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

Chapter 452: The Second Level Situation is Strong for a Thousand Years

On December 13, after a series of chaotic events such as cleaning up captured prisoners and sneak attacks by the Song army in Jiangdong, the main force of the Jin army finally set out.

Han Tang led the Wu Rui Army westward to Hanshan County, and then personally led 3,000 elite cavalry to rush straight to Chao County along Baochan Mountain. After he prepared to set up a large camp at Tangshan, five miles west of Chao County, he led the elite cavalry south again, made a big circle, and attacked Dongguan directly from the north.

At the same time, Wanyan Alin led the Wuping Army from Hezhou, marched southwest along the Yangtze River, then occupied Yuxikou, turned northwest again, and attacked Dongguan along Yuxi.

In an instant, Dongguan was in a situation where it was attacked from both sides.

At the same time, Xin Qiji and Cheng Min were not idle. They sent elite cavalry to harass the Wu Rui army.

Although the Wu Rui Army's move made Dongguan dangerous, it also put itself in a dangerous position where it was alone and deep in the enemy's territory. If the Ezhou Army had not been on a long expedition and had just established a camp, and the Jingnan Army had just experienced a great battle and was in the process of reorganizing its forces, the Wu Rui Army might have become the first army to lose its combat effectiveness in this decisive battle in Huaixi.

Of course, as a flanking legion, Han Tang had no ability to attack. The real main force of the attack was the Wuping Army led by Wanyan Alin, and the Jin navy carrying siege equipment.

The Wanyan Zheng family was indeed in dire straits. The Jin navy originally consisted of 30,000 men, and three armies of 10,000 men would have been enough to make them a powerful force. However, not only was there little news of the 5,000 Weizhen troops remaining in Shandong, but the Wucheng Army was completely out of control.

If Su Baoheng was fine, there might be some way to bring Wu Chengjun back, but let's just forget about the Wanyan Zheng family.

Didn’t you see that even when Wanyan Liang sent the right military inspector Tushan Yongnian to personally go to Wucheng Army to announce the imperial edict, it was of no use?

Tushan Yongnian not only pulled back Wucheng's army, but also sent a document together with the left military inspector Tushan Zhen and several generals and deputy generals. The Jin army in Huaidong encountered a surprise attack by elite troops led by Zhang Rong. Although they killed Zhang Rong in battle and defeated the invading Song army, their headquarters also suffered heavy losses and could not take any other actions for a while.

If it was just Tushan Yongnian's words, Wanyan Liang might not have believed it, but the signatures of his two confidants, Guo Anguo and Pucha Shijie, forced him to believe it.

This document also proved Wu Chengjun's experience, so that Wanyan Liang could only comfort Wu Chengjun and could not force them to return to Hezhou to join the army.

The Wanyan Zheng family's troubles didn't end there. Awukui, deputy commander of the Divine Vanguard Army, remained behind to defend the water fort, but his fate remained unknown after the Jingnan Army breached it. The remaining 10,000-plus Jin naval forces suffered heavy losses after Li Dao's desperate assault and subsequent landing operations. They were forced to recruit sailors to serve in the regular army, even forcibly conscripting a group of fishermen from Huaibei and Huaibei regions.

This will inevitably lead to a decline in combat effectiveness, but the Wanyan Zheng family has no way to deal with it.

Because Wanyan Liang would have to rely on the Jin navy to fight for Chaohu Lake, in order to consolidate his rule over Huaixi after taking Hefei.

In other words, the cavalry and infantry will have to fight a tough battle next, and the navy will also face considerable challenges. Although the Chaohu navy and the Dongting Lake navy are both remnants, they are familiar with the terrain and are fighting on the interior, so their combat effectiveness on the water is also impressive.

It remains a big question whether the extremely weak Jin navy can defeat them in Chaohu Lake.

But as soon as they entered Yuxikou, the Wanyan Zheng family faced an unexpected and huge difficulty.

I don't know which wicked bastard actually blocked the waterway of Yuxi, and the blockage was quite deep. It cannot be seen on the water surface, but any boat with a deeper draft will be stuck on the bottom and cannot pass no matter what.

