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

Chapter 457: The Night Covers the Moon and Hidden Military Shadows

On the 16th, after a day's rest, the main force of the Jin army broke camp, leaving behind the devastated East Gate and marched towards Chao County.

Han Tang's Wu Rui army worked in vain and could only return to Tangshan on the northwest side of Chao County to consolidate the camp and hold out against the Jingnan army that was defending Chao County and the Ezhou army that had established large and small camps on Guishan Mountain.

On the afternoon of the 16th, the main force of the Jin army crossed the Qingxi River on the southeast side of Chao County and set up camp on the banks of the Qingxi River, as if they wanted to use the Qingxi River to block possible pursuers.

Afterwards, the Jin army camp suffered a night attack from Liang Zichu of the Chaohu navy.

This guy is almost going crazy.

Liang Zichu's fighting determination was absolutely flawless. Not to mention anything else, the Chaohu navy collapsed at the beginning of the war. Commander Sheng Xindu fled to the south of the Yangtze River. Several commanders either fled or surrendered to the enemy. Only Liang Zichu ran to Chaohu to fight guerrilla warfare.

This determination and will can even be regarded as the only bright spot in the early days of the Lianghuai War.

However, what did Liang Zichu's loyal and righteous act mean in front of the Dongting Lake navy?

Yes, your commander Sheng Xin learned from his mistakes and became braver, and finally died in Caishiji. But the commander of the Dongting Lake navy Li Dao used the weak to defeat the strong, and died in battle. He severely damaged the Jin navy at the cost of almost annihilation of his entire army. Even if it is recorded in history books, doesn't it sound better than the Chaohu navy?
Not to mention that the remnants of the Dongting Lake navy were still brave. During the Battle of Dongguan, Commander Li Qi not only destroyed the Jin navy, but also died together with the Wanyan Zheng family, almost setting a record for the highest number of enemy kills since the war began. Even killing Da Huaizhen in battle was not enough to compare with this military achievement.

But at the same time, Liang Zichu first went to Shiliang River to stop the fleeing Wusheng Army, but failed to achieve any success because the encirclement of the Jingnan Army was too well set up.

Afterwards, the Chaohu navy went to Hefei to assist Cheng Min, but failed because the Ezhou army was too fierce.

Now in the Battle of Dongguan, Liang Zichu was in the second line and watched helplessly as the Dongting Lake navy burned Yuxi into a river of fire, but he didn't get a single drop of water.

Damn it, even He Zizheng from Shandong was credited with breaking the formation, but the Chaohu navy only had the merit of assisting the army in retreating from beginning to end.

Those who knew the inside story knew that Liang Zichu was just unlucky, while those who didn't knew thought that the Chaohu navy was afraid of the enemy and was afraid of fighting!

Therefore, Liang Zichu almost tearfully asked Liu Huai and Cheng Min for permission to fight, and Liu Huai agreed in order not to dampen the enthusiasm of the Chaohu navy and to uphold the principle of never letting the Jin army have a comfortable life.

On the night of the 16th, the sky was covered with dark clouds. Seven hundred soldiers of the Chaohu navy, paddling their ships and lowering their flags, entered from the mouth of Chaohu and Yuxi River, and then turned to Qingxi River, a tributary of Yuxi River.

At this time, the Jin army camped west of Qingxi River, between two hills called Qishan and Gushan.

Looking back, Liang Zichu's hastily launched raid ran into big problems from the very beginning.

It is true that it is easy to hide tonight because the dark clouds are covering the bright moon, but the Jin navy has just been annihilated and is in a state of extreme stress. They are very sensitive to threats on the water. Not only have they sent a large number of cavalry scouts, they have even built a simple floating bridge at the mouth of Qingxi River, which serves both as a cover and as a warning.

To put it bluntly, given the situation tonight, the success rate of a surprise attack on the Jin army from land is actually higher.

As soon as the Chaohu navy's ships entered the Qingxi River, they were discovered by the cavalry envoys, and the news was quickly transmitted to the Jin army camp.

At the outermost edge of the southeast side of the camp, close to the Qingxi River, were the second and third Meng'an of the Wuping Army. Under the command of Li Kenan, the small camp quickly became brightly lit, ready to meet the enemy.

At this point, the night attack was already 80% failed, but Liang Zichu no longer cared. He directly ordered the soldiers to disembark, and he personally took the lead and forced his way into the Jin army camp.

Logically speaking, this behavior is too reckless and irrational, and no mature commander would issue such an order.

Yet this is the irony of war.

War has always been a chaotic model, because in every war, humans are fighting each other at the cost of their most precious lives. Everyone involved has their own ideas and actions. Talents are the most complex, and the direction of a war composed of so many complex people is often unexpected and difficult to predict.

