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

Chapter 459: Reinforcements Urge to Arrive and the Whole Division Departs

On December 19th, 15,000 Huaixi troops crossed the river to the north to recapture Hezhou, and then turned southwest. Li Bao led 3,000 Zhejiang East navy to maintain the safety of the waterway, preparing to pursue and kill Wanyan Liang along the route he had taken.

Under the leadership of Liu Qi, the 5,000-strong Huaidong army landed in Hezhou and immediately rushed towards Hanshan.

As for why they set out so late, it was not because Yu Yunwen, Li Xianzhong, Liu Qi and Li Bao, the four important ministers who were regarded as the pillars of the Song Dynasty, had committed the bad habit of harming their neighbors, but rather that during the military meeting, the three veteran generals had already proposed that the battle must be started in Chao County first, and the armies from Huaixi and Huaidong must arrive at the battlefield as reinforcements.

The Jingnan Army and the Ezhou Army both use the terrain as a means of defense, but the Huaidong and Huaixi Armies do not. If they are defeated by all forces, the situation will be serious.

At the same time, Tu Shanzhen, who was still at the gates of Yangzhou and preparing to withdraw his troops, received a piece of shocking news.

Pizhou was captured by the Shandong Loyal Army.

The Sishui River, which was taken over by the Yellow River, was completely blocked, and most of the baggage could not be transported.

Logically speaking, it had been ten days since Wei Sheng captured Xia Pi City. No matter how slow Tu Shan Zhen was, he should have received the news long ago. After all, there was a canal in the east of Huai River, which made it convenient to transport supplies. Suqian, which was located downstream of Xia Pi, would also have come to report early.

But the worst thing was that the magistrate of Suqian and a Jurchen Mouke went to Xia Pi to find the prefect to escort grain and grass, but they were surrounded and captured in the city by Wei Sheng. As a result, although people in Suqian knew that the magistrate had not returned and something was wrong, they did not report it in time.

Finally, it was Wuyan Puluhun in Zhongli who discovered that something was wrong and sent an official to investigate. The official was also smart. After finding out that Xia Pi had fallen, he was panicked, but he still sent a messenger to Yangzhou to tell Tushan Zhen the fatal news.

Now, the 30,000 households in Huaidong, who were already uneasy, became even more at a loss.

Tu Shanzhen had to call together the three general managers and three deputy general managers to hold a military meeting again.

This military meeting was already in chaos before it officially began.

Wu Zhongzhi, the deputy commander of the Wu'an Army, disregarded hierarchy and directly challenged Tushan Zhen: "Your Majesty has already issued the order to retreat, so why is the Left Inspector still stalling?"

Tushan Zhen glanced at the fellow and ignored him. Xiao Qi, the commander-in-chief of the Shenwei Army, sneered and said, "Isn't the Left Inspector's intention clear? He's afraid of any major moves by the Song State because of Zhang Diwan's desperate attack, so he doesn't dare to reveal any flaws."

Wu Zhongzhi looked thoughtfully at Xiao Qi. "As Chief Steward Xiao said, the Left Military Supervisor is quite experienced and prudent. I just don't know when he can set off."

Xiao Qi sighed and sneered, "Who knows? Xia Pi is already lost. It would be even more difficult to retreat now."

Tu Shanzhen listened to Xiao Qi's sarcastic remarks and finally became impatient: "Master Xiao, what exactly do you want to say?"

Xiao Qi suppressed his smile. "It's a good thing that the Left Inspector is cautious in his military operations, but excessive caution can lead to chaos. The situation in Shandong has already become what it is. I heard that Dongping Prefecture has been destroyed. If we don't withdraw, the three Wanhu in the Huainan East Route will literally starve to death. I wonder how the Left Inspector will explain his caution to the court when that happens?"

Tu Shanzhen suddenly stood up, kicked over the table in front of him, pointed at Xiao Qi and cursed loudly: "Shi Mo bastard, you are also a veteran, you have been in the army for many years, don't you know that retreating is different from advancing? Why are you pretending to be confused? If there were no rich women in the army, I would order the whole army to retreat right now. Even if the Song State has made some arrangements, what harm can it do? Can they still chase us across the Huai River?
But now all the armies have plundered their spoils. If you ask the army to abandon everything and go into battle lightly, do you believe that the morale of the army will immediately fall into chaos?
But if we withdraw our troops with our families, can we do so without first understanding the movements of the Song State?! Zhang Diwan died in battle, so what if Liu Qi really comes to fight to the death?

Tushan Zhen grew angrier and angrier as he spoke, and in the end, he became completely suspicious. He held up his sword and said to Xiao Qi, "Are you, a Khitan slave, having second thoughts and planning to surrender to the Song and cause rebellion?!"

