officials also memorialized that the secretariat bureau's troops would need to be deployed going forward; the emperor was silent for a long time. After this Chief Councilor Sai Bu was sent to handle Secretariat affairs in Guanzhong, Manager of Governmental Affairs Heda was recalled to court, Ba Sa was summoned to the palace, and Pu'a led Wanyan Chen Heshang with one thousand Zhongxiao Army troops to garrison Bin Prefecture and observe northern movements. On the bingshen day of the eighth month Pu'a retook Lu Prefecture. On the first yiwei day of the tenth month Pu'a returned east.
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On the yiwei day of the twelfth month an edict ordered Pu'a, overall commander Yawuta, and acting signer of the Bureau of Military Affairs Eke to relieve Qingyang. In the first month of year seven they fought the northern army at Dachangyuan; the enemy withdrew and the siege of Qingyang was lifted. An edict ordered Eke to garrison Bin Prefecture while Pu'a and Yawuta returned to Jingzhao. Before long he was made acting participant in the Secretariat and joined Heda in handling branch secretariat affairs at Wenxiang. In the first month of year 8 the northern army entered Shaanxi, Fengxiang fell, and the two branch secretariats abandoned Jingzhao and marched east; at Luoyang post station they were summoned to debate the Hezhong situation—the account is given in Bai Hua's biography.
24
In the twelfth month the northern army crossed the Han River; both branch secretariats entered Deng Prefecture and debated how to meet the enemy; some favored intercepting them at Guanghua on the river, others favored letting them cross and then fighting; Zhang Hui argued: "Intercept at the river—if we let them cross, our rear is empty; how can we avoid being routed?" Pu'a waved him off: "You only know southern affairs—what do you know of the north? I once received an imperial directive at Yu Prefecture saying, 'Even if they are in the desert sands, one should still go seek them out'—how much more so now that they have come of their own accord. Do not repeat what happened at Dachangyuan, old Weizhou, and Shanche Pass—letting them escape." Dingzhu, Gao, and Fan all agreed with Pu'a. Heda then asked Andemu, who disagreed. Because Andemu was a northerner who knew the enemy's ways, many in the army thought his view made sense, yet they could not overturn Pu'a's decision.
25
順陽留二十日，光化探騎至，雲「千騎已北渡」，兩省是夜進軍，比曉至禹山，探者續雲「北騎已盡濟」。 癸酉，北軍將近，兩省立軍高山，各分據地勢，步迎於山前，騎屯於山后。 甲戌，日未出，北兵至，大帥以兩小旗前導來觀，觀竟不前，散如雁翅，轉山麓出騎兵之後，分三隊而進，輜重外余二萬人。 合達令諸軍，「觀今日事勢，不當戰，且待之。」 俄而北騎突前，金兵不得不戰，至以短兵相接，戰三交，北騎少退。 北兵之在西者望蒲阿親繞甲騎後而突之，至於三，為蒲察定住力拒而退。 大帥以旗聚諸將，議良久。 合達知北兵意向。 時高英軍方北顧，而北兵出其背擁之，英軍動，合達幾斬英，英複督軍力戰。 北兵稍卻觀變，英軍定，複擁樊澤軍，合達斬一千夫長，軍殊死鬥，乃卻之。
They remained at Shunyang for twenty days; reconnaissance from Guanghua arrived and reported, "A thousand cavalry have already crossed north"; that night both branch secretariats advanced, and by dawn they reached Mount Yu, where scouts again reported, "The northern cavalry have all finished crossing." On the guiyou day, as the northern army drew near, both branch secretariats deployed on the high ground, each taking position according to the terrain; infantry formed up before the mountain and cavalry encamped behind it. On the jiaxu day, before sunrise, the northern army arrived; the great commander came forward under two small guide flags to reconnoiter, then did not advance but spread out like geese in flight, swung along the mountain foot to emerge behind the Jin cavalry, and advanced in three columns—aside from baggage trains, more than twenty thousand men remained. Heda ordered the armies: "Given today's situation we should not fight—wait for now." Before long northern cavalry charged forward and the Jin troops had no choice but to fight; they closed to hand-to-hand combat, exchanged three rounds, and the northern cavalry fell back slightly. Northern troops on the west saw Pu'a personally circle behind the armored cavalry and charge; this happened three times, and each time Pucha Dingzhu forcefully repulsed them. The great commander gathered the generals under his banner and deliberated for a long time. Heda understood the northern army's intention. Gao Ying's army was looking north when northern troops emerged from behind and pressed them; Ying's line wavered and Heda nearly had him executed; Ying rallied his men and fought on. The northern army fell back slightly to watch developments; Ying's line held; they then pressed Fan Ze's army; Heda beheaded a chiliarch; the men fought to the death and finally drove the enemy back.
