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

Chapter 718 A Test of Skill, Mending the Sky Crack

The weapon of criticism is ultimately no match for using weapons to criticize.

Despite chanting for so long, "Expel the Tartars, restore China, establish order and discipline, and save the people," the Jin Dynasty still appears as stable as Mount Tai.
But when the Han army actually crossed the old course of the Yellow River and entered Hebei in the traditional sense, this slogan finally seemed more real.

For the Han people, this was the first time in thirty-seven years since the Jingkang Incident that a legitimate Han army had set foot on the land of Hebei.

As for the Jin Dynasty, especially the Jurchens, after nearly forty years of development and the birth of two generations, they had long since turned Hebei from a foreign land into their homeland, from a tributary zone into a core area. Many of the Meng'an and Mouke households in Hebei had migrated there during the attack on the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, when Liu Huai, waving the banner of "Han" and leading 60,000 regular troops and 40,000 laborers, set foot on the land of Hebei, the entire Hebei region was thrown into turmoil, as if someone had poured a spoonful of cold water into boiling oil.

It goes without saying that Heshi Liezhi Ning immediately led 60,000 regular troops and 50,000 conscripts out from the east of Yuancheng.

From Daming Prefecture, and even further afield in Jizhou and Kaizhou, young and strong Han men, carrying spears and accompanied by servants, rode inferior horses, overcoming numerous obstacles and braving the dangers of war and chaos, to come and serve in the Han army.

On May 13th, when the army entered Daming Prefecture and set up camp on the banks of a small river called Yinma River, the number of people who came to join the army reached as many as three thousand.

These people were naturally of mixed quality, and there was a possibility that there were Jin spies mixed in among them. Therefore, Liu Huai organized them into a separate battalion and selected the bravest men to temporarily serve as officers.

Since this army was assembled in Daming Prefecture, it was named after the ancient name of Daming Prefecture.

However, since the Tianxiong Army had already been occupied by Wang Youzhi, this army could only be given an even more ancient name.

It just so happens that Daming Prefecture was called Wulu City during the Spring and Autumn Period. Therefore, Liu Huai personally appointed it as the Wulu Army, which was temporarily organized together with the logistics battalion to protect the logistics support personnel.

Although it was just a trivial matter, it greatly boosted the morale of the Han army.

It felt as if the people were wholeheartedly welcoming our army wherever it went, truly taking full advantage of favorable timing. That vibrant, flourishing scene of life still lingers in my mind.

However, the core members of the Han army were not blinded by the prosperity before their eyes.

"Because this is the first time the Northern Expedition has reached Hebei, and the first time has always been the easiest, we must be extremely cautious. If we lose this opportunity, it will only become more and more difficult in the future."

As Liang Su drank his plum juice, he spoke slowly among the generals and military advisors.

Shi Qilang immediately stopped smiling, staring at his one-eyed man and asking, "Mr. Liang, what do you mean by that?"

Liang Su placed the empty bowl he was holding on the table: "Shi Qilang, have you heard the stories of the Three Kingdoms?"

"I heard."

Have you heard of the story of Ma Su being executed with tears in his eyes?

"Of course I've heard of it."

"On that day, it was Zhuge Liang's first Northern Expedition. Of the five commanderies in Longyou, three surrendered to Zhuge Liang, with only Guangwei and Longxi refusing to surrender. You Chu, the governor of Longxi, resolutely resisted. The entire Cao Wei court was 'terrified'. However, Ma Su lost Jieting, which ruined the promising situation."

Those loyal ministers of the Han dynasty could only follow Zhuge Liang back to Shu.

After this incident, the people of Longyou were all loyal subjects of Cao Wei. Although Zhuge Liang subsequently launched several northern expeditions, he never achieved the same success as during his first expedition.

At this point, whether it was out of nostalgia for the past or something else that stirred up his thoughts, Liang Su shook his head and sighed repeatedly.

Shi Qilang was still somewhat baffled, simply dismissing it as a common quirk of scholars.

Liu Huai, who had been standing with his hands behind his back in front of the map, interjected, "Mr. Liang's meaning is very simple. The people of Hebei are not destined to follow us. I, Liu Huai, have not done any favors for the people of Hebei. The three thousand men who have come to join the army are not here to pledge allegiance to me. They would have responded to any Han Chinese Northern Expeditionary Army that came here."

“If we fail, these loyal and righteous people will lose their foothold in Hebei, the people of Hebei will be disappointed in us, and fewer people will come to join us next time.”

