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

Chapter 968 The North Wind Blows with Hidden Clues

"It's only been half an hour, and Hui Feng has already lost the position? Where is he? Could he have abandoned his troops and fled?"

Faced with Wu Ting's furious questioning, the military envoy who came to report was almost in tears. He said with a mournful face, "The Jin invaders' offensive was too fierce, and we couldn't withstand it. The Jin invaders broke through our formation. The general wanted to lead the troops to Wuzhangyuan, but they were scattered by the Jin invaders' cavalry. Now their fate is unknown."

Wu Ting stamped his feet repeatedly: "That old Hui, he has no ability but still insists on taking credit!"

Lu You waved his hand: "Don't panic, there's still plenty of time."

Lu You was a seasoned veteran of many battles and was well-prepared for any unexpected situations that might arise on the battlefield.

War is a passionate interaction between tens of thousands of people; it is never a matter of leisure and ease, but always a hurried and chaotic affair.

But this is the difference between a great general and a mediocre one. A great general can anticipate the pitfalls ahead and prepare sturdy boots and earth and stones to fill the road, ensuring a smooth and unhurried journey. A mediocre general, on the other hand, makes decisions only when the time comes and leaves his fate to destiny.

This is why Lu You regarded Liu Huai as the greatest general of his time.

Before a major battle, Liu Huai would always hold military councils to allow his subordinates to speak freely, pool their wisdom and efforts to find out various unexpected situations, and maintain the staff organization up to the level of commanders, so that each commander could also know the movement of the army and thus adapt to the changing circumstances.

Liu Huai, with his long-term political vision and insight into human nature, could also grasp the overall situation and prevent the Han army, this ferocious beast, from running rampant and losing control, ending up in a ditch.

In military matters, Lu You believed he was far inferior to Liu Huai, but he still learned two things from him.

One key point is that commanders must be diligent and go to the front lines to personally understand the situation.

Another point is to keep the reserve team.

Now it's time for the reserve team to take the field.

"Cao Dache, immediately lead the five hundred armored cavalry I assigned to you to form a battle line in the road and block the enemy army!"

Cao Dache immediately cupped his hands in agreement: "Mr. Lu, how long can you hold on?!"

Lu You glanced at the sun: "Three-quarters of an hour! At least three-quarters of an hour. After three-quarters of an hour, run south along the Qinling trail! Losing your armor and horses is fine, you must save your lives!"

Cao Dache shouldered his spear and grinned maliciously, "Understood! Anyway, after this battle, our army will have no shortage of warhorses and armor!"

After watching Cao Dache lead his troops eastward to meet the enemy, Lu You once again ordered: "All troops, move to your designated positions! Anyone who delays will be punished according to military law!"

At the same time, the Jin army also encountered trouble.

The Jin army, numbering in the tens of thousands, was a patchwork of Jurchen soldiers, Han soldiers from Guanzhong, and Tangut soldiers. Since its formation, it had never fought a proper hard battle. So when it suddenly launched a collective military operation, it was bound to scramble and stumble.

Especially in snowy terrain, even though the Jin army was the temporarily victorious side, it quickly found itself in an awkward situation.

The first to cause trouble was Wanyan Wangxiang's Jurchen main force.

After they defeated the Song army, according to common sense, the captured enemy soldiers, armor, valuables, livestock, and carts should all belong to them, and then be distributed internally.

But this was only the prelude to the great battle. Wanyan Liang's military order was for Wanyan Wangxiang to stop and reorganize his troops immediately after defeating the Song army, and to clear the road for the Dangxiang cavalry to pass quickly in order to pursue and kill the retreating Song army.

From a strategic perspective, Wanyan Liang's military order was absolutely correct.

After being reminded by Lou Xue, Wanyan Wangxiang roughly understood that these Tanguts were just being used as a test, so he naturally had no objections.

But how could ordinary Jurchen soldiers have such a strategic vision?

They only saw that they had fought desperately and finally managed to defeat the Song army. Not to mention pursuing them, they didn't even have time to collect the scattered valuables. Under the officers' reprimands, they came to the Wei River to reorganize their ranks, and they immediately felt somewhat dissatisfied.

The Jin army was even more shocked when they saw that it was the Tanguts who were in charge of pursuing the routed Song army.

If it were the other Jin troops, that would be one thing; the general could argue with them and still get some benefits in return.

But these Tangut savages are a bunch of penniless bastards who pick their asses and suck their fingers. Once things are in their hands, do you expect them to take them back? Dream on!
When the Jurchen soldiers discovered that these Tanguts were not only chasing and killing Song soldiers for spoils, but also sending a portion of their troops into the Song army's fortifications after their retreat, searching the corpses for loot, they could no longer bear it and went to stop them. After a period of mutual insults and shoving, the two sides finally drew their knives and the fight quickly escalated into a melee involving dozens of people.

After more than ten corpses lay on the ground, officers from both sides finally quelled the riot, but the two armies continued to hurl insults at each other.

This would naturally disrupt the military operations of thousands of Tangut light cavalry.

In fact, after this commotion, the Tangut cavalry had become separated from their rear guard. Liang Yuanfu's vanguard of more than 2,000 cavalry had already entered the narrow strip of land sandwiched between the Wei River and the Qinling Mountains, while the follow-up troops were still blocked at Fufeng Pass.

Of course, at this point, Liang Yuanfu could no longer care about the Tangut troops in the rear, because he was also in deep trouble.

