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

Chapter 747 The Huaidong Army's Minds Are Difficult to Unite (Part 1)
June 1st, Mengcheng.

Liu Bao gazed at the dark clouds in the sky, feeling somewhat bored.

Siege warfare is a very troublesome matter. It requires meticulous attention to detail and patience in establishing siege camps and then siege camps. This involves both defending against reinforcements from the outside and countering surprise attacks from within the city.

Then, trebuchet positions were established, and cannons were used to bombard the city, demoralizing the soldiers and exhausting their food supplies. Then, the city could be attacked using siege towers and ladders.

If all else fails, dig tunnels to destroy the city, dig ditches to flood it, or use catapults to launch fireballs to burn it down.

Following this procedure, it could take several months or even a year to deal with a fortified city.

Of course, if you're willing to fight desperately, a city can be easily captured.

They dispatched elite troops to launch a surprise attack, employing various methods such as night raids, ladders, and stealth attacks. Unless the city's defenders were elite, they would eventually be routed, though the casualties might be significant.

The Han army, as well as the founding armies of the Song, Liao, and Jin dynasties, can now solve all problems through fierce attacks.

Forbidden cities and fortified passes, armored cavalry and soldiers, renowned generals and commanders—once I gather my troops and charge in, I'll crush them all head-on.

However, expecting the Song army to fight in this way is simply delusional.

The reasons why Liu Bao was still bored despite the complexities of the siege are a long story in itself.

Ever since he made a fool of himself during the Lunar New Year last year, his authority and reputation in the military have plummeted.

Although Zhang Jun argued his case based on reason, due to the objective need to win over Zhang Jun's faction, Liu Bao was too incompetent and lost the trust of everyone. As a result, Yu Yunwen took advantage of the situation and continued to keep him in the position of deputy commander-in-chief of Huaidong. Subsequently, Li Heng was selected from Liu Qi's subordinates to be the new commander-in-chief of the Huaidong army.

Now, Liu Bao's authority in the army has diminished even further. Despite being the deputy commander-in-chief and even the highest-ranking official in Zhang Jun's faction, he is still largely ignored.

As for Li Heng, although he was not as famous as those generals recorded in history, he was still a fierce general who dared to lead 8,000 isolated troops to face Tudan Zhen's 30,000-strong army when Wanyan Liang was on his southern expedition.

Later, Li Heng, together with Zhang Rong, launched a counterattack against the 30,000 households of Tu Danzhen in order to create strategic space for the Battle of Chaoxian. This was in stark contrast to Jia Hezhong's cowardly and hesitant actions.

It can be said that while this person's character and abilities may not be top-notch, they are certainly excellent.

However, since Li Heng was riding high, Liu Bao became the one who was down on his luck.

In his boredom these days, Liu Bao also reflected on his own eventful yet ultimately unsuccessful life, wondering where things had gone wrong.

As Zhang Jun's subordinate, a seasoned veteran, expecting Liu Bao to find fault with him was simply wishful thinking.

Over time, Liu Bao gradually came to hate Liu Huai.

We're all from the same clan. What good will it do me if you hand over Xuzhou to me and let me make a contribution? Will you lose a piece of your flesh or something?

At worst, after the commander-in-chief of the Huaidong army has captured the city, he will simply return Xuzhou to you.

How could such drastic measures be used?
Have they abandoned all sense of honor and decorum in the military?

However, as the Han army in Shandong fought more and more tough battles, Liu Huai's reputation grew. Seeing the countless blood debts Liu Huai held in his hands, Liu Bao ultimately dared not say anything, not even daring to utter a private complaint.

They were terrified that Flying Tiger might actually flip the table and eat people.

However, Liu Bao's resentment and anger grew deeper with each passing day.

"Sigh..." Liu Bao looked at the sky, thinking about his lifespan, and sighed again, feeling utterly disheartened.

"General! General!" A scout galloped in from afar, and upon spotting Liu Bao's figure, shouted loudly from below the camp, "Jin cavalry are coming from the north!"

Liu Bao knew that the Jin army still had more than 10,000 troops stationed in Qiao County, more than 200 miles northwest of Mengcheng, which was the same army led by Heshi Lie Liangbi.

This wasn't discovered by Song scouts, but rather by Wei Sheng sending a military envoy to report it. Therefore, Liu Bao not only knew the exact number of this Jin army, but also the composition of its troops.

In his view, at most they would send three thousand cavalrymen. Did the Huaidong army have anything to fear from them?
Liu Bao asked lazily, "How many people came?"

The scout shouted, "We don't know how many people there are, they're everywhere, stretching as far as the eye can see, at least tens of thousands of cavalry! Commander, make preparations early!"

"Cough cough cough!" Liu Bao coughed a few times because he choked on his saliva. Just as he was about to ask for details, he saw that the military envoy had already turned and left, seemingly to deliver orders to another camp.

However, at this point, there was no need for the military envoy to speak.

Dust billowed on the horizon, and the sound of horses' hooves echoed like muffled thunder in summer.

Although Liu Bao was of low character and incompetent, he had survived the Jingkang Incident and still possessed some discernment.

He could tell at a glance that there were definitely more than ten thousand cavalrymen, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back. Liu Bao knew that the Jin army was mainly composed of cavalry, so didn't this mean that more than ten thousand of the main Jin army were charging towards him?

This is wrong!