"After many disappointments, Hebei will also become like Youyan. The Han people will speak the language of the barbarians, yet they will curse the Han people from the city walls."

When Zhao Guangyi launched his first northern expedition against Youyan, the people were eager to help him, bringing him provisions and following his lead.

However, after the defeat at Gaoliang River and the drifting of the donkey cart, the Liao Dynasty thoroughly purged Youyan. Later, when the Song Dynasty attacked the Liao Dynasty again, the cooperation of the Han people in Youyan became less and less frequent.

Liu Huai paused for a moment, then continued, "However, Mr. Liang is wrong about one thing. This is not the first time that the people of Hebei have responded to the Northern Expeditionary Army, but the third time."

"The first time was when Wang Yan gathered the Eight-Character Army in the Taihang Mountains and Ma Kuo gathered the Wuma Mountain Righteous Army in the Wuma Mountain, with a combined force of more than 100,000 people."

"The second was Marshal Yue's Northern Expedition, which connected with Hebei, and the rebel armies in both Hebei rose up in response."

"However, both times it failed."

Everyone present couldn't help but turn their attention to He Boqiu, the chief secretary of the military governor's office.

Although He Boqiu was not in Shandong when Yue Fei launched his Northern Expedition, people could roughly deduce the situation in Hebei based on his experience and the subsequent development of events.

To be honest, the previous two times, the people of Hebei rallied more than 100,000 people to join the army, but now only 3,000 people have come to enlist. The difference is too great.

This was partly due to the fact that the Han army was still in its early stages, but the change in morale was also inevitable under the continuous purges by the Jin state.

"Therefore, this may very well be our last chance. You should all strive to do your best."

Liu Huai was used to explaining the strategic situation before explaining specific tactics, and everyone was used to it, so it wasn't too strange. They readily agreed.

“The current situation is very simple. The Jin bandits are fifty miles from Daming Prefecture and have set up camp only ten miles away from our army.” Liu Huai pointed to the relatively complete map on the wall and said, “The surrounding area is all plains, with no cover or any terrain advantage to act as a barrier. Even if there are a few small rivers, they will ultimately be unable to slow down the army.”

"The Jin invaders rely on their cavalry, and they will surely make use of it."

"In the past few days, the staff and military officers have summarized the intelligence. The Jin bandits have 60,000 regular troops, and the light cavalry and armored cavalry combined must number at least 30,000. Our army only has 10,000 cavalry."

Liu Huai paused here.

Xin Qiji immediately chimed in, "No matter how formidable the Jin cavalry are, their primary objective is intimidation. Now that our army's morale is high, we can counter them with a large infantry formation. The Jin cavalry are not made of iron; I refuse to believe they won't be exhausted in battle!"

Liu Huai nodded: "What Wu Lang said makes sense. As long as our infantry formation can be maintained and the Jin cavalry is exhausted, our cavalry will be able to make its mark."

This is actually the same fighting style Yue Fei used in the Battle of Yancheng.

The infantry formation was used to deal with the enemy cavalry harassment. After the Jin light cavalry were exhausted, a small number of elite cavalrymen of our own side launched a surprise attack on the Jin light cavalry. The infantry formation then advanced and crushed the Jin light cavalry who were in chaos. In this way, the Jin iron cavalry were forced to launch a charge at the wrong time.

This is a set of effective methods for defeating cavalry with infantry that Yue Fei developed through years of war between the Song and Jin dynasties.

But this requires the Han army to have high morale and rigorous training. Similarly, it requires the Jin army to have a compelling reason to fight.

Despite past battles, some generals still felt uneasy at the thought of the Jin army's 30,000 cavalrymen sweeping in.

After pondering for a moment, Lu You hesitated and said, "Liu Dalang, should we summon the Flying Tiger Army from Jizhou? This is already a decisive battle. If we lose here, even with such an elite force, Lord Wei will be unable to hold on alone." Lu You didn't want to betray Wei Sheng. In fact, if we were to divide everyone present according to the political spectrum, Lu You was probably the one who least wanted Wei Sheng to be in trouble.

But now that the time for the final battle has come, it is only right to put all our forces into it.

Moreover, the Flying Tigers only served as a bridge between the north and south, acting as a general reserve and a safety net. It doesn't mean that Wei Sheng would be doomed if the Flying Tigers marched north.

Given the current situation, it's worth taking a risk.

