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

Chapter 719 Generals and Commanders at Odds

On May 14th, the Han army's light cavalry launched a large-scale offensive.

The fighting between the cavalry had already been fierce for the past two days, but with the Han army further intensifying their efforts, the fighting between the cavalry immediately turned from fierce to brutal.

Heshilie Zhining, being a veteran general of the Jin Dynasty, immediately sensed something amiss.

This means war is about to officially begin.

"I'm not afraid of any Shandong bandits or Liu Dalang, but can't we just defend our camp?"

Faced with Tudan Hailuo's question, Wanyan Zhang grabbed the gold ring on his braid and said loudly, "Hailuo, what you said makes no sense. If you wanted to hold out, why not hold out in Yuancheng? Why bring a large army out of the city? Isn't it all to completely swallow up the Shandong bandits?"

Tudan Hailuo was very well-mannered; faced with a series of questions, he simply smiled and remained silent.

However, everyone else turned their heads and looked at Wanyan Zhang with strange eyes. Some of them looked at him with disdain, some with contempt, and some with a slight sense of apprehension.

The reason is simple: Wanyan Zhang was of extremely low character, and in terms of framing his colleagues, seizing credit, and shifting blame, he was comparable to Qin Hui of the Jin Dynasty.

However, his exceptional abilities corresponded to his despicable character.

As a military general, he led a group of new recruits and easily pacified the situation around Youyan in the early days of Wanyan Yong's reign, directly suppressing the restless Khitan in the mountains.

Subsequently, when the Mongols invaded Linhuang Prefecture last year, Wanyan Zhang was again the first to lead his troops to attack, preventing the Mongols from gaining much advantage.

In just two years, Wanyan Zhang trained his more than 10,000 troops into one of the most elite forces in the land, which was an extraordinary feat.

Of course, there were still some people here who didn't want to indulge Wanyan Zhang: "General Wanyan, what you're saying makes even less sense. A city and a camp are not the same. Fighting with your back to the city is not the same as fighting at the gate of a camp. General Wanyan, you must know this, right?"

Wanyan Zhang frowned and looked back, only to see Liu E picking his nose with a disdainful expression.

Just as he was about to retort, he heard Heshilie Zhining say, "Alright, let's not argue now. This is a military meeting. Do you really think I, the marshal, am just a figurehead?"

Liu E and Wanyan Zhang stood up simultaneously and bowed, saying, "We dare not."

Even though they had already given in, Wanyan Zhang and Liu E still glared at each other.

The source of their conflict is quite simple.

In the territory of Youyan, Liu E was a local strongman, while Wanyan Zhang was a foreigner.

The conflict between the two sides is a classic subject-object conflict; it's difficult to even alleviate, let alone resolve it.

Of the 60,000 elite troops in Daming Prefecture, 20,000 are Han Chinese soldiers from Youyan, under the command of Liu E. There are conflicts between them, as well as ethnic conflicts. They are also generals in the same ecological niche. It would be strange if these two could get along.

Forcibly suppressing the argument between the two generals, He Shilie Zhining continued, "Fighting with our backs to the enemy camp is not impossible, but being attacked by the Shandong bandits at our doorstep would have too much of an impact on morale. It would be better to fight openly with our troops."

Yelü Wowo immediately agreed: "The Marshal is right. We have been fighting the Shandong bandits for a long time, and we have suffered many casualties. If this stalemate continues, who can stand it?"

Wanyan Fushou immediately nodded: "That's right. I'm worried that if we hold out outside the camp for too long, the Khitan light cavalry will be too weak to hold out for long. If our morale is low and we can't leave the camp, we might suffer a major defeat."

These sarcastic and pointed remarks only made He Shilie Zhining's head ache even more.

Sure enough, the next moment Yelü Wowo slammed his hand on the table and shouted angrily, "You worthless brat, who are you calling a weak soldier?!"

Wanyan Fushou first glanced at Yelü Wowo, then sincerely said to Heshilie Zhining, "Since Duke Cao thinks the Khitan cavalry can hold out for a long time, why not wait a few more days, divide the spoils, and then talk about other things?"

Yelü Wowo was momentarily speechless, then, feeling suffocated with anger, he immediately reached for the hilt of his sword.

Logically speaking, Wanyan Fushou and Yelü Wowo were, in a sense, friends who had gone through thick and thin together. Since they were both without a powerful backer and could only serve as Wanyan Yong's trusted advisors, they should have supported each other.

But how many things in the world are taken for granted?

Wanyan Fushou felt that he had made a great contribution, having saved Yelü Wowo's life with his clever words, and often put on airs in front of Yelü Wowo.

Although Yelü Wowo wanted to keep a low profile, he was, after all, the leader of the Khitans and had quite a temper.

Over time, the two developed a personal feud.

At this time, Yelü Wowo led more than 6,000 Khitan light cavalry to participate in the battle, which can be said to be a great honor for Wanyan Yong. However, Wanyan Fushou still did not give him face and secretly mocked the Khitan army for being weak. How could Yelü Wowo tolerate this?

"Enough! Today is a military council! Duke Cao, put your sword away. Who do you want to kill?!" Heshilie Zhining was exasperated. He first reprimanded Yelü Wowo, then looked at Wanyan Fushou and said, "Chief Steward Fushou, even if you have made great contributions, you should not be so arrogant and bully your colleagues!"

After reprimanding the two men, Heshi Liezhining took a few deep breaths and continued to preside over the military meeting: "Send out more scouts. After the Shandong bandits leave their camp, our army will also leave the camp to crush them in a fair and square open battle. Do you have any other suggestions?"

