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

Chapter 462: Killing Aura Forms Clouds for Three Times
The time for the decisive battle was chosen by Yu Yunwen, but the initiative to launch the decisive battle was in the hands of the Jin army.

The reason is simple. According to the current situation, the Jin army will definitely take the initiative to attack the Song army reinforcements. Because for the Jin army, a decisive battle in the open air is much easier than attacking a city.

Once a part of the Song army came under attack, neither the Jingnan army nor the Ezhou army could turn a blind eye.

Therefore, as long as the Song army enters the battlefield, the decisive battle will begin in an instant.

This is why Yu Yunwen and Liu Qi had to agree on a date. Everyone knew that the Jin army would attack one of their divisions with all their might. However, whichever division suffered a heavy blow from the Jin army could only consider themselves unlucky and serve as the anvil, buying time for the friendly forces acting as the hammer.

At noon on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the sky was as dark as lead and covered with dark clouds.

When Liu Qi's army arrived five miles northwest of Chao County and was hit head-on by the Jin army that emerged from the Tangshan camp, a question that had been lingering in Liu Huai's mind for nearly three days was answered.

"How could there be so many Jin troops in Tangshan...Tangshan..." Xin Qiji murmured as he stood side by side with Liu Huai on the watchtower.

"Six to eight thousand..." Liu Huai patted the railing, his voice becoming low: "We have all been fooled by the Jin thieves."

Having been in the army for a long time, Liu Huai has learned to judge how many troops there are by looking at the smoke and dust.

"There are 8,000 regular troops of the Jin Kingdom there, and there are at least nearly 20,000 more on the Guishan side...The Jin army camp under Chao County...under Chao County..." Xin Qiji opened his eyes wide in disbelief and looked at the Jin army camp under the city.

It was a simple math problem. The Jin army consisted of 30,000 regular troops and 30,000 quizzes. The quizzes were so weak that neither Cheng Min nor Liu Huai took them seriously. The most crucial factor was the 30,000 regular Jin troops. If there were 8,000 of them in Tangshan, then one of the Jin army's main camps, Guishan or Chaoxian, would be empty.

Wanyan Liang was in the Guishan camp, and he was facing the long-established and powerful Ezhou garrison army, so the number of regular troops there could not be less than 20,000.

How many regular troops are there in the Jin army’s Chao County camp?
Four thousand? Two thousand?
"When Li Tieqiang attacked the camp that day, I had a question," Liu Huai said slowly. "Why did the Jin army launch a night attack on Chao County? A night attack would be fine, but why didn't they dare to continue the battle? Were they afraid of a decisive night battle? No, we are afraid of a night battle, but the Jin thieves shouldn't be afraid of it. Even if the casualties are heavy, are they still more important than attacking a city? Since there was a chance to defeat our army in the field, why did the Jin army commander let it go?"

"Now I know that this large camp under Chao County is just a bluff by the Jin bandits. Their troops are not sufficient." Liu Huai's voice remained calm. "It's not that I don't want to do it, but I can't."

"Then these gold thieves also attempted a night attack..."

"The more frivolous you are inside, the more you want to show off." Liu Huai laughed and shook his head.

Seeing Liu Huai's leisurely attitude, Xin Qiji asked anxiously, "What should we do now?"

If we had just watched Liu Qi being slaughtered, the blow to morale would have been almost impossible to describe in words.

Liu Huai gave Xin Qiji a strange look: "What else can I do? Is all this talk just nonsense?"

Xin Qiji understood, laughed loudly, bowed and left.

Lu You stood aside, sweating profusely despite the cold wind. "Da Lang, are we going to send troops now?"

Liu Huai said seriously, "That's right, Mr. Lu. The current situation is that our army has four groups of troops coming to encircle the Jin bandits. The Jin bandits have also divided into three camps in Chao County, Tangshan, and Guishan to respond.

Of these three camps, only the area below Chao County is empty. Of the four armies, only ours is the most relaxed, and only our Jingnan Army can be the first to defeat the enemy. If I don't take on this important task, who will?"

Lu You nodded immediately, his breathing became heavy again, and he looked at He Boqiu who was standing beside him.

He Boqiu had already put on his armor, fastened his belt, and hung his commonly used copper mace around his waist. He grinned at Lu You and said, "Mr. Lu, please wait in the city for a while and watch us defeat the enemy!"

Lu You looked at his political rival, panicking for a moment before he sneered and forced himself to remain calm, saying, "I am a minister of the Song Dynasty. How can I let the rebels fighting for their country fight to the death while I stand by and watch? Although I am a scholar, I am also capable of wielding a sword and a gun."

After saying this, Lu You put on his iron jacket without waiting for Liu Huai's persuasion, pulled out a spear from the weapon rack and carried it on his shoulder.

Seeing this, He Boqiu snorted coldly and turned away.

Three quarters of an hour later, Xin Qiji had gathered the entire army on the open space at the city gate. He sat upright on his horse, looked up at Liu Huai on the city wall and shouted.

"Lord Commander, the entire army has assembled, please give the order!"

