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

Chapter 368: Pulling the Drums, Seizing the Flag, Capturing the General and Hostaging the Others
Xiao Fang's resentment and anger were justified.

This matter has to be attributed to the famous military law of the Jin army, "beating the team to kill".

With this kind of military law in place, subordinates will naturally regard their superiors' lives as important as their own. However, when their superiors are captured alive, if there is no order from higher-ranking officers, these low-ranking officers can only allow the superiors to do whatever they want in order to save their own lives.

This is a dead end.

Just like when Yue Fei captured a military commander in Hebei decades ago, his subordinates were thrown into disarray. Today, when Liu Huai captured Wanyan Qige, his subordinates would also be paralyzed.

To be honest, facing this situation, it would be better to let Wanyan Qige die heroically, and let the remaining Heza Meng'an go crazy, kill all the Song troops who came ashore, and then seek Wanyan Liang's forgiveness.

At the very least, Wanyan Liang might at that time let them go for the sake of the ten marching Moukes' experience in battle.

However, while Wanyan Qige was alive, whoever ordered an attack and killed Xingjun Meng'an would be hated to death by the other Xingjun Mouke.

Soon, Xiao Fang, the oldest of the ten marching marshals, arrived at the scene and faced Liu Huai from a distance.

"I am Hezhameng'an, the general who is in charge of the attack on Xiao Fang. May I know your name?"

Liu Huai shouted, "Commander-in-chief of the Shandong Jingnan Army, Liu Huai!"

"Nan Gou, release my Meng An, and today's matter will be over! Otherwise, not only the county town, but the entire Wujiang County will be wiped out!"

Xiao Fang uttered harsh words viciously.

Liu Huai laughed upon hearing this. He raised his finger and pointed at Xiao Fang, then said to Shen Longzi beside him, "Shen Twelve, did you hear that? This fellow doesn't dare to fight us to the death, but instead threatens us with the lives of the people, women, and children. This so-called elite force is nothing more than a bunch of bullies who only care about the weak and fear the strong."

Liu Huai did not speak in a whisper, his voice was loud, as if he wanted everyone to hear clearly.

When the other four heard this, they burst into laughter regardless of the injuries they had sustained from the recent fight.

Shen Longzi also laughed out loud, and then responded to Liu Huai loudly: "Don't humiliate the beasts, my Lord. After all, the beasts are brave enough to challenge the eagles. These Jin thieves act violently when they see the weak, but shrink when they see strong people like us. They are even worse than beasts.

Hey, you thief, my son-in-law is well acquainted with high-ranking officials in the imperial court. If you really have no balls, come and kowtow to my son-in-law and I will recommend you to be a palace eunuch, how about that?

Xiao Fang's face twitched as he listened to the taunting. He was about to order Hezha Meng'an to charge forward, but after looking at Wanyan Qige, who was tied up and lying across his horse, he finally gripped the reins firmly and said, "Song dogs, I'll let you go, but put my general down."

Liu Huai raised his left hand with a smile on his face, first pointing at Xiao Fang, and then at Wanyan Qige.

Shen Longzi immediately slapped Wanyan Qige in the face.

Liu Huai laughed and said, "Who the hell is bargaining with you now? I have your general in my hand, what do you have in your hand? Threaten his life? If Grandpa was afraid of death, why would he come to the battlefield?"

Xiao Fang pulled the reins and turned around anxiously twice, but under the gazes of the other four marching men, he could do nothing but give the order bitterly: "Make way, let them go!"

Hezhameng'an quickly separated on the side of the street, leaving only a gap of five steps in the middle.

If it were an ordinary Song army, they would not dare to pass through it, but Liu Huai and others were all well-tested soldiers who had experienced life and death on the battlefield many times. How could they be afraid of such a threat?
The five of them held their heads high and chests puffed out, forming a single line and moving forward slowly amidst the gazes of those around them that seemed to be ready to devour them.

Shen Longzi put the sharp knife to Wanyan Qige's throat, and from time to time he showed a slightly neurotic and provocative smile to the Jin soldiers who were staring at him. Sometimes he even made a "slurp slurp" mouth shape to tease a dog, which made these Jin soldiers even more angry.

However, Hezhameng'an's military discipline was too strict. The soldiers dared not act without orders and could only look to their own marching commander in the hope of receiving some orders or even hints.

However, these marching marshals all turned their eyes away.

It is true that they are brave, but they also have families and emotions. It doesn't matter if they die on the battlefield. As soldiers, they are paid and this day will come sooner or later.

But if Shangguan was killed and punished by military law of beheading, it would be too unfair and he would not be able to close his eyes even in death.

In this way, Liu Huai and others safely crossed the Jin army formation and arrived to the north of the Jin army formation.

Even with Liu Huai's big heart, he couldn't help but shout that it was exciting and enjoyable.

Xiao Fang and others naturally would not let Liu Huai go just like that. They commanded their troops to stay thirty steps away and did not move forward, but only held various weapons in their hands as a threat.

Rather than saying that the enemy and our forces were divided, this scene was more like the Jin army forming a formation to see off Liu Huai and others.

Da da da.

