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

Chapter 424 Who is waiting for you?

At the same time, a military meeting was in full swing in the Jin army camp on the west side of the river.

Although it was already late at night, the news that Cheng Min had rushed from Jingxiang to Luzhou still caused a small shock among the top brass of the Jin army and put the most important issue on the table.

Should we continue to fight for quarrying, or withdraw troops first to ensure the results of the southern expedition?

"I don't agree. Our Wuping Army has already captured Jiangxin Island. If we leave now, won't those men's deaths be in vain?" Wanyan Alin said indignantly.

"So, you say, in seven days, you've captured one island in the middle of the Yangtze River. How many more days will it take to gain a foothold on the other side of the Yangtze River?" Wanyan Bendu shook his head. "The army has less than twenty days' worth of food and fodder, and the food supply has been cut off. How can we not prepare in advance? Are we supposed to wait until we only have three days' worth of food and fodder before we find a way out?"

"Food and grass are secondary. The most important thing is that Cheng Min has arrived. He didn't come from the other side of the river, but went straight to Lu'an, which is only a hundred and fifty miles away from Luzhou." Wanyan Yuanyi said in a low voice.

Wanyan Alin slammed the table hard with a gloomy expression.

"Neighbor, let me speak a fair word." Wanyan Bendu was the elder after all, so he sighed and advised, "If there were only a few of us in this army, life and death would not matter. The achievement of destroying a country is right before our eyes, and I will not spare anyone's life."

"But His Majesty is in the army!" Wanyan Bendu's voice turned stern. "What if we are defeated? In this muddy and swampy area with its crisscrossing canals, do you really think your four legs can outrun the two legs of the Song dogs? Don't forget, we are now in enemy territory. With enemies on all sides and no troops at hand, what will Your Majesty do?"

"If Your Majesty is in trouble, I will not talk about fame, wealth, life or property. Do you believe that the entire Great Jin will be in chaos? If the Song dogs take the opportunity to launch a northern expedition, do you believe that the country will be destroyed?"

Wanyan Liang, who was sitting at the top, knew that this was Wanyan Bendu's advice, but he remained silent.

"But... you can let Tushan Zhen lead the army to join us." Wanyan Alin said with difficulty, gritting his teeth.

This was also a characteristic struggle between hawks and doves in the Great Jin Dynasty. Only at this time, Wanyan Bendu used the banner of His Majesty's safety to prevent Wanyan Alin from fighting back.

"We have to go find him to reunite!" Han Tang said, "Our food supply is cut off. Can we feed tens of thousands more mouths?"

"We can't go either. As the Minister of War, I know that Tushan Zhen's three thousand households' worth of military supplies are definitely not enough to support six thousand households plus tens of thousands of signed troops. If the Song army then sends only ten thousand people in steady pursuit, the six thousand households will be wiped out!" Wanyan Yuanyi retorted, "Don't forget, Shandong is in chaos. Without the two routes to Shandong, how can we find the resources to support 60,000 troops?"

"So, you say, our only option now is to retreat?"

"No, it's not a retreat." Wanyan Yuanyi pointed at the map. "What I mean is, don't be blinded by the victory of crossing the river. Isn't the role of the Eastern Army clear? The idea during the temple's planning was clearly to create a gap for the Wuzhe in Xiangfan. Now Cheng Min has arrived, and he's advancing alone from our rear. Isn't this exactly what they want?"

"I believe we should return quickly and capture all the Song forces entrenched in Dongguan and Chaoxian. We should then join forces with Da Huaizhen to annihilate Cheng Min." Wanyan Yuanyi turned and bowed to Wanyan Liang, saying, "Your Majesty, attacking the army is superior to attacking the city. The Song navy is gone, and the Yangtze River is here, unmoved. At worst, we can destroy Cheng Min and then force a crossing."

"Minister Wanyan, you're overthinking things." It was Wanyan Zhengjia who was speaking. These past few days of crossing the Yangtze River had been exhausting for him. While the others had at least been able to rest, he had to fight the entire match. "That Yu Yunwen on the other side is clearly a capable and determined man. What if he crosses the river and pursues us? Wouldn't our army be caught in a pincer attack from both Cheng Min and Li Xianzhong?"

"Him? Forget it! With the speed and combat power of our army, we can naturally defeat some weaklings and then tackle the tough ones. It won't delay anything." Han Tang waved his hand.

