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

Chapter 158: Rewards and Punishments with Fairness and Moderation

On the evening of August 17, Wei Sheng arrived at the foot of Linyi City and planted the Wei flag in front of the central army tent that had been prepared long ago.

"Father."

Liu Huai hurried over to greet them, but before he could exchange a few words, he saw two familiar faces following behind Wei Sheng: "Xin Wulang, Li Shisanlang, why are you here?"

Xin Qiji and Li Yizhenjin looked embarrassed.

They originally wanted to wait until the dust settled before coming to Liu Huai to discuss the alliance.

However, when Wei Sheng led the central army across the river, he also sent out a large number of scouts, both to gather the troops and to warn of possible reinforcements.

As expected, these scouts discovered Xin Qiji and others, and as expected, they gathered helpers to surround and kill them.

The reason was a bit nonsensical, because Li Yizhenjin also retained the Khitan braid style, so the scouts mistook him and his Khitan cavalry for Jurchen cavalry.

At the critical moment, Xin Qiji quickly reported Liu Huai's name, which calmed down the possible battle.

The scouts were also skeptical and could not find Liu Huai to verify the situation for a while, so they could only lead Xin Qiji and others to the central army.

Wei Sheng, who had just crossed the river, was also very surprised to see the two of them, even though Pang Rugui and Guan Chongyan had already told Wei Sheng all the information, including the names of the generals of the Tianping Army.

But Wei Sheng still felt it was somewhat magical that the person whose name he had just heard appeared in front of him immediately.

Xin Qiji naturally would not let the scene remain dull. He simply took out a gorgeous dagger captured from the battlefield and presented it to Wei Sheng. However, he did not mention anything about the alliance. He only said that he was following the order of Geng Jing, the leader of the Tianping Army, to congratulate Duke Wei.

Wei Sheng was already an old and experienced man. After thinking carefully, he realized that these two people had not come here on Geng Jing's orders at all, but had come here on their own initiative. That was why they only presented gifts but did not do anything specific.

However, Wei Sheng naturally would not make things difficult for the two juniors, so he just laughed it off and took the dagger.

Wei Sheng didn't care whether these two people came to investigate the strength of the Loyal Army or the strength of the Yizhou defenders.

The Loyal Army is open and honest. We are honest with the Jin bandits and will kill them if they say so; we are honest with the people and will save them if they say so; and we are naturally honest with our allies as well. You can see that we are consistent in our words and deeds and are not afraid of any conspiracies or tricks.

In fact, although Xin Qiji was completely shocked when he saw Liu Huai leading his army to defeat the enemy quickly today, he still saw some new things while following the march of the Loyal Army's central army.

how to say.

Everything is ordinary.

The doctor, driving a cart, wearing a white smock and with a piece of cloth covering his face, was just treating the wounded in an ordinary way, using the cart to pull the wounded to the newly established camp.

The infantry were also marching normally, in units of ten, each ten forming a squad, and they were arranged in two columns and followed the flag.

The cavalry were also ordinary, either delivering orders or gathering for deployment.

The clerks in the army were just ordinary people sorting out documents, writing down the military orders one by one on paper and compiling them together.

No one did anything out of the ordinary. Everyone was just doing their job. There were no heroes everywhere and no good men.

But such an ordinary scene made Xin Qiji feel fearful and even trembling.

He dared to say so. If the so-called 100,000-strong army of the Tianping Army could be as ordinary as the Zhongyi Army, and each performed their duties, then Geng Jing would dare to return to Jinan Prefecture and fight the Jin thieves head-on.

Xin Qiji wanted to ask Wei Sheng for advice on how to command the army, but was afraid of appearing weak; he also wanted to ask Liu Huai for a few officers of the Loyal Army to assist the Tianping Army in reorganizing its forces, but he gave up the idea.

Not to mention whether Geng Jing would agree, if the people of the Loyal Army were allowed to reorganize the Tianping Army, it would be hard to say whether the Tianping Army would eventually become a part of the Loyal Army.

