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

Chapter 804 The Lonely City Is Increasingly Dangerous

Judging from the outcome, Chenzhou's surprise attack was a stroke of genius, a truly brilliant move.

Shi Ju's strategic objective was always to force the Jin army to retreat, not to completely defeat them.

Therefore, when the Jin army's supply camp caught fire and the Jin army slowly withdrew from the camp, Shi Ju had already won 80% of the battle.

After that, Pusan ​​Zhongyi's only chance of victory was to regroup his troops and defeat the Chenzhou army head-on.

However, it was nighttime, and the two armies were already entangled in the chaos of battle, making it impossible to regroup. As a result, even though Pusan ​​Zhongyi knew the only way to break the deadlock, he was powerless and unable to do so.

As the battle progressed into the latter half of the night, the fire in the Jin army camp grew larger, making the area around the camp even brighter. Conversely, a dark cloud obscured the moon, making the area far from the camp even darker, to the point that the soldiers could no longer be seen.

Pusan ​​Zhongyi knew that he could not wait any longer. The camp was now completely beyond saving. If the retreat was delayed until daylight, the Song army would realize what was happening, and the retreat would truly turn into a rout.

Therefore, Pu Sanzhongyi led the several thousand soldiers he had gathered to retreat northward, burning villages and towns along the way as a guide.

Shi Ju did not pursue them immediately, but instead gathered his troops and slowly retreated back to the west bank of the Fei River.

This does not mean that the Chenzhou army is going to give up the pursuit, but rather that in order to be able to immediately engage in battle when they catch up, they must first organize their troops.

Pusan ​​Zhongyi also tried to gather his troops and retreat, but under the current circumstances, the morale of the Jin army began to crumble.

To be precise, the Jin army in Xia Cai still had five or six thousand soldiers from the Eastern Jin, all of whom were infantry. Therefore, they were left in Xia Cai and did not participate in the raid on Wei Sheng. At this point, why would a few elite warriors want to follow Pu San Zhongyi back to Bianliang?

How could those six thousand Jurchen men from Youyan and Hebei possibly have a chance to return to the north?
Therefore, after a brief discussion, the few marching warriors led their assembled 2,000 infantrymen eastward, attempting to join forces with Heshi Lieliangbi.

In fact, the departure of these two thousand soldiers was nothing to the Jin army, which numbered over twenty thousand.

The key point is that in this chaotic moment, when the command system had already lost control, two thousand organized troops set off eastward with torches, which led the surrounding Jin troops to follow suit. By the time they left the battlefield, the number of troops had exceeded six thousand, many of whom were armored cavalrymen of the Western Jin, who followed the army blindly all the way.

This situation is both absurd and all too real.

It can only be said that the battlefield is indeed a place where anything can happen.

At the beginning of Yin time (3 a.m.), just as the battlefield in Xia Cai was gradually calming down, more than a hundred miles away in Lin Huan, the Han army's armored cavalry had finished breakfast, drunk their fill of hot water, mounted their warhorses that had just rested for several hours, and slowly walked out of the camp.

Liu Huai did not look back at the army; he simply put on his helmet and rode ahead.

Under the moonlight, the army lit torches, formed a long line, and marched swiftly southward along the Huan River, listening to the constant sounds of drums and clappers all around.

That's how war is. Most of the time, there's no grand gestures, no blood-pumping excitement, and not even many opportunities to face the enemy directly.

War is more like an utterly trashy video game, where 99% of the time is spent doing boring trifles, and the remaining moment is spent facing the final boss.

War is not just about wielding swords and guns. It is only after undergoing rigorous training, marching long distances under the scorching sun or the freezing cold of winter, and enduring hunger, exhaustion, and despair that one has the opportunity to wield a sword.

Less than an hour after the Han army marched, the sun rose in the east and the weather became hot. Liu Huai finally stopped and, with a few personal guards, came to a small hill, looking down at the armored cavalry of the Han army.

The usual care and training had indeed played a role. Although it was a night march and a pre-battle mobilization had been conducted, and the soldiers clearly knew that this was a long-distance raid and a fight to the death, no one deserted or deliberately fell behind during the night.

Even though they were exhausted from marching for days, their morale remained relatively high.

Liu Huai observed the situation from the hilltop for a while, then returned to the forefront of the army: "Order all troops to speed up!"

"quick!"

"quick!"

"Out of camp! Form ranks!"

At the foot of Qixian City, Heshi Lieliangbi personally led his army out of the camp and formed ranks below the city.

Looking at the banner of Heshilie, the morale of the Jin army, which had been waned by casualties and the heat, recovered somewhat. At least the officers at the level of marching strategist finally regained some enthusiasm and exerted more effort.

Shi Dunzhong also shouted encouragement to his men on the front lines: "Men, the Shandong bandits are exhausted! Yesterday we climbed the city wall and held it for a while. If it weren't for that bastard Zhuo Lu Ali's failure to provide support, we would have already taken the city wall!"

Zhuo Lu Ali, who was named, was clearly dissatisfied, but in front of Meng An, he did not dare to refute and could only hum a few times.

But Shi Dunzhong still heard these words, and he immediately reined in his horse and said, "Ali, am I wrong?"