"Okay, then I have another question. Who told you that the Song navy was completely annihilated?" As the saying goes, "different professions are like different mountains." Wanyan Zhengjia felt that these army deer were just wishful thinking. "Li Bao is still alive, and Zhang Rong is still alive. These two have fought all the way from Shandong to Lianghuai. Do you think they will sit back and watch the war and do nothing?"

"Didn't Minister Su leave behind the Wu Cheng Army? Xu Wen is also a veteran general. Don't you trust him?"

"I'm not one to speak ill of others behind their backs, but I still have to say that Xu Dadao is absolutely no match for me. He can only fight, but he can't win." Although it was humiliating, after the decisive battle with the Dongting Lake navy, the Wanyan Zheng family still faced the huge gap between the two naval forces. "If I receive a military report tomorrow saying that the Wucheng army has been completely wiped out and Li Bao is attacking from downstream, I won't be surprised at all."

"Time is something that is hard to come by but easy to lose. We may only have a few days to cross the river, and after that..." Wanyan Zhengjia shook his head.

Wanyan Bendu snorted coldly and said nothing.

He was a veteran minister, unlike these young men. Ruling a large country was like cooking a small fish; there was no rush. The enemy across the river was clearly imposing, and a collision would be a bloody mess. Although they had captured Jiangxin Island, forcing a crossing of the Yangtze River in front of an army of tens of thousands seemed illogical.

As the situation changes, the strategy must also be adjusted accordingly. We cannot say that we had to cross the river at all costs a few days ago and we must remain consistent in the future.

What's wrong with a little setback? If Pushan Zhongyi can swallow Xiangfan, or even capture Jiangling and Hanyang, then even the two Huai regions can be firmly in his hands.

The results of this southern expedition were enough to give an account to everyone in the Jin Dynasty, and it was also enough for Wanyan Liang to stabilize his rule.

After annihilating the two elite Song armies, Wu Gong's and Cheng Min's, the only elite field armies left in the Song Dynasty were Wu Lin of Bashu and Li Xianzhong of Jiangnan.

After five years, we can attack Bashu, and after another five years, when our navy is fully developed, we can conquer Jiangnan. Isn’t that also great?

Wanyan Liang is in his prime, and he has more than two years to live. Why is he in such a hurry?
"Yite Nian, if we turn around and attack Cheng Min, which route should we take?" Wanyan Liang, who had been silent the whole time, said, "Tell me in detail."

Wanyan Yuanyi's spirits lifted, he bowed, pointed at the map with his scabbard, and said, "I think we should first attack the East Gate. If we want to attack the East Gate, we must take one part of the army through Hanshan and the other along Yuxi River, attacking from both sides."

"Then we captured Chao County, headed north to join up with the Wusheng Army, and after obtaining supplies, we attacked Chengmin together." "A bunch of Song dogs..." Wanyan Alin sneered.

"This bunch of Song dogs attacked and killed a Meng'an of the Shenfeng Army, defeated General Han's top Meng'an, captured Dongguan, captured Chao County, and then swallowed up a Meng'an of the Wusheng Army and nearly 10,000 soldiers." Wanyan Yuanyi turned around suddenly, and every word made the faces of the people involved darken. "Less than four days, just less than four days. General Wuping, can your Wuping Army act so efficiently?"

"Your Majesty, no matter how despicable those Song dogs were before, we should take them seriously now! Especially after they seized our military supplies. If we treat them as ordinary bandits, it will cause great chaos!"

Wanyan Liang slowly stepped down from the main seat, tapped the map with his finger, and then said to Wanyan Alin: "Can your Wuping army still fight?"

"Your Majesty, I still have six Meng'an left, and the boats are ready. As long as Your Majesty gives an order, the Wuping army can immediately cross the river and fight the bandits!" Wanyan Alin said with a bow.

"Han Tang of the Wurui Army will assist, and Wanyan Yuanyi of the Weisheng Army will be in reserve. Tomorrow, the entire army will advance and give the Song dogs' quarrying camp a hard blow!"

"Your Majesty..." Wanyan Yuanyi said anxiously.

"Wait until I finish." Wanyan Liang raised two fingers to stop Wanyan Yuanyi's advice: "Zheng family!"

"The minister is here."

"Su Qing is still unconscious... Sigh..." Wanyan Liang couldn't help but sigh. "You need to deploy warships so the army can advance and retreat. If the army establishes a foothold in Caishi, you need to build more pontoon bridges."

