Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 630 It’s over for being reckless
The Song State had a total of nearly 130,000 garrison troops deployed in the Lianghuai area.

These 130,000 soldiers are distributed in various provinces.

This time, the imperial court drew about 50,000 imperial guards from the three yamen and sent them to Huaidong and Huaixi respectively.

However, more of these imperial troops entered the Huaidong area.

Because the Huaixi area had 20,000 troops transferred from the Jiankang Dutongsi as a supplement.

By this calculation, the total strength of the Song army now deployed on the battlefields of Lianghuai is about 200,000.

On the Jin side, there were 110,000 troops deployed on the southern front, specifically targeting the border areas of the Song State.

However, there are differences in the military systems of the Song and Jin countries, such as the statistics of military personnel.

The Song Dynasty always included the logistical and miscellaneous troops involved in the battles in its calculations, while the Jin Dynasty only counted the regular troops.

The grain-shooting army that had lured Lu Tianming's troops into the encirclement was not included in the Jin Kingdom's statistical sequence at all.

So in fact, the total military strength of the Song and Jin countries deployed on the battlefields of Lianghuai is similar.

However, the purpose of this battle was to repel the Jin army and recapture the lost cities, so the Song State adopted the strategy of attacking in different places and defeating them one by one.

The Jin army's purpose in capturing these cities from the very beginning was to annihilate the elite troops of the Song State.

Therefore, when the Song army was tricked into dividing its forces and its elite vanguard was ambushed, the Jin army on the battlefields of Lianghuai gave up the cities they had already captured and moved to the Lingbi area.

They had clear division of labor. Some were responsible for blocking the reinforcements from the Song State, some rushed to the Lingbi battlefield, and some harassed the rear of the Song army...

Those signed troops who were not included in the Jin army's troop statistics played a major role in destroying bridges and roads and slowing down the Song army's rescue efforts.

However, when Li Xianzhong's messengers arrived at the various troops, the Jin soldiers' intentions were already clear, and the entire battlefield began to shift towards Lingbi.

For a time, the armies of Song and Jin on the battlefield of Lianghuai were fighting fiercely around Lingbi.

Peng Wufu, the commander of the Imperial Army stationed in Chuzhou, was originally dealing with a small group of Jin soldiers in the Huaiyin area.

After receiving the order from Li Xianzhong, he began to move towards Lingbi.

However, his marching speed was not fast.

Since the main force led by Li Xianzhong could be surrounded by the Jin soldiers, it was obvious that the Jin soldiers dispatched were also elite main forces.

Whichever rescue force arrives first will be the first to bear the tremendous pressure from the Jin army.

The Imperial Guards and the Garrison Army belonged to different systems. Peng Wufu did not want to be the first to arrive at the battlefield and bear the mace of the Jin Army for the Imperial Guards.

I have been guarding the border, while you, the imperial guards, have been living a life of luxury in Lin'an, and you are getting the best treatment.

Isn't it time for you imperial guards to do more?
The one we are rescuing now is the commander-in-chief of your imperial guards. If you don’t work hard, who will?

General Peng had no intention of letting Li Xianzhong suffer a heavy loss on the battlefield. After all, it would not benefit him if his friendly forces were defeated.

But he was certain that other imperial guards would come to Lingbi's aid, so his garrison troops could temporarily avoid the limelight.

Therefore, General Peng was not in a hurry. Although the harassment from small groups of Jin troops could not delay his marching speed at all, he always stopped and cleared them out in a serious manner.

In this way, from the moment he received the order from Li Xianzhong, if he rushed to Lingbi at full speed, he should have arrived at the battlefield by now.

As a result, it was not until noon on the third day when Lu Tianming was trapped that his troops had only traveled half the distance.

At this time, Yang Yuan's three messengers found Peng Wufu and conveyed Yang Yuan's order.

When he heard that Yang Yuan personally led the reserve troops left to him by Li Xianzhong, all 6,000 elite imperial guards, to Lingbi, Commander Peng's face immediately turned ugly.

You are a civilian official, why are you going to join in the fun between two armies?
The titles of nobility in the Song Dynasty are not only conferred on the basis of military merit. Besides, you are already a marquis, what else do you want?

However, although Peng Wufu cursed Yang Yuan in his heart, he did not dare not to save him.

If this military supervisor were to die in Lingbi, all these generals would be in trouble.

The best outcome for him is that his future ends here and there is no possibility of promotion in his life.

What's more, Yang Yuan's messengers did not leave. They stayed in Peng Wufu's army and played the role of military supervisors, not allowing him to delay.

