Lin'an Never Night

Chapter 900 Moving the Army to Jiankang
The news Wanyan Liang received was that Tudanhexi had captured Yancheng.

The capture of Yancheng by the Jin state posed a threat to the left rear flank of Baoying.

The unfavorable situation caused by the crushing defeat in the south of Shanyang City was immediately alleviated.

Wanyan Liang was overjoyed, and his furious emotions subsided.

However, just as joy began to spread across his face, another piece of bad news arrived.

Xin Qiji led two thousand light cavalry of the Song Dynasty, moving back and forth between the encampments of hundreds of thousands of Jin soldiers on the Huaidong battlefield.

As a result, he got incredibly lucky and burned more than thirty grain transport ships belonging to the Jin Dynasty.

"Xin Qiji, a cavalryman, burned more than thirty grain transport ships?"

Wanyan Liang gritted his teeth and spoke slowly and deliberately.

He doesn't understand, he really doesn't understand.

How did a cavalry unit manage to burn down the grain transport boats?

"Yes, yes, Xin Qiji rode around plundering and discovered the grain transport fleet."

Based on the light and the speed of the ships, he determined that the fleet might anchor at three docks on the two tributaries that night…

The messenger said tremblingly, "Xin Qiji launched a night raid on horseback, stormed three docks, and finally found the grain transport boats that had already moored."

Before the fleet could weigh anchor and raise its sails, he set it on fire... set it on fire..."

Dozens of grain ships! That's a lot of grain!

Wanyan Liang's heart was bleeding.

He grabbed the messenger by the collar and said through gritted teeth, "Who is the grain escort officer?"

“Su…Su Baoheng.”

"It's him again!"

Wanyan Liang's vision went black, but Li Tong caught him.

"How is Su Baoheng?"

"Lord Su was staying at the dock at the time, not on the ship, which is why he escaped this calamity, but... but he barely escaped with his life!"

"Bring him up here, bring him up here!"

Wanyan Liang slammed his fist on the table and cursed loudly.

The messenger said with a bitter face, "When Lord Su fled the dock, he lost his footing and fell off the dock, twisting his back. He is now unable to move and has been unable to come to His Majesty in person to apologize."

Wanyan Liang composed himself and, trembling, went to retrieve the precious sword from his waist.

"Take it, I hereby order him to commit suicide! Tell him to die, tell him to die now!"

Seeing that Wanyan Liang's lips had turned white with anger, the messenger dared not say anything more. He quickly took the precious sword with both hands and crawled out the door.

Li Dao solemnly said, "Your Majesty, with dozens of ships of grain and fodder burned, the supplies for the vanguard must be strained."

Therefore, we must consider the difficulties of both the enemy's lack of food at the front and the need for supplies in the rear.

Wanyan Liang was well aware that the joy of capturing Yancheng had vanished instantly.

Yancheng is indeed a military outpost, but its geographical location is not that important.

If we were to attack Baoying from Yancheng, we would have to go around Sheyang Lake.

Compared to the loss of dozens of boatloads of grain...

Yancheng has numerous coastal salt fields, which were one of the important sources of revenue for the Song Dynasty.

However, occupying Yancheng in the short term would not have any impact on the Song Dynasty.

It didn't offer much help to the Jin Dynasty either.

We captured a lot of salt but lost a lot of grain. Are you going to make the soldiers eat so much salt that they become "swallow-headed tigers"?

Wanyan Liang calmed down and slowly issued military orders.

"Hold fast to Shanyang City and Yancheng, gather troops and seize Xuyi, and put overwhelming pressure on the Song army in Huaidong."

"The daily rations for the defending army should be reduced as appropriate, and at the same time, the Nanjing and Kaifeng prefectures should be ordered to procure more grain and supplies to be transported to Huaidong."

Li Tong frowned and said, "Your Majesty, the supply of provisions in the rear is also very tight, and they have to be transported over a long distance."

If the soldiers at the front lines run out of food, their morale will inevitably suffer. It would be better to transfer food from Shouchun to relieve the urgent need..."

