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

Chapter 640 Ambition Suddenly Exhausted

On the morning of December 12th.

After the Jin army shed all its burdens and rushed southwest, the Xuzhou rebels were essentially helpless against Wu Jie's army.

In fact, if the Jin army wants to withdraw safely now, the only thing they need to worry about is the interception by the main force of the Han army. They don't need to worry about the Xuzhou rebels having any other tricks up their sleeves.

Because the rebel army in Xuzhou had already begun to fall into disarray during the night.

It makes sense. Even an elite force like the Wu Jie Army would be thrown into disarray and its soldiers would scatter during a night battle, let alone a rabble like the Xuzhou rebels.

After the Jin army on the Su Causeway was dealt with and there was no longer an imminent threat, some people wanted to retreat back to the city, some wanted to continue pursuing the Jin army, and some simply wanted to station themselves on the Su Causeway to prevent the Jin army from launching a counterattack.

These ideas all have some merit, but the key issue is that Cheng Feng, as the leader of the Xuzhou rebels, could not quickly learn the thoughts of his generals, and even these temporarily assembled generals did not have the awareness to report military intelligence.

To make matters worse, the Xuzhou rebels lacked a command system, so Cheng Feng had no effective way to communicate his intentions to the other generals.

This led to the Xuzhou rebels immediately going their own way after setting the Jin army camp at Ximatai ablaze.

With the immediate threat gone, some rebels even began looting surrounding villages and towns, and atrocities such as murder, arson, and rape quickly increased.

As a result, the existing conflicts within the rebel army began to escalate, and some even sought to take advantage of the darkness and chaos to settle scores and settle scores, inevitably leading to small-scale fires.

After the Jin army had scattered their messy supplies all over the ground, some people tried to pick up the leftovers, but because they didn't keep it a secret, the whole army found out about it.

Thousands of people rushed westward towards Pengcheng. As they jostled to cross a small river, the wooden bridge broke, and more than two hundred people drowned or fell to their deaths.

Cheng Feng, Zhao Baiying, and others ran back and forth, often trying to start a fire on one side only to have smoke rise from another. These pioneers felt more exhausted than when they were fighting the Jin army.

This is the complexity of peasant uprising armies.

They were naturally righteous; whether it was saving Xuzhou from disaster or saving themselves, it was only right and proper.

However, an uprising is not a dinner party, nor is it a carving of wood or embroidery; it is violence that destroys everything.

When there is no way to guide this violence, it will spread like wildfire, spreading in all directions.

This chaotic night ended in a very absurd way.

In the early hours of the morning, the cold wind suddenly intensified, and the temperature plummeted.

Although the sky remained clear, with no dark clouds obscuring the moon, and heavy snow fell, the earth was desolate, and people were cold and hungry.

The Xuzhou rebels were just ordinary people the day before, with no discipline whatsoever. After seeing that the Jin army had already fled far away, they simply went home and disbanded on their own.

Cheng Feng sat on a tree stump below the Su Causeway. There was no joy of victory on his face. He just stood there in the cold wind, leaning on a long sword, staring into the distance in silence.

His personal guards lit a huge bonfire in front of him, warming themselves by the fire while roasting rations and cooking wheat porridge.

Even the aroma of dried food and jerky couldn't bring Cheng Feng back to her senses.

It wasn't until Zhao Baiying returned that Cheng Feng's expression became somewhat lively.

Zhao Baiying was soaking wet, her weapons were covered in blood, and several arrows were stuck in her armor and the shield she carried on her back. It was clear at a glance that she had been through a great battle.

Cheng Feng's confidant quickly stepped forward, helped Zhao Baiying off his horse, and removed his armor for him.

After Zhao Baiying took off his armor, his inner military uniform was soaked with sweat, and his lips were blue from the cold. He stripped naked by the fire and changed into clean clothes before he finally recovered. Cheng Feng personally brought a bowl of wheat porridge to Zhao Baiying: "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Zhao."

Zhao Baiying was still trembling. After drinking the porridge in one gulp, she said, "Brother Cheng, the Jin bandits have already retreated. They abandoned all their supplies and even the laborers. We can't catch up with them."

