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

Chapter 879 The Prime Minister is a Green Rhinoceros

The day after the great battle, Wanyan Guangying led his cavalry, which likely numbered over ten thousand, southward.

It is quite possible, mainly because apart from the more than 4,000 regular soldiers, the rest were the last troops of the Meng'an Mouke households around the area, many of whom were old and weak.

Just like Tudanli.

However, since Tudanli was originally a bodyguard of Wanyan Zonggan, he absolutely could not tolerate the death of the original lord's grandson. Therefore, when Wanyan Guangying first went south to Yancheng, Tudanli led many of his clansmen to escort the crown prince.

During this period, whether it was local garrison commanders, Meng'an households, or Han Chinese tycoons, they all watched Wanyan Guangying pass through with indifference, neither supporting nor opposing him.

But after being ravaged and ravaged by the Song army, even the local wealthy families who were not affected realized what was happening.

This doesn't seem like the imperial army at all! The things they're doing are even more brutal than the Jurchen invaders!

Although they were exploited within the Jin state, they didn't all die.

The idea that happiness is relative is a perfectly fair and honest truth.

When Wanyan Guangying raised the banner of the Crown Prince's Five Virtues for the second time to advance, the first to react were the Meng'an Mouke people. As long as they had a warhorse, the Hu people would carry hunting bows and spears and gather around Wanyan Guangying.

In just one day, the army swelled to about 15,000 men.

Some of the wealthy and powerful Han Chinese families also sent their sons to serve under Wanyan Guangying.

At this point, Wanyan Guangying's second military expedition had become a massive political undertaking, seemingly an attempt to reunite the people of Kaifeng.

Cheng Min was no fool, and he understood what Wanyan Guangying wanted to do.

Although he didn't know if Wanyan Guangying would succeed, he did understand one thing: the Song army had already ruined its reputation in the southern part of Kaifeng.

The biggest fear when an army ventures deep into enemy territory is facing enemies from all sides. Cheng Min dared not continue fighting when Han Chinese powerful families might turn against him and fight to the death, so he had no choice but to retreat.

This greatly boosted the morale of the Jin army, who cheered loudly, as if they considered this battle a remarkable victory.

Although Wanyan Guangying was ignorant of military affairs, he still had generals such as Tudanli by his side. They were not blinded by the false victory and chose to continue leading their troops southward in a slow pursuit.

The Jin army did not truly intend to fight Cheng Min to the death, but rather was sending a significant political signal:

Kaifeng Prefecture has not yet fallen from power, and there are still tens of thousands of elite soldiers willing to die for the Wanyan clan. Kaifeng Prefecture is still under the rule of the Great Jin Dynasty!

Cheng Min realized something was wrong on the third day and knew he could no longer retreat. Just as he was about to organize his troops for a major battle, he received a bombshell message.

The Jin general Pusan ​​Kui set out from Luoyang and attacked Ruzhou along the Yique Pass.

Pusan ​​Kui followed Wanyan Liang in the Guanzhong Campaign, so how did he return to Luoyang?
Wait, could the situation in Kansai also be critical?

Although the Nanyang Basin and Longyou could maintain communication through the Wuguan Pass, the Guanzhong Plain separated them, making communication difficult. Therefore, Cheng Min dared not linger and accelerated his retreat.

This makes it seem more like the Song army has been defeated and driven away.

The Beiwei Army's initially high morale was gradually eroded during the retreat, to the point that they were completely demoralized by the third day.

"Your Highness! It's time for a fight!"

The veteran general Tu Danli waved his hand, ordering his soldiers to drag out and behead the captured lone Song soldiers. He then bowed to Wanyan Guangying and said, "The morale of the Song army is low, while our army's morale is high, and our numbers outnumber the Song army several times over. We can fight!"

"That's exactly right!" Shu Huchi, the chief commander of Hezhameng'an, stepped forward with his hands clasped. "In this battle, we, Hezhameng'an, will lead the charge. No matter how strong Cheng Min's Beiwei Army is, they can't withstand our nearly 20,000 troops surrounding and attacking them!"

Ximen He, a local tycoon who had just joined the ranks with over a thousand soldiers from the powerful clans and wealthy households of Weishi County, also loudly proclaimed, "Your Highness, it's time to show those Song soldiers that we Kaifeng people are not to be trifled with!"

Ximen He was considered a prominent figure in Kaifeng Prefecture. He initially did not want to get involved in this matter, but both of his daughters had married Jurchens and died a few days ago.

This infuriated him, and almost defying all opposition, he led several powerful villagers to join the army on the very day Wanyan Guangying arrived.

With this grudge, Ximen He would never allow the Song army to retreat so easily; otherwise, he would be furious to death.

Faced with his subordinates' clamor for battle, Wanyan Guangying fell silent.

Even if he has a high status and is very intelligent, he is still just a teenager. It is really difficult to ask him to make a decision immediately.

Besides this, Wanyan Guangying had other considerations.

This advance may appear to be a resounding victory for the Jin army, with both local and central authorities united in their efforts, seemingly the beginning of a great undertaking. However, this may fool your brothers, but you must not fool yourself.

The Jin Dynasty is now a dilapidated house, and a dilapidated house divided in two. This move is to unite the people, and ultimately its purpose is to strengthen the central authority so as to smoothly move the capital.

