Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 141: Prime Minister Bai Knows He Still Holds His Sword (Part )
He Sanye, a wealthy man from Yishui, was a man of foresight. In fact, at 4 p.m. on the afternoon of August 12, just after 4 p.m., the Jin army in Yizhou had just returned at full speed for half a day when the Jurchen cavalry could no longer hold on.

The mobility of cavalry can be divided into strategic and tactical types.

In the case of a strategic maneuver, the entire army's speed would be constrained by the central army's carts, especially since warhorses, like dung-making machines that ate several kilograms of fodder, were even more dependent on baggage. While a thousand-mile raid was possible, it would risk massive horse fat loss or even death, and an army not desperate enough would never dare attempt it.

Wasn’t Emperor Wu of Han very wealthy?
He fought against the Huns several times, but still lost all the accumulation of several generations of his ancestors.

But tactical maneuvers were simple. It was very common for cavalry to advance one or two hundred miles in a day or two, appearing in places the enemy could not imagine, and then attacking the enemy by surprise and giving them a fatal blow.

Apart from anything else, the experience of the Tianping Army can be said to have used bloody facts to illustrate the mobility of cavalry within one or two hundred miles.

Therefore, the mobility of cavalry has always been tactical, not strategic.

At this moment, both Pushandamo and the two Jurchen veterans made a serious mistake at the same time.

That is, the Jurchen cavalry was clearly completing a strategic action, but these generals thought they were completing a tactical maneuver.

It should be noted that the Jin army quietly gathered around the night of August 4th and arrived at the Mengshan Pass in the next few days.

The Jurchen cavalry has been busy for nearly eight days, from August 5th to today, August 12th. They first rushed on the road, then ambushed, and then fought large and small battles to cover the Tianping Army, and finally fought a great battle last night.

During this period, not to mention the horses, even people couldn't eat or sleep well.

After all, humans have higher endurance, so after this experience, humans can still hold on, but both the saddle horses and the war horses could not bear it long ago.

As a last resort, some Jurchen cavalry even abandoned their spare horses that could not run and rode their war horses directly. Although this behavior was severely stopped by the officers, everyone had no choice but to gather the horses that really could not run and leave some tired Jurchen cavalry to guard them.

After all, horses are good things, so we should keep them if we can. The Jurchens don’t have any surplus food!

After leaving behind about 200 cavalrymen, Pushandamo was hesitating whether to take a rest when suddenly some scattered Jurchen cavalrymen came from behind and desperately caught up with the Yizhou army.

The Jurchen cavalryman was so tired that he could hardly stay seated on his horse, but he still rushed to Pushandamo and suddenly pulled the reins. The warhorse under his crotch could not stand steadily and fell to the ground with foam at the mouth.

"Prefect! Military intelligence!"

The Jurchen cavalry kept giving notice, regardless of the fact that they were knocked unconscious and one of their legs was still pressed by the horse's body.

Jia Gushou dismounted and dragged the Jurchen cavalryman out from under his horse, whispering in his ear, "Don't be loud, don't panic, just whisper to us!"

The Jurchen cavalryman seemed to realize that they had violated a taboo in their haste. They swallowed hard and whispered, "Geng's Tianping army is chasing us from behind! They're about five miles away now."

"what?"

The one who cried out in surprise was Shuhu Ali. He shook his head and said it was impossible. The Tianping Army had already suffered a heavy blow last night, so how could they chase them down?

Indeed, in order to deal with the Tianping Army on the east coast, Shuhu Ali even sacrificed his nephew. If it is said that the Tianping Army still has the courage and strength to chase them out, doesn't it mean that his nephew died in vain?
The Jurchen cavalrymen were filled with anxiety, but they didn't dare to speak loudly: "I'm not lying. There were about a thousand infantrymen and a few hundred light cavalry sweeping along the river. All the horses and comrades left behind were gone... Wuwu... I was the only one who escaped..."

At this point, the Jurchen cavalryman didn't know who he was thinking of, and he burst into tears. However, due to military orders, he dared not make a loud cry. He could only cover his mouth and make a clucking sound similar to that of a hen laying eggs.

Now the senior generals of the Yizhou Army had to believe it even if they didn't want to.

Pushandharma felt like he had fallen into an icy cave.

Thinking back on it now, the pride and elation I felt when I defeated the Tianping Army last night seemed like a dream.

He knew that the Jurchen cavalry under his command were all exhausted and in urgent need of rest, but everyone was eager to go home. The morale of the army was in chaos. Not to mention fighting a tough battle, even just setting up camp would cause trouble.

In this kind of terrain surrounded by mountains and rivers, the cavalry could not make large-scale detours. If they really wanted to fight the pursuers, it would be absolutely impossible without a head-on battle.

When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one wins. Who doesn’t understand this truth?
Therefore, Pushandamo's first reaction was to send a messenger to He Boqiu's army behind him, ordering He's army to cross the river and cooperate with the Jurchen cavalry to form a pincer attack, first defeating the pursuing Tianping army and then making other arrangements. However, Pushandamo sent two Han officials as messengers, but both were like falling on deaf ears, with no response at all. It is unclear whether He Boqiu had read the letter but not replied, or whether he had not read the letter and had not replied.