Peng Wufu immediately gave orders, to ignore the harassment of the Jin army along the way and to march towards Lingbi at full speed.

However, the previous delay had allowed the Jin soldiers to successfully complete many obstruction actions.

In some places, the roads were so bumpy that even carts carrying heavy supplies could not pass.

In some places, bridges were destroyed and they had to rebuild them.

The three military supervisors stayed in the army with sour faces like creditors, and Peng Wufu could only order the army to fill the ditches when they encountered them and build bridges when they encountered water.

Immediately afterwards, the regular troops of the Jin army attacked them from the flank.

If he had acted faster before, the Jin troops would not have had time to arrive and block them.

Now a fierce battle is inevitable.

……

Lu Qingyun, the commander-in-chief of the right army of the Sizhou Imperial Garrison, did not deliberately delay after receiving the military order from Li Xianzhong, but like Peng Wufu, he did not advance at full speed.

As a result, when he led his troops to the Lingbi mountain area, the Wuning Army of the Jin Kingdom, which came to support from the direction of Xuzhou, also arrived.

The two sides collided head-on and started fighting on the spot.

Lu Qingyun's troops were defeated and fled, and happened to run into Peng Tianze's troops stationed in Suzhou and Zhu Tianbao's troops of the Youyi Army, which had been defeated when the Jin army captured Suzhou.

The three remnant armies of "Liang Tian and Yi Qing Yun" joined forces and in turn defeated the Wuning Army.

When the three allied forces were mustering up their remaining courage and pursuing the victory, a group of Jin soldiers moving quickly from the direction of Linhuan ran into them again.

The Linhuan Jin army and the Xuzhou Jin army immediately joined hands and fought against the "Two Days and One Qingyun" three-party coalition force that came to kill them.

As a result, the entire battlefield expanded from the Lingbi mountain area to the entire Lingbi area.

Troops from both sides rushed here one after another, and engaged in battle on the spot after encountering the enemy.

Troops from both sides continued to rush in from all over to join the battle, and the situation on the battlefield became a mess.

I am in the enemy, the enemy is in me, I am in front of the enemy, I am behind the enemy, I am behind the enemy...

At this point, the coaches of both teams have lost the possibility of unified command.

They didn't even know where their people were or which unit they belonged to.

Luo Xin, the commander of the Sizhou Mobile Army, was the closest to Lingbi and was fully capable of rescuing the trapped imperial guards before the Jin soldiers' encirclement was completed.

But he went against Lingbi and ran to Jinghai in the east to wipe out the more than 1,000 Jin Kingdom troops active in that area.

By the time he arrived in Jinghai, the Jin army had long disappeared.

Luo Tongzhi did not return, but continued to head eastward towards Qingyang Town.

The messengers sent by Yang Yuan searched all the way but could not find any trace of them.

……

On the Huaixi battlefield, Shao Hongyuan, commander of the Western Army, had already noticed the unusual movements of the Jin army.

From the intelligence he received, many of Song's western army troops suddenly lost their opponents.

The Jin soldiers, who had been fighting fiercely with them, left the battlefield overnight after setting up a false formation and their whereabouts were unknown.

This made Shao Hongyuan very alert. On the one hand, he ordered the Song troops to stay where they were and not to move rashly, and on the other hand, he sent out scouts to search for news about the Jin people.

At the same time, he also sent fast horses back to Jiankang to report the news and guard against the Jin people stealing the house.

Soon, Shao Hongyuan received accurate information that the Jin army, which had withdrawn from the battle, was moving towards the Huaidong battlefield.

What happened on the Huaidong battlefield?

Could it be that Li Xianzhong was so unstoppable that he inflicted heavy losses on the Jin army and trapped some important figure of the Jin Kingdom, so the Huaixi Jin army rushed forward to rescue them?
While Shao Hongyuan was wondering, he received a military letter from Li Xianzhong.

Only then did Shao Hongyuan understand why the Jin army on the Huaixi battlefield reacted so strangely.

Since the Eastern Army and the Western Army were the two main forces in the Huaibei region, the commanders of the two armies were at the same level and there was no subordinate relationship between them. Therefore, Li Xianzhong could not give orders to Shao Hongyuan.

He sent someone to deliver a military letter to explain the situation and request Shao Hongyuan to dispatch troops for support in a timely manner.

Shao Hongyuan beat the drum to gather his generals and explained the situation in Huaidong. However, he was opposed by many generals of the Western Route Army to go to Huaidong to provide assistance.

