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

Chapter 415: Having Your Paw

On December 2, when the news from Chao County and Lu'an reached Hefei, Wusheng Army General Da Huaizhen was stunned.

The news of the demise of three Meng'an generals, Guo Feng, Pushan Gao Han and Li Zhongxian, came almost at the same time. These three pieces of bad news made the Wusheng army dizzy.

First of all, there is the Jingnan Army heading towards Chao County. Now it is still a matter of thousands of Song troops crossing the river, and it is only a matter of gaining or losing a city or a place. If it is delayed for some time, the 30,000 troops on the front line will be in dire straits!

This does not include the subsequent political impact.

As for the Ezhou army in the direction of Lu'an, according to sporadic words from the soldiers of Pushan Gaohan who escaped back, this Song army suddenly appeared in Lu'an, fully equipped with armored cavalry and soldiers, catching the Jin army off guard and making it impossible to escape.

As for the number of troops in Ezhou, there are many different opinions. Some say 30,000, some say 70,000, and some even say 100,000.

The Wusheng Army was doing well in Luzhou, but suddenly they were caught in a situation where they were attacked from both sides.

December 2nd, evening.

"Nonsense! They said they had an army of 100,000. In my opinion, there are only 20,000 at most." A Jin army soldier Meng'an sneered.

The others looked at him, lowered their heads and said nothing.

This is the inner city in the southern part of Luzhou City.

Da Huaizheng did not occupy the comfortable residences of the wealthy families in the county government, but stationed with the army near the ferry terminal in Hefei City. After cleaning up the surrounding houses, he expanded the original warehouse city a little bit, and then protected the logistics and supplies tightly with strict military discipline.

In the central army tent, sitting at the top was Da Huaizhen with an uncertain expression, while the five genuine Meng'an of Wusheng Army and the leaders of the six Han'er Army sat below. The entire army was holding a military meeting.

"Dahongshan, are you really a rogue or not? Is there any difference between 20,000 and 100,000? We can't win now anyway." A Meng'an sitting below said with a sneer.

"Gao Hu, you are a waste because you haven't taken over those two cities in such a long time. Why are you venting your anger on me?" Da Hongshan also responded coldly.

"you……"

"Alright! Dahongshan, we split up our forces to capture cities and territories, and who stayed behind was decided by drawing lots. You had no objections beforehand, so don't be so sarcastic now." Da Huaizhen, who was sitting at the head of the group, saw that the topic was a bit off, and quickly stopped it seriously: "As for Gaohu and Yelu Tula, the situation is critical, and I personally ordered you two to come back. If you are angry, you can tell me directly!"

The two Meng'an men whose names were called quickly stood up, bowed and said they dared not.

"The Song dogs coming from Lu'an have the flag Cheng, and it is very likely that they are the army led by Cheng Min himself. According to your majesty's prior order, I have sent this message to the emperor. Do you have any objection?" Da Huaizheng continued.

Who dares to object to this?

"Okay, so what should we do next? Do you have any ideas? There are no taboos in military discussions, so just speak up."

Several Meng'an looked at each other, and for a moment no one was willing to take the lead.

"General, I'd like to ask, have you issued an order for Huo Luyou and Xiao Mingzhi, who are besieging Anfeng, to return?"

The speaker was another soldier who stayed behind, named Pushanshou.

"Indeed, the order has been issued, but they have a long way to go and won't be able to return within two days." Da Huaizhen still maintained the most basic calmness: "The military meeting will be tonight, and the action must be taken tomorrow at the latest. They are of no use anyway."

"In other words, the only soldiers we have available are five regular troops from Meng'an and over 8,000 Han'er soldiers?"

"Of course!"

"Then I dare to tell you the truth. With this amount of troops under Cheng Min's command, it is already difficult to defend Luzhou. If he sends troops to attack Chao County, Luzhou will be lost!"

"I've seen the terrain of Chao County. The line between Chao County and Dongguan is not so easy to open up." Bald Meng'an, who had been silent all the time, shook his head and said.