Zhuo Lu Ali immediately said loudly, "General, I certainly wouldn't dare say that what you said is wrong, but could you please allow me to make amends and be the first to scale the city walls today?!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Dunzhong laughed heartily: "I knew Ali was a hero. You lead your troops, and I'll give you fifty armored soldiers to be the first to scale the city walls. I'll follow you up. Let me show you how this battle is fought and how I provide support, so you won't curse me behind my back!"

The Jin generals who could hear the conversation burst into laughter, and the Jin soldiers who were further away, though they didn't know what they were laughing at, also joined in the laughter.

The atmosphere became somewhat relaxed for a moment.

That's right.

After the fierce fighting in the early stages of the battle, the Loyal Army suffered heavy casualties, and by this time many sections of the city walls were being defended by conscripting able-bodied men from the city.

Whether they were garrison troops or able-bodied men, they were still somewhat useful when they were on the city wall, throwing logs and stones from their high vantage point. However, once the Jin soldiers charged up the city wall using ladders, these second-line troops became largely ineffective.

The fact that the Jin army repeatedly established positions on the city walls over the past two days is clear evidence of this.

Shi Dunzhong's jubilation was not an isolated case. In the three-sided siege camp, generals such as Jia Gu Qingchen, Wanyan Cong, and Wanyan Qige also encouraged their subordinates, saying that today was the day the city would fall, and made promises after the city fell, which were nothing more than rewards of wealth and women.

Qixian County, as a transportation hub on the Huan River, has a thriving commerce. If the army doesn't stop fighting for three days, the entire army can feast.

Although Heshi Lieliangbi personally led the charge, his face showed no sign of ease or joy. He stared intently at the Wei banner atop the city wall, remaining silent for a long time.

On the city wall, Wei Sheng also watched the Jin army gradually deploying below, his face equally solemn.

After a series of fierce battles, the Loyal Army now had only about three thousand soldiers left capable of fighting.

Normally, an army should collapse after losing more than half its troops.

However, the calculation is based on the total number of combat soldiers, not the entire army being reduced by half, so it's unlikely that the front-line troops would be wiped out.

Secondly, this time the city was besieged on three sides and attacked simultaneously. The other side of the city was adjacent to the Huan River, which meant that even if the Loyal Army withdrew, they could only bypass the water gate, cross the Huan River to go to Xia Cai, or escape to Sizhou, but this was almost impossible.

Most importantly, the Loyal Army members were all assigned positions and land in Shandong, making them small landlords with wives, children, and elderly relatives behind them. If the Jin army were to break through Fuli and Pengcheng and reach Yizhou and Haizhou, then Shandong's peaceful life over the years would be over.

What's that saying again? Shandong may be vast, but there's nowhere to retreat.

However, although the Loyal Army maintained its fighting spirit and morale, the world is ultimately materialistic, and the wear and tear on physical strength, energy, and weaponry was a real problem.

While the stockpile of arrows is relatively sufficient, the supply of bowstrings and crossbow strings is clearly insufficient.

The entire army had a sufficient supply of armor plates and leather straps, but the armorers were too busy to repair the armor.
There was still plenty of medicine for wounds, but the disinfectant alcohol had run out, so the military doctor had to resort to the old method of using willow branch water.

What was once insignificant has now become the Achilles' heel, causing the army's overall combat strength to decline continuously.

The Jin army's ascent of the city a few days ago, and their ability to hold out on the city walls for a short time, was not because the Loyal Army intended to trap and defeat them, but because they were truly on the verge of collapse.

"Pass down the order: everyone do their job. The Jin army has suffered such heavy casualties, and they are attacking a city. They certainly won't be able to hold out for long."

On the city wall, Wei Sheng addressed the military commander and his advisors: "I have just received news that Lord Yu has already led his troops from Xia Cai, and my eldest son has also marched south. If we hold out for a few more days, we will surely be victorious!"

Wei Sheng was obviously bluffing, but at this moment, trapped in an isolated city, what else could he do besides fight hard?

The soldiers of the Loyal Army were not excited upon hearing this. They had all received basic education in sanitation schools and were not completely illiterate. They knew that so much time had passed and there was still no sign of reinforcements, which meant that something terrible had happened.

When reinforcements will arrive, or even if they will arrive at all, remains a huge question mark.

Conversely, because they had received basic education, the Loyal Army's fighting spirit was incomparable to that of other feudal armies. Therefore, despite heavy casualties and the lack of reinforcements, they silently came to the city wall, each performing their duties and preparing to fight.

With a thunderous drumbeat, the newly built siege towers were pushed out of the Jin army camp, with Jin soldiers hiding behind them. They crossed the filled-in trenches and slowly advanced.

A few crossbow bolts had already been fired, and the whooshing sound of arrows cutting through the air was very faint in the noisy battlefield, but Hao Donglai, who was holding the Divine Arm Crossbow, could still feel it clearly.

He stared blankly at the arrow embedded in the large oar in front of him, watching the still trembling tail feathers. Suddenly, a thought struck him, and he raised his head to look into the distance.

At this moment, Hao Donglai didn't know whether to look at his eldest son in the north or his wife and children in the east, and a huge panic arose in his heart.

Can't a dying person find peace of mind in peace?

Once the great battle begins, with armored soldiers surging like a tide and blood flowing like a river, there is no time for anyone to have any other thoughts.

(End of this chapter)