Eight thousand infantrymen, fifteen thousand armored cavalrymen, and one thousand crossbowmen, led by officers, put on their armor, formed battle formations, and also looked up at Liu Huai.

When the big banner with the words "Jingnan" written on it was unfurled in the wind under the dim sky, cheers spontaneously rang out even though Liu Huai didn't say a word.

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"You all know me, know who I am, and know my abilities! I don't want to waste time talking!" Liu Huai's loud voice came into play at this time, allowing everyone present to hear his voice even without a loudspeaker.

"The Jin bandits have wreaked havoc in Shandong and Huaibei, killing my brothers and kidnapping my sisters. This hatred is irreconcilable! And today they even dare to set up camp at the gate of my army." Liu Huai raised the Liquan and paused heavily. "Do you really think I'm a toothless beast?!"

"I'm going to overturn the Jin bandit camp today. Who wants to go with me?"

"I, Zhang Baiyu, am willing to follow the Grand Marshal!" Someone responded immediately.

"And I, Shi Qilang!"

"And there's Shuhe Wang Wu!"

"besides……"

People kept responding loudly, and finally the whole army cheered and merged into one sentence.

"I am willing to follow the governor to defeat the enemy!"

"I am willing to follow the governor!"

The source of Liu Huai's prestige was different from that of others. It did not come from the authority of the court, nor from the recommendation of military officers, but was earned through his actual fighting on the battlefield.

Since the Northern Expedition began, they have won dozens of battles, big and small, and every one of them has been victorious, which is enough to make the entire army fear them.

Liu Huai paused the Liquan gun again, and a muffled sound was heard.

"Since this is the case, all commanders must obey military orders and strictly observe military law! Do not advance rashly! Do not fear battle! The brave will be rewarded! The cowardly will be punished! Those who retreat will be executed!"

The Jingnan banner was unfurled in the wind, and cruel military orders were issued one after another.

"Pick up your weapons and ask those Hu people outside who rules the world today!" Liu Huai raised the Liquan spear and pointed it outside the city: "Follow me to fight!" After a while, the gate of Chao County slowly opened, and the drawbridge fell down. Liu Huai personally led the Flying Tiger Army's armored cavalry to take the lead. The cavalry, who were skilled in archery and horse riding, fought with the Jin army's scouts, while the armored cavalry formed a wall formation and stood at the west gate of the Jin army camp.

The auxiliary soldiers in leather armor quickly cleared several avenues under the trenches and antler-covered city walls to facilitate the rapid passage of the armored soldiers. Ironically, these painstakingly constructed city defenses were barely used before being completely destroyed by the Jingnan army.

The Jin army, which had been showing off its might in the past, seemed to know that it had been exposed, so it just closed the gates and silently watched the busy Song army.

Two moments later, the Song army's infantry lined up neatly in front of the Jin army camp. It was still a dense array of spears and axes, and the formation was still strict and the soldiers were like a forest.

Among the 8,000 infantrymen, there were more than 6,000 armored soldiers. The armor rate of over 70% was unimaginable even in the relatively wealthy Ezhou army.

After shouting three times, the auxiliary troops of the Jingnan Army went directly to destroy the south wall of the Jin army camp.

It was not until then that the Jin army responded. A dense rain of arrows was shot out from the camp, and for a moment it suppressed the auxiliary troops attacking the camp and made them unable to move.

The Jingnan army also countered the Jin army's moves. The crossbowmen stepped forward and shot arrows with their advantage in range, suppressing the Jin army in the camp in turn.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the auxiliary soldiers rushed forward desperately, ignoring the arrows shot from the gaps in the wooden fence and the blades stabbing out. They hung ropes and chains on the wooden fence and tied the other end to the warhorse. With the joint efforts of men and horses, the wooden fence, which was originally hastily built, soon tilted.

The Jin army also knew that they could not let the Jingnan army pull down the wooden fence. However, it was difficult to break so many ropes and chains at once. After a while, someone came up with a clever trick. The Jin army tied a rope on the inside of the wooden fence and used horses to pull against the Song army.

Of course, this scene was indeed a bit ugly. No matter what, the Jin army generals in the camp knew what they wanted to do and what they were doing.

This camp was indeed just as Liu Huai had thought, a cover, a hollow carrot for bluffing.

Among them were only two regular troops of Meng'an and nearly 10,000 signed troops.

The leading army, Meng'an, knew that once the war started, as long as the generals of the Jingnan Army could do addition and subtraction within thirty, they would definitely burst the bladder of the Jin army.

By then, the offense and defense will be different.

As long as the Jingnan army was not stupid and cowardly, it would definitely try to break through the Jin army camp.

As long as this Jin army camp can hold out until the Jin army defeats any Song army, it will have accomplished its mission and won.

Could the Jin army of less than two thousand and nearly ten thousand signed troops hold out against the Jingnan army of more than ten thousand by relying on their camps?
An hour ago, the Jin army garrison commander could still pat his chest and give a positive answer.

However, seeing the armored soldiers coming like tides, arrows raining down, and even the lightly armored auxiliary soldiers being so fearless, the marching general named Dou Shao hesitated.

