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

Chapter 996 Even the Highest Mountains and Longest Roads Have Their Limits

Xin Qiji never expected that Hou Gaolang, who seemed so reliable, would never return after their parting.

Upon learning of this event, which aligned with the core values ​​of feudalism, the entire Han army was deeply moved and impressed by Hou Gaolang's loyalty and righteousness.

Of course, after a brief moment of reflection, everyone was back to their hectic schedules.

There was no other way; the gains from this battle were simply too great, and there were far too many prisoners. Moreover, it was winter, and if not handled properly, it could cause widespread casualties. If that happened, the people of Lianghuai would be in mourning and united in their hatred of the enemy, which would only make things more complicated.

Therefore, the Song soldiers and laborers who had already surrendered were reorganized and mobilized again after a simple dispersal, and a vigorous self-salvation movement was launched.

Fortunately, the Song army had a relatively large supply of military rations; otherwise, they would have had to use the Shandong treasury to feed the prisoners.

Meanwhile, the screening of prisoners was in full swing. Officials from the four prefectures of Xu, Yi, Hai, and Pi all came out to compile and register these prisoners and inquire about their family situations.

Of course, it was inevitable that a series of sensitive questions would be asked, such as "Are you willing to serve the Han Dynasty?" and "After returning to your hometown, are you willing to cooperate with the Han army in starting an uprising?"

Everyone was very busy, and Xin Qiji was no exception.

And what Xin Qiji did personally was naturally of a higher level.

“Old Li, we were comrades who fought side by side in the Battle of Chaoxian. It’s just that I was commanding the Jingnan army back then, while you were the vanguard in the Chizhou army. There’s still a bond between us, so I won’t beat around the bush.”

"Grand Commander, please ask me anything. I will answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge."

Li Ziyuan, supporting his lower back, answered somewhat listlessly.

Ever since learning of his friend Hou Gaolang's death, he has been in this dazed state.

There was nothing that could be done about it. If Hou Gaolang had died in battle, Li Ziyuan might have been able to hate Xin Qiji and curse Liu Huai. But now that Hou Gaolang had died in this way, Li Ziyuan wanted to get angry, but he didn't know who to curse at.

Seeing this, Xin Qiji simply shook his head slightly: "Are you willing to surrender?"

“I am willing, but I must remain anonymous. My clan is in Yangzhou, and my elder brother is a grain transport official in Jiangxi. If the news of my surrender reaches the Song Dynasty, my family will surely be implicated.”

Xin Qiji drew a circle on the document and continued, "So, do you want to reorganize the troops with me in Jiangbei, or do you want to follow Grand Commandant Li north?"

Li Ziyuan finally mustered some energy.

He knew that this question was actually asking whether he wanted to join Xin Qiji in conquering the Song Dynasty or join Li Xianzong in conquering the Western Jin Dynasty.

This is actually a difficult choice.

After all, Li Ziyuan's clan was all in the Huai River region, and he was a true southerner who could have made great strides in the campaign against the Song Dynasty.

But wouldn't that be making an enemy of one's own country?

Even though he had been completely disillusioned with the Song Dynasty court, he couldn't resist the deep affection for his hometown and the reluctance to part with his fellow villagers.

If, at that time, an old friend defends the city and shouts from the city wall that Li Ziyuan is a disloyal and unfilial traitor, how will he feel?

But going to Kansai... I really couldn't adapt to the new environment!
After thinking for a moment, Li Ziyuan still replied seriously, "I am going to follow Grand Commandant Li through this matter, and I am worried..."

After Xin Qiji drew another circle on the document, he looked up and asked, "Are you worried that Grand Commandant Li will take the opportunity to commit suicide?"

Li Ziyuan remained silent.

Xin Qiji sighed softly and shook his head, saying, "No, Hou Gaolang essentially traded his life for Grand Commandant Li's. If Grand Commandant Li doesn't cherish it, wouldn't that be tantamount to despising Hou Gaolang's life as well?"

Li Ziyuan was stunned on the spot. After a long while, he smiled bitterly and said, "Grand Commander, you are indeed one of the most outstanding heroes in the world. You are truly insightful. However, I am also a bit apprehensive about returning home. I am willing to follow Grand Commandant Li to the north to make contributions and establish a career."

Xin Qiji nodded: "Let's go back and wait for news."

After Li Ziyuan left, Xin Qiji looked at the document and shook his head repeatedly.

Nearly fifty Song generals were captured in this battle, but most of them were former members of the Huaidong Army.

This is understandable, because when Wanyan Liang launched his southern campaign, a number of elite soldiers and generals of the Huaixi army had already died in battle, such as Yao Zhong and Shi Jun.
Then, due to the dramatic changes that had just occurred in the imperial court, a series of political infighting ensued, resulting in the removal of Yu Yunwen's trusted generals, such as Dai Gao, from the army and sending them to serve as military officers in local areas.

Most of the vacant official positions were filled by generals from the Huaidong Army who were transferred to other positions.

This was precisely to launch a coordinated attack. Yu Yunwen had united the armies of Lianghuai into a single force, with each unit familiar with the others. Otherwise, even a simple transfer of generals would have caused the army to collapse on its own.

Among the armies of the Huai River region, in addition to the Huai East and Huai West divisions, there were also the old guard of Li Xianzong's army in Chizhou. These were the real elite troops, whose quality in all aspects was significantly higher than that of the other two divisions.

Xin Qiji recruited and accepted defectors, so naturally the more elite the generals under his command, the better. However, all the generals of the original Chizhou army were loyal to Li Xianzong. Even if they had to give up their military power, they still wanted to go to Guanzhong, where the future was uncertain, with their generals. This was quite frustrating.

