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

Chapter 759 Following the Flying Cannon Shooting Meteor

As time went on and the Han army began to take real action, the pressure on Yuancheng's defenses increased further.

The idea of ​​bombarding Pingyuan City with four cannons was wishful thinking, but Liu Huai naturally had a backup plan.

On June 10th, counterweight catapults were pushed out of the siege camp and joined the siege.

For the Jin army, this is finally what they wanted.

Using cannons to smash city walls was also an old trick of the Jin army, most notably in the Battle of Taiyuan during the Jingkang era.

The Song and Jin armies launched simultaneous artillery barrages from both the inner and outer cities, leaving both sides bewildered and disoriented. The Jin army, even at the founding of the dynasty, did not gain any advantage in the artillery battle. It was only after Taiyuan ran out of ammunition and food and no reinforcements arrived that the Jin army finally captured Taiyuan.

Meanwhile, in Yuancheng, Heshilie Zhining had already prepared trebuchets, and even the locations for setting up the trebuchets were readily available.

In the previous two battles to defend Yuancheng, Wanyan Shoudao had already demolished civilian houses along the city wall and cleared a large square, which provided ample space for manpower-powered catapults to operate.

The cannons were too far away for the catapults to reach, so there was nothing we could do. Now that the Han army had also deployed catapults, there was nothing more to say, so we started smashing them immediately.

Then, the Jin army was smashed to the point of near death.

These days, it's still a human-powered catapult. The operating principle is to use a human to drag a rope, which makes the catapult throw stones out.

This often requires the concerted efforts of hundreds of people to pull the rope together, and it takes up an enormous amount of space.

Moreover, due to the varying strength of the people involved, there would be discrepancies in cooperation, making the human-powered trebuchet completely inaccurate.

The Han army's catapults were counterweight catapults, which, once assembled, could be operated by a maximum of ten or so people. Moreover, because the counterweight was fixed, their accuracy was excellent.

More than twenty counterweight catapults returned the stones thrown from the city in roughly the same direction, and in just one day, they turned the Jin army's catapult position into ruins.

Hundreds of people were killed or injured by the falling debris.

Although most of the casualties were conscripted soldiers and laborers, the feeling of being beaten without being able to fight back was too unpleasant, and the morale of the Jin army inevitably declined further.

During this time, Tudan Hailuo personally led armored cavalry out of the city to launch a surprise attack, attempting to destroy the catapult positions. However, the Han army was prepared and surrounded the catapults with Ruyi chariots, which were equipped with archers, crossbowmen, and armored soldiers, and directly drove Tudan Hailuo back.

The Jin army subsequently became utterly incompetent and could only cower in Yuancheng, passively taking hits.

Not to mention the passionate interactions between the Han and Jin armies in Daming Prefecture.

After several days of arduous travel, Lu You finally arrived in Suzhou before his backside was completely shaken to pieces.

After announcing his name and verifying his identification, Lu You didn't stop for a moment. With red eyes, he rushed into Wei Sheng's command tent. Only when he saw Wei Sheng with his own eyes did he finally breathe a sigh of relief, but then he was overwhelmed with exhaustion and could barely stand.

“Lord Wei…” Lu You grasped Wei Sheng’s hands, struggled to open his eyes, and said solemnly, “Lord Wei, please wait for me to rest for two hours. Do not make any rash moves.”

After saying this, Lu You rolled his eyes, and it was unclear whether he had fallen asleep or fainted.

Wei Sheng was also startled, and then quickly helped Lu You to the bed. Only after hearing his loud snoring did he feel relieved. He then asked Cao Dache, who had followed him, "Mr. Lu, what happened?"

Cao Dache was also exhausted, but being a martial artist, he managed to hold on and quickly began to explain.

After listening to the contents of the emergency military meeting convened by Liu Huai and reading the document written by Liu Huai himself, Wei Sheng was somewhat moved, but also didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Wei Sheng was indeed a loyal minister of the Song state, but he was by no means a fool. How could he be so easily deceived?

