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

Chapter 633 IKEA's Every Husband

Tudanzhen lay prone on his horse, fleeing all the way, his heart filled with terror.

He did not expect that less than a quarter of an hour after Xin Qiji made his counterattack, he would directly attack his own banner and easily cut down the magnificent Tudan banner.

It should be noted that the elite troops of Tudan Zhen's army, gathered under this banner, numbered five hundred cavalry, while Xin Qiji only used three hundred cavalry to break through the largest force under Tudan Zhen's command head-on.

What happened next was predictable.

The Taiping army launched a full-scale counter-offensive, while the Jin army, after its banner fell, was completely thrown into disarray, and this disarray spread to other areas, leading to a total rout.

Tu Danzhen had no choice but to flee in disarray.

At this point, only half an hour had passed since he made his boastful claim of launching a full-scale counterattack.

Thinking back to herself just 45 minutes ago, Tu Danzhen felt a sense of unreality, as if she were in a dream.

The Jin dynasty's strength lay in its ability to use armored cavalry to penetrate hard targets, but now, facing off against Han armored cavalry, it suffered not only a crushing defeat but also a utter defeat in a very short time.

The sky is falling.

Xin Qiji did not have the same wild thoughts as Tu Danzhen.

In cavalry charges, courage is almost everything. When the disparity in troop strength and combat power is not too great, whoever believes they can win will definitely win.

Although the Taiping Army had experienced the Battle of Pingyin and even fled in disarray, it was ultimately not due to a lack of fighting spirit. Their morale had not been shattered. Now, with a general personally leading the army to break through the enemy lines, how could they possibly lose to the Jin army, which had hastily retreated and launched a counterattack?
"Get all the infantry to follow! The Jin traitors can't escape!" After giving the order to the military commander, Xin Qiji immediately led his armored cavalry to pursue the fleeing Jin army. Whenever a small group of Jin soldiers gathered and attempted to launch a counterattack, they would face Xin Qiji's swift and fierce attack.

As darkness fell and the sun began to set, the Jin army was utterly incompetent, its ranks completely scattered, and its officers, unable to rally their troops, also became part of the rout, fleeing south in disarray.

At the same time, Zhang Anguo, with three to five hundred soldiers, also arrived at the southernmost point of the battlefield. He did not actually secure the pass, but only occupied a few bridges over the small river.

If the Jin army wanted to bypass the route, they could still find a way to retreat south.

However, the Jin army was a complete outsider.

After scouts and on-site investigations, it would be impossible to say that the Jin army knew nothing about the terrain of Dongping Prefecture.

However, it would be utter nonsense to say that the Jin army had a complete understanding of the surrounding terrain.

Especially with officers scattered and soldiers fleeing everywhere, in a state of panic and confusion, the troops gathered by Zhang Anguo became a kind of landmark, and many Jin soldiers tried to bypass the area to escape.

During the rout, the small rivers that could be crossed in an instant and the ditches that could be leveled in a day or two became deadly. Many Jin cavalrymen tried to cross the river on horseback, but they stumbled in the waist-deep ditches and drowned in the muddy water along with their horses.

When it was completely dark, the Taiping Army finally stopped their pursuit, gathered their troops, hastily made a circle with carts, and set up camp.

Xin Qiji collected the reports of victory from all sides and only managed to compile the statistics when the moon was high in the sky.

In this battle, more than 500 Jin soldiers were killed, more than 700 were captured, and more than 800 of their main warhorses were seized intact.

The number of ordinary horses and mules and the number of armor pieces have not yet been tallied, because the Jin army fled in disarray, abandoning their armor and weapons. Li Tieqiang is mobilizing ordinary people to search for armor and has offered rewards for each part of the armor.

Despite using infantry to defeat cavalry, Xin Qiji was still able to kill nearly half of them, creating a small but remarkable feat.

Of course, the killings and spoils were for the Taiping Army. For Tu Danzhen, it was already good enough that he could gather two hundred cavalrymen at this time. Those scattered deserters were in unfamiliar Shandong, and only one in a hundred could return to Liaodong alive.