After pondering for a moment, Liu Huai shook his head with difficulty: "Mr. Lu, don't forget that the reason why this opportunity was able to appear was ultimately because Heshi Lieliangbi led 10,000 troops south. I just received Guan Chongyan's letter of apology. Although the Flying Tiger Army went into battle, it failed to stop these 10,000 men, allowing them to reach Bozhou. This place is too close to Xuzhou."

Liu Huai paused, then his tone became even more sincere: "Moreover, the Song army was not entirely well-prepared this time. The Northern Expedition was too hasty, and the commander was the incompetent Zhang Jun. If the Song army in Lianghuai could not hold out, then Heshi Lie Liangbi would likely gather all his troops to attack Xuzhou, thereby threatening the heartland of Shandong. At that time... we would really need the Flying Tiger Army to fight to the death."

Lu You's face turned very pale.

This was not because Liu Huai's words were impolite, but because he simply could not refute Liu Huai's words.

Are you suggesting we pat ourselves on the chest and say that the Song army could never possibly be defeated?

How did Cheng Min lose?

Or could it be that Zhang Jun wasn't a good-for-nothing?

Are you kidding me?
Seeing that Lu You had stopped speaking, Liu Huai looked at the generals in the tent: "With the strategy decided and the camp fortified, the war will officially begin no later than the day after tomorrow. Do any of you have anything to say?"

Although the generals shook their heads in silence, they all looked up at Liu Huai with piercing eyes, as if waiting for him to make a decision.

“In that case, Yelü Xingge and Dianlun.”

"exist!"

"The Liao cavalry battalion has a total of 3,500 light cavalry. Send them all out! Engage the Jin scouts and cavalry in battle to gain control of the battlefield!"

"Here!"

After the two generals of Hu origin loudly agreed, Liu Huai continued to appoint generals: "Huyan Nanxian."

"exist!"

"I hereby hand over Wu Chengjun to Deputy Commander Ji Cheng for command. You will lead your own 1,000 armored cavalry, and I will give you another 2,000 armored cavalry to protect the left flank of the main army!"

"Here!"

"Zhang Baiyu!"

"exist!"

"I will hand over the Dongping Army to Deputy Commander Xiao En. You will lead your own 700 armored cavalry, and I will give you another 2,000 armored cavalry to protect the right flank of the main army!"

"Here!"

The two cavalry generals instantly bowed excitedly.

"Xin Qiji!"

"exist!"

"You will lead your own Tianping Army and Dongping Army, totaling 15,000 troops, as the vanguard!"

"Here!"

Xin Qiji rose and bowed in agreement. He felt no fear of being at the forefront; instead, he felt excited and joyful because of the heavy responsibility on his shoulders.

This is, in a sense, a reaction of delight at the prospect of war.

“I personally led the main force of the Jingnan Army and the Loyal and Righteous Army, totaling 20,000 troops, as the second vanguard.”

“He Boqiu”.

"exist!"

"You will lead the Wucheng Army, the Tianxiong Army, and Zhang Qing's troops, totaling 15,000 soldiers, as the third vanguard."

"Here!"

"Lu You!"

"exist!"

"The Five Deer Army and the main camp are now in Mr. Lu's care."

"Don't worry, brother, even if I die, I'll die on the camp wall!"

After deploying the lineup that the military advisors had already discussed, Liu Huai felt a sudden sense of relief, and the fear and tension he had felt in recent days due to the impending decisive battle disappeared.

Liu Huai stood in front of the map, spreading his hands and said, "Gentlemen, the people of Hebei, Shandong and the Central Plains are watching us, the people of the world are watching us, and the history books are watching us."

Whether we become legendary heroes or empty boasts remains to be seen in the battle to come!

The generals all stood up, clasped their hands in agreement, and then turned and left the command tent.

Outside the large tent, the sun shone brightly.

Everyone stopped in their tracks at the entrance of the commander's tent and narrowed their eyes.

While everyone was silent, someone suddenly burst into laughter.

Everyone looked over, only to see Liang Su, who had always presented himself as a refined gentleman, dancing wildly and laughing loudly.

"I never imagined that I, Liang Su, a mere pedantic scholar, would become a part of history. What a fortunate thing it is!"

Xin Qiji glanced at Liang Su, then squinted, looked up at the sky, and murmured, "Indeed, what a fortunate thing... The country is broken, the nation is in turmoil, let's see how I can mend the crack in the sky!"

(End of this chapter)