Conversely, it is quite possible that Wei Sheng's inexplicable confidence caused Liu Huai and Lu You to panic.

In any case, now that Lu You had arrived in Suzhou, Wei Sheng immediately gained a major political advantage.

It should be noted that although Wei Sheng is nominally the Marshal of the Hebei and Shandong Righteous Army, in the Song Dynasty system, he is still only the Commander-in-Chief of the Loyal and Righteous Army of Shandong Road, concurrently the Commander of the Imperial Vanguard Army stationed in Zhenjiang Prefecture, the Prefect of Xuzhou, and the Attendant of the Imperial Palace.

Theoretically speaking, in the official documents of the Song Dynasty, Wei Sheng was not even given a title of Jiedushi (military governor); his title of Jiedushi of the Loyal and Righteous Army was self-proclaimed.

Of course, the Shandong Righteous Army did not recognize the official titles of the Song state. In Shandong and the surrounding area, the title of Commander-in-Chief of the Loyal and Righteous Army was much more effective than other official titles.

But then again, isn't Henan and Huaibei already a mess? Since the Song army is involved, it's always good to wave the banner of the Song state.

Lu You was exhausted and slept for five hours before waking up. After looking up at the sky, he simply washed his face with cool water and then, disregarding the darkness, went to find Wei Sheng to discuss matters.

Wei Sheng had just finished inspecting the military camp when the two of them were eating soup dumplings together and discussing military matters.

"...That's about it." Wei Sheng stroked his long beard and pointed to the map behind him with his chopsticks: "The military situation around us is clear, but our forces are too small to break the deadlock."

Lu You, slurping from his bowl, strained to look at the map: "Our army is attacking from the north and defending from the south. We shouldn't be fighting to the death in the south, and it's not our turn to break the deadlock. What's the situation with Prime Minister Yu now?" Wei Sheng pointed to the location of Xia Cai: "Prime Ministers Zhang and Yu are holding Xia Cai firmly. The main force of the Chizhou army is 30,000 troops, and with the recovered defeated soldiers and reinforcements from Lianghuai, there are still more than 50,000 troops. The Jin army has about the same number."

Lu You nodded slowly.

If this were the Han army led by Liu Huai, they would definitely have formed ranks and advanced directly to engage the Jin army in a strategic decisive battle.

But Lu You also knew that this was unlikely.

Can the Song army and the Han army be considered the same thing?
However, Lu You quickly realized something else: "Lord Wei, Suzhou is more than two hundred li away from Xiachai. Are the numbers of Jin bandits that you have scouted accurate?"

A smile appeared on Wei Sheng's face: "Mr. Lu, this is another thing I wanted to talk about."

"The Chenzhou army, mainly composed of Han Chinese from Henan, seems to want to join us, but so far it has only made initial contact. They are the ones who brought us the military intelligence of the Jin state."

Upon hearing this, Lu You did not immediately beam with joy, but instead frowned: "Could there be a trap here?"

Lu You's question was perfectly reasonable, given that the Jin state's situation in Henan was not just good, it was extremely favorable.

The Song army, numbering 70,000, was divided into three routes, but two of them were wiped out by the Jin army in a surprise attack. The Jin army was at the height of its power, and even Wei Sheng had to avoid their sharp edge.

However, it would be utterly ridiculous for a Han Chinese unit of the Jin army to defect at this time.
Could this be a deliberate ambush by the Jin army, luring them in with the hope of directly annihilating the loyal and righteous army?

Wei Sheng did not shy away from the question, but said seriously, "Mr. Lu, this is also what I have been worried about these days. According to the people who came to discuss this matter, the Jurchens and Han people in the Jin army are now almost irreconcilable."

It wasn't that the Han Chinese in Henan wanted to rebel, but if they didn't find a way out, the Han soldiers wouldn't have been wiped out, but these officers would certainly have met a violent end.

