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

Chapter 394: The Jinshan Cavalry Crosses the River

The excitement of obtaining the holy relic actually lasted for less than two quarters of an hour, and Liu Huaifu focused all his attention on the battle in front of him.

Li Dao has decided to fight to the death.

This is fundamentally different from the previous feint attack plan, because the Jin navy is really here to fight to the death. If they can gain an advantage or even destroy the Dongting Lake navy, they will definitely fight for Jiangxinzhou.

By then, all the strategic initiative around Cai Shi would be in the hands of the Jin army.

But for the Jingnan Army, crossing the river at this time actually gave them a huge advantage.

Because in the feint attack plan, if the Jin army did not feel any real danger, even from a political point of view, it would not be very safe to stay in Yuxikou and Han Tang's troops would definitely come back to support.

If Wanyan Liang was arrogant and refused forcefully, or if Han Tang had low political sensitivity and only knew to obey military orders and defend Yuxikou, then the Jingnan Army would never be able to cross the river.

Forcing a river across the river in front of 10,000 Jin troops was still an impossible task, even though the Jingnan Army had expanded to 7,000 men.

But now, since the Jin army was the main attacking force, they came out in full force. The Wu Rui army, which had been covering the mouth of Yuxi River and providing cover for the actions of the Jin navy, also rushed to Xicai Shi, preparing to participate in the river crossing operation after the navy occupied Jiangxinzhou.

This gave the Jingnan Army a rare opportunity. Even if the Jin Army had a water fort at Yuxikou, Yang Qin's troops could directly launch a surprise attack with the vanguard troops.

In this way, the probability of the Jingnan army taking over Dongguan was greatly increased.

Of course, the Jin army will definitely realize that all the battles today are just a fight to gain time advantage.

As the saying goes, there is gain and loss. If the Jin army puts all its main forces in quarrying, it will have no time to take care of Yuxikou.

The price the Jingnan Army paid for making it easier to cross the river was that quarrying would become extremely difficult for the Song Army.

Even while galloping, Liu Huai couldn't help but look back.

The river was shrouded in winter fog, and the smoke was vast. Although we were only ten miles away from the battlefield, we could no longer see any ships.

Seeing this, Liu Huai gritted his teeth, turned back, and whipped his horse again.

At this moment, the order for the entire army to advance had already reached Wuhu City.

The military order was not brought by Liu Huai himself. In fact, when the Dongcaishi camp decided to send troops, the military envoy had already brought the military order and changed horses along the post stations set up along the river, but did not change people, and came to Wuhu City at a high speed.

This is what is called an 800-mile express delivery.

The generals of the Jingnan Army had made preparations early. After all, the plan was to cross the river tomorrow, and now it was just one day earlier.

What's more, Yang Qin, the veteran naval commander, knew the geography of Huaixi well. He explained the pros and cons clearly to He Boqiu and others, and made the same judgment as Li Dao, almost as if he had foresight. As a result, the entire Jingnan army was mobilized.

Even so, after seeing the exact military order, no matter who it was, a huge stone fell from their hearts and they quickly became confused and at a loss.

"Everyone, the military order has been issued. There's nothing more to say." He Boqiu frowned and shouted, "Time is running out. We can't wait for the commander-in-chief. The troops must cross the river now. First, we must capture Yuxikou and then attack the Jin bandits' water stronghold. There may be reinforcements from the Jin bandits. The order of crossing the river decided yesterday was that the commander-in-chief would personally lead the vanguard. Now it doesn't count. Who will lead the charge?!"

"I want to go!"

"I'm coming!"

As soon as the words were spoken, almost everyone stood up and volunteered to fight.

Xin Qiji stood up, holding his sword. "Of course I'll do it! Mr. He, this situation is urgent, so naturally I'll be the vanguard and you'll be the backup. How can we afford to haggle with the others?"

Several people in the Jingnan army were immediately discouraged, but some were still unwilling to accept it and seemed to want to argue.

He Boqiu had already made the decision: "Okay, Xin Wulang, you will lead our 500 elite troops to cross the river first."

As he spoke, He Boqiu looked at the general again: "Wei Chang!"

Wei Chang immediately bowed and agreed loudly.

He Boqiu nodded. "The General wanted to personally lead the way across the river to demonstrate his determination to fight to the death and never retreat. However, the General has not yet arrived. Therefore, for the sake of military morale, we must have someone who will not be abandoned by the army to lead the way across the river. According to common sense, the General is my lord, and you are his brother. I cannot force you to do anything with military orders, but I still want to ask you, do you dare to follow General Xin across the river to fight?"

The meaning of this statement is very simple. If things go wrong, Wei Chang, the biological son of Wei Sheng, will die before the other troops.

Wei Chang naturally knew what He Boqiu meant, but he did not show any fear or anger. Instead, he was overjoyed: "I am willing to go!"

