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

Chapter 624 A Chat Before the Battle: Literature and Martial Arts

On November 25th, after only one day of rest, the Han army set off again.

In half a day, the navy had already erected several pontoon bridges on the Beiqing River, allowing the Han army to reach the north of the Beiqing River without any hindrance.

Meanwhile, the scouts reported the exact movements of the Jin army.

Instead of marching north and returning to Hejian Prefecture via Jingzhou, the Wu'an Army turned west after crossing several small rivers and attacked Bozhou.

This is so unexpected.

Is Heshilie Liangbi so arrogant that he still wants to capture Bozhou, the eastern gateway of Daming Prefecture, in order to stabilize the situation in the whole of Hebei?

Liu Huai knew that Jia Gu Qingchen was leading more than 5,000 troops to besiege Liaocheng in Bozhou. But even if He Shi Lie Liangbi could join forces with Jia Gu Qingchen, could they withstand the fierce attack of the Han army?

Go dream!

The Han army then turned around and pursued the Jin army relentlessly.

Although the Wu'an army was more than 30 li ahead, the gap in morale and physical strength between the two sides was enormous. As a result, the Han army quickly captured many Jin soldiers who had fallen behind on the road, and even captured a marching strategist.

Even though he knew that Heshi Lieliangbi was not a god and could not magically restore the morale and strength of the Jin army, Liu Huai still felt a sense of unreality.

Is this Jin Dynasty's Left Chancellor really going to flee in such a sorry state?
Liu Huai did not believe that the Jin army had lost all courage at this time, so after crossing a small river called Yangma River and entering Bozhou territory, Liu Huai simply gathered five hundred cavalrymen and took the lead to scout ahead.

And this investigation indeed uncovered a major problem.

After crossing the Beiqing River, you'll be in the Hebei Plain. In winter, the vegetation is withered, and the entire plain stretches as far as the eye can see, offering no place for an ambush.

However, when Liu Huai arrived at Guangping Town, fifty miles east of Liaocheng, he discovered a large number of warhorse tracks on the north side of Guangping Town.

These footprints were blended into the footprints of the Wu'an army retreating westward, and were not very conspicuous. If Liu Huai had not come in person and the scouts had not been on high alert to investigate, they might have already been let go.

When a large army approaches, townspeople usually try not to go out. Some walled towns will even close their gates, for fear of conflict with the army.

The Han army also had its own regulations when marching. For towns that were relatively close, only a small number of troops would be sent to take over, in order to ensure the safety of the march.
For towns that are relatively far away, it's sufficient to have just two or three patrol riders keeping watch.

It's impossible for a large army to conquer every town it encounters. Not only would it directly disrupt people's livelihoods, but a forced march of twenty miles a day would be the best they could manage.

Therefore, if nothing unusual had been discovered, Liu Huai might have indeed led his army past Guangping Town.

"These Jin thieves are quite quick-witted, but I want to see who's so unlucky as to be left behind to cover the retreat." After hearing the report, Liu Huai smiled and said to Bi Zaiyu beside him, "You go to the town and challenge them. Make those cowardly thieves hiding inside come out and ask them if they know that the Divine Might Army has been surrounded and annihilated by our army."

Bi Zaiyu responded loudly with a grin, and then led more than ten cavalrymen toward the outskirts of the town.

"Yao Buping, assemble the troops."

Upon receiving the order, cavalry commander Yao Buping took out a horn from the side of his horse and began to blow it.

When the ambushers in the town saw the Han cavalry outside the city stop, they knew they had been exposed, so they stopped trying to hide.

The city gates on the low walls of the town opened wide, and hundreds of Jin cavalrymen swarmed out, forming ranks under a large banner that read "Jiagu".

Bi Zaiyu reined in his horse at the front of the formation and shouted a few words. A burly Jin general stepped forward from the crowd, responded with a few words, and Bi Zaiyu nodded before turning his horse back.

"Commander-in-Chief, the Jin bandit's chief general is named Jia Gu Qingchen, who is the Jin Kingdom's Supreme General. He invites you to have a chat before the battle."

Liu Huai first looked back at his own troops who were gathering, then at the Jin army that was pouring out of the town, and smiled indifferently: "It's fine to meet, it's just that neither side's troops have been assembled yet, and both sides want to use delaying tactics."

Yao Buping hurriedly stopped Liu Huai: "With your status as Commander-in-Chief, why risk your life? What is that Jin bandit's identity? Does he even deserve to have a conversation with you on the battlefield? Let me go and meet him!"

Liu Huai turned and beckoned to Bi Zaiyu, simultaneously summoning several of his personal guards. He then picked up the Li Quan spear and said, "It's alright. He's the one who should be afraid, not me. A Ping, continue to organize the troops. If I make my move, everyone charge at once without hesitation!"

Yao Buping was immediately flustered, but seeing Bi Zaiyu's eager look, he became even more flustered.

After all, this young man is only nineteen years old. Although he has made many contributions and accumulated merits to the position of commander, and even the cavalry commander, he is still inexperienced. Now that he is suddenly entrusted with a heavy responsibility, it is inevitable that he will be a little flustered.

However, there is no such thing as perfect preparation in the world. Most of the time, you just have to bite the bullet and go for it when the time comes.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! I only give you half a quarter of an hour! After that, you must be ready to charge at the enemy at any moment! Hurry!" Yao Buping shouted, sweat dripping from his forehead. Just as both sides' troops were assembling and forming ranks, Liu Huai had already broken away from the army's protection and was slowly riding forward.

