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

Chapter 476: Sable Fur and Armor Wrapped in Ice

The brutality of the Battle of Chao County exceeded everyone's imagination.

The Jin army, on the other hand, suffered a crushing defeat. Their three most elite 10,000-man army, along with 3,000 elite Huaidong troops and 3,000 Hezhameng troops, were annihilated. If we also count the Wusheng army's Da Huaizhen, who was killed before Chao County, and the Jin navy that was left to fend for themselves in Yuxi, the Jin army lost nearly 70,000 elite soldiers.

Such casualties would be a serious blow to even a unified country, and even the strategic situation would undergo a huge change. The loss would be so heavy that it would make the rulers of any country cry blood.

If we use historical facts as examples.

In the Battle of Chanhebi, 50,000 people of Later Yan were killed by Northern Wei. Murong Chui, who had experienced countless things in his life, was so angry that he vomited blood and died of illness soon after.

In the Battle of Yubi, the Eastern Wei suffered 70,000 casualties from battle, disease, and death under the city of Yubi. Gao Huan became ill due to worry and anger, and died of anger after returning to the capital.

Even in the Ming Dynasty, when productivity had increased massively, the Ming army suffered nearly 60,000 casualties in the Battle of Sarhu, and the Liaodong region was completely out of control.

Now the Jin Kingdom has lost nearly 70,000 elite soldiers and horses, and the gate to the Central Plains is wide open. If Tushan Zhen's 30,000 households in Huaidong can be retained, then the Jin Kingdom's rule over Henan, Shandong and even Hebei will be difficult to maintain.

The victorious Song army also paid a huge price. In the Battle of Chao County alone, six generals at the level of commanders were killed in battle, namely Shi Jun, Wang Qi, Hua Wang, Bi Jin, Wei Yongshou, and Yu Feiying. All the other commanders suffered injuries of varying degrees. Twenty commanders were killed, and the number of generals below the rank of captain was simply incalculable.

Almost all the armies of Ezhou, Chizhou, Huaixi and Huaidong that participated in the battle were defeated.

In particular, the elite Huaidong army led by Liu Qi was ambushed and attacked by the Wu Rui army at the beginning, and then participated in a melee. Finally, they had to face the barely organized Wei Sheng army's breakout troops. The casualties were particularly heavy. Even Liu Qi, the commander-in-chief of the Huaidong army, was seriously injured and unconscious.

The old forces of the Ezhou and Chizhou armies were completely defeated, and nearly half of the Beiwei army was killed or wounded; the Huaixi army had lost nearly 40% of its troops, and the army that Yu Yunwen had gathered by all means had almost lost its combat effectiveness.

Although the Jingnan Army was relatively intact compared to the other armies, it suffered nearly a thousand casualties during the siege of the Wuping Army and the Weisheng Army.

This does not include the casualties suffered by the enemy.

Especially the death of Zhang Xiaoyi in battle made Liu Huai heartbroken. He almost lost his composure in front of Li Xiu and burst into tears.

Not to mention that Zhang Xiaoyi is diligent and cautious, strong and brave in battle, and he learns military strategies, martial arts and cultural knowledge very quickly. He is the third general in the Shandong Loyal Army faction who can be appointed as a general.

Just to say that when the Loyal Army started the Northern Expedition, Liu Huai had not yet made any achievements or gained any reputation, and Zhang Baiyu even dared to contradict him in person, it was Zhang Xiaoyi who clearly led the East China Sea Righteous Army to support Liu Huai, and he was a true loyal minister.

Such a promising figure, at just 21 years old, in the prime of his youth, with high-ranking officials and nobles waiting for him, died on the battlefield without even leaving behind a son, or even a proper name. How could this not make people beat their chests and stamp their feet? How could the entire Jingnan army not be furious?
After suffering such heavy casualties, everyone was furious. The soldiers of the Jingnan Army who were still able to move launched a pursuit of the Jin army despite the wind and snow.

