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

Chapter 3: Yan Soldiers Prepare Silver Huzhan at Night

Liu Huai was naturally not suffering from a Madonna syndrome.

When he heard the short and strong man claiming to be an anti-Jin righteous army and coming from Shandong, Liu Huai immediately thought of another big man who raised an army in Shandong during that era.

Xin Qiji.

That's a big, thick leg.

In order to film the movie, Liu Huai read the history of the mid-Southern Song Dynasty carefully.

At first glance, Xin Qiji appears to be just a frustrated mid-level bureaucrat of the Southern Song Dynasty, neither receiving a title of nobility through military merit nor being appointed as a chancellor. However, this was due to the small Southern Song court's isolation, which prevented him from fully displaying his talents, and had nothing to do with his level of skill.

The most direct evidence is that he never made any mistakes either in local civil service or in commanding the army.

If he couldn't become a yamen official in the future, following Xin Qiji in the Southern Song Dynasty would be a good choice.

The short and strong man broke free from his restraints, rolled on the ground, and stretched his arms to check on his brothers.

"Three of them have passed away..." The short and stocky man stretched his arms and sighed softly, "Those who can move, hurry up..."

"Third Brother Li..."

The Shandong man who had just broken free from the rope said something with a sad and angry look on his face, but was interrupted by Liu Huai.

"What are you talking about? Go get a torch." Liu Huai's hands were covered in blood, which he inevitably smeared on his face when he wiped his mouth after vomiting. In the dim light of the fire, he looked like an evil ghost who had just eaten a human.

"You..." The short and strong man called Li San wanted to say something, but Liu Huaili ignored him, picked up the torch and turned away.

Wei Chang sneered, slung his sword over his waist, and followed Liu Huai out of the gate.

Li San's momentum was dampened, but he could only quickly call on the other three people who were still alive to take the torches from the wooden fence and follow Liu Huai in silence.

"Brother, do you know where the stable is?"

Wei Chang strode towards Liu Huai and asked in a low voice.

"Don't run, just walk briskly. You need to conserve your energy." Liu Huai frowned and warned, then explained, "The stables need to be tended, and the war horses need overnight grass to keep them fat. It's late at night now, and the place with the lights on in the Jin bandit camp is where the stables are... Ah Chang, can you ride a horse?"

Wei Chang was immediately dumbfounded: "No."

No matter what era, war horses are extremely valuable. The cost of raising a qualified war horse is enough for a middle-class family to pay all the exorbitant taxes and levies of the Song Dynasty.

Wei Sheng only had one warhorse, which he had snatched from the Jin army two years ago. There was no way he would let his ignorant boys use it for training.

"It's okay. I can ride. When the time comes, you lie on the horse and give me the reins..." Liu Huai paused and said, "I'll pull you along..."

"Yeah." Wei Chang nodded heavily.

The Jin army stationed in Lianshui consisted of only three Moukes, or 300 people.

Logically speaking, as the front line where the Song and Jin armies were confronting each other across the Huai River, such a small number of people was really too few. Even if the Jin army included the newly recruited soldiers, there were only more than a thousand people. Even if the Song army had two thousand reliable soldiers to force a crossing of the Huai River, the three Moukes of Lianshui would be just a piece of cake.

Does the Song army have two thousand reliable soldiers?
Of course!
But in Chuzhou, the easternmost part of Huainan East Road, there is really no such thing.

This was not due to a tacit understanding between the Dragon and the Phoenix, but because since the second year of Jianyan, when Du Chong dug up the Yellow River, the flooded Yellow River flowed into the sea through the Huai River, forming a huge flood area in the Central Plains and the Huai River.

The area within a radius of three or four hundred miles at the junction of the Huainan East Road of the Southern Song Dynasty and the Shandong Road of the Jin Dynasty was entirely muddy.

Chuzhou was once guarded by Han Shizhong, so its defenses were relatively good. However, the situation was different in the southern part of Shandong. Due to the ravages of war, the area was sparsely populated. Even if the Southern Song Dynasty launched a northern expedition, it would be impossible to attack from this muddy and uninhabited area.

