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

Chapter 451 A worthy death, no need to complain

By the time the exact news of Zhang Rong's death reached Guazhou Ferry, it was already December 13th.

Lu You received this news just after he had sent the last batch of Huaidong troops on board, and was immediately stunned.

To be fair, this news was not unexpected. Both Liu Qi and Zhang Rong, the person involved, were mentally prepared for this result.

Because if you want to contain an enemy army with a total number of 30,000 troops, which is advancing rapidly and has no damage to its strength, there is no other way except to fight a fierce battle.

Restraining the enemy is not like playing dumb. If I say don't move, you really can't move.

Examples are readily available. This was the case when the Jin army bypassed an important town in Hebei and attacked Bianliang during the Jing Kang period.

Although the Song Dynasty had troops stationed in the frontline cities at that time, the Song Dynasty was unable to defeat even the remnants of the Liao Dynasty, so it naturally posed no threat to the Jin army, and the Jin army would naturally act with impunity.

Similarly, Tu Shanzhen's troops were equally unscrupulous in making any strategic moves since they did not feel any real threat from the beginning to the end.

Anyway, since crossing the Huai River, the Jin army has been invincible against the Song army, so why should they worry about the risks of military adventures?
If Tushan Zhen really discovered that Liu Qi led his elite troops to Huaixi, he would also send more than 10,000 elite soldiers to pursue and kill him, and launch attacks on Yangzhou and Guazhou Ferry at the same time. Zhang Rong, Jia Hezhong, and Li Heng would be helpless and would have no way to restrain him.

The only way to make Tushan Zhen's 30,000 troops hesitate is to hurt them and give them the illusion that a decisive battle is about to be launched in Huaidong, so that they will be more cautious in choosing strategic actions, thereby buying time for the war in Huaixi.

This is called bluffing.

If the Jin army wanted to believe the Song army's momentum, the only way was to fight a powerful battle.

However, when friendly forces are unable to unite, those who lead elite troops to raid the enemy will inevitably achieve some results in the beginning, but they will also be the first to bear the brunt of the counterattack by the Jin army and will find it difficult to escape.

However, even though he had anticipated this, it did not stop Lu You from feeling heartbroken at this moment. He felt dizzy and his expression was a little dazed.

Thinking of Liu Qi who was determined to die, and Liu Huai and Cheng Min who were preparing to launch a battle, an idea suddenly came to Lu You's mind.

Are the bravest and most loyal people always the first to die?
After standing in the cold wind for a while, Lu You mounted his warhorse and returned to the Guazhou Ferry camp with his guards. He came to the commander's tent and said goodbye to Ye Yiwen.

"Mr. Ye, I'm going to Huaixi."

Ye Yiwen's hands trembled slightly. Although he had expected this, he was still reluctant to leave. "Why has it come to this? I still need you to assist me in the military affairs of Huaidong. Why do you have to go to Huaixi?"

Lu You bowed and said, "Prime Minister Ye, there will be no more major battles in Huaidong. With the assistance of the generals, Prime Minister Ye will be able to coordinate the overall situation without any problems. However, you must not entrust any matters that require your personal efforts to others."

Military affairs can be difficult or simple at the same time, but the key is that you must never be lazy. You must always use your own eyes to see how the soldiers eat, how they are dressed, whether they can receive rewards, whether the horses have been fed with fodder, and whether the camps have been built.

If you don't look at these issues personally, you will easily be fooled by your subordinates.

Many scholars and officials in the Song Dynasty made fools of themselves in military affairs, which was entirely due to the fact that they had been away from the grassroots for too long.

After experiencing it personally, Ye Yiwen finally put aside his airs as a Privy Councilor and began to take charge of everything himself. As a result, he has recently made many remarkable moves and is no longer a scholar-official who knows nothing about military affairs.

With the assistance of Zhang Zigai, Shao Hongyuan and others, even if Ye Yiwen cannot launch a large-scale counterattack, he can still maintain the status quo.

However, Ye Yiwen was reluctant to leave. He stood up from the main seat and held Lu You's hands. "My dear nephew, war is a dangerous time. You are just a scholar. Even if you go to Huaixi, how much can you contribute?"

Lu You sighed deeply, and also grasped Ye Yiwen's hands, saying sincerely, "Mr. Ye, do you know that the Shandong righteous army's march southward also had its ups and downs? At that time, many Shandong heroes said that the Song Dynasty had no favors for Shandong, so why should they risk their lives for the Song Dynasty?

And now, they are still fighting to the death for the Song Dynasty and the Jin bandits. As the one who instigated them to move south, how can I sit back and watch the outcome in Huaidong? Even if I win, how can I face the Shandong heroes who sacrificed their lives in this battle a hundred years from now?

