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

Chapter 405: How Harsh Is the Forced Confession in the Military?

Li Dao's death is destined to be recorded in history books.

As a former general under Yue Fei, he stood up when the Jin Dynasty invaded and died heroically in battle. Even after a thousand years, as long as Yue Fei's reputation exists, he will continue to be mentioned.

Li Dao's story would be recorded in the notes of literati during the southern expedition against the Jin army, and would also be seen by the soldiers of the Jin navy. They would not spread it, but would only use it as a topic of conversation after dinner, for people to tell a few stories, or sigh that he was a hero, or sigh with regret.

Not until the people who had experienced this battle gradually recovered the Central Plains, unified the country, and became powerful, would the final deeds of Li Dao, the veteran who sacrificed his life for the Han Dynasty, be dug out from the pile of old papers and sung throughout the world.

When Yue Fei was enshrined in a temple, Li Dao could also be enshrined as a companion, occupying a very prominent position.

Even in the later version of "The Story of Yue Fei", Li Dao's ability and loyalty are likely to be higher than his immediate superior Niu Gao.

The impact of Li Dao's death is bound to spread like ripples in the next few years or even decades, affecting the lives of many people.

Of course, this is a follow-up.

At the moment, the direct result of the near-annihilation of the Dongting Lake navy was that the Jin cavalry and infantry no longer had any regard for anything else and began to force their way across the Yangtze River under the cover of the navy.

It was already around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. The days were short in winter and the sky was already getting dark, but Wanyan Liang still adhered to his tyrannical nature and forced the war to go on.

However, the Song army was not frightened by the fighting on the river as the Jin army had expected. Instead, they deployed their troops and engaged the Jin army head-on.

The Song army's performance was thanks to the mobilization for a feint attack that began a few days ago. Although no one expected that the Jin army would be able to cross the river, they were mentally prepared to fight from the beginning and did not lose their composure.

In addition, the Jin army did not build a few floating bridges to cross the river to fight for the island in the middle of the river, but used large and small boats to force a crossing, and the deployment of troops was relatively slow.

If 10,000 Jin troops suddenly rushed towards them, the Song army would most likely not be able to hold on, but facing one or two thousand people, the Song army still dared to deal with the Jin army with its superior military strength.

The battle for Jiangxinzhou became intense almost from the beginning.

This will certainly be a severe test for the Chizhou army and the Huaixi army.

At the same time, Liu Huai, who was in Dongguan, had already put these things behind him.

The dice have been rolled, the strategic direction has been agreed upon, and what remains is a test of each person's bravery, wisdom, integrity, and a little luck.

Even if Liu Huai prayed for the Cai Shi generals ten thousand times, it would be meaningless.

Although the Jingnan Army had marched through the East Pass with overwhelming force, some disarray remained. After all, time was short and the mission was heavy, so apart from the combat units, the remaining units were also in disarray.

This is because Yang Qin's fleet is transporting supplies on Yuxi River. Otherwise, the army would be a hundred times more chaotic after bringing in civilian laborers.

Fortunately, both the rebels from Shandong and the brave men recruited from Lianghuai were highly motivated. They joined the army to kill the Jin bandits and gain fame. When officers at all levels issued clear orders to march north along Yuxi River, even those who had fallen behind spontaneously gathered at Dongguan.

He Boqiu, who took the last ship to cross the river, was a more steady man. While he lowered the small boat to gather the injured soldiers, he continued to send scouts to explore the surrounding area.

When passing the Jin army's water fort, He Boqiu set a fire and sank several captured ships to block the waterway.

If the Jin navy wanted to pass through Yuxi, it would take several days.

It was already night when Liu Huai arrived at Dongguan. The first thing he did after getting off his horse was to go straight to the granary. After hurriedly leaving some military rations, he opened the granary to distribute the grain to the people of Dongguan and stabilize the grain price.

This is what it should be.

Then the second thing is killing people.

It’s not about killing the Jin army or the puppet army, but about killing our own people.

