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

Chapter 642 Pressing the Enemy in Pursuit of Victory

Like Li Zhongqing, who was heading south, Jiang Mingyi also came to the north, attempting to contact the main force of the Han army led by Xin Qiji.

He ran more than 200 li in one day, killing two horses and nearly breaking his backside, until evening when he finally found traces of the Taiping Army near Shanfu.

This made Jiang Mingyi somewhat anxious.

The main force of the Dongping Army has already entered Xuzhou territory, so why is the Tianping Army arriving so slowly?
Could it be that they've come up with the idea of ​​harming their neighbors?

Jiang Mingyi only put his worries aside when he met Zhang Anguo.

According to Zhang Anguo's account, Xin Qiji, along with generals such as Wang Xiongyi, Yuchi Mingyue, and Shi Baiju, led all the soldiers who could ride horses and mules across the Yellow River and arrived near Mangdang Mountain.

Mangdang Mountain is located a hundred li west of Pengcheng. If Wu Jie's army wanted to return directly to Bianliang, Xin Qiji could launch a decisive ambush.

If Wu Jie's army remains stationary in Xuzhou, Xin Qiji can surround Xuzhou from the south. Then, they can wait for Liu Huai to lead the main force of the army. Even if Wu Jie's army is made of iron, how many nails can they drive under the attack from both inside and outside?
It should be said that Xin Qiji's plan was quite perfect, but it did not stop Jiang Mingyi from getting agitated when he heard about it.

Wu Jie's army fled directly south, showing no intention of marching along the Yellow River. They should have already reached Suzhou by now.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anguo was also somewhat flustered. He immediately dispatched a military envoy to the vicinity of Mangdang Mountain to find Xin Qiji and deliver this important message.

Just as Zhang Anguo's military envoy set off, Xin Qiji's military envoy arrived to deliver orders.

He ordered the four thousand Tianping Army and Zhongyi Army troops stationed in Shanfu to cross the river quickly, and the entire army to escort the supplies directly to Suzhou to rendezvous.

Why would there be any need for local powerful families in Xuzhou to issue a report? Wu Jie's army made no attempt to conceal their movements, and Xin Qiji discovered their whereabouts early in the morning, leading his troops in pursuit.

However, of the three thousand soldiers under Xin Qiji's command, only a thousand or so were proper cavalry; the rest were mounted infantry. Their speed was slightly slower, and they were unable to block Wu Jie's army. They could only follow closely behind, galloping southeast along the Ju River.

In the afternoon, Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu's armies joined forces near Fuli Town on the Ju River and captured more than a thousand soldiers of Wu Jie's army who had not yet crossed the Ju River.

All three sides were panting heavily and had fallen far behind. Even the Flying Tiger Army only had about five hundred riders arriving in the first batch.

Xin Qiji was in a similar situation, and because he led a mixed force of the Taiping Army and the Loyal Righteous Army, their formation was even more scattered, to the point that Xin Qiji couldn't even count how many troops he had gathered.

As for the Jin army, after their hasty retreat at night, they fell far behind.

The more than 1,000 soldiers left on the north bank of the Ju River were the last organized troops of the Wujie Army. There were at least 2,000 stragglers of the Jin army trapped between the Yellow River and the Ju River.

Of course, even in such a dire situation, Pucha Shijie remained remarkably calm.

Fuli Town on the Jushui River was the former seat of Fuli County. Although it has been abandoned due to floods, the city walls still exist.

Moreover, in Heshilie Liangbi's previous plan, once the Song army marched north to attack Xuzhou, the Jin army would go south along the Ju River to cut off the Song army's retreat.

Fuli Town was the Jin army's forward base. The city walls had been repaired to some extent, and grain and ships had been stockpiled, making the city quite fortified.

Therefore, the original plan was for Pucha Shijie to lead more than a thousand soldiers to gather the straggling soldiers here, and to put up some resistance when the Han army arrived, so as not to let the Han army pursue them without any worries.

In theory, one thousand people are more than enough.

But the situation is different now.

"Asa! The men are exhausted. What difference is there between you going into battle now and sending them to their deaths?" Guo Anguo had just finished overseeing the construction of the pontoon bridge south of Fuli Town and urging the troops to cross the river. Upon hearing that Pucha Shijie was going to lead his troops to attack, he immediately panicked and rushed to the north of the town to find Pucha Shijie. He anxiously asked, "Now the Han bandits are coming from two directions, clearly two separate armies. They can't possibly attack the city. Asa, why don't you take this opportunity to let the men water their horses and rest?" When defending a city, passively taking hits from the city walls is always a last resort. If the safety of the entire city is entrusted to a single city wall, then the final result is that the attacking side can fail countless times, while the defending side only needs to fail once, and a breach will be torn in the wall, leading to the fall of the entire city.

