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

Chapter 109: The Lin Army is Shot

Wanyan Yuanyi returned to the Ministry of War in anger, drove out all the officials, envoys, and guards, spread out the paper, and started to grind the ink and write himself.

However, his hand that was grinding the ink was as steady as a rock at first, but after a while it began to tremble slightly. By the time the ink was almost ground, Wanyan Yuanyi was already stunned on the spot, completely bewildered.

Yes, as the Minister of War, a prominent figure in the Great Jin Kingdom, he was actually at a loss after hearing the defeatist remarks made by the current Minister of the Left.

Wanyan Yuanyi was really afraid of Hesheli Liangbi. He was not only afraid of his power and status, but also respected his abilities and means.

Since Hesheli Liangbi felt that Jin's southern expedition was a gamble on the country's destiny and would cause big problems, then big problems might really occur.

Another key point is that Wanyan Yuanyi was anxious, but he could not find anyone to discuss with or seek results.

Even if he went to Wanyan Liang to complain, it would be useless, because Hesheli Liangbi only spoke to him in private. The result of the complaint would depend entirely on who Wanyan Liang trusted and valued.

The final result is likely to be that Hesheli Liangbi will not suffer any harm, but he, the one who betrayed the enemy, will die without a burial place.

To put it bluntly, Hesheli Liangbi did not make any mistakes at all. He just delayed on the Haizhou affairs for a few days.

This kind of small mistake means nothing to Hesheli Liangbi.

Even if this matter was brought to the court, the other important officials would regard Wanyan Yuanyi as a coward who was exaggerating.

In the final analysis, it was just a few thousand people, not sure whether they were Song troops or bandits flying the Song flag, who crossed the border and captured one or two counties. How big of a deal could it be?
The Khitan people Saba have been making trouble for a year, but nothing has happened.

However, precisely because Wanyan Yuanyi was both afraid and respectful of Hesheli Liangbi, he truly believed in his judgment and regarded this force, which he did not know whether it was the Song army or the rebel army, as a serious threat that could cut off the Yishui channel and destroy the Jin navy.

But he had no way.

Wanyan Yuanyi was only the Minister of War, not the powerful commander-in-chief, and had no power to mobilize troops.

He could only watch the situation develop in the direction described by Hesheli Liangbi, but he was helpless.

"Do your best and leave the rest to fate." Wanyan Yuanyi wrote the six words 'Wanyan Zhengjia Respectfully' on the letter paper, then crumpled the paper into a ball and tore it into pieces.

Taking out the next piece of letter paper, Wanyan Yuanyi's cheek twitched, and then he wrote "Respectfully from Su Gong".

This letter was written to Su Baoheng, the Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty, the commander-in-chief of the Zhejiang East Navy at the time, and also Wanyan Yuanyi's political enemy.

Wanyan Yuanyi did not mention Hesheli Liangbi in the letter, nor did he mention the conversation between the two. The whole letter was just reminiscing about the past and chatting about family matters. He only mentioned at the end of the letter that Haizhou had fallen and Yizhou was in danger, the invading Song army was not simple, and he hoped that Mr. Su would take care of his health.

After the letter was written and sealed, Wanyan Yuanyi summoned the official in charge of the matter and asked him to enclose the letter in the official documents and send it to Su Baoheng in Tang Island at an express speed of 500 miles.

He believed that with Su Baoheng's cautious nature, he would definitely be alert after seeing this inexplicable letter.

After doing all this, Wanyan Yuanyi sighed, sat on the chair, looked up at the carved beams, but suddenly found that the lacquer paintings on the carved beams of this government office, which had just been built a few years ago at the cost of countless manpower and material resources, had actually fallen off.

Wanyan Yuanyi sighed again and muttered to himself.

"Pusandarmo, you must hold on."
-
Just when Wanyan Yuanyi was worried about the situation, more than 800 miles to the east, Liu Huai and others were heading towards the Tianping Army's central army, which was also the Tianwang Army.

It seems that the Tianping Army is on the same level as the Tianwang Army, Xinzi Army and Rulin Army, but in fact it is not.

The Tianping Army was the military title for Geng Jing's 100,000-man army, while the other armies were one rank below it. Generally, after an army was expanded, for example, the Tianping Army would become the Tianping Army, and then each army would be given a military title to determine its subordinate relationship.

