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

Chapter 929 Aspiring to be a Marquis Ten Thousand Miles Away

Despite the turbulent situation in the Song court, it still had no impact on the situation in Hebei.

The situation in Hebei can no longer be described as merely unpredictable and turbulent.

It was enough to be described as a cataclysmic event.

As the battle line advanced northward and approached the core area of ​​the Jin Kingdom, loyal ministers and filial sons of the Jin Kingdom finally began to appear frequently.

It goes without saying that the Wulu Army on the eastern route suffered a crushing defeat at Renqiu.

After capturing Raoyang and Anping, the Tianxiong Army in the central route also began fierce battles with the Jin garrison in the Boye and Puyin areas.

Taking advantage of this precious time, Wanyan Yong personally led 20,000 main Jin troops along the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains, through Fanyang, Dingzhou, and into Zhending Prefecture, where they merged with the Jin army led by Wanyan Fushou. The Jin army's regular force numbered as high as 40,000, and its momentum was greatly boosted.

Wanyan Guying led an army of 30,000, joined forces with 60,000 Mongol troops, and completely emptied the Jin territory. He then left Jingxing without hesitation, and his vanguard troops arrived at Huolu, where they established a large camp on a high hill outside the county town.

Meanwhile, after capturing Yuanshi, the main force of the Han army detached the Wucheng Army to attack Gaocheng.

Subsequently, Liu Huai led the Tianping Army as the vanguard and captured Luancheng with overwhelming force.

The main force of the Han army, numbering 100,000, then joined forces and stationed troops in Luancheng.

Thus, the Han, Jin, and Mongol forces, totaling nearly 300,000 troops, will determine the fate of Hebei, Youyan, Liaodong, and even the entire northern region within the next few months, in a triangular area less than 100 li long, stretching from Jingxing in the west to Luancheng in the south and Zhengding in the north.

In fact, by this point, the preconditions for Yu Yunwen's military and political schemes had already been met. If he were still in Nanyang, he could immediately use his power as prime minister to urge the Song army to attack Luoyang, which was already in a state of panic, and use it as a springboard to cross the Yellow River and attack Jin.

However, this opportunity was snatched away by Shi Qilang because Yu Yunwen returned to Lin'an to oversee the relocation of the capital.

Although the Han Army General Staff had long ago delegated all possible developments of this battle to the commanders, Shi Qilang never expected that such a huge windfall would actually fall into his lap.

He was initially resentful that he couldn't participate in the decisive battle, but now it seems that in this vast Jin territory, the Han and Jin sides only have his main force left, which is truly astonishing.

Moreover, due to the destruction caused by the Mongols north of Taiyuan, and the clearing out of several counties east of Taiyuan by Wanyan Guying, half of Shanxi now harbors deep resentment towards the Jin and the Mongols, and more and more people are coming to Shexian to join the Han army.

What else is there to say?

Send troops! Reclaim the Jin territory!
Shi Qilang, based on the refugees in northern Shanxi, temporarily organized a large militia force of nearly 30,000 men. However, instead of heading north to attack Taiyuan, he went south to capture Shangdang.

We can't succeed without attacking Shangdang.

The army assembled by Shi Qilang was nothing but a bunch of bloated soldiers. Apart from his own few thousand troops, the rest of the militia had not undergone any major reorganization and were simply incapable of fighting a tough battle.

Moreover, with such a large army, the military rations that could have lasted until the following year were almost gone. If they didn't attack the Jin Kingdom's Fukucang City, they would starve to death.

Although the Shangdang area was considered an important town of the Jin Dynasty and was usually garrisoned with a large number of troops, due to Wanyan Guying's loyal act, all the troops were taken to Hebei to fight the decisive battle, leaving only some garrison troops, which was extremely vulnerable.

As a result, Shi Qilang displayed the momentum of Bai Qi on the Shangdang highlands, advancing like fire and covering a thousand miles in a day.

Unlike Bai Qi, this time there wasn't even a single Zhao Kuo leading an army of 400,000 to stand in their way.

If another two months pass, and Shi Qilang truly trains the militia, the Jin Kingdom will completely lose the Jin territory.

Of course, none of these things mattered to the Jin Dynasty.

It doesn't matter whether it's the Liaodong Military Commissioner, the Khitans of Yanshan, the Shandong Navy, or the bandits of Shanxi.

If we can win this battle, all the problems will disappear.

Just as the Han army did not care about the Western Jin's Xingyang defense line and the Song state's heavy troop deployment in Nanyang.

Since no one is taking care of Shi Qilang, the current situation seems to be that Liu Huai is personally diverting troops for him, allowing him to conquer cities and territories.

After roughly occupying Shangdang, Shi Qilang continuously reported military intelligence to Liu Huai and requested further action.

Liu Huai's response was also very swift.

On September 25th, Chen Liang personally led over a hundred legal officials to Shangdang.

“No need for formalities.” Seeing that Shi Qilang wanted to bow, Chen Liang quickly waved his hand and said, “Commander Shi, I have the King of Han’s decree here, and I need to tell you it immediately.”

As he spoke, Chen Liang first handed a document to Shi Qilang, and then, right under the noses of the generals, opened the wooden box he carried with him and took out a stack of blank official documents.

"The King of Han has decreed that Shi Qilang shall be given the authority to act independently. If Shi Qilang can occupy Shangdang, he shall become the Governor of Southern Shanxi, and his troops shall be given the title of Vanguard Army and the Victory Army shall be established with a force of 12,000 men."

If we can capture Hezhong Prefecture, we will promote Shi Qilang to Governor of Hedong.

