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

Chapter 600 Speed ​​is of the essence in war, separating the inside from the outside.
Dang Huaiying's operation went very smoothly. He practically drove a carriage and made contact with the Han army's cavalry as soon as he left the manor.

Because at this time, the main force of the Jingnan army had arrived near Licheng, which was only about 50 miles away from the Lin family manor.

After pondering the news, Dang Huaiying was speechless.

Lin Fanrong usually appears to be a decisive and resolute person. Just by looking at how the Lin family of Jinan wasn't killed by Wanyan Liang, you can tell that he has some tricks up his sleeve.

Why should we plan carefully before acting when facing matters of life and death?

Is this what they mean by being cautious about one's life when undertaking great tasks, but risking one's life for small gains?

After Dang Huaiying revealed his identity as a friend of Xin Qiji to the cavalry, the cavalry dared not neglect him and quickly brought him before the commander. After being reported up the chain of command, Dang Huaiying was brought before Liu Huai by evening.

"Greetings, Flying Tiger Gentleman."

Liu Huai maintained basic courtesy towards these literati who had volunteered and were quite famous: "Brother Dang, you must be tired from your journey. Is there any urgent military matter you wish to discuss with me?"

Dang Huaiying nodded and said, "Yes, Flying Tiger, the seventeen powerful families in Licheng County have not yet reached an agreement. If we send troops now, we can defeat them one by one! If we wait any longer, they might want to unite and fight against you, Commander."

Liu Huai's gaze sharpened.

There are established procedures for large-scale military operations; they don't just charge forward at the mere mention of an enemy.

Otherwise, not to mention being ambushed, they would break down just trying to run away.

For the military, organization is always more important than anything else.

Now, suddenly having to make a 50-mile long-distance march overnight is not impossible, but it would involve enormous risks. It is very likely that out of 5,000 people setting out, only 1,000 would reach their destination.

Therefore, Liu Huai wondered to himself, could it be that Dang Huaiying has become addicted to being a Jurchen and wants to lure the enemy deep into his territory?

But to be honest, many people want to be suicide agents, but Liu Huai has never seen anyone bring their own mother along as a suicide agent.

Liu Huai didn't mince words and asked directly, "Do you mean you want our army to launch a night attack?"

Dang Huaiying was taken aback, then said, "I don't understand military affairs and I don't know when to send troops, but the sooner the better, otherwise things may change."

Liu Huai stroked his short beard and pondered for a moment: "There's no rush. Brother Dang, since you've come to join my army, I can't be too negligent. Come and work as my clerk for now. The fighting at the front is urgent, and the old lady needs to be settled in the rear. Once we arrive in Yidu Prefecture, she can stay temporarily in my governor's mansion."

Dang Huaiying did not refuse, but instead breathed a sigh of relief: "I will obey your orders."

Seeing this, Liu Huai asked again, "You came to find me, is there something you want?"

Dang Huaiying hesitated for a moment before saying, "Commander-in-Chief, I am aware of the Loyal Army's policies and dare not comment, but why are you so harsh on the powerful and wealthy?"

Liu Huai knew that Dang Huaiying seemed to want to plead for someone, but he didn't listen any further. Instead, he waved his hand and said, "Dang Wenshu, go to the barracks to rest first, and settle the old lady in as well. As for why I am harsh on the powerful, you will naturally know when we arrive in Dongping Prefecture in a few days."

Dang Huaiying immediately dared not say another word, and left with his hands clasped in respect.

“Young Master, if what you say is true, then this is our army’s chance,” Wang Shilong said after listening quietly for a long time.

This is indeed an opportunity.

A city's defense system is not just about having walls and a moat; it also includes garrison towns, military camps, and other facilities that work together.

The most typical examples are Luoyang and Jinyong during the Wei, Jin and Northern and Southern Dynasties, as well as Jiankang and Shitou. They were all large and small, with one city and one military fortress complementing each other to form a defensive system.

Licheng also had a military fortress, located at the corner between the Xiaoqing River to the north and the Beiqing River to the south. However, due to years of disrepair and erosion by floods, it had long been in a dilapidated state, and the Jin Dynasty could not station troops there unless it invested a great deal of effort in its repair.

Therefore, if we still want to establish a defensive system for Licheng, we need to coordinate with the surrounding powerful manors, with the two or more parties supporting each other, so that the Han army cannot attack the city with peace of mind.

This was also the most troublesome situation anticipated in Jinan Prefecture: the Jin government and powerful clans had completely united and were determined to fight Liu Huai to the death.

It now appears that Liu Huai's arrival was so swift that all the powerful figures were caught off guard and were still undecided.

This is the opportunity.

