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

Chapter 894 The Cold Clouds and Golden Winds of the Shu Road
On the 20th of the twelfth lunar month, urged by Zeng Di, the Song army began a major retreat.

To be honest, given the mobilization capabilities of the feudal era, the Song army's retreat was surprisingly fast.

This is not a good thing.

Mobilizing the army beyond its capacity means that the army is likely to get out of control.

Even so, thanks to the efforts of Song generals at all levels, the withdrawal operation was carried out with great difficulty.

As every military strategist predicted, chaos ensued immediately.

The first to retreat were the laborers and officials who had come to Guanzhong to cultivate land. They were even more isolated from the news and had no idea why the troops were suddenly withdrawing when the battle was going well.

Moreover, after a year or two of hard work, these soldiers and laborers have finally managed to reclaim the land. To ask them to return to Sichuan and Chongqing to become tenant farmers is absurd.
The Song army naturally did not want to hand over the military farms to the Jin state, so it ordered its troops in various regions to quickly gather food and manpower and send them to Fengzhou.

But naturally, when this military order reached the grassroots level, it immediately changed its meaning and became a frenzy of plundering people's wealth.

This would naturally slow down the march and also cause resentment among people from the Kansai region.

However, there were intelligent people in the Song army who understood from the military intelligence coming from the surrounding area that this withdrawal was going to cause a major mess.

Such a large-scale evacuation operation could not be kept secret.

As long as Wanyan Liang doesn't have dementia, he definitely won't let this great opportunity pass him by. If a large army really comes, how can the Song army, with its low morale and chaotic state, possibly stop them?
Therefore, some exceptionally capable generals disregarded the lagging troops and even the military orders that required mutual cover during a large-scale march, and immediately withdrew into the territory of the Song state.

This immediately triggered an even more serious chain reaction.

Just like that classic joke says.

What should I do if a bear comes chasing me?
You don't need to outrun the bear, you just need to outrun your companions.

Guided by this central idea, many soldiers rushed towards Fengzhou, almost blocking the roads.

Now, the morale of the Song army has begun to decline. The once-powerful army, which had been honed in the war, has become like bandits and outlaws, collapsing at the slightest provocation.

On that very day, Wanyan Liang finally figured out what the Song army was up to. After personally investigating, he discovered that it was indeed the Song army withdrawing rather than a ploy to lure the enemy. The Western Jin rulers and their ministers were immediately overwhelmed by this windfall.

At this point, what else is there to say?

Wanyan Liang immediately led his 30,000 troops, who had been waiting in ambush, to launch a relentless pursuit of the Song army.

Zhang Zhongyan, who had been living a life of luxury in Chang'an for two years, was also brought out. Wanyan Liang, adhering to the principle of trusting those he employed, simply sent him to follow the Jin army to persuade the people of Guanzhong to surrender.

This trick really worked.

Zhang Zhongyan was deeply entrenched in Kansai, and many generals from Kansai surrendered and switched sides immediately after receiving Zhang Zhongyan's guarantee.

However, the only drawback was that Zhang Congjin was not brought back.

This fellow led more than 6,000 troops westward, and after entering Longyou, he took advantage of the terrain to decisively block the roads, completely ignoring Zhang Zhongyan's attempts to persuade him to surrender.

Of course, Zhang Zhongyan did not force Zhang Congjin to surrender. After all, even if Wanyan Liang won this battle, it would not be a smooth road from now on. There were still many tough challenges ahead. It could only be said that the death sentence was commuted to a suspended death sentence.

Moreover, with Zhang Congjin's troops keeping Wanyan Liang occupied, he was unable to take action against Zhang Zhongyan.

The uncle and nephew both understood each other implicitly and silently parted ways.

Even though Zhang Congjin and other Guanzhong soldiers did not defect to the Jin Dynasty and instead dealt a heavy blow to the Song army, the situation of the Song army continued to deteriorate.

Wu Lin sat on his horse, wearing only an iron-clad undershirt, covered by a leather overcoat.

The warm fur coat was useless now; he only felt a chill rising from his chest and spreading throughout his body, causing him to tremble slightly.

This was Wu Lin's first public appearance in recent days. Although it debunked the rumors that Wu Lin was dead, it also confirmed the fact that the general was in extremely poor health.

A general galloped up on the official road and only reined in his horse when he was beside Wu Lin: "Father, I have just found out. The Weiyi Army did not surrender to the Jin invaders, nor did they occupy any cities to delay us. Instead, they went directly to Longyou."

"Ahem, that's enough, that's enough. Zhang Congjin has done right by me and by the Song Dynasty."

Wu Ting had nothing to say, so he changed the subject: "Father, we are about two days away from Fengzhou. Shall we set up camp on the way today?"

Wu Lin swayed on his horse, muttering to himself, "Monk Plain... are we almost there?"

"We're almost there. Would you like to go and take a look, Father?"

"There's nothing left to see. My brother and I have toiled for decades and accomplished nothing. What good will it do to return to our old home?"

As the father and son were talking, they heard a commotion in the marching ranks. They looked over and saw a middle-aged scholar trying to get closer, but being stopped by his guards.

