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

Chapter 644 Just Like the Mighty Army of Yesteryear

After witnessing the Jin army's defeat outside the city, Pucha Shijie completely lost hope.

It was originally a desperate attempt to survive, so its complete failure was to be expected.

After Wu Jie's banner was also cut down, Pu Cha Shijie didn't have time to think about Guo Anguo's fate. He immediately ordered the remaining troops in the town to set fires everywhere, and then the whole army retreated.

After crossing the Ju River, Pucha Shijie, suppressing his heart-wrenching grief, cut off the pontoon bridge and burned the ferry boats, effectively abandoning his three thousand soldiers on the north bank of the Ju River.

Wu Jiejun, desperate to escape, dared not wait any longer and accelerated his retreat towards Suzhou.

It should be said that the results achieved by Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu in their joint efforts were quite good. In addition to the more than 1,000 Jin soldiers who were defeated today, there were more than 2,000 scattered soldiers and vagrants whose way out was blocked between the Yellow River and the Jushui River. If they were to clear them out in two days in an orderly manner, the total number of people killed and captured would be at least 2,000.

Moreover, they captured Guo Anguo, the commander-in-chief of the Wujie Army.

A general of this rank would be at the forefront even when presenting prisoners to the Song Dynasty, especially since this fellow is the son of Guo Yaoshi. The Song emperor would probably be very willing to exchange some money and grain for him.

From both a moral and logical standpoint, this can be considered a resounding victory.

However, both Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu were somewhat unwilling to accept this.

The reason is simple: this battle shows that the morale of Wu Jie's army has collapsed. As long as we keep pursuing them, we will eventually wipe out Wu Jie's entire army.

However, Pucha Shijie's fire shattered the pursuit.

First of all, Fuli Town is the best ferry crossing within a hundred miles of the Jushui River. The foundation of the pontoon bridge there was laid long ago. Building pontoon bridges in other places would require surveying the hydrology, which would naturally slow down the process.

Secondly, Heshi Lieliangbi not only mobilized ships from Xuzhou, but also scoured the upstream and downstream banks, so much so that now there are no boats to cross the river and very little material to build a pontoon bridge.

Finally, there are the residents of Fuli Town.

As a hub connecting the upper and lower reaches of the Jushui River, Fuli Town still had a relatively large population, even after experiencing floods. At this time, their house was burned to the ground, and their food was almost completely destroyed. Those who were not burned to death could only weep in the cold winter wind, bewildered and at a loss.

Left with no other choice, Xin Qiji ordered that some of the already scarce military rations be squeezed out to allow the disaster-stricken people to have a full meal first, in order to stabilize the morale of the surrounding people, while at the same time urging Xuzhou to provide more grain.

There was nothing that could be done about it. It was only natural to try to restore the local people's livelihood immediately after the war, but this time it was even more urgent.

During the Wanli era of the Ming Dynasty, after Japan attacked Korea and captured Pyongyang, Konishi Yukinaga's first task was to use military rations to stabilize grain prices.

The Han army couldn't possibly have performed worse than those humanoid creatures from Japan's Sengoku period, could they?!

Just as Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu were hesitating, that night, with the arrival of a force of about a thousand soldiers, a large banner with Chinese characters finally appeared on the banks of the Ju River.

After dealing with the northern front, Liu Huai traveled non-stop and finally arrived at the southern front.

"Greetings, Commander-in-Chief!"

Led by Xin Qiji and Zhang Baiyu, several generals bowed and paid their respects.

"No need for formalities." Liu Huai stroked his short beard and said with a smile, "There aren't so many formalities in the army. Follow me into the central command tent."

Without any hesitation, Liu Huai went straight to the largest tent in the military camp and immediately took over the seat of honor.

Although Xin Qiji's seat was taken, he was not angry. Instead, he seemed to have found his anchor and let out a long sigh of relief before finally sitting down in the first seat on the left.

