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

Chapter 739 The Song of Chu, the Encirclement of Han Soldiers
In hindsight, Heshilie Zhining's decision to lead his army to Daming Prefecture was a terrible move, almost like walking into a trap.

However, Heshilie Zhining was, after all, the Left Deputy Marshal of the Jin Dynasty, and was responsible for the overall situation.

On the one hand, he needed to gather the defeated soldiers in Daming Prefecture; on the other hand, it was impossible for him to abandon all of southern Hebei after the battle.

Moreover, Daming Prefecture was a stronghold that the Jin army had been operating for a long time, and Heshilie Zhining had considerable trust in Daming Prefecture's defense system.

Besides, Heshilie Zhining did not expect the Han army to be so fast. Shortly after he arrived in Yuancheng, Zhang Baiyu led his cavalry to catch up.

The morale of the Jin army was already low, and if they retreated in the face of battle, it might turn into a major rout. Therefore, Heshilie Zhining chose to rest temporarily and wait for the morale to be boosted before withdrawing the troops.

But who would have thought that the Han army didn't even bother to clear the towns and fortresses along the way, but instead surrounded them directly, leaving one side open, clearly intending to annihilate all the Jin soldiers here.

The Han army's subsequent political offensive further engulfed Hebei in chaos, with anti-Jin resistance forces everywhere. The Jin army was likely to be delayed by these resistance forces and unable to retreat quickly.

He Shilie Zhining was already starting to regret his actions, but there's no going back in life, so he could only grit his teeth and deal with whatever came his way.

The hemp pole beats the wolf and is afraid of both sides.

Although the Han army was in high spirits and seemed poised to take you down, the high-ranking officers, after their initial elation, were also somewhat uneasy.

First of all, although the Han army was the victor, it was still a decisive battle, and all units suffered considerable losses and were also somewhat exhausted.

Moreover, as the Han army advanced, its supply lines were stretched, and the gaps in its rear increased. If a fresh force were to break through and cut off the Han army's retreat, the battle might turn from victory to defeat.

Has the Jin dynasty reached the point of exhaustion?
Of course there is none.

The Jin army also had two main forces: one was Wanyan Guying, who was stationed in Shanxi to defend against the Mongol, Western Jin, and Western Xia; the other force was closer to the Jin, which was stationed in Bianliang by Pusan ​​Zhongyi.

Although it's unlikely that Pusan ​​Zhongyi would lead his army north to fight the Han army and risk everything for Dongjin, what if he felt that if the enemy were to fall, he would be in danger? What if he had a great spirit of internationalism? What if he was driven by Jurchen chauvinism and, true to his name, was exceptionally loyal and righteous?

It's hard to say for sure.

Secondly, there was the formation that Heshilie Zhining had set up in Daming Prefecture.

This fellow truly deserves to be called a renowned general. With only a limited amount of military intelligence and experiments, he deduced a way to counter the use of gunpowder to blow up the city: mobile defense, layer upon layer of resistance, to prevent the Han army from getting close to the city walls.

Of course, He Shilie Zhining was not a fortune teller, and he was unaware that Liu Huai was hiding powerful weapons like cannons, so he had no way to deal with them.

With cannons, breaking through Yuancheng's defenses becomes much easier; simply bombard it with cannons.

After the artillery bombarded the infantry, the infantry charged, and after that, the artillery bombarded them again. How could a fortified camp, mainly made of earth and wood, withstand such a barrage?
However... so here's the but: because the Yellow River changed its course, coupled with the Jin Dynasty's serious shortcomings in civil administration, the water system in Hebei was in complete chaos, and there was no waterway from the Majia River to the Yongji Canal.

Therefore, if they wanted to use cannons to breach Yuancheng, they had to find a way to transport these four heavy iron lumps, weighing several thousand kilograms each, overland.

The difficulties involved are enough to make one's scalp tingle just thinking about them.

Finally, and most importantly.

The Jin army consisted entirely of cavalry. If they were determined to run away, how could the Han army possibly stop them?

After the great battle, the Han cavalry had dwindled to less than 10,000 men. In Yuancheng, a large encirclement, they trapped 20,000 Jin cavalry.

