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

Chapter 353: Destiny is nothing but human heart

"This bastard calls himself a Han general?"

On the high platform across the river, Wanyan Liang burst out laughing when he heard the identity of the man who challenged him from a lone boat on the river.

"If this Han world belongs to the Han, how dare we come here?" Although the Jin Dynasty had been established for more than 40 years and the Wanyan family had been a military aristocracy for more than a hundred years, Wanyan Liang still spoke with an accent of "I" and "bird", retaining the habits of the fishing and hunting people in Liaodong.

"What a shame!" Wanyan Liang's smile persisted. "The Han Dynasty has long since lost its destiny."

After saying this, Wanyan Liang smacked his lips and asked the civil and military officials around him: "Tell me, what exactly is this destiny?"

How can such a thing be brought up openly?!

People just talk about things like the correspondence between heaven and man, and the cycle of the five virtues. If you ask those Taoist scholars what they really think, they may not agree with them.

What are we admitting? The warlords of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period had already made things clear through their actions.

The Son of Heaven! He who has the strongest army and the most powerful cavalry shall be the Emperor!
But who would dare to say such words in front of an emperor?

"I believe that destiny... destiny is the human heart." Seeing Wanyan Liang looking at him, Wanyan Yuanyi stepped out and bowed in reply.

"Well said!" Wanyan Liang clapped his hands and laughed. "Yite Nian is indeed one of the wisest men in our Great Jin."

Wanyan Yuanyi gave a dry laugh, bowed and returned to the line of ministers.

Wanyan Liang ignored Xin Qiji's challenge and continued with a smile, "After the Yellow Turban Rebellion, treacherous officials saw the weakening of the central government and became disloyal, causing the Han Dynasty to lose the support of the people and, naturally, the Mandate of Heaven. But when the Great Jin was founded, heroes were everywhere, warriors were everywhere, and with the support of the people, the country's destiny was naturally forged."

The civil and military officials around him had no idea what Wanyan Liang was going to say, so they just stood there in the cold winter wind and listened.

"But ultimately, human nature still depends on the people," Wanyan Liang said, his expression gradually becoming serious. "That's why Zhang Han surrendered and the Qin Dynasty fell. Jiang Wei died and the Han Dynasty fell. Only when all those who fought and died for their country are gone will their country truly perish."

"The reason the Zhao Song dynasty was able to linger on in half of Jiangnan was ultimately because the Fourth Prince's search of the mountains and seas was incomplete. Not only did he fail to capture that useless Zhao Gou, but he also spared loyal Central Plains heroes like Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. This allowed them to recuperate and nearly overthrow the Jin dynasty."

Wanyan Liang spoke faster, seemingly speaking to the ministers around him, but also seemingly talking to himself. He paused and sneered, "Fortunately, such a hero was destroyed by the Zhao Song Dynasty."

"Your Majesty, our Great Jin cavalry fears nothing from the Yue Family Army or the Han Family Army." Seeing Wanyan Liang's words becoming increasingly irrelevant, his favored minister, Wanyan Alin, the governor of Wuping, stepped out again and saluted, saying, "Your Majesty, please do not encourage others and undermine your own prestige."

"You may not be afraid, but I am. Say what you want to say, don't follow the Song Dynasty's tactics. Yue Pengju is a world-renowned general. It's shameful to admit that you can't beat him and are afraid of him." Wanyan Liang has always been very tolerant of pure warriors like Wanyan Alin and didn't care about Wanyan Alin's advice: "To be honest, if the enemy was led by Yue Pengju, I might not even think of heading south."

"Don't disbelieve it. The Fourth Prince is such a hero, but has he ever gotten any favor from that big-eyed guy? Was the saying in the army that it is easy to shake a mountain, but difficult to shake Yue's army made up by the Song people? When the Fourth Prince heard that the Southern Dynasty poisoned Yue Pengju in the Dali Temple, he laughed three times and cried three times. Many of you saw it with your own eyes, so it can't be fake, right?" Wanyan Liang waved his hand and said this, which made the faces of the ministers blush.

Wanyan Liang ignored their thoughts and continued, "Before heading south this time, I originally thought that even a figure like Yue Fei could be unjustly killed, and that the entire Song court must have long been alienated from their emperor, Zhao Gou. But now it seems that the Zhao Song Dynasty has enjoyed the Mandate of Heaven for two hundred years, so there is some explanation."

Wanyan Liang shook his armor and stood up from the imperial chair. He took two steps forward and stood by the river. "But then again, where is the Mandate of Heaven for the Song Dynasty? Is it with that useless Zhao Gou? In the excavated Zhao Song imperial tombs? Or in the so-called Altar of Mountains, Rivers, and State?"

"Neither!" Wanyan Liang suddenly turned around and said to the solemn ministers: "The destiny of the Zhao Song Dynasty rests with those on the other side of the river! It rests with those who dare to challenge our army on the river! It rests with those who dare to turn around and attack the Jin Dynasty! As long as there are those who dare to face our army on the river, those who fight for the Zhao Song Dynasty, and those who dare to challenge us alone in a boat, the destiny of the Southern Dynasty will not end!"

Wanyan Liang's face was filled with ferocity, revealing his true nature as a tyrant. "Since that's the case, let's start with this bastard who calls himself a Han general. Kill them one by one. I don't believe I can't wipe out this group of Han dogs!"

