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

Chapter 726 Cai Yi Dies, Zhang Liao Stops the Crying
Gao Anren, still thinking they were about to go into battle, suppressed his anxiety and rode his horse to Tudan Hailuo. He clasped his hands in salute on horseback and asked, "Chief Tudan, are we going into battle now? Should I be the vanguard?"

Tu Dan Hailu shook his head, waved for his deputy and guards to move away, and leaned over to support Gao Anren's arm: "Gao Erlang, you know that I am on good terms with your elder brother. Moreover, I also have some connections with Chief Steward Gao. Therefore, you and I are close friends, so you don't need to hide anything from me."

What could Gao Anren say when his superior spoke like that? He could only nod repeatedly.

However, what Tudan Hailuo said was not a lie. Although Gao Anren's elder brother, Gao Anyi, was a civil official, he had a lot of interaction with Tudan Hailuo because he had served in Liaodong for a long time.

As for Gao Jingshan, he was a close friend of Tu Danhailuo's uncle.

Otherwise, even if Gao Jingshan was unable to go south due to health reasons, he would not have allowed Gao Anren to lead the two most elite Bohai Meng'an soldiers of the Wu'an Army to serve under Tudan Hailuo.

"This humble general naturally wishes to be close to the commander-in-chief, but this is wartime, not the time for reminiscing. Does the commander-in-chief have any military orders?"

After a moment of silence, Tu Dan Hailuo said seriously, "I've heard that Gao Erlang has fought many times with Liu the bandit from Shandong. Do you know who this Liu is?"

Gao Anren fell silent.

After waiting for a moment, Tudan Hailuo finally asked, "Why don't you speak?"

Gao Anren looked up at Tu Dan Hailuo and shook his head with difficulty, saying, "It's not that I can't say it, but I'm worried that if I do, it will cause the commander-in-chief to make a mistake in his military strategy. If that happens, I will be unable to atone for my sins even if I die a hundred times."

Tu Dan Hailuo was not annoyed by this. He pointed to the direction of the Han army's central army and then to the very center of the battlefield: "Just now, Liu the traitor sent another three thousand troops forward. At this time, the Shandong bandits' central army is empty. I need to know whether this is an opportunity to fight."

Gao Anren suddenly realized.

Under normal circumstances, if the enemy's central army were so vulnerable, and Tu Dan Hailuo had elite troops positioned on both flanks for attack, he would have already charged forward to carry out a decapitation strike, disregarding his own safety.

However, the reputation of the Han army was too illustrious, and countless famous generals had been defeated by them. This made Tudan Hailuo hesitate, wondering whether he should send troops to fight at this time. As a result, he summoned Gao Anren, hoping to analyze Liu Huai's personality to make a decision on the next step.

However, after figuring it out, Gao Anren felt a sense of unease.

What if I exaggerate Liu Huai's abilities, causing Tu Dan Hailuo to miss the opportunity to fight?
But what if I belittle Liu Huai, causing Tu Dan Hailuo to underestimate him in a hasty manner?

Doesn't that make it your own fault?
Isn't this your responsibility? How did you inexplicably push it onto me? This is utterly outrageous!
Gao Anren inwardly grumbled for a moment, then hesitated before deciding to tell the truth: "Steward, this humble general does not wish to boost the prestige of others, but... but that traitor Liu..."

At this point, Gao Anren shook his head and sighed, "What the steward just said—that I have fought against Liu the traitor many times—is actually incorrect."

"Oh?"

"To be precise, I was defeated by the traitor Liu many times and fled in a sorry state many times."

For a moment, Tu Dan Hailuo was at a loss for words. After a brief silence, he said, "Gao Erlang has suffered repeated defeats but never lost his spirit. He is a true man..."

Gao Anren shook his head and said seriously, "Steward, that's not what I wanted to say. What I wanted to say is that all the elite soldiers and generals of the Great Jin, as long as they have faced Liu the Traitor, have all been defeated by him."

Those who could escape fled, and those who couldn't mostly died. If anyone tells the steward that he fought the bandit Liu to a standstill, they're definitely exaggerating.

Tu Danhailuo shook his head and said, "No matter how powerful Liu is, he is still just a human being. Don't exaggerate."

Gao Anren remained silent for a while, then hesitated for a moment before finally saying with difficulty, "Steward, this is the sixth time I've heard you say this..."

"The first time was when my father was the Loyal and Righteous Bandits invaded Haizhou from the north. My father thought he could easily defeat them, but in the end, Haizhou fell and my father died for his country."

"The second time was when Prefect Pushan Damo thought that the Zhongyi bandits were no match for him in Yizhou, so he went to launch a night attack on the Tianping bandits. However, he was counterattacked by Liu Dalang, who was on a mission to the Tianping bandits at the time, leading a group of defeated soldiers. In the end, Prefect Pushan and Liu Fen, the Vice Prefect, could only abandon the city and flee in a sorry state."

