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

Chapter 626 The Decline of the Dynasty and the Struggle for the Future

Kiyoshi Kagaya was unaware that he had been targeted by a junior officer, and even if he had, he probably wouldn't have cared.

After leaving the battlefield, Jia Gu Qingchen gathered his troops near Liaocheng. By sunset, he had only managed to gather less than three hundred cavalrymen, and he was extremely frustrated.

In a brief, hasty battle, the Han army, like a ravenous glutton, devoured more than two hundred Jin cavalrymen.

The Jin Dynasty was no longer the powerful and well-equipped state it was before Wanyan Liang's southern expedition. Wanyan Liang's aggressive, "scraping the bottom of the pot" policy had almost brought the entire country to a standstill, so much so that after Wanyan Yong ascended the throne, he had to focus his energy on restoring the people's livelihood and had no money, food, or energy to rebuild the new army.

The Jin army today is mostly composed of the old troops formed during Wanyan Liang's time; every one that dies is one less.

Since the Han army's commander, Fei Huzi, was able to come to this territory of Bozhou, it's likely that the Shenwei Army is truly finished. Another legitimate commander of ten thousand households has just vanished in an instant.

From now on, every armored cavalryman and every armored soldier must be used with utmost care and respect.

Jia Gu Qingchen returned to the siege camp around Liaocheng dejectedly and found He Shi Lie Liangbi immediately.

At this time, the siege camp had become the garrison of the Wu'an Army. After seeing such a large number of troops stationed in the city, Wang Youzhi dared not go out of the city to harass them anymore. He could only close the city gates and wait for battle.

"Prime Minister, I have suffered heavy losses and deserve to die a thousand deaths."

Despite being covered in blood, Kagaya Kiyoshi immediately knelt down on one knee to beg for forgiveness.

Heshi Lieliangbi rose and helped Jia Gu Qingchen to his feet: "Qingchen, how could I not have suffered losses as well? According to your logic, I should have to kill myself first. Get up and tell me, was it that Flying Tiger Prince who personally led the army to attack?"

Jia Gu Qingchen felt both ashamed and guilty. He stood up and nodded, saying, "That is indeed the case. Liu Feihuzi personally led several hundred elite cavalry to Guangping Town and immediately saw through my ambush."

"This humble general led his troops into battle, originally intending to lure them in with a pre-battle discussion... but..."

Wanyan Shoudao interjected, "He didn't fall for the trap?"

Jia Gu Qingchen was even more ashamed and angry, his face turning bluish-purple: "No, Liu Feihu is highly skilled and daring. He brought several personal guards to speak with me face to face."

"I originally intended to provoke him with words so that he would make a move. But I didn't expect that I would be provoked by his words and couldn't hold back, so I made the first move."

"However... this humble general was no match for Liu Feihu, and was almost killed by him on the spot."

Halfway through the conversation, Wanyan Shoudao and Gao Jingshan were still feeling regretful for Jia Gu Qingchen's violation of political rules, but by the end, they were both speechless.

Being the one who started the fight was already in the wrong, and then getting beaten up by the other party meant losing all face and dignity.

However, the two veterans immediately became serious.

They all knew of Jia Gu Qingchen's abilities; he was a man of both literary and martial talents, and his charge into battle was unstoppable. Yet, such a figure was easily provoked and nearly killed.

This Liu Feihuzi is truly extraordinary, both in his verbal skills and his physical abilities.

Seeing that no one was mocking him, Jia Gu Qingchen's expression also became serious: "Left Prime Minister, it is not that this humble general lacks self-control, but that Liu Feihuzi is simply too much of a bully."

As he spoke, Jia Gu Qingchen repeated Liu Huai's previous words. Sure enough, both Wanyan Shoudao and Gao Jingshan were so angry that they started cursing loudly.

The saying "to destroy a nation and exterminate its people, leaving no one alive, young or old" probably refers to this kind of practice.

Heshi Lieliangbi patted Jia Gu Qingchen on the shoulder to calm him down, then frowned and looked at the two veteran generals.

"Why are you two behaving this way?" "General Gao, I share all the military intelligence I receive with you generals. Liu Dalang has registered the Meng'an Mouke households in Shandong as ordinary citizens and is changing their customs. Don't you know that? What makes you think that he will tolerate the Bohai people after he gains power?"

"The Bohai Gao clan was a prominent Han Chinese family during the Tang Dynasty. Yet, even so, Goguryeo King Gojang, after being captured by the Tang army, still called himself the Bohai Gao clan. Once the Han Chinese gain power, how can the Bohai people be any different?"