Lu You was still somewhat skeptical and simply shook his head. However, he also knew that before the Chenzhou army presented their pledge of loyalty, both sides would be in a state of mutual suspicion and would need time to confirm each other's identities. Therefore, Lu You did not dwell on it too much.

How many soldiers does this Han Chinese army have?

Wei Sheng held up two fingers: "No less than 20,000."

Lu You was somewhat astonished: "So many! This is already considered the main force of the Jin invaders... No, this force must have participated in the battle. Which route are they attacking?"

"Shao Hongyuan's 20,000-strong Huaixi army."

Lu You frowned even more: "If we take Chenzhou's account as true, his army was in a time of mutual distrust between superiors and subordinates, and could only use half of its full strength. Yet, even so, it still managed to defeat the Huaixi army. If Chenzhou's army hadn't deceived them, how weak would the Huaixi army have been?"

Wei Sheng sighed, "These past few days, I've been exchanging private letters with Prime Minister Yu, discussing this matter. Prime Minister Yu said it's very likely that Shao Hongyuan abandoned his troops and fled before the battle. However, since there are no witnesses or physical evidence, and it's on the eve of battle, it's difficult to punish the general, so we've put it aside for now."

Lu You slammed the large bowl in his hand down heavily: "What nonsense is Prime Minister Yu spouting? It is precisely at times like these that we should execute this man to uphold military discipline and law. How can we let him go so easily?!"

At this point, Lu You immediately realized something: "It's not that Minister Yu was too lenient, but that Minister Zhang was the one who obstructed it, is that right?"

Wei Sheng shrugged and replied, "I really don't know. Even though we correspond privately, Lord Yu shouldn't write such things down in writing."

Lu You could only sigh upon hearing this.

Did the Huaixi army run into some bad luck? How could they be so unlucky as to encounter two unreliable commanders in a row?
The last Wang Quan who fled at the mere sight of Wanyan Liang's southern invasion is still eating coconuts in Yazhou, and Shao Hongyuan will probably not escape this fate either.

However, Lu You was already a man of military knowledge at this time, and he understood that the Huaixi army was practically defunct after the great defeat in the Huai River region.

In the Battle of Weiziqiao alone, Yao Xing and more than thirty other generals died in battle. After a series of battles in Caishi, Chaoxian and other places, Shi Jun, Wang Qi, Sheng Xin and others were killed in battle. The remaining generals, such as Dai Gao and Yang Chun, were taken as confidants by Yu Yunwen.

It can be said that the Huaixi army had lost all its elite forces, with only Zhang Zhen holding up the show.

The newly formed Huaixi army's main force was still the Jiankang Imperial Guards led by Shao Hongyuan. However, Shao Hongyuan's previous performance was even worse than Wang Quan's; how could such an army be of any use?

However, from this perspective, it is understandable that the Chenzhou army was determined to surrender after defeating the Huaixi army.

After all, defeating such an army is not something to be proud of.

Lu You banished the miscellaneous thoughts from his mind, and suddenly remembered something: "Who is in command of the Chenzhou army? Is it Shi Ju?"

Wei Sheng was slightly taken aback, then nodded: "It is indeed Shi Ju. Does Mr. Lu also know this person?"

Lu You shook his head and laughed, "Although I don't know this person, there are quite a few people in Shandong who do. I have two letters in my hand, one written by my eldest son and the other by that scoundrel Liang Su. Does Lord Wei know that Liang Su and Shi Ju are actually fellow disciples?"

Wei Sheng was stunned again, and could only laugh it off for a moment: "Truly, a bosom friend afar brings a distant land near. But does Da Lang really think he can make Shi Ju surrender with just a few letters? You must know that the reason why the Chenzhou army has not yet officially rebelled is precisely because Shi Ju is suppressing them from above."

Lu You: "There's no need to persuade Shi Ju to surrender. Da Lang said that even if it causes chaos and suspicion among the Jin rebels, and delays them for a few more days, it would be a great thing."

(End of this chapter)