26
The northern army reformed and faced south toward their line of march. Both branch secretariats debated again: "Though they claim thirty thousand men, a third are baggage troops. After two or three days without food in the standoff, we should press them as they withdraw." Zhang Hui favored this plan; Pu'a said: "The river route is cut off and the Yellow River is not frozen—they are deep in hostile territory; where can they go? Why act in haste?" They did not follow this. On the yihai day the northern army suddenly vanished; not a single campfire remained. Both branch secretariats and the generals debated: for four days they saw neither army nor camp; ferry traffic and travelers from Deng Prefecture continued unbroken, yet no one had seen them—had they crossed south and withdrawn? On the jimao day patrol cavalry finally found the northern army in the jujube grove on the Guanghua opposite bank; they cooked by day and slept in the saddle at night; watching the grove from fifty or sixty paces away, not a sound could be heard—their deception was plain.
27
初，禹山戰罷，有二騎迷入營，問之，知北兵凡七頭項，大將統之。 複有詐降者十人，弊衣羸馬泣訴艱苦，兩省信之，易以肥馬，飲之酒，及暖衣食而置之陣後，十人者皆鞭馬而去，始悟其為覘騎也。
After the battle at Mount Yu, two horsemen lost their way and wandered into camp; from them it was learned that the northern army had seven command groups, each under a great general. Ten men also feigned surrender, in ragged clothes on emaciated horses weeping of hardship; both branch secretariats believed them, gave them fresh horses, wine, warm food and clothing, and placed them behind the line; all ten whipped their horses and fled—it was then understood they were enemy scouts.
28
On the gengchen day both branch secretariats decided to enter Deng for provisions; between mid-morning and noon they reached the far side of the grove; the northern army suddenly attacked; both armies met them in battle; in the skirmish a hundred northern horsemen seized the baggage train and withdrew; the Jin troops nearly lost formation and only entered the city at night; fearing soldiers would lose their way, they rang bells to gather them. Fan Ze encamped west of the city and Gao Ying east of it. On the first renwu day of the first month of year 9 they paraded their army before Deng city. The northern army would not fight; the great general sent an envoy to request wine, and both branch secretariats gave him twenty bottles. On the guiwei day the great army set out from Deng Prefecture for the capital: twenty thousand cavalry and one hundred thirty thousand infantry; cavalry under Pucha Dingzhu, Pucha Dajibu, and commandant Andemu; Zhongxiao Army under overall leaders Jiagu Aida and imperial clansman Daluhuan; overall leader Jiagu Yitelie; infantry under army controller Linzi Prince Zhang Hui; extermination bandit commandants Wanyan Apai, Gao Ying, and Fan Ze; center army under Chen Heshang—joined with Duke of Hengshan Wuxian and Yang Woyan's forces. That day they halted below Five Peak Mountain and took the Crow Route; three thousand northern cavalry followed them, and they encamped to wait for Yang and Wu.
29
When Yang and Wu arrived, they learned that Shen and Yu prefectures had already surrendered. On the evening of the seventh day they debated that the northern cavalry would attack again the next day; the enemy had only three thousand horsemen, but if the Jin showed weakness they would be held in contempt—a fight was necessary. They then hid fifty cavalry along the Deng Prefecture road. The next day as the army marched the northern cavalry attacked as before; the Jin sent ten thousand men to press them eastward; the ambush was sprung and the northern army fled south. It rained that day and they camped in a bamboo grove. On gengyin they made camp at Angao. On the xinmao day they camped at the Crow Route and Lushan. The Hexi army had already surrendered Shen and Yu and was driving old and young with cattle and sheep along the Crow Route; the Jin army happened upon them and seized the livestock to feed the troops.
30
On the guisi day, with Jun Prefecture in sight, they reached the Sha River; five thousand northern cavalry waited on the north bank; the Jin army seized the bridge to cross, and the northern army immediately turned west and withdrew. The Jin army pressed the attack; the northern army would not fight and crossed the Sha River southward again. The Jin army tried to make camp, but the northern army crossed the river again to attack. The Jin army could get no food and no rest. At dusk rain began to fall; by the next morning it had turned to snow. The northern army grew to ten thousand men; they fought as they marched to Huangyudian, twenty-five li from Jun Prefecture; rain and snow halted their advance and they encamped for three days. On the bingshen day a palace attendant entered camp with an edict, gathering the commanders for orders; the directive read: "Both branch secretariats shall march to the capital; I will reward the army at the palace gate, exchange imperial horses, and then going out to battle will not be too late." A secret directive also read: "We have recently learned that two or three hundred cavalry slipped through at Zhangjiawan; Weizhou and Meng Prefecture have already been evacuated; both branch secretariats must remain constantly on guard." After receiving the edict Pu'a brushed his sleeve and rose; Heda wanted to discuss further, but Pu'a said: "That is all—what more is there to discuss?" He had already lost his nerve. The army marched at once.
