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

Chapter 539: Civil and Military Cowardice and Disarray

The most comfortable and safe route from Jiankang to Lin'an is theoretically to take a boat from the Yangtze River to Zhenjiang Prefecture, then follow the canal from Danyang to Changzhou, all the way southeast, and after arriving at Pingjiang Prefecture, turn south along the canal to Jiaxing Prefecture, and then turn southwest to Lin'an Prefecture.

Although this journey is long, it has one great advantage, which is that you only have to stay on the ship along the way. As long as you can defend the ship, everything will be fine.

However, the ideas are rich and the reality is very skinny.

The remnants of the Jin navy appeared on the Yangtze River, and Zhang Guang led the main elite forces of the Jiankang navy to attack, which resulted in a certain shortage of troops on the Yangtze River.

With Zhao Gou's courage, he did not dare to take the risk of crossing the Yangtze River. Instead, he chose to take the land route and boarded the ship only after arriving in Danyang.

Since the leader is not taking risks, then the younger brothers should naturally follow suit. Otherwise, if something goes wrong, won't the blame be entirely on us?

Moreover, the Jingnan Army and the Dongping Army were just north of the Yangtze River, and Zhao Mi really did not dare to take such a risk.

After an hour, around 3:15 p.m., Zhao Mi could no longer wait. Under Tang Shitui's urging gaze, he took more than 50 armored cavalry and more than 300 archers and yamen runners, and escorted Wanyan Liang and other high-ranking Jin officials captives out of the city gate tremblingly and headed east.

However, after marching three or four miles, Zhao Mi discovered that the armored cavalry under his command was in better condition. Those yamen runners and archers had no marching training at all, and soon the ranks became extremely disorganized, scattered here and there, and some were falling behind, just like a spring outing with poor command.

Zhao Mi could still accept this, because bringing this group of yamen runners with him would not only make Tang Shitui feel at ease, but more importantly, it would allow him to find more witnesses in the event of an attack.

Being under the watchful eyes of the public, visitors will always be a little cautious.

But what shocked Zhao Mi even more was that his army of a thousand people had disappeared without a trace, and not even a messenger or scout was sent back, as if they had thrown him, the commander, out of their minds and completely forgotten about him.

After walking forward for a few more miles, Zhao Mi was no longer surprised, but a little frightened.

Although he was in the Fu territory of Song State, and there were dozens of knights and Jiankang yamen runners around him, and there were busy farmers on both sides of the official road, Zhao Mi still felt a chill, and his heart was filled with a feeling of isolation and helplessness as if he was the only one in the world.

But at this point, there was no other way. Zhao Mi could only send a military envoy to contact Tian Zhuo while controlling the troops to continue advancing.

At the same time, Tang Shitui, who was in Jiankang City, had just returned to his government office when he saw a minor official running towards him.

"Master Tang! Master Tang! It's bad! The Jin bandits... The Jin bandits' ships are attacking!"

Tang Shitui didn't waste any of the tea in his mouth, spitting it all out. Without even wiping the water stains from his beard, he shouted orders: "Quickly close the four gates! Light the signal fires! Have that fellow Sun Liang prepare to meet the enemy! Jin thieves... where did these Jin troops come from?"

The clerk trembled all over and pointed to the north. "They are coming from...from the northern river. There are...over a hundred ships!"

Even though Tang Situi was extremely afraid of the Jin Kingdom, he almost got angry when he heard what the clerk said.

Over a hundred warships? How is that possible? Did the entire Jin navy come back to life?

"Bullshit! Did you see it with your own eyes?!" Tang Situi stepped forward, kicked the clerk to the ground, and cursed: "Over a hundred warships..."

The clerk rolled over on the ground twice, clutching his shoulder and saying, "Sir, I didn't see it with my own eyes, but those who escaped from the docks said there were hundreds, even thousands, of ships covering the entire river..."

Tang Shitui was slightly stunned when he heard this.

He didn't believe the rumors spread by the villagers that there were hundreds or thousands of warships, but since everyone at the dock said so, the Jin army must have at least thirty or forty warships.

Even if there are only fifty soldiers on each of these thirty or forty warships, that is still an army of two thousand people!

Is it because the Song army lied about the number of beheadings after the Battle of Chao County, or was there a breakthrough somewhere in Xiangfan and Huaibei? How could there be so many Jin troops?

Moreover, this is a large river, and the Jiankang navy is still there. How could the Jin navy be allowed to act so recklessly?!
Zhang Guang deserves to be killed!

After a chaotic stream of thoughts passed through his mind, Tang Situi suddenly realized that he couldn't care less.

The Jiankang garrison originally numbered only 20,000 men, with even fewer elite troops. Some were taken away by Zhang Guang, some were sent to escort Zhao Gou back to the capital, and several hundred soldiers were taken by Zhao Mi to escort Wanyan Liang. At this time, Jiankang was like a dumpling with a peeled skin and a large filling, and anyone who came could have a bite!
Thinking of this, Tang Shitui slowly stood up, first summoned his confidants, and then said to the clerk who came to report the news: "I will go to the top of the city to supervise the battle now. You go and tell the people to stay at home and not go out."

Seeing Tang Situi so calm, the clerk quickly calmed down. Facing the orders from the Jiankang governor, he nodded repeatedly: "Yes, I will go and inform the officials now and tell them to act quickly."

