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

Chapter 799 The King’s Flag changes at the top of the city

On the morning of July 14th, the sun rose, its light shining brightly.

Lu You buried his grief and indignation in his heart and ran wildly towards Xia Cai.

Wei Sheng stood atop the north city wall, facing the great banner of Heshi Lie below, preparing to meet another round of attacks.

Yu Yunwen then personally went to Li Xianzong's army and urged the army to leave the camp and form ranks again, pressing forward.

After a day and night of intensive coordination, Shi Ju and his confidants climbed to the watchtower of the camp and looked at the Jin army camp on the opposite bank of the Fei River. He felt a mix of emotions.

As Wei Chang said, this was the moment that would determine his future honor, disgrace, wealth, and even life and death. The arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released.

Traveling northwest along the Ying River into Chenzhou, Zhang Shu, after a day and two nights of continuous travel, galloping over two hundred li, arrived at the Xiangcheng government office. He almost fell off his horse and only managed to regain his footing with the help of his guards.

"Issue the order! By order of Prime Minister Shi! Close all four gates and seize the supplies! No one is permitted to move the grain or fodder except upon a written order from Prime Minister Shi!"

Zhang Shu shouted to the arriving magistrate and county constable, then drew his sword and pointed it at the Chenzhou army general who commanded the city's garrison: "Cui Dashi, the Chenzhou army is now united. What do you want? Do you want to submit to the Jin Kingdom? Or do you want to submit to the people of Henan?!"

Cui Dashi was immediately at a loss.

Seeing this, Zhang Shu looked directly at the local officials who had gathered around and roared, "The men of Chenzhou are of one mind, all working together in Xia Cai. Now you want to sell them all out?"

Are you trying to sell out your fathers, brothers, and sons?!

After a long silence, Cui Dashi suddenly drew his sword and, under the watchful eyes of the crowd, pulled the county clerk out of the crowd, beheaded him on the spot, and then held the severed head high by the hair bun.

"This scoundrel is the mastermind behind Zhang Laogou's chaos in Henan and the conscription in Xiangcheng. My killing of this traitor today may prove my loyalty."

The proposer of the large-scale petition in Henan was Heshilie Liangbi, the decision-makers were Zhang Hao, the Minister of the Western Jin Dynasty, and Crown Prince Wanyan Guangying, and the person in charge of the implementation was Zhang Shousu.

Zhang Shousu possessed remarkable political skills. In addition, he commanded a group of troops who had not participated in the war but were instead scattered throughout various parts of Henan, acting like a dagger behind the Chenzhou army. Naturally, he was also able to win over a group of officials and powerful figures to serve him.

Specifically in Xiangcheng, both the magistrate and the county commandant were Shi Ju's confidants, while the chief clerk had been won over by Zhang Shousu.

After the conscription order was issued, Shi Ju had already led the main force of the Chenzhou army to Xia Cai. With no one nearby to support him, the registrar became arrogant and, relying on the hundreds of soldiers left by Zhang Shousu in Xiangcheng, followed Zhang Shousu's orders and began to levy exorbitant taxes.

In short, Cui Dashi had been putting up with this guy for a long time.

However, Zhang Shu only glanced at the chief clerk's head before adjusting his belt and saying, "Of course it's not enough!"

As he spoke, Zhang Shu looked towards the northwest of the city, a cold smile appearing on his face: "Is Wanyan Bali still in the city with his five hundred soldiers?"

Cui Dashi's heart tightened, then he became somewhat excited: "We're in the city!"

Zhang Shu: "I remember that Lord Shi left you a thousand soldiers. Go now and strangle those five hundred barbarian dogs! It shouldn't be difficult to catch someone off guard!"

Cui Dashi cupped his hands in response: "Of course it's not difficult."

Zhang Shu pointed to the table beside him: "I'm right here. I'm giving you two hours to bring me these five hundred heads! Not a single one less!"

No sooner had Zhang Shu finished speaking than someone strode into the government office.

Speak of the devil, and he shall appear; the man who arrived was none other than Wanyan Bali.

Upon hearing that someone was gathering men at the government office, he quickly put on his armor and led his personal guards to investigate.

