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

Chapter 717: Openly repairing the plank road and secretly visiting Chencang
The rainy season significantly impacted military deployments.

The Jin army's morale was low due to being soaked by the rain, and the Song army was equally disheartened in the rain.

Whether daily training is complete, whether the generals are of outstanding quality, and whether supplies are sufficient—at this moment, these factors can become the last straw that breaks the camel's back.

Everyone is persevering.

But for Guan Chongyan, who was in Jeju, the battlefield was a completely different story.

As a general who commanded the most elite forces of the Han army, Guan Chongyan was somewhat apprehensive and felt like he was walking on thin ice.

The mission of the Flying Tigers should be the same as that of all elite troops throughout history: when both sides have exhausted all means and are in an awkward stalemate, to break out with overwhelming force, crush all those who dare to stand in their way, and thus ensure that victory will surely belong to their side.

Just as when no one is playing poker, the first hand should be "four twos with two mao" (a winning hand of four identical cards), the elite troops should be the last to play.

In the words of later generations: the general reserve remains in place.

But the current situation is really too special.

Liu Huai positioned the Flying Tiger Army to connect the north and south, which meant they were destined to cut off the Jin army's communication between the north and south.

In other words, the Flying Tigers would have to start fighting when the main battlefields on both the north and south were locked in a stalemate.

This explains why Guan Chongyan was so anxious.

The Flying Tigers have to provide a safety net for the entire army. They have no other troops behind them. Even if they suffer heavy losses, let alone a defeat, it will affect the overall strategy.

But no matter what, since the decision to go to war has been made and the White Horse Army has already crossed the Yellow River, what else can be done?

Probe carefully, then fight bravely.

On the fifth day of the fifth lunar month, the Flying Tiger Army was stationed in Shanfu City. Six wide pontoon bridges had been erected across the Yellow River in front of them, and the requisitioned merchant and civilian ships were also in place.

Shanfu is only a hundred miles away from Songcheng, the capital of Guide Prefecture. The White Horse Army has already crossed the river in full force, and is taking control of the battlefield and gathering intelligence in groups of five or ten.

Military intelligence was continuously relayed to Guan Chongyan, but Guan Chongyan became increasingly hesitant.

the reason is simple.

Apart from some responses from local officials, no real troops from the Jin state actually appeared.

The reaction of Guide Prefecture was also quite interesting; they directly offered to surrender the city.

Guan Chongyan was both amused and exasperated.

Under normal circumstances, it would be fine, but now is a delicate moment when a major battle is about to begin. If Guan Chongyan dares to place the Flying Tiger Army in such a place where friend and foe are unclear, he can expect to be punished afterward!

Xiao Pennu and Liu Kuo naturally understood this principle, but they dared not truly refuse anyone's surrender, fearing it would discourage the other regions. They could only appease the people of Guide Prefecture while continuing to search for the main force of Heshi Lie Liangbi.

Persistence pays off. On May 8th, the northernmost scouts of the White Horse Army finally discovered the tracks of the main Jin cavalry force on the south bank of the Yellow River, north of Kaocheng.

The news was reported up the chain of command, and Xiao Pennu quickly assembled the White Horse Army and headed north to investigate.

The Jin cavalry moved very quickly, and by May 9th, more than two thousand Jin soldiers, guided by the banner of Jiagu, advanced towards Song City.

Xiao Pennu didn't hesitate at all, leading more than two thousand White Horse Army soldiers to meet them.

Xiao Pennu originally intended to use his cavalry to entangle the Jin army, and then let the Flying Tiger Army deliver the final blow.

But the Jin cavalry were not to be underestimated.

Under the leadership of Kiyotomi Kagaya, the two thousand Jin soldiers defeated the White Horse Army, which was preparing to meet them with bows and arrows, in just one charge.

Before Xiao Pennu could react, he was swept away by the fleeing army and forced to retreat.

The White Horse Army scattered and fled across the plains. Kiyotomi Yagaya strictly disciplined his armored cavalry, focusing his pursuit solely on the largest battle group.

Xiao Pennu had just rallied several hundred light cavalry, but seeing this, he could only continue his hasty retreat.

Although the losses should not be too great, this is the first defeat since the formation of the White Horse Army, which is really too embarrassing.

Of course, the Jin army didn't fare any better either.

On May 10th, the Jin army and the White Horse Army, in a chase, arrived near Songcheng and encountered the vanguard of the Flying Tiger Army, consisting of 500 cavalry.

Commander-in-chief was Chen Wenben, the deputy commander of the Flying Tiger Army. He was a reckless man who dared to grab a knife with his bare hands. Seeing that the Jin army still had a thousand men, but their formation was disorganized due to the forced march, he immediately led the Flying Tiger Army to charge forward from the front.

After being repeatedly beaten by Liu Huai and Zhang Baiyu, Jia Gu Qingchen developed a psychological aversion to the Shandong Han Army. He had just regained some confidence yesterday against the White Horse Army, and before he could even savor the taste of victory, he was ambushed in the face by the Flying Tiger Army. One side consisted of ordinary Jin cavalry, and the other of the elite, best-of-the-best Han troops.

