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

Chapter 288: Time is hard to come by and easy to lose

On October 5th, after two days of investigation, Liu Huai finally figured out the route of the Jin navy.

The Jin navy did not set off in one wave, but was divided into two parts.

On October 3, when the Shenfeng Army retreated to Xinyang Town, the Wucheng Army set out first; two days later, on October 5, the entire Shenfeng Army and half of the Weizhen Army boarded the ships and set out.

During these two days, Li Bao and Zhang Rong kept trying to burn the Jin fleet in Xinyang Town, but after the Wucheng Army, composed of good family men from Shandong, left, without any internal support, it was difficult for them to break through the Jin army's ferry.

On October 5th, 15,000 Jin navy soldiers set sail.

On the coast east of Rizhao, Zhang Rong and Li Bao set up a net, using navy to fight navy, preparing for a decisive battle, and began to engage the Jin army head-on.

From a historical perspective, if this war could have been fought to the end, regardless of who won or lost, it would have been a landmark event in the history of naval development, marking a new level in East Asian navigation technology.

However, just one hour after the two sides started fighting and Li Bao had gradually gained the upper hand, the sky darkened, a north wind began to rise on the sea, and the navy officers and soldiers fighting on the sea all changed color.

This was a storm recorded in history.

In real history, Li Bao arrived in Haizhou in early October, but he only found the opportunity to raid the Jin army on October 27th because he wanted to avoid the storm.

The Jin army had been staying obediently on Chenjia Island, also to avoid the storm.

When the north wind came, the sea was suddenly stormy, and both the enemy and our friend were thrown into a mess and swept south by the howling north wind.

At this point, even the most capable naval commanders had no choice but to lay down their arms and prioritize stabilizing their ships. However, this north wind also helped the Jin navy, allowing them to quickly break away from the Song army and sail south with the wind.

The Song army's command system was in complete chaos. Li Bao and Zhang Rong had no choice but to order their troops to leave the battle group and return to Donghai County for rest when they arrived at the coast of Haizhou.

If we go by the casualty ratio, the Song army still won a small victory, and the Jin army still lost.

Even if we force our ships to sail south in this kind of weather, many of them might sink in the storm.

However, the Jin army achieved its strategic goal of quickly moving south, and the Song army was unable to stop even a part of the Jin navy.

The final result was that the Jin army won without winning, and the Song army lost without losing.

Icy raindrops fell in scattered drops, then blew away in the chilly north wind. Li Bao, clutching his spear, stood in the rain, looking up at the sky: "Heaven won't help me! You thief God! Why are you helping the Jin thieves? Why?!"

The Song army on the boat were speechless, looking miserable in the wind and rain.

Some Song soldiers even looked frightened.

Many of them were fishermen and their families were all along the coast. If the Jin army had such a large fleet and were to run wild along the coast of the Song Dynasty, wouldn't all their families suffer from the war?

Gao Chang, the newly appointed magistrate of Qushan County, also arrived in the rain, directing the yamen runners and civilians to assist the wounded, boil water, and set up tents. He was not wearing a straw raincoat, and his official robe was soaked in the drizzle.

A cool breeze blew, and Gao Chang shivered. He looked back at Li Bao and said impatiently, "Didn't God help the Song Kingdom? How many heroes and brave men were reborn in your Song Kingdom during the Jingkang period? How did you treat them? You...how did you treat us? Now that God sees that the Song Kingdom is a hopeless case, he's starting to help the Jin Kingdom again. What do you have to complain about?"

This man was born into a family of scholars in Shandong. His family fell into poverty and he usually worked as a minor official to barely fill his stomach. However, because he was too noble, he was unwilling to exploit the people like other minor officials, and instead he was often beaten with a stick.

Therefore, when the Loyal and Righteous Army marched north to Haizhou, this person almost immediately went to the Loyal and Righteous Army to recommend himself.

Because there were few scholars in the Loyal Army, Gao Chang was directly recruited. After following Lu You to observe government affairs for two months, he was sent back to Qushan County to be a local leader.

With this background, Gao Chang naturally had reason to look down on the State of Song and also had enough reason to mock the State of Song.

Aren't you the ones who gave up half of your kingdom and abandoned one-third of your destiny?
The Song soldiers on the deck all glared at the minor official. Some were about to yell at him, but were stopped by Li Bao with a wave of his hand.

Li Bao had no way of refutating these remarks.