Some soldiers took advantage of the chaos to kill civilians or rape and plunder. After being caught by the military judges, they were directly forced into the long streets, stripped of their armor and clothes, and executed together. What made Liu Huai feel relieved was that after all, only about thirty of the 7,000 soldiers had violated the taboo, and all of them were recruited from the defeated soldiers in Lianghuai. The rebel army from Shandong finally lived up to the painstaking training he had given them for so long.

Afterwards, the armies set up camp, gathered their troops, dispatched scouts, settled the thousands of soldiers who had been brought with them, and distributed food. It wasn't until the moon reached its zenith that everything was finally settled.

By this time, ordinary soldiers could already go to sleep, but Liu Huai still had to interrogate the prisoners and resettle those who had returned to the right path and rebelled.

"Are you Han Wenguang?" Liu Huai was sitting on the main seat in the central military tent, like a judge trying a case, pointing at the man who was kneeling in the middle of the tent with his hands and feet tied.

At this time, the first general of the Wu Rui Army had lost his previous arrogance. His face was black and blue, and his right eye was swollen, as if he had been severely beaten.

Moreover, Han Wenguang knew clearly that this group of men with Shandong accents were not like the other Song soldiers. They were really ruthless and seemed to really not want to take any prisoners.

Especially the man named Shen Longzi, who tortured several captured Jin army officers to death under Han Wenguang's nose. His methods were so perverted and his psychology was so twisted that he didn't seem like a normal person at all.

If you don't behave yourself, you'll be living a life worse than death.

"I am the first general of the Wurui Army." Han Wenguang said in a muffled voice.

Liu Huai picked up the bowl, took a few mouthfuls of wheat rice, and said casually, "Let me introduce myself first. I am Liu Huai, the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army. You may not know much about our army, but we actually have a military discussion system similar to the Jin army, where everyone can speak freely."

Although Han Wenguang had no idea what Liu Huai was talking about, he didn't dare to refute him. He just knelt on the ground and listened quietly.

"As for me, I have to lead by example. The military is democratic after all. I'm not some pedantic scholar who knows everything. Ultimately, I still need to listen to the opinions of professionals."

"For example, Shen Longzi, who was just interacting with you in a friendly manner, is an incredible interrogation expert. No matter how tough the captured gold thieves are, they will become soft bones after just a few moves by him."

"This guy patted his chest and promised me that if you were handed over to him, he would make you spit out the color of your wife's bellyband in less than half an hour."

"I advised him, General Han is not afraid of death. Can you still threaten him with death? General Han, guess what he said? He said that when the time comes, you will reveal all the information in order to die."

At this point, Liu Huai sighed slightly, shook his head and said, "I told him not to keep making things so bloody. The people dragged out of his tent are no longer recognizable. If this continues for a long time, who will still regard him as a human being?"

"Shen Longzi said it right, the Jin thieves are all afraid of power and have no moral integrity. No matter how ruthless, you can't pry open their mouths!"

“I tried to persuade him again, saying that your family is in charge of me, and my virtue is great now, which is enough to overshadow the intimidation. Let me try first, and if it doesn’t work, I’ll let you come.”

"Haha, that's how I snatched you, General Han, from that guy. But even now, he's still very dissatisfied and angry, and he's holding back his anger."

At this point, Liu Huai's bright smile gradually faded: "General Han."

Han Wenguang shuddered: "Yes."

Liu Huai asked coldly, "You won't embarrass me in front of my subordinates, will you?"

Han Wenguang shook his head repeatedly: "Of course not."

A brilliant smile returned to Liu Huai's face again. "In fact, our army has also captured the deputy commander of the navy. If General Han is really made of iron, then that's fine. General Han can turn himself into molten iron, and we can go find him for the answer."

Originally, Han Wenguang wanted to fabricate some military intelligence, but when he heard that the deputy commander of the navy had been captured, he gave up the idea instantly.

Compare the two confessions and then ask a few officers, and it will be clear who is lying.

Han Wenguang deflated like a punctured ball. "General Liu, please ask. I will tell you everything I know."

(End of this chapter)