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

Chapter 453: Water Athletes Riding the Waves

As a veteran general, Wanyan Alin did not sit in his tent and wait for the success or failure of the front line. Instead, he personally brought several personal guards to watch the battle at the front line.

Soon, Wanyan Alin discovered that something was wrong.

Although these soldiers were only given a wooden spear and carried a wooden shield, and some even went into battle unarmed, Wanyan Alin did not expect these 600 soldiers to be able to break through the East Gate. However, it was still a bit unreasonable that no one reached the wall of the East Gate.

The wooden fence, which was nearly one person high, was not a natural barrier, and it was not difficult to climb over it. Several sections had even been pushed down, leaving a gap that could allow one person to pass through. However, the few strong soldiers who squeezed through were like stones sinking into the sea, and were never seen again.

At this time, the Qian army had suffered nearly a hundred casualties and finally could not hold on and suffered a major retreat.

When Wanyan Alin saw this scene, he tilted his head towards Li Kenan.

Li Kenan understood and led the armored cavalry to shout back and forth. First, he killed the person who took the lead in escaping on the spot, and then he arranged the armored cavalry into two rows and pressed forward to drive back the remaining signed troops.

Wanyan Alin watched as the signed troops launched another attack on the East Gate city wall, his brows furrowed tighter and tighter, and he silently calculated the number of people who crossed the wooden fence.

After being driven away and defeated several times, the remaining 300-odd soldiers sat paralyzed between the East Gate and the Jin army. They did not attack the East Gate and also refused to return to the camp. At this time, Wanyan Alin finally figured out the tricks of the East Gate defenders.

The Dongguan defenders dug a wide trench in front of the Dongguan city wall, which most likely drew water from the Yuxi River to form a simple moat.

The most crucial thing is the wooden fence that is as high as a person, which blocks everyone's view. People who climb over the fence will often miss a step and fall into the trench, leaving them to be shot one by one by the defenders on the city with bows and arrows.

For Wanyan Alin, this method is actually not very uncommon. The most recent one was a few years ago when the Mongols invaded the border. Wanyan Zheng's younger brother Wanyan Heshou did it in Taizhou, Linhuang Prefecture, and killed hundreds of Mongol cavalry in one fell swoop.

However, even after figuring out the tactics of the East Gate defenders, Wanyan Alin still couldn't come up with any good solution.

In fact, the most convenient and effective way to attack a city now is to attack it by both land and water. Because the city wall on the East Gate near Yuxi is very low, and Yang Chun does not have the ability and time to build another city wall, it can be regarded as a breakthrough point.

But Wanyan Alin looked south along Yuxi again, feeling angry.

Wanyan Zhengjia is really useless. It has been such a long time and he still hasn't sent the ship over.

With no other choice, Wanyan Alin once again used the traditional skills of the Jin Dynasty.

Good luck to the army!
Soon, before dark, the first wave of attack had been assembled. Nearly a thousand soldiers and laborers carrying various hoes and shovels swarmed towards the wooden fence. Not to mention armor, even their clothes were not complete, and the tools in their hands were also varied.

They rushed to the wooden fence under the arrows and began to swing their hoes to dig at the fence.

Before the moon reached its zenith, three armies advanced one after another. They suffered heavy losses from the arrows shot from the city walls, and in the end they became almost a mixed force.

However, after so many lives were lost, there were still some results. The wooden fence was mostly destroyed. Wanyan Alin took advantage of the night to see, and the result was indeed a trench about two meters wide and seven feet deep, but there was no water.

The trenches were already full of corpses, but Wanyan Alin didn't care. After returning to the camp, he ordered the troops to withdraw and gave those signed soldiers a good beating. Then he asked each camp to select brave men from the surviving signed soldiers and recruit them into the regular army.

This was not because Wanyan Alin was kind-hearted, but because it was already late. Although there were mountains and waters all around, the signing army still had a tendency to scatter, and the regular army had to spend more effort to gather the troops.

Fighting at night is simply too strenuous.

On the second day, December 14th, just after dawn, Wanyan Alin gave another order, asking each soldier to carry soil in a bamboo basket to fill the trench.

This was naturally another bloody torture for the Qian army. The Qian army also knew that their future was worrying, so they launched a small-scale uprising, but it was suppressed by the female Zhen army. Dozens of heads were hung on bamboo poles and stood behind the Qian army to intimidate these poor people to come forward and fight for their lives.

The effect was also very obvious. After a whole day of carrying soil to fill the trench, the trench under the East Gate City was finally filled with several wide roads, which were enough for siege equipment such as ladders to pass through.

