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

Chapter 616 Taking the Ji River as an Oath

"Let me go!"

"Geng Xing, wake up!"

"You damn gold thief...you...my elder brother is still alive..."

"Fifth Brother, Geng Xing has gone insane from exhaustion."

"Take him to the very back, or tie him up!"

Xin Qiji, leaning on his heavy sword, calmly ordered, "Let all our troops withdraw."

For the first time, Li Tieqiang formally refuted Xin Qiji, and his words were extremely vehement: "Brother... Brother is right behind the Jin army's lines, how... how can we retreat?!"

Xin Qiji's eyes were also bloodshot, whether from exhaustion or anger, it was hard to tell. He sighed upon hearing this, then raised his slightly trembling left hand and said, "Big Iron Spear, where is your iron spear? Why are you using an ordinary spear now?"

Li Tieqiang wanted to show off his spear skills to demonstrate that he was unharmed, but he felt that even this ordinary spear was unusually heavy, and for a moment he could only sigh repeatedly.

Xin Qiji said slowly, "Look at my hands, I can no longer wield the sword, I can no longer kill the thieves, at this point we have no choice but to retreat. Great iron spear, do not be reckless!"

Most of the Taiping Army had already gone to Changqing County and were stationed directly in the camp of the right wing of the Jingnan Army. However, Xin Qiji still selected more than 300 men to launch a counterattack against the rebels before the Han army had even begun its attack.

Upon learning that Geng Jing had not abandoned them to become wealthy men in Jiangnan, but had actually gone to personally cover their retreat, the generals of the Taiping Army were almost blinded by rage, and launched a swift and fierce offensive.

However, the Taiping Army had been engaged in a day and night of fierce fighting, and most of them were exhausted. Even though the generals and their personal guards still had some strength, it was quickly depleted in the meat grinder-like slaughter.

This explains why the rebels were also exhausted; otherwise, the most elite part of the Taiping Army might have been trapped in the battle.

"Let's go!" Xin Qiji looked at the Dongping army that was marching past him with great momentum, and then waved to Kai Zhao, who had fought alongside him in Juzhou. He then sighed again, grabbed Li Tieqiang's arm and said, "We are all exhausted now, but the Jin Kingdom has not been destroyed. There will still be battles to fight. After we have eaten and drunk our fill, we will go and take revenge on the Jin traitors!"

Li Tieqiang threw down his spear and gritted his teeth, saying, "Retreat!"

The two men and their personal guards were among the last remaining Taiping soldiers on the front lines. They retreated about seventy or eighty paces along the gaps in the Dongping army's formation when they suddenly heard a loud commotion coming from the vanguard of the rebel army.

Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang turned around and saw the rebel vanguard carrying human heads and drums on the tips of their spears, hanging a large flag upside down on a flagpole, and shouting something loudly.

The shouts were initially quite noisy, but gradually became more unified in the end.

"The traitor Geng is dead!"

"The traitor Geng is dead!"

After Li Tieqiang stopped, he stared blankly at the Geng character flag full of holes, and for a moment his whole body froze, unable to move.

Just when Xin Qiji thought Li Tieqiang was going to return and continue the fight, he saw him pull out a wrist-cutting knife from his arm guard and slowly cut a wound on his forehead, letting the blood flow down his forehead and cover his entire face.

Combined with Li Tieqiang's already ferocious face, he truly looked like a blood-soaked demon.

Li Tieqiang, holding a blood-stained wrist-splitting dagger, looked at the Geng banner and shouted, "Heaven and Earth above, ancestors above, I, Li Rui, swear by the Ji River today that I will not be a man if I do not slaughter all the Jin invaders and destroy the Jin Kingdom!"

After saying this, Li Tieqiang threw the wrist-splitting dagger into the Beiqing River, then turned and left first.

Xin Qiji did not make such a violent move, but he still gritted his teeth and stared at the upside-down banner with the character "Geng" for a long time before turning away in resentment.

Watching the last of the Taiping Army retreat from the battlefield, Xiao En turned around and asked Hu Yanchuo a question.

"Ah-Chuo, why do you think that the death of Geng Jiedu will crush our army's morale?"

Hu Yanchuo said irritably, "Who knows? Those traitors before us, it's one thing to have betrayed the Tianping Army, but they still dare to fight against our army. It's clear their brains have been turned to mush. I can't reason with people whose brains have been turned to mush." ​​After casually putting the topic aside, Hu Yanchuo noticed that the left wing was still not calm, and couldn't help but frown and say, "Is Li Jinyi any good?! Has he become this lazy and irresponsible in just one year?"

After calculating the time in his mind, Xiao En directly said to the flag bearer, "Raise the command flag and order Liu Yi and Li Ji's troops to support the left flank and replenish Li Jinyi's forces. Then they won't need to come back; just create an opening on the left flank for me!"

After pondering for a moment, Xiao En summoned the military envoy and said, "Go and tell Li Jinyi my original words. I don't blame him for being careless and caught off guard by the bandits. But letting the Dongping Army lead the charge is a favor from the Commander-in-Chief."

