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

Chapter 742 Suspicion and Mutual Disorder

Although Shi Ju had not received any definite military reports from Hebei at this time, he was still feeling very uneasy.

The reason is quite straightforward.

The rainy season is absolutely disgusting.

This was not a heavy rain, but rather a prolonged period of rain lasting for more than ten days or even a month, which made the roads muddy and dampened morale.

Moreover, between the continuous rain, there would be a few abrupt sunny days. Soldiers soaked by the rain would feel extremely weak when exposed to the blazing sun, and quite a few of them would fall ill.

Needless to say, the grain accompanying the army became moldy after all this turmoil, and some of the wheat even started to sprout, causing the grain bags to burst.

Shi Ju and Pu Chashijie had no choice but to rest for a day or two when passing through towns and villages along the way. As a result, their marching speed was inevitably slowed down.

However, compared to the rainy season, the bigger trouble lies in the fact that undercurrents are also surging within the Jin army.

To be precise, it was a situation where the Jurchens and other ethnic groups formed separate groups with the Han Chinese, leading to serious conflict.

This is understandable, because Guo Taichu's death was truly terrifying.

A regular soldier of the Wujie Army lost his head in his own camp in a muddle. Everyone knew that it was probably Puchaping who did it, but no one could punish him. In fact, his superiors covered it up!

Who the hell could stand this?
Even the Han Chinese soldiers on the march could not guarantee their own safety, so who can say that they can definitely be safe?

As a result, the Han Chinese in Wujie Army quickly banded together with the Chenzhou Army. So much so that now, this Jin army, which has been gradually gathering troops and numbering as many as 24,000, has split into two factions, wary of each other.

Of course, the Jurchens were also terrified, because this army consisted of 20,000 Han soldiers but only 4,000 Jurchens.

In a direct confrontation, the Jurchens might have a chance of winning, but if they were to be ambushed during a march or during a night raid, they would likely be wiped out.

The Jurchens' overreaction only made the Han army more united.

When a chain of suspicion formed between the two sides, it was too late for even Shi Ju and Pu Cha Shi Jie to stop it.

Meanwhile, Du Wuji was also secretly investigating why Pu Chaping wanted to kill Guo Taichu, and why he did so in such a crude and blatant way.

This guy was, after all, a military judge at this time, and he had some connections in the military. He gradually found out a vague conclusion.

Pu Chaping likely learned that Guo Taichu was connecting all the Han soldiers, but because it involved so many people, he couldn't deal with it openly, so he resorted to this hasty method.

From this perspective, Pu Chaping, a legitimate Jin Dynasty officer, had a legitimate reason for killing the 'rebel,' and his actions, done in secret, can be considered quite well-intentioned.

Conversely, if the Jurchens hadn't oppressed the Han people, why would Guo Taichu, a mid-to-high-ranking military officer with a foothold in Youyan, have bothered to conspire and cause trouble?

If we keep going up the ladder, it becomes a chicken-or-egg problem, which is impossible to solve.

Du Wuji had no intention of figuring out the problem.

Now is the time for people to band together and take sides. Any rational and objective person who wants to say a few fair words will be rejected by both sides, which would be tantamount to courting disaster.

Wearing a straw raincoat, Du Wuji inspected the Bafang Town where the army was stationed, and then came to the central army headquarters. Before he even entered the courtyard, he heard what sounded like an argument going on inside.

He paused slightly, but then quickened his pace and went inside.

It seems that the leadership of this army is competent now, but who can really be sure?
As a military judge, Du Wuji was now considered Shi Ju's confidant and would never allow anything to happen to his benefactor.

However, after entering the main hall through the side gate and taking off his raincoat in a corner, Du Wuji discovered that the person arguing was not Shi Ju and Pu Cha Shijie, but a person soaking wet who was arguing with Zhang Shu, a general of the Chenzhou army.

Zhang Shu was a general in the Chenzhou army and was an assistant brought from Hebei by Shi Ju. Du Wuji knew him very well, so there's no need to say more.