The Taiping Army also suffered heavy casualties, with over 300 killed, over 200 seriously wounded, and as many as 1,000 lightly wounded soldiers still able to fight.

For the Taiping Army, which now only has 6,000 soldiers, this is already a devastating blow.

The Taiping generals were both satisfied and distressed by the result, and many of them suggested that they take a break for a while.

Being able to reclaim Dongping Prefecture is already a great achievement for Lord Wei and Liu Dalang.

However, Xin Qiji objected.

Now is the time to strike a fatal blow when the enemy is down. We should ride the wave of our victory and march south to subdue the disobedient.

What if the Wu Jie Army in Xuzhou makes a move if we delay any longer?
From a personal perspective, Jia Rui, Li Tieqiang, and the like, how well you establish yourselves in the Han army depends on how well you fight this battle.

After ordinary soldiers joined the Han army, how much land they would be allocated in the spring, whether they would receive more rewards, and whether they would be given oxen for plowing depended on whether they could make meritorious contributions in the battle.

After reaching a consensus, on the second day of the twelfth lunar month, Li Tieqiang left behind more than a thousand soldiers to care for the wounded and continue to clear Dongping Prefecture. The Taiping Army, under the leadership of Xin Qiji, then set off again.

This time, the Taiping army had been reduced to four thousand men. After capturing a large number of horses and mules from the Jin army, their marching speed increased further. They marched south along the Nanqing River and recaptured Wenyang in a single day.

Meanwhile, Wang Xiongyi from Linyi bid farewell to his newlywed wife, Cui.

This wasn't because Wang Xiongyi was infatuated with women; after receiving military orders, he dared to waste several days before setting off.

It was because the mobilization of military supplies in Shandong also took time, and the mobilization of local laborers took even longer. Only now had a batch of military supplies been transferred from the Feixian government warehouse and loaded onto the canal boats. "Ah Xiong, do you know where the key to this military expedition lies?"

Pusan ​​Damo's former wife, who in real history is known as Lady Wang for defeating Wei Sheng's detachment and is also Cui Cui'er, the child bride of King Xiong Yi who was seven years older than him, had already married King Xiong Yi at this time.

Madam Cui looked tenderly at her young husband, whom she had treated as a younger brother more than a decade ago, straightening his collar as she whispered instructions.

Wang Xiongyi knew that Cui was wise in matters of state and military affairs, so he asked directly, "Second Sister, please speak."

Cui said in a low voice, "The key lies with the Confucius family of Qufu. Ah Xiong must not humiliate them too much."

Wang Xiongyi frowned: "Kong Duanqi has done some despicable things, which is a good opportunity to deal with him. Why can't we punish the Kong family?"

Madam Cui sighed and gently patted Wang Xiongyi's forehead: "Xiongyi, I've told you to read more books, but you just won't listen."

Wang Xiongyi chuckled twice, then said seriously, "I hope you can enlighten me, elder sister."

Cui shook her head: "This is also what I just thought of. The key to dealing with the Kong family is not Kong Duanqi, but the most revered teacher Confucius and the Commander-in-Chief."

"Confucius is the teacher of all ages. Even if his descendants are not of noble birth, they are still considered to be born into nobility. Whether it was the emperor of the Song Dynasty or the emperor of the Jin Dynasty, they treated the Kong family well because they wanted to use this to prove that they respected Confucius, to prove that the country valued Confucianism, and that they were still governing the country with Confucianism and selecting Confucian scholars to serve as officials through the imperial examination."

"Similarly, dealing with the Kong family also means taking action against Confucius and Confucianism. Whether the person who does it thinks so or not, the world will definitely think so. Ah Xiong, think about it, can you shoulder this heavy responsibility?"

Wang Xiongyi said thoughtfully, "Only the Commander-in-Chief can do this. If I do it, then... then..."

Cui said emphatically, "It is an act of usurpation!"

Wang Xiongyi then asked, "What if the Commander-in-Chief orders me to deal with the Kong family in Qufu? Should I write to the Commander-in-Chief to remind him?"

