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

Chapter 583 Internal and External Troubles, the City Must Be Perilous

Although the Taiping Army suffered a minor setback in Daming Prefecture, their morale remained high.

However, at the same time, his hometown of Dongping Prefecture was not so stable.

The Wu'an Army swept into Dongping Prefecture with unstoppable momentum, not only killing Sun Hei in battle but also completely besieging Xucheng, the capital of Dongping Prefecture.

The defending general, Shao Jin, stood atop the city wall, his face ashen as he gazed at the vast Jin army below.

In fact, the first batch of troops that arrived at the city walls to sweep the surrounding area consisted of only a dozen or so cavalrymen led by Gao Anren. Moreover, they had just gone through a major battle and a long march. If Shao Jin could muster his courage and lead the main force of the city to fight back head-on, he might actually be able to drive Gao Anren away.

The sight of the Jin army's three horses and one man each shocked Shao Jin so much that he didn't react immediately. By the time he finally came to his senses after being reminded by his deputy, Gao Anren had already begun to display the flags and heads of Sun Hei's troops. This shocked all the Tianping soldiers in Xucheng.

When the sails of Jin warships gradually appeared on the Beiqing River and the Wen River, Kong Duanqi could no longer contain himself and tugged at Shao Jin's sleeve, saying, "General Shao, why haven't you sent out troops yet?"

Shao Jin's face turned ashen. Pointing outside the city, he said, "Mr. Kong, tell me, what did you see?"

Kong Duanqi didn't know where to begin, but he still peeked out and looked towards the outside of the city. After a moment, he said, "The Jin invaders are surrounding the city with cavalry, and their ships are coming from Liangshan Marsh, heading towards the Wen River and the Beiqing River. It seems they want to surround Xucheng. Uh..."

At this moment, Kong Duanqi finally saw the flags, heads, and armor that the Jin army had raised, and he was speechless.

Shao Jin gritted his teeth and said, "Mr. Kong, do you think the situation is perilous and the Jin bandits are powerful? Our men aren't fools. What you can see, they naturally understand too!"

"Are we just going to watch the Jurchen bandits sweep through the surrounding area?"

Faced with Kong Duanqi's questioning, Shao Jin's cheeks twitched a few times.

The cities of this era were not isolated; they were surrounded by military forts, water fortresses, markets, ferry crossings, and villages.

The Jin army arrived far too quickly. Not only was there no need for a scorched-earth policy, but even the Beiqinghe water fortress could no longer be contacted. After the military envoys left the city, they were hunted down by the Jin cavalry in the open fields, making it impossible to transmit military orders.

Shao Jin could only use flags to command the thousand-odd soldiers and thirty large ships in the water fortress outside the city not to act rashly.

The Jin army's expedition was somewhat of a surprise attack. As long as they could preserve their strength and hold out for a while, the Taiping army could naturally use their local advantages to fight the Jin army.

However, whether it was because Shao Jin's flag signals were not clear or because something went wrong at the water fortress, the Taiping Army's navy opened the water gates and poured out in full force.

Upon seeing this, the Jin army's cavalry and infantry immediately changed course and, instead of heading to the walls of Xucheng, moved north along the Beiqing River to begin their attack on the Tianping army's water fortress.

Faced with attacks from both land and sea, the Taiping navy, hastily deployed, gradually found itself at a disadvantage. In less than a quarter of an hour, the Jin army breached the gates of the water fortress and swarmed in, flames and thick smoke rising into the air.

Shao Jin's face grew even uglier, but he simply watched the scene silently without making any move.

His lieutenant, on the contrary, kept urging him to fight: "General! Let me lead the troops out to charge and fight! If we keep watching the Jurchen rebels cause trouble, morale will really suffer!"

"Shut up!" Shao Jin suddenly turned around, grabbed the deputy general by the collar, pulled him to the city wall, and pointed at the spoils of war being waved by the Jin soldiers.

"How could Sun Hei's two thousand-plus soldiers be wiped out so quickly?" Shao Jin's spittle nearly landed on his deputy's face. "That scoundrel went out into battle recklessly and was wiped out by the Jin invaders in a single battle! Do you also want the Jin invaders to stick your head on a flagpole?!"

The lieutenant, however, did not back down. Instead, he raised his head and said, "In that case, General, you should focus on defending the city. How about giving me some troops to fight the Jin invaders?"

Shao Jin laughed in anger, pushed his deputy to the ground, and ordered his guards: "Drag him away and whip him twenty times!"

“Mr. Kong,” Shao Jin said, panting, forcing himself to calm down, “You should gather the wealthy families in the city and have them contribute money and grain. Also, gather the able-bodied men in the city to defend the city.”

Having said that, Shao Jin looked around and loudly encouraged the soldiers around him: "Liu Dalang of the Jingnan Army will come! The Song army will come! Once we send out the message, the governor will also lead his army back. As long as we hold out for a while, then..."

Shao Jin pointed at the Wu'an army, who were swaggering around the city, and a sinister smile appeared on his face: "When the time comes, I'll chop these Jurchen traitors into mincemeat one by one!"