Ye Yiwen was speechless.

"As for the weak scholar..." Lu You chuckled self-deprecatingly, "After all, I, nephew, can still wield a spear and raise a long sword. If Huaixi can truly triumph without a scholar like me, wielding a sword and spear, what should we do?" Ye Yiwen paused, then said with difficulty, "My dear nephew, I know you were inspired by the news of Zhang Diwan's martyrdom, but you should reconsider whether such impulsive actions will benefit or harm the overall situation."

Lu You shook his head: "Mr. Ye, there is no great trend. All the plans that can be made have been made, and all the things that can be calculated have been calculated. What follows is the battle on the battlefield, the time to fight to the death.

If we can win in Huaixi, then we can recover the Huaibei and Huainan regions, Shandong can be recovered, and the Central Plains are within sight. If we fail, then the Huaibei and Huainan regions will no longer be ours, Shandong will be isolated and struggling to survive, Jingxiang will be lost, the Yangtze River will be difficult to pacify, and the Song Dynasty will not have many years left to live.

Lu You said earnestly, "If I end up in that situation, what's the point of living? It would be better to die on the battlefield with my comrades and friends. I hope Mr. Ye will grant my wish."

Ye Yiwen knew that he could not persuade Lu You, so he could only sigh. After returning to his desk, he wrote a document and handed it to Lu You: "My dear nephew, I am not the Privy Councilor at this time. I just want to tell you as your uncle, be careful in everything. You must survive no matter what. You are still young. As long as you survive, there is hope."

Lu You opened his mouth, nodded in agreement, then bowed deeply and said goodbye.

Ye Yiwen sat at his desk, stunned for a moment before calling over two military advisors and quickly writing down a few documents: "You two, go find Shao Hongyuan and Zhang Zigai respectively and ask them, I intend to die at Guazhou Ferry, what are their plans? Do you want to die with me? Or do you want to be traitors?"

The two military staff officers did not dare to delay. They took the document, checked the seal, put it in their arms, and quickly mounted their horses and left.

"Zhang Rong died in battle yesterday." Meanwhile, Liu Qi, standing on the helm tower, wrapped tightly in a cloak, said to Li Bao beside him, "Just received the news."

Li Bao's hands gripping the rudder trembled slightly, his eyes reddened, but his voice remained firm: "Not bad, Zhang Diwan's death was a worthy one."

Liu Qi looked up at the sky and muttered to himself, "Yes, it's a good death, what a blessing! Since ancient times, generals commanding large armies have always been feared by their superiors and subordinates. To be able to fight to the death in the battlefield where I am most needed is a rare opportunity!"

Li Bao looked at Liu Qi and asked, "So, the Commander-in-Chief also wants to die a worthy death?"

Liu Qi asked in return, "Don't you think so, Mr. Li?"

Li Bao shook his head: "Of course not. I want to see my children and grandchildren, open two large gardens, and grow some fruits and vegetables. I want to go back to my hometown, gather my Li family members, and expand my family."

Liu Qi smiled and said, "I didn't expect that Chief Steward Li would be so leisurely and elegant."

Li Bao shook his head again. "It's not that I have the leisure to do so, but in a battle, victory always comes down to inflicting more casualties on the enemy, not just your own. Commander Liu is mistaken."

Liu Qi nodded: "Perhaps, but Zhang Diwan went to his death because of my words. If I cannot fight to the death, I will never be able to face him in the afterlife."

Li Bao was silent for a moment, then said, "Then let's fight to the death."

Liu Qi nodded, took out a pill from his arms, put it into the warm wine bag and shook it. After the pill dissolved, he raised the wine bag and drank it all in one gulp.

After a while, a few blushes appeared on Liu Qi's originally pale face, as if he had returned to his youth and looked radiant.

Li Bao asked, "What is this?"

Liu Qi laughed and said, "This is the tiger and wolf medicine that will allow me to wield my sword again."

Li Bao nodded and said nothing more.

According to the plan, Liu Qi would personally lead the Huaidong army to land in Liyang County, Hezhou after Wanyan Liang withdrew his troops, then head west to capture Hanshan County, and then advance westward along Baochan Mountain to arrive at the Chao County battlefield.

Li Bao wanted to continue upstream, enter Yuxi from Yuxikou, and block the Jin army's waterway.

Together with the Huaixi army led by Yu Yunwen and Li Xianzhong and the Chizhou army, the several parties worked together to block Wanyan Liang in Chao County.

Of course, no matter how perfect a plan is, it still needs people to execute it, and it is impossible for there to be no variables. At this time, the main force of the Jin army had arrived at Dongguan.

(End of this chapter)