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

Chapter 748 The Huaidong Army's Hearts Are Difficult to Unite (Part 2)
The sudden arrival of the main Jin army startled the entire Huaidong army.

However, the Huaidong army did not collapse at the first contact like the Huaixi army, and the reason for this was that the general Li Heng was still very reliable.

On a side note, if Zhang Jun hadn't insisted on making Shao Hongyuan the commander-in-chief to expand his family's influence and prestige within the army, the Huaixi army wouldn't have collapsed so easily.

Li Heng naturally had his own views on the current situation.

Although the Jin army relied on the advantage of cavalry, they had come from afar. If they could hold out for one day, the Jin army would either have to retreat or settle in Mengcheng.

With so many cavalrymen, they couldn't simply set up camp in front of the Song army. And if the Jin army couldn't establish a secure camp, they would be vulnerable to a night raid by the Song army!

If they entered the city, the military system would inevitably become chaotic, giving the Song army an opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

In addition, Mengcheng has been besieged for so long that the city's food supplies must be running low. Although the Jin cavalry is powerful, they have come on a long march and will not have brought much food. We can still take advantage of this situation.

At this moment, Li Heng remains optimistic.

However, as thick smoke billowed from the water fortress, Li Heng could no longer remain calm.

The army's food supplies were transported by canal boats. At this time, a new batch of grain was still piled up in the water camp. If something went wrong, the entire army would be in danger of running out of food.

Li Heng immediately ordered scouts to go out and investigate, but there were simply too many Jin cavalry. The scouts and knights were layered upon layered, almost one after another, and the scouts sent out never returned.

More than half an hour later, a military envoy from the water fortress steered a small boat downstream along the Wo River, circled around the southernmost part of the battlefield, and arrived at the Song army's Huangbaishan camp.

"Sir! My general can't hold on any longer, he sent me to request reinforcements!"

Li Heng opened his eyes wide and shouted sternly, "Although I didn't give that scoundrel Wang Fang many troops, I did personally set up a water fortress. It's easy to defend and difficult to attack from the land. As long as we block the road, we can stop the Jin invaders from advancing. Does Wang Laosan not even have this much ability?"

The military envoy, who was also an officer, broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this: "It's not just like that, General! There's been a rebellion in the water fortress. They're setting fires everywhere. They've already set fire to a grain stack, a large ship, and even the laborers' camp. The camp is in chaos! The Jin invaders are taking advantage of this to attack, and my general is unable to defend both the front and the rear!"

Li Heng's cheeks twitched a few times, but he didn't go to look at the water fortress again immediately. Instead, he turned around and gave his deputy Liu Si a wink.

Liu Si wiped the sweat from his face, then turned and headed to the rear camp, which was the labor camp, ready to suppress the situation at any time.

Li Heng looked at the military envoy in front of him again: "What does Wang Laosan mean? Does he want me to lead troops to provide support? Sending infantry to provide support under the noses of so many Jin cavalry?"

The military envoy prostrated himself and kowtowed: "General, I am only here to deliver a message and do not know any profound principles. However, whatever you intend to do, General, you must make a decision as soon as possible! You must not delay any longer."

Li Heng hesitated for a moment before gritting his teeth and saying, "Go back and tell Wang Laosan to get on the boat immediately, take the grain and fodder and go downstream as fast as possible. We don't need the water fortress! We still have some grain and fodder in our camp, which can last us for a while."

The military envoy felt as if he had been granted a pardon. After receiving Li Heng's token, he immediately turned and left.

Upon receiving the military order, Wang Fang, who was in the water fortress, almost couldn't wait to break out of the encirclement.

His regular army numbered only a little over a thousand, and they were simply unable to withstand the swarming Jin army, not to mention that some of them were causing trouble among the laborers.

Even though Wang Fang acted swiftly, he only took the main army with him, sailing down the river in more than twenty cargo ships, leaving all the other laborers in the military camp.

Upon seeing the Song army depart, Pu Sanzhongyi pointed directly at Hou Yuanliang and said, "Let all your skilled boatmen set off together and pursue the Song traitors!"

Hou Yuanliang was already terrified when he saw so many armored cavalry and soldiers. He dared not contradict Pu Sanzhongyi and immediately sent another cousin to fight.

This ragtag naval force, composed of merchant ships and fishing boats, was no match for the Song army. However, their goal was not to annihilate the Song fleet, but to use their advantage of being upstream to force the Song fleet away from the battlefield, thus allowing their next plan to be implemented.

Soon, the Jin and Song fleets, one chasing and the other fleeing, drifted downstream along the Wo River and gradually disappeared from sight.

Even at this point, although the Song army had fallen into a disadvantageous position, its main force had not been lost and it was still able to continue fighting.

Although Li Heng and Liu Bao did not communicate, they both wanted to delay the battle until nightfall and then launch a surprise attack on the Jin army from the prepared battlefield. However, since the main force of the Jin army was led by Pusan ​​Zhongyi and Heshi Lieliangbi, how could they allow the Song army to gain such an advantage?