This is totally different from what I imagined!
However, Liu Huai did not give the Jin army much time to think. After all, no one could say how long Liu Qi could hold on, and now everyone was racing against time.

After three wooden fences, each about ten steps wide, were pulled down, Liu Huai led three hundred Flying Tiger armored cavalrymen and Lei Ben led two thousand armored soldiers to rush in.

The Jin army was not unprepared. They organized an encirclement network with six Mouke regular troops and three thousand signed troops to the south of the camp. Anyone who dared to rush in would be attacked from three sides.

However, ideas are good, but they cannot replace abilities. Even math problems cannot be solved just by thinking about them.

If there were three Meng'an Jin Guo regular troops attacking from both sides, there might be some chance of winning. But three thousand signed troops? Don't they treat bean buns as dry food?

Liu Huai ignored the soldiers surrounding him from both sides and led the armored cavalry to attack the Jin army in front.

The armored cavalry cooperated with the armored soldiers of the elite vanguard army. The armored cavalry charged to intimidate the Jin army's formation, causing the Jin army's formation to loosen. Then the armored soldiers formed a formation and fought forward. After defeating the Jin army, the armored cavalry pursued and intimidated them again.

After several attempts, the Jin army's front line was defeated within three minutes of the start of the battle.

The disastrous consequences of employing conscripted soldiers were evident here. Their fighting spirit and weapons and equipment were far inferior, and they were forced to flee in panic after being defeated by the thousand soldiers who subsequently entered the camp.

It would not be a big deal if the soldiers were in chaos, but the entire camp was in chaos.

Although the Jin army's strength on paper was two Meng'an, it had been trying to show off its strength in recent days, fighting with Youqi and engaging in a melee with Li Tieqiang during the night attack, and the casualties were already very heavy.

At least five Moukes were crippled and their fighting capacity was reduced. At this time, the Song army, which far outnumbered them, pressed into the camp. The Jin army simply did not have enough troops to suppress the defeated Qian army.

However, the Jin army's defending general Dou Shao did not dare to abandon his army and flee. You have to know that this was under Wanyan Liang's watch. Not to mention him, even if a marching general dared to fear the battle, Wanyan Liang would have to execute the general on the battlefield to enforce military law.

Dou Shao still had five Mouke's cavalry who were not involved in the melee. Seeing that the situation in the camp was out of control, Dou Shao had no choice but to lead the cavalry out of the west gate himself, make a big circle and rush towards the left wing of the Jingnan army.

However, as soon as Dou Shao raised the Meng'an flag, the Jingnan army reacted. Luo Shenyan on the left wing quickly formed a battle line to the west. Four hundred armored soldiers stood firmly with spears like a forest, ready to meet the full-strength attack of the Jin army.

Dou Shao did not dare to confront them head-on, but led his cavalry to circle in front of the Song army. The light cavalry used the horses' power to shoot the Jurchen heavy arrows into the Jingnan army at close range, while the armored cavalry kept charging and pressing, trying to loosen the Song army's infantry formation.

Although this tactic caused more than 40 casualties to the Jingnan Army, the soldiers of the Jingnan Army had been trained long ago. During training, they were not afraid of the armored cavalry pushing in like a landslide, let alone this level of rain of arrows and intimidation.

Less than half a minute's delay, Zhang Baiyu and Liang Pan led about a thousand armored cavalry to attack.

Among these one thousand armored cavalry, five hundred were from the Flying Tiger Army, and the rest were gathered from various units of the Jingnan Army, and they were considered the elite of the entire army.

Like all Jin army generals, Dou Shao's first reaction when he saw such a well-organized armored cavalry team was to be shocked, and his second reaction was that he had to try to fight.

In the eyes of these Jin army generals, the Jin army's cavalry was invincible in the world. Not to mention the Han army, even the Mongols, who had been raised on horseback since birth, were defeated by the Jin army's cavalry.

However, a big problem arose in this test. These armored cavalry were too elite. Not only could the Jin army's armored cavalry not easily defeat the Flying Tiger Army, they were almost crushed.

"push!"

Luo Shenyan had just been beaten and unable to fight back, and he had been holding his anger for a long time. Seeing that the Jin cavalry had been suppressed by the Flying Tiger Army's armored cavalry, and at the same time hearing the sound of the general drum urging the advance, the spear formation advanced towards the Jin cavalry step by step.

Under attack from three sides, the Jin army cavalry still maintained their last bit of bravery, but bravery was no match for orderly killing. After a while, nearly half of the Jin army was killed or wounded, and the entire army was defeated.

When the fire and thick smoke rose from the Jin army camp and the cheers of the Jingnan army came from far and near, the marching Meng'an Dou Shao, who was surrounded by armored cavalry and armored soldiers, sighed, covered his face with the Meng'an flag, and slashed his throat with a knife.

Less than an hour after the Jingnan Army launched the attack, the Jin army's Chao County camp was breached.

Although there was no food or supplies, Liu Huai still ordered a fire to be set, using smoke signals to inform everyone fighting on the battlefield of the news.

　There should only be one chapter today.

　　The cough has not improved. I went to the hospital for an X-ray today. I may not be able to code.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)