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

Chapter 792 The People Lie Down, Yet the War Resists

Meanwhile, the Jin army was also making a decision in front of Qixian County.

Compared to the Han army, which had only one path to follow, they had many options, making the decision naturally more difficult.

Heshi Lieliangbi sat in the main seat, drinking cool tea, seemingly lost in thought, while letting the generals in the tent argue amongst themselves.

"Prime Minister, you should have seen whether our men have put in the effort these past few days. Now that we've run out of gunpowder, and our army has been besieging the Shandong bandits for five or six days, Qixian is simply too difficult to take." Shi Dunzhong stood up and said loudly, "Since we no longer have the advantage of a surprise attack, our army should withdraw and join forces with the Grand Marshal to settle things with the Song bandits."

Jia Gu Qingchen immediately glared at him angrily: "You mean, we're just going to let the Shandong bandits go like this?"

In military councils, everyone is expected to express their opinions, so Shi Dunzhong was not afraid of Jia Gu Qingchen at this time, and continued to speak eloquently: "Of course, we will not let the Shandong bandits go. General Jia Gu, a great battle also requires strategy, it is not necessary to fight to the death here."

The Shandong bandits are clearly stronger than the Song bandits. Why don't our army deal with the Song bandits first, and then lead our mighty army to deal with the Shandong bandits?

Enraged by this absurd logic, Kagaya Kiyotomi laughed in exasperation and didn't bother to say anything more: "I think you're just scared, that's why you wanted to withdraw your troops!"

Shi Dunzhong remained unperturbed and bowed to Heshi Lieliangbi, saying, "Prime Minister, after the failed surprise attack, I wanted to withdraw my troops, but you stopped me on the grounds that the Shandong bandits would come after us. Given the situation at the time, I accepted your explanation."

However, the Shandong bandits are now exhausted and have suffered heavy casualties. They are certainly unable to pursue us, nor can they possibly join the battle at Xia Cai. In that case, it would be better to leave a small force here to keep an eye on the Shandong bandits, while our entire army returns to deal with the Song army first.

Another general, Wanyan Cong, nodded in agreement.

With these two generals taking the lead, the generals from Xijin echoed their sentiments.

Kiyotomi Kagaya was furious, but there was nothing he could do.

The reason is quite simple and clear.

In order to ensure the element of surprise, the entire Jin army, which was sent to attack Wei Sheng, consisted of cavalry.

When Dong Jin's 10,000 troops marched south, they were intercepted by the Flying Tiger Army, and the cavalry suffered considerable losses.

Therefore, Kiyotomi Kagaya only had about three thousand cavalrymen under his command this time.

The remaining twelve fierce guards were all Western Jin soldiers.

Although Pusan ​​Zhongyi did not send a general of the rank of commander-in-chief, military governor, or capital commander to lead the entire army in order to ensure Heshi Lie Liangbi's absolute authority, this was still a military council, the most basic form of military democracy. Even though Jia Gu Qingchen was of a much higher status, he could not prevent others from speaking.

Once so many of the marching warriors began to express their opinions, Kiyotomi Kagaya's influence naturally diminished.

Not to mention that today, among the three Meng'an of Dongjin, one of the Meng'an of the army was killed in battle by Wei Sheng, several of the marching strategists were blown into the air, and the elite soldiers under his command also suffered heavy casualties, making the Xijin side appear to have more people and more power.

But Kiyotomi Kagaya still managed to say, "We are all soldiers. Soldiers must obey the national strategy. How can we fight a war by acting haphazardly?"

Kiyotomi Kagaya's words were originally intended to regain the decision-making power so that Heishil Ryōbō could make the final decision.

However, Kiyotomi Kagaya discovered that this usually decisive Left Chancellor was simply drinking tea without saying a word.

This, however, made Kiyotomi Kagaya hesitate.

Does the Left Chancellor also want to withdraw his troops?

But the Jin dynasty has already been defeated in Hebei. If they cannot regain some ground south of Shandong, wouldn't the Han army trample Youyan in two years?
At the same time, Wanyan Cong seemed to have noticed Heshi Lieliangbi's unusual behavior and pressed on, saying, "Left Prime Minister, it is really disadvantageous for cavalry to attack the city. Now the Xia Cai army has many infantrymen and conscripts. As long as we defeat the Song bandits, wouldn't it be a piece of cake to deal with a mere Qi County?"

Seeing that Heshi Lieliangbi remained silent, Jia Gu Qingchen still tried his best to respond: "I have said before, the Shandong bandits are not ordinary people. If they take this opportunity to catch their breath, how about they come to Xia Cai to join the battle?"

Shi Dunzhong's courage gradually grew: "As I just said, we only need to send a small number of troops here to keep an eye on the Shandong bandits. General Jiagu's two thousand troops are just right."

Kiyoshi Kagaya opened his eyes wide, about to fly into a rage.

At this moment, Heshi Lieliangbi, who was sitting at the head of the table, finally spoke up: "General Shidun, do you mean to disobey military orders, turn back without authorization, and leave me and these thousands of soldiers here?"

He Shilie Liangbi's words still carried weight, and Shi Dunzhong immediately dared not speak again.

However, even if they outwardly submit, it doesn't stop their hearts from growing restless, and everyone starts to harbor resentment in their hearts.

As the saying goes, winning battles is the best way to maintain authority, but conversely, if you can't win battles, it's only natural that your authority will decline.