If it were that easy to revive the country, Pu Sanzhongyi would have done it long ago, so why would it be Wanyan Guangying's turn? Moreover, although everyone is excited now, if a real war breaks out, the only ones who will be of use are the four thousand regular soldiers that Wanyan Guangying brought.

Even if we fail, or even if we suffer significant losses, the situation could very well become unstable again.

Wanyan Guangying looked up and saw that Tudanli was looking at him, and immediately realized what was happening.

It is precisely because these people are all a mob that a decisive action must be taken immediately, and a tough approach must be taken.

Otherwise, not to mention the powerful Han people, those Meng'an and Mouke households who had already harbored rebellious intentions would really turn against them!

"Gentlemen, I am ignorant of military affairs. Since renowned generals have said this battle is feasible, we should not hesitate! Tomorrow, the entire army will advance, with Commander Shu Hu leading the charge and me bringing up the rear. We will defeat Cheng Min!"

On November 18th, the sky was overcast, and it looked like it was going to snow.

Cheng Min led the Beiwei Army out of Kaifeng Prefecture. Recalling the high spirits he had displayed when he pursued the Jin prince, he now appeared even more miserable.

Before noon, Cheng Min heard the thunder of hooves behind him. The scouts also brought news that the Jin army had launched an attack and that a force of over a thousand elite armored cavalrymen was rapidly approaching.

Cheng Min had not expected the Jin army to be so relentless, chasing him all the way out of Kaifeng Prefecture.

But he knew that this time he really couldn't back out anymore.

Soon, nearly three thousand Beiwei soldiers lined up again to meet the enemy. Cheng Min let Cheng Bofeng lead the charge, while he himself acted as the vanguard to fight Hezhameng'an.

It must be said that even a rabbit will bite when cornered, let alone a renowned general and an even more renowned elite army. Once the Beiwei Army starts to fight fiercely, it is not something that a mere thousand Hezha Meng'an can shake.

After two or three fierce clashes, two of Heza Meng'an's marching strategists were killed on the spot, and the originally aggressive Shuhuchi was driven into a sorry state and fled.

Just then, the main force of the Jin army, led by Wanyan Guangying, arrived.

If there was any room for hesitation before the war began, now it is truly a case of certain defeat and certain death.

Wanyan Guangying made a ruthless decision, disregarding the true nature of those rabble, and personally led the remaining three thousand Jin Dynasty regular troops to press forward.

After watching the show for the first time, the remaining 10,000 Jin soldiers immediately realized that if the crown prince died here, wouldn't Pusan ​​Zhongyi go completely mad?

Therefore, after only a brief hesitation, more than ten thousand rabble surrounded them.

These troops fought without any strategy, yet they were able to outnumber the enemy in the chaos, putting the besieged Beiwei Army in a situation where they were constantly being attacked and losing men.

Wanyan Guangying was greatly encouraged. He never expected that he could kill Cheng Min, a general who was famous in both the Song and Jin dynasties, on only his second expedition. He was overjoyed.

Just as the situation was gradually tilting in favor of the Jin army, a scout carrying a yellow flag galloped across the chaotic battlefield and arrived at the central army with a look of panic on his face: "Your Highness! A cavalry force of about a thousand men has arrived from the south! They are less than ten miles from here!"

Tu Danli frowned and replied, "What are a thousand soldiers? After crushing Cheng Min's Beiwei Army, no matter how many Song bandits come, they will all die!"

The scout swallowed hard and said with difficulty, "No...it's not the Song army...it's...it's the Han army...they're flying banners with Chinese characters and Flying Tiger banners!"

The central army fell silent for a moment; on the chaotic battlefield, the atmosphere became so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

All the Jin generals held their breath for three seconds, and then a sudden gasp of cold air seemed to suck all the oxygen out of the space.

Wanyan Guangying felt a little dizzy, but then he heard Tudanli shout loudly, "How could it be the traitor Liu! Just a few days ago, Liu's banner was still on the north bank of the Yellow River. Did he fly here?!"

The scout shrank back: "It's not Liu Feihu, but one of them has the Flying Tiger Flag, the general's flag is the Xin character flag, and there's also the Green Rhinoceros flag."

The Jin army's central commanders all breathed a sigh of relief, but then became somewhat exasperated, with some even wanting to draw their swords and kill the scout who was panting heavily.

Wanyan Guangying, still holding his forehead, said, "Xin Qingsi has arrived! It's not the Flying Tiger that's here, but the Great Qingsi! The Great Qingsi, the number one commander under Liu Bei!"

By the end, Wanyan Guangying's tone had become stern.

What are you all so happy about?
Liu Huai did not come here, but do you think you can handle Xin Qiji?

What's more, he brought with him the world-renowned Flying Tigers.

This is no less powerful than Heza Meng'an at his peak!
From Tudanli downwards, whether they were regular military officers or local tyrants, everyone turned pale after realizing what had happened.

Upon seeing this, Wanyan Guangying immediately ordered: "Gather your troops and stop pursuing Cheng Min! Form ranks! The military commander shall relay the order to the commanders of each army, saying that Da Qingsi has arrived with the Flying Tiger Army! Tell them to guard their posts!"

Only after the military envoy hurriedly left did Wanyan Guangying realize the absurdity of the situation.

When facing the Han army, was it really him, who knew nothing about military affairs, who was the most composed?
(End of this chapter)