After pondering for a moment, Cui slowly said, "Given the Commander-in-Chief's honest nature, even if he were to deal with the Kong family, he would most likely not ask you to jump into this fire pit, but would do it himself. But if there is any possibility of this happening, then you should not hesitate. Just follow the Loyal Army's system, distribute the land, conduct a public trial, and organize the case files clearly, so that no one can say anything."

Wang Xiongyi nodded again, then stepped forward and hugged Cui Shi tightly: "Second sister, you should sit here in Linyi. I will work hard to secure a title and a good reputation for our son."

Cui was about to say something, but she became a little shy at these words. She gently slapped Wang Xiong Yi's armor to calm herself down before saying, "There is one more thing. You have to choose sides between Lord Wei and the eldest son."

Wang Xiongyi was immediately startled and stammered, "...Why...why..."

Although they were in a dark room, Cui lowered her voice again: "It's not about asking you to jump out and do anything right now, nor is it your turn to do it. It's about asking you to choose your side in your heart and be prepared."

Seeing that Wang Xiong still didn't quite understand, Cui made her point even clearer: "If you intend to stay with Duke Wei to the end, then you must be prepared to serve as a loyal subject of Song; if you want to become a Commander-in-Chief, then you must be prepared to turn against Song."

"It's not that the two of them are going to become enemies, but rather that they are forced into this situation by the prevailing trends of the world and the support of those behind them."

"Take this great battle for example. Regardless of whether Geng Jiedu was hasty or reckless, the fact that the Song state did not send troops is a huge one. The fact that the Tianping Army survived is ultimately due to the kindness of the Commander-in-Chief."

Ah Xiong, do you think Xin Qingsi and his men now recognize the Song Dynasty or the Commander-in-Chief?"

“There will be more and more people like this in the future. They only obey the military orders of the Commander-in-Chief. If the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t want to be the emperor, he will be the emperor.”

Wang Xiong sighed upon hearing this: "But Duke Wei would never betray Song."

Cui said solemnly, "Lord Wei might not, but the veteran generals of the Loyal Army might not. Take Lei Ben, for example, as well as Zhou Xinglie, Yuchi Mingyue, Pang Rugui, and others whom you will be leading on this expedition. They have all fought under the command of the Commander-in-Chief and achieved great victories. Do you think they are not convinced by the Commander-in-Chief? If Lord Wei wants to win back the hearts of the people, he must once again fight on the battlefield."

Wang Xiong sighed again: "But Lord Wei's health..."

This is the key point: Wei Sheng suffered a series of injuries last year, which damaged his health and he is still recovering.

An old man should not rely on his physical strength. Wei Sheng is forty-three years old this year, which is right at the tail end of his peak as a military general. Once he is injured, it will take a long time to recover. If he forces himself to fight desperately, there is a high possibility that something terrible will happen.

However, Wang Xiongyi suddenly realized why Wei Sheng was injured to such an extent.

This was because the Song army sat idly by while Wei Sheng fought alone in Pizhou, without sending troops to contain the Jin army.

Because of Song's shortsightedness, its biggest bargaining chip to restrain Liu Huai became ineffective, which is quite a dark irony.

Hearing the bugle calls and drumbeats, Wang Xiong hugged Cui Shi again and whispered in her ear, "I will think it over carefully. Second sister, please take care. I'm going to war."

After saying this, Wang Xiongyi put on his robe and turned to walk into the cold wind outside.

As Cui leaned against the gate, she smiled and waved goodbye to Wang Xiongyi. Only after turning a corner and Wang Xiongyi's figure disappeared from sight did Cui's smile finally falter, and tears welled up in her eyes.

But she quickly wiped away her tears and gently stroked her lower abdomen.

You absolutely must not cry, crying too much is bad for the baby in your womb.

On December 2nd, Wang Xiongyi led 3,000 troops, with Zhu Xi as his military advisor and in charge of logistics, and marched northwest along the Jun River, taking advantage of the Yimeng Mountain pass to attack Yanzhou.

(End of this chapter)