On the morning of the fifteenth, two pieces of good news finally reached Wanyan Alin's ears. One was that the Wanyan Zheng family had finally dug through the Yuxi waterway, and the other was that Wanyan Liang, also escorted by the Weisheng Army and Hezhameng'an, had arrived at the gates of Dongguan.

Wanyan Liang also did not stay in the tent, but took Wanyan Alin directly to the foot of the East Gate City to observe the battle. After briefly introducing the battle situation at the East Gate, Wanyan Liang looked at the Jingnan flag on the top of the East Gate City Wall and remained silent.

Wanyan Alin didn't know what Wanyan Liang was thinking, but he didn't dare to disturb him. He also sat quietly on his horse, but at the same time signaled his deputy general to urge Wanyan Zhengjia to quickly move the siege equipment off the boat for assembly.

After a long pause, Wanyan Liang frowned and said, "So, the Jingnan bandits didn't take the initiative to leave the city to fight these past two days, but just stayed inside, fighting with bows and arrows?"

"exactly."

Wanyan Liang turned to look at Wanyan Alin and said, "Have you ever thought about why the Jingnan bandits, who were so fierce and powerful, and fought so swiftly and swiftly, are now trapped in the city?"

That's a good question.

After the defeat of Wusheng Army's Da Huaizhen, the Jin Dynasty's central government finally began to pay attention to this army that was blocking their retreat. After careful collection, the information about the Jingnan Army had been almost complete.

Even the document originally sent by Gao Jingshan, which was not taken seriously, was dug out again. After combining the events narrated by Gao Anren with the actions of the Jingnan Army after it moved south, the Jin Army Central Committee finally pieced together the battle record of the Jingnan Army.

It can be said that from the perspective of the Jin Dynasty, the blood debt accumulated by the Jingnan Army in the past few months is more than that accumulated by many Song Dynasty generals in their entire lives.

Not to mention that Liu Huai, also known as the Flying Tiger, was the culprit for the fall of Yizhou, and indirectly changed the Jin Kingdom's plan of southern expedition.

Because of all these things, even though Wanyan Liang was still extremely arrogant, he began to pay a little more attention to Liu Huai.

Wanyan Alin seemed to have thought about this issue long ago. Upon hearing this, he simply bowed and said, "Your Majesty, it is indeed so. In my opinion, this is definitely because the Jingnan rebels want to use the city walls and trenches to wear down our army's strength and morale. When our army attacks the city, they will come out and fight us.

My Wuping Army has also made all preparations. If the rebels dare to leave the city, the Wuping Army will rush out in full force and crush the Jingnan rebels head-on!"

"No... not quite right..." Although what Wanyan Alin said made sense, Wanyan Liang was also a military aristocrat who had been in the army since he was a child. Although he was an emperor, his military sense was still sharp. He instinctively felt that something was wrong. When he wanted to ask other people, he found that he had just left the camp in person. Not to mention that there was no veteran like Wanyan Bendu, even a flatterer like Li Tong was not around.

"The thief Liu is not easy to deal with. If he just wanted to defend the city, he wouldn't have come south to fight against our Great Jin." Wanyan Liang muttered to himself, "But he hasn't left the city to fight in the past two days. It can only be because A Lin is not his target... If he went out to fight, where would he leave the city..."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Alin opened his eyes wide: "Could it be that the thief Liu wants to murder Your Majesty?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Wanyan Alin himself denied this idea.

Surrounded by an army of 20,000 and protected by Hezhameng'an, it was simply a fantasy for the enemy to kill Wanyan Liang.

Unless the army falls into chaos.

But there was no reason for the army to rebel. They had already looted everything, and there was no order to force a crossing of the river, so why would they rebel?
Just as Wanyan Alin was thinking hard, Wanyan Liang's eyes suddenly widened to the extreme. He reined in his horse and looked back at the ship docked at the temporary pier on the Yuxi River.

That is where the Wanyan Zheng family’s flagship is located.

The last ships of the Jin navy were slowly stopping and, with the help of the civilians on the shore, were transporting siege equipment down.

"The Liu rebels are going to fight from the water." Wanyan Liang shouted, "The Jingnan rebels aren't targeting the cavalry or infantry, they're targeting the navy! Quickly notify the Zheng family and have them prepare!"

"Yes!" Wanyan Alin also reacted and immediately summoned the military envoy.

However, before any words were spoken, only a horn was heard from the surface of Yuxi River in the north, followed by the rumbling sound of drums.

A few breaths later, a vehicle or boat pierced through the morning mist on the water and rushed out amidst deafening shouts and cries of killing.

(End of this chapter)