The Western Route Army was mainly composed of garrison troops, and it had its own war zone.

The garrison troops in the Eastern Army were unwilling to rush to Li Xianzhong's aid at the first time and fight against the tough Jin soldiers for the Imperial Army, let alone the Western Army.

Moreover, there was no particularly clear dividing line between Huaidong and Huaixi, and there was a competitive relationship between the two sides in their battles against Jin in the bordering areas.

The Eastern Army was mainly composed of the imperial guards, who were strong in both men and horses. Moreover, the Jin army wanted to lure the enemy deep into the east and encircle them, so they had intentionally let the enemy win in previous battles.

Under such circumstances, the performance of the Song army in Huaidong was outstanding in the early battles.

They were so unstoppable that they inevitably took away a lot of credit from the West Route Army in the areas bordering the West Route Army.

For example, in a county town in the border area of ​​Huaidong and Huaixi, the Western Army was fighting fiercely with the Jin soldiers, and the Eastern Army came and joined the battle without hesitation.

After paying a heavy price, the Western Army was about to "capture the city", but was "climbed first" by the Eastern Army.

This made the Western Army so angry that they almost died, and they almost got into a fight with the Eastern Army.

Under this kind of vicious competitive relationship, the Eastern Army was in trouble, and many generals of the Western Army were happy to watch the joke. How could they be willing to let them rush to Huaidong for assistance?

Shao Hongyuan couldn't help but back off when the attitude of his generals was so negative.

He can force troops to go out, but how they march and fight depends on the generals who lead them.

If this general holds such emotions towards the Eastern Army, problems could easily arise.

Furthermore, given the distance between Huaixi and Huaidong, by the time his reinforcements arrive, the war on the eastern front would probably have been over, right?
Isn't that a futile expedition?

Shao Hongyuan considered it again and again, and finally decided that all troops should move eastward cautiously to catch up with the Jin army that was moving towards the Huaidong battlefield.

Catching them and dragging them to the battlefield in Huaixi was also a disguised way of relieving the siege on Huaidong.

Unexpectedly, just two days after Shao Hongyuan issued the strategic adjustment on the Huaixi battlefield, Yang Yuan's messenger arrived.

After reading Yang Yuan's military book, Shao Hongyuan was stunned.

Li Xianzhong had no authority to give him combat orders, but Yang Yuan could.

As the military supervisor of Lianghuai, Yang Yuan used the "Fujie".

Shao Hongyuan could deal with Li Xianzhong perfunctorily, but not with Yang Yuan.

What is particularly distressing is that Yang Yuan risked his life and personally entered the Lingbi.

If there is no obvious support from his side, once Yang Yuan dies on the battlefield, he will definitely be held accountable in the post-war review.

After weighing the pros and cons, Shao Hongyuan beat the drum to gather his generals and went up to the tent to mobilize the troops.

The several troops stationed in Huaixi by the Three Yamen Forbidden Army immediately penetrated through the weak points of the defense line set up by the Jin army when it moved to Huaidong, and rushed to the rescue of Lingbi.

The army stationed in Huaixi advanced step by step. After leaving some soldiers to guard the city, they fought and advanced with the blocking Jin troops, constantly putting pressure on the Liaodong battlefield to contain the Jin army on the eastern front.

He himself led the 20,000 troops drawn from the Jiankang Dutongsi, sailed eastward along the Huai River, then landed and headed north to attack Pengcheng and Xuzhou controlled by the Jin Kingdom.

This was a tactical requirement put forward by Yang Yuan to him, and it was drafted by Emmanuelle Belle. Shao Hongyuan gladly accepted this order.

So far, the flames of war have only been burning in the mountains of our Song Dynasty. Why?
Xuzhou is now under the rule of the Jin Kingdom. If I can take Xuzhou while it is empty...

Even if we can only occupy it for one day, it will be of great significance to our Song State.

In view of this, Shao Hongyuan took action without hesitation.

……

Yang Yuan's original intention was to reunite with Li Xianzhong, then hold on to the mountain and wait for help, implementing Li Xianzhong's "center blossom" tactics.

But when his army arrived at Lingbi, they encountered the Jin army.

The two sides fought and retreated, gradually moving from the southwest mountains to the north bank of the Tuohe River in the southeast.

Seeing that he could not enter the mountains to meet up with Li Xianzhong, Liu Molin decided to set up camp by the Tuo River and fight a desperate battle.

Liu Molin set up camp by the river and built simple positional warfare defense measures.

Yang Yuan, the temporary army, was arranged at the innermost part of the camp, and his tent was pitched by the Tuo River.