Meanwhile, Jin general Jia Gu Qingchen also arrived slowly with several guards. The two men stood between two gradually forming military formations, about five or six steps apart, and began to sizing each other up.

Liu Huai looked Jia Gu Qingchen up and down, recalling the historical deeds of this famous general from the Wanyan Yong era.

Although his main achievements were suppressing the Khitan rebellion and participating in the Longxing Northern Expedition against the Song Dynasty, he was still considered a famous general.

The third generation of Jin Dynasty warriors, represented by Heshilie Zhining, marked the last glorious chapter in the history of Jin Dynasty warriors. Although there were a few promising talents among those who followed, they were generally just ordinary people.

The Jin Dynasty was a typical military state. As long as all these military men were killed, the Jin Dynasty would immediately perish!

Jia Gu Qingchen also looked Liu Huai up and down, and his first thought was: too young.

This Shandong rebel leader, whom the Jin dynasty feared greatly, was far too young.

Jia Gu Qingchen is only thirty years old this year. He has already been promoted to the position of General of the Army and General of the State, which is considered an exceptional promotion, plus a three-level promotion.

But seeing that Liu Huai was actually a few years younger than himself, Jia Gu Qingchen felt not only apprehension but also deep fear.

If it were just a matter of who lived longer, Liu Huai could outlast a group of famous generals, wise ministers and prime ministers of the Jin Dynasty. Not to mention that the Shandong men had caused such a commotion and wiped out several armies. How could they possibly let it go?
The person who will fight the decisive battle in the Central Plains and Hebei in the future may very well be this one.

No, we can't wait any longer, we have to find a way to kill him now!

At this moment, the same thought arose in the minds of two people on opposing sides.

After glaring at each other for a moment, Jia Gu Qingchen spoke first: "Liu Dalang, I know you. Do you know that ever since I heard your name, I have wanted to kill you every single moment!"

Liu Huai, carrying the Li Quan spear, carefully observed the enemy troops while casually replying, "Many people want to kill me, who do you think you are?"

Jia Gu Qingchen had expected Liu Huai to utter some harsh words, but he hadn't anticipated such absurd remarks. However, he didn't engage in a verbal battle, but continued, "Liu Dalang, tell me, shouldn't I risk damaging my reputation by killing you right here and now?!"

Liu Huai laughed: "You can try, but I want to tell you that the last person who wanted to kill me was called Xiao Qi, and his head is right here in my central command tent; the one before that was called Pusanhuntan, and his head is on the city wall of Licheng. Before that, there were Wanyan Alin, Han Tang, Meng Tian Zhenguo, and Wanyan Zhengjia, all of whom have now become military merits of my Han army. Are there any acquaintances among them?"

With each name of a Jin general mentioned, Jia Gu Qingchen's face grew darker, until finally it was ashen, and his anger seemed to be spitting out of his eyes.

However, he still wanted to provoke Liu Huai into making the first move with words.

Because this concerns political reputation, if he summons the enemy general under the pretext of a pre-battle meeting and then kills him, who will believe in Kiyotomi Kagaya's political promises in the future?
There are no secrets that stay hidden forever; this kind of thing can't be kept secret forever.

It's not like Kiyotomi Kagaya will stop commanding troops in the future. If he tries to persuade the enemy to surrender during future battles, and the enemy refuses to surrender on this basis, what should he do?
Of course, Liu Huai shared the same thought, so he kept talking: "I always act with an open and aboveboard strategy, so I'm not afraid for you to know. I might as well tell you about your next strategy."

"I will watch Wanyan Yong and Wanyan Liang fight each other, and watch you, the last elite soldiers of the Jin Dynasty, die in the civil war. When you decide who is victorious, or even if you cannot decide who is victorious, as long as you are exhausted, I will lead my army to the north, cut off Wanyan Yong's dog head in the land of Youyan, and then kill Wanyan Liang, completely destroying your Jin Dynasty!"

"Don't interrupt, I haven't said what will be done to your Jurchen people yet."

"Don't worry, I'm not a bloodthirsty person. I'll just scatter them, settle them in different places, and force them to change their names, hairstyles, clothes, and languages. Those who don't keep their hair will lose their heads, those who don't speak Chinese will lose their tongues, and those who don't write Chinese characters will lose their hands!"

"I will completely destroy the Jurchen script created by Wanyan Xiyin. Bah! What barbarian bullshit! How dare they compare themselves to Cangjie?!"

“I will also destroy all your Jurchen books, whether they are stone tablets, documents or bamboo slips, whether they are official records or private notes, without exception. I will ban all writings that record Jurchen history and culture, leaving not a single word behind.”

"Then, I will personally organize people to write your Jurchen's 'History of Jin'. Whatever I want to write, future generations will read! Your descendants will completely forget their identity and become members of the Han people. Even thousands of years later, they will still look at the 'History of Jin' that I have compiled and point their fingers at you, cursing you as a bunch of barbarians who deserve to perish and be exterminated!"

"Liu the traitor!" Upon hearing this, Jia Gu Qingchen finally lost his temper. Trembling violently, he took the long sword from the Victory Hook and charged forward on horseback.

Liu Huai grinned maliciously: "Truly barbarians! Follow me and kill them!"

Both sides, having prepared in advance, sent their elite cavalry, led by their respective commanders, to meet the enemy head-on, and a fierce battle ensued.

In an instant, arrows and short spears flew everywhere, and the glint of swords and the gleam of spears blended together.

Upon seeing this, Yao Buping disregarded the fact that the armored cavalry had not yet completed their formation and immediately roared, "Follow me to protect Commander-in-Chief!"

(End of this chapter)