Even abandoning the strategy of surrounding three sides while leaving one side open wouldn't work, because the Han army wouldn't be able to completely block the gates of Yuancheng before establishing a siege camp.

The larger the encirclement, the smaller the density of the Han army, creating enough gaps for the Jin army to escape.

This is also the most crucial issue.

The most likely outcome is that the Han army finally managed to advance the battle line and capture Yuancheng, but then the Jin cavalry broke up into smaller units and fled back to Youyan, leaving the Han army feeling utterly defeated.

The solution to this problem is actually quite simple.

That was to replenish the Han army's cavalry.

To be precise, both the Flying Tiger Army and the White Horse Army were transferred here. With these additional 6,000 elite cavalry, the shortage of cavalry in the Han army would be greatly alleviated.

The plan was simple and easy to understand; everyone in the command tent who knew anything about military affairs had thought of it. But everyone silently swallowed their suggestions.

Why would an elite force like the Flying Tigers sit idly in Jeju Island?
To put it nicely, it was to connect the north and south; to put it bluntly, it was to protect the heartland of Xuzhou, or more accurately, to ensure Wei Sheng's safety.

This is both a matter of state and a family matter. As a subordinate, it is really difficult to offer opinions, otherwise one is likely to be accused of implicating the emperor in an unjust situation.

"Xin Wulang, you speak."

Faced with Liu Huai's selection of generals, Xin Qiji could only stand up and say: "Actually, there's not much to say. It's nothing more than dealing with internal and external affairs, as well as guarding against our retreat."

After the siege and fortifications were established, the troops stationed in various locations not only had to keep watch on the enemy in Yuancheng, but also guard against any potential Jin troops attempting to break through the siege.

"As for our future, we should learn from the Jin invaders and set up more military forts and camps. Of the many conscripts we have gathered, less than 20,000 are confirmed to be able to return home. There are still more than 10,000 who were forcibly conscripted. They have lost their homes and would have no food to eat if they were released. They would have no choice but to become outlaws. It would be better to provide them with work relief so that they can have food to eat and survive."

After Xin Qiji finished speaking, he sat down immediately. He was also shrewd and didn't touch on the topic of the Flying Tiger Army at all.

The generals all turned to look. "You're the second-highest-ranking person in the Han army's military system, how can you be so irresponsible?"

Liu Huai nodded, then looked at He Boqiu: "What does Chief Secretary He have to say?"

He Boqiu had just gotten up when he heard some commotion outside the tent, with footsteps and whispers.

Then, Bi Zaiyu, who was on duty outside the tent, called out his name and entered: "Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the Jin invaders have attacked the camp, and the Tianping Army and the Left Army have already begun to engage in battle."

Liu Huai nodded, signaling He Boqiu to continue.

The generals were all experienced in big battles, and with a deputy general staying in the camp to keep things in order, no one panicked.

He Boqiu, being a loyal follower of Liu Huai, made no attempt to hide anything: "Young Master, can the Flying Tiger Army and the White Horse Army be recalled?"

As expected, Liu Huai immediately shook his head: "Impossible. Although the situation in Hebei has become clear, Henan is still in chaos. There are four forces: the Eastern Jin, the Western Jin, the Song, and Shandong. Moreover, Heshi Lie Liangbi has also gone south. We don't know what kind of countermeasures he will take."

"To be honest with you all, if my father hadn't absolutely forbidden it, I would have stationed the White Horse Army in Xuzhou."

Although the generals had long known this would be the outcome, they remained silent in the end.

However, Xuzhou is indeed not to be lost. If Xuzhou is lost, Heshi Lieliangbi can take the opportunity to lead his army to attack Yizhou, which would be a huge problem.

He Boqiu seemed unsurprised, and gritted his teeth, saying, "In that case, dig more ditches and set up several times more horse traps and barricades, especially in the north of the city, where at least five more ditches should be dug!"

Everyone turned to look again.

This is not the industrial age, where all construction work must be carried out by human and animal power.

The hole that an excavator can dig in five minutes could take a whole day to build, and the worker would be exhausted.