It was not until the third Jurchen messenger brought back He Boqiu's response. He Sanye's meaning was very simple. Your Jurchen cavalry is indeed powerful and you don't feel tired even in this situation, but we Han'er are not capable of that and have to set up camp to rest, so it is difficult for us to obey your orders.

Pushandamo was extremely angry. The first thing he realized was why He Boqiu detained the two Han officials. If it was not the Jurchens who brought back such news, Pushandamo would definitely kill people.

Then Pushan Taishou understood why He Boqiu disobeyed orders. The Jurchen cavalry had already abandoned He's army before, so why would He's army risk their lives for the safety of the Jurchen cavalry? Was it to make the Jurchen cavalry abandon them again?

Judging others by his own experience, Pushandama believed that if such a thing happened to him, he would have long since defected to the Tianping Army and attacked the Yizhou Army together, not to mention rescuing the Jurchen cavalry!
But even though he understood it, it did not stop Pushandama from hating He Boqiu to the core, but he was helpless for the time being.

This is no longer the time when Wu Yanlie was easily killed in the Yizhou government office a few days ago!

"This won't do, it really won't do!" Pushandarmo panted, pointing at the equally embarrassed generals beside him. "If we keep going like this, we'll be easily chased to death. We have to let the horses rest no matter what."

"Can……"

As soon as someone objected, Pushandarmo forcibly interrupted them and continued, "We must fight, no matter what. If we don't eliminate the threat of the pursuers, then all our cavalry that have fallen behind will be eaten by the Geng bandits. Even if they can escape into the mountains, it will be difficult to bring their warhorses back. If we allow these Geng bandits to build up their morale and initiate a battle, it's hard to say what will happen to our army. You must know that our army is getting worse day by day."

"Sir, we can't fight a night battle," Wang Xiongyi said dejectedly. "With this kind of morale, charging at night will only lead to a crushing defeat and complete scattering."

"Then we'll fight in the daylight." Pushandarmo's eyes were red. "The soldiers are tired and their morale is low. Furthermore, this is a long and narrow terrain. Our four legs might not be able to outrun Geng the thief on two. Only by fighting and hurting Geng's outstretched hand can we escape calmly."

Jia Gushou's face was covered in dust, and he was extremely depressed. "I can't take it easy. Even if we can kill all these bandits, the next moment we will have to rush back for our lives. After all, our family is all at the village, and we don't know if we can rescue them."

Pushandarmo's cheek twitched: "Has the news spread completely?"

Shuhu Ali sighed, "How can you conceal something like this? Just one person's panic can startle the entire army."

"In that case, only the 300 armored cavalrymen of Pushan Taishou are available?" Gao Anren panted and suddenly became angry.

Anyway, this guy's father had already passed away in Haizhou, but now he was standing on the dry shore pointing and criticizing others, which attracted several Jurchen officers to look at him with disdain.

Pushandarmo nodded. "Indeed, at this moment, I only have my three hundred armored cavalry to rely on. Gather them together today, water their horses, and rest. Tomorrow, we'll wait for the pursuers. I will personally lead the charge and defeat them in one fell swoop!"

As he said this, he waved his hand and asked Jiagu Shou and Shuhu Ali to leave, leaving only a few confidants.

Wang Xiongyi, noticing that there were no outsiders, approached Pushandamo and said, "Governor, the situation is critical now. We must consider the dangers and retreat accordingly. We cannot abandon all three hundred armored cavalrymen."

Pushandamo nodded. He didn't lie to his nephew. "I don't intend to send out all the armored cavalry. Instead, I want to use them to lead the entire army in an attack. Although I despise these two old men, I also know that the current situation is indeed not their fault, nor is it their fault for not trying their best. You also know Shuhu Chitie. His death cannot be faked.

"And now we have to defend Linyi City. We need to be prepared for a tough battle. Any extra strength would be a plus. We must bring these Jurchen cavalry back no matter what. These people, plus the troops left behind to defend Linyi City, will be enough to hold out for a while."

Wang Xiongyi nodded and asked again, "Did the governor ask for help?"

Pushandarmo nodded again. "Of course I've already requested assistance, but Yizhou in the eastern Shandong route is the strongest, and Juzhou has also erupted in civil unrest due to grain collection. Wanyan Zijin is too busy taking care of himself to send troops to help. As for the Shandong Route Military Command, although they have troops stationed in Yidu Prefecture, how could they possibly send troops without an imperial edict? So while I was requesting assistance from the Military Command, I was also writing a memorial to Bianjing. I figured if we can hold out for another ten days or half a month, reinforcements will arrive."

As he spoke, Pushandama smiled and patted Wang Xiongyi on the shoulder: "In the final analysis, although we didn't achieve complete success, we did cripple the Geng bandit and break the Song dog's pincer attack from the north and south. Otherwise, the situation would be even more difficult."

Wang Xiongyi also laughed.

But Gao Anren, who was silent on the side, had some doubts, because if one follows the troop deployment process of the Jin Kingdom's reinforcements, starting from the time when Pushandamo asked for help, it would indeed take more than ten days for the reinforcements to arrive.

But if we calculate based on the time when Gao Wenfu and Gao Anren, father and son, asked for help, the main force of the Jin army should have arrived by now.

What went wrong?
Gao Anren couldn't understand it. Seeing that Pushandama looked confident, he didn't dare to spoil his fun, so he could only swallow the question silently.

(End of this chapter)