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

Chapter 423 Dilemma

The harassment by the Jingnan Army never stopped.

Among them, some gained a lot like Luo Shenyan, while others returned empty-handed like Zhang Xiaoyi.

In order to avoid the harassment from inexplicably turning into a decisive battle, Liu Huai strictly controlled the number of troops sent into battle, and the main generals and deputy generals of each army could only bring a maximum of 200 personal guards.

You must not scare the Wusheng Army away, otherwise where can I find the Jin army to train their troops?

But even so, at night, Xin Qiji still gave Liu Huai a big job.

As the de facto deputy general of the Jingnan Army, Xin Qiji had a comprehensive consideration and understood Liu Huai's overall plan.

However, as the leader of the Tianping Army and the face of the Jingnan Army, he had to consider the position of the Tianping Army as a whole in the Jingnan Army.

Even if Xin Qiji and others were willing to obey Liu Huai's orders unconditionally, theoretically, the supreme leader of the Tianping Army was still Geng Jing. As long as Geng Jing did not bow to Liu Huai, the Tianping Army would remain an independent existence.

Therefore, Xin Qiji had to lead the Tianping Army to achieve great merit in order to gain a foothold in the Jingnan Army which was full of heroes.

Liu Huai also understood this mentality, but no matter what, it is better to want to achieve success than to be afraid of fighting.

On the night of December 7, Xin Qiji fully utilized the power in his hands and led Jia Rui and Li Tieqiang to launch a surprise attack on the Jin army camp.

The five hundred elite soldiers were divided into two groups. One group of four hundred people was led by Jia Rui, who quietly came to the foot of Guishan Mountain along Chaohu Lake.

Another group of 100 cavalrymen was led by Xin Qiji himself and marched along the official road.

It was past midnight and the moon was at its highest point in the sky. At Jia Rui's command, four hundred riders simultaneously lit torches, each holding two torches, and shouted "Kill the bandits!" The noise shook the heavens.

The Jin army also responded quickly. They recalled Ye Bushou to inquire about the situation and sent troops to guard the camp, but did not send troops hastily for the time being.

The darkness of night reduces an army's organization to a minimum, often leaving soldiers unable to find their generals and generals unable to find their soldiers, leading to confusion in both victory and defeat. Any mature army will avoid relying on luck for victory or defeat and will avoid night battles whenever possible.

Although Jia Rui had not launched an offensive, the Jin army commander only saw a continuous flame when he looked down from Guishan Mountain. Judging from the torches, there were more than a thousand soldiers and horses. He did not dare to be careless and simply woke up the main army from their sleep and sent them to guard various places in the camp.

The Jin Dynasty had a system of signed soldiers. These signed soldiers, who served as civilian laborers and cannon fodder, were treated badly and were usually in a semi-riotous state. At this time, it was even more chaotic. Therefore, some regular troops left the camp and went to the signed soldiers' camp to suppress them to prevent any camp riots.

There was a camp of the Qian army that was camped behind the Jin army camp on the road. Therefore, Yelu Tula also sent a group of troops to suppress the Qian army camp along the official road.

Just when this troop had just left the camp and everyone else's attention was attracted by Jia Rui, Xin Qiji led more than a hundred armored cavalrymen and headed west along the official road, bypassing the heavily guarded Yelu Tula camp and heading straight for the Qian army camp behind it.

Yelu Tula saw it clearly from the watchtower of the camp and was stunned. The Jin soldiers who were trapped in the situation had no idea that more than a hundred armored cavalry were approaching them rapidly. By the time they discovered it, it was too late.

"who?!"

"Password!"

"Fuck your mother!" Xin Qiji cursed loudly, holding a heavy sword in each hand and charging directly into the marching column of the Jin army, like a walking meat grinder, causing a bloody storm.

These Jin troops were sent out to suppress the situation in the Qian army camp and had no intention of fighting with regular troops. Most of them were not wearing armor and were completely unprepared for the sudden attack of armored cavalry. They were quickly killed and fled in all directions.

Xin Qiji tightened the white linen wrapped around his arm, and then charged directly into the camp of the Qian army.

More than a hundred armored cavalrymen were like catfish falling into a school of sardines, causing even more chaos in the already turbulent army camp.

Before the Jin army reinforcements arrived, the camp of the Qian army had been completely blown up, the wooden fences of the camp were pushed down, the food and grass were set on fire, and nearly a thousand Qian soldiers fled through the gaps in the wooden fences and disappeared into the night.

Xin Qiji was not interested in fighting, so he threw away all the torches in his hands and blew the horn to retreat. The more than 500 cavalrymen suffered almost no casualties. After turning the Jin army camp into a mess, they retreated in one piece.

Faced with such a result, Da Huaizhen no longer had the demeanor of a general. Angrily, he summoned four Meng'ans to discuss countermeasures.

"If this continues, our army will collapse in just two or three nights. What can we do?"

Da Huaizhen's question only caused silence. The four marching Meng'an looked at each other, unable to come up with any brilliant ideas for a while.

After a long while, Yelu Tula, still somewhat embarrassed, said, "General Manager, should we withdraw our troops?"