How could the methods of He Boqiu, a wealthy man from Yishui, be compared with those of the Wanyan Zheng family, who are half-landlubbers?
Wanyan Zhengjia had no choice but to send soldiers with excellent swimming skills to the river to salvage and clear the silt, while passing the message to Wanyan Alin, asking him to go ahead.

Wanyan Alin naturally knew that speed was of the essence in war. Seeing that Wanyan Zheng's family could no longer keep pace with the Wuping army, he immediately led his elite cavalry forward and attempted to raid the East Gate.

However, upon arriving at East Gate that afternoon, Wanyan Alin was immediately utterly irritated by its defenses. Yang Chun hadn't been sitting idle at East Gate these days, but had been diligently digging trenches and reinforcing the city walls. With the assistance of Chen Ruhui, a local tyrant, the once formidable East Gate, thanks to their combined efforts, had been transformed back into the crucial fortress it once was.

The so-called two passes that determine the safety of the north and the south refer to Dongguan and Zhaoguan. Even if these two places are abandoned, the terrain will not become flat. Rushu Mountain is still dangerous, Yuxi River is still surging, and coupled with the fearless soldiers, Dongguan suddenly becomes a kind of dragon's den and tiger's lair.

There is no way to deal with this kind of pass by means of surprise attack, the only option is to attack the city honestly.

Wanyan Alin raced back and forth several times, ultimately daring not to enter the range of the Song army's crossbowmen. He rolled his eyes at the East Gate, then lowered his head to think for a moment before saying to Li Kenan, the second-in-command of the Wuping Army, standing beside him: "Even though the East Gate is strategically located, we should attack it anyway. Drive the Qian army forward and allow them to go down to the city walls with only shields and spears to test their prowess."

Li Kenan bowed and agreed.

In just a moment, more than 600 conscripted soldiers and civilians were driven up, each holding a door-shaped shield in his hand, trembling in front of the iron hooves of the Jin army.

Li Kenan galloped back and forth in front of the army formation, shouting, "You Han slaves, this is your luck today. If you can just charge the city, you'll have something to eat tonight! If you gain any, you'll be promoted to the regular army, enjoying a good life, land, and even a big-butt wife."

At this point, Li Kenan's tone became dangerous: "But if you dare to fool me and retreat halfway, the knife in my hand will not recognize you!"

After saying that, Li Kenan waved his hand, and the armored cavalry behind the signing army shouted and rushed forward, using the swords and guns in their hands to drive the signing army towards the city of Dongguan.

The soldiers who signed the imperial edict were not fools. When they saw the situation at Dongguan, they immediately knew that it would be difficult to deal with. However, after all their objections were suppressed by the Jin army, the soldiers who signed the imperial edict could only shout slogans that no one could hear and ran towards Dongguan for their lives.

Liu Huai stood on the top of the city wall and said to Chen Ruhui, who looked reluctant beside him, "This is war. We can't be soft-hearted."

Chen Ruhui nodded, his round face filled with sadness. "General, I know all this, but when I think of these soldiers and civilians below the city, many of whom are our fellow Huaixi people, I feel a little sorry for them."

Liu Huai also sighed.

The Jin Dynasty's signing system for the military was indeed a peculiarity. Although there were precedents of using enemy civilians as cannon fodder in armies of all dynasties, it was rare to see a country like the Jin Dynasty institutionalizing and systematizing this practice, and even using it not only on enemy civilians but also on its own civilians, throughout history books.

If it were an ordinary Song general, he would probably be overjoyed when faced with such a sea of garbage that could legitimately gain military merit. However, as long as he stayed in the Jingnan Army for some time and heard the words "establishing rules and regulations and saving the people", he would always have some sense of right and wrong and know what to do and what not to do.

What's more, many people in the Jingnan Army had served as conscripted soldiers. Naturally, they felt some sympathy when they saw the people of Huaixi who were in the same situation as they had been.

But what Liu Huai said was true.

This is war, a battlefield of life and death, where there is no mercy.

Therefore, when the soldiers rushed to the first wooden fence, no matter how hesitant or reluctant Chen Ruhui was, he immediately ordered the arrows to be shot.

Hundreds of arrows were shot out at the same time, drawing an arc in the air and slamming heavily into the formation of the Qian army.

Amidst the sudden wails and screams, the Battle of Dongguan officially began.

(End of this chapter)