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

Chapter 802 A Man Like Zhuge Liang: A True Scholar (Part 2)
From the watchtower of the conscription camp, Hou Yuanliang watched the flames on the opposite bank of the Fei River gradually intensify and merge into one. His eyes gleamed with a fiery light, and he let out a beastly laugh: "They've finally come! They've finally come!"

As he spoke, he put on his helmet, covering his gray hair beneath it, and raised his torch, shouting, "Kill the barbarian dogs! Kill the barbarian dogs!"

Faced with his elder brother's somewhat deranged behavior, Hou Wulang felt a mixture of grief and indignation, as well as helplessness and sorrow.

In just over ten days, his elder brother had visibly aged.

This was not merely watching his fellow villagers being slaughtered; it was actively sending them to the blood and flesh millstone. One can only imagine the torment Hou Yuanliang endured.

Admittedly, thanks to Hou Yuanliang's efforts in mediating and defending against attacks, seven or eight out of ten of the conscripted soldiers from the surrounding areas of Shouzhou were able to survive. However, the blood debt of the two or three out of ten who died fell on his shoulders.

Those two or three out of ten people's relatives and friends also came to hate Hou Yuanliang, who acted as an accomplice to the tyrant.

Hou Yuanliang's troops were all from Shouzhou, and their fathers and fellow villagers had all become conscripts, becoming the ones who died fighting and dying in the trenches. How could their hearts be at peace? In addition, the continuous casualties made it difficult for the army's morale to rise.

If Hou Yuanliang were a ruthless killer like Shawei, it wouldn't matter; he could simply live a good life by caring only for his own pleasure. But Hou Yuanliang was the pillar of the entire state, and his heart was filled with extreme torment.

At the same time, Hou Yuanliang was also a military strategist. He knew that if he relied solely on his troops to rise up in rebellion, he would have no chance of winning and would only make the situation worse.

Now that the time for a full-scale counterattack has finally come, how could he not be overjoyed?
"Never mind, forget about the Song traitors, the whole army heads north! The enemy is at the North Camp! The enemy is at the North Camp!" Hou Yuanliang mounted his horse and shouted to the two hundred or so personal guards who had gathered around him, "First, kill that bastard Pu Chaping, then the whole army heads north!"

Hou Wulang and the others had already received the news, and they all sprang into action at this time.

Pu Sanzhongyi and Heshilie Liangbi naturally knew that Hou Yuanliang was not stable, so they sent Pu Chaping with more than a thousand soldiers to garrison on the side of the conscript camp, both to monitor and supervise the battle.

At this moment, Pu Chaping naturally became alert because of the commotion on the other side of the Fei River. However, their attention was drawn to the other side of the river, and they were caught off guard when Hou Wulang personally led his troops into the small camp, setting fires everywhere, and the scene was in chaos.

After the Chenzhou army crossed the pontoon bridge and officially began fighting the alert Pusan ​​Zhongyi, Hou Yuanliang finally mobilized all of his more than two thousand soldiers, pushed down the camp fence, and let the conscripted soldiers scatter and flee.

Although it was foreseeable that these tens of thousands of conscripts would suffer heavy casualties from trampling during their escape, and how many of them would actually escape in the darkness, and how they would survive with little food and clothing, was all unknown.

But at this point, Hou Yuanliang couldn't care less about all that.

Regardless of success or failure, this may be the best, and last, chance for the army to escape.

As the Chenzhou army and the Jin army engaged in full-scale battle, Shi Ju and Lu You also crossed the Fei River and established themselves on the beachhead that the Chenzhou army had seized.

To be honest, tonight's battle was really illogical.

Night battles are extremely chaotic. The attacking side usually has only a few thousand troops, and most often, only a few hundred troops are enough to raid a camp of tens of thousands of people.

Now, the Chenzhou army, with more than 20,000 troops, set out with a do-or-die attitude, and after crossing the river, charged fiercely towards the Jin army camp.

This is going to be a decisive battle!
Moreover, this decisive battle is destined to be a chaotic one, a chaotic battle in which either side wins or loses, and will inevitably suffer huge casualties.

Shi Ju doesn't seem to be someone who knows nothing about military affairs, so how could he make such a decision?!

Although Lu You had questions in his mind, he ultimately could not interfere with the military strategy of the Chenzhou army when the great battle had already begun. So he brought up another matter: "Lord Shi, since the Chenzhou army has decided to defect and fight against the Jin invaders, why not agree on a date with the Song Dynasty and launch a joint attack?"

Shi Ju chuckled: "The most important reason is that since we have chosen to rely on Liu Dalang, we must remain innocent and pure. How can we contact the Song Kingdom without authorization? If the Song Kingdom takes the opportunity to entangle us and causes Liu Dalang to have a grudge, wouldn't that be a loss?"

Lu You's face darkened, almost blending into the night, but after a moment of silence, he forced a smile and said, "Lord Wei and Liu Dalang are naturally famous ministers and fierce generals of the Song Dynasty. We are all one."

Shi Ju's smile remained unchanged, but he was too lazy to argue with Lu You: "If Master Lu says so, then so be it."

Lu You immediately felt a bit stifled, as if he had punched a piece of cotton and felt utterly powerless.

Shi Ju, however, did not let Lu You off the hook, and continued, "Moreover, I have no past favors with that Minister Yu, nor have we had any recent dealings with him, so how can I trust him? Even if we agree to meet, he is probably just plotting to harm his neighbor."