However, Du Wuji was surprised to find that the person who was soaking wet and looked disheveled was actually an acquaintance.

This man's full name is Xie Jiuzhong, and he comes from the Xie clan of Yingzhou.

His elder brother, Xie Fuyao, was discovered and promoted by Shi Ju and appointed as the acting prefect of Yingzhou. At this time, he was in Ruyin, the seat of Yingzhou, confronting the Song army led by Shao Hongyuan.

Du Wuji and these people were all powerful figures in Henan, and they knew each other very well.

However, Xie Jiuzhong is usually gentle and refined, unlike his brother Xie Fuyao who is a rascal. How could he be arguing with Zhang Shu so fiercely now?

“My lord, Commander, the Song bandits are truly unprepared. As long as our army marches south to Ruyin and joins forces with my elder brother from within, we will surely be able to utterly defeat the Song bandits.”

Xie Jiuzhong didn't notice Du Wuji entering the hall. At this point, he finally couldn't be bothered to argue with Zhang Shu anymore. He turned around and kowtowed to Shi Ju: "We must not miss this opportunity!"

Shi Ju and Pu Chashijie sat at the head of the table, their expressions unchanged. Zhang Shu stepped forward and helped Xie Jiuzhong up: "Old Xie, that's not what I meant. Now that my army of over 20,000 has arrived at Bafang Town, only forty li from Ruyin, how could the Song bandits not have discovered us?"

If they have already discovered our army but pretended not to, thus leading you into their trap, then why isn't what lies ahead also a trap? You must know that our army has been marching for days, through wind and rain, and morale is already low. If the Song rebels truly prepare, then a hasty attack by our army will only result in a swift and complete rout.”

Du Wuji nodded secretly, feeling that Zhang Shu was indeed a seasoned general who had fought many battles, and his words were spot on.

Since Bafang Town is also located on the Ying River, between the cities of Taihe and Ruyin, and only forty li away from the Song army besieging the city, even if the Song army was incompetent, it was impossible for them not to discover any clues.

Xie Jiuzhong grabbed Zhang Shu's arm and stomped his foot, saying, "It's absolutely true! It's absolutely true! The Song bandit's commander, Shao Hongyuan, is a complete idiot. We already saw that when our army retreated from Yingshang and ambushed us at Jiangpo Town."

The Song rebels' 20,000 regular troops were thrown into chaos by our 1,000-strong ambush, and Shao Hongyuan fled. If it weren't for the few generals under his command fighting back desperately, our army might have routed them.

The discipline of this fellow's Song army is appalling. In this weather, their scouts are unwilling to venture far, so it's no surprise they haven't discovered our army!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shu simply shook his head repeatedly, clearly not believing Xie Jiuzhong's statement at all.

Shi Ju and Pu Chashijie were both helpless.

Instinctively, they didn't believe that Shao Hongyuan would be so stupid. After all, he was the commander of a large army with 20,000 regular soldiers under his command. If the laborers were included, the number would likely exceed 40,000.

How could the commander of such a large army not even scout out the situation within a forty-mile radius?
However, the Xie brothers were quite capable, and it was impossible for them not to notice the Song army's movements right under their noses.

Seeing Du Wuji standing in the corner, seemingly hesitant to speak, Shi Ju immediately asked, "Du Dalang, do you have anything to say?"

Under everyone's gaze, Du Wuji had no choice but to steel himself and step out from the corner, cupping his hands and saying, "Lord Shi, even if the Song bandits had an ambush, it would be difficult to conceal it in such a plain. It would be even more difficult to deceive the local people."

There are many locals from Henan in our army. Why not take these few days to scout around the area?

Shi Ju nodded slowly, but Xie Jiuzhong became even more anxious. He turned around abruptly, splashing water off his clothes: "Du Dalang, you're a local too, how could you not know that the rain can stop just like that? Ruyin City is heavily besieged, and morale is not very high. What if the Song bandits attack the city immediately after the weather clears up?"

