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

Chapter 983 Stubbornness Always Leads to Trouble

Furthermore, Xuzhou during the Song and Jin dynasties was different from that of later times.

Since it had not yet experienced the Yellow River Mother's thousand-year-long, insane caress, nor had it accumulated the rolling silt brought by the Yellow River, Xuzhou's terrain at this time was still a standard hilly terrain, and the surrounding mountains were more precipitous than in later generations, and the hilly areas were more rugged than in later generations.

Although the saying "Xuzhou City truly deserves to be called the foremost pass in the Central Plains" is a joke, it does not diminish the fact that Pengcheng is indeed a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, enough to make the attacking side scratch its head in worry.

"No matter how easily Xuzhou is defended, it's useless! No matter how fierce and brave Xin Qiji is, it's all nonsense! The key is that he has no troops!"

On the banks of the Yellow River, facing the cold north wind, Shao Hongyuan said loudly, "So what if it's Xiang Yu?! So what if it's Guan Yu?! Weren't they all worn down by the army?! Unless Xin Qiji can fly over and cut off my head, how can my 100,000 troops be afraid of a mere individual like him?!"

Shao Hongyuan's bold words received no response.

It wasn't that his trusted generals were unwilling to play the straight man; rather, it was because as soon as they opened their mouths, the north wind whipped up sand and dust, forcing them to lower their heads and hide for a moment.

Shao Hongyuan was left feeling awkward, but because the wind and sand were indeed quite strong, he couldn't help but tighten his robe and cloak. After a moment, he spat out a mouthful of saliva: "Why is this evil wind suddenly so strong?!"

As soon as he spoke, Shao Hongyuan looked up and saw the continuous mountain range, then turned his head to look at the wide Yellow River, and immediately realized what was going on.

The cold wind came from the northwest, easily crossed the Yellow River, and was blocked by the mountains to the north. It then changed direction and blew in concentrated directions.

What is the name of that mountain to the north?

After the wind subsided slightly, Shao Hongyuan pointed ahead with his riding crop and slowly asked, "You military staff officers don't neglect these assignments, do you?"

The accompanying military staff officer looked distressed and glanced around for help.

After some time, Grand Commandant Shao seemed to finally realize that he could not be deceived by the army and tried to use military law to regulate the ranks and establish his authority.

He even dispatched Li Xianzong directly to the rear army so that he could act arrogantly and domineeringly.

Of course, now that we are on the verge of war, we cannot punish our generals under any circumstances, so Shao Hongyuan came up with a brilliant solution.

This guy started taking action against the military staff, frequently scolding and whipping them, to the point that the military's staff system was almost paralyzed.

Some things are unavoidable. The military advisor looked around and, still steeling himself, said, "The area ahead is called Lüliang Mountain."

“Lvliang Mountain?” Shao Hongyuan stroked his beard and said, “I remember there is a Lvliang Mountain in Hedong, which stretches for hundreds of miles from north to south, connecting the north and south of Jin.”

How could there be a Lüliang Mountain in Xuzhou? You scoundrel, are you just trying to fool me?

The staff officer's legs were a little weak, but he still forced himself to speak despite his fear: "There is indeed a Lüliang Mountain in Jin, but it is not the same thing."

According to legend, Yu the Great carved out Liangshan Mountain to connect the Lü River, hence the name Lüliang Mountain.

The name Lüliang Mountain comes from the legend that a bridge was built by piling up stones from the Sishui River to Lü County. The two are not the same thing.

Besides, the town of Lüliang is just ahead; the name is definitely correct.

Shao Hongyuan paused in stroking his long beard, then turned and looked coldly at the military advisor: "I just asked for a name, why are you explaining so many historical allusions? Are you looking down on a tough guy like me?!"

The staff officer's face turned even paler, but before he could say anything, Shao Hongyuan shouted, "Drag this bastard away and give him ten lashes!"

"Grand Commandant! Grand Commandant, spare my life!"

Amidst screams, Shao Hongyuan pointed to another young military staff officer: "You tell me, just how big is this Lüliang Mountain?"

"Reporting to the Grand Commandant... It is thirty li from east to west and more than ten li from north to south, which is not very wide. Moreover, this is the Central Plains, with vast plains, and the Lüliang Mountains are not as continuous as other mountain ranges."

The young staff officer was pale, but his speech was still relatively clear.

Shao Hongyuan nodded in satisfaction: "Then tell me again, is it possible that there are troops lying in ambush here?"

“It is certainly possible, because the mountain is not very steep and the roads in the mountains are crisscrossed. It is quite normal to have several thousand troops in the mountains.” The young military advisor looked up at Shao Hongyuan’s face: “However, as Grand Commandant Shao just said, the Great Qing Si’s troops are insufficient and they probably cannot ambush troops in the mountains.”

At this point, the young military advisor seemed to realize something and immediately cupped his hands, saying, "The saying goes, speed is of the essence in war. The army can travel a thousand miles a day, which is why we caught the Great Blue Rhinoceros completely unprepared. It's all thanks to Grand Commandant Shao's decisive action and courageous advance. Otherwise, how could we have such composure today?!" Shao Hongyuan seemed to have finally been tickled and couldn't help but laugh heartily into the north wind, not caring at all that he was being chilled: "Young man, you're quite good! It's a pity that Grand Commandant Li lived for so many years, yet he's still not as insightful as a youngster like you."