Half of the Jin army rested on the spot, eating, watering their horses, and sleeping, while the other half surrounded the two Song army camps.

The troop deployment was also quite interesting. Jia Gu Qingchen led 5,000 Jin soldiers to block Li Heng's Huangbaishan camp, while Pu San Zhongyi personally led 10,000 troops to besiege Liu Bao's Shuangsuoshan camp.

Meanwhile, the four gates of Mengcheng were wide open, and laborers continuously went in and out, bringing food and firewood to the Jin army outside the city.

Li Heng was dumbfounded, because the Jin army's posture indicated that they would take turns challenging and attacking the camp day and night until they annihilated the Song army.

This was completely contrary to Li Heng's plan. If the Jin army continued to take the initiative in attacking, it would be impossible to leave the Song army with any opportunity.

If Li Heng was merely flustered, then Liu Bao was on the verge of tears.

Of the 20,000 main force of the Song army, Liu Bao only had 5,000 men under his command, while the remaining 15,000 were under Li Heng's command.

But now Liu Bao has to face a fierce attack from 10,000 elite troops led by Pu Sanzhongyi. Where is the justice in this?

"General! General! We beg you to send troops to our aid!"

A military envoy broke through the dense ranks of Jin cavalry and came to Li Heng, crying loudly, "We can't hold on much longer! The Jin bandits have someone familiar with the terrain who has come around us via a small path behind the mountain!"

"Now that we've occupied the high ground, we can launch rockets from above. Our general said that if reinforcements aren't sent within an hour, the Shuangsuoshan camp won't be able to hold out."

Li Heng glanced at the five thousand Jin soldiers already arrayed below the mountain, then at the ten thousand Jin soldiers resting at the east gate of Mengcheng, and felt a splitting headache.

"Deng Jiu, how can I lead a large army to attack in this state?" Li Heng pointed to the Jin army below the mountain, trying to persuade the military envoy: "Do you really think I am confident that I can defeat so many Jin bandits on flat ground? And Jin bandits, mostly cavalry, at that?"

Deng Jiu could only lie prostrate on the ground and wail: "Is the steward just going to watch us die like this?"

Li Heng shook his head with difficulty: "Of course not. If we hold on until nightfall, there might be some other explanations..."

Deng Jiu raised his head and said loudly, "General, we can't hold out for another hour. The Jurchen bandits are too powerful, and they have too many soldiers..."

Seemingly realizing that Li Heng would not send troops to rescue him under any circumstances, Deng Jiu finally lost his temper and roared: "I knew it! I knew it was because you, the general, were resentful that my general almost took your position, and that you refused to help him now! I, Deng Jiu, thought you were some kind of hero! I was blind!"

After uttering a few curses, Deng Jiu, disregarding the angry glares from Li Heng's personal guards and generals, turned to leave with his attendants.

Li Heng also lost his composure, but instead of drawing his sword, he grabbed Deng Jiu and pointed down the mountain: "Deng Jiu, you shameless fool, look at how many cavalry the Jin bandits have!"

"How could you possibly have arrived here unscathed from Shuangsuo Mountain?! You must have been released by the Jin invaders! The Jin invaders want us to go into battle so they can use their cavalry advantage to trample us in the open field. Why don't you understand?"

Deng Jiu looked down the mountain and understood that Li Heng was right, but in the end, it couldn't compare to the fact that life and death were at stake.

After a moment's thought, Li Heng said with difficulty, "Since the Jin invaders have used so many troops to surround and kill our army, this battle is actually unwinnable. Go back and tell General Liu to hold out until nightfall no matter what."

Even if the Jin invaders fight at night, it won't be as effective as daytime. I will personally lead my troops out of the camp to attack them. General Liu can take this opportunity to break out and join me. With 20,000 troops, we can retreat along the Wo River and eventually meet up with Prime Minister Yu's reinforcements.”

Deng Jiu could only nod repeatedly, accepting this desperate measure.

Watching Deng Jiu's departing figure, and seeing the Jin cavalry, under the command of their officers, clearing a path for Deng Jiu and his men, Li Heng gave a bitter smile and said to General Wei You beside him, "Old Wei, you say the Jin bandits' intentions are so obvious, why can't Chief Steward Liu see them clearly?"

Wei You was a fierce general who had participated in the Battle of Chaoxian. He looked down on people like Liu Bao from the bottom of his heart. Upon hearing this, he just sneered: "Old Li, Chief Steward Liu is an old and shrewd man. How could he not see things clearly? I think this fellow is probably planning to harm his neighbors. We should be careful in the future."

Li Heng nodded, then shook his head and said, "As the commander-in-chief, and with Commander Liu leading five thousand brave soldiers of our Great Song Dynasty, we must bring them back no matter what!"

(End of this chapter)