The sound of horse hooves could be heard as the Flying Tigers, who had just captured the flag, rushed out from another street and joined Liu Huai and the others. He glanced around, roughly understanding the situation, and burst into laughter.

"Lord Commander, today we have finally managed to break the arrogance of the Jin thieves!"

Liu Huai also laughed: "It was you, Shao Chongrong and Shao Silang, who captured the flag and made meritorious contributions, otherwise today would not be over. You should be the chief meritorious person today!" Shao Chongrong raised the flagpole in his hand, also very proud.

This is the truth. Although Xiao Fang was threatening and pretending, at that time, the Jin army had no other choice but to compromise after their leader was captured.

The most dangerous moment of the day was the chaotic battle after the capture of Wanyan Qige. At that time, there were no reliable officers to command. If the ordinary Jin soldiers had been determined to recapture Meng'an at all costs, then today might have really been a disaster.

However, Shao Chongrong's decisive attack to seize the flag quickly disrupted the formation of the dozen or so Hezhameng'an, making them unable to advance or retreat, and also gave Liu Huai time to threaten the opponent.

The most amazing thing is that Shao Chongrong did not continue to fight with the Jin army, but fled away, so that he was able to keep the captured flag.

"Shao Silang, this banner is your honor. You must boast about your achievements." Liu Huai pointed to the rolled-up banner with a Qilin painted on it and said, "Unfurl the banner and let the Dongting Lake navy and the Jin thieves see the power of the men of our Jingnan Army!"

Shao Chongrong nodded heavily, then raised the flagpole with both hands and shook it, and the big flag fluttered in the wind under Hezhameng'an's murderous gaze.

Now it looks more like a marching guard of honor.

However, after taking a few steps, they stopped again.

This was where the fiercest battle took place between the Song and Jin armies. Corpses were scattered everywhere, not only from the Song and Jin armies, but also from many civilians who were escorted out of the city.

Of course, not all of them were dead; some were seriously injured and fell to the ground. Seeing this scene, the Song army and civilians hiding in nearby houses fled from their hiding places. Some rushed towards the northern city controlled by the Song army, while others tried to save their comrades or even collect the bodies.

Seeing this, Liu Huai hesitated for a moment.

At this time, his life was hanging by a thread, with hundreds of Heza Meng'an shouting and killing behind him. If someone really came to fight with a fool and caused a chain reaction, Liu Huai and his men would not be able to stop him even if they were made of iron.

For Liu Huai, the best solution at this time was to quickly go to the mudflats north of the city and retreat on board the boat.

However, it would have been simple for Liu Huai to just leave, leaving these wounded soldiers and civilians to the Jin army.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Huai finally couldn't bear to leave like this.

As I said, the world is in turmoil and the world is burning. As a person with some ability, if he does not save others, it is equivalent to killing people.

Thinking of this, Liu Huai reined in his horse and stopped in front of a soldier.

This Dongting Lake navy soldier was dragging a comrade with a wounded leg. He had just experienced a great battle and was wearing armor, so he was exhausted. Sweat flowed down his forehead, leaving several white marks on his blood-stained face.

Liu Huai dismounted, gave the horse to the soldier, and signaled him to help the injured man onto the horse.

Several people followed suit, and except for Shen Longzi, the others gave their horses to the injured.

However, relying on just these few people is just a drop in the bucket.

Fortunately, Wang Huai did not follow the Song army's tradition of remaining indifferent to the troubled allies. Soon, a wave of Song soldiers gathered to support him. After seeing this scene, he decisively sent a few people to guard behind Liu Huai, and began to treat the wounded and collect the bodies.

Wang Huai's face was not looking good either. The status of the soldiers in the Dongting Lake Navy was just like that of the Flying Tigers in the Jingnan Army. They were the elite who had the final say and were the reserve officers.

If the Flying Tigers suffered such heavy casualties, Liu Huai would also be heartbroken.

"How?" Wang Huai asked, panting.

"We've captured the bandit chief and seized the Jin bandit flag." Liu Huai said this succinctly, ignoring Wang Huai's excited expression. "But this can only hold them off for a while. If it lasts too long, something bad will happen."

Wang Huai nodded and was about to speak, but he saw some movements from the Jin army and immediately became alert.

It was not known whether the Jin army wanted to get Wanyan Qige back as soon as possible, or they were worried that Wanyan Qige might be tortured to death, but they directly led out more than a dozen mules and inferior horses, harnessed them to carts, and rushed to the front of the Song army, asking them to collect the bodies as soon as possible.

In return, the Song army did not make things difficult for the injured Jin army, and did not even strip them of their armor. They just quietly gathered their own soldiers and civilians.

It is quite like the situation in the Spring and Autumn Period where people fought according to the Zhou rituals and did not kill each other.

But everyone knows that this is just a helpless compromise between the two sides. If one side gets the chance, it will definitely skin the other side alive and grind its bones to ashes.

The hatred between the two sides is higher than the sky and the resentment is deeper than the sea. It is impossible to resolve the issue peacefully.

After the Song and Jin sides fought for a long time, the Song army had almost withdrawn. Liu Huai personally covered the rear and slowly retreated.

After walking another half a mile, Liu Huai heard a small voice beside him: "Grandpa, Grandpa, come here quickly."

(End of this chapter)