"it is good!"

"Here!"

The Taiping generals, who had initially been somewhat apprehensive, finally mustered some courage and loudly agreed. They then busied themselves preparing the city's defenses. Kong Duanqi didn't even know how he had descended the city wall; his mind remained blank until he returned to his residence.

Whether the State of Song sent reinforcements or not, the others do not know, but does the Grand Strategist Kong not know?

Kong Duanqi originally held onto a sliver of hope, because the Jin army in Xuzhou was very likely to split up. Even if they didn't split up, they couldn't stay in Xuzhou any longer. They would either return to Hebei or go to Bianliang in the Central Plains.

Such a resolute attack was truly beyond his expectations.

This is a chaotic world!

In chaotic times, only those with troops can become kings. Aren't these Jin Dynasty military leaders afraid of losing all their soldiers?

Kong Duanqi didn't doubt whether Liu Huai would send troops, because the man's stance was far too resolute—the kind of resoluteness that everyone in the world knew. But the key point was that this was 30,000 regular Jin troops. Even if the Jingnan Army and the Zhongyi Army were to come out in full force, whether they could defeat them was another matter entirely.

Moreover, Pengcheng is a fortified city. If the Jin army leaves a few thousand troops to block them, how could Liu Huai possibly fly over there?

He only has the nickname "Flying Tiger," but he is not actually a tiger with wings on his ribs!

However, if even this only reinforcement cannot arrive in time, Xucheng will likely face the main force of the Jin invaders next. Twenty thousand regular troops plus tens of thousands of conscripted soldiers could crush Xucheng.

In this daze, Kong Duanqi sent Zhang Nan and others to gather wealthy households and organize able-bodied men, while he abandoned all his daily affairs and went to the backyard of the mansion.

Kong Duanqi's mansion was quite impressive, with a large courtyard with five entrances and a garden in the back, making it one of the most luxurious mansions in Xucheng.

This was not built by Kong Duanqi after he became a military advisor. In fact, it was the residence of a Jurchen noblewoman. After Geng Jing occupied Dongping Prefecture, he bestowed the residence upon Kong Duanqi, which aroused the envy of many.

From this perspective, Geng Jing truly did right by Kong Duanqi.

In the backyard garden, a man was basking in the winter sun with his eyes half-closed, sitting lazily in a chair. Hearing footsteps approaching, he slightly opened his eyes: "Mr. Kong, what brings you here?"

Kong Duanqi stared intently at the man, as if this Jin envoy named Yiladao was not someone he had personally hidden in his own residence.

After a long silence, Kong Duanqi smiled and said, "I'm not a prime minister, so why can't I have free time?"

Yila Dao laughed: "No, no, no, that's not what I meant. I wanted to ask, now that our Great Jin Heavenly Army has arrived, and Master Kong is burdened with heavy responsibilities, even if he doesn't go to the city walls to guard them, shouldn't he at least be in charge of civil administration and procure supplies and able-bodied men for the defense of the city? Why do you have time to gossip with me?"

Kong Duanqi felt a slight jolt in his heart. He hadn't expected Yila Dao to be so perceptive, able to deduce that the Jin army had begun their siege even while under house arrest.

The Confucius Mansion is located in the center of Xucheng, making it difficult for any disturbances outside the city to reach it.

Kong Duanqi still suspected that Yila Dao was bluffing him, and replied without changing his expression, "Why are the Jin thieves here? Are you perhaps having a fit of hysteria?"

Yila Dao, his smile unchanged, pointed to the sky and then sniffed the air a few times: "Mr. Kong, don't try to fool me. Although I am of noble Khitan descent, I am not unaccustomed to the battlefield. I can smell it with my nose that a major war is about to break out."

Having said that, Yila Dao's smile turned cold: "Now that our Great Jin Heavenly Army has arrived, can Mr. Kong still waver? Make up your mind quickly! Don't end up pleasing neither side!"

Kong Duanqi originally wanted to make some connections with Yila Dao, but he was hesitant because he had received Geng Jing's kindness. When he heard Yila Dao make a threatening statement, he simply turned and left.

The Jin army has only arrived at the city walls and has not yet attacked. How dare you, Yiladao, make such a threat? Isn't that a bit too arrogant?
Yila Dao was not surprised by the result at all. He just laughed and then continued to rest with his eyes closed in the warm winter sun.

The idea that one can persuade a person of high position to change their ways with just a silver tongue is pure myth. A persuader's skill lies in analyzing the situation clearly, prompting the other party to make a choice, and acting as a mediator.

In Yila Dao's view, Kong Duanqi's act of hiding him, the Jin envoy, in Xucheng was a good start. Now, he has gone a step further, coming to find him while the Jin army besieged the city, indicating an intention to communicate.

But that's still not enough. Kong Duanqi still harbors a glimmer of hope. His current predicament is not enough to make him betray Geng Jing. He needs to add fuel to the fire.

Whether it's internal or external fire, it will definitely ignite very quickly.

A smile appeared on Yila Dao's lips, which, in the white sunlight, truly resembled the Buddha smiling as he held up a flower.

(End of this chapter)