Lei Ben was about to persuade him, but he saw Wei Chang bowing and saying, "Please don't try to stop me. If someone else's son dares to die, then my father's son will also dare to die!"

"Okay!" He Boqiu continued to make the decision: "Wei Chang will lead 200 soldiers from his own army and obey Commander Xin's orders to cross the river immediately!"

Xin Qiji and Wei Chang immediately took the order and left.

He Boqiu continued his orders, "The rest of the generals, board the ships and cross the river according to the order agreed upon the day before! After crossing the river, all must obey Xin Wulang's orders. After the general has crossed the river, he will be in charge of the overall situation! Now, everyone, prepare! Quickly!"

A quarter of an hour later, the water gate of Wuhu City opened, and three huge water turbines sailed out. Then the sailors in the cabin pedaled hard and rushed towards the mouth of Yuxi River.

Xin Qiji stood at the bow, watching Yuxi Town approaching. His heart was churning. He turned back to the nearly 200 soldiers on board, drew his sword, and raised it high: "Today, all of you must follow me forward. There is no retreat!"

"it is good!"

The Jin Dynasty defenders in Yuxi Town also saw this scene and were even more shocked.

Since the southern expedition, the Jin Kingdom has been like a fish in water in the Huai River and Huai River regions. Even if there is a major war, it is the attacking party and can easily defeat the enemy. How could it have ever seen the Song army actively attacking them?
Especially at that time, there were only a few signed soldiers and civilian laborers in Yuxi Town, and less than 300 regular troops. The remaining marching officers immediately became a little panicked.

Especially when he looked out at the countless sails floating down from upstream, the marching Mouke felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave.

Today is the time when the Jin army launches a general attack on the Song army. Now it seems that it is also the time for the Song army to launch a counterattack against the Jin army, and the most deadly first hammer is about to hit Yuxi Town!
"Quick! Report to the general!" The marching officer grabbed a military envoy and shouted, then shouted an order: "Close the city gates! Close the water gates! Archers, go to the top of the city!"

However it was too late.

The city wall of Wujiang Town was not very high to begin with, otherwise Meng Buddha would not have wanted to defend it that day and would have immediately abandoned the city and fled. Therefore, the height of the helm tower is almost level with the city wall.

Although the water gate had fallen down, the Jingnan army had no intention of attacking the city gate. After the waterwheel approached the water gate, several flying ladders were directly set up from the wheelhouse to the top of the city wall.

"rush!"

Xin Qiji drew his two swords, jumped up in heavy armor, and jumped directly onto the ladder. As if walking on flat ground, he took two steps at a time and climbed directly to the top of the city wall in the stunned eyes of the Jin army.

After knocking the two Jin soldiers who came to stop him off the city wall like an angry blue rhinoceros, Xin Qiji rotated his swords, slashing left and right, and killed seven Jin soldiers wearing iron-clad and light armor in a row. He gained a foothold on the city wall almost instantly and cleared a safe position for the subsequent troops.

"God's Crossbow! Heavy Archers! Take aim! Fire!"

An officer on the waterwheel gave loud orders, and the Jingnan Army soldiers, who were fully equipped with three kinds of weapons, used their bows and arrows to block the subsequent enemy troops, and suppressed the supporting Jin army at a parapet, where they could not raise their heads.

Taking advantage of this moment, another dozen or so soldiers of the Jingnan Army climbed up the ladders to the top of the city wall, followed the bloody path that Xin Qiji had fought his way through, formed a frontal formation, and rushed forward.

Nearly twenty Jin soldiers who were gathered on the steps to avoid arrows were caught off guard and pushed forward head-on. Except for a few who were killed on the spot, the rest jumped off the city wall.

Even though the city wall was not high, he was still seriously injured after falling.

"Pan Huaihua, take the men to open the water gate, and I'll handle the rest!"

Xin Qiji shook off the blood on his heavy sword and shouted an order. Then he chopped down the large "gold" flag beside him and took the lead again, walking down the steps and rushing towards the city gate on the side of the water gate.

By this time, the Jin army, already somewhat disorganized by the surprise attack by the Jingnan army, had finally reacted. Officers organized the signed troops and drove them to the city walls to defend the city. The regular troops donned armor and formed battle formations, guarding the streets. War horses were also fully armed and dormant somewhere in the city, ready to fight at any time to block the Song army from landing on the mudflats outside the city, or even to charge the enemy head-on.

At this moment, these Jin troops still thought they were facing the Song army from Huaixi, and they were strong enough to put up a desperate resistance. However, the generals of the Jingnan Campaign soon made the Jin troops realize what it meant to be the elite Han people who had emerged from the chaotic times in Shandong.

Amidst the deafening shouts and cries of killing, the battle to recapture Huaixi officially began.

(End of this chapter)