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

Chapter 402: Military Affairs Under the Grand Politics

Almost at the same time that Dongguan was captured, the news of the fall of Yuxi Town and the defeat of the Wurui Army's First Meng'an was brought to the Jin Army's Xicaishi Camp.

At this time, Wanyan Liang was sitting upright on the hill, looking at the fighting on the river. He was a little absent-minded, and no one knew what he was thinking about.

The first person to see the military envoy and get the exact news from him was the Minister of War Wanyan Yuanyi, who was in charge of all affairs in the camp. He was originally excited that the Jin navy on the river was gradually overwhelming the Dongting Lake navy, but when he heard the news, it was as if a basin of cold water was poured on his head, and the chill instantly enveloped his whole body.

If the fall of Yuxi Town could be considered as a result of a temporary lack of investigation, then the defeat of the Wurui Army's top Meng'an was a real difference in combat power.

Even if this group of Song troops crossing the river played some tricks, this was the first Meng'an that concentrated the elite troops of the Wu Rui Army. Without combat power support, the only end of the snake swallowing the elephant would be a burst stomach.

If Song had such a powerful army crossing the river and heading straight for its own supply lines, it would be hard to say what would happen next. It would also be hard to say how the strategy would be adjusted.

Faced with such news, Wanyan Yuanyi looked back at Wanyan Liang, not knowing what to say or even how to report it.

Seeing that Wanyan Yuanyi was visibly at a loss, Han Tang beside him also rubbed his hands to wipe the sweat off his face, not daring to say a word.

"Yitian, Atang, what happened?"

In addition to their positions in the court, these two men were also the general managers of the Weisheng Army and the Wurui Army. At this time, there were only three large armies in front of the emperor. Wanyan Liang could not help but pay attention to the two general managers' behavior.

Wanyan Yuanyi looked at Han Tang who was obviously shrinking back, gritted his teeth and stepped forward, telling Wanyan Liang everything, no matter how big or small. Finally, he lowered his posture and just said that he was unqualified as the Minister of War, and asked Your Majesty to decide how to fight next.

Wanyan Liang listened quietly, watched the battle on the river, and said nothing.

Wanyan Yuanyi kept bowing his head, feeling increasingly flustered. A drop of sweat flowed down his forehead and dripped onto the cold ground.

All the important officials of the Jin Dynasty present were silent, digesting the news in silence.

After a long moment, Wanyan Bendu could no longer contain his anger and offered a warning: "Your Majesty, although the Song army has crossed the river and appears to be elite, their numbers are certainly small and their forces are undoubtedly in disarray. Sending troops to the mouth of Yuxi River now to destroy this Song army will surely deter the Song army and prevent them from attacking again!"

Wanyan Liang remained silent. Although he did not express his disagreement, since he did not make the decision on the spot, it was enough to show his attitude.

Now that you have made your attitude clear, it's easy to talk about it.

Li Tong, the Right Chancellor, who was adept at finding fault with the emperor, immediately retorted, "Duke Chu is wrong. The Jin navy now has the upper hand and will soon wipe out the rebels on the river. The main army should seize this opportunity to cross the river and engage in battle. How can we give up a victory that is within our grasp and fight for petty gains just because a few petty thieves have appeared behind us?"

Wanyan Bendu felt annoyed, but he still said patiently, "Mr. Li, you don't know anything about military affairs. The Jin army was defeated in Lianghuai and captured the city, which had already frightened the Song dogs and destroyed their morale. Ordinary Song soldiers can only defend the city at best, but this group of Song soldiers dared to cross the river and fight. They must be one of the best in Jiangnan. Crushing one of them is better than crushing a hundred ordinary Song dogs.

"Mr. Li, you must understand that attacking the heart is the most important, attacking the army is second, and attacking the city is third. Turning back and defeating these Song dogs is to attack both the army and the heart."

Li Tong was a little flustered when he heard the specific military strategy begin to be discussed, but at the end he smiled and said, "The Duke of Chu said that conquering the heart is the most important thing. Doesn't it mean that from the overall situation of the world, crossing the river is not the first move to conquer the heart of the Song State?"

Wanyan Bendu's eyes twitched slightly, and he glanced at Wanyan Liang, instantly realizing the trap in Li Tong's words. "What Li Xianggong said is naturally reasonable. Therefore, I suggest that we send one army to Yuxikou to clean up the bandits crossing the river, and the other two armies will cross the river to fight. This way, we can avoid delaying either side."

Wanyan Bendu knew that Wanyan Liang was ambitious and eager for quick success. If he dared to advise giving up crossing the river at this time, not only would he not succeed, but Wanyan Liang might even hate him. It was not impossible that he would be given a cup of poisoned wine and a white silk.

However, this statement still fell into Li Tong's trap: "Duke Chu, does he mean that Your Majesty should risk his life so easily in the newly conquered Song State with only a little over 20,000 soldiers and horses to protect him?"