We must catch Wanyan Liang!
As for the Song State, the original plan was to annihilate the three Wanhu of the Jin army in Huaixi, and then march towards Bianliang after forcing back Tu Shanzhen's troops in Huaidong. Regardless of whether the old capital could be recovered or not, it was a strategic move to cut off the retreat of Pushan Zhongyi.

But at this time the war was so brutal that the most elite field armies of the Song State in Xiangfan and Lianghuai were all defeated, and the previous strategy had to be abandoned.

If you want to gain a strategic political advantage, you must capture the Jin emperor!
As a result, the various armies of the Song State also went crazy.

Even scholars like Lu You gritted their teeth and pursued the enemy in the wind and snow.

However, on such a snowy night, even if Song was the victorious side, it could not guarantee the existence of the organization.

Real objective facts such as chaotic troops, night, rivers, and villages will cause the pursuing troops to be divided.

Therefore, there were only more than twenty knights by Liu Huai's side.

But the good news is that there are many local people from Lianghuai in the Jingnan Army, so they are not afraid of getting lost.

The scouts went out in all directions and quickly gathered the surrounding soldiers and horses together. After counting their number, they found that there were only about two hundred cavalrymen.

These soldiers included not only He Boqiu, Zhang Baiyu, Xin Qiji and others from the Jingnan Army, but also some Song troops. They were led by Yuan Qi, a fierce general from the Huaidong Army. In addition, there was Bi Zaiyou, a young general with several cavalrymen.

More than two hundred riders gathered together, took out a big pot from the dead village, took out all the food, and stewed it together. After placing the war horses, they gathered in a big house that seemed to be a ancestral hall, lit a fire, distributed food, and ate the hot food in silence to relieve their physical fatigue and cold.

After eating, those who had finished sat aside, some tending their war horses, some preparing their armor and weapons, and there seemed to be fire burning in everyone's eyes.

Gu Shun changed his wet clothes, put on the cloak given to him by the sergeant, shivered beside the fire, and only after eating a bowl of porridge mixed with dried meat did he feel better.

However, just after finishing his meal, the man from Shandong began to sob softly again.

Guan Chongyan finished his bowl of food, rinsed it with some hot water, and drank slowly as he asked, "Didn't I give you food before and tell you and those Huaixi people to find a way to cross the river, and hide if you couldn't? Why did you end up like this today? And how did you know where the financial sponsor was?"

Liu Huai also looked over.

Although Guan Chongyan was Liu Huai's personal guard, he had already become a regular general by now and would not usually report stories about distributing pancakes to refugees and soldiers. Therefore, Liu Huai did not know where Gu Shun came from at first. He only had a general understanding after listening to a few words from Guan Chongyan.

Gu Shun suppressed the urge to sob and bowed to Guan Chongyan, saying, "They are all dead. General, I... I took those cakes and returned to the temple, but found that the Jin thieves had discovered them... They were killed by the Jin thieves because they were waiting for me..."

Having said this, Gu Shun burst into tears again.

The first to react was Bi Zaiyu. The young general seemed to want to throw the bowl in his hand to the ground, but because there was still food in it, he couldn't bear to do so. In the end, he just stomped his feet fiercely: "These gold thieves! Filthy thieves! I will definitely..."

Liu Huai shook his head and said to Gu Shun, "Go on."

Gu Shun stopped crying. "I don't know how to swim or steer a boat, so there's no way I could cross the river. The commander said a major battle was coming, so I had no choice but to flee north. I didn't know anyone there, so I fled to a village in the mountains nearby. There was a family with only women and children left. Seeing that I still had some strength and some bread, they took me in..."

I originally planned to leave after the war, but yesterday my family ran out of food and it snowed a bit, so I left the village, intending to hunt some wild animals and catch some fish, but unexpectedly I ran into the Jin army.

The Jin thieves asked me to take them to a village to take shelter from the snowstorm. However, although I am just a commoner, I am not an ungrateful beast. How can I take them back to the village? I just took them wandering around aimlessly.