As everyone knows, in the first few days after a heavy snowfall, the snow layer is loose and fluffy. Although it is more difficult to travel than usual, it is not so slippery as to be impossible to walk on. However, after a couple of days, when the snow has slightly melted and then mixed with the soil and compacted, that is when the true marching hell begins. And this is exactly the situation that the Tangut light cavalry faced.

The snow on the official road was trampled solid by the large feet of more than 10,000 Song soldiers, causing the Tangut cavalry, who had just overwhelmed the remnants of Hui Feng's troops, to collapse in disarray after advancing no more than three miles.

"What's going on?" Liang Yuanfu asked loudly.

The scouts dared not run fast, and only when they were close enough did they shout back, "General, the road is too slippery, the cavalry can't move fast at all!"

“Then we’ll go around from the left and right… uh…” Liang Yuanfu looked around and saw the majestic Qinling Mountains and the wide Wei River.

This place happens to be the narrowest section between the Wei River and the Qinling Mountains, only three miles from north to south. How can one possibly go around it?

Liang Yuanfu, after all, had been a general of Western Xia and had fought many battles in the snowy north. He immediately ordered, "Wrap the horses' hooves!"

Upon receiving the order, the Tangut cavalry dismounted and wrapped their horses' hooves with felt.

This was an extremely safe approach, but Liang Yuanfu forgot that Wanyan Liang's order to him was to pursue them relentlessly.

In order to turn the Song army's retreat into a rout in one fell swoop, the Jin army spared no effort.

In fact, just as the Tangut cavalry were moving along the road, the Jin army had already set out and was advancing along the Fufeng Pass towards this narrow area.

The sheer number of soldiers, coupled with the slow pace of the vanguard, meant that even though the Jin army was well-trained and no large-scale stampedes occurred, their march still slowed down, and some chaos even broke out in a few places.

Looking down at him, Wanyan Liang frowned and asked, "What is Liang Yuanfu doing up there?"

The military envoy quickly reported, "General Liang sent me to inform His Majesty that the road ahead is slippery and the army should proceed with caution."

Wanyan Liang coldly looked at the military envoy: "So, Liang Yuanfu disregarded my military orders and actually stopped to bandage his horse's hoof for a minor fall?"

The military envoy was filled with fear and was about to explain when Yan Liang shouted, "Tell Liang Yuanfu right now that the Dangxiang cavalry must begin their charge immediately! Otherwise, I will kill him!"

Upon hearing the military order, Liang Yuanfu was filled with fear and immediately disregarded the need for thorough preparation, urging the Tangut light cavalry to gallop forward.

However, during this pause and advance, the Tangut light cavalry had already transmitted the obstruction to the rear, making it even more difficult for the subsequent troops to advance.

At the same time, Wanyan Wangxiang looked at Fufeng Pass and listened to Lou Xue's report, and was slightly taken aback: "Is that really what the men said?"

Lou Xue smiled bitterly: "Indeed, they not only resented the general, but also harbored resentment towards His Majesty. They said that His Majesty favored the Tanguts over the Jurchens, and that the Tanguts should be allowed to conquer the Great Jin Dynasty from now on."

Wanyan Wangxiang grasped a handful of clean snow, wiped the bloodstains from his hands, and immediately wanted to order the military judge to deal with the complainer, but he swallowed the words back down.

No matter what, he still had to continue leading troops and rely on his men to fight for him. Faced with the resentment of his subordinates, he could only try to channel it, not suppress it.

Moreover, Wanyan Wangxiang's troops were in the right! They fought hard and risked their lives, only to have the benefits go to others in the end. No one could accept that.

Wanyan Wangxiang hesitated for a moment, then looked again at the large Jin army marching towards Fufeng, and immediately gritted his teeth and said, "We really can't let our men lose heart. I'll go and talk to Hu Chong's troops ahead, and they'll follow behind him. You take eight hundred elite soldiers from here and come with me to kill the bandits. Tell the rest that the spoils will still be divided among three horses, and they definitely won't be shortchanged!"

Lou Xue hesitated before saying, "General, His Majesty's order..."

Wanyan Wangxiang waved his hand: "I'll take full responsibility!"

A moment later, Hu Chong ordered his two thousand soldiers to continue advancing while sneering at Wanyan Wangxiang's departing figure.

The lieutenant was puzzled: "General, those Jurchens clearly look down on us Guanzhong Han people, and now they want to steal credit. Why are you being so polite to them?"

Hu Chong sighed: "You've already said the reason. It's because they are Jurchens, and because Wanyan Wangxiang's father is the prime minister of the Jin Dynasty, so they have no choice but to endure it."

The deputy general was also feeling frustrated.

Hu Chong frowned, looked at the slightly blocked Fufeng Pass, and whispered to his deputy, "Tell the men to keep their eyes peeled. If trouble comes, do not turn back or flee to the Wei River. Instead, go straight to the Qinling Mountains. There are many small paths there, which should be able to provide us with shelter."

The lieutenant was taken aback: "Didn't the Song army suffer a major defeat?"

Hu Chong leaned closer and whispered, "I felt something was off from the beginning, but I only just realized it. The Jin traitors may not know how powerful Grand Commandant Wu is, but don't we people of Guanzhong know?"
The situation that even Grand Commandant Wu couldn't handle back then was resolved fairly by Chancellor Lu. Would he really reveal such a glaring flaw today? Let's wait and see!

After saying this, Hu Chong said no more, only urging his Han soldiers to continue advancing.

(End of this chapter)