Upon hearing this, Du Wuji immediately became somewhat annoyed.

Because his garrison in Xia Cai City was too far south and directly faced the main force of the Song army, Li Xianzong, it fell too early, resulting in the capture and killing of his younger brother and the dispersal of his troops.

Upon hearing Xie Jiuzhong's words, Du Wuji instinctively assumed that the other party was mocking him, but he still suppressed his emotions and cupped his hands in front of Shi Ju, saying, "Lord Shi, since Old Xie doubts me, then I will personally lead a few men to Ruyin to live and die with Xie Fuyao. Let Old Xie sit here and wait for the army to find out the situation in the surrounding area, what do you say?"

Shi Ju hesitated again, but after a moment, he slowly nodded: "Then I'll have to trouble you, Brother Du."

Xie Jiuzhong opened his mouth, but ultimately remained silent. Zhang Shu was still worried, while Pucha Shijie seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

Although the reason for Pucha Shijie's attitude was straightforward, it could not be made public, especially in front of Xie Jiuzhong.

Besides Shao Hongyuan being the third possibility besides the fool, it is that Xie Fuyao has secretly defected to the Song Dynasty, intending to lure the Jin army away and annihilate them.

Now that Du Wuji has volunteered to go to Ruyin City to investigate the situation, it couldn't be better.

However, just as Du Wuji returned to his own camp, packed his belongings, and arranged military affairs, Zhang Shu unexpectedly braved the rain and trudged through the mud to catch up with him.

After Zhang Shu chased his guards outside the tent, he panted heavily and said to Du Wuji in a serious tone, "Old Du, there is great danger this time."

Du Wuji smiled and shook his head, assuming that the other party was doubting Xie Fuyao's loyalty: "Old Zhang, although we are both Han Chinese, we are somewhat different because one of us comes from Hebei and the other from Henan."

To put it simply, just as the men of Hebei would not submit to the Khitans, the men of Henan would not submit to the Song Dynasty; both would be courting their own destruction…

Zhang Shu waved his hand to interrupt Du Wuji, saying urgently, "Old Du, how could I not have thought of this? Only a barbarian bastard like Pucha Shijie would suspect Old Xie of having ulterior motives. I'm talking about something else..."

Before Du Wuji could recover from the shock of being called a "barbarian bastard," Zhang Shu spoke up seriously: "The Song traitors are inappropriate, but is our army entirely appropriate? To tell you the truth, including the two Han soldiers Meng'an from the Wujie Army, there are already 20,000 Han soldiers in our army."

"At the moment of battle, I wouldn't feel at ease leaving those Jurchen bastards unless I left 10,000 troops to guard the rear. And those barbarian dogs probably think the same way. With half the army on the line, constantly on guard against each other, how can we possibly fight? Even if the Song bandits are weak, what chance do they have of victory?"

Seeing that Du Wuji was completely stunned, Zhang Shu sighed and said, "Old Du, the reason I argued with Old Xie today was to slow things down. Anyway, the Song army is weak, how easy is it for them to break through Ruyin?"

"In these next few days, even if we don't wipe out all the Jurchen bastards, we should at least split up and act. Let's wait a few more days for clear weather, and when morale is higher. Even if the Song traitors are prepared, so what? Are we afraid of a formidable enemy force?"

After Zhang Shu finished speaking, Du Wuji fell silent.

After a moment of silence, the military judge, who had recently gained some prestige in the army, said, "Old Zhang, I have to make this trip eventually. I won't talk about military law or orders, but Xie Fuyao has been fighting for so long. He has to see what Ruyin is really like with his own eyes."

Seeing that Du Wuji was only talking about Ruyin and had not expressed his opinion on the Jurchens in the army, Zhang Shu could only sigh and leave with his hands clasped.

For a moment, Du Wuji could only sit on the bed made of wooden planks and benches, bewildered and silent.

(End of this chapter)