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

Chapter 385: A Man's Self-Respect

"Ha ha ha ha."

When Liu Huai arrived at the central army where Yu Yunwen was, the sky had gradually darkened, and at this time, the central army tent was already filled with laughter and joy.

Li Xianzhong personally led the army to Caishi, making the Dangtu defense line impregnable. This was indeed a great thing worth celebrating.

Therefore, not only the Chizhou army, but also the Huaixi army and the Dongting Lake navy were invited to come and feast together.

Liu Huai had no choice but to give face to Yu Sheren, who was now the Minister of Proclamation, and brought the generals of the Jingnan Army to join in the fun.

Liu Huai had seen some of the Chizhou army before, and had even fought side by side with them. For example, Wei Yongshou and Wei Shijian, father and son, had proven their bravery in the Battle of Zaojiaolin. When they saw Liu Huai and others, they all stood up to greet them.

"This is Liu Huai, the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army." Yu Yunwen introduced to the gray-haired general beside him.

This tall and strong general with slightly bow legs and curly beard is Li Xianzhong.

At this time, Li Xianzhong was 52 years old, one year older than Yu Yunwen. Time had left indelible marks on him, so much so that Liu Huai was unable to connect him with the young general who had betrayed his family and returned to the Song Dynasty and had conspired with Wanyan Sali.

When I think about it carefully, that happened more than 20 years ago.

"General Liu, I've long heard of your great name." Li Xianzhong took the initiative to greet him, laughed heartily, and shook Liu Huai's hands. "Ajian has mentioned General Liu's name countless times in my ear, saying that although this battle was difficult, meeting a hero like General Liu would make all the hard work sweet. Now that I see him, I can see that his reputation is truly well-deserved!"

As the saying goes, a sedan chair is carried by the crowd. Listening to Li Xianzhong's flattery, Liu Huai immediately said, "If it weren't for the Chizhou army's decisive action and desperate battle with the Jin bandits, the situation in Lianghuai and Jiangnan would have deteriorated beyond control. General Li can be said to have been a great guardian of the country. I am far inferior to him."

The two of them complimented each other for a few more words and then sat down to the table hand in hand.

Drinking was not allowed in the army, so the meal had no taste. Except for the Chizhou generals who were very hungry after a day's journey and ate heartily, the others, after taking a few bites, began to talk to each other and inquire about the latest news.

The main purpose of this banquet was to allow the main generals of the several armies to get to know each other so that they would not be confused about who the other side was when war really came.

The real work will be done after the feast.

In less than half an hour, the welcoming banquet was over and the generals returned to their troops to take charge. Only Yu Yunwen, Li Xianzhong, Liu Huai and Li Dao were left in the central army tent.

Li Xianzhong took a sip of tea, his previous smile gone, and he said solemnly, "General Liu, I heard from Minister Yu that you have a plan to defeat the enemy. Would you mind showing it to me?"

Liu Huai nodded and walked directly to the map in front of the big tent.

"Our army is now concentrated in Dangtu, while the Jin bandits are concentrated in Hezhou. The two sides are in a stalemate across a large river."

"But our army is worried that the Jin bandits will quarry stones and cross the river. However, it is impossible that Jin Lord Wanyan Liang is building a strong camp just because he is worried about our army crossing the river. The reason is simple. The Jin bandits' cavalry and infantry are far more powerful than ours on land. If our army rushes to cross the river to fight, it will definitely play into the Jin bandits' hands."

"So, my conclusion is that Wanyan Liang, the gold lord, has not given up yet and still wants to cross the river from Caishi to threaten the Jiangnan region."

This issue had been discussed many times before, so Li Dao simply shook his head in opposition. "With the Dongting Lake navy stationed on the river, and the Jin navy downstream, they don't stand a chance. And if the Jin navy has no chance on the water, the cavalry and infantry won't move lightly."

Liu Huai paused and continued, "So, we must let the Jin bandits' cavalry, infantry, and navy join the battle at the same time, only then will we have a chance."

Li Xianzhong stroked his beard while looking at the map and asked, "Could it be that General Liu intends to place the Jin bandits on Jiangxin Island or even Dongcaishi, and then join forces to attack them halfway across the river?"

Liu Huai shook his head: "The Jin thieves are not fools. They will not send a large force across the river until they have cleared the river. My strategy is this."

As he spoke, Liu Huai pointed the scabbard at the location of the Jin army camp in Xicaishi.

"The Dongting Lake navy, the Chizhou army, and the Huaixi army are all mobilized to launch a fierce attack here. Make a desperate move and draw the Jin bandits' cavalry, infantry, and navy here."