As he spoke, Shi Ju pointed with his riding whip at the Song army camp in the distance: "Besides, with such a large commotion here, if Prime Minister Yu is willing, he should send troops now to fight alongside me."

Lu You looked in the direction of the whip, but saw that although the Song army camp was brightly lit, there was no sign of any troops moving out.

"This must be because the distance is too great, making it difficult to see the army's movements."

Although Lu You spoke with absolute certainty, it was unclear whether he was trying to persuade Shi Ju or himself.

Upon hearing this, Shi Ju made no comment, but simply shook his head and smiled, "Lord Lu, do you know why I said that you and Lord Yu are both half of Zhuge Liang?"

"It's because Minister Yu is too opportunistic that you, Minister Lu, are no longer fit to be the leader." "Oh?"

"Prime Minister Yu is only thinking about leveraging the momentum of the Shandong rebels, the chaos in the Jin Kingdom, and the infighting within the Jin army. He has not considered that even if he wants to achieve great results with minimal effort, he must first have the ability to do so himself."

"Not to mention, given the current chaotic situation in the north, it's like a scale that can't be stopped by a thousand pounds."

As Shi Ju finished speaking, he saw an officer carrying a severed head to report on military affairs, and immediately offered a few words of encouragement.

After the Chenzhou military officer left, the scene fell silent for a moment. Lu You couldn't help but ask, "Master Shi just said that I cannot be the master. Which side's master are you referring to?"

Shi Ju: "It's all about both aspects. Lu Xianggong neither became the ruler of Song nor the ruler of Shandong, not because he lacked ability, but because he didn't want to be the ruler. It can be said that his nature is hard to change."

Lu You gripped the reins tightly, gazing at the battlefield ahead, speechless for a moment before finally saying, "According to what Minister Shi said, does that mean that if the two of us reform, we can become the Zhuge Liang of the Song Dynasty?"

Shi Ju nodded in agreement, but then shook his head and chuckled: "Prime Minister Yu is already this age. He seeks speed in everything, so naturally he cannot seek stability and can only resort to tricks."

But since he's resorting to trickery, he's very likely to be overpowered. He can't change his ways, and one day he'll surely die because of his 'tricks'.

Lu You's expression changed, but he saw that Shi Ju had slowly shaken his head and looked at Lu You: "Lord Lu, you may become the second Marquis of Wu in the future, but even if you become the Marquis of Wu, what is the point?"
"Given the current state of affairs, what can even the Marquis Zhenwu do? He can only dedicate himself to the utmost until his death. Now it is a struggle between foreign tribes and the Han people for supremacy. Some things are worthy of attention, but there's no need to place them so highly."

Shi Ju's words were already quite forward, despite their brief acquaintance.

However, Lu You remained expressionless, silently watching the brightly lit Jin army camp in the night.

Shi Ju knew he had failed to persuade Lu You, and could only sigh deeply.

The two leading scholars of the era fell silent in the night, but this did not stop the Chenzhou army's offensive from becoming even more intense.

The outer walls of the Jin army camp had been breached, and the vanguard of the Chenzhou army, which had stormed into the camp, fought their way forward while setting fires everywhere, making it difficult for the Jin army to even organize a second line of defense.

Pu Sanzhongyi strode up to the watchtower, pointed at a soldier who had just arrived, and shouted, "What's going on? Didn't I tell you to keep an eye on the river? How did the Han army manage to build a pontoon bridge?"

The soldier, Meng'an, was covered in dust and dirt, wearing only an iron tunic and without a helmet. He had a wound on his forehead that was still bleeding. Hearing this, he looked aggrieved and said, "Marshal, I saw it clearly. There was no sign of this pontoon bridge in the first half of the night. It suddenly floated across at midnight."

Pu Sanzhongyi found the man's words absurd, but he also knew that his old subordinate would not deceive him on such a matter, and for a moment he was a little confused.

At this moment, a military staff officer skilled in bridge construction said, "This must be a pontoon bridge built by the Han army using the method of splitting the pontoon bridge to allow ships to pass."

After a pontoon bridge was built along the west bank, it was pulled across by a ferry and then anchored to the east bank, which is why there is a saying that the bridge was completed in half a quarter of an hour.

But Marshal, this is not the time to discuss this. The Han Chinese army has completely rebelled. What should our army do?

Amidst the expectant gazes of the generals, Pusan ​​Zhongyi, adjusting his belt, sneered and said, "What else can we do? Fight back! Do you really think I, Pusan ​​Wuzhe, am a toothless worm?"

These words greatly excited everyone.

"Asa! You're in the first line!"

"Shuhu Chi, you lead Hezhameng'an as the second formation!"

Pusan ​​Zhongyi pointed to the watchtower below and said loudly, "I will be right here, and for the sake of all of you, I will show these Han soldiers who the Great Jin truly belongs to!"

Seeing their commander-in-chief so valiant, the assembled generals were also invigorated. After loudly agreeing, they strode away.

Pu Sanzhongyi kept his word, raised the commander's flag on the watchtower, and personally beat the drum.

Soon, more than four thousand Jurchen soldiers gathered and engaged in a direct battle with the Chenzhou army in the camp, finally holding off the offensive.

However, after all the generals launched their attacks and began to suppress the Chenzhou army, Pusan ​​Zhongyi's expression clearly darkened.

He took out a piece of white silk from the gap in his wrist guard and examined it carefully again.

The firelight flickered, and even with Pu Sanzhongyi's eagle-like eyesight, he could only make out the first line of large characters.

"Chenzhou has rebelled..."

(End of this chapter)