"Huang Hengsan, look at what you're saying. You know how easy it was to capture Chao County last time." Da Hongshan sneered, "Although the situation is difficult, don't be discouraged."

"Last time, we were able to take advantage of the victory in Luzhou and catch the Song army off guard. Furthermore, the Song army was already losing their nerve and didn't even try to defend themselves. We won't be so lucky this time." Huang Hengsan ignored Da Hongshan and raised his head to Da Huaizhen with a serious face. "You know Guo Feng's abilities, General Manager. Even if they were ambushed while transporting grain and lost some troops, the entire army didn't even last a single day in Chao County. This is incredible."

"So what do you think is going on?"

"The military report sent by His Majesty states that the Jingnan Army annihilated two Meng'an soldiers and easily crossed the river, destroying the navy's camp. The former indicates that the Jingnan Army's land combat capability is not vulnerable, and the latter indicates that the Jingnan Army must have been accompanied by a navy."

"I suspect that Chao County's water gate was breached first, and the Song army attacked the docks. Guo Feng was distracted by trying to protect the baggage, and his entire army was wiped out."

"So what if we have navy? We also have ships!" Da Hongshan retorted gritting his teeth.

"They're landlubbers, but so are we. The difference is they have warships, while we only have merchant sampans," Huang Hengsan said gravely. "And they can also recruit lake dwellers to supplement their navy. Think carefully, with the Song navy roaming Chaohu Lake, what can the Jin Dynasty do? Forget about this fleet crossing the river. Even those two bastards, Yang Chun and Liang Zichu, what can you do to them?"

"Can……"

"Hongshan, shut up. Lao San, continue speaking." Da Huaizheng stopped Da Hongshan from arguing and asked Huang Hengsan to continue to clarify everyone's ideas at the military meeting.

"Yes!" Huang Hengsan bowed and continued, "General Manager, I only want to say one thing. Chao County now has a navy and cavalry. Whether the navy is reliable or not is open to question, but it is definitely more reliable than the boatmen recruited by the Wusheng Army. Whether the Song Gou cavalry and infantry can fight is open to question, but with the city walls, Chao County must not rush down."

"We now have only two choices: deploy our forces in Hefei and prepare to defend against Cheng Min's attack, or we can attack Chao County with all our might." General Huang Hengsan spoke his mind. "There's a deer on the left and an elk on the right, but only one arrow. Trying to have both will result in neither."

"Manager, make a decision quickly!" "What do you think?" Da Huaizheng asked the other Meng'ans.

"I think we should attack Chao County with all our might. If we can cut off His Majesty's food supply, we'll have a lot of fun." Pu Sanshou immediately said, "If that happens, not only will we, the marching soldiers, perish, but the general manager will also be unable to escape."

"What happens after we capture Chao County?" Yelu Tula retorted, "Will we also be trapped in Huaixi by Cheng Min?"

"So what do you say?"

"Our army has seven Meng'an and six thousand Qian troops. Cheng Min's troops are still in Lu'an, which is more than two hundred miles away from Hefei. I don't believe they can fly over. There is at least a ten-day gap in time. Let's deal with Chao County first, then return to the army to hold off Cheng Min and wait for Your Majesty!" Yelu Tula slammed his palm.

"Did you think what I just said was bullshit? Seven Meng'ans, as if you can conquer the world with seven Meng'ans in your hands!" Huang Hengsan responded coldly.

Everyone in the hall was talking, but Da Huaizhen, who was sitting in the main seat, was in a dilemma.

He was a high-ranking military official and was aware of the overall plan. The Eastern Route Army's role was merely to lure the enemy for the Central Route Army, and it was only because their progress was too smooth that they had reached the current situation.

Now that Cheng Min has arrived with a large army, it means that the war has returned to the direction planned.

The gaps in Xiangfan and other places were torn open by the Eastern Army.

In this situation, Da Huaizhen should have followed his plan and defended Luzhou impregnably. Whether to withdraw or continue the attack, or which route to attack, was up to Wanyan Liang to decide.

As for the Jingnan army that occupied Chao County and Dongguan, Wanyan Liang would definitely take it into consideration. Wouldn't he just destroy it when he returned?