But whether Geng Jing was too stubborn or simply lacked awareness, the Tianping Army remained a military unit, never expanding into a full-scale army. Geng Jing, the self-proclaimed Jiedushi of the Tianping Army, sounded as if he were on par with Li Tieqiang, the leader of the Rulin Army. This was absurd.

This is one of the weaknesses of the peasant uprising army: its military structure is extremely chaotic. Don't underestimate this chaos; it's fine on ordinary days, but at critical moments, when you can't determine who is the leader, it will lead to confusion in command.

Why do you have the right to order me around? Why should I care about his life or death? And why should he join forces with you?

Fortunately, the Xinzi Army and the Rulin Army, which were marching side by side on both sides of the Anzi River to clear the way, still distinguished the primary and secondary and determined the upper and lower levels.

Li Tieqiang, the leader of the Rulin Army, seemed to have a bit of a second-in-command personality, and seemed to be really convinced by Xin Qiji. So even though the Rulin Army had hundreds of more soldiers and dozens of armored soldiers than the Xin Army, Li Tieqiang still obeyed Xin Qiji's military orders.

"I can't help it. It's because Fifth Brother is so capable." Li Tieqiang laughed heartily, pointing at the two armies marching on both sides of the Anzi River. "I only respect those with great abilities. If anyone has opinions, that's fine. Let them show their abilities. As long as they can convince me, I will obey them too."

Liu Huai looked sideways.

Good man, you really don’t treat me as an outsider.

Li Tieqiang pointed across the river and said, "Look, Dalang, what do you think of our Rulin Army? Aren't they all top-notch warriors?"

Liu Huai looked across the river and saw a neatly arranged army, all carrying spears as long as ten feet. Although ninety percent of them wore black cloth, not to mention iron crotch jackets, they didn't even have helmets, but it was still clear that the soldiers were all young and strong, and their morale was high.

At first glance, they are elite soldiers who are well paid and well fed.

Liu Huai nodded. "Indeed, it's quite impressive. As the Art of War says, 'It's swift as the wind, slow as the forest, aggressive as fire, still as a mountain, unpredictable as the shadow, and powerful as thunder.' Big Iron Spear, I suppose your Rulin Army is best at forming strong formations and engaging in tough battles, so you used the 'Rulin' from 'Slow as the forest' as your military slogan."

Upon hearing this, Xin Qiji couldn't hold back and burst out laughing.

Li Tieqiang scratched the back of his head. "No... there's no need to say that. These three thousand of us are good at using spears. Look at these thousands of spears standing up, don't they look like a forest? That's why we use the name 'Ru Lin Jun' as our military horn."

Seeing Liu Huai's expression, which was like constipation and hemorrhoids, Li Tieqiang quickly said, "But Dalang, your explanation is indeed very nice. From now on, this is the origin of the Rulin Army's military name. Hehe, 'Qi Xu Ru Lin', is there really such a saying in the art of war? It really is a lucky coincidence."

Liu Huai took a deep breath and asked Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang, "Tell me the truth. How many of these elite Tianping troops are there? How many of them can Chief Geng command?"

Xin Qiji hesitated, but Li Tieqiang was impatient. "Fifth brother, there's nothing to hide. Besides, how could we hide something like Liu Dalang, a smart man, from the army?"

Xin Qiji hesitated for a moment, then finally replied with a sigh: "Liu Dalang, do you remember I told you that it's impossible to count the number of people in this 100,000-man army?"

"Ok?"

"Of these 100,000 men, at least half are the elderly, the weak, women, and children, and tens of thousands are civilians who have fled. I estimate that there are no more than 30,000 who are actually capable of taking up arms in battle."

"And such armies as the Lin Army of 3,000, the Xin Army of 2,500, and the Tianwang Army of 3,000..."

Li Tieqiang interjected, "That Yelu Xingge fellow has a thousand capable fighters, but the rest are just for show. But it's hard to say if these Hu people will listen to Chief Geng and fight to the death."

Liu Huai nodded slowly: "That means only 10,000 people can fight."

Then, his soft question made Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang fall into slightly panicked thinking at the same time.

"Do you think that Chief Geng knows that he only has 10,000 capable soldiers?"

　It will be on the shelves next Monday, so please give it your support, dear readers.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)