If there really were a large number of Song troops advancing north from this point, the Jin army would not even need a large army to stop them, as the Song army's logistics and supplies would collapse on their own.

This meant that the 300 Jin soldiers stationed in Lianshui were not traditional armored cavalry, each man riding two horses, but heavy infantry, primarily armored soldiers, with only about 70 war horses. In this area, four hooves were not as convenient as a pair of legs.

Liu Huai was not wrong in his guess. The Jin army's camp surrounded the Qian army. The tents were in good order, but except for the gate, the rest of the place was pitch black.

The brightest place was in the camp 200 meters away. The occasional neighing of war horses came with the night wind, making Wei Chang and others even more excited.

Liu Huai, however, remained calm and unhurried, holding a torch and leading the way along the wooden railing.

"Who is it! Stop!"

It would be impossible for such a blatant action not to alert the Jin army's guards.

After walking forward a few dozen steps, a rough voice came from the front side, accompanied by a burst of rapid dog barking.

"Ignore him and keep moving forward." Liu Huai first whispered to the people behind him, then shouted, "Password?!"

The figure in front of him had now come to about twenty steps closer, and was looking at the few people in the light of the fire. He was just a little confused, but when he heard Liu Huai asking for the command in a righteous manner, he couldn't help but be stunned.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Liu Huai yelled, "Achang, go to the stable!"

As he spoke, Liu Huai threw the torch out, hitting the Jin army sentry hard.

Sparks suddenly exploded, illuminating the area within ten steps.

The Jin army sentry was frightened and took a few steps back, while Liu Huai rushed forward with a sharp knife.

The two sides were only ten steps apart, and before anyone could react, Liu Huai had already collided with the Jin army. The sharp knife stabbed the Jin army's abdomen fiercely.

However, the Jin soldier was not injured. He just screamed and then used his arms to push Liu Huai away.

"This golden thief is actually wearing armor!"

Liu Huai punched Jin Jun's chest, but it felt cold to the touch, and he was shocked.

These Jin troops were definitely elite, as they still obeyed military regulations and wore armor at night.

Although the opponent was only wearing body armor and had no other arm armor, shoulder armor, skirt armor, or collar armor, he was still able to protect the vital parts of the front tightly.

Relying on their armor, the Jin army retreated two steps to create distance. Just as they were about to draw their swords, Liu Huai gritted his teeth and rushed forward again, reaching out to grab the Jin army's braid and stabbing the other's neck with his sharp knife.

The Jin soldier hurriedly raised his arms to block, but the sharp knife effortlessly pierced his forearm, blood gushed out, and he screamed miserably again.

Liu Huai pulled the Jin soldier's braid, pulled out his sharp knife, and stabbed it into the heart of the Jin soldier along the gap in the ribs of the armor.

"Enemy...enemy attack!"

The Jin army sentry grabbed Liu Huai's forearm, and blood gushed out from the gaps between his yellow teeth. In his dying moments, he still stared at Liu Huai's eyes and roared with his last bit of strength.

In fact, there was no need for the sentry's reminder. His two screams had already awakened the surrounding mastiffs. For a moment, the camps were filled with the sound of dogs barking, and the shouting and cursing of the Jin army and the friction of weapons and armor had also been heard.

Liu Huai pushed the corpse of the Jin army to the ground. At first, he wanted to strip off the opponent's armor, but found that it was too late. He could only pull out the Jin army's waist knife, hold it in his hand, and take a bone flower from the opponent's waist and put it on his belt.

Turning around and seeing Wei Chang and the others still standing there in a daze, Liu Huai couldn't help but get furious: "What are you waiting for?! Waiting to die?!"

Wei Chang nodded hurriedly and ran towards the stable with a torch in hand.

"Take the knife and clear the way!" Liu Huai threw the knife to the short and strong man called Li San Ge and gave the order directly and sternly.

Li San didn't dare to refute at all, and just followed Wei Chang forward.

(End of this chapter)