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

Chapter 927 Their Loyalty, My Traitor
As the Jin dynasty's rulers and ministers resolved to amass their forces, the Han army's triumphant offensive encountered resistance for the first time.

The first to be halted was the Wulu Army, which was advancing rapidly on the eastern front of the battlefield.

Because the Hutuo River flows from southwest to northeast, the defensive line previously built by the Han army relying on the Hutuo River also ran diagonally from northwest to southwest.

From a strategic perspective, this is a golden opportunity to build a diagonal formation.

As long as Liu Huai personally leads the main force of the Han army as this salient, the other detachments will advance steadily from east to west after crossing the Hutuo River, which will be enough to leave the Jin army helpless.

However... but, there is a "but" to say. The Northern Song and Jin dynasties were truly inhumane. Eastern Hebei was the place where the Yellow River swung its tail into the sea, and it was full of saline-alkali land, mudflats, and ponds. The Han army had worked hard to manage it for more than two years, but it was impossible to see results so quickly.

This resulted in a smaller population in eastern Hebei, leading to widespread backwardness in roads, cities, and the economy, making it impossible to support the main force of the Han army's march.

Therefore, the main force of the Han army could only march along the densely populated areas on the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. The central and eastern routes became secondary forces.

Of course, the sparse population and difficult roads applied equally to both sides. The Han army had a hard time moving, and the Jin army could not fly over either. Therefore, both the Tianxiong Army and the Wulu Army's offensive was extremely smooth.

The Wulu Army even fought their way through Hejian Prefecture.

This position is already quite advantageous. Theoretically, if the Wulu Army were to pass through Bazhou, they could enter Zhongdu Daxingfu, which is where Yanjing is located.

This greatly boosted the morale of the Wulu Army and the Hebei gentry and civilians who had defected to the revolution.

Of course, some people did think that Wulu Army's advance was so far ahead that it might be isolated and surrounded by the Jin army's main force.
However, according to Wenren Ziqi, the commander of the Wulu Army, even if the Jin invaders attacked with an army of 100,000, couldn't the Wulu Army rely on its fortifications and city walls to hold out for twenty days?

On the 20th, Wang Youzhi, the commander of the Tianxiong Army, who was in the middle of the road, was able to crawl over!

If we delay for another month, and the King of Han personally leads his main force to attack, it will be worth it even if Wenren Ziqi dies immediately!

Seeing their commander so fearless of death, the generals from Hebei naturally didn't care about their own lives either. Although their entire army numbered only 10,000, they quickly launched a fierce and aggressive attack.

However, even after decades of existence, the Jin Dynasty still had some loyal and righteous people.

Gao Changqiu, the prefect of Mozhou, risked destroying the dikes and flooding the fields, using the north fork of the Hutuo River as a moat to defend Renqiu City. He also mobilized officials and civilians to defend the city to the death.

Ma Yanzhang led three thousand soldiers to probe the area, but returned empty-handed.

"Old Ma, you really make me proud." Wenren Ziqi said casually, adjusting his belt, "The Jin army isn't even here, yet you were stopped by a mere prefect."

No, this damn Mozhou is smaller than a county in Shandong. Calling him a prefect is an exaggeration; calling Gao Changqiu a county magistrate would be more accurate.

He's just a county magistrate, yet he held off three thousand elite soldiers. If word gets out, wouldn't it make us Hebei people look like useless?

Wenren Ziqi's sweeping generalization was indeed a bit too broad, to the point that everyone, including the Tianxiong Army envoy in the tent, began to feel indignant.

However, most people were staring at Ma Yanzhang, while a few were eyeing Wenren Ziqi, wondering what else he could come up with.

Ma Yanzhang wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Boss Wenren... uh, Steward, you have no idea how ruthless Gao Changqiu is. He actually used the northern branch of the Hutuo River as a moat. Damn it, a moat that is three hundred paces wide. Has anyone ever seen one like that?"

"I might be able to use those three five-pound cannons to fire at people, but trying to attack the city wall across a river is utterly delusional. And even if it collapses, so what? Can our army swim across?"

