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

Chapter 102: Military Power is Like Water, Its Shape is Unpredictable

The old man drove the donkey cart back to Hejiazhuang and walked along the crisscrossing winding roads to his home, but he just drove the donkey cart inside, and the old man walked towards the high-walled courtyard in the center of the village.

Although Hejiazhuang was not at the level of war at this time, martial law had already been imposed. It was equipped with guard towers, visible sentries, hidden sentries, earthen ramparts, trenches, wooden fences, and chevaux de frise. From time to time, there were soldiers patrolling in groups of three or two.

When they saw the old man, they did not stop him, and the doorman did not even inform him, allowing him to enter the house.

In the main hall of the compound, He Boqiu was talking with Wang Xiongyi. Seeing the old man come in, He Boqiu pointed to a chair beside him.

"Uncle Mancang, please sit down."

The old man named He Mancang first bowed to Wang Xiongyi, calling himself General Wang, and then sat down at the bottom.

Wang Xiongyi was the nephew of Pushan Zhongyi in his private capacity, and officially served as the military commander and patrol officer of Yizhou. As the head of the military command, he was in charge of the state's archers and local soldiers, and also served as the patrol officer, catching thieves, enforcing curfews, and conducting inspections. Therefore, it was fitting that He Mancang addressed him as "Wang Junxia."

Wang Xiongyi waved his hand, causing his armor to rustle. It was only then that He Mancang noticed that both He Boqiu and Wang Xiongyi were wearing armor.

Even in very hot weather, I don’t feel uncomfortable.

This was not because He Mancang was old and confused, but because he had been somewhat uneasy because of what Liu Huai had said.

He Boqiu saw He Mancang's eyes wandering, frowned, and asked, "Uncle Mancang, what were the results of your investigation into the Song army today? Did anything unexpected happen?"

He Mancang quickly calmed himself down and said, "Sanlang, I can clearly see today that the Song army camp is well-organized and the Loyalty Army has strict discipline. Whether it's a frontal assault or a surprise attack, it will hardly be effective and will only trap us."

He Boqiu nodded slightly but remained silent.

Wang Xiongyi said coldly, "Then think of a way. The so-called art of war is nothing more than the two forces of water and fire. Find a day with a westerly wind and set fire to the camp; or build a dam upstream of the Shu River and drown the seven armies. How do you think?"

After these words were spoken, He Boqiu and He Mancang were both silent. After a long while, He Mancang stood up and said angrily, "I won't mention that we were harvesting grain half a mile from the Song army camp, and the Song people didn't stop us. I'll just say that on our way back today, the wheel of my donkey fell off, and it was the Song cavalry who helped me fix it.

The Song people also knew to show sympathy to the people of Jin, knew to leave time for the autumn harvest, and knew that if the grain was left to rot in the fields, it would be punished by heaven. "Wang Junxia, how could you come up with such an idea?"

Wang Xiongyi's thin face showed neither joy nor anger, and he didn't even raise his eyelids: "Oh? How about waiting until you finish the autumn harvest before implementing this plan?"

He Boqiu's tone turned cold. "The Loyal Army isn't foolish. After the autumn harvest, they'll attack. The warriors under Wang Junxi's command have fought in the past two days, but have they ever gained any advantage over the Song army? Wouldn't a battle outside Zhuangzi at that time have played right into the Song army's hands?"

"Old He, don't you know this? Our soldiers can't attack, but they're more than capable of defending. As for your farm, is there any difference between defending with 1,000 soldiers and defending with 3,000?" Wang Xiongyi finally got angry, his thin eyebrows raised. "We can't keep wasting time like this. Old He, let me ask you again, do you still object to the prefect's military strategy?"

He Boqiu was silent for a moment, and finally nodded with difficulty.

Wang Xiongyi immediately stood up, his armor rustling as he spoke proudly, "Since that's the case, I'll go and assemble the troops. Old He, you must lead the troops to the Linyi camp tonight!"