"Now that the order to withdraw and execute the troops has been temporarily lifted, who dares to fight?" Wanyan Liang pointed at Xin Qiji, who was still cursing on the river surface, and shouted to the officers gathered around the high platform: "Who will lead the charge and destroy the destiny of the Zhao Song Dynasty for me?"

Among the ten thousand soldiers on the move, there were countless Meng'an and Mouke who responded.

After a while, just when Xin Qiji was getting impatient and thought that the Jin army had given the order and decided to become turtles, the Xicaishi Water Fort suddenly opened, and dozens of small boats carrying soldiers sailed out and arrived at the edge of the small island.

This was done in front of the army and the king, and the ceremony of paying respect to the teacher was almost certain to be recorded in history books. Therefore, even if the Jin army could rush forward, order was still maintained. After a period of mutual courtesy, an armored soldier holding a long sword took the lead.

The armored soldier with the long sword first took off his helmet, which was obstructing his vision, and threw it aside, revealing his bald head and two braids. He raised his long sword, pointed it at Xin Qiji from a distance, and said with a sinister grin, "You southern dog, my grandfather is..."

Xin Qiji picked up his spear, waved his hand and said, "Why waste so much time talking? You'll be dead in three breaths. I don't care what the head around my waist is called!"

The long-sword soldier was furious. He raised his sword and rushed forward: "Die!"

Xin Qiji was still holding the long spear. When the opponent was about three steps away from him, he suddenly thrust out the long spear in his hand like a spirit snake, and after pushing away the long sword in the hand of the Jin soldier, he just extended the long spear slightly and then retracted it.

A drop of blood flowed down the sharp edge of the spear, and the mist spread in the long white tassel, highlighting the bright red plum blossom.

The longsword warrior stumbled forward two steps, following inertia. Then, dropping his sword, he fell to one knee, clutching his throat. Blood gushed from between his fingers. Soon, his strength was exhausted, and he fell to the ground with a thud, soundless. From battle to death, it truly took only three breaths.

Seeing Xin Qiji wielding the heavy spear as easily as wielding a grass stem, the Jin army looked at each other in horror, while the Song army cheered in unison.

"Beat the drums!"

Li Dao was also very happy when he saw this. He went straight to the drummer Li Shi, snatched the drumstick, and started beating the drum himself.

The Jin soldiers on the small boats looked at each other, and some of them, confident in their bravery, stood up and walked onto the island.

There was absolutely no way to retreat now. To put it bluntly, even if I died at Xin Qiji's hands, it would be a death in battle. If I deserted the battlefield, I wouldn't be charged with desertion, but I would definitely be labeled a coward. We were all heroes, so rather than risk social demise, we might as well fight now!

Moreover, war has never been a place for individuals to show off their bravery. After a series of battles, Xiang Yu was killed. Couldn't they defeat a small Xin Qiji?
It should be said that the second Jin soldier still absorbed the experience of his predecessors. Not only did he wear a helmet, he even lowered his collar, leaving only a pair of murderous eyes exposed on his body.

However, after three breaths, the second Jin soldier was still knocked to the ground by Xin Qiji with his heavy spear. Xin Qiji strode forward. Before the Jin soldier could stand up, he saw the huge spear head rapidly enlarged in his field of vision and penetrated directly into the gap between the neck and the edge of the helmet.

The Song army cheered even louder.

Even the soldiers on the island in the middle of the river stopped what they were doing and stared at each other from afar across the river.

When the third Jin army soldier set foot on the small island, the singing coming from the Song army ship surprised everyone.

"A big river, with wide waves..."

The third Jin soldier held a steel shield in his left hand and a pointed iron mace in his right hand. He was obviously afraid of the long spear in Xin Qiji's hand and wanted to engage in close combat.

Xin Qiji laughed, stuck his lance into the ground, and drew out his two heavy swords, pointing their tips forward as he assumed a defensive and offensive stance. However, he felt a little puzzled: "Although the war songs Liu Dalang sang weren't tough enough, this one is definitely too soft. Can it still be considered a war song?"

"The wind blows the rice flowers, and the fragrance spreads across both banks..."

Xin Qiji listened to the singing quietly, a little absent-minded.

"Kill!" The Jin army soldier didn't want to wait any longer. He roared, protected his head and face with a steel shield, and rushed forward suddenly.

The moment the shield touched his body, Xin Qiji easily dodged the bull-like charge, then thrust out his left hand sword and directly pierced the popliteal joint of the Jin army which was not protected by the skirt armor and shin armor.

The Jin soldier holding the shield felt a chill behind his right knee, followed by a sharp pain. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

The dizziness caused by the severed artery and massive blood loss still could not completely defeat this brave Jin soldier. While struggling to stand up with his other leg, he roared at Xin Qiji.

Xin Qiji listened to the singing with his ear tilted, and put his finger in front of his lips as a gesture of silence.

"My home is right here, on the shore."

"I'm used to hearing the boatman's call."

"I'm used to seeing the white sails on ships."

The Jin soldier holding the shield dragged his injured leg forward a few steps, but finally he could not hold on any longer and fell headfirst in front of Xin Qiji, with the blood under him forming a puddle.

Xin Qiji held his heavy sword and watched coldly, while the loud singing around him became a little more passionate.

“This is our beautiful motherland.”

“It’s where I grew up.”

"In this vast land."

“There are beautiful views everywhere.”

Xin Qiji laughed, and swung his heavy swords together fiercely, making a sound like a Huangzhong Dalu. In the midst of his singing, he pointed at the Jin soldiers on the boat and shouted, "Keep going!"

(End of this chapter)