"Haha, Lao Zhang, what brings you back!"

Wanyan Bali felt that the atmosphere in the government office was somewhat tense, but he didn't think much of it, assuming that Zhang Shu had brought back Shi Ju's military order.

Because of the angle, he didn't see the registrar's corpse and brazenly led his personal guards closer.

Zhang Shu took a couple of deep breaths, and only when Wanyan Bali was within five steps did he grin and say, "Bali, what a coincidence! How come you've come along too, Master Zhang?"

Wanyan Bali was slightly taken aback. Realizing that Zhang Xianggong was Zhang Shousu, he turned around in surprise.

In that instant, Zhang Shu snatched a bow from the waist of his personal guard, nocked an arrow, and fired it straight at Wanyan Bali's face.

An arrow pierced his skull, and Wanyan Bali collapsed to the ground without uttering a sound.

Both Wanyan Bali's personal guards and the officials of Chenzhou were momentarily terrified. Zhang Shu drew another arrow and roared, "This bastard is delivering himself to his death; it's fate! Cui Dashi, what are you waiting for?!"

Cui Dashi, who was standing to the side of the crowd, immediately drew his blood-stained sword again and led his guards to rush towards the panicked Jurchen soldiers.

After shooting another arrow, Zhang Shu slowly sat back down behind the table, threw the bow aside, and then told the servant huddled in the corner to make him two eggs and a bowl of noodles.

He still has many things to do today.

Just as turmoil was brewing in a corner of Henan, Liu Huai led his troops to Linhuan. At this time, nine days had passed since the Han army set off from Daming Prefecture. The number of armored cavalrymen who had set out as many as seven thousand had now shrunk to just over six thousand due to non-combat casualties.

Moreover, the number of warhorses lost along the way has been severe, from three or even four horses per person at the beginning to an average of two horses per person now.

These armored cavalry and their warhorses did not all die on the road. Rather, they fell ill due to exhaustion, injuries, and the heat, making it difficult for them to continue the march. They were then settled in cities along the way.

However, the person who made the greatest contribution during this period was undoubtedly Xiao Zhongda.

It was because he immediately conquered several counties and towns in eastern Bozhou after making contact with Wei Chang that Liu Huai was able to easily cross the Ju River and obtain supplies and rest on the spot.

Faced with the unexpected act of bravery, Liu Huai was naturally generous with his rewards and promotions. He immediately appointed Xiao Zhongda as the prefect of Bozhou, in charge of all military and political affairs in Bozhou.

When Xiao Zhongda subtly expressed his desire to continue making meritorious contributions in the army, Liu Huai promised on the spot in front of all the generals that after this battle, a new army would be formed based in Hebei, and Xiao Zhongda would be its commander-in-chief.

Xiao Zhongda was naturally extremely grateful and overjoyed.

Taking advantage of the army's rest and resupply, Liu Huai summoned the local officials and gentry who had defected from Bozhou.

These people were originally dragged into the trouble when they followed Xiao Zhongda. Although they were making a big show of it, they were actually not confident in their actions.

At this moment, Liu Huai, as the leader of the military and political group, appeared in front of him and made political promises to his face. This was unexpected, but it immediately won him over, and his originally uneasy mood immediately calmed down.

After all, after the Battle of Daming Prefecture, Liu Huai's power was at least comparable to that of the two emperors of the Jin Dynasty, and he had good political credibility, so his words could still fetch a few taels of silver.

Liu Huai did not linger in Bozhou. After resting for half a day, he continued south along the Huan River and arrived in Linhuan today.

The closer they got to the Huai River, the denser the water network became, with many rivers that were not marked on the map at all, often causing unexpected obstacles for the army.

It should be understood that this was 6,000 armored cavalry and more than 10,000 warhorses. If they hadn't been carrying no supplies, even ordinary official roads couldn't have carried so many troops. An unexpected ditch and a small bridge that wasn't wide enough would have been enough to slow down the army.

However, there were some advantages after entering Suzhou territory, such as the speed of military intelligence transmission in the surrounding area finally improved.

