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

Chapter 727 The Autumn Wind Doesn't Need to Blow on Gray Hair

Although the Jin army came out in full force, they were ultimately not so careless as to ignore their rear, leaving their rear completely undefended.

In fact, if you include the local troops such as the garrison troops, the conscripted troops, and the Han archers, Dongjin still has at least 50,000 to 60,000 troops in the camps, military camps, villages and towns around Daming Prefecture.

These soldiers are certainly not capable of fighting a decisive battle, but they can still delay the enemy by hiding in pre-prepared positions.

Yuancheng was an impregnable fortress, surrounded by rivers. With the Jin dynasty well-prepared, no matter how strong the Han army was, it was impossible for them to break through the layers of obstacles and launch a surprise attack to capture Yuancheng with a detachment.

Even with gunpowder, it won't work!

It was impossible for Liu Huai to send tens of thousands of troops to launch a surprise attack on Yuancheng.

Firstly, the Han army only had so many elite troops. The division of troops between the north and south already stretched their resources thin. If they were to divide their troops again, the Jin army might seize the opportunity on the main battlefield and defeat them in one fell swoop.

Secondly, Heshilie Zhining is not stupid. If you divide your troops, I can also divide my troops. At that time, relying on the main force plus the local troops that we can still control, what can we do if we snatch the flanking force from the tiger's mouth?

Since Yuancheng is untouchable, Liu Huai must find another way and choose a safer method.

A few hours earlier, Hu Yanchuo, a veteran general of the Dongping Army, boarded the ship. Feeling the gentle breeze of early summer, his thoughts inexplicably returned to the shores of the marshland decades ago.

It wasn't the height of summer in May, but rather the warm spring month of March. However, the scenery in the early morning was quite similar to today.

As the moon sank in the west and the starlight faded, the eastern sky began to lighten. All around was quiet except for the rustling sound of reeds rubbing against the water.

The young generals around him were all in high spirits, their eyes shining as if filled with the morning light, as they looked at their commander.

However, it was at Suotou Lake back then, but it is at Majia River today.

However, on that day, Huyan Chuo was merely looking at Zhang Rong, an ordinary soldier awaiting military orders. But today, he has become the commander-in-chief, the focus of everyone's attention.

The change in identity and time caused Huyan Chuo to feel a moment of disorientation.

"Brother, we...we've arrived in Hebei..." Huyan Chuo murmured to himself, then tightened his robe and, under the cover of the early morning darkness, wiped the corner of his eye.

As a general in command of the army, Huyan Chuo quickly adjusted his mood. His rough, thin hands stroked the rudder, and his small figure seemed to conceal enormous power.

"Ah-Chuo, everyone has boarded the ship." Li Jun, another veteran general of the Dongping Army, came to the wheelhouse and said to Hu Yanchuo in a deep voice, "Let's set off. Don't delay the important matter of the Commander-in-Chief."

Huyan Chuo nodded: "Raise anchor! Set off!"

The large drums mounted on the boats roared, and eight large inland river vessels weighed anchor and set off, heading northeast along the Majia River.

Although Hebei is a flat plain, it still has rivers. The Song Dynasty's three diversions of the river are one aspect, but more importantly, in the Northern Song Dynasty, the method of constricting water to attack sand was only a theoretical model, and the most commonly used method of water management was diversion.

The theory behind it is quite simple to understand: if the Yellow River has a large flow, then it should be divided into many smaller channels, and theoretically, there will be no major floods.

Of course, the slow flow of a small river makes it easier for silt to accumulate, which in turn makes it more prone to flooding, but that's another story.

The Majia River was a small river that formed during the Northern Song Dynasty. It was only about twenty paces wide and flowed from southwest to northeast in Hebei Province, no more than thirty miles from Yuancheng.

The Dongping army's naval forces went through considerable trouble to enter the Majia River.

The ships first departed from Jinan Prefecture, entered the Beiqing River (also known as the Ji River), then turned to the Yellow River branch, and then entered the old course of the Yellow River before finally entering the Majia River.

The journey was incredibly time-consuming and exhausting. Even with favorable weather and smooth sailing, Huyan Chuo almost missed the great battle.

Given the course of the Majia River, it naturally became the only route the Jin army could take to retreat back to Yuancheng.

Therefore, the pontoon bridges and ferries on the Majia River are well prepared.

Moreover, the person in charge of this matter was Wanyan Mouyan. This experienced and prudent general was afraid that something might go wrong and the retreat route would be cut off, so he not only dispersed the pontoon bridges, but also strung iron chains across the Majia River and built fortresses as a precaution.