He Shi Lie Liangbi could say that you military men are reckless, but the military men could also say that you, the Left Chancellor, have made a grave mistake. He Shi Lie Liangbi drank another cup of cold tea and slowly said, "Today I will not tell you the general outline, but only the advantages and disadvantages."

Now that we have failed to achieve complete victory, the news will not be kept secret once we return. The Han Chinese troops in Henan will naturally seize the opportunity to cause trouble. Do you really think that with such divided hearts, you can still overpower the Song people and recapture Xia Cai City?

Shi Dunzhong opened his mouth as if to speak, but then held back.

Heshi Lieliangbi continued, "Moreover, the attack was so sudden that we couldn't catch up quickly enough. There must have been messengers from the Shandong bandits who went to Hebei to report the news. Even if that Flying Tiger in Shandong doesn't know now, he will find out in a couple of days that our army is launching a fierce attack on the heart of Shandong. For both public and private reasons, he will send troops, or even personally lead troops south."

"If our army doesn't seize this opportunity to crush Wei Sheng here and wreak havoc on southern Shandong, but instead continues the conflict at Xia Cai, aren't you worried that before you even finish attacking the Song army, that tiger will pounce from behind?"

Wanyan Cong trembled violently, then gritted his teeth and said, "Left Prime Minister, Hebei is more than a thousand miles from here. As long as our army waits in comfort, we can rest easy."

Heshi Lieliangbi glanced at Wanyan Cong with amusement: "Oh? Aren't you afraid of that flying tiger?"

Wanyan Cong clenched his teeth even tighter: "Of course I'm not afraid."

Heshi Lieliangbi pressed on, asking, "Is that really so?"

Wanyan Cong's lips twitched twice, but he ultimately did not dare to give a definite answer.

How could I not be afraid?

A person's name is like the shadow of a tree; Liu Huai's illustrious reputation was forged from the corpses of countless famous teachers, generals, warriors, and fierce soldiers of the Jin Dynasty.

He rose from a mere commoner in Huaidong to a renowned figure throughout the world, relying on nothing other than a series of solid victories and relentless, uncompromising battles.

Liu Huai truly ascended to the pinnacle of martial arts by treading on mountains of corpses and seas of blood from the Jin army.

You, Wanyan Cong, are indeed a formidable general, a true warrior. But compared to Wanyan Liang, Heshilie Zhining, Wanyan Zhang, and Wanyan Yuanyi, what are you?

Heshi Lieliangbi paused for a moment, and seeing that everyone had fallen silent, and some even looked timid, he chuckled softly before stroking his beard and saying, "Now, all my painstaking efforts have been misunderstood by you all, which is truly laughable."

Shi Dunzhong remained silent for a long time before cupping his hands and saying, "Then, according to the Left Prime Minister's opinion, what should our army do? Since we have no explosives, are we still going to attack the city?"

Heshi Lieliangbi drank tea again, and then solemnly replied: "Of course we must. I inspected the camp yesterday, and the flying ladders and wooden ladders are almost finished. Tomorrow we will attack the city from three sides at the same time. After taking Qixian, we will quickly take the defeated troops to rush Fuli and Xuzhou."

Even if Liu Dalang had the resources to send reinforcements and march south rapidly, it would still take him nearly a month. If he could capture Xuzhou, the Jin dynasty's situation would be completely saved.

After hearing half of it, Shi Dunzhong suddenly looked up, his face showing doubt, but in the end, he was speechless.

On the one hand, using simple wooden ladders to attack a city, which, in the military terminology of the time, was a siege swarm, was the most devastating method of attacking a city.

Generally speaking, these tasks are carried out by cannon fodder units.

However, by this time the people of Qixian had already been evacuated, and the people around Mengcheng had been conscripted to fill the ditches of the Song army in Xiacai. It was impossible to recruit soldiers within a hundred or two hundred miles around.

If we launch a surprise attack on the city tomorrow, then we'll have no choice but to send our regular armored cavalry and soldiers to charge forward.

Even though it hasn't started yet, just thinking about that scene makes Shi Dunzhong feel a chill run down his spine.

But from a strategic point of view, this is absolutely correct.

If the Jin army doesn't turn the southern Shandong prefectures into a mess, they will eventually have to face the main force led by Liu Huai. How can they expect to suffer fewer casualties?
Moreover, Xuzhou is a famously wealthy place. After taking it in, we can plunder it at will, which will be enough to restore the morale of the generals.

Therefore, for both public and private reasons, no matter how many casualties we suffer, we should resolutely capture Qixian and kill all the elite troops of the Loyal Army led by Wei Sheng.

Shi Dunzhong exchanged glances with his confidants and comrades, then gritted his teeth and asked, "Prime Minister, it's not that I'm afraid to fight, nor are my men afraid to die, but there should be a limit. Can you give me a promise so I can appease my men?"

Heshi Lieliangbi immediately said, "Ten days. I only ask that you fight desperately to capture the city during these ten days. If you succeed, I will continue to lead you to Xuzhou; if you fail, you may return to Xiachai or Bianliang, I will not care. What do you say?"

After pondering for a moment, Shi Dunzhong finally knelt on one knee, bowed his head, and said, "This humble general is willing to serve as the Left Prime Minister and is willing to die for the Great Jin."

Heshi Lieliangbi nodded with a smile, seemingly quite satisfied.

Upon seeing this, Kiyotomi Kagaya did not feel relieved. Instead, he frowned and felt inexplicably flustered.

Given the current situation... why is this current Left Chancellor still able to laugh?
(End of this chapter)