Liu Huai squinted at the completely dark horizon, pondered for a moment, and then said, "It is indeed an opportunity, but it could also be a big trap."

Before Wang Shilong could say anything more, Liu Huai had already begun issuing military orders: "Never mind that, tonight send out scouts to capture more prisoners and find out the general situation clearly. At the very least, find out if there have been any troop or supply movements."

"Wang Wulang, inform the other generals to get a good rest tonight and prepare for a forced march."

"Yes!" Wang Shilong agreed immediately without hesitation.

That night, Liu Huai scattered his cavalry everywhere, capturing many prisoners. After interrogating and comparing them, he finally confirmed at midnight that there were no ambushes around. The powerful clans outside Licheng were still hesitant to engage the Han army in a direct confrontation.

Liu Huai decisively ordered the entire army to prepare food, and at dawn they broke camp. He then personally led the main force of 6,000 troops on a rapid march to Licheng, where they began to besiege the city.

What kind of powerful and wealthy families are we talking about? Let the troops advance in order, persuade those who should surrender to surrender, and attack those who should attack. This is the marching route that was set from the beginning, and it cannot be changed because of Dang Huaiying's words.

Liu Huai's plan was to directly besiege all of the Jin Dynasty's military forces in Jinan Prefecture within Licheng, thus isolating all the wavering powerful clans of Licheng.

In retrospect, Liu Huai's move was a stroke of genius. Seventeen powerful families and more than twenty manors around Licheng were all at a loss, keeping their gates closed and waiting to see what would happen.

Of course, as a fierce general of the Jin army who still dared to send troops to flank the enemy after the main force of the Jin army was defeated by Yue Fei twenty years ago, Pusanhuntan was still brave. He directly led three hundred armored cavalry out of the city, wanting to give Liu Huai a warning while the Jingnan army was still unstable.

In theory, Pusanhuntan's choice was quite correct.

Whether the outcome will be successful depends on the disparity in strength between the two sides.

Zhang Liao charged into Sun Quan's army, causing Xu Sheng to lose his spear and Chen Wu to die in battle. Zhang Wenyuan could then command respect from all sides and even stop children from crying at night.

But if this guy were to charge into Liu Bei's army formation, especially with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun all present, and try to kill the big-eared thief on the spot, he would be courting death.

When Liu Huai served as the commander of the vanguard of the Loyal and Righteous Army, he rose to power by launching small-scale elite raids. Even without the Flying Tiger Cavalry, Pusanhuntan's attempt to use this tactic was simply showing off his skills in front of Guan Yu.

"Vanguard! Charge forward!" Without Liu Huai giving the order, seeing the gates of Licheng wide open, Lei Ben put on his helmet and roared, "Armored ones, form ranks!"

The three hundred armored soldiers, riding on large carts, were full of energy. They slowly formed ranks and soon arranged themselves into six small square formations, facing Pusanhuntan head-on.

The remaining soldiers of the Vanguard Army, with the help of auxiliary troops, also began to don their armor.

Seeing this from afar, Pusanhuntan dared not charge the heavy infantry head-on, but instead circled around to the flank, trying to find an opportunity.

However, cavalry raids are all about charging forward without hesitation, taking advantage of the enemy's lack of reaction time to disrupt their formation with a fierce assault.

In the short time it took to turn around, Liu Huai had already had enough time.

Liu Huai stood up in his stirrups, first surveying the battlefield, then ordered Wang Shilong: "Stabilize our main force and advance. Also, dispatch elite cavalry to seize the city gate."

Wang Shilong quickly agreed, then whistled to his deputy general Wang Tiepan, who was about ten steps away, and pointed forward.

Wang Tiepan understood, and then led his fifty cavalry and two hundred light infantrymen straight towards the still half-closed city gate.

"Li Xiu! Bring your crossbows and spears, and come with me!"

With that, Liu Huai personally spurred his horse, carrying the two large banners behind him, "Loyalty and Righteousness" and "Pacifying the Rebellion," and together with more than forty personal guards and armored cavalry, rode towards Pusanhuntan.

Li Xiu quickly mustered his elite troops and followed closely behind Liu Huai.

Pusanhuntan's eyes lit up when he saw this. If he could kill Liu Huai or seize those two banners in this battle, wouldn't that end the battle directly?
However, this fellow was, after all, an old general and a cautious one. He grabbed a local officer and loudly asked, "I can clearly see both the Jingnan and Zhongyi banners. But which general is on that blue wave banner, with the characters 'Li' and 'Zhang' embroidered on it? Is his surname Li or Zhang?"

The officer recognized him at a glance: "It should be Li Xiu, the pirate from the East Sea. He is a remnant of the pirates from the East Sea two years ago. Previously, Zhang Xiaoyi was the leader. After Zhang was killed by the Heavenly Army in Chao County, it was Li Xiu's turn to be the leader."