"no!"

Wanyan Liang immediately and without hesitation rejected Li Tong's suggestion.

"Not a single grain of grain stored in Huaixi can be touched! Otherwise, my plan to feign an attack on Huaidong, take Huaixi in reality, cross the Yangtze River, and head straight for Jiankang will be completely ruined."

As for morale and fighting spirit...

Wanyan Liang grinned maliciously: "Jiankang was the land of extravagance during the Song Dynasty. Brothels and pleasure houses lined the Qinhuai River, a place of unparalleled romance."

"Once we capture Jiankang, I will not sheath my sword for ten days, allowing the soldiers to have a good time! Why would I worry about the morale of the army not recovering?"

Wanyan Liang issued a fierce order: "Wen Gusun Edu and Yang Tang shall take over the military affairs of Huaidong."

You continue to present the false impression that I am stationed in Chuzhou, while you are transferring my main forces to Huaixi in batches and phases!

Li Daocheng agreed and left.

During the battle between the Song and Jin dynasties in Huaidong, the Song army captured two cities and lost territory.

However, in terms of troop losses, the Jin Dynasty suffered greater losses, with the casualty ratio to the Song army approaching five to three.

The reason is that the Jin state was the aggressor, and in the battle in the southern suburbs of Shanyang, they were ambushed and suffered heavy losses.

The Huaidong battlefield thus entered a stalemate.

In Chuzhou City, the Jin emperor's banner still fluttered atop the city walls.

In Baoying City, the banner of the Prime Minister of the Great Song Dynasty also fluttered on a tall pole.

But the two sixth brothers had already sneaked off to the west one after the other.

At this stage, the chances of scouts from both sides penetrating deep behind enemy lines to gather intelligence are actually very small.

Firstly, the areas occupied by both sides have all become war zones and are under military control. How could they possibly allow you, dressed as a civilian, to walk around freely? Moreover, even if you obtained accurate intelligence, you couldn't send it out.

By the time you've gone through roundabout routes, bypassed the war zone, and finally delivered the intelligence, the situation described in the intelligence has long since changed beyond recognition.

In such situations, it would be better for the commander at the front not to receive this delayed military intelligence, as it would hinder his ability to make the right judgment.

Just like Zhao Gou, who liked to interfere in specific battles on the front lines.

After the Battle of Shunchang, Yue Fei continued his northward march, recovered Henan, and his army advanced as far as the Yellow River.

However, there were no truly decisive battles or major victories.

Zhao Gou was therefore suspicious, fearing that the Jin army was luring him into a trap, so he ordered the troops to withdraw.

As a result, by the time his decree reached Yue Fei, Yue Fei had already won the battles of Yancheng and Yingchang, inflicting heavy losses on the Jin army.

As it turned out, Zhao Gou's worries were unnecessary. Now, riding the momentum of their great victory, they could continue their advance.

But then, the imperial edict arrived.

Yue Fei was not one to follow the emperor's orders when he was in the field, so he had no choice but to withdraw his troops under the stern imperial edict.

At this time, Zhao Gou received news that the Battle of Yancheng and the Battle of Yingchang had annihilated a large number of the main Jin army forces.

Zhao Gou was overjoyed and hurriedly ordered the continuation of the Northern Expedition.

By the time his decree was delivered, the Song army had already begun to fully implement his retreat plan and had withdrawn its troops.

The time lag between Zhao Gou's information and that of the front lines was between ten and twenty days, yet he directly intervened in the war. How could he not be defeated?

The same situation also occurred on the Sichuan-Shaanxi battlefield.

Therefore, scholars believe that it is better to have no books than to believe everything in them, while generals believe that it is better to disregard intelligence than to believe everything in it.

After the two sides entered a stalemate, Yang Yuan assessed the strength of both sides in the stalemate based on the state of the stalemate, and then made the decision to move to Huaixi based on the subtle changes observed by the front-line scouts in the enemy camp.

The timing of Wanyan Liang's departure was roughly the same.