His eyes were bloodshot as he shouted in a Guanzhong accent, “Lord Wu! We carried incense burners on our heads, transported provisions, and came to welcome the Heavenly Army. The Jurchens know all this! If you leave, what will we do?! What will we do?! I fear none of us will survive!” Wu Lin’s breathing became rapid, and his face flushed. He clutched his chest, and under the watchful eyes of everyone, he neither refuted nor punished the scholar on the spot. Instead, he put on a bronze mask, literally covering his face, and left.

Wu Ting was quite close, but he could only hear a few whispers.

"I...I can't...I can't control it anymore..."

On the 25th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Song army arrived at Heshangyuan.

As they got closer to northern Sichuan, the terrain became increasingly complex, with narrow roads and winding mountain paths, making the march even more difficult.

The Song army has suffered countless losses. Originally, the number of soldiers was as many as 60,000, but now, including those who have entered Dasanguan, they can only gather less than 30,000. It can be described as a heavy loss and a devastating blow.

Wu Lin listened to the military report but made no comment, simply staring blankly at the plateau.

Wu Ting said helplessly, "Father's health is of utmost importance. Please return to Fengzhou first, and I will stay here for a few days."

The Song generals were also disheveled and exhausted. Many of them had already fought against the Jin army, and some had even lost their troops and arrived here with only their personal guards.

These people, though not exactly complaining, were completely demoralized, simply looking up at Wu Lin and waiting for his orders.

Wu Lin, however, seemed not to hear, maintaining his absent-minded expression.

Only after several trusted generals grew impatient did Wu Lin finally say, "No, if I enter Sanguan now, the morale of our army will immediately collapse, and then northern Sichuan will be indefensible. If the Jin invaders are allowed to enter Sichuan, I will be guilty of a crime I could never atone for."

Everyone had mixed feelings upon hearing this.

At the beginning of the twelfth lunar month, the generals in Guanzhong were still planning to launch a new offensive. Who would have thought that just over twenty days later, the situation would take a sharp turn for the worse, and these battle-hardened soldiers would end up like this?
Zeng Di, sitting in the corner of the military tent, had sweat pouring down his forehead and even his back was soaked with sweat.

He was indeed a scholar who knew nothing about military affairs, and only now did he realize the enormity of the mess he had made.

Although the generals of the Song army did not blame Zeng Di, the messenger, he was still somewhat self-aware.

He was conveying the imperial decree!

As is well known, the emperor is never wrong; even if he is, he simply issues a self-criticism edict and that's it.

Who would be the one to get beheaded?

Zeng Di thought about it and realized that his head was neither too big nor too small, which seemed to be just right.

"Prime Minister Wu! Prime Minister Wu!" Zeng Di stood up and shouted, "Dasanguan Pass must not be lost! If the Jurchen invaders are allowed to enter Sichuan, the people will suffer terribly, and the Song Dynasty will be in danger of collapse!"

The Song generals felt a wave of disgust, but Wu Lin nodded repeatedly: "Just as Governor Zeng said, my mind is made up. I will personally set up a camp at Heshangyuan to block the Jin invaders!"

Wu Ting couldn't understand why his father had said during the day that he was "ashamed to go to Heshangyuan again," but now he said he wanted to personally set up the camp. However, he immediately stopped him: "Father, I will do this! Please return to Fengzhou as soon as possible to take charge of the overall situation!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion arose outside the command tent, with shouts of battle gradually rising.

A junior officer rushed into the commander's tent and shouted, "The Jurchen invaders are here! They're only three miles from our camp!"

"Report! Scouts report! The men are striking the banner of Wanyan Liang's Golden Guard!"

"It's the big spender who's come in person!"

Wu Lin suddenly stood up, but felt a dizzying sensation. He drew his sword from his waist and used it to steady himself.

However, no one noticed Wu Lin's loss of composure at this moment, because everyone in the tent had stood up in astonishment, and several of the more timid generals had already lost their composure and started shouting.

"Don't panic!" Wu Lin shouted. "We're setting up camp right on the main road. The Shu Road is narrow. How many Jin troops can they possibly send?"

Seeing that his subordinates' panic had subsided somewhat, Wu Lin gave another order: "Fifth Brother, take your trusted troops to the Northern Camp to meet the Jin invaders!"

"Here!"

"The rest of you, return to your respective units to defend your posts! Those who are not in their own units, then follow me to meet the enemy!"

Under Wu Lin's calm command, the Song generals finally calmed down and returned to their respective units to lead their troops into battle.

However, as Wu Lin stepped out of the tent with his sword in hand and looked up at the high plateau under the moonlight, a sudden pang of sorrow struck his heart.

Now it seems that even dying alongside the heroic spirits of those who fought in the Battle of Naohara is not possible?
"Brother."

Amidst the growing shouts of battle and the rising flames, Wu Lin, leaning on his longsword, led his personal guards northward: "Brother, you can watch over me from the Monk Plain."

"Perhaps... we'll be able to meet again in a little while."

(End of this chapter)