There were sounds of fighting in the distance, but it was still peaceful here.

Fei Yuye squatted by the Tuohe River, scooped up water to wash her face, and looked at the rolling water of the Tuohe River, thoughtful for a moment.

Yang Yuan had just returned from the central military tent, after having spent a lot of time persuading Liu Molin to agree to his risky plan.

Seeing Fei Yuye staring at the river in a daze, Yang Yuan walked over.

"Yuye, what are you thinking about?"

Fei Yuye looked back at Yang Yuan, then slowly stood up, with a hint of worry in her eyes: "Erlang, do you know where this is?"

"Southeast of Lingbi, north bank of Tuohe River, what's going on?"

Fei Yuye sighed and said, "This is Gaixia."

"Oh? The Gaixia in the Siege of Gaixia?"

"good."

Hua Yin and Xiao Nai, who were following behind Yang Yuan, looked at each other. They had no idea what the two were talking about.

Yang Yuan understood why Fei Yuye was distracted, and couldn't help but laugh: "Why, are you afraid that I will repeat the mistakes of the King of Chu?"

"I didn't, don't talk nonsense!"

Fei Yuye was obviously worried because of the scene, but she always felt that it would be unlucky if she said it clearly.

She glared at Yang Yuan in reproach and quickly denied it.

Yang Yuan smiled and said, "Come to think of it, I have never seen Yuye dance. If the moment comes, please let Yuye dance with the sword for me."

Fei Yuye's face changed, fearing that what Yang Yuan said would come true.

"What sword dance? I can also do sword dance. Erlang, do you want to see sword dance? Then I will show you."

Ji Xiang came over and just heard these words, then she continued the conversation casually.

There were no outsiders around the military inspector's tent, so she didn't need to conceal her voice and used her original voice.

"Haha, you should ask Yuye clearly before deciding whether to dance with the sword for me."

Yang Yuan said this with a smile, then walked towards the big tent.

Inside the big tent, Belle and Leng Yuchan were standing in front of the sand table that had just been installed, marking it as best they could.

No one can now figure out how many Song soldiers and how many Jin soldiers have come to the entire Lingbi area.

Liu Molin's troops only knew the general situation of the surrounding area.

Although the information was incomplete and not of much reference value, Belle still tried hard to mark it, hoping that it would be of some use.

Unable to bear the pestering, Yuye told Jixiang the story of the King of Chu and Yu Ji.

Although what she said was simple, Ji Xiang's eyes still lit up.

Ji Xiang is a Japanese samurai who is deeply influenced by the "aesthetics of death".

Life is like a summer flower, which would rather be short-lived than be brilliant; this is the aesthetic pursuit that is ingrained in her bones.

"Ah, is that so? It happened in this place more than 1,300 years ago? It's so beautiful. No wonder the story of Overlord and his Concubine Yu has been passed down through the ages."

Ji Xiang's train of thought was different, and Yuye was stunned.

Ji Xiang said excitedly: "That woman's name is Yu Ji, and my name is Ji Xiang, so Yu Ji and I are the best match.

If we really lose the battle, I should be the one to slash my own throat with the sword, so don't fight with me for it, okay?"

Ji Xiang grasped her sword and said solemnly: "Otherwise, I challenge you now. Whoever wins will commit suicide."

"If you want to commit suicide, go ahead and do it. Who wants to commit suicide and compete with you for the right to do so, you lunatic!"

Yuye rolled her eyes at her and walked away unhappily.

Hua Yin cleared her throat and whispered, "Lord God, actually... even if we are really defeated, Xiao Nai and I can take you and the master away with us."

"No, no, no, do you and Xiaonai want to be our kaishakunin? But I suddenly feel that seppuku is too ugly, it would be better to commit suicide beautifully and tragically."

Xiao Nai wrinkled his nose and said, "Lord God, do you think there is such a possibility..."

"what?"

"When we say leave, do we mean escape?"

Inside the tent, Yang Yuan saw Bei'er and Leng Yuchan concentrating on marking the sand table, and shook his head gently: "Bei'er, Yuchan, you don't have to waste your energy.

With Lingbi as the center, no one can figure out how many enemy troops there are and how many soldiers we have."

"Erlang, what's the situation now?"

Only then did Belle realize that Yang Yuan had returned and hurried over to greet him.

Yang Yuan said: "There should be another Song army to our south, but we don't know which army it is now.

The Jin army in the north did not attack us fiercely, as if they were afraid. We should have a group of soldiers outside it..."