"I only brought three thousand reinforcements with me this time, and they are all on their way." Liu Huai didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "Before I came, I was worried about how the Battle of Xuzhou would develop. But I never expected that the situation on the southern front would not only be slightly better, but extremely better."

Zhang Baiyu instinctively wanted to find Li Tong, but realizing that the sycophant hadn't come, he could only bite the bullet and say, "It's all thanks to the eldest son fighting the main force of the Jin invaders in the north. If it weren't for the eldest son diverting attention, Xuzhou would definitely have been difficult to capture."

Liu Huai was about to talk about the current strategic situation, but Zhang Baiyu's awkward flattery stumped him.

Strategically speaking, Zhang Baiyu's words are not wrong, but flattery also depends on the individual's skill. Similarly, Li Tong's words sound much better.

It is evident that although Li Tong was quite capable in political strategy, his image as a treacherous and wicked person was deeply ingrained in people's minds, earning him widespread praise.

Liu Huai banished these chaotic thoughts from his mind and immediately made a political promise: "Zhang Silang is mistaken. The victory in this battle on the southern front was due to the concerted efforts of the Tianping Army, the Loyal Army, the Flying Tiger Army, and the Dongping Army, as well as the hard work of the righteous people of Xuzhou. After this battle, we will reward those who have made contributions!"

The generals seemed reassured, their faces lighting up with smiles, and the atmosphere became more lively.

"But this battle is not over yet. The Wujie Army is the elite of the Jin Kingdom. If we don't annihilate them in one fell swoop, who knows what kind of trouble will arise?" Liu Huai continued, "So we have to keep pursuing them, but we can't keep pursuing them like this."

"Mr. Liang has already taken charge of Xuzhou and is transporting grain and fodder here, so the predicament of food shortage should be alleviated."

"Our army will be stationed here for two days, clearing out the Jin bandits between the Yellow River and the Jushui River, while also gathering troops and building a pontoon bridge." Xin Qiji pondered for a moment, then could only nod helplessly.

There was nothing that could be done about it; after all, no matter how brave the Han army was, they couldn't possibly fly across the river on an empty stomach.

Zhang Baiyu frowned: "Young Master, if we stop here, will the Wujie Army escape?"

Liu Huai nodded: "That's a possibility. But the Jin bandits' method of escape shows a lack of morale and low morale. If they don't stop to regroup, they might collapse on their own after fleeing another hundred or two miles. I don't think Pucha Shijie is that incompetent."

As he spoke, Liu Huai looked at Zhang Baiyu and asked curiously, "I heard that Zhang Silang made a fortune today?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Baiyu felt somewhat embarrassed and gave Xin Qiji a grateful look before saying, "Reporting to Commander-in-Chief, we have captured Guo Anguo, the son of the traitorous General Guo Yaoshi and Commander-in-Chief of the Wujie Army. We are about to present him to you, my lord!"

Zhang Baiyu was naturally grateful to Xin Qiji, because theoretically, Xin Qiji was the commander-in-chief of this battle, and it would have been easy for him to take credit for it. However, he still gave the credit for capturing the enemy to Zhang Baiyu.

This is where Xin Qiji's shrewdness lies. Just as Liang Su analyzed, after Xin Qiji gained the power to control the troops on the southern front, combined with his previous position in the Jingnan Army, he immediately understood his responsibility as the deputy commander in the Han army.

In theory, as long as Xin Qiji doesn't make mistakes, people like Zhang Baiyu could become his subordinates and be under his control. Under such circumstances, Xin Qiji should unite the generals and not let minor disputes cause discord within the army.

“Then bring him up.” Liu Huai was quite accommodating to Zhang Baiyu: “I also want to hear what this fellow has to say.”

A moment later, Guo Anguo was brought up bound hand and foot, and ever since he entered the tent, he had been staring intently at Liu Huai with his head tilted back.

There was no fierceness in his eyes, and his face was very calm. He just kept looking up until he was forced to kneel on the ground, and then he lowered his head.