He kept saying to divide the troops in front and behind, and to coordinate with the left and right, but little did he know that this was a critical moment. Before Xin Qiji had time to gather his troops, he could bring the army to the gates of Pengcheng and the matter would be settled.

His tendency to hesitate and look back actually allowed Xin Qiji to amass tens of thousands of troops, which ironically became a major problem.

As he spoke, Shao Hongyuan seemed to become somewhat annoyed again, staring at the young military advisor and saying, "You people always think I underestimate the enemy, that I look down on Da Qing Si. But little do you know, it is precisely because I value him so much that I have to take such a risky move, not giving him a single chance! Do you understand?"

The central command staff were all trembling with awe.

Just then, a military envoy rode up on horseback, bypassing the advancing Song army ranks, and came before Shao Hongyuan: "Grand Commandant, the Left General has already set off and sent me to inquire whether there are any military orders?!"

Shao Hongyuan, holding his belt, said loudly, "Tell Lao Zuo to march towards Pengcheng without stopping for a moment. It's only fifty li, and I want him to reach the walls of Pengcheng today! Follow-up troops will follow without stopping, and even I will lead the central army forward! I will not let him down!"

"Here!"

The military envoy left immediately, while Shao Hongyuan spurred his horse and prepared to depart.

The young military staff officer looked around, somewhat hesitant, but remembering his duty, he gritted his teeth and said, "Grand Commandant Shao! Although there may not be any ambushes in the Lüliang Mountains, there is a very dangerous situation."

Shao Hongyuan impatiently reined in his horse: "What is it? Why didn't you say so earlier?"

Nonsense! How many people have you whipped? Who would dare say that now?
The young military staff officer ignored the latter question and earnestly said, "The official road between the Lüliang Mountains and the Yellow River is wide in the southeast and narrow in the northwest. If the army advances from here, be careful that the narrow road ahead may cause chaos."

Shao Hongyuan's gaze sharpened: "How wide are the widest and narrowest points?"

"The widest part is here, about ten miles from north to south, and the narrowest part is thirty miles to the northwest, where it is only about two miles from north to south."

Shao Hongyuan nodded slowly: "Very good, you're not bad, really not bad! But you still underestimate the elite of the Song Dynasty. If that Great Green Rhinoceros had 10,000 regular soldiers, I would have some concerns, but now Pengcheng only has a little over 1,000 cavalry. My Song Dynasty has 40,000 regular soldiers and 50,000 civilian laborers. If we march in formation, we can drown them! What are we afraid of?!"

Having said that, Shao Hongyuan remained silent and directed his troops to continue advancing.

Meanwhile, Li Xianzong, who was in the rear army, looked at the map and cursed, "Shao Hongyuan is a fool!"

General Hou Gaolang hurriedly asked, "General, is there something wrong?"

Li Xianzong gritted his teeth and said, "There are many problems. For example, the army has been marching for days and has not rested for a moment since crossing the river in Chuzhou. They are already exhausted."

Even if we bypass two cities behind us, which seems like a good plan, we still didn't surrender. You can't judge a book by its cover; who knows what they're thinking?! They might cut off our retreat if we suffer a setback at the front!

But these are all minor matters…

Li Xianzong's breathing became heavy: "In this kind of terrain, Shao Hongyuan actually dared to send nearly 100,000 troops to advance and retreat at the same time. He really doesn't know what's good for him!"

Hou Gaolang's face turned pale, while Zhang Qi, Li Xianzong's trusted deputy general, leaned on his sword and said, "It can't be that bad, can it? Didn't they say that the Great Green Rhinoceros only has about a thousand cavalry? In this terrain, as long as our army forms a formation and presses, even the Iron Pagoda wouldn't dare to charge."

Li Xianzong shook his head: "Now that things have come to this, how dare you still use common sense to speculate about the Jingnan army? I ask you, under common sense, do you think you can recover Youyan in six years after you started your army?"

Yue Pengju was incredibly brilliant, but didn't he also spend ten years building up his strength in Xiangfan before finally defeating Wanyan Wuzhu in one fell swoop?

How laughable it is that you now use common sense to judge one of the most outstanding heroes of the North, and to speculate about the most elite troops he leads!

Having been a trusted bodyguard, Zhang Qi wasn't angry upon hearing this, but he did frown: "Grand Commandant, does that mean the army is in danger? Should our rear guard continue advancing?"

"Go! Why not go?!" Li Xianzong said through gritted teeth, "The rear army has more than 10,000 men. If we go, we might be able to hold out for a while. If we don't go, then there is no hope at all."

Old Zhang, have all the laborers stop and immediately use large carts to form a wagon array. At least if the front lines collapse, the fleeing soldiers will have somewhere to go.

"Young Hou, you must set off immediately and personally give Li Huozi a warning, telling him to be extremely careful and not to be greedy for merit or act rashly!"

(End of this chapter)