If he fails again this time, I will have no explanation when Fourth Master asks.

The military envoy, an old man from Liangshan, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this and quickly left.

They were all old brothers, and this wording was actually quite serious, so Xiao En wasn't worried that Li Jinyi wouldn't do his best. Instead, he focused his attention on the enemy troops in front of him.

Looking at the large banner with the character "Geng" on it and the few heads around it, Xiao En's question resurfaced.

"This is utterly absurd. Even if Geng Jing is dead, how could he possibly intimidate our army?"

Meanwhile, about five miles southwest of the Beiqing River upstream, Xiao Zhongda asked the same question, and Xiao Qi could only give a wry smile before offering an explanation.

"These items were just sent over by the Left Prime Minister. I was a little surprised at first, but after hearing the military envoy report the details and that Geng Jing had really caused chaos in the rear, I realized that these flags, drums, and human heads were not for the Tianping rebels to see, nor for Liu Dalang to see, but to force Kong Duanqi and these two-faced thieves to fight desperately."

As he spoke, Xiao Qi pointed to the surrounding terrain: "With this kind of terrain, we can't use any other methods; we can only hold on. As long as we can hold out, we will achieve a great victory."

Xiao Zhongda glanced at his uncle and then looked out at the battlefield. He felt that Xiao Qi was overthinking things: "Uncle, the Divine Might Army has been fighting for a day and a night, and the Left Prime Minister has taken away three of their elite troops. How can they possibly compete with the Commander-in-Chief?"

As the former top general of the Divine Might Army, and having spent a long time in Shandong, Xiao Zhongda was extremely knowledgeable about military affairs, especially since he knew both himself and his enemy.

Although at this moment he couldn't quite define what was "himself" and what was "them."

In his view, even if the Jingnan Army and the Shenwei Army each sent 10,000 elite troops to fight head-on, the Shenwei Army's chances of winning would only be fifty-fifty. Moreover, the Jin army was now exhausted and its soldiers were tired, while the Han army was well-rested and had a strong momentum.
Xiao Qi glanced at his nephew, who was boosting the morale of others while diminishing his own, and said with a hint of disappointment, "How many soldiers does Liu Dalang have? And how many of them can come here? Twenty thousand soldiers at most. They took at least twenty days to attack Jinan Prefecture. Aren't they tired? Our army, besides the two commanders of ten thousand, also has powerful figures like Kong Duanqi from Dongping Prefecture, with nearly thirty thousand soldiers."

"Let Kong Duanqi lead the charge now, and our Shenwei Army can rest on the spot. Kong Duanqi has more than 7,000 men. Even if Liu Bei defeats them, how much strength will he have left? How many hours will it take? By then, we will have rested and regrouped, and our army will be in a position to wait for the enemy to tire themselves out!"

"With this exchange of pieces, how can we have no chance of winning at all?"

Xiao Qi patted Xiao Zhongda on the shoulder again and said with a smile, "I know that Liu Dalang is quite capable. If he were mediocre, all those famous teachers and generals in Chaoxian would have died in vain. But you shouldn't blindly follow him. He's just a person, not a god in the sky. He can bleed."

Xiao Zhongda gave a bitter laugh again: "Uncle, why don't we take a gamble? If Commander-in-Chief can break through Kong Duanqi's defenses in an hour, then our entire army will surrender, shall we?"

Xiao Qi was slightly taken aback, then her tone became somewhat exasperated: "What kind of bewitching potion did Liu Dalang give you? I am your uncle, why don't you stand with me? Why do you speak up for him?"

After dismounting, Xiao Zhongda kowtowed heavily: "Uncle, it is precisely because I am your nephew that I advised you not to make a mistake. As for who will win between the Great Jin and Liu Dalang, I am too dull to say. But today is a situation where Dalang is bound to win. Even for the sake of all the Khitan soldiers, you should endure this humiliation for now."

The commotion caused by the two attracted the attention of the soldiers who were resting and eating their dry rations. Xiao Qi waved his hand, and his personal guards understood and quickly surrounded the two, blocking the view of the others.

Xiao Qi looked at Xiao Zhongda kneeling on the ground, sighed, and said, "I cannot agree to your request. The Left Prime Minister is still leading a large army behind us. Do you expect me to lead the Divine Might Army to fight against the Wu'an Army? Besides..."

A hint of resentment appeared on Xiao Qi's face: "I joined the army at a young age and have experienced countless battles. How can I surrender without a fight?"

"Zhongda, I don't blame you for saying such discouraging things today, but I also have my own principles. Don't say any more, let's talk about everything after the battle."

Xiao Zhongda sighed and, after being chased away by Xiao Qi, returned to a small hill with relatively high terrain.

Yelü Zhaba was not surprised by this.

Xiao Qi still has at least five thousand soldiers at his disposal, which is his capital in this chaotic world.

Wars are inherently gambles. As a gambler, how could a general throw down his chips and admit defeat if he hadn't witnessed firsthand that there was absolutely no hope of turning the tide?
(End of this chapter)