Therefore, in the history of world wars, there are often things like a single rider charging into battle and being dared not to stop the enemy troops, or the best-protected commander dying from a stray arrow. These things are obviously impossible to happen, but they happen anyway.

Specifically on this night, even though the Wuping Army had already reacted, even though the second general of the Wuping Army was personally in charge of the camp, and even though the combat effectiveness of the Wuping Army was much higher than that of the ordinary Song Army, when the Chaohu Navy soldiers suddenly rushed in, the outer camp of the Jin Army still fell into great chaos.

Liang Zichu really tried his best.

Humans are social animals. They need to find their place in the group and desire to be respected by others.

It would be fine if it was in the ordinary battle sequence of the Song army, but being behind enemy lines and next to an army like the Jingnan Army, how could one gain respect without fighting hard?

Not to mention that Liu Dalangjun is a man who does not tolerate any flaws in his deeds. Rewards are given according to military merits. The Chaohu navy has no military merits, so they can only watch the rest of their comrades receive rewards.

As the saying goes, when a man fights desperately, even ghosts are afraid. Under the leadership of Liang Zichu, the Chaohu navy charged all the way and actually threw the small camp into chaos.

At the critical moment, Li Kenan, the second general of the Wuping Army, was shot in the throat by a stray arrow and died in an extremely miserable way.

After Li Kenan's death, the already chaotic Jin army camp became even more chaotic.

Liang Zichu took the opportunity to kill and set fire, and even took advantage of the chaos to rush to the center of the small camp and cut off Li Kenan's head.

Afterwards, the Chaohu navy soldiers retreated quickly before the main force of the Jin army arrived, leaving even the bodies of their comrades behind.

After a night of chaos, Wanyan Liang came to the small camp in person on the next morning. At this time, Wanyan Alin, the commander-in-chief of the Wuping Army, was already kneeling on the ground.

He was not just apologizing for the defeat last night, but also for the seven surviving soldiers of the Second Meng'an. He hoped that Wanyan Liang could use his status as emperor to temporarily abolish the military law of beheading the whole army, or at least allow these seven soldiers to make meritorious contributions while serving their sentences.

Although Li Kenan lost his head, his Meng'an suffered less than 200 casualties and their fighting capacity was still there. However, if he followed the military law of beheading all the marching Moukes, then this Meng'an would be really finished.

Wanyan Liang was thinking about other things.

On the one hand, the Chaohu navy's fighting spirit was too resolute, and even a conceited person like Wanyan Liang felt a chill in his heart.

On the other hand, Wanyan Liang quickly realized that after the Jin navy was completely annihilated, the Jingnan army had an absolute advantage in naval power around Chao County, and could no longer camp by the water.

There is a saying that you can steal for a thousand days but you cannot guard against thieves for a thousand days. Even if the defense is ten times tighter, without the corresponding military projection, the Jingnan army can come and go as they please on the water. The Jin army can't stand the harassment of the army by beating drums and blowing horns every night.

In fact, this was also the reason why Liu Huai sent the Chaohu navy to attack. This time, the Jingnan army attacked the camp to send a message to the Jin army.

The Jin navy has been completely annihilated, and the Jingnan army can move freely along the river. They can attack the camp once today and may attack again tomorrow. In this situation, as the commander-in-chief, do you dare to set up camp along the river?

Of course, the Jin army had good military discipline and remained calm in the face of the night attack, but the Jin army was also human and not made of iron. The Song army was like going to a public toilet, coming every few days. Who could stand this?

Are you still sleeping?

If the Jin army moved its camp, giving them a beating would be secondary. The most important thing was that the Jin army gave up the Qingxi River.

This will have little impact on the defenders of Chao County, but it will greatly facilitate Yu Yunwen who is coming to support from Dongguan.

As for whether Yu Yunwen would lead his troops, Liu Huai still had some confidence.

As the only prime minister during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, if Yu Yunwen did not have this level of responsibility, how could he rule the country? He should just go back to Shu and feed the pandas.

Wanyan Liang glanced at the several marching Moukes who had been tied up, and then looked at Wanyan Alin who was kneeling on the ground and kowtowing.

"I bear three-quarters of the responsibility for this battle." Wanyan Liang's words startled Wanyan Alin. "I knew the Song army was powerful, but I still camped by the river. This was my grave mistake."

"If it's my fault, it would be inappropriate to execute you, right?" Wanyan Liang cast his gaze on the marching Moukes. He saw one of them nodded first, then was kicked by the officer behind him before he reacted, and then hurriedly shook his head. Wanyan Liang couldn't help but shook his head and smiled.

"But you were seven-tenths at fault, and Li Kenan actually died in battle. If I don't execute you, it would be a violation of military law, and that's not appropriate, right?"

Several marching officers immediately became panicked.