Xiao Qi had already stood up in anger after hearing the name "Shi Mo bastard", but he calmed down when he heard the last heart-wrenching words. He just held his sword and sneered without saying a word.

Gao Jingshan, who had been silent the entire time, also stood up. However, he did not speak harshly to Tu Shanzhen as he had done in the past. Instead, he directed his criticism at Xiao Qi: "Chief Steward Xiao, are you seriously trying to conserve your strength and then stab us after communicating with Liu Qi?!"

It is natural for Gao Jingshan to have opinions.

Zhang Rong's desperate surprise attack on that day was truly a desperate one, and he charged forward without hesitation. As the direct victim, the Wu'an Army under Gao Jingshan suffered nearly a thousand casualties, which was a serious blow.

During the battle that day, Pucha Shijie, deputy commander of the Wujie Army, personally led his troops to support, and Tu Shanzhen, the left military inspector, also sent out his family soldiers to make the final blow. However, Xiao Qi's Shenwei Army never came to rescue.

Xiao Qi naturally has his own explanation for this.

How could Li Heng, the garrison commander of Yangzhou, be so easily dealt with? With Li Heng's sudden attack, the Shenwei Army naturally had to guard their camp, test each other, and wait and see. How could they just ignore the situation and send troops directly to rescue the Wu'an Army?

Your surname, Gao Jingshan, is Gao, not Wanyan Liang. How can you be so shameless?

Besides, an army of 10,000 plus 3,000 Tudan tribe soldiers were defeated by 4,000 Dongping troops. Even if Zhang Diwan is a world-famous general, aren't you, Gao Jingshan, too useless?

However, facing the accusations from the Left Inspector and the main generals of the army, even if Xiao Qi thought highly of himself, he could only explain: "I have second thoughts? I want to cause chaos? Based on the situation that day, if I had just cooperated with Zhang Diwan to attack the camp, none of you could have escaped?
"Left Supervisor, Chief Steward Gao, are you guys hysterical? You don't even suspect Wu Chengjun and Xu Wen, but you suspect me?!"

At the end, Xiao Qi was also extremely angry.

Wu Chengjun was indeed being unreasonable. Just based on the fact that the commander Ji Cheng forcibly blocked the pontoon bridge that day, it is absolutely not an exaggeration to say that they harbored resentment.

Several high-ranking military and political officials of the Jin Dynasty felt that Wu Chengjun might rebel, but at this time, in this place, and in this situation, even if the three major armies of the Jin Dynasty united to attack Wu Chengjun, something big would happen.

It should be noted that these more than 6,000 Wu Chengjun troops are not weaklings, but elite troops who can fight tough battles.

Xiao Qi took a few deep breaths and said to Tu Shan Zhen, "Whether I am loyal or treacherous is for the court and Your Majesty to decide. I just want to ask one thing. Everyone knows Your Majesty's decree. Left Military Supervisor, when can we withdraw our troops?"

Seeing Gao Jingshan also looking over, Tu Shanzhen still gritted his teeth and said: "No matter what, we must investigate the military situation of the Song State before we can withdraw our troops!"

Gao Jingshan and Xiao Qi were both furious, yet helpless.

The Jin Dynasty was still a respectable nation after all. Surely the two generals couldn't disobey the orders of the Left Inspector General? How would that be different from rebellion?
Tushan Yongnian, who had been listening quietly, also spoke out at this time: "What the Left Inspector said makes some sense. Although the Song army is still cowardly, they still have people like Zhang Rong. And although he died, they still achieved victory in the end.

If Liu Qi were leading the Huaidong army to ambush Yangzhou City at this time, our army would likely be annihilated when we moved our camp."

As soon as he finished speaking, someone outside the tent said loudly, "Liu Qi won't be coming."

Guo Anguo and Pucha Shijie strode into the general's tent in the cold wind.

Guo Anguo glanced at the messy tent, shook his head, leaned over to put back the two kicked tables, and pushed several generals who were standing with swords back to their seats. Then he returned to his seat, poured two bowls of tea, handed one to Pucha Shijie, and picked up the other bowl and drank it all.

Pucha Shijie didn't sit down. After finishing his tea while standing, he threw the tea bowl back and saluted with a crisp sound. "Left Military Supervisor, Right Military Supervisor, and generals, we have just obtained accurate information. Liu Qi is not in Yangzhou. He has quietly disappeared and gone to Huaixi!"

Tu Shanzhen sat in his seat, still furious. When he suddenly understood the meaning of Pucha Shijie's words, his whole body trembled violently, and he felt as if he had fallen into an icy cave. "Then Liu Qi... Liu Qi is going to... His Majesty!"

