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

Chapter 392: The North and South are at risk

"Li Jihu, how come it's you?" After hearing the report from the cavalry, He Boqiu rode out personally. When he saw Li Jihu at the ferry in Wuhu city, he couldn't help but be surprised.

Yang Qin, a veteran general of the Dongting Lake navy, was also nearby. Seeing this situation, he felt inexplicably panicked.

Sure enough, Li Jihu said the next sentence: "A part of the Jin thieves' navy has already reached the mouth of Yuxi River by sailing on dry land. They have already set sail and are about to attack the Dongting Lake navy!"

As a former Yishui tycoon, He Boqiu was not lacking in experience in inland river warfare and immediately realized the huge danger faced by the Dongting Lake navy.

"The Commander-in-Chief is currently at the Dongcaishi camp," He Boqiu said quickly, "where's Guan Chongyan? Did he row the boat to Dongcaishi?"

Even though Li Jihu was wrapped in a blanket and warming himself by the fire, he was still shivering from the cold. He gritted his teeth and said, "Exactly. I swam ashore, but Brother Qi didn't even go ashore and just drifted downstream."

He Boqiu turned solemnly and said to the pale-faced Yang Qin, "It's not safe to rely on Guan Qilang alone. I will send an envoy by land, and the general will send an envoy by sea. We must inform the commander-in-chief of this fatal news!"

Yang Qin nodded, and then said to the guards beside him: "Go!"

He Boqiu took two deep breaths, forced himself to calm down, and then said, "But the good thing is that Wuhu City is upstream of Yuxikou. After the Jin bandits sent out their troops, General Yang also sent out his troops and attacked from upstream. General Yang can prepare for battle now."

Yang Qin's eyes were bloodshot, and his gray beard stood on end. As if he had gone through a difficult decision, he squeezed out a few words from between his teeth: "No, He Daguan, it should be the Jingnan Army that is coming now. We should quickly prepare for battle."

He Boqiu was stunned: "Why is this?"

Yang Qin stared into He Boqiu's eyes and said, "You are from Shandong, and you don't know the geography of Huaixi..."

Dozens of miles north of the Dongcaishi camp, Guan Chongyan and Cao Dache did not disappoint the others' hopes. They went down the river and arrived at Dangtu safely.

In the main camp, the generals including Yu Yunwen were making final preparations to check for any omissions and fill any gaps for the war that would begin tomorrow. When they heard such news, they all looked at each other in shock.

"Although the mouth of Yuxi River is not as wide as the Yangtze River or even the waters of Wuhu Lake, it is wide enough for the fleet to sail out quickly. When I arrived, the Jin thieves had already hoisted the sails. I hope that the generals will make preparations early."

Guan Chongyan, wrapped in a blanket and warming himself by the fire, told all the information he knew in a halting manner, then picked up a bowl of ginger soup and gulped it down, then slumped in a chair almost exhausted.

Liu Huai's face was also extremely ugly. He never expected that before they could use the big surprise they had prepared for the Jin army, the surprise prepared by the Jin army had already hit them in the face.

Liu Huaiqiang calmed himself down and observed the terrain in front of the map. Then he said, "The Jin bandits are coming to attack the Dongting Lake navy. If the Jin bandits occupy the upper reaches, neither Jiangxinzhou Water Fort nor Caishi Water Fort will be able to be defended... No, even Jiangxinzhou cannot be defended."

This is the pressure from the upstream to the downstream.

There are a hundred ways for the navy upstream to kill the navy downstream, and the simplest one is to set fire to the ships.

The river current would naturally carry the fireboats, crashing into the water fort's fences and the floating bridge. One or two boats could be stopped, as could ten or twenty, but what about a hundred, two hundred, or even a thousand boats piled high with straw?

Not to mention the floating bridge, even the water fort would be engulfed in flames.

If the Dongting Lake navy goes into battle, they have to face one fact: the Jin navy is not foolish. They will certainly not just fight from upstream, but will attack from upstream and downstream at the same time to attack the Dongting Lake navy from both sides.

"There are only two options now." Seeing that the other generals were still immersed in fear, Liu Huai could only express his own judgment: "First, the entire Dongting Lake navy retreats from Gushu Creek into Danyang Lake, abandoning Jiangxin Island and engaging the Jin bandits' cavalry and infantry at Dongcaishi."

This plan was the safest, and it could follow Yang Qin's route, entering Danyang Lake from Gusu Creek, and then from Danyang Lake through Wuhu water into the Yangtze River, thus occupying the upper reaches again.

