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

Chapter 335: Large and small camps stand side by side

Zhen Baoyu returned to the dilapidated temple and found that his aunt and his younger brother and sister-in-law had already left. He was not panicked, but just gathered up the things that were left behind and went to Cai Shi Town with his nephew in his arms.

He walked for another half a minute carrying the hatchet. When he was near Cai Shi Town, Zhen Baoyu had already caught up with several relatives.

"Let's go, the matter has been resolved." Zhen Baoyu gritted his teeth and whispered, "I'll talk to you when we get to the military camp."

The woman hurriedly reached out and hugged Zhen Putao, then stared blankly at the bloodstains on Zhen Baoyu's body, and couldn't help crying again.

Zhen Baoyu didn't care. He dragged a group of women and children to the front of the mansion that used to be his home, and bowed directly to Liu Huai, who was wearing his armor, from a distance: "General! We have come to join the army as promised!"

Liu Huai was tying Zhang Baiyu's skirt armor when he heard this and said, "Du Daguan, arrange for the staff and enforce discipline. Do you know how to do this?"

A soldier who was eating hurriedly put down his bowl and chopsticks and bowed in response.

"You can settle down here first. This is your home after all, so you're familiar with it." After Liu Huai fastened Zhang Baiyu's skirt armor, he turned around and let Zhang Baiyu put on his armor. "Everything else will wait for a moment. We will go kill the bandits first."

Zhen Baoyu was slightly taken aback, then gritted his teeth and said, "Captain, I have lived in Cai Shi for a long time and am familiar with the surrounding mountains and rivers. I can go with the army."

Liu Huai glanced at Zhen Baoyu and said, "You seem to have some knowledge of writing. If you are interested in military affairs, you can serve as a clerk. We fight to the death, but if I let you go to the battlefield, it would be a deliberate attempt to kill you. You will die."

Zhen Baoyu continued to kowtow: "General, no matter what, I want to go to the battlefield. Even if I can't fight on the battlefield, I have to see one or two Jin thieves die in front of me, only then will I feel at ease!"

To be fair, all Zhen Baoyu wanted was hatred for the Jin thieves and a desire for revenge. However, Liu Huai was overthinking it and looked at him in amazement, thinking that this little brat was so self-righteous and even understood the principle of choosing the right tree to perch on.

This little brat obviously wanted to see the skills of the Jingnan Army in killing the Jin bandits, so he wanted to see it with his own eyes.

But the good news is that the Shandong rebels are very skilled in killing the Jin bandits!
"Well, give him an iron crotch jacket and bring him a horse." Liu Huai ordered: "If you can't ride a horse, just hold on to the horse's neck and run after it."

Originally, the hundred cavalrymen had come a long way and had no extra armor or horses, but as soon as they arrived here, they surrounded and killed more than thirty Jin cavalrymen, and suddenly they had everything.

Zhen Baoyu put on his iron crotch jacket and climbed onto a horse using his hands and feet. He pulled the reins awkwardly and said, "Have you ridden before, kid? Although I'm not very skilled at archery or horsemanship..."

Liu Huai waved his hand directly: "Whatever, let's go!"

Immediately, Liu Huai and Zhang Baiyu rushed out of the camp with ten knights skilled in archery and horse riding, plus a Zhen Baoyu, and headed straight for the Jin army camp.

Caishi and the Caishiji East Ferry, where the Jin army camp was located, were not very far apart. Between them lay a small hilly area. There were no high mountains or steep ridges, but more like gentle slopes with a maximum drop of one or two meters in every hundred meters.

The general flow of the Yangtze River here is from south to north. The river is divided into two streams by an island in the middle of the river with a radius of six or seven miles. The stream on the west side is wider, about three or four miles wide, while the stream on the east side near the Caishiji Ferry is narrower, but still two miles wide.

At this time, the Suoxi River surrounding Caishiji was just a small river. In summer, it was just a shallow stream. After the water level dropped in winter, the stream disappeared.

Caishiji is a small hill with a radius of two miles, about twenty meters above the river. The west side, close to the river, is very steep, while the northeast, south and north sides are relatively flat. It would be difficult to capture this commanding position from the river's west side, but the defenders could support the hilltop from the gentle slopes on the east side.