After saying this, Wang Xiongyi didn't wait for He Boqiu's response, but walked away leisurely, holding his belt.

After making up his mind, He Boqiu seemed to relax completely, and there was a hint of fatigue between his brows.

Seeing that He Mancang seemed a little uneasy, he asked with a smile, "Did you see Wei Dadao's flag?"

He Mancang swallowed hard and said, "I saw it. His flag with the word 'Wei' on it is in the central army camp. We also saw the flag with the word 'Song' and the flags of the generals of the Loyal Army." "Who is flying the flag with the word 'Han' on it?"

"The Song army's vanguard stood with the large flag bearing the character 'Liu' and the Flying Tiger flag." He Mancang thought for a moment and said, "It must have been Liu Huai, nicknamed 'Flying Tiger'."

"Song State, haha, Song State." For some reason, He Boqiu's face suddenly showed anger, but before He Mancang could react, he suddenly became sad.

"Uncle Mancang, do you believe it? Wei Dadao, despite his loyalty and bravery, will ultimately be killed by the Song State. Meanwhile, Fei Huzi, despite his burgeoning ambitions, will ultimately have a happy ending and even achieve great things."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore." He Boqiu just sighed and quickly composed himself. "Today we are enemies, not friends. There's nothing much to say. Uncle Mancang, I will take two thousand farmers to Linyi City to meet up with Wang Xiongyi, Jia Gushou, Shuhu Ali and the others. The defense of the village is completely entrusted to you."

He Mancang's face was filled with worry, but he could only bow: "I understand. Although I don't have any great abilities, I am just being cautious and careful to protect the village."

He Boqiu waved his hand. "Don't be too nervous. I've already agreed with Cui Hema and Zhang Chou that if Wei Dadao attacks, they will send troops to support him. And I will lead my troops back within ten days at the latest. By then, the autumn harvest will be over, and we will definitely have a good fight with Wei Dadao."

After saying that, He Boqiu stood up and left.

It was not until this time that He Mancang thought of relaying the words of the tall Song soldier, but it was too late. He could only bow and watch the owner of the manor leave.

He Boqiu came to the training ground in the night wind.

Two thousand elite farmers have lined up and stood silently in the night. The solemn atmosphere has silenced the insects and birds around them. For a moment, only the crackling sound of burning torches can be heard all around.

"Three people with one torch, each follow the leader, don't fall behind! Don't talk!" Because they were all farmers who lived together day and night, He Boqiu did not give a pre-war mobilization speech. Instead, he directly mounted his warhorse, said a few words, and waved his hand, and two thousand farmers lined up in an orderly manner and marched out of Hejia Village.

Even though there were three people per torch and talking was strictly prohibited, the momentum of two thousand people could not be concealed.

In fact, He Boqiu had no intention of concealing the truth. He just wanted to achieve strategic deception through a series of tactical actions.

The cavalry of the Loyal Army naturally discovered this team and reported it to the commander-in-chief.

But on the other hand, because the farmers in Hejiazhuang reduced the number of torches, the scouts believed that there were only a few hundred people.

On the other hand, when the scouts saw that the farmers of Hejiazhuang were heading west and not attacking the camp, they thought that the five large villages were just mobilizing troops among each other and it was not a big deal.

Therefore, the Loyal Army only mentioned it during the military meeting that night, and no one took it seriously.

The reason for this is that there were no street lights in this era, night blindness was common, and the roads were just ordinary dirt roads. Ordinary soldiers did not have strong subjective initiative. Long-distance marches at night could easily cause the army to disperse.

Therefore, anyone with a little military knowledge will try to avoid marching at night.

However, He Boqiu relied on the farmers' familiarity with the surrounding terrain and their natural desire to defend their hometown, and completed the tactical action of transferring 2,000 main forces to Linyi City under Wei Sheng's nose.

All I can say is that these two people are indeed close friends who value each other, and neither of them is easy to deal with.

(End of this chapter)