Wasn't it said that the main force of the Jin invaders was fighting Liu Dalang from Shandong? Could it be that a victor has already been decided?
A jumble of chaotic thoughts flooded Liu Bao's mind, causing his already sluggish thinking to stagnate. It wasn't until a vanguard of several hundred Jin soldiers came into view that Liu Bao shouted in panic, "Beat the drums! Beat the drums quickly! Prepare for the enemy! Prepare for the enemy!"

The Song army sprang into action, closing the gates tightly, and archers climbed the wooden walls, unleashing a barrage of crossbow bolts at the approaching Jin troops.

After calming down from the initial shock of the Jin army's surprise attack, Liu Baofang finally had time to survey the surrounding terrain and gradually gained a better understanding of the situation.

Although they are all located on the Huaibei Plain, the terrain of the specific cities is still different.

Take Mengcheng for example. It was built along the Wo River, which surrounds it on the west and south sides. In the northeast and southeast corners of Mengcheng, there are two low hills. The Song army's camp was built against these two hills.

The mountain in the northeast is called Shuangsuo Mountain, and the one in the southeast is called Huangbai Mountain. In addition, there is a water fortress set up in the northwest of Mengcheng. This arrangement can be used for both offense and defense, and it has made the best use of the "surrounding three sides and leaving one side open" strategy.

Liu Bao led 5,000 regular soldiers and 5,000 civilian laborers to camp at Shuangsuo Mountain, northeast of Mengcheng.

Li Heng led his main force of 15,000 regular troops and stationed them at Huangbai Mountain in the southeast.

This is also why Liu Bao harbors some resentment.

If the Jin army reinforcements arrive, Liu Bao will be the first to be attacked, but he has no main force at his disposal, which is really infuriating.

However, it's not true that Li Heng deliberately tricked Liu Bao, because the terrain of Shuangsuo Mountain is much more dangerous, and Liu Bao's five thousand soldiers were enough to protect him.

It was absolutely impossible for the Jin army to directly attack the mountain stronghold with cavalry.

There were naturally many intelligent people in the Jin army who knew this, such as Hou Yuanliang, the garrison commander of Mengcheng.

He knew that the Jin army was mainly composed of cavalry and could not directly attack the mountains, so they would definitely need his own troops.

So, in order to leave a good impression on his husband and the Grand Marshal, Hou Yuanliang had already led his troops out from the north gate. He first occupied the siege camp where the Song army had just set up a few wooden fences and deer antlers, and then led his thousand Han soldiers to line up in formation, anxiously waiting for the arrival of the main army.

Hou Yuanliang had already met Xie Jiuzhong and learned about the current situation of the Han Chinese army in Henan, especially their irreconcilable conflict with the Jurchens, which was even on the verge of war. He knew all about it in great detail.

However, he was still somewhat hesitant about joining Liu Huai's side.

Because Bozhou is too close to Xuzhou and Suzhou, Hou Yuanliang, as a powerful figure in Bozhou, had marriage alliances with local tycoons and wealthy families in the surrounding area. To put it more clearly, his father-in-law was a local tycoon from Xuzhou.

However, this wealthy Zheng family had already been deemed incorrigible and heinous by Liang Su during the purge at the beginning of last year. The head of the family and several key figures were killed, and the rest were forcibly separated and dispersed to several prefectures and counties in northern Shandong.

Hou Yuanliang felt a pang of unease as a local tyrant who had been entrenched in Xuzhou for a century was so easily uprooted.

In this situation, it would be truly strange if Hou Yuanliang had any goodwill towards the Han army.

Hou Yuanliang originally had some ambitions. He thought about whether he should first use the Jurchens to drive away the Song people, then gather troops and take advantage of the fact that the Song and Jin dynasties were both exhausted, then launch a surprise attack to kill the Jurchens in the Jin army, and then establish himself as a local emperor.

However, when Hou Yuanliang saw the imposing presence of the Jin cavalry, he suddenly realized that this was different from gang warfare and also different from the previous skirmishes with the Song army.

This was a true battle of wits and strength, with armored soldiers and cavalry clashing like clouds and rain.

What is Hou Yuanliang, a mere local strongman, anyway?

Amidst his turmoil, he saw dozens of armored cavalrymen arrive at the front of the formation. The leader shouted, "Who is Hou Yuanliang?! The Prime Minister and the Marshal wish to see you. Come quickly!"

Hou Yuanliang dared not delay. After mounting his warhorse, he led a few guards and followed the Jurchen knight at full speed.

Soon, Hou Yuanliang arrived beneath the two banners. He didn't dare to raise his head, so he dismounted and, disregarding his full armor, knelt and kowtowed heavily: "This humble general, Hou Yuanliang, pays his respects to the Marshal and the Prime Minister!"

Pu Sanzhongyi remained silent, while Heshi Lieliangbi earnestly said, "The situation is urgent, so I won't waste words. General Hou is a local scholar; do you have any way to help me defeat the enemy?"

Hou Yuanliang finally raised his head, first looking at the solemn-faced Pusan ​​Zhongyi, then at Heshi Lie Liangbi, and finally nodded emphatically: "Yes, this humble general has a way!"

Upon hearing this, Pu Sanzhongyi finally lowered his head and looked at Hou Yuanliang, remaining silent, but the contempt in his eyes was genuine. If this fellow truly had a solution, why would he need to personally lead troops to the rescue?
Hou Yuanliang stood up, pointed to the west, and said, "Let's start with the water fortress. The Song army conscripted fishermen and cargo boats, and my cousin has already led more than a dozen men to infiltrate it..."

Pu Sanzhongyi narrowed his eyes.

I didn't expect this guy to actually have a solution.

(End of this chapter)