Wenren Ziqi immediately rolled his eyes: "Alright, alright, it's just the Hutuo River, you're making it sound like you're crossing a great river. If you really can't do it, you come and take charge of the central army, and I'll go to Mozhou, that should do, right?"

Ma Yanzhang immediately shook his head: "How could there be no way? Wang Hu, come in and talk."

The powerful figures of Mozhou, who had been waiting for a long time, immediately entered and kowtowed heavily in the main tent: "This humble subject..."

"Get up! Get him up quickly! Even the King of Han doesn't easily make people kneel before him now, how could I dare?"

Two bodyguards stepped forward and immediately lifted Wang Hu up.

Wang Hu was somewhat at a loss, but still cupped his hands and said, "General, your might is boundless..."

Wenren Ziqi waved his hand again: "No, no, no, take all the compliments as if I've already heard them and I appreciate them. Now let's get down to business."

Although Wang Hu was a powerful and well-informed landlord, he had never seen such a charismatic general before, so he could only bite the bullet and say, "General, we can be the Tianbing's inside men."

Gao Changqiu used the Hutuo River as a moat, which strengthened the city's defenses, but the city's expenses still needed to be maintained. Therefore, there were water gates in the city, and pontoon bridges at the city gates.

"As long as we create chaos in the city, open the water gates, and deploy the pontoon bridges, the Heavenly Army can easily enter the city."

Wenren Ziqi licked his lips, then looked at Ma Yanzhang: "Old Ma, did this guy really fool you with such nonsense?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Yanzhang immediately understood and drew his sword, pressing it against Wang Hu's lower back: "You bastard, how dare you lie to me?!"

Wang Hu felt a warmth in his crotch, followed by a liquid running down his leg. He collapsed to the ground, his voice trembling, "I...I didn't lie...We've been oppressed by Gao Changqiu for so long, we just couldn't take it anymore, so...we had no choice but to come and seek refuge with the Heavenly Army..."

General, Grand Commandant, do you know where he got the money, grain, and land to dig the moat?!
It was all taken from us... us... why does the Grand Commandant suspect us... sob sob sob..."

As he spoke, Wang Hu burst into tears and wailed.

"Drag him away! Keep an eye on him!"

Wenren Ziqi still seemed furious, but after his guards dragged Wang Hu away, he immediately calmed down and looked at Ma Yanzhang, saying, "Don't tell me we're relying on these local tyrants. What other options do we have?"

Ma Yanzhang sheathed the knife, as if nothing had happened: "Yes, I can come up with three solutions in the blink of an eye."

"Then hurry up and tell me."

"First, give me a thousand auxiliary soldiers from an engineering battalion, and I'll go and build the pontoon bridge."

"dream."

"Secondly, wait two more months until the river freezes over, then rush in all at once!"

"Bullshit."

“Thirdly, Mozhou is just a tiny place, practically a county. Let’s just bypass it and march north along the Grand Canal to Huichuan. Gao Changqiu only has a bunch of militiamen, and they’ve already surrounded themselves. If he dares to chase after us, we’ll kill him!” “Impossible.”

Ma Yanzhang finally flew into a rage: "This won't do, that won't do, what do you suggest we do?"

Wenren Ziqi chuckled and said, "The first two methods will inevitably take a long time. The third method is to detour to the east, which would truly mean being completely cut off from the Tianxiong Army."

Ma Yanzhang immediately laughed and said, "With the fighting strength of our Wulu Army, why would we need the support of the Tianxiong Army?"

The military envoy of Tianxiong Army immediately turned his head to look.

Wenren Ziqi picked his nose and replied, "I'm afraid that if the Tianxiong Army encounters danger, we won't be able to provide support in time."

The military envoy was even more furious: "Bullshit! The Tianxiong Army is a battle-hardened elite force, why would we need your support?! If our commander hadn't been worried about the Wulu Army falling into the mud, why would I have come all this way?!"

Wenren Ziqi remained his usual rascal and completely ignored the military envoy.

Ma Yanzhang also ignored the military envoy, and after hesitating for a moment, said, "Then let's try Wang Hu's suggestion?"

Wenren Ziqi yawned, nodded and said, "Give it a try, but be careful, I feel something is off."

"What's strange about it? I don't see it."