"I am Liu Huai, Guo Anguo. What do you want to say?" Liu Huai did not pretend to perform a scene of personally untying the enemy general. Instead, he sat upright in the first seat and asked loudly.

Guo Anguo shook his head dejectedly: "I have nothing else to say, I just want to see the heroes of the Han Dynasty before I die."

Liu Huai asked with great interest, "Now that you've seen it, what do you think?"

Guo Anguo answered honestly, "I don't know, but it's much better than the group of Song officials I met when I followed my father."

Liu Huai continued, "Oh, you mean Tong Guan, Liu Yanqing, and the like? I don't think it's a compliment to say they're better than those bastards."

Compared to these humanoid creatures, it's like racing a cripple; even if you win, it's nothing to brag about.

Guo Anguo seemed to understand Liu Huai's meaning and immediately chuckled and shook his head: "Flying Tiger Gentleman, I'm not just talking about these scoundrels. Back then, the Song Dynasty's Northern Expeditionary Army was a mixed bag, full of talented people. It couldn't all be people like Tong Guan."

That's true. For example, Han Shizhong, Ma Kuo, and others even fought against the Jin army in the Northern Expeditionary Army that day.

Liu Huai, no longer interested in historical research, asked: "Guo Anguo, are you willing to surrender?"

Guo Anguo was about to say he would rather die than surrender, but then he immediately felt a surge of fear.

Since ancient times, death has been the only hardship. It is not a big deal to be afraid when faced with a crisis. The key is that this is the central command tent of the Han army, and there are many people watching around. As soon as Guo Anguo hesitated, some people immediately showed their disdain.

They were all military generals, and what mattered most was the scar on their heads. A military general who was afraid of death had already lost the foundation for his position.

Seeing this, Liu Huai did not make things difficult for Guo Anguo, but simply waved his hand and said, "Then take him away and keep him under proper guard."

Guo Anguo remained silent and was escorted away by the armored soldiers like a quail.

After watching Guo Anguo leave the tent, Xin Qiji cupped his hands and said, "Commander-in-Chief, are you just going to let this fellow off like this?"

Liu Huai shook his head: "Of course not. Let's wait and see how he fares. If we can persuade him to surrender, that would be even better. After all, the Guo family still has a certain foundation in Youyan. Although they suffered heavy losses because of the Guo Pharmacist incident, they still have some understanding of the geography and connections there."

Even if Guo Anguo doesn't surrender, we can still spread the word that he is one of Wanyan Liang's top Han generals. If he surrenders, Wanyan Liang will definitely become suspicious of the other Han generals.

At the very least, we could send him to the Song state in exchange for some grain, and also put the Song emperor at ease. A living person is always more useful than a dead one.

Xin Qiji nodded repeatedly, but then asked one more question: "Should we interrogate them about the purpose of the Wu Jie Army?"

Liu Huai shook his head, stood up and drew a line on the map behind him: "That's not necessary. The Yellow River, the Ju River, and the Bian River all lead to Bianliang. The Wujie Army has had so many opportunities to leave, yet they still choose to head west. There can only be one purpose."

"Tsk." Liu Huai drew a circle with his hand over the three cities of Suzhou, Shouzhou, and Yingzhou: "Pucha Shijie and Guo Anguo... no, the entire Wujie Army is truly loyal and brave. Under such circumstances, they still want to try to hold Henan."

The Wu Jie Army was also under the command of the Meng An Mou Ke, and the Meng An in charge of marching still had a relatively high say in the army. At this time, the Wu Jie Army had not returned to Bianliang and had not yet completely collapsed, which could only mean that at least at the level of the Meng An in charge of marching, a consensus had been reached.

“In that case, the Jin bandits will have to cross several rivers, and with the rivers slowing them down, they absolutely cannot escape!” Xin Qiji looked at Liu Huai’s analysis and became inexplicably confident.

(End of this chapter)