"How can we withdraw now?" The retort came from Huang Hengsan, who had previously disagreed with the dispatch. This important general now said sternly, "If we withdraw now, morale will surely drop, and the Song army will surely pursue us. We'll then have no choice but to abandon our military supplies and return to Hefei. Not to mention the losses along the way, the morale of the entire Wusheng army will collapse, and Hefei will be undefendable!"

Yelu Tula thought about it and agreed with this logic. He looked up to the sky and sighed, "Is there really no way forward or backward?"

Da Hongshan's eyes were red. "How can you say we can't advance or retreat? This battle clearly requires advance, not retreat. Wasn't this principle made clear when we sent the troops? If you retreat now, even if you survive, who will forgive you?" Pu Sanshou patted Da Hongshan's arm. "Ashan, this is a military meeting! Don't say anything irrelevant."

Huang Hengsan took over the conversation: "General Manager, don't look at Song Gou's rampant behavior today, but Song Gou only uses these tactics when our rules are not in order and our camp is incomplete.

Yelu, think about it, if the camp had been built according to the regulations, with a passage between the front camp and the front camp, how could that group of thieves have easily broken in?

Yelu Tula nodded slowly.

The tunnel does not require any high-tech content. The simplest way is to put up wooden fences on both sides of the official road and pile up deer antlers to make a simple troop transport tunnel.

It's just that there is not enough time today.

"The Song troops attacking the camp must be the elite of the entire army." Huang Hengsan continued his analysis. "These elite Song troops can only number a thousand. The reason is simple. If they had six or seven thousand reliable soldiers, why would they defend the city? Wouldn't it be better to just engage our army in a direct battle?"
There are no reinforcements outside, and no city to defend inside. The main force of the Song army is now in the south of the Yangtze River. The defenders of Chao County have no reinforcements, and being trapped in an isolated city is simply seeking death.

Da Huaizhen frowned, "Old Third, are you saying that Song Gou is acting so desperately because he's actually frivolous?"

Huang Heng nodded three times. "That's right. I estimate that there were three to four thousand elite Song troops crossing the river. But when they fought against the Wurui Army's First Meng'an and the Shenfeng Army's remaining troops, they couldn't have escaped unscathed. They fought again at Dongguan and Chao County, and they were exhausted and suffered many casualties.

Now there are only two thousand reliable elite soldiers and horses, and the rest are defeated soldiers and civilians from the Song State like Brother Liang.

But there is a very likely person among them who has the final say and can control these scattered bandits."

His words were well-reasoned and made the generals of Wusheng Army nod their heads repeatedly.

Pu Sanshou hesitated and said, "So, Old Huang means to take a defensive stance first, build a solid camp, and then attack the city?"

Huang Hengsan shook his head. "No. Let's not even talk about our army's morale, the availability of food and fodder on the front lines, or when the supply lines will be opened. In my opinion, the commander-in-chief of the Jingnan Army is a brilliant man. He couldn't be unaware of his own shortcomings. He's sending his troops on rotation to fight for training purposes."

If our army hesitates for a few more days, allowing him to organize the army and build up morale, then it will be even more difficult."

Da Huaizhen nodded, looked into Huang Hengsan's eyes and asked, "Then what do you mean, Old Third?"

"Don't wait any longer! Tomorrow we'll have the entire army attack. Chao County's walls are short, so we can scale them with ladders and hooks. The general manager will stay, and I'll lead the troops up to the city walls and fight!" Huang Hengsan's tone turned vicious. "The Song dogs' only weakness right now is that they don't dare to fight our army in a formal battle. If we don't seize this opportunity to eliminate these beasts, we might never be able to defeat them!"

Da Huaizheng stood up and paced back and forth in the general's tent.

This is naturally a difficult decision, because sending the entire army forward is likely to mean burning your boats, and if you encounter setbacks, you won't even be able to retreat.

Is Huang Hengsan’s inference correct?
Of course, there is some truth to it.

If the situation were reversed, if he had three or four thousand elite soldiers at his disposal, he would not have retreated to Chao County to defend it.

But what if something unexpected happens?

What if these Song dogs are really hiding their abilities?

Da Huaizheng pondered for a moment, and suddenly remembered his cousin and His Majesty in Hezhou, and his heart was shocked.

Now is really not the time to weigh the pros and cons!

The two most important people in my life were trapped by the Yangtze River. Did I still care about my life? Did I not dare to risk my life to open a way for them to escape?
Even if I have to bite it with my teeth, I will bite down Dongguan and Chaoxian!
"I've made up my mind!" Da Huaizhen drew his sword and thrust it into the ground, his eyes fierce. "Tomorrow the entire army will march forward to attack Chao County! Everyone, the success or failure of this southern expedition depends on us!"

"Here!"

The four marching soldiers responded in unison.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in the Xiangfan battlefield, Pushan Zhongyi also said the same thing: "The success or failure of this southern expedition depends on us."

Behind him was a group of elite soldiers wearing heavy armor.

In front of him was a towering city.

Under the dim moonlight, the plaque on the top of the city wall is vaguely visible.

It’s Fancheng!

(End of this chapter)