Liu Huai had just arrived in Linhuan when the scouts he sent out to gather intelligence made contact with Zhou Xinglie.

At this time, Zhou Xinglie only had more than two thousand garrison soldiers, and had no way to rescue Qixian. Therefore, he chose to set up camp south of the Bian River to contain the Jin army.

Zhou Xinglie only managed to tie down a few hundred Jin soldiers. However, because he was very close to the Qixian battlefield, even though he could not break through the Jin army's blockade to exchange military intelligence with Wei Sheng, he still managed to gather some information by relying on scouts.

The most important thing is the huge explosion a few days ago. It seems that the Loyal Army destroyed all of the Jin army's gunpowder, so that in the past few days the Jin army could only use the method of swarming and attacking the city to attack Qixian.

It must be said that this intelligence brought Liu Huai a great sense of relief.

He then dispatched soldiers skilled in water management to sail down the Huan River to contact He Laiye, hoping to establish contact with the city of Qixian.

The command center in southern Shandong, which had been paralyzed by Wei Sheng's siege of Qixian, was re-established with Liu Huai's advance. With him as a strategic pivot, the several prefectures in southern Shandong became much more easily controlled.

However, in the afternoon, while receiving the message from Wei Jiao, Liu Huai also received a military report from Dong Cheng, the military commander of Pizhou, and was immediately shocked.

"What did you say? What do you mean Qixian is about to collapse?"

Liu Huai stood up anxiously and asked, "How could Qixian County possibly fall? Didn't the Jin bandits run out of gunpowder?"

The visitor was Liang Qiansui, the prefect of Pizhou and former deputy commander of the Left Army of the Loyal and Righteous Army. He knelt down and kowtowed heavily: "Young Master, the Jin invaders used their superior numbers to wear down our army all the way back to Qixian. When our army returned, it was completely exhausted."

After more than ten days of relentless attacks by the Jin invaders, our army suffered heavy casualties. Although we did not enter the city, we could still see clearly that the Jin invaders had indeed scaled the city walls several times...

Brother Dong has already amassed ten thousand troops and is counting down the days until tomorrow, ready to fight to the death with my elder brother. He was overjoyed to learn of my eldest son's arrival and hopes that he will quickly send troops to rescue my brother.

Dong Cheng and Liang Qiansui were both veterans of Han Shizhong's Shenwu Left Army, and the elder brother they referred to was naturally Wei Sheng.

Liu Huai suddenly gasped for breath, then said seriously, "Go back and tell Uncle Dong that the autumn harvest is coming soon. What kind of image is it to gather ten thousand garrison troops? How can they possibly fight a proper battle against the Jin invaders? Tell him to disband the troops immediately, leaving only one thousand to go north to Qixian..."

Liang Qiansui had only heard half of it when he crawled forward on his knees, grabbed Liu Huai's right leg, and almost wailed, "Is the eldest son going to abandon his elder brother?!"
My lord, do not make a foolish decision at this time. Your elder brother is, after all, your father and the leader of us, the soldiers of the Northern Expedition. If you abandon him, how can we submit?! How will you face the world in the future?! How will you face the annals of history?!

Conversely, given the achievements and renown of our eldest brother, where else can we go after he passes away if not to follow him?!

Liu Huai's face turned ashen, but he couldn't very well kick Liang Qiansui away.

Xin Qiji, who had just entered the tent, became somewhat annoyed upon hearing this: "Prefect Liang, do you know that after we finished fighting the Jin bandits in Daming Prefecture in Hebei, we marched south with our elite cavalry almost without stopping for a moment?"
In just ten days, you arrived here from Daming Prefecture. You were once a general commanding troops; can't you imagine how arduous your journey must have been?"

Liu Huai waved his hand to stop Xin Qiji from speaking, knowing that the other man was exhausted from the journey and had no time to comfort him. He simply helped Liang Qiansui up and said, "Since Uncle Liang suspects me, I have nothing to say."

"I will go to Pizhou myself to find the military commander and deliver the order. Uncle Liang will come with me to Qixian."

"Fifth Brother," Liu Huai said to Xin Qiji, "summon all the generals and tell them I have a military order to deliver!"

(End of this chapter)