As a member of the Bohai clan, a cousin of Da Huaizhong, and an important official of the country, this choice would be beneficial to everyone.

But as the commander-in-chief of the Wusheng Army, this account cannot be settled in this way.

Let's not even mention that the Wusheng Army had already lost three Meng'an troops, nor that they had spent over half a month sweeping the rear, barely capturing any cities. His Majesty was personally fighting on the front lines, while you were guarding the rear and completely shutting down the food supply. In the end, His Majesty had to personally return to the army to grab food.

Are you, Da Huaizhen, tired of living?

Do you really think that the Jin Dynasty’s military law is just for show?
Even if he didn't die, Da Huaizhen's military and political life would definitely be over.

But if the entire Wusheng Army attacked Chao County and left Hefei to Cheng Min, it would be even more disastrous.

Hefei could be considered a more powerful Chao County, and Cheng Min's influence in Huaixi was simply not comparable to that of the Jingnan Army. If the Song army used Hefei as a base to radiate the surrounding areas, not only would Wanyan Liang be forced to withdraw immediately, but Tushan Zhen, who had also advanced alone into Huaidong, would also be forced to flee.

The Eastern Army's southern expedition plan is very likely to end with the change of hands of Hefei.

Such a heavy responsibility, not to mention that Da Huaizhen couldn't bear it, even his cousin Da Huaizhong would roll his eyes if he came.

So even if he can no longer have his cake and eat it too, Da Huaizhen has to bite the bullet and fight for it.

Thinking of this, Da Huaizhen secretly gritted his teeth and sat up straight: "Pass on my order."

The officers stood at attention with their hands lowered.

This was the Jin army's military council, where anyone with the qualifications to speak could speak freely and offer suggestions without guilt. That's why Pu Sanshou dared to say something like "Even the General Manager couldn't escape" and why Huang Hengsan dared to publicly retort to Yelü Tula.

Of course, the commander-in-chief has the final decision-making power and absolute authority, but no matter whose suggestions are adopted in the end, the others must work hard to complete them. If things don't go well, no one can use the words in the military meeting to hold them accountable.

"I have made up my mind. Dahongshan, Pu Sanshou, Huang Hengsan, Yelu Tula, the four of you, Meng'an, come with me and go to Suzhengchao County early tomorrow morning."

"Here!"

"Gao Hu, your troops have suffered the most casualties. I'll leave you with 2,000 signed troops. In two days at the latest, Huo Luyou and Xiao Mingzhi will return with their troops. By then, you will have 3,000 regular troops and 4,000 Han signed troops." Da Huaizhen said sternly, "No matter who comes, hold Hefei!"

"Here!"

"Are there any other difficulties?"

"Captain, I'm not afraid of fighting. If I were back home, in a city as formidable as Hefei, I could hold it even with only 3,000, let alone 7,000 men." Gao Hu looked troubled. "But this is enemy territory after all. We've only held this city for less than a month. Even if we conscripted the men, Luzhou's defenses would be vulnerable on all sides."

"How are you doing?"

"General, I would like to request a military order. If the enemy force is too strong, I will be allowed to abandon the outer city and defend the inner city to the death."

Da Huaizhen thought for a moment and said, "Then you have to promise me to reserve some troops for a counterattack."

"Order!"

"Gao Han, Li Erlang, and Guo Laoge all perished at the hands of the Song dogs. How could our Wusheng Army have ever suffered such a great loss?" Da Huaizhen gritted his teeth and looked around at the soldiers in the tent: "If I don't avenge this, not only will I not be able to hold my head up in the army, but you will also be laughed at for the rest of your lives!"

"Aren't you always complaining about your lack of achievements? If you can stop Cheng Min and destroy that group of Song troops, you will have achieved the highest merit! You will be awarded titles for your wives and children, no problem at all!"

"Everyone, return to camp and organize your troops. Prepare dinner at dawn. Dismantle camp at dawn. Take Chao County and Dongguan, and annihilate those troublesome Song dogs!"

(End of this chapter)