"Well, I'll give you a favor." Wanyan Liang's face grew serious. "Wanyan Alin, let them lead the charge in today's battle. If they die in battle, they will receive generous compensation. If they return alive, their merits and demerits will be offset and their past actions will be forgiven. How do you do it?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Wanyan Alin bowed his head heavily and responded loudly.

"Stand up! How can a general in the army bow his head?" Wanyan Liang shouted sternly: "Follow the military decree and prepare for battle!"

"Yes!" Wanyan Alin quickly stood up, mounted his horse, bowed to Wanyan Liang, and rode away.

After resolving this minor matter, Wanyan Liang returned to the central army. The 20,000 regular troops and 30,000 signed troops of the Jin army broke camp together and withdrew from the banks of the Qingxi River.

Only a small number of soldiers were left to guard the pontoon bridge, while the majority of the troops marched towards Chao County.

The movement of Wanyan Liang's banner seemed to be a signal, and the Wurui army at the foot of Tangshan Mountain north of Chao County also marched out in a mighty force. After the two sides joined forces, the Jin army showed off its might under the city, while the auxiliary troops built camps and siege equipment under the city of Chao County.

Nearly 60,000 troops were deployed in front of the Chao County defenders. Among them, 30,000 regular troops were majestic and powerful, which crushed the ambitions of several Jingnan Army generals who were watching the battle on the top of Chao County into an eternal glacier.

Originally, Zhang Xiaoyi and others had underestimated the Jin army because of the easy victory of the Chaohu navy. But now it seems that even though the Jin army suffered a defeat last night, it is not a pushover.

No matter what, even if the Jin army retreated at this time, the strength of the army led by Wanyan Liang himself was not damaged.

How could the elite army of a vast country be a weakling?

By noon, the Jin army camp was basically formed, but Wanyan Liang did not rush to attack Chao County.

Just after noon, the Jin army, led by the Jinwu banner, headed straight west.

Cheng Min, who was observing the situation from the watchtower at Turtle Mountain Camp, couldn't help but smirk and said, "Golden Dog really thinks I'm a pushover."

Generals such as Zhao Xun and Du Yan all looked unhappy.

Bi Jin sighed: "The Jin thieves are also smart people. It's obvious that Chao County's defenses are not so easy to mess with."

"Furthermore, if we forcefully attack Chao County, our army can strike a heavy blow to the Jin bandits when they are exhausted. However, if our army comes under attack, it is hard to say what Chao County will do."

"Also, even if the Jin army captures Chao County, they still have to attack Guishan. If they capture Guishan first, and Chao County goes badly, they can abandon the Qian army and return north with all their strength." Cheng Min added, then looked at Bi Jin curiously: "Old Bi, don't you believe that Liu Dalang will send troops to support our army in this critical moment?"

"How could I not believe it? Even if I don't believe in Liu Dalang's brilliant military achievements, I have to trust Li Zishi's vision. Before he died, he gave Liu Dalang the Marshal's Liquan, so Liu Dalang must not be a villain who would stand by and watch someone die without helping." Bi Jin shook his head: "It's not important what I think, the most important thing is that the Jin thieves will definitely think the same thing!"

This is very true. No matter how great a victory Liu Huai achieved, he was just a rising star who became famous in the past few months.

A man's reputation is like a tree's shadow. Cheng Min was a general who followed Han Shizhong during the Jing Kang period. Starting from Huangtian Dang, he never missed any major battle.

Although Cheng Min is old, he is still without minions, and no one can ignore him.

"It's a pity that when Liu Dalang discussed with us, he only agreed that we must send troops when the outer city of Chao County falls, but he didn't say what to do when the Jin bandits besiege the Guishan camp." Hua Wang, the commander of the Beiwei Army, sighed and said.

"Hua Da Chong, you're no match for Chen Yuangong defending the small camp." Cheng Min smiled as he put his helmet on and tightened the straps. "If he were here, he'd just quietly prepare for battle and not say such nonsense."

"I have received news that Yu Yunwen and Li Xianzhong have decided to send troops across the river. Old Liu Qi, fighting with his last breath, rushed from Zhenjiang to join the battle."

Cheng Min raised his hand and pointed to the east and north, his face solemn.

"A corrupt scholar, a foreigner, and a sick man are all brave enough to risk their lives. Do you just expect others to save them?" Cheng Min turned around and looked at the officer standing on the watchtower with him.

"Captain, we're not afraid of death, but we're afraid of dying in vain." Hua Wang, as the commander of the Beiwei Army and Cheng Min's most trusted confidant, naturally spoke his mind without fear. "The Jin thieves are about to strike us with their first blow. Aren't you anxious?"

"Don't be anxious!" Cheng Min picked his nose, fully demonstrating his carefree character.

"With the two camps forming a horn around each other, the Jin thieves won't have an easy time either."

(End of this chapter)