"Brother Zhao, you also went through a fierce battle?"

"Indeed, the Jin bandits left some scouts behind them, retreating as they went. I wanted to get closer to see the Jin bandits' formation, but I was discovered by their scouts. I had no choice but to fight and retreat. When we were crossing the Xiaobei River, the Jin bandits caught up with us. Several of us fought on the bridge, and then the bridge collapsed and we fell into the water."

If the water level in the Xiaobei River hadn't been low in winter, you might never have seen me again, brother.

Cheng Feng had a premonition, and upon hearing this, he could only sigh and nod: "If we can't catch up, we can't catch up. As expected, we are not capable of great things with our own strength. We still have to rely on true heroes like Commander-in-Chief."

Zhao Baiying shook her head and said, "Our uprising was to protect our territory and people. Now that the people of Pengcheng have escaped a calamity, how can Brother Cheng not be considered a true hero?"

Cheng Feng stood up, turned around and looked around. At the edge of her vision was a village, from which thick smoke was still billowing, as if a fire had just been extinguished.

Cheng Feng simply pointed in that direction and said, "Did the people of Pengcheng really escape this calamity?"

Zhao Baiying was about to offer some advice, saying that throughout history, those who have achieved great things have all experienced setbacks and stumbles.

Is the world really that easy to conquer?
However, he thought again that now that Xuzhou was about to surrender to Liu Huai, if he wanted to do anything big, he would be courting death.

Thinking of this, Zhao Baiying sighed: "I don't know how Liu Dalang did it back then. He also started from scratch and used the regulations of the righteous army to resist the Jin. How did he manage to do it so well? In the end, he was able to truly put the words 'protect the borders and keep the people safe' into practice."

Cheng Feng sighed and muttered to herself, "Yes, how did the Commander-in-Chief manage to do that?"

Zhao Baiying stared silently at the fire until her body was completely warm before saying, "Never mind all that. Now that the Jin bandits have escaped, we should hand over Xuzhou to the Commander-in-Chief intact."

If yesterday these leaders of the Xuzhou rebel army might have harbored some ambition due to the united will of their 10,000-strong army, now that they have personally commanded a battle and experienced a chaotic night, their ambition has gradually subsided.

Rebellion and uprising require a lot of practice, but the key is that it's a life-or-death situation, and few people get a second chance.

This road is really too difficult.

Now that there is a larger power to rely on, Cheng Feng and the others naturally will not continue to fight to the death.

“That’s right.” Cheng Feng forced a smile. “I’ve already sent Meng Tang and the others to settle the people in the surrounding villages. You rest a bit more, and then we’ll go too. Kill those who deserve to be killed, and reward those who deserve to be rewarded. Since none of us are cut out for battle, we should at least show the Commander-in-Chief how to handle civil affairs.”

Zhao Baiying nodded in agreement: "Also, the news of the Jin bandits' retreat should be reported to General Xin and Chief Steward Zhang."

Cheng Feng, supporting his long sword, sighed inexplicably and said, "Of course, Brother Zhao, you don't need to say more. After we recapture Su Causeway and the Jin bandits leave, I will have Li Lao Er take care of this matter."

After saying a few words, Cheng Feng sighed again: "I don't know whether, in the eyes of the elders, I, Cheng Feng, will be seen as wise and brave, or as wicked and evil after this incident."

Zhao Baiying knew that Cheng Feng was blaming himself for not controlling the troops well, but he didn't know where to begin to persuade him, because Zhao Baiying had also been around in the area for many years and had a good reputation in Xuzhou.

Who can be satisfied with this result?
In the end, Zhao Baiying could only pick up her spear again, mount her horse, and say, "Brother Cheng, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost. Since we're already in this position, it's always good to do something sooner rather than later."

"I'll go to Xima Terrace first. Brother Cheng, you should go to Pengcheng and take charge!"

After saying that, Zhao Baiying whipped his horse and left, leaving Cheng Feng hesitant to speak. Then, she turned around and sighed repeatedly as she looked at the rising sun in the cold wind.

(End of this chapter)