Leng Yuchan frowned slightly: "Such a chaotic situation is really unheard of."

Yang Yuan disagreed and said with a smile: "You should know that when we were in chaos, the Jin soldiers were also in chaos.

Now no one knows how many friendly troops they have and where they are, nor does anyone know which enemy troops are around them and how strong they are.

So, this is a messy battle, a chaotic battle for both sides.

All the military tactics and strategies are useless now, and it's all over for Reckless!"

Bei Er said: "My father and brother also fought a similar battle when they were in the Arab Empire.

However, the level of chaos is far less than the current situation.”

Yang Yuan pulled down the red and blue flags that the two of them had put up and mixed them together. Then he picked up a small flag at random and put it down, then picked up another one at random and put it down as well.

On the sand table, small flags of two colors were inserted together in a chaotic and intertwined manner.

As Yang Yuan planted the flag, he said, "From the time my order reaches the farthest group of troops, all our reinforcements should have arrived by tomorrow evening at the latest."

"He still hasn't come, and he probably won't come either."

"So, I just discussed with Commander Liu, and the day after tomorrow morning, we will set up the nets and catch all the fish, shrimp, turtles and crabs!"

Emmanuelle Belle and Leng Yuchan looked at each other and asked Yang Yuan, "Everyone is online, how can we copy it?"

……

The refueling tactic is a tactical strategy that gradually increases the number of troops in battle.

Generally speaking, it is not an ideal tactical choice.

All military strategists regard "concentrating superior forces to annihilate the enemy one by one" as their guiding principle.

However, the situation of war is ever-changing, and the shape of water is ever-changing. As a tactic, its advantages and disadvantages are not absolute.

Chen Youliang used the tactic of adding fuel to the fire in the Battle of Hongdu, which led to a great defeat.

During the Battle of Shanghai, the Japanese army adopted the tactic of adding fuel to the fire, which resulted in less than ideal results.

But at the Battle of Shangganling, the Volunteer Army's refueling tactics defeated the enemy.

The Soviet army's refueling tactics in the Battle of Stalingrad also achieved a great victory.

Generally speaking, the refueling tactic is more effective in narrow canyons or urban street fighting.

On the other hand, the casualties of the refueling tactic will be greater than those of other tactics.

Therefore, it is usually a measure that is taken as a last resort when the enemy is too strong, and it has extremely high requirements for terrain and fighting will.

Yang Yuan had no choice but to form the tactic of adding fuel to the fire.

Moreover, not only the Song army was adding fuel to the fire, but the Jin army was also adding fuel to the fire.

Faced with this situation where I am within the enemy and the enemy is within me, no one can grasp the overall situation. Both soldiers and generals lack a sense of security.

Every day, every moment, there is fighting going on, it’s just a matter of where exactly it happens.

On the morning of the third day, the sky was just beginning to turn pale, and the mist from the Tuo River still shrouded the green grass.

The soldiers in Liu Molin's army had already quietly gotten up and were eating and feeding the horses in silence.

I made extra rice last night and didn't use fire this morning. Fortunately, the weather was not cold yet.

Their food reserves were running low. Lu Tianming's troops should have run out of food long ago, and Li Xianzhong's troops had probably been out of food for two days. They really couldn't afford to continue this chaotic battle.

The flags that were hurriedly made during these two days were also erected one by one, replacing the original flags.

On all the large flags in the army, there were only five large red characters: "Yang, the Military Supervisor of Lianghuai".

The last character, "Yang", is a circle larger than the previous four characters.

The enemy and us are mixed together, and the military situation is unclear, so he, the "leader", should stand up.

With the help of Fei Yuye and Leng Yuchan, Yang Yuan was put on a set of Shanwen armor.

Yang Yuan took the spear from Bei'er, performed the "Yaksha Exploring the Sea" move handsomely, then slowly put away the spear and slammed the spearhead heavily on the ground.

In the distance, in the curling morning mist, a group of generals in full armor rode towards them on horseback.

Fei Yuye, Leng Yuchan, Emmanuelle Belle, Fujiwara Himeka, Yazawa Kanon, and Tsubakiya Kona were all fully armed. Seeing this, they jumped on their horses and picked up their spears.

Yang Yuan's personal soldiers also brought his horse over and helped him sit on it.

Yang Yuan held the gun barrel as thick as a chicken egg, kicked his legs in the stirrups, and went towards Liu Molin and others.

My eldest brother said that their family's spear technique is very famous, and is known as the "Northern Yang Family Pear Blossom Spear".

Today, let it return to the battlefield!
(End of this chapter)