Tang Shitui nodded, then brought more than ten confidants to the stable. After getting on their horses, they headed towards the south city gate without looking back.

The clerk walked out of the government office gate and saw this scene, shouting repeatedly: "Mr. Tang, Mr. Tang, it's not the South City, the Jin thieves are at the water gate in the north!" Tang Situi turned a deaf ear to him, galloped on his horse, and only stopped after arriving at the South City.

It wasn't because of a lack of horsepower, but because the gate was already closed. The gatekeeper grabbed Tang Shitui's horse reins and repeatedly urged him: "Sir, are you going to abandon your land and flee?"

Upon hearing this, Tang Shitui flew into a rage and whipped the guard across the face with his whip. "I'm reporting this to the emperor for the sake of our country. How dare you stop me? You've delayed this important matter, and I'll have your entire clan chopped off!"

The defending general was extremely sad and angry: "Prince Tang, even if the Jin thieves come, they are few in number. Jiankang is a strong city, and it is impossible for the Jin thieves to break through. I hope you can stay in the center and command. I will take the lead and kill the enemy!"

Tang Shitui was about to say something when he saw thick smoke rising from the inner ferry dock in the north. Cries and screams were heard in Jiankang City. It seemed that the Jin army was about to start attacking the city and had successfully burned the water gate.

Seeing this, Tang Situi was terrified and even more furious. "Will you open the door?! I'm telling you, these idiots, clearly, if you let me out, even if the Jin thieves capture Jiankang, your parents, wives, and children will have a way out. But if you don't open the door, even if we repel the Jin thieves today, I have ten thousand ways to deal with you! Open the door!"

The defending general gritted his teeth, but ultimately he did not dare to face the threat of a former prime minister, so he waved his hand and asked the soldiers to open the gate.

Tang Shitui took a last look at the north gate of Jiankang City, and immediately fled with his entourage without looking back.

At the same time, on the "Jin Army warship" on the Yangtze River, Liang Pan gradually opened his mouth wide, looking at the Jiankang City filled with thick smoke and felt a little at a loss.

As Zhang Baiyu's deputy general, Liang Pan also rose in power and became the commander of the Dongping Army. This time, he followed Zhang Baiyu and, after his general landed, he brought three ships to the city of Jiankang to show off his power and attract attention for Zhang Baiyu.

Liang Pan had been in both the Loyal Army and the Jingnan Army, and had experienced strict military discipline. He would have been sensible at such a time, and at least he would not massacre civilians for no reason. However, what Liang Pan did not expect was that he had only made a few threats, and the inner ferry in the city actually caught fire by itself, and seemed to have ignited the surrounding warehouses. The fire spread rapidly, and even the water gate was ignited.

Faced with this scene, not only Liang Pan, but even the naval soldiers of Dongping Army were also confused.

This...if the Minato is burned through, are we really going to have to fight our way in?!

Liang Pan had seen a lot of things, so he calmed himself down and said loudly, "As instructed before, all the men of the north shouted together, 'Return our Great Jin Emperor to us!'"

At the command, the soldiers with Hebei accents shouted at the same time: "Return our Great Jin Emperor! Return our Great Jin Emperor!"

Hearing the drums and roars coming from the river, Jiankang defender Sun Liang was also in a state of panic. However, it was not because of the three ships outside the city, but because of the chaos inside the city.

To be precise, it was the Jiankang navy that caused the trouble.

Nowadays, water armies usually have a side job, which is smuggling.

The Jiankang navy was no exception. They roamed the river and no one dared to stop them. With such great power, it was impossible for them not to seek benefits for the entire army.

Especially after Zhang Guang took away the main battleships, the remaining soldiers and horses were even more reckless. They not only used baggage ships for smuggling, but also included main battleships such as fighting ships and chariot ships in the smuggling.

Therefore, most of the Jiankang navy at this time were not stationed in the Qinhuai River, which was convenient for attacking, but stayed in the city to facilitate the transportation of goods.

But now the Jin navy dared to block the gate of Jiankang with only three warships, which was really outrageous. Therefore, Sun Liang ordered the Jiankang navy to fight, at least to drive away the Jin navy!

In response to this, Shi Bin, deputy chief of the Jiankang navy, could only perfunctorily move the cargo on the warship to the dock for temporary storage.

As the saying goes, mistakes are made in a hurry. It is easy to make mistakes when you are busy.

It was not known whether the oil was spilled or there was a fire somewhere, but soon flames rose from the dock and spread to the warships of the Jiankang navy, quickly burning the entire camp.

As a result, both Sun Liang and Shi Bin were dumbfounded.

Why the hell are you still attacking? Try to put out the fire and save your life first!
"Return my Great Jin Majesty to me!"

Hearing the roar outside the city, Sun Liang was suddenly startled as if he had grasped something in his mind, and immediately realized the loopholes in Jiankang’s city defense.

This general, who still had some sense of responsibility, made a quick decision: "Quick! Third Brother, you personally lead the troops to the Qinhuai River! Don't let the Jin thieves' navy enter the Qinhuai River. If they do, they will head south and we won't be able to stop them! Ahem…"

As soon as he finished speaking, the wind direction changed and Sun Liang started coughing violently due to the thick smoke.

(End of this chapter)