"Nonsense, you come from a powerful family, while I'm a wild kid who fought with stray dogs for food on the street and ended up eating dog meat. You can only smell the stench of dog poop, but I can smell what the dog ate last month."

Wenren Ziqi waved his hand and said, "Go quickly. Remember, be careful and take precautions."

Although Ma Yanzhang felt strange, he still loudly agreed and then stepped out of the command tent.

It wasn't until he and his group arrived at the headquarters stationed in Mozhou that he realized what was wrong.

Our steward seems to have little interest in conquering Mozhou.

However, this thought only flashed through my mind.

Why do you care so much?

As a general, one should naturally be able to conquer any city and defend any city. Since the fortified city is right in front of us, we should conquer it for the sake of the King of Han's great cause. There is no room for hesitation.

However, soon, the subordinates who stayed behind reported something extremely strange.

The Han army's past offensives were virtually invincible, primarily due to the effective coordination between politics and military strategy.

The banners of establishing principles and enforcing discipline, and pledging to save the people, were never just for show; the Han army was truly doing this.

Therefore, wherever the Han army went, while it cannot be said that the people wholeheartedly welcomed them with food and drink, they could certainly be described as being in their element.

After making a good start, as long as the Han army holds grievance meetings and trial meetings, coupled with policies of fair trade and equal land distribution, the people can basically establish mutual trust with the Han army.

In this situation, recruiting laborers or finding roads and enemy trails would become much more efficient.

However, in Mozhou, the Han army's methods failed for the first time.

Mozhou actually implemented a scorched-earth policy to some extent, and the few civilians who were found were only feigning cooperation with the Han army through non-violent means.

This wasn't even the most baffling thing for Ma Yanzhang.

That very night, over a hundred soldiers dressed in plain clothes secretly crossed the North Hutuo River from Renqiu City and launched an attack on the Han army camp.

Of course, such a crude raid could not shake the camp, which included three thousand regular Han soldiers.

Within half an hour, the soldiers who had come to launch the attack were all captured and killed.

In the torchlight, Ma Yanzhang looked at the soaking wet Jin soldiers and reached out to stroke their heads: "I don't understand. Since you are Han Chinese, why are you risking your life for the Jin? Don't you know the Jin are on their last legs?"

The young colonel, his face bruised and swollen, looked up at Ma Yanzhang and sneered, "You traitorous slave, who would risk their life for the Jin Kingdom?! I have been deeply indebted to Prefect Gao, and I will repay him with my life! You may cut off my head, but you must clear my name!"

Ma Yanzhang was slightly taken aback. He was about to laugh and make a few jokes when he saw the young junior officer suddenly struggle to his feet. He looked behind Ma Yanzhang and cursed, "Old thief Wang! Why didn't I kill you that day!"

Prefect Gao spared your life, and this is how you repay him?!

General Wuna!

The young junior officer turned around, stared at Ma Yanzhang, and shouted, "Do you know who this old scoundrel Wang is?"

His father and grandfather had seized 30% of the land in Renqiu County by trickery and force, and the people were all his tenants. No official dared to offend him. Only after the arrival of Prefect Gao did he investigate the land and restore peace and order to Renqiu.

You're actually hanging around with him now, and you dare talk about saving the people? Bah!

Ma Yanzhang looked back at Wang Hu, whose face was pale and uncertain, and finally realized what was going on.

No wonder the people of Mozhou were willing to follow Gao Changqiu!

It turns out this guy had already done what the Han army was supposed to do!
Ma Yanzhang's expression darkened for a moment, then immediately broke into a smile: "Take these people away and keep a close watch on them."

After the shouting and cursing had faded into the distance, Ma Yanzhang said with a grin, "Brother Wang, if you had told me earlier that this was going to happen, no one would have suspected you?"

Wang Hu was somewhat at a loss: "General...General, I..."

Ma Yanzhang stepped forward and put his arm around Wang Hu's shoulder: "To tell you the truth, I also come from a powerful family, unlike those peasants."

I can assure you, as long as you help me conquer Mozhou, the land of Renqiu will still belong to your Wang family.

Wang Hu stared blankly at Ma Yanzhang, overjoyed, to the point that he started gesturing wildly.

(End of this chapter)