Wanyan Mouyan, who had been silent all along, said in a deep voice: "Yes, I think that although Hebei is mostly plains, there are still some rivers. In the next two days, have the laborers build more pontoon bridges on the rivers to facilitate movement."

Heshilie Zhining narrowed his eyes: "General Mouyan, do you think our army cannot win this time?" Wanyan Mouyan shook his head: "That's not the case. However, it is common sense in military affairs to consider defeat before victory. Does Zhining dare to say otherwise?"

After pondering for a moment, He Shilie Zhining nodded slightly: "General Mouyan is right."

The generals watched the two arguing and felt somewhat helpless.

Eldest brother, don't talk about second brother. Don't you two, the two commanders, also have your disagreements?
However, the conflict between the two was not openly discussed, but rather had an undercurrent.

In terms of position, Wanyan Mouyan was the Right Deputy Marshal of the Grand Marshal's Office, while Heshilie Zhining was the Left Deputy Marshal, a position half a head higher than Wanyan Mouyan.

In this battle, Heshilie Zhining is the commander-in-chief, and Wanyan Mouyan is the deputy commander-in-chief, which is equivalent to one being the commander-in-chief and the other the deputy commander-in-chief.

But the key point is that Wanyan Mouyan was a general who was determined to support Wanyan Yong from the beginning. He also held a large army and was the son of Wanyan Loushi, making him a highly experienced and senior general.

Also, don't forget that Heshilie Zhining once dealt with Wanyan Yong, personally capturing him from the Cao Guogong Mansion and making Wanyan Yong's faction extremely embarrassed.

From this perspective, if Wanyan Yong had been able to appoint Heshilie Zhining, he would have been considered very magnanimous. In any case, the commander-in-chief this time should have been Wanyan Mouyan.

However, Heshilie Zhining's military capabilities were too strong, a level of strength that was exceptionally high. He was even stronger than, if not weaker than, those founding generals of the Jin Dynasty.

Compared to him, Wanyan Mouyan could only be considered mediocre.

If the attack were against Wanyan Liang, Wanyan Yong might have political considerations and appoint Wanyan Mouyan as the commander-in-chief.

However, when attacking Shandong, loyalty was beyond question, and the capable He Shilie Zhining would naturally rise to power.

Of course, it would be strange if Wanyan Mouyan could accept this outcome calmly.

Wanyan Mouyan naturally wouldn't blame Wanyan Yong, but he wasn't so polite to Heshilie Zhining, and would occasionally disagree during military discussions.

From a military perspective, this level of opposition can help identify and address shortcomings, and should be encouraged.

However, it was only natural that He Shilie Zhining felt that the head coach's authority had been challenged.

"The military situation is urgent. Do you all have anything else to say? Speak now!"

Heshilie Zhining stood up, looked at the generals, and said loudly, "You all know the rules of the Great Jin military council. Before I made the decision, everything was fine. But after the decision was made, military orders are like mountains, and the entire army must obey them. Otherwise, don't blame me for enforcing military law!"

As he spoke, He Shilie Zhi Ning's hand was already on the hilt of his knife.

This is different from what happened with Yelü Wowo Fudao. As a marshal, if he were determined, Heshilie Zhining could legally and legitimately kill anyone in the army.

Seeing He Shilie Zhining's fierce expression, the generals in the tent all fell silent.

"In that case, obey my orders." He Shilie Zhining waited for half an hour before continuing to give orders, his voice becoming very solemn: "When the battle begins, our army will form a large cavalry formation, with cavalry flanking infantry, charging repeatedly at the Shandong bandits, just like when the country was founded, crushing these bandits to pieces!"

The generals dared not delay and immediately rose to their feet, responding with a resounding roar.

Now that things have come to this, the generals have actually relaxed a little.

The "Hooked Horse Formation" is something everyone is very familiar with.

However, after the generals returned to their respective camps to prepare, Wuyanchala stopped and stood in the commander's tent.

Faced with this general who had remained silent all day, Heshilie Zhining could not afford to be negligent: "Is there something wrong with Chala?"

The two had been enemies before, and their relationship was not good at the moment, so Wuyanchala spoke his mind.

"Marshal, let's invite His Majesty here." Wu Yanchala's words were earth-shattering: "Even if His Majesty cannot personally lead the troops, it would be good if he could sit in the camp and oversee the battle."

Heshilie Zhining did not immediately refute, but remained silent for a moment before slowly asking Wuyan Chala, "Chala, do you mean that discord among the generals will affect the outcome of the great battle?"

Wu Yanchala cupped his hands and said, "This humble general is unaware. However, this place is where the elite troops of the Great Jin are gathered, so we cannot be too careful. To put it bluntly, if we are defeated this time, do you think we can defend Hejian Prefecture?"

He Shilie Zhining fell silent again. After a moment of internal struggle, he slowly shook his head: "No, His Majesty is of inestimable strength. How can he personally go to the front lines? If we are not careful, we might repeat the mistake of His Majesty... the one who betrayed Liang in Chao County. What should we do then?"

Wu Yanchala was speechless and could only sigh and leave with his hands clasped in respect.

He Shilie Zhining stood in the shadows of the command tent, his mind in turmoil. He was filled with doubt about his own future, thoughts about the national situation, and fear of the impending decisive battle.

After standing there for a moment, he cheered and walked to the desk, took out a document, spread it out, picked up the pen again and again, but put it down again and again, but in the end he could not write a single word, and could only sigh in the end.

(End of this chapter)