Upon hearing this, Pusanhuntan sneered, "A bunch of bandits, yet they're so loyal, lads..."

As soon as the words were spoken, under the watchful eyes of the Jin army, several hundred soldiers broke away from the Han army's formation and rushed towards the city gate.

Pusanhuntan's face instantly turned ugly.

He hadn't expected the Han army to arrive so quickly, so he had to act hastily today. Therefore, instead of following the usual practice of leaving the city through the north or west gates and circling around it, he opened the south gate and rushed out directly.

At this time, the south gate was still half open, waiting to receive Pusanhuntan.

Although there is a simple barbican behind the city gate, if the city gate is captured, morale will inevitably plummet, and then Jinan Prefecture will really have a hard time holding on.

However, Pusanhuntan was quite capable; after only a moment's hesitation, he immediately made a decision. He raised his spear high and pointed it at Liu Huai: "My men! Follow me and slay this traitor!"

Having said that, the Jin cavalry responded with a roar and charged straight forward, attempting to overwhelm the light infantry with their heavy cavalry and attack the marching formation with their battle formation.

Liu Huai reined in his horse and stopped, then, with his personal guards hidden behind the light infantry, turned to look at Li Xiu.

He wanted to see if the army could still fight after a year of delay, whether its martial arts and military formations had been neglected, and whether it could still defeat the enemy in a proper battle.

Li Xiu didn't notice Liu Huai's actions; he was simply directing his troops to form ranks.

More than three hundred light soldiers, shouting "Eat, eat!", jogged over in a marching formation and, under the command of officers such as the captain and deputy captain, formed a horizontal line, with long and short weapons arranged in coordination.

Then, these light soldiers, mostly wearing only iron-clad trousers, shouted loudly at the same time, facing the two hundred Jin army cavalrymen without the slightest panic.

Pusanhuntantun's cheek twitched, then he raised his spear and swung it left and right.

He truly hadn't expected that these lightly armed soldiers, who came from the bandits of the East China Sea, would form ranks so quickly.

He never expected that Liu Huai, known for his swift and unparalleled bravery, would not personally lead the charge, but instead retreat behind the infantry formation with his armored cavalry, observing the outcome from the sidelines.

The Jin cavalry understood and quickly drew their bows and arrows, intending to turn this attack into a feint, using the arrows to fire at close range, and then sweep past the light infantry formation to look for opportunities on both flanks.

However, Pusanhuntan truly underestimated Li Xiu, a commander who came from a humble background and made his name solely through repeated battles.

"lead!"

"put!"

When they were about twenty paces apart, Li Xiu gave a loud order, and a volley of arrows was fired.

More than ten Jin soldiers and cavalrymen were thrown into chaos.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Jin army's momentum slowed down, Li Xiu blew the whistle to attack. Then, the light soldiers in the front row, holding spears, shouted in unison, leveled their spears, and launched a frontal charge against the Jin army's armored cavalry.

Swordsmen and crossbowmen followed closely behind, engaging in close combat with the Jin cavalry.

Before Pusanhuntan's astonished and terrified eyes, his warhorse collided heavily with the Han army spearmen.

Pusanhuntan's spear slashed open the throat of the Han army spearman, while the Han army spearman also plunged his spear into the neck of his warhorse.

"Neigh!" The warhorse neighed and fell to the ground.

In the initial stages, the Han light infantry suffered approximately ten casualties along the entire front line, while the Jin armored cavalry only lost a few men.

However, after one charge, the Jin cavalry lost speed and fell into complete chaos. Meanwhile, the Han light infantry, in units of ten, began to slaughter the Jin cavalry.

Watching this scene from afar, Liu Huai nodded.

Military science is a discipline that is constantly evolving, and therefore, both Eastern and Western military sciences have similar paths to the same conclusion.

Take spearmen, for example. With the development of the times, spearmen will become more and more mobile, gradually transforming from human barricades into assault spearheads.

There are records of spearmen clashing head-on with Yuan Dynasty cavalry when Zhu Yuanzhang rebelled against the Yuan Dynasty.

A more typical example is the Swiss pikemen.

Contrary to popular belief, the Swiss pikemen's most common tactic was to concentrate their forces and launch a frontal assault.

In the Battle of Seminalara in the 15th century, three thousand Swiss pikemen broke through the combined forces of Naples and Spain, numbering over ten thousand, with minimal losses of their own.

At their peak, the Swiss pikemen were so powerful that even the Austrians' trenches couldn't stop their charge.

If this trend continued, by the time flintlock muskets became dominant, this tactic would have become a signature move of the French army. They would charge into the enemy's line of fire after several volleys, and often only needed a single bayonet charge to completely rout the enemy formation.