On November 26, Yang Yuan arrived in Jiankang under the personal escort of the fleet led by Grand Admiral Lin Rongyue.

Zhang Xiaoxiang, the garrison commander of Jiankang, and Wen Xuanchen, the deputy garrison commander, led a group of officials from the secondary capital to welcome them.

At this time, Shao Hongyuan, the commander-in-chief of the imperial army in Huaixi, moved his troops to Haozhou and could not come in person. He sent his trusted generals to Jiankang to pay homage to the prime minister.

The number of officials in the secondary capital was so large that it resembled a small imperial court.

There are several bureaucratic systems here.

First, there was Zhang Xiaoxiang's garrison, which was in charge of all military and political affairs in the Jiankang region.

Then there is the local administrative system, including prefects, sub-prefects, and military commanders.

Next was the General Administration Office, which oversaw the finances of Huaixi and was responsible for the supply of provisions and pay to the army. It was subordinate to the Ministry of Revenue.

Next came the Commissioner of the Yangtze River Defense, responsible for the defense of Jiankang, essentially the Deputy Garrison Commander in charge of military affairs, now known as Wen Xuanchen.

The garrison troops, navy, and garrison troops of the prefectures and cities along the river in Jiankang were all under his control.

In front of them were the troops stationed in Huaixi, thus forming two defense lines, one in front and one behind, relying on the Huai River and the Yangtze River respectively.

In addition, as a secondary capital, there were also officials in the imperial palace here.

These palace officials were not simply equivalent to a high-ranking postmaster.

The imperial palace controlled a portion of the imperial guards and was able to intervene to some extent in the administration and military affairs of the Jiankang region.

Therefore, the judge in charge of guarding the imperial palace was equivalent to a deputy guard.

Therefore, Jiankang was essentially a place with one garrison commander and two deputy garrison commanders, who complemented and checked each other.

The last time Yang Yuan passed through this place, only Zhang Xiaoxiang came to greet him in plain clothes and a light carriage.

This time, however, all officials from various systems in Jiankang were mobilized.

Accompanying Yang Yuan to Jiankang was Xin Qiji, who led the Imperial Guards of the Cavalry Command.

Jiankang is the place where Yu Yunwen made a name for himself in battle.

Yang Yuan was still a bit unclear about metaphysics.

Therefore, he had considered bringing Yu Yunwen along.

After all, this place is considered Yu Yunwen's lucky place.

However, Yu Yunwen was the one who stepped forward when the Song Dynasty was being utterly defeated, creating a miracle of a comeback from the brink of defeat.

Now that I've gone to Jiankang, will the battle in Huaixi escalate to that extent?

Does it have to end up like that?
Furthermore, both Wu Ting and Xin Qiji were young, and both were at the peak of their talents.

Despite the fact that these two young generals, heroes of their time, appeared to be model students, displaying a gentle, courteous, frugal, and modest demeanor, they were not the only ones to be impressed by him.

If Yang Yuan were to leave Huaidong, these two might not be able to maintain such a "respectful relationship".

Yu Yunwen is different. He is a kind and generous elder. It is thought that if he and Wu Ting cooperate, they will get along better.

Now that Yang Yuan has reached his current position, when he looks at the world, he only considers the general direction.

In practice, his main considerations are the executor's abilities and personality, as well as the relationships between the executors.

So after much deliberation, Yang Yuan still brought Xin Qiji, this fierce tiger, to Jiangdong.

"Your Excellency must be very tired from your journey."

Wang Ruiqi, the judge in charge of the imperial palace, was a high-ranking official in Jiankang.

He was considered the third most important figure in Jiankang, after Zhang Xiaoxiang and Wen Xuanchen.

After Zhang Xiaoxiang and Wen Xuanchen greeted and spoke with Yang Yuan, Wang Liushou immediately stepped forward with a broad smile.

"The Prime Minister's lodgings are arranged at the Jiankang Palace. Please move there."

Yang Yuan's brow twitched upon hearing this.

Imperial palace?

Is that a place where ministers can live at will?

(End of this chapter)