Then this group of Jin thieves ran into another group on the bridge. They said something like "Your Majesty, Minister Wanyan, and Minister Li are in the village ahead." I took advantage of their unpreparedness and jumped into the river to escape. I don't know how long I drifted downstream, and after reaching the shore, I met the Grand Marshal..."

When Gu Shun said this, he burst into tears again. It was unclear whether it was because the past was really difficult or because he felt lucky to have finally escaped.

Liu Huai nodded, poured some hot water into the bowl and drank it slowly.

In this case, as long as they attack upstream along the small river nearby, they can find Wanyan Liang and even get a few important officials of the Jin Dynasty.

Thinking of this, Liu Huai drank the hot water in the bowl and said to Yuan Qi and Bi Zaiyu, "You two must obey my orders."

Yuan Qi nodded. "General Xiao Liu fought hard today. We all saw it, and so did everyone else. How could I possibly object?"

Bi Zaiyu was about to say something when Liu Huai interrupted him: "Bi Dalang, stop running around. Come to my side and be my personal guard!"

Bi Jin has died in battle, and Bi Zaiyou has also made great contributions by killing a general in battle. From any perspective, Liu Huai cannot let him fall into danger after winning a great victory.

Bi Zaiyu was about to retort when he saw Liu Huai's stern eyes. His heart skipped a beat, and then he remembered the military hierarchy. He quickly bowed and said, "As ordered." Liu Huai nodded and stood up. "Are you all full?"

In the firelight, the knights stood up one after another. Although they could not make loud noises, they all nodded heavily.

"Guan Chongyan, Li Jihu, and Cao Dache, each assign your own soldiers. Ensure that at least one out of every ten is a local. Disperse, ambush, and surround. At the sound of the horn, attack together!"

"Here!"

Liu Huai looked at Lu You again and said, "Mr. Lu, your body is not as strong as a warrior. You have been traveling for a long time today and participated in the war. Please wait here for a while."

Lu You was indeed extremely exhausted. By this point, he could only sit against a pillar with his eyes half-closed to rest. However, upon hearing this, he gritted his teeth and said, "We've come this far. We've come through so many hardships and dangers. How can I retreat? Don't worry about me holding you back, Dalang. I can stay outside the village to watch over the horses. I won't try to be so stubborn."

Liu Huai thought about it, but ultimately found no way to stop it, so he could only nod and say, "Then please be careful, Mr. Lu."

Seeing that the surrounding soldiers had already started to move and were helping each other to organize their weapons, He Boqiu whispered, "Sir, if you can capture the gold master alive, it's better to do so."

Liu Huai remained silent, but Zhang Baiyu immediately retorted, "What's there to say to this bandit chief? Just kill him with one blow!"

He Boqiu took a deep breath, his voice still low: "Zhang Silang, I know how you feel, but I also want to kill Wanyan Liang. You must know that our Hejiazhuang has always been under the rule of the Jin army. If we talk about hatred, how can I not have a deep hatred for the Jin thieves?

But killing Wanyan Liang is just getting rid of a common man. The Jurchens are not extinct, and they will soon elect another emperor. But if we capture him, we can do a lot more.

As he spoke, He Boqiu's smile grew grim. "Besides, even if Wanyan Liang is useless, killing him with just one blow would be too easy for him. I have nine ways to torture him. Nine!"

Zhang Baiyu was a little unconvinced at first, but when he heard the last sentence, he also grinned.

Liu Huai shook his head: "I won't order anyone to hold back. War is a dangerous time. If we don't use all our strength in a life-or-death struggle, we might be the ones to die."

As he spoke, Liu Huai picked up his spear and said loudly: "Let's go now and put an end to this battle!"

"Here!"

At the same time, the Jin army had not yet sensed the coming danger.

They were just too exhausted.

Although the Song army was also tired, they were the victorious side after all, and their spirits were still there. However, the Jin army was completely discouraged, so much so that they did not even have the most basic outer defense and only left a few soldiers to keep watch.