"Move the chariot." Wanyan turned to Wanyan Yuanyi and explained, "I know what you want to say, but the more you say that, the more we must not lose our composure."

"Yu Yunwen and Li Xianzhong on the other side are no scum. If we retreat hastily, they might bite us hard from behind."

"There are the Jin navy on the Yangtze River, naturally..." Wanyan Yuanyi retorted.

"There are differences in the navy. The Zheng family says Li Bao and Zhang Rong pose a significant threat. Things are constantly changing. The present situation is different from Wang Quan's time. The defeated forces facing Yu Sheren and Aligua are also different." Wanyan Liang said sternly to Wanyan Yuanyi, "I understand your point. It's simply that I bear the weight of our nation's responsibility and cannot afford to lose it. But have you ever considered that these soldiers accompanying me south are also part of our nation?"

"If we leave silently like this, even if Yu Yunwen doesn't chase us, Tu Shanzhen and his three Wan Hu downstream will be in danger of being surrounded. If I don't do something, won't I be failing the country?"

"Your Majesty, if that's the case, I don't want to engage in further tactical exchanges." Wanyan Yuanyi, imitating Hesheli Liangbi, mustered his courage and raised his head. "As the Minister of War, it's my duty to do so. However, I would like to ask Your Majesty, how many days will this offensive take? What if we penetrate the Song Dynasty's Caishi camp? What if we can't capture it?"

Prime Minister Li Tong, who had been unable to get a word in, finally seized the opportunity and pointed at Wanyan Yuanyi and shouted, "How dare you!"

"Five days, I only need five days." Wanyan Liang waved Li Tong to silence him. He had a plan in mind and quickly replied, "However, the details will depend on the actions of Da Huaizhen and the navy."

"If we can capture the Caishi Camp, there will be no more soldiers left in the several states south of the Yangtze River, and we can advance or retreat at ease."

"If we can't capture the Caishi camp, or even inflict significant casualties on the Song army, then there's no need to say more. Tell Tushan Zhen to retreat in an orderly manner. We'll turn back to Luzhou and look for an opportunity to fight. We still have twenty days' worth of food and supplies, and if we can gather more from the surrounding areas, we won't lose another five days."

"Of course, this is the worst-case scenario. Although the Song army has a camp, which is somewhat impressive, it is still no match for the battle-hardened Jin army."

"Your Majesty is wrong. This is not the worst-case scenario." Wanyan Yuanyi said word by word, "If Da Huaizhen is defeated, Luzhou and Chao County will all fall into Song hands, and Cheng Min will join forces with those Song dogs. That would be the worst-case scenario."

"Yite Nian, Da Huaizhen, like all of you, was selected by me over the past ten years to lead the army." Wanyan Liang frowned and said, "I am putting him behind me this time only for the sake of the overall situation, not because the Wusheng Army is a bunch of useless people."

"Although he lost three Meng'an, two were eliminated by Cheng Min and one was ambushed by those Song dogs, these were not his faults. He still has seven Meng'an under his command, and he also has the fortified city of Luzhou. I don't expect him to be able to defeat Cheng Min's troops, but defending a place shouldn't be difficult. Why not trust him this time?"

Wanyan Yuanyi thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Since that's the case, Your Majesty, please make an agreement with me. If we can't capture the Caishi camp within five days, we must immediately return to deal with Cheng Min!"

After these words were spoken, not only Wanyan Alin, but Han Tang also glared at Wanyan Yuanyi.

Wanyan Yuanyi's expression remained unchanged. He continued to address Wanyan Liang, "The troops can't sit idle either. Start crafting siege equipment components now. If we advance, the navy will carry them across the river to attack Dangtu. If we retreat, the navy will carry them to Chao County in the east. They'll be used regardless."

"Okay, this is the advice of a mature and prudent man for the country. I promise you!" Wanyan Liang agreed very readily.

The other general managers naturally had no objection and immediately said that they had received the order.

"In that case, return to camp and prepare for battle!" Wanyan Liang drew his sword and pointed at the quarry on the map. "You all think of yourselves as heroes, but tomorrow we'll know whether you're truly brave or cowardly. Give me your all and take down the quarry camp!"

"Yes!" The generals responded loudly.

Wanyan Bendu looked at this scene, without showing any expression on his face, but sighed in his heart.

(End of this chapter)