One side had endured a day of fierce fighting and a night of pursuit, leaving their troops exhausted; the other side had been recuperating and were in high spirits.

With a powerful charge, the difference in strength became clear.

After a quarter of an hour of fighting, the Jin army collapsed completely, and Jia Gu Qingchen fled in a sorry state.

However, Chen Wenben was unable to immediately pursue the Jin army and expand his gains.

Because he only had 500 heavy cavalry under his command, and the rest of the Flying Tiger Army was still on its way.

The light cavalry, normally responsible for cleaning up the battlefield and pursuing the fleeing troops—the White Horse Army—has become so weak that it cannot be regrouped and fight again in just a few days.

Guan Chongyan was naturally furious when he learned of the outcome of the battle.

However, what angered him even more was yet to come.

It seems that the Jin army only sent two thousand cavalrymen, who fled south after their defeat and never returned.

The remaining several thousand Jin soldiers seemed to have vanished into thin air and could not be found again.

As the light cavalry was regrouped and deployed again, detailed information finally arrived, and only then was Guan Chongyan able to piece together the full picture of the military situation.

After crossing the Yellow River, Heshilie Liangbi did not advance along the Yellow River, but instead took the southern branch of the Yellow River.

Subsequently, Jia Gu Qingchen led two thousand cavalrymen to attract the attention of the Baima Army north of Kaocheng, while He Shilie Liangbi led the main force of the Jin army in a feint, directly reaching Bozhou along the Huan River.

At this time, the main force of the Jin army had already left the range of the Flying Tiger Army's forces and was stationed in Yongcheng, Bozhou, which was no more than two hundred li away from Pengcheng, Xuzhou, and Fuli, Suzhou.

In other words, the Flying Tiger Army and the White Horse Army, a total of 6,000 elite Han soldiers, spent several days planning and then engaged in fierce fighting, but the result was only a little over 200 Jin cavalrymen.

It turned out to be a situation that caused great damage.

Feeling ashamed and angry at being tricked, Guan Chongyan could only write a letter of apology and send it to Liu Huai and Wei Sheng respectively.

Wei Sheng replied quickly.

Wei Sheng first praised Guan Chongyan's achievements, commending him as "decisive and brave, a general of great talent." Then, he changed the subject, telling him to stop interfering with Heshi Lie Liangbi, as he could easily handle a mere 10,000 troops.

The Flying Tigers' most urgent task was to return to Jeju Island, remain on high alert, and be ready to support the northern battlefield at any time.

At this point, Liu Huai could no longer concern himself with the battle taking place in Guide Prefecture.

Compared to the great war that was about to begin, the series of battles that took place in Guide Prefecture could only be considered military skirmishes.

On May 10th, just as Chen Wenben was defeating Jia Gu Qingchen and forcing him to flee in disarray, the main force of the Han army had already assembled in Tangyi and was heading towards Daming Prefecture.

This naturally caught the attention of He Shilie Zhining, who immediately reacted.

"The Jin army has been mobilized."

Liu Huai urged his horse forward at a slow pace, handing the intelligence he had just obtained to Xin Qiji beside him.

Xin Qiji glanced at it and frowned, saying, "He Shilie Zhining is really bold to bring out so many troops. He is determined to fight a decisive battle with our army."

Liu Huai said with a smile, "Since we captured Licheng, the Jin army probably sees all the fortified cities as nothing more than paper in front of us. Imagine if they were to fight with their backs to the city, I could find a way to have a force flank them and blow up the city gate. We wouldn't even need to enter the city; the mere news that the city gate has been breached would be enough to shake the entire Jin army."

Xin Qiji nodded repeatedly, but then heard Liu Huai say, "More importantly, He Shilie Zhining is very confident. He thinks that he is a famous general of the Jin Dynasty, and with the Jin army's elite main force in his hands, he can dominate the world and doesn't care about anyone."

At this point, Liu Huai said with a half-smile, "Perhaps, in this fellow's eyes, this is still the opportunity he has been waiting for. After all, the main battle will determine everything. As long as he can defeat us in the decisive battle, the Jin invaders can easily sweep through Shandong."

Xin Qiji burst into laughter: "Brother, isn't this the opportunity you've been waiting for? If we can encircle and annihilate this main force of 60,000 Jin bandits here, won't our army be able to run rampant in Hebei?"

Liu Huai also laughed loudly: "Fifth Brother understands me best! Now our army has 60,000 regular troops, and in the end, Heaven has not favored anyone!"

"Will it be a century of bloodshed in the North before a hero comes to clean up the mess, or will I achieve victory in one battle and restore China? We'll see how this battle goes, and how you all fight!"

"Yes, sir!" The surrounding generals responded in unison.

On May 11th of the second year of the Longxing era, the Han army officially crossed the old course of the Yellow River and entered the traditional Hebei region.

The world was shocked.

(End of this chapter)