Liu Huai pointed with his scabbard at Yuxikou, fifty miles south of Dongcaishi. "At the same time, I will personally lead the Jingnan army across the river from Yuxikou and attack Dongguan and Chaoxian. This will block the supply route from Hefei to Hezhou, threatening the Jin thieves' retreat."

Even though Li Xianzhong had been a veteran of battle, he was stunned for a moment by such a fantastical strategy. His hands trembled, and he ripped out several strands of his beard, instantly grimacing in pain. This strategy was feasible, but it would require far too much from the quality of the troops and the ability of the generals.

At least the Chizhou army cannot do such a thing.

Apart from anything else, although this move would cut off the Jin army's supply lines, it would also be equivalent to advancing alone and abandoning their own logistics and supplies. If they could not quickly capture a few cities, they would end up collapsing in the wilderness.

In addition, the Jin army is not a pushover and they will also make corresponding tactical moves.

After learning that the Jingnan Army had crossed the river, they would most likely send pursuers to chase and kill them. By then, the Jingnan Army would be defeated at the East Gate and torn apart by the Jin Army behind them, and the entire army would be disbanded.

If one wants to hold back the 30,000 Jin army troops in front of him, how fierce an attack would he have to launch?

Moreover, even if Wanyan Liang did not send any soldiers, the Jin army would have a Wan Hu guarding the rear. At that time, the Jingnan army might have to fight a whole Wan Hu army head-on. Could they win?

In just a moment, Li Xianzhong came up with so many difficulties.

However, he did not object at the first moment.

The reason is simple: the rewards of this risky tactical move are simply too great.

If successful, not only would the Jin army's supply routes be cut off, but their retreat would also be threatened.

If they could recapture Hefei, the Jin army would have no choice but to find a way to retreat to the Huaihe Shouchun line, and Huaixi would be recovered.

Of course, these 30,000 Jin troops are very mobile and can go to Huaidong to join Tushan Zhen, allowing the 60,000 troops to gather together.

However, does this fit with Wanyan Liang’s character of being ambitious and ostentatious?
Moreover, by then, wouldn’t the Jin army in Huaidong be afraid that the Song army would send troops from Huaixi and cut off their retreat?
The greater the risk, the greater the reward, this is common sense.

"General Liu, I'm quite tempted by what you've said." Li Xianzhong smiled and twirled his beard, "But the details still need to be worked out. At the very least, we need to know how the Jin army is deployed, and how the Wanhu behind them are distributing their forces. If the Jingnan army only discovers that 5,000 of the 10,000 Jin troops are stationed at Dongguan after crossing the river, then..."

As he spoke, Li Xianzhong shook his head.

Liu Huai also sighed.

In those days, there were no mobile phones, let alone telegraphs. Detecting the enemy situation depended entirely on scouts to see with their own eyes. In addition, since they were separated by enemy-occupied areas, there was no way to pass the intelligence back in the first place.

Even though both the Jingnan Army and the Huaixi Army sent out scouts, none of them have been able to bring back accurate news so far.

Seeing that Li Xianzhong was also interested, Li Dao could only nod with difficulty.

"If this plan goes ahead, I'll have Yang Qin lead a portion of the navy from Gusu Creek into Danyang Lake, then from Danyang Lake through Wuhu River into the Yangtze River, thus avoiding the eyes and ears of the Jin army. The Jingnan army will then board ships at Wuhu River's mouth and cross the Yangtze River." Li Dao finished his words and bowed to Yu Yunwen, who was sitting at the main seat. "Prime Minister Yu, relying solely on our Dongting Lake navy, it's difficult to quickly get the Jingnan army of several thousand soldiers across the river. Prime Minister Yu will need to mobilize the people of Jiangnan and gather civilian ships to help."

Yu Yunwen nodded solemnly.

Li Xianzhong is not a general like Yu Yunwen who knows nothing about military affairs. He is a general who has fought many battles. Since he said that this plan is feasible, then it is indeed feasible.

Of course, another important reason why Li Dao and Li Xianzhong agreed so readily was that it was the Jingnan Army that took the initiative to attack and go to the dangerous place.

If the Chizhou army were to do this, Li Xianzhong would probably turn hostile on the spot.

Yu Yunwen, who had been sitting at the head of the table, finally spoke up at this point: "You are all the backbone of our dynasty. As long as you devote all your energy to this battle, you will surely be rich and powerful in the future."

Liu Huai knew that this was Yu Yunwen's political promise to the people present, so he didn't care much and just kept declining. Although Yu Yunwen's words were a bit blunt, it was a private promise after all, and everyone was on the same boat, so it was just a promise, and no one, the Chief Censor, would jump out to cause trouble.

Li Dao had almost the same attitude, only Li Xianzhong narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

(End of this chapter)