Pucha Shijie's breathing also became heavy: "It is Your Majesty!"

Tushan Yongnian was speechless for a long time before he asked loudly, "Is the news accurate?"

Guo Anguo said: "Several sources have reported the information accurately, and military envoys have been sent to inform Your Majesty."

"That's good, that's good." Tushan Yongnian nodded repeatedly: "I hope there's still time."

"Your Majesty should have time to react, but that's not why I came here," Pucha Shijie said sternly, "Since we know Your Majesty is in danger, how can we just sit back and watch? We must send troops to rescue you immediately."

After being shocked, Xiao Qi retorted, "Your Majesty is withdrawing because our retreat is cut off and the baggage can't be delivered. Where will we get food if we go there? Won't we all starve to death?"

Pucha Shijie looked down on him and said, "Then what should we do according to what General Manager Xiao said?" Xiao Qi swallowed his saliva. Seeing that everyone in the tent was looking at him, he could not help but bite the bullet and said, "Although the situation in Huaixi is dangerous, it is impossible for Liu Qi to take away many people. At most, he can only take 5,000 to 6,000 elite soldiers. Otherwise, we can't hide it from our eyes.

Your Majesty has 30,000 troops and Hezhameng'an, which is enough to ensure safety.

On the contrary, it is Huaidong... You must know that Shandong has completely collapsed, and I don’t know how many hardships I will have to go through on my way back north..."

Having said this, Xiao Qi was stared at by Pucha Shijie and finally stopped talking.

However, what was strange was that except for Pucha Shijie, a general who was from Wanyan Liang's personal guard, who reacted violently, the other senior military generals, even the left and right military supervisors, all remained silent and did not scold Xiao Qi for his disrespectful words.

Xiao Qi’s meaning was very simple.

Whether your father is dead or your mother is married, let’s take care of ourselves!

The worst possible situation for Wanyan Liang would be a defeat, but with Hezha Meng'an's protection, nothing could go wrong.

You must know that in addition to Wanyan Bendu, Wanyan Yuanyi was also with the army. Han Tang and Wanyan Alin were both fierce and powerful generals. Since they also chose to actively attack Chao County, there must be some opportunities for battle. A few thousand more Song troops would not be a big deal.

The situation in Huaidong was serious. If they delayed any further, Xuzhou would be captured by the Shandong Loyal Army, and they might not even be able to travel along the Yellow River. They could only return to Bianjing through Wokou with the help of Wuyan Puluhun.

But as Tu Shanzhen said, it is difficult to make any strategic moves when everyone is grabbing a lot of money and returning home with a full load.

If the withdrawal route changes, who knows what unexpected things might happen!
"Do you all think so?" Pucha Shijie looked around at the generals in the tent and narrowed his eyes slightly.

Tu Shanzhen did not dare to ignore this brave general who was famous for his bravery in his youth: "Asa, what do you have to say?"

Pucha Shijie said without further ado: "Wujie, Wuan, Shenwei, the first commanders of the three armies are all handed over to me for command. You will retreat on your own, and I will lead these 3,000 soldiers to Huaixi to participate in the battle."

Tu Shanzhen waved his hand to stop the others from speaking, and said to Pucha Shijie, "What if I don't allow it?"

Guo Anguo pinched a roasted soybean and put it into his mouth, then looked at Tu Shanzhen with a half-smile.

Pucha Shijie was even more direct. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword and said calmly, "Your Majesty is in danger and you didn't save him. That's treason. There's no need to talk about dealing with treason. I will kill you all right now."

As he spoke, Pucha Shijie looked at Tu Shan Zhen steadily, with a hint of madness on his face, as if he was waiting for Tu Shan Zhen to refuse so that he could start a massacre immediately.

As the saying goes, within ten steps, one person can defeat a country. Facing Pucha Shijie, who is known as the "natural born general", at such a close distance, he would be dead if nothing unexpected happened.

Xiao Qi and Gao Jingshan looked at each other, while Tushan Zhen and Tushan Yongnian shook their heads and said nothing.

All four knew that Guo Anguo and Pucha Shijie were Wanyan Liang's trusted confidants. But honestly, who wouldn't be a trusted confidant of Wanyan Liang's expedition to the Huai River and Huai River regions? So why would they go to such lengths for one another? And even act so drastically?
Even if you succeed, how can you gain a foothold in the military in the future?

"Asa, you are someone who knows military affairs, but you know that even if we select the best troops, each with three horses, we might not be able to make it to Huaixi in time?"

Facing Tushan Zhen's question, Pucha Shijie said loudly: "Of course I know."