In Wanyan Mouyan's view, even if the Han warships appeared in the Majia River as if they had descended from the heavens, the river was so narrow that the ships could not form a proper battle formation.

When the chains are put in place, the archers in the camp will fire their arrows at once, and no matter how many Han ships come, they will all die.

And that is indeed the case. The Majia River, which is only about twenty paces wide, makes it impossible for ships to sail side by side, and even it is extremely difficult for a single ship to move forward.

On the shore, local Jin troops had already spotted the Dongping army's ships, and some of the bolder Jin soldiers even approached and fired arrows from a distance.

The Dongping army was not to be outdone, and the two sides exchanged fire across the riverbank.

There were few casualties along the way, but Huyan Zhuo found it annoying. In addition, he was worried that someone might use the oil they had found to prepare fire arrows. So he took the opportunity to leave 400 infantrymen and let them advance along the riverbank to disperse the Jin army.

These Jin troops who came to harass the area were, after all, only local third-line troops. Faced with the attack of the Dongping Army's main force, they collapsed instantly.

After ensuring the safety of the march, the entire army continued to advance along the Majia River, heading straight for Mengjiadu, where the pontoon bridges were most densely packed.

At this time, both the east and west sides of Mengjiadu had been turned into camps, each garrisoned with eight hundred garrison troops. In Wanyan Mouyan's view, this was already foolproof.

The camp commander thought the same thing. After receiving the report from his subordinates, he immediately gathered oil to make makeshift rockets and sent dozens of archers to climb the camp walls.

Any ship that dares to approach will be set ablaze!

If they can hold out for just 15 minutes, the troops from the surrounding camps will arrive. At that time, thousands of troops will gather and drown these Shandong bandits!

When the Jin generals saw the Dongping warships stop, that was their thought.

However, as five hundred Han soldiers lined up on the shore and the cannons began to roar, the Jin generals were completely dumbfounded.

He watched helplessly as a section of the camp's wooden wall suddenly exploded. Splinters flew everywhere, and three Jin soldiers on the wall were thrown into the air before crashing to the ground. The Jin general could no longer contain his fear, grabbed a warhorse, and galloped away.

Taking advantage of the chaos in the Jin army's camp, the Han army on the shore launched an attack and captured Mengjiadu with almost no effort.

From the first cannon shot to the Han army completely taking control of the ferry crossing, only a quarter of an hour had passed.

What happened next was only natural.

The Han army had no time to gather the prisoners. After killing all the officers, they dispersed the Jin army and then burned the ferry crossing and pontoon bridge to the ground.

Hu Yanchuo stood at the helm, looking down at the thick smoke rising gradually. Just as he was about to say a few words of encouragement, Li Jun beside him sighed.

"What's wrong, Ah Jun? Didn't you enjoy the victory?" Hu Yanchuo asked casually.

Li Jun shook his head, patted the helm, and said, "Before, we used to defeat the enemy with bows and arrows, or at most, we could install a catapult on the ship and a trebuchet. But now that we have this cannon, all our naval experience of the past half-life has become a joke."

"Just like this steering wheel in front of us, it's convenient and intuitive, and everyone loves to use it. But we old folks are like the steering rods of the past, already abandoned. The world is changing faster and faster every day, and before we know it, our hair has turned gray and we've become old and frail. How can we not feel a sense of melancholy?"

Although Li Jun's words were incoherent, Hu Yanchuo still understood what the fellow was thinking.

It's nothing more than feeling like you can't keep up with the times, coupled with the anxiety brought on by physical aging.

But Huyan Chuo couldn't comfort Li Jun, because he often had the same thoughts.

Shandong is becoming increasingly prosperous, the Han army is growing stronger, Liu Dalang's ambition is becoming increasingly fervent, and new things and ideas are emerging one after another.

This world is becoming increasingly incomprehensible to Huyan Chuo.

Perhaps these veterans are destined to belong to the previous chaotic era, just like the vehicle that followed Huyan Chuo for so long, destined to have no place in the future.

Huyan Chuo shook his head, banishing these wild thoughts from his mind, and comforted Li Jun, saying, "Don't dwell on these things anymore. Since the Commander-in-Chief has entrusted this important task to you and me, it's clear that in his heart, we can still accomplish this task."

We should also do our utmost, even risk our lives, and not forget that Fourth Prince is still fighting under Commander-in-Chief's command.

Li Jun nodded emphatically, then immediately set off and boarded the second ship.

At the Mengjia Ferry crossing, where the water was relatively wide, the Dongping army's ships began to rotate, with Li Jun leading the second ship to take the lead and continue their attack northwestward.

We must completely dismantle the pontoon bridge over the Majia River today!

(End of this chapter)