In the largest and cleanest room, Wanyan Liang and several ministers were sitting opposite each other by a campfire.

Compared with the previous huge group of important officials, the advisory group had shrunk greatly at this time, with only Li Tong, Wanyan Yuanyi and Da Huaizhen remaining. However, even at this point, Li Tong still did not forget to flatter others, causing Wanyan Yuanyi to look at him sideways frequently.

"Your Majesty, the Duke of Chu has second thoughts. He didn't come with us to find Your Majesty, but disappeared on the way." Li Tong said sternly, "We must be on guard."

After this crushing defeat, Wanyan Liang did not become overly depressed, but rather less arrogant. He ignored Li Tong's provocations and said in a deep voice, "Don't say such hurtful words. The Duke of Chu is a pillar of the country and will not rebel."

Li Tong was slightly stunned.

So you also know that this is a heartbreaking statement?!

What about the Wanyan clan members whom you killed before with all kinds of inexplicable excuses?
Li Tong swore to heaven that he had no hatred against Wanyan Bendu, and that he was gossiping about him at this time purely out of political inertia, giving Wanyan Liang an excuse to deal with the royal family.

There was no way. This defeat was so tragic that even Prime Minister Li Tong didn't dare to think about it carefully, for fear of crying out loud on the spot.

Given the political environment of the Jin Dynasty, it would be a miracle if there was no rebellion. The first to be hit was Wanyan Bendu, who was in a high position of power and had extensive experience.

Although Wanyan Bendu was over sixty years old, Sima Yi was still able to accomplish great things when he was seventy years old, and sixty years old was only considered his prime.

However, Li Tong did not expect that Wanyan Liang would directly reject his persuasion. Has he changed his character?

Wanyan Liang had indeed changed, but not in the way Li Tong had thought. After this great defeat and the deaths of many of his loyal followers, he finally gave up his arrogant attitude of "God is the boss and I am the second in command."

He is very smart and has always been very smart. In one sentence, he is "wise enough to reject advice and eloquent enough to cover up his mistakes."

This guy understood everything, but he used to have strong troops and the status of emperor, so he could do whatever he wanted and seemed to be reckless. However, after encountering setbacks and disadvantages, his political wisdom returned to him.

Sure enough, Wanyan Liang's next words were: "If something goes wrong in the court, the first person to worry about is not the Duke of Chu, but Wulu. I have returned in defeat, and he will definitely cause chaos in Liaodong."

Wanyan Yuanyi looked as if he understood everything. Who else could be his biggest threat besides Wanyan Yong? But then he became somewhat helpless: "Hesheli Zuo Cheng has already gone to Liaodong. If he can't suppress Wulu, we..."

Wan Yanliang could only sigh: "We can only take it one step at a time."

This is the disadvantage of militarism. Once a country becomes a military power, it can only gain military merit and wealth through aggression. Although a strong army can be built by taking advantage of one thing, once the pace of war stops, the entire country will be ruined.

Not to mention defeat.

Since the country relies entirely on the army for support, it is not surprising that the country falls into chaos after the loss of the army.

It was only natural that Wanyan Liang was powerless at this time.

However, as soon as Wanyan Liang finished speaking, Da Huaizhen, who had been wiping his sword, suddenly stood up.

"There's the sound of horse hooves!" Da Huaizhen roared, "Enemy attack!"

Before he finished speaking, a noisy warning sounded outside the house: "Who is it?! Stop!"

Then there was a sudden and violent sound of horse hooves and heavy objects being dragged, accompanied by a horn sound, and a log as big as a beam knocked down the back wall of the house.

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a long spear rushed in, stirring up the wind and snow.

"Wanyan Liang! Your Grandpa Liu keeps his word! I'm here to take your life!"

“Ah!!!” Da Huaizhong roared loudly, and with a long sword, he quickly blocked the spear: “Go!”

Wanyan Liang was the first to react. He pulled Li Tong and Wanyan Yuanyi and fled.

(End of this chapter)