"The third time was when my uncles, Gao Gong and Han Tang, were at the Zaojiao Forest in Huainan. They thought that Liu the bandit only led a few hundred cavalry and had come from a long distance, so they could try to attack. As a result, the two banners of Wu'an and Wu Rui were captured, and our vanguard could only retreat in a sorry state."

"The fourth time was when I learned from my uncle that His Majesty... had said what Ni Liang had said, that the whole army should turn back and fight a decisive battle against the Jingnan rebels who occupied Chaoxian. As the general also knew, the battle of Chaoxian was earth-shattering, and even Ni Liang was captured by the Liu traitor."

"The fifth time was the year before last, when Chancellor Liangbi went south, leading the two commanderies of Wu'an and Shenwei to pacify Shandong. When the Tianping rebels were being pursued and killed, Chancellor Liangbi also said that the Shandong rebels were easily defeated. Then..."

Ignoring Tu Dan Hailuo's ashen face, Gao Anren shook his head and said, "Then, after confronting Liu Dalang, the Shenwei Army was almost completely wiped out, and our Wu'an Army could only flee back to Hebei in a sorry state." Gao Anren then looked up into Tu Dan Hailuo's eyes: "General, those people before were no ordinary men, yet in the end, some died, some fled, and some were captured. This is the sixth time already. How can I not be hesitant and fearful?"

Tu Danhailuo took a deep breath, feeling the summer heat burning his throat, and regretted saying those words to Gao Anren.

"Gao Erlang, if what you say is true, doesn't that mean Liu Bei is completely invincible? If he launches a northern expedition, will the Great Jin be forced to retreat to the borderlands and live a life of hardship?"

Gao Anren shook his head and said sincerely, "General, if I am so discouraged, then why should I lead the army south again to fight Liu the traitor to the death?"

"Steward, what I mean is, never underestimate Liu the traitor. Unless you are fully prepared, do not act rashly."

By the end, Gao Anren's tone had become somewhat earnest and persuasive.

Upon hearing this, Tudan Hailuo not only failed to calm down, but became even more agitated.

"Then tell me, when will the opportunity to strike arise? When will we be fully prepared?"

Gao Anren fell silent again upon hearing this, inwardly cursing once more.

Am I the commander-in-chief? You've thrown this fatal question at me. If we win, fine, but what if we lose? Should I be used as a sacrifice to the flag?
Seeing this, Tu Dan Hailuo realized what was happening and waved his hand, saying, "Gao Erlang has misunderstood. He wasn't asking you for advice, but rather... sigh... it's truly worrying..."

Gao Anren didn't respond at all, but simply maintained his clasped hands in greeting.

He could certainly understand Tudan Hailuo's anxiety, but there was nothing he could do.

In fact, Gao Anren already had some suspicions that the weakness of the Han army's central force was a facade put on by Liu Huai to lure the Jin army into attacking.

Even after the division of forces, the Han army still had two thousand cavalry on each flank, making it impossible to bypass them. The only option was to send out some troops to contain them.

Even with perfect coordination with Wuyan Chala on the left wing, the Jin cavalry that would meet at the Han army's central command would only number a maximum of eight thousand.

Even if the central army of the Han army is empty, it still needs to have 5,000 soldiers.

Is it really possible to take it down so easily?

Gao Anren holds a pessimistic view on this.

Just as the two generals were lost in their own thoughts, a military envoy with a red flag flying behind him rode galloping from the south: "Where is Commander Tudan? Commander Tudan... Ah..."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than the envoy's warhorse buckled in the front and fell to the ground, scattering the envoy and himself across the floor.

The guards stepped forward, and the general dragged him up and pulled him in front of Tudanhailuo.

"General! Urgent dispatch!" The military envoy pulled a soaking wet document from his robes, it was hard to tell whether it was from sweat or water.

After opening the package and glancing at it, Tu Dan Hailuo's expression changed drastically.

"A-Wu, take the military envoy to find the marshal!" Tu Dan Hailuo shouted to one of his personal guards, then said to Gao Anren, "Gao Erlang, go back to the army and prepare for battle!"

Gao Anren felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end. He bowed in agreement, turned his horse around, and asked loudly, "Sir, has the fighter jet arrived?"

Tudan Hailuo looked at Gao Anren, but his gaze seemed to be focused further west. He said solemnly, word by word, "It's not that the fighter jets have arrived, but that they are about to disappear."

Gao Anren felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at, and involuntarily looked behind him as well.

His gaze passed over the layers of knights who were sitting on the ground eating their horses, and went further into the distance.

That's the direction of Daming Prefecture...

(End of this chapter)