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

Chapter 582 Confidants Amidst Suspicion

"I thought you were a capable person, how could you suffer such a crushing defeat?!" Geng Jing was furious, pointing at the dejected Zhang Anguo and cursing, "You've lost your spear, why don't you lose your head?"

Zhang Anguo was extremely embarrassed, but could only mutter a defense: "I was careless today..."

Geng Jing was even more furious: "You're not just careless, you're showing no regard for my great cause!"

Even though it was said in private, the words were still too harsh. Zhang Anguo immediately knelt down, but because he was wearing heavy armor, he couldn't use his arms and ended up falling to the ground.

Seeing Zhang Anguo's pitiful state, Geng Jing's anger subsided considerably. He stepped forward to help Zhang Anguo up before sighing and saying, "Seventh Brother, you are my confidant. You always think of me. I remember that."

"But if you want to establish yourself in the world and gain a great reputation in the future, how can you rely solely on my favor? How can you not have real achievements? Otherwise, who will respect you?"

"Take me for example. Before, I was just a leader of refugees. Let alone outsiders, how many people in our own Taiping Army didn't submit to me? After I killed Shizhan Xieye, didn't they all submit to me?"

"On the other hand, why am I so far behind Liu Dalang? Isn't it because he actually went to fight the Jin bandits, fought against the Jin emperor, and wiped out several Jin regular armies, while I only killed Shi Zhanxie?"

Geng Jing sighed again, patting Zhang Anguo's hand as he said, "I can't establish myself in this world without you, but you also have to make me proud and achieve something."

"Today's striker position was only secured for you by going against the wishes of both Xin Wu and Ye Er, you..."

At this point, Geng Jing became somewhat annoyed and stomped his feet repeatedly.

Zhang Anguo's lips twitched a few times, and he lowered his head and said, "Big brother, I was wrong..."

Geng Jing sighed again: "Don't say anything more. When Xin Wu, Ye Er, and Da Tieqiang arrive, don't show this attitude, otherwise how will you lead the troops?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than someone outside the command tent requested an audience.

While inwardly cursing that Cao Cao had appeared, Geng Jing ordered his personal guards to bring everyone in.

Sure enough, the next moment Ye Shichan, Xin Qiji and others filed in.

As soon as the group stood still, Geng Jing coughed a few times and asked, "Have you all set up your camps?"

Ye Shichan nodded, cupped his hands and said, "I hope the commander knows that all the troops have set up camp, and the laborers are digging trenches, erecting wooden fences and installing barricades. Tomorrow we will be able to completely surround Yuancheng."

"Good!" Geng Jing clapped his hands loudly, a look of joy on his face: "You have all made great contributions. After we take Yuan City, all the wealth and women in the city will be at your disposal!"

Xin Qiji's face darkened. Although he knew this wasn't the time to discuss this, he still advised, "Commander, after you've seized the entire treasury, you must still distinguish between the Jurchen bandits, the corrupt gentry, and the virtuous families. Otherwise, if the chaos spreads throughout the city..."

Geng Jing interrupted impatiently, "Wulang, even if you have some merit, we should wait until we take over Daming Prefecture first."

Xin Qiji was momentarily speechless, but he did not refute it. Instead, he immediately began to talk about the most important military matters.

"Commander, north of Yuancheng, do not let Zhang Qi set up camp. Only by joining forces with Da Tieqiang can we completely surround the city."

Geng Jing frowned and said, "Didn't we agree in our previous military meeting to surround the city from three sides and leave one side open, thus ceding the north side of the city?"

Xin Qiji shook his head: "Indeed, we are surrounded on three sides but missing one. Today, I walked around outside the city and carefully observed the situation inside. I found that the troops in Yuan City are not very elite, and there are very few archers."

Logically, the Jin invaders should no longer be able to hold Yuancheng, but instead of abandoning the city, they are still holding out. The Jin invaders likely intend to exhaust our strength under the city's fortifications, waiting until our army is weary before launching their main force to engage us.

As he spoke, Xin Qiji pointed to the north: "Based on the military intelligence of the past few days, the Jin invaders are most likely to come from Hejian Prefecture. At that time, we will need an elite force to hold off the Jin invaders' attack."

Xin Qiji glanced at Zhang Anguo: "Today, Zhang Qi's troops suffered heavy losses..."

Zhang Anguo clenched his still somewhat sore hands, gritted his teeth, and remained silent.

Doesn't Xin Qiji mean that he lacks the ability to shoulder heavy responsibilities?
But his performance today was indeed poor, lacking in both military strategy and personal martial prowess. Saying anything would only bring him humiliation, so he simply kept quiet.

However, Xin Qiji did not mean to belittle him in any way. Instead, he continued, "Let Zhang Qi rest for a few days, build siege ladders and battering rams, and then lead the army to attack the city."

This implies that some people were using the credit for being the first to scale the walls to bribe Geng Jing's confidants.

Geng Jinggang was about to nod, but then hesitated.

Was the Jin army defending Yuancheng really a makeshift force, as Xin Qiji described?

Could it be that Xin Wulang is trying to use this method to deplete the troops of his trusted men?
But then Geng Jing thought again that although Xin Qiji's more than 3,000 troops were very strong, they were troops that Geng Jing had reorganized, and were not the private army like the previous Xin's Army.