When the time comes and heaven and earth are on your side, if you don't seize the opportunity, then what reason is there to lament when "luck is gone and heroes are not free"? Not to mention that Li Bao was also one of those who abandoned Shandong.

Zhang Rong sat on the helm, letting the wind and rain fall on his head, blowing his hair apart and sticking his gray hair to his forehead. He listened to Li Bao's shouting and Gao Chang's ridicule from afar, and for a moment he didn't even have the mind to speak.

Zhang Rong's thoughts involuntarily flew back to thirty years ago, after the famous victory at Shuotou Lake. Just when he was feeling proud and triumphant, the big-eyed general broke into his tent and told him about the anti-Jin strategy.

"I should have listened carefully. Even if I didn't understand, I should have had a few drinks with that guy."

Thinking of this, Zhang Rongfu looked towards the northwest again.

There was a young man there who looked very much like Yue Fei.

They are young people with strategies and tactics in mind. In the end, the affairs of the world still depend on these young people.

If Liu Huai knew that Zhang Rong compared him to Yue Fei, he would definitely jump up in excitement.

Of course, when Liu Huai saw the two warring parties being blown away by the sea breeze, his claws were instantly numb and he fell into deep self-doubt.

Why is it that the protagonist in a time-travel novel always drives the situation in a positive direction no matter what he does, but when it is his turn to travel through time, he fights so many battles, so many people die, and even Liu Huai himself goes through fire and water, personally fights on the battlefield, and strives to change history, but the overall situation in the world becomes worse?

After fighting hard in Shandong, Liu Huai looked at the situation in the world again and found that he not only indirectly helped the Jin Kingdom's army to slim down its southern expedition to the Huai River and Huai River, changing the Jin Kingdom's strategic goals, but also allowed the Song Kingdom's Xiangfan to face the Jin Kingdom's annihilating army directly, and even allowed the Jin Kingdom's navy to escape disaster.

These are 50,000 to 60,000 regular troops. If they were allowed to join the battle against the Song Dynasty, who knows what kind of strange reaction would occur.

Liu Huai couldn't help but wonder, if he were in a time-travel novel, wouldn't the author have such a bad taste?!

Wei Sheng also came to Rizhao County in person. When he saw this scene on Shijiu Mountain, he looked up at the sky at the inky black clouds and was stunned for a moment.

However, Wei Sheng did not lose his composure after all. Instead, he said to Liu Huai: "Dalang, my heart is in turmoil. What should I do next?"

Liu Huai pondered for a moment and said, "We cannot let Lianghuai be occupied by the Jin thieves, otherwise everyone in Shandong will die without a burial place.

Father, there are two important things to focus on now.

First, I have to lead the cavalry and find out the military situation around me. At the very least, I have to find out whether the Jin thieves' navy has any backup plans, how much military supplies are left in the garrison, and whether there will be any reinforcements in the future.

Secondly, my father wanted to convene a large military meeting or a general alliance, and he would call the Tianping Army, Dongping Army, Zhongyi Army, Song Army, and even Wang Youzhi of the Tianxiong Army who had just met with Chief Geng.

"Speak clearly to them about the Jin bandits' progress in Lianghuai, and the situation if they were to occupy Lianghuai. Let them know the urgency of the situation, and then, based on what we learn, quickly choose the next strategic direction."

Wei Sheng nodded. The second thing could only be called upon by him, the commander-in-chief of the Loyal Army, because his prestige was higher after all.

Moreover, both of them knew that no matter what decision they had to make, they had to act quickly.

If the war drags on for a month and the Jin army really sweeps across Huaibei and Huainan and drives all the Song army back to Jiangnan, it will be too late to do anything.

Wei Sheng nodded, turned around, took two steps, and then looked back again: "Da Lang, what do you think?"

Liu Huai shook his head helplessly: "Father, this matter cannot be accomplished just because I want it to be. I have to consider the reality and the opinions of the Shandong people.

To put it bluntly, if the vast majority of people don't want to save the State of Song, then nothing we father and son can do will work.

If they all understand the urgency of the situation and are willing to fight to the death, then the only options left are to attack Wei and rescue Zhao, or to join the war directly.

Wei Sheng nodded again, a trace of worry appearing on his face, but he didn't say anything in the end. Instead, he jumped on his horse and left quickly.

He still has a lot to do in the next few days.

(End of this chapter)