With such complicated feelings, Xin Qiji and others followed Wei Sheng to comfort the wounded soldiers; then they went to Cangcheng for inspection. Lu You, the Grand Councilor, directly led the army to station in Cangcheng and began to count the warehouses and maintain order.

In the evening, the group finally arrived at the camp below Linyi City. After a few pleasantries, Xin Qiji saw that Wei Sheng seemed to have military matters to discuss with Liu Huai, so he tactfully withdrew.

When the two were alone, Wei Sheng said solemnly, "Brother Huai, don't bother making more siege engines. These are enough."

Liu Huai frowned: "Since father wants to play fast and fast, then will we play tomorrow?"

Wei Sheng smiled and shook his head. "Either tomorrow or tonight. Or even right now. So I want you to quickly assemble an army that can attack. Front, center, and right. You can choose whichever one you want."

Liu Huai narrowed his eyes: "Could there be an insider?"

Wei Sheng gently uttered a name.

After hearing this, Liu Huai was stunned for a moment, even with his broad mind, before he smiled bitterly and said, "Who would have thought it was him?"

As they spoke, the two seemed to have a feeling and looked towards the top of Linyi City almost at the same time.

On the top of Linyi City, Pushandharma was slumped in a chair with his upper body naked, looking at the camp below the city, with a glint of fire in his eyes.

Unlike the attacks and defenses of cities imagined by later literati, when the besiegers set up a siege camp under the city, the battle is often not the beginning, but the end.

Because this means that the attackers can be sure that the defenders have no more reinforcements available to fight outside the city.

This is the reason why it is said that if there is no army that can be rescued, there is no city that can be rescued.

When the defending army is unable to meet the enemy outside the city and cannot capture the dangerous strongholds on the outskirts of the city, the morale of the attackers will become arrogant, while the morale of the defenders will become low. Once the enemy attacks, the defenders will easily collapse.

Linyi City is at the end of its rope.

Pushandarmo patted Madam Wang's arm as she bandaged his wound, then looked up at the still flustered Liu Fen and said, "Liu Dapan, please leave. You're just a scholar, and you're of little use. When you return to the court, tell His Majesty and my brother that Pushandarmo did his best. These Wei and Geng thieves are truly formidable. I hope the court will prepare early."

Liu Fen said sadly, "We've lost Linyi Cangcheng. Even if I could escape, how could I escape responsibility? I'd rather die with the governor."

This is a cunning statement. If Pushan Damo wanted to abandon the city and flee with Liu Fen at this time, Liu Fen would have packed up his belongings long ago.

Because both of them committed the crime of losing the army and humiliating the country, if Liu E, the patriarch of the Youyan clan, and Pushan Zhongyi, the pillar of the country, protected them at the same time, both of them could survive.

If Pushandharma died for his country but Liu Fen escaped, he would most likely become an example and be beheaded by Wanyan Liang.

By then, not only would Pushan Zhongyi not plead for Liu Fen, even his brother Liu E would not be able to open his mouth.

Pushandarmo gave a bitter smile, but it seemed to hurt his wound, and he grimaced for a moment.

Although he escaped from Liu Huai today, he was still hit hard several times. Even with the protection of armor, his skin was torn and he was in great pain.

He turned his gaze to Wang Xiongyi who had been kneeling in front of him.

"Get up! The central army's defeat today isn't your fault, and neither is the failure to set the city on fire." Pushandama said calmly, "People are in panic, and the world is in turmoil. Even I would have had to flee in disgrace, let alone a man like you."

Wang Xiongyi kowtowed heavily, tears streaming down his face.

"The governor, please return to the government office and rest. I will watch from here. The loyal and righteous army will definitely not be able to break in at night."

Pushandharma nodded and stood up from his chair.

Wang Xiongyi quickly got up from the ground to support him.

Just as Pushandarmo was about to say something encouraging again, he felt a sharp pain in the side of his lower abdomen.

(End of this chapter)