31
北軍自北渡者畢集，前後以大樹塞其軍路，沃衍軍奪路，得之。 合達又議陳和尚先擁山上大勢，比再整頓，金軍已接竹林，去鈞州止十餘裏矣。 金軍遂進，北軍果卻三峰之東北、西南。 武、高前鋒擁其西南，楊、樊擁其東北，北兵俱卻，止有三峰之東。 張惠、按得林立山上望北兵二三十萬，約厚二十裏。 按得木與張惠謀曰：「此地不戰，欲何為耶？」 乃率騎兵萬餘乘上而下擁之，北兵卻。 須臾雪大作，白霧蔽空，人不相覿。 時雪已三日，戰地多麻田，往往耕四五過，人馬所踐泥淖沒脛。 軍士被甲骨僵立雪中，槍槊結凍如椽，軍士有不食至三日者。 北兵與河北軍合，四週邊之，熾薪燔牛羊肉，更遞休息。 乘金困憊，乃開鈞州路縱之走，而以生軍夾擊之。 金軍遂潰，聲如崩山，忽天氣開霽，日光皎然，金軍無一人得逃者。
The northern army that had crossed from the north assembled in full; they blocked the Jin route front and rear with felled trees; Woyan's army fought through and cleared a path. Heda again argued that Chen Heshang should first seize the commanding heights; by the time they regrouped the Jin army had already reached the bamboo grove, barely ten li from Jun Prefecture. The Jin army advanced, and the northern army did fall back from the northeast and southwest of Three Peak Mountain. Wuxian and Gao Ying's vanguard pressed the southwest; Yang and Fan pressed the northeast; the northern army fell back on all sides, leaving only the east of Three Peak Mountain open. Zhang Hui and Andemu stood on the heights and saw two or three hundred thousand northern troops spread across roughly twenty li. Andemu said to Zhang Hui: "If we do not fight here, what are we waiting for?" He then led more than ten thousand cavalry charging downhill against them, and the northern army fell back. Before long snow fell in torrents; white mist filled the sky and men could not see one another. Snow had already fallen for three days; the battlefield was covered with hemp fields, often plowed four or five times over, and the mud where men and horses trod came up to their shins. Soldiers in armor stood rigid in the snow; spears and pikes froze stiff as beams; some had not eaten for three days. The northern army joined with the Hebei forces, surrounded them on all sides, piled firewood to roast beef and mutton, and rested in rotation. When the Jin army was exhausted, they opened the road to Jun Prefecture and let them flee, then sent fresh troops to strike them from both flanks. The Jin army collapsed with a sound like mountains crumbling; suddenly the sky cleared and sunlight shone bright; not a single Jin soldier escaped.
32
Wuxian led thirty horsemen into the bamboo grove; the armies of Yang, Fan, and Zhang fought over the road as the northern army surrounded them in layer after layer; together with Gao Ying's remnant troops they fought south of Shilin Village; Woyan, Ze, and Ying all fell; only Zhang Hui, on foot with a great spear in hand, fought to the death. Pu'a fled toward the capital but was overtaken and captured before he arrived. In the seventh month he was brought in chains to Guanshan and asked whether he would surrender; after several hundred words of exchange he said only: "I am a great minister of Jin—I can die only on Jin soil." He was put to death on the spot.
33
The commentator writes: Since the Jin crossed south, records of military victory never cease, yet territory was not expanded and casualties were roughly equal—thoughtful observers were skeptical. When the Jin campaigned against Song, at the battle of Tang Prefecture seven hundred troops were lost; the commanding general Elun concealed it and reported a victory instead. Censor Nalan impeached him; Emperor Xuanzong rewarded the censor but did not punish Elun—ruler and ministers were leading one another in empty boasts. The victory at Mount Yu was a deception by both branch secretariats that led to the ruin of the state—was this not set in motion by Emperor Xuanzong's earlier example? The defeat at Three Peak Mountain was beyond recovery; court and people alike stood stunned and silent, and the Jin cause was already nine-tenths lost. The Celestial Dynasty came by way of Xiang and Han, marched an isolated army deep into enemy territory, deployed stratagems with godlike skill, and received Heaven's aid as well; thus it could violate what military doctrine forbids and win a triumph for the ages—fine general though Heda was, how could he have stood against it? Pu'a lacked strategy, but in dying without shame he alone is still worthy of respect.