But the disadvantage is that Jiangxinzhou was given up. Once the Jin army has a forward base, it will inevitably launch a fierce attack on Dongcai Shi. It is really hard to say whether the Huaixi army and Chizhou army can hold on at that time.

"Second, while the Dongting Lake navy goes out to fight, General Yang Qin will lead another force from Wuhu City, which is further upstream, to attack the Jin thieves from the rear." This plan is a bit risky because it will inevitably trigger a series of melees. The Song and Jin armies will lose all their formations and become a ball of prime pork belly, where you are in me and I am in you. It would not be surprising if they perish together.

Li Xianzhong said, "But no matter which method we use, the Jingnan Army will not be able to cross the river at Yuxikou."

The second method is of course not feasible because there are no available ferry boats due to Yang Qin's participation in the battle. If the Dongting Lake navy chooses the first method and temporarily retreats to preserve itself, then the Jin navy, while occupying Jiangxinzhou, will have enough strength to react when the Jingnan army is trying to cross the Yangtze River. At that time, the Jin cavalry, infantry and navy will come together to attack them halfway across the Yangtze River, and the Jingnan army will be completely defeated at Yuxikou.

Liu Huai shook his head: "There's nothing we can do about this. We can only look for another opportunity."

As the saying goes, the first attack is the best, the second is weaker, and the third is exhausted. Now the morale of the Jingnan army has been aroused. If we retreat in the face of the enemy, it will be tantamount to telling the soldiers that the Jin army is stronger than ours, which will be a huge blow to morale.

But Liu Huai had no choice. He couldn't just push his troops into the fire pit just to preserve morale, right?
Li Dao also looked at the map and finally shook his head: "Liu Dalang, you have been fighting in Shandong for a long time and don't know the geography of Huaixi. It seems that our army has options, but in fact, we don't."

As he spoke, Li Dao raised his hand and pointed at Chaohu Lake on the map: "We must not let the Jin thieves' navy enter Chaohu Lake. If we allow the Jin thieves to pacify Chaohu Lake and kill Yang Chun, Liang Zichu and others, then the Jin thieves will gain a foothold in Hefei, and Huaixi will no longer belong to the Song Dynasty.

If you choose the first path, the Jin thieves will directly send their navy into Chaohu Lake.

If we choose the second path, the Jin bandits' navy will suffer heavy losses in a battle with our army. Even if it is difficult for them to cross the river to attack Jiangxinzhou, there will be cavalry and infantry to block the mouth of Yuxi River, and there will be no chance for the Jingnan army to cross the river.

If, in another ten years, the Jin thieves have fully trained their navy in Chaohu, they could then enter the Yangtze River directly through Yuxi River, and Jiangnan would be in danger."

The generals present were either well-versed in history books or knowledgeable about military affairs, and they immediately understood what Li Dao said.

This is the importance of Hefei and Chaohu.

Not to mention the battles between Wei and Wu during the Three Kingdoms period.

Later, at the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the Chaohu Navy led by Zhu Yuanzhang set out from this route and sailed down the river. Chaohu Navy General Yu Tonghai captured various water strongholds with great ease and conquered them in one fell swoop. He then took advantage of the victory to capture Taiping Prefecture and successfully crossed the river.

Liu Huai's heart sank.

It is just as Li Dao said, it seems that there are choices, but there is actually only one road.

After a moment's silence, Yu Yunwen spoke with difficulty, "General Li, things haven't reached that point yet. The Dongting Lake navy can withdraw first and then make a long-term plan."

Li Dao stood up immediately, his armor rustling, his eyes crimson. "Prime Minister Yu, the Dongting Lake navy is willing to fight to the death for the Song Dynasty! I request your orders!"

Liu Huai sighed in his heart.

Plans cannot keep up with changes. Now that Li Dao has decided to turn the feint attack into the main attack, using himself as bait to create a tactical gap for the Jingnan Army and attract the main force of the Jin Army, how can Liu Huai retreat?

"The Jingnan army will cross the river and attack Yuxikou immediately. I request your order!" Liu Huai stood up and said in the same loud voice.

The generals in the tent just looked at this scene with serious expressions, and then turned their eyes to Yu Yunwen who was sitting in the main seat.

Before Yu Yunwen could answer, he heard a horn sound in the camp, which was a signal that the enemy was making unusual movements.

Li Xianzhong had an idea and immediately opened the tent door and strode out.

(End of this chapter)