Xu Zongyan, who was in charge of the labor affairs, stood up and retorted: "Chief Secretary He's method is not bad, but how many laborers and how much food will it require? Our army is here to comfort the people and punish the guilty, we can't just conscript people like the Jin invaders!"

He Boqiu did not answer, but looked at Zhang Baiyu: "Zhang Silang, if there are no unexpected events in the next battle, you will likely be in charge of the main cavalry force. Are you confident that you can stop the Jin invaders from breaking through?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Baiyu spread his hands and said, "Chief Secretary He, if the Jin bandits want to fight, I am confident that I can hold them off. But if the Jin bandits want to escape... there is simply no way to stop them."

He Boqiu turned around and said to Xu Zongyan in a serious tone: "Xu Tongguan, this is the situation now. The 20,000 Jin cavalry have suffered almost no damage. Although their morale is low, their fighting strength is still intact. If they are determined to escape, it will be difficult to stop them."

But if this army were to return to Youyan, be reorganized, and face battle again, who knows how many lives would be needed to kill them.

Xu Zongyan was speechless, but as a traditional scholar-official, he simply couldn't bring himself to utter the words "forcibly conscripting laborers."

Everyone then turned their attention to Liu Huai.

Liu Huai turned to Liang Su and said, “Mr. Liang, tomorrow during the day, gather the military advisors. I will take you all on a field trip to see if there are any terrain features we can rely on, and also to estimate manpower. We will then optimize our plans.”

"Zhang Qing, send a troop to find a way to transport the cannons over."

When He Boqiu and Xu Zongyan saw that Liu Huai had personally taken on the matter, they had nothing to say and silently returned to their seats.

Anyway, the siege camp is still under construction and the trenches have not stopped being dug, so going to investigate tomorrow won't even be considered a delay.

Liu Huai looked around the tent and saw Xiao Qi, who was dressed as a clay bodhisattva: "General Xiao, there are still many Khitan cavalry in the city. Do you have a way to persuade them to surrender?"

Xiao Qi stood up and smiled bitterly: "Reporting to the eldest son, although we are all... once Khitans, we are ultimately not of the same kind."

We are all Khitans from Shannan. Most of us followed the Right Vice Minister to the Jin Dynasty. Yelü Wowo and Yelü Saba, on the other hand, only became subjects of the Jin Dynasty after the fall of the Liao Dynasty. We have no right to speak to each other; in fact, we harbor deep hatred for each other.

The Right Vice-Commander was Yelü Yudu. When he surrendered to the Jin Dynasty, the last emperor of the Liao Dynasty, Emperor Tianzuo, was still alive, and the Liao Dynasty had not yet fallen! He was also among the first group of Khitans to be retrained using the Meng'an-Muke system.

In other words, they were the chief traitors among the Khitans. Although Yelü Wowo has now also become a traitor, the two sides have historical grudges. They can't be said to be deeply antagonistic, but they can be considered to hate each other.

As for Liu Heshang and others, their hatred for Yelü Wowo was as high as the sky and as deep as the sea.

Liu Huai nodded, but then said, "We should still give it a try. Yelü Erlang, Alun, Liu Ba, and the old monk, you should all write letters to the Khitans and Jurchens in the city. Even if we can't make them turn against us, we can at least make the Jin rebels a little more disloyal."

Several generals of Khitan and Jurchen origin rose to acknowledge the order.

Seeing that no one wanted to speak, Liu Huai stood up and said, "In that case, let's all return to our camps and make preparations."

Liang Su said in a low voice, "Wanyan Mouyan and his men, would you like to meet them in public, young master?"

Before Liu Huai could answer, Bi Zaiyu called out again and entered: "Reporting to the eldest son, we have repelled the Jin bandits' attack on the camp, beheading eighty-two and capturing fifty-one alive."

Although it wasn't a resounding victory, it was enough to boost morale.

Liu Huai clapped his hands and said, "Let's let it cool down a bit more. Instead of wasting our energy on those few trapped fish, we should go see the meritorious officials and express our appreciation to the soldiers for their hard work."

Liang Su nodded in complete agreement.

(End of this chapter)