Of course, not everyone can use this tactic.

It requires extremely high morale, and it requires that ordinary soldiers are not afraid of death;

It requires an extremely high degree of organization, so that even junior officers can effectively command in the midst of chaos;

Sufficient training is needed to ensure that infantrymen can maintain their formation even during rapid, short-step charges.

Now, the Han army has gradually reached the threshold and is gradually meeting all the needs.

In their very first test, they inflicted a devastating blow on the Jin cavalry.

"Follow me!" The battle had already begun, and Liu Huai naturally wouldn't be idle. He commanded his personal guards to split up and flank the battlefield from the left and right, heading towards the rear of the Jin army's armored cavalry.

Pusanhuntan lived up to his reputation as a veteran general, and his ability to survive was outstanding. He was positioned at the forefront of the armored cavalry, but after falling, even though he was not in a clear mind, he was still able to instinctively crawl and tumble back to the rear.

Fortunately, the Jin cavalry had been forced to a halt and were now huddled together. Otherwise, the mere trampling of their horses' hooves would have been enough to give them a run for their money.

Pusanhuntan struggled to his feet, supporting his arm. Without a word, he took off his armor, pushed off an armored cavalryman, snatched the enemy's horse, and, taking advantage of the gap before Liu Huai could lead his armored cavalry to surround him, spurred his horse and fled from the side and rear.

The entire operation was so fluid that not only did the Han army fail to notice, but even the Jin army themselves were unaware that their general had vanished without a trace. In fact, several of Pusanhuntan's personal guards were still frantically fighting forward, trying to rescue their commander.

After escaping the encirclement, Pusanhuntan should not have been negligent. He glanced at the battlefield situation, bypassed the city, and arrived at the north gate of Licheng.

Because this place was far from the battlefield, there were only a few Han cavalry scouts to investigate the situation. Even so, it was not something that Pusanhuntan could handle at this time. He tried not to attract any attention and started knocking on the door from under the wall.

The city guard had naturally seen Pusanhuntan, the newly appointed governor of Jinan. Seeing him in such a disheveled state, he was extremely shocked and quickly lowered his basket to pull Pusanhuntan up.

"Quickly! Send the order to close the north gate! Lower the heavy gate! Hold it at all costs!" Pusanhuntan, as if possessed, shouted, "Send You Biao! That bastard has taken so many benefits from the Jin! Let him risk his life!"

"General You has already gone; he was just fighting the Han traitors." Some officers hurriedly left, while others reassured them, "There are a thousand soldiers and barricades at the south gate; it will definitely not fall."

Pusanhuntan nodded repeatedly, but it was unclear whether it was because the movement had aggravated his injuries or because the cold wind had made him tremble all over.

The Jin officials and soldiers around them looked at each other, feeling a sense of dread.

It wasn't until Liu Fen arrived that Pusanhuntan finally came to his senses, but he was still in shock and said, "This battle is unwinnable. The Han people are not what they used to be. They can't even protect the area south of Youyan. We have to find a way to send a letter to His Majesty and tell him to prepare to become the Liao Kingdom."

Is this something that can be said in public?
Liu Fen wanted nothing more than to slap Pu Sanhuntan across the face, but seeing his disheveled appearance, she held back.

He shooed the people around him aside before whispering to Pusanhuntan, "Are you confused? Or have you lost your courage? How can you say such unsettling things in public?"

Pusanhuntan stood up, leaning against the parapet, and shook his head dejectedly, saying, "If I had lost my courage, I could have simply left. Why would I return to Licheng? I promised the Left Prime Minister that I would stay until the fifteenth of December, so I must endure these twenty-odd days, even if it means dying!"

Seeing that Pusanhuntan had regained his spirits, Liu Fen felt somewhat relieved, but immediately recalled Pusanhuntan's earlier words: "What do you mean by 'the area south of Yan and Yun cannot be defended'?"

Pusanhuntan, recalling the scene just now, and then thinking of the elite personal guards who had been besieged and slaughtered outside the city, felt his fear intensify: "Liu Dapan, you are just a civil official, you don't understand. The Han people's morale has already risen, they have become accustomed to great victories, so they will continue to win, just like when my Great Jin was founded... My Great Jin has already become the Great Liao... I..."

In the end, Pusanhuntan became so excited that he became incoherent again.

Seeing this, Liu Fen felt somewhat helpless and fearful. He could only say to the personal guards who had rushed over, "Let the prefect rest for a while... Sigh..."

With that, Liu Fen mounted his horse on the city wall and began to inspect various places; he still had a lot to do.

These past twenty-odd days have been truly unbearable.

(End of this chapter)