How can one distinguish between confidants and outsiders?
Thinking of this, Geng Jing nodded: "Then let's do as Wu Lang says. Big Iron Spear, you go with Wu Lang to the north, set up a camp carefully, and conceal your tracks so that the Jin bandits in the city don't notice anything amiss."

Li Tieqiang responded loudly with a stern face.

"Ye Er, the west side is now in your hands. Atai, you're in charge of the east side."

Ye Shichan and Liang Atai both agreed.

Geng Jing stood up, somewhat smugly, and said, "I'll be on the south side. Wang Jiu, this time, I'll be your striker."

Wang Youzhi, who had remained silent until now, finally grinned. The military meeting was hastily concluded, and the generals returned to their respective camps to prepare for the upcoming battle.

After being away from the command tent for a long time, Li Tieqiang finally lost his composure. Gritting his teeth and with red eyes, he said, "Brother... how did my brother become like this?! Where... where is my good brother?!"

Xin Qiji was also somewhat disheartened.

Whether in the Jingnan Army, the Loyal Army, or the former Taiping Army, he could speak freely, regardless of whether it was right or wrong, and openly express his thoughts.

Why do we need to beat around the bush now, even resorting to such methods to achieve important military strategies?

This isn't Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang judging others by their own petty standards; in the military discussion just now, Geng Jing's protection of Zhang Anguo was far too obvious, so obvious that even Wang Youzhi, a theoretical outsider, couldn't stand it.

Do you really think this guy is silent because he doesn't like to talk?

Zhang Anguo, as the vanguard, was careless and was taken advantage of by the enemy, suffering nearly three hundred casualties. As a result, the morale of the entire army was shattered, and the morale of the Jin invaders also soared. This was a huge mess.

So how did Geng Jing do it?

Beheading is out of the question, but surely some punishment should be given, such as stripping him of his military power, giving him dozens of lashes, and demoting him to the rank of deputy general?

But today, Geng Jing's attitude was such that he didn't even reprimand him in public, trying to gloss over the matter.

Can we get away with this?

In contrast to his unconditional favoritism towards Zhang Anguo, Geng Jing became increasingly suspicious of the other generals.

Take the forward position as an example.

Whether it was Xin Qiji, Li Tieqiang, Ye Shichan, or even Shi Baiju leading the army, none of them would have suffered such a crushing defeat.

But Geng Jing insisted on abandoning the safest option and instead promoted his close confidants.

For example, in today's military council, Xin Qiji and Ye Shichan are both capable of handling things independently without any problems, but Liang Atai is far inferior in both seniority and ability. Why was he able to squeeze out Wang Youzhi and become the person in charge?

Isn't it because Wang Youzhi's contributions in Bozhou were too great that Geng Jing became wary of him?

It's not impossible for Geng Jing to become the ruler of Xiongchai, but this is only the beginning. What's the big deal about taking over a ripe and ready-made Bozhou?
After pondering for a moment, Xin Qiji finally uttered a phrase that Liu Huai had once said: "This is the alienation of people by power."

Li Tieqiang sighed heavily, opened his mouth several times as if to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

As the two arrived at their respective camps and were about to part ways, Li Tieqiang said, "If we help our elder brother ascend the throne, do you think he will become another Zhao Emperor? Will he, like that Zhao Emperor, kill those of us who want to bring peace to the world for his own peace?"

That's a very formal way of speaking; it's obvious that it's been influenced by someone.

Xin Qiji shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Conquering the world is not that simple. It's common to die nine times out of ten..."

Knowing that Xin Qiji didn't want to answer the question, Li Tieqiang deliberately changed the subject, which immediately dispelled his desire to continue asking.

However, after pondering for a moment on horseback, he couldn't hold back any longer and asked in a low voice, "What if it were Liu Dalang?"

Li Tieqiang hadn't expected a reply, but Xin Qiji gave a firm answer this time.

"No, Liu Dalang would never do that."

Li Tieqiang was slightly taken aback, and immediately asked, "Why do you say that?"

Xin Qiji remained silent for a long time, seemingly wondering why he had given such a resolute answer.

Li Tieqiang, however, seemed unhurried, simply holding the reins and waiting quietly to the side.

"It's because Liu Dalang has an extraordinary spirit."

Xin Qiji pondered for a long time before slowly saying, "It seems that in his eyes, his timeless writings, readily available power, and countless riches and honors were all like rotten flesh."

Owls are naturally overjoyed to see carrion, but phoenixes will not drink from anything but sweet springs, nor will they perch on anything but the parasol tree.

What Liu Dalang pursued always seemed different from what ordinary people did.

At this point, Xin Qiji seemed to fall into some kind of confusion again: "Liu Dalang seems to really believe that there is loyalty and righteousness in the world, and really believes that he can create a peaceful and prosperous world."

How could someone like that become suspicious of others because of power?

In the end, Xin Qiji turned to look at Li Tieqiang, sighed, and simply shook his head.

Li Tieqiang remained silent for a moment before turning his horse and leaving.

As the sun set and darkness fell, the city walls of Yuancheng became even brighter with lights.

(End of this chapter)