Therefore, Guo Anguo was not against launching an offensive, but rather against launching an offensive without expanding their advantage.

The Han army has come a long way, and there isn't even any grass in the vast winter fields, while the Jin army can leisurely warm themselves by the fire in the city, water their horses and have a good meal before going out to fight. Wouldn't they have a better advantage then?

Of course, Guo Anguo also meant that after eating and drinking his fill, he would not only be able to fight, but also run away.

As a veteran general, Pucha Shijie naturally understood Guo Anguo's words, but he shook his head directly: "General Guo, if it were before Da Qingsi and Bai Yuer came, I would think that what you said was not wrong, but now the main force of the Shandong bandits has arrived. If we abandon Fuli Town and return to Suzhou City, then all the men between the Yellow River and the Jushui River will die without a burial place."

After several changes in expression, Pu Chashijie finally turned to look at Guo Anguo: "General Guo, in our minds, those who came to pursue us on the first day were nothing more than the bandits from Xuzhou, nothing to fear. But now, it is actually one of the top generals in the Shandong bandit army who has personally come, which is far beyond our expectations."

Their determination and disregard for life make them incredibly difficult to deal with, even if our Wujie Army were united as one, let alone in their current state.

Guo Anguo's expression changed upon hearing this. After a moment of silence, he said, "Asa, do you know that if you really lead your troops into battle, you might die right here?"

Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu are both young generals who have risen to prominence in the last two years. Although their achievements were largely due to their association with Liu Huai, their ability to fight large-scale battles is questionable. However, their ability to distinguish themselves in the Han army, which is full of fierce generals, certainly indicates their bravery.

In such small-scale battles involving a thousand or so people, the impact of individual bravery is amplified infinitely. Dozens of warriors coming together can very well change the course of the battle.

Pucha Shijie smiled and then put on his helmet: "Of course I know. But General Guo was wrong just now. Even if the Shandong bandits abandon their supplies, they will still carry some dry rations with them. If the vanguard of the Han bandits gathers more troops and eats some food to recover their strength, how can the Wujie Army defend Fuli Town with its current morale?"

"The best course of action now is to take advantage of the fact that the Han rebels have not yet established a firm foothold and go out of the city to fight them. If we can defeat them, our army can retreat safely and bring back the more than two thousand soldiers scattered behind us."

Guo Anguo remained silent for a moment, then grabbed Pucha Shijie's hand on horseback and said, "Asa, don't go, I'll do it."

Pucha Shijie was about to retort when he heard Guo Anguo continue, "Most of the Wujie Army are Jurchen men. If you die, I, a Han Chinese from Youyan, will not be able to control them at all. It would be a small matter if the Wujie Army collapses, but what about the affairs of the country?"

“But Shouzhou is Han territory, and I am a Jurchen…”

"Han land is Han land. Didn't we say before that all Han people in the world are the same? They are either extremely cowardly or extremely brutal. Even if you are a Jurchen, Asa, as long as you govern with benevolence and fairness, the Han people will submit to you and be willing to die for you! With your governing skills, in two or three years, you will be able to win back the hearts of the people and defend Henan for the Great Jin!"

Having said that, Guo Anguo did not hesitate any longer. After putting on his helmet, he raised his spear and roared, "Soldiers of the Wujie Army, follow me to kill the enemy!"

His personal guards also shouted, "Kill the traitors! Kill the traitors!"

The more than four hundred Wu Jie soldiers, who had just rested in the city, were all excited when they saw this. They mounted their main warhorses and rushed out through the open gate.

Outside the city, there were still more than 500 Jin soldiers fighting against the Han army. When they turned around and saw the banner of "Martial Victory" emerging from the town, they knew that their commander-in-chief was personally leading the battle. They all forced themselves to suppress their fatigue and lined up on both sides of the banner.

Seeing this, Xin Qiji was both amused and annoyed, and said to Zhang Baiyu, "Don't you think the Jin invaders are looking down on us too much?"

Zhang Baiyu laughed: "It's alright. Exhausted soldiers also have their own tactics. Since we are all exhausted soldiers, it's as if we are all fresh troops."

"I'll lead the Flying Tiger Army to engage the Jin invaders first, and you, Fifth Brother, will follow me. What do you say?"

"That's it!"

(End of this chapter)