The Caishiji Ferry in the usual sense is not actually located on Caishiji, but on a flat land on the north side of Caishiji. In other words, the East Caishiji Ferry is also within the force projection range of Caishiji.

If the enemy on the river ignored Caishiji and went straight for the ferry, they would have to withstand the pincer attack from both the ferry and the Caishiji highlands and suffer heavy casualties.

It was a battleground for military strategists. The Jin army's main camp was clearly set up at the Dongcaishi Ferry, and they had used military means to reinforce the city's defenses, turning the ferry into a massive fortress, complete with watchtowers and wooden walls, and patrolled by soldiers. It looked much more solid than the Song army's camp at Caishi Town.

After a dozen men rode their horses and circled the Jin army camp for a while, Zhang Baiyu whispered, "General, how is it?"

Liu Huai thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "The Jin bandit camp is very well-organized, with hundreds of soldiers guarding it. Even the Jingnan army would find it difficult to defeat them."

This is not because Liu Huai is modest, but because the defending side already has a huge advantage, especially when they set up camp with their backs to the river, it is simply a large-scale Queyue formation. The Jin army has no shortage of armor-piercing weapons, especially elite troops like the First Meng'an, everyone can use a heavy bow and shoot heavy arrows. If you want to break through head-on, you have to pay the corresponding price.

How could Liu Huai, who was imbued with warlord thinking, allow his troops to suffer hundreds of casualties in the first battle?

"Especially, there's a small camp on the mountain. The prisoners we interrogated said there were two hundred soldiers there. If our army attacks the ferry, when the fighting is at its most intense, they will be able to charge down directly from their high position, resulting in heavy casualties."

Zhang Baiyu tugged at the reins and said, "Then let's go take care of the small camp on the mountain first?"

Liu Huai also shook his head and pointed to the hill on his left. "This terrain is definitely not suitable for deploying too many people. There are only 200 soldiers among them. A forced attack is bound to result in heavy casualties. Besides, the Jin thieves at the ferry are not fools. They will definitely have some support."

Zhang Baiyu carefully measured the terrain with his hands, sucking his teeth. "Alas, sometimes when we hastily abandon a place, the thieves have to pay back with their lives once they gain a foothold."

"We can't use human lives as a pile." Liu Huai laughed out loud: "The lives of the Jingnan Army can't be piled up, and the lives of the Huaixi Song Army can't be piled up at this time. But... Silang, have you noticed anything wrong?"

Zhang Baiyu was stunned for a moment, but then suddenly realized, "It's too quiet. The Jin bandits must have discovered us, but there are no cavalry coming and going, and they haven't sent any soldiers out of the camp to fight. They just let us come to explore the camp. How strange."

Liu Huai's smile widened. "What else could it be? The Jin bandit commander was blinded by this floating bridge and lost over thirty cavalrymen. He thought our elite troops had arrived, and fearing further losses, he retreated to the camp to defend it."

Zhang Baiyu frowned. "That's not right. In war, who's afraid of death? To put the enemy right in front of you and allow them to spy on your camp just to avoid death is not the style of the elite Jin bandits."

Liu Huai put away his smile and said, "There is only one explanation. That is, the Jin thieves don't care."

Liu Huai turned to Zhang Baiyu and said sternly, "The bandit leader thinks we can just hold out for a day or two. He believes our army won't be able to breach the camp within two days. The Jin bandits have received accurate instructions to hold the pontoon bridge and the ferry within two days."

Zhang Baiyu listened in amazement: "Could it be such a coincidence?"

Liu Huai shrugged. "From a military perspective, Ali Gua was truly foolish, but from a political perspective, his actions could even be considered as a wise and prudent strategy for the country."

"So what now?"

"The main camp at the ferry crossing has a commander in charge, but the situation at the small camp on the mountain is uncertain. Leave two people here so they can move forward. If the enemy leaves the camp, just run away." Liu Huai pointed to two experienced armored cavalrymen, then pointed to the others: "Follow me!"

After saying that, Liu Huaifu took the lead again and walked slowly towards the top of the hill along the gentle slope on the south side of the hill.

Zhen Baoyu, who had followed all the way, wanted to say something, but saw that Liu Huai had already walked far away. He was a little hesitant about whether to stay or follow.

However, after thinking for a moment, the man gritted his teeth and drove the horse up the hill.

(End of this chapter)