Wanyan Ben was shocked and immediately bowed to Wanyan Liang, saying, "This old minister absolutely does not say that. Lord Li, let's stick to the facts and avoid making such venomous remarks."

Li Tong seemed to be somewhat puzzled, frowning and asking, "Didn't the Duke of Chu just say that I don't understand military affairs? Why does the Duke of Chu act like this when asked by a corrupt scholar like me?"

Wanyan Bendu clenched his teeth but said nothing.

Wanyan Bendu's occupational illness had just struck him, and he had forgotten that this wasn't just a military issue, but a political one. If Wanyan Bendu were in command, he wouldn't be afraid to personally lead a few hundred cavalrymen to lure the enemy or charge them, let alone 20,000 men. But Wanyan Liang, besides being the commander of a large army, was also the emperor of the Jin Dynasty.

Theoretically speaking, Wanyan Liang could also lead his troops to charge on his own initiative. After all, he was born into a military aristocracy and was well-versed in martial arts and military strategy. He also had Heza Meng'an as his guard, so the situation was foolproof.

But since a minister took the initiative to suggest that the emperor take such a risk, it seemed that he had some ill intentions.

Therefore, without Wanyan Liang's order, these ministers could only put forward two suggestions on how to deal with the Jingnan army at Yuxikou.

One is that Wanyan Liang personally led an army of 30,000, gave up the strategic advantage created by Su Baoheng personally leading the navy to fight for several hours, gave up crossing the river, and turned around to fight back along Yuxi.

The other Li Tong immediately spoke out, "In my humble military knowledge, there's no need to panic. Even if these bandits occupy Dongguan and Chaoxian, we still have the Wusheng Army led by Da Huaizhen stationed in Luzhou to the north. Why would we need to send troops from the front?"

At this moment, Wanyan Liang suddenly spoke.

"Li Tong, Wanyan Bendu, Tushan Yongnian, Wanyan Yuanyi, Wanyan Alin, Han Tang, and Da Huaizhong stay. The rest of you should stay away."

Several important officials of the Jin Dynasty who accompanied the emperor on the expedition stood with their hands clasped, while the rest of the people stepped back.

After pondering for a long time, Wanyan Liang slowly spoke: "Do you know why I am in such a hurry to cross the river?"

This was not a question, and Wanyan Liang soon gave the answer.

"Two days ago, I received news. Gao Cunfu, the deputy governor of Liaoyang Prefecture, and Li Yanlong, the magistrate, both fell ill and passed away."

Everyone present was smart and immediately realized that there must be something fishy going on as two of Wanyan Liang's trusted confidants in Liaoyang Prefecture disappeared at the same time.

Not to mention death from illness, even if he was struck by lightning, it would not be an ordinary matter, but a political storm.

Liaodong is no longer stable.

That was the ancestral land of the Jurchens and had extraordinary significance in military and political traditions. If the Jurchens in Liaodong began to become chaotic, it would mean that at least half of the Jurchen nobles had begun to oppose Wanyan Liang.

This is more terrifying than losing Shandong.

Therefore, after hearing the news, all the important officials were shocked, and then they quickly understood what Wanyan Liang was thinking.

If he could not cross the river and quickly achieve his strategic goals, Wanyan Liang would not have enough military prestige and political capital to clean up the mess behind him.

When the situation turns around, not only will Wanyan Liang be torn to pieces, but the important officials around him will also be killed.

Now the bottom line of the Jin Kingdom's victory is no longer to capture Xiangfan and then go straight to Ezhou. Instead, it is to capture Xiangfan and swallow up Lianghuai at the same time.

To swallow up the two Huai regions, it would be meaningless to simply kill the Jingnan army that crossed the river. It was necessary to defeat part of the two large groups of Song troops at Caishi in the west of the Huai River or Guazhou in the east of the Huai River, and then turn the troops towards the south of the Huai River, so as to force the Song court to quickly cede land and surrender.

Of course, according to the experience of the wars between Liao, Jin and Song, there is another possibility that after the Jin army crossed the river, Zhao Gou would abandon Lin'an and flee, and then Jiangnan would be within reach.

After Wanyan Liang revealed the news about Liaoyang Prefecture, he fell silent again. Wanyan Yuanyi pondered for a moment, but ultimately said helplessly, "Your Majesty, I advise Da Huaizhen to lead the Wusheng Army to defeat the Song dogs crossing the river. We must not let the baggage line fall into the hands of the Song dogs.

After the 30,000-man army of Xicaishi destroys the Song dogs on the river with the navy and opens a passage, they will head straight for the island in the middle of the river to build a floating bridge. They must inflict pain and frighten the Song dogs in front of them!

Only then did Wanyan Liang slowly nod his head: "Good."

(End of this chapter)