Gao Jingshan's expression shifted between light and dark.

Then Heshilie Liangbi turned his attention to Wanyan Shoudao, addressing him by his childhood name: "Xileni, I am only one year older than you, yet we studied together under your grandfather, Master Gushen. Don't you understand why Master Gushen created the Jurchen script?"

"After the rise of the Han people, where will we barbarians have a place to live? During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the five barbarian tribes rose up in the north. How prosperous were the Xianbei Murong clan and the Yuwen clan? Would they still call themselves Xianbei now? If Han heroes rise up bravely, there will be no more Jurchens, no more Bohai, Xi, or Khitans. From now on, everyone will be Han!"

Heshi Lieliangbi spoke eloquently, having already deduced the situation many times in his mind, so his expression remained unchanged. However, Gao Jingshan and Wanyan Shoudao turned completely pale.

When they reach their positions, they have to consider not only their own wealth and status, but also the future of the nation and its people. How can they not be fearful and cautious?
"Therefore, the Shandong bandits have always been a major concern for me." After taking a sip of tea, Heshi Lieliangbi slowly said, "Because they are Han Chinese who have truly made a name for themselves, we must suppress them so that the Jin dynasty and your tribes can continue!"

Gao Jingshan's face turned even paler.

Judging from Heshi Lieliangbi's words, does this mean they want to continue fighting?
But his Wu'an army was exhausted and demoralized. Even if they had a day to rest and could take advantage of the Han army's fatigue, how could they possibly fight them head-on?

Jia Gu Qingchen hesitated and said, "Left Prime Minister, are we going to wait here in comfort and then fight the Han army again?"

In recent days, Jia Gu Qingchen has suffered considerable losses in the attack on Liaocheng, and after suffering such a heavy defeat today, he really cannot continue the attack.

Heshi Lieliangbi shook his head and said, "No, we should continue to retreat. We should retreat to Daming Prefecture first. If Fei Huzi catches up, we will continue to retreat north until we reach Hejian Prefecture."

"The Shandong bandits have grown too powerful, and this cannot be resolved in a day or two. Next time, if we want to deal with that Flying Tiger, I will lead all the troops that the Jin Kingdom can mobilize for a fierce attack!"

Gao Jingshan sighed and shook his head, saying, "I wonder how many more troops Your Majesty can mobilize..."

"With the two emperors combined, we should be able to gather quite a lot," Heshi Lieliangbi said coldly.

Kiyotomi Kagaya immediately felt the urge to plug his ears.

Wanyan Shoudao was unmoved by these words, but instead frowned and brought up another matter: "Can't Yuancheng be defended?"

Heshi Lieliangbi shook his head and replied, "No. Licheng fell not because Pusanhuntan was old and incompetent, but because Feihuzi blew up the city gate. Now I have no way to counter it. Moreover, since he can blow up the city gate, he can also blow up the city wall. It can be said that there is no city in the world that can hold out against Feihuzi now. The only things that can stop him now, besides his field army, are his own troops and supplies."

The specific reasons for the fall of Licheng were told to Heshi Lieliangbi by Liu Fen, so Wanyan Shoudao was unaware of them.

"Explode... like firecrackers or fireworks?" As Wanyan Xiyin's grandson, Wanyan Shoudao was naturally well-versed in Chinese studies and knew what gunpowder was, but he couldn't understand why gunpowder had such great power: "Could it really blow up a city wall?"

Heshi Lieliangbi sighed and said, "I can't say for sure either. The right thing to do after returning is to find more craftsmen to study this object, but now..."

“I’m worried that if we hold our ground in one place, and Flying Tigers bomb cities all the way to Hebei, capturing a fortified city every day, then the morale of the entire Jin army will be in serious trouble.”

Wanyan Shoudao thought about that scene and immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

If Yuancheng were to fall in a single day, he would probably lose the courage to engage the Han army in open battle.

"Since none of you object, our army will break camp and depart tomorrow morning." Heshilie Liangbi, reflecting on how this battle had ended in a rout, felt both anger and helplessness. He could only sigh deeply again, then forced himself to speak, "Do not despair, my lords. The Great Jin dynasty still exists, and its foundation remains. With the fertile lands of Hebei and Liaodong as our base, sooner or later, the Great Jin will reclaim the Central Plains. Then we will settle things with the Shandong bandits."

(End of this chapter)