If a time traveler were here, they would surely make comments such as "personal dependence was severe in feudal times," and, as usual, reflect on whether their efforts at ideological liberation were still insignificant, recording it in their diary and making future plans. However, as a native of the Song-Jin era, Xin Qiji naturally couldn't be preoccupied with these issues.

In fact, he himself was Liu Huai's trusted confidant and personal retainer, wasn't he?!

He Boqiu, who is now a shoo-in for becoming the first Grand Secretary of the Han Dynasty, simply said when he surrendered that he wanted to become Liu Huai's personal servant!
Therefore, Xin Qiji could only sigh that Li Xianzong was indeed a seasoned general who could control people, and then he flipped through the roster in his hand, trying to find a few suitable people.

Li Ziyuan was naturally unaware of these things. After pressing his ribs to relieve the pain, he limped back to his own tent.

As a general of the command rank, even as a prisoner of war, he still received some preferential treatment. At the very least, he had his own tent and didn't have to sleep in a communal tent with other prisoners.

However, when Li Ziyuan entered the tent, he found it already packed with people. Zuo Shiyuan and the others were arguing fiercely, their veins bulging, as if they wanted to devour each other whole.

Li Ziyuan was stunned for a moment, and after realizing that he had not entered the wrong tent, he immediately became furious.

Is this some kind of command tent? Do you expect me to host your military council?!
He was about to reprimand them when he heard Zuo Shiyuan shout, "You bunch of cowards hiding in the back have no idea how dangerous the situation is at the front! You don't even know how elite the Flying Tiger Army is! And you're blaming me for activating the formation ahead of time?! Let me tell you, if I hadn't activated the formation early, my army would have already collapsed!"

Liu Si sneered, "Old Zuo, don't blame us for being harsh. We just don't understand why ten thousand infantrymen and armored soldiers were able to be ambushed by a thousand cavalry. It seems your skills in setting up a grand formation aren't all that great."

Zuo Shiyuan immediately wanted to retort, but the movement aggravated the wound on his stomach, causing him to sweat profusely from the pain and rendering him speechless.

Wei You spoke up for Zuo Shiyuan, saying, "Old Zuo has actually done everything he could, but the Flying Tiger Army is too elite, and given the terrain, what can we do when Grand Commandant Shao is urging us to march?"

It can only be said that this battle should never have been fought.

Upon hearing this, the prisoners who were holding a pot-dividing meeting fell silent instantly, followed by a chorus of sighs.

Li Ziyuan was no fool; he immediately recalled Liu Huai's comment on Wanyan Liang during the Battle of Chaoxian.

It is true that: political defeats are tried to be reversed by military force, but little do they know that military force is a continuation of politics. If one has already lost politically, how difficult is it to win militarily?

How similar is this moment to that moment?

After a long silence, Liu Si finally asked, "If only we hadn't been so greedy for merit and acted rashly, taking Pizhou would have been enough to allow us to both attack and defend, and we could have dealt with the imperial court."

Someone immediately sneered and retorted: "Although Grand Commandant Shao is dead, some of his plans still make sense. If we waste our time in Xiapi and allow Commander Xin to gather a large army, cut off our retreat with the navy, and then bring a large army to press us down with great force, wouldn't we have even less chance of winning?"

Someone else said, "Grand Commandant Shao shouldn't harbor hatred towards Grand Commandant Li; he should advance along the river..."

"That would give Commander Xin the opportunity to defeat them one by one..."

"If we advance west of the Yellow River, what if we avoid the Lüliang Mountains?"

"Ha, the mountains are not conducive to the cavalry's performance, and we still ended up like this. If we were on the plains, the Flying Tigers would be able to run rampant and attack freely... Ha..."

"If you say that, aren't you implying that the Han army is invincible?"

"Of course we can win! Especially now that Henan and Shandong are truly vulnerable, wouldn't it be a joke if the Great Song Dynasty, a vast and powerful nation, couldn't win a few battles?"

Li Ziyuan finally lost his patience and wanted to end the topic by kicking everyone out of his tent: "But there should be a more normal court, there should be clear rewards and punishments, you can't just change generals on the eve of battle, at the very least you should be able to pay the soldiers' wages and the rewards for the expedition!"

"What good is wisdom and courage if you're stuck with an emperor like this?! Wasn't Minister Yu also wise and courageous? If it weren't for the Prince of Han... the Emperor sending someone, Minister Yu's corpse would still be hanging in the West Market right now!"

After Li Ziyuan finished speaking, he immediately made a gesture to shoo people away.

Of course, these people didn't come to Li Ziyuan's place to hold a real meeting to divide the blame; they wanted to discuss the future.

"Li Huozi, don't be anxious. You were just summoned by the Grand Commander. Was it to determine your future?"

Li Ziyuan's hands, which were shooing people away, paused slightly as he suddenly realized what these people wanted to do.

Is it possible to continue forming a faction after only one day?
Li Ziyuan sneered in public: "I have never inquired about what you want to do, so don't try to recruit me."

As a subordinate of Grand Commandant Li, I have been deeply grateful for his kindness and favor, and I must repay him with my life.

Whether you're willing to be the Grand Commander's henchmen or to accompany Grand Commandant Li on a trip to Yanjing, it's none of my business!

With that, Li Ziyuan ignored the wound on his ribs and used his strength to drive all these people out.

Outside the tent, Liu Si stamped his foot and exclaimed, "That Li Huozi! He really is a barbarian! How come he's in such a state now and doesn't even think about sticking together?! We should know that we're newcomers here!"

Everyone shook their heads and sighed, but could only disperse in the cold wind.

(End of this chapter)