If we can capture Hezhong Prefecture, Shangdang, and Taiyuan, then Shi Qilang will be promoted to Grand General of the Three Jin, in charge of all military affairs in Jin. If we can not only capture the Three Jin, but also send troops to block Jingxing, then after the battle, the King of Han will treat him with the title of Marquis of Jinyang.

Upon hearing this, not only Shi Qilang, but also all his generals and surrendered soldiers gasped for breath.

But it's not over yet.

Chen Liang held up a stack of blank official documents: "The King of Han has appointed me as the Transport Commissioner of Hedong, in charge of civil administration. Commander Shi will be in charge of military administration. All official appointments can be decided by the two of us without reporting to the King of Han."

In short, the King of Han only wants a result; as long as the Jin region is stabilized, he'll accept anything. General Shi, do you realize how much trust this entails in entrusting the affairs of Jin to the two of us?

After a moment of stunned silence, Shi Qilang sighed and said, "The Prince of Han trusts me so much. If I cannot repay him, wouldn't I be unable to rest in peace even in death?"

The people in the command tent, especially the rebel leaders who had just joined the Han army, and the surrendered generals, all looked at Shi Qilang and Chen Liang with some envy.

Shi Qilang is only forty years old, while Chen Liang is even more remarkable, being only twenty-four years old, which is unbelievably young.

However, these two men were already the Governor of Southern Shanxi and the Transport Commissioner of Hedong, respectively, and both held real power.

The King of Han is truly rewarding you for your meritorious service!

However, Chen Liang showed no arrogance. After Shi Qilang finished his exclamation, he said seriously, "General Shi, my position as transport commissioner is only to exert as much power as the area is available. The size of my authority and responsibilities does not affect my official rank."

But does General Shi merely desire the title of Commander-in-Chief, or does he covet the position of Grand Commander of the Three Jin States?

Grand Commander...

Upon hearing this address, Shi Qilang's breathing became even heavier.

Today, the Han army occupies such a vast territory, yet it only has two Grand Commanders: He Boqiu, the Grand Commander of Hebei, and Xin Qiji, the Grand Commander of Henan.

The position of Grand Commander-in-Chief in peacetime only controls the standing army and has no authority over even the garrison troops. However, in wartime, the Grand Commander-in-Chief can take charge of both military and political affairs, and coordinate the command of several prefectures and all troops.

Anyone with eyes can see that this position cannot be permanent; it is merely a temporary measure during wartime.

However, whether or not one attains the position of Grand Commander could very well be the difference between a Founding Marquis and a Founding Duke.

Both He Boqiu and Xin Qiji possessed the ability to rise to high positions, making them truly meritorious individuals. Shi Qilang, on the other hand, was very clear about his role: a loyal servant who fought alongside the Prince of Han to achieve merit.

There is a fundamental difference between a meritorious person and a meritorious dog.

If the King of Han does not have capable people to assist him, his great undertaking will be much more difficult.

Gong Gou was merely a lackey who happened to appear beside the King of Han at the right time. Even without him, others would have appeared; they were all just chickens and dogs who ascended to heaven with the King of Han.

Despite having such thoughts, Shi Qilang, though a former official who had followed Liu Huai since his time in Lianshui, never displayed any ambition.

However, it was all a matter of timing and fate. It was precisely because Shi Qilang was skilled in using light infantry that he was sent to guard Shexian County. It just so happened that the entire Jin region was vulnerable, which was a great opportunity. If he didn't take advantage of this opportunity, he shouldn't be a meritorious dog anymore, but a lapdog!
"Lord Chen, I have some ideas." Shi Qilang naturally didn't waste any words: "The key points of the King of Han's military order are actually three points."

Taking Hezhong Prefecture would prevent Wanyan Liang from entering Jin territory; taking Shangdang would block Pusan ​​Zhongyi's possible northward advance; and capturing Taiyuan would block the retreat of the Jin army and the Mongols exiting Jingxing.

Shi Qilang suppressed his excitement and slowly said in front of the map, "But the key is that these three places are far apart in the north and south, separated by mountains and rivers. Jin is also a fragmented region. Our army is small, so it is impossible to have them all. Therefore, we must prioritize them."

Chen Liang sat to the side and gulped down a mouthful of tea before catching his breath and saying, "Then, in the general's opinion, how should the troops be divided?"

Shi Qilang waved his hand and said, "It's simple. Now that our army has completely occupied Shangdang and obtained enough food and supplies, we don't need to worry about anything else. After blocking Jincheng, the entire army will head north and attack Taiyuan!"

Chen Liang looked at the map and pointed to the U-shaped bend in the river: "What about Hedong? What if Wanyan Liang crosses the river from Hezhong Prefecture?"

Shi Qilang pointed to the blank document in Chen Liang's hand: "Then we'll see just how many people Mr. Chen can bring in."

We don't expect them to defeat Wanyan Liang; just delaying them for a month or two will suffice.

Moreover, if the Western Jin want to gain an advantage, they can only continue northward, heading straight for Taiyuan, before they might pose a threat to our army. Surely we can take the empty city of Taiyuan within a month or two?

Chen Liang was also instantly smitten.

However, when he looked around the command tent, he noticed that all the generals in the tent were staring intently at the blank official document in his hand, and he immediately realized what was going on.

"Putting all that aside, we hope General Shi can report the merits of those who pacified Shangdang as soon as possible. Although the rewards, land, houses, shops and other items will not be distributed until after the war, their official positions can be promoted immediately."

As soon as Chen Liang said this, the tent was immediately filled with a joyful atmosphere.

(End of this chapter)