"And I also know that even if we make it in time, these 3,000 elite soldiers will be exhausted. They won't be able to perform at even 50% of their full potential if they enter the battlefield directly. Even dealing with ordinary Song troops would be a hassle. If we're not careful, the entire army will be wiped out, with nowhere to escape!"

Tu Shanzhen was silent for a while: "Then you still want to do this?"

Pucha Shijie said proudly, "So I only asked you to send out your best troops, and I didn't let you go to the battlefield in person. If you still don't agree to this, then what is the duty of a minister?"

Seeing Pucha Shijie's determined look, the four of them were silent for a moment and then nodded with difficulty. Not only did Xiao Qi and Gao Jingshan send out the first Meng'an, but even Tushan Zhen sent out 500 tribesmen to obey Pucha Shijie's orders.

By the afternoon, 3,000 elite soldiers selected from the 30,000 Jin troops that entered Huaidong were ready. Under the personal leadership of Pucha Shijie, each man had four horses and carried a small amount of food and grass as they marched westward.

This incident has an aftermath.

The First Meng'an are the elite of each army, and the mobilization of these elites will inevitably cause considerable chaos and also cause unrest among the people.

Xu Wen, the general manager of Wucheng Army, was indeed an old fox. In less than half a day, he directly ordered the entire Wucheng Army to break camp and head north. Without notifying anyone, they reached Shanyang, Chuzhou in just one day and one night.

After seizing some limited food and fodder from Shanyang City, the entire army continued northward, quickly crossed the Huai River, and headed north along the Yellow River, heading towards Suqian.

If everything goes well, Wu Chengjun will be able to follow the Yellow River all the way to Xia Pi, which is occupied by the Zhongyi Army, then return to Yizhou along the Yishui River, and then head north to his hometown in Yidu Prefecture to meet up with Huyan Nanxian.

In fact, after crossing the Huai River, Tu Shanzhen had no other options.

Even though it has been confirmed that there is no main force of the Song army in Huaidong and no strategic offensive will be launched, withdrawing troops is not that simple. As the commander of a large army, Tushan Zhen cannot inexplicably abandon everything just to recover the 6,000 Wu Cheng troops.

Having lost their most elite 3,000 cavalry, the 30,000 households of the Jin army in Huaidong could no longer engage in a head-on battle with Wu Cheng's army.

However, just as the entire Wucheng Army was cheering for escaping from the sea of suffering, outside the city of Suqian, Xu Wen, after explaining the military strategy to the three commanding officers Hu Yue, Ji Cheng and Zeng Ji, drank a pot of poisoned wine in front of the three men.

The three commanding officers were horrified and wanted to stop him but it was too late. They could only listen quietly to Xu Wen explaining his actions in his dying moments.

"Ever since I followed Li Tianwang in rebelling against the Song Dynasty, the people I killed the most, besides the Song army, were the various bandits and rebel forces."

Blood gushed from Xu Wen's mouth and nose. The unusually strong veteran was gradually withering, but he still forced a smile as he looked at his three subordinates and said, "My hatred for the Shandong righteous army is as deep as the sea. Just like the East China Sea pirates last year, I personally led hundreds of people to slaughter them all, leaving no one alive. This is a life-and-death feud that cannot be resolved."

Zeng Ji burst into tears, sobbing uncontrollably: "But General, we have already survived! Good days are coming soon! If you don't want to be in the army anymore, you can just be a rich man. Why commit suicide?"

Xu Wen coughed twice. "It's unavoidable. Even if I became a wealthy man, I would still be ridiculed and humiliated when the Shandong rebels rose up and took power. You say I'm already old, why do I have to go through all this?"

"And..." Xu Wen took a few deep breaths before shaking his head and saying, "Also, as long as I'm alive, this matter will be a hurdle that no one can overcome, and it will eventually implicate you. Only when I die and my debts are settled can you regain your foothold in Shandong."

"General..." Zeng Ji burst into tears and couldn't even speak.

Xu Wen's eyes lost focus, blood had dyed his gray beard black and red. His voice quickly faded, and he could only mutter to himself, "I have never blamed you, nor have I blamed Nanxian. I stopped you because I have always been a confused person... I couldn't see the situation clearly and did things wrong... In the past, we had Brother Li and the others... But now..."

When he said this, Xu Wen's eyes seemed to show a different light, and his tone became a little high-pitched.

"Brother...I..."

Before he could finish his sentence, this veteran who came from the Shandong rebel army, first joined the Song Dynasty and then rebelled against it, first fought against the Jin Dynasty and then surrendered to it, and whose hands were stained with the blood of the anti-Jin rebels in the second half of his life, breathed his last.

He was sixty-one years old.

　There should be only one big chapter today.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)