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

Chapter 116: The Tianping Army Should Create Peace (Part )
Facts have proved that, just as Geng Jing said, the Tianping Army, a group of refugees who are neither soldiers nor bandits, will cause trouble even if there is no enemy attacking them.

On the morning of August 7, a military meeting was held early to determine the order of each army.

Because Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang's troops were no longer leading the way, but were to join the central army, they began to set up camp and wait for the central army. During this period of transition, chaos was inevitable.

However, unlike everyone's imagination, this chaos quickly broke the bottom line of the Tianping Army's top leaders.

It is unclear where the chaos began, but we only know that the first large-scale conflict occurred between Pingshan Hu's troops and Rulin's army.

The Rulin army set up camp on both sides of the official road to wait for the central army. However, the Pingshan Hu army arrived with nearly 3,000 soldiers and horses, and ordered the Rulin army to move to the side to make way for the main army.

Li Tieqiang's deputy general was also a veteran in the Tianping Army. He didn't care about this at all and immediately sneered and cursed back.

Pingshan Hu had been beaten by Liu Huai, and was already filled with anger, so the two sides quickly started pushing and shoving each other.

At this point, it is nothing more than a conflict between 'I won't give way, whether you like it or not' and 'I have to get through, whether you like it or not'.

However, the troops of Pingshan Hu were not in order, and the official road along the Anzi River was relatively narrow due to years of disrepair. If more than 2,000 people crossed the road together, it would inevitably cause congestion and they would inevitably step over the camp of the Rulin Army.

Unfortunately, the Rulin Army's camp was poorly built. Not only were there no wooden fences or watchtowers, but there were no trenches or antlers. The entire camp was open on all sides, like a public toilet, allowing people to come and go as they pleased.

Most of Pingshan Hu's troops were former bandits, used to stealing and robbing. They would take two arrows here and three cakes there, and soon conflicts arose among the soldiers.

However, these soldiers would not be as restrained as the leader or the deputy general. They would curse at first, and then call for help when they suffered a loss. When there were more people, they would be emboldened and would naturally take action.

They started fighting with fists, and after someone died, they drew their weapons and started fighting.

When the grassroots officers realized that something was wrong and began to suppress it, they were swept up in the chaos and became part of it.

The chaos was not quelled until the generals of each side personally took action.

Thirty of Pingshan Hu's troops were killed directly, and there were as many as one hundred soldiers who were seriously injured.

After all, the Rulin Army was an elite force, and the total number of casualties was less than fifty.

Pingshan Hu's nose was almost crooked from anger.

However, the story is not over yet. You must know that the Pingshan Hu and the Rulin army fought on the official road.

These chaotic troops completely blocked the official road on the west bank of the Anzi River, and the several troops behind them were also blocked and unable to move forward.

Unfortunately, because the Tianping Army was incomplete, there were no military envoys, staff members, etc. to manage the transmission of information. This resulted in the army in front being blocked, and the army behind had no idea what was happening in front and continued to march.

Eventually, a huge traffic jam occurred on the west bank of the Anzi River.

It was a real traffic jam, as there were many large baggage wagons in the queue. These wagons had poor flexibility and could not maneuver at all, even if they wanted to go across the ridges of the fields. Once they were stuck, it was a complete traffic jam.

With so many armies mixed together, crimes occurred one after another. Theft, robbery, rape and even murder were common. In addition, there were ordinary civilians who said they were family members of the army, but were actually refugees, who participated in the incidents. The elderly were making noises and the children were crying, causing chaos for a while.

It was when the situation was about to get out of control that Liu Huai and Xin Qiji arrived at the scene.

Under Liu Huai's cold observation, Xin Qiji showed his ruthless side. He and his personal guards marched forward almost all the way, killing people along the way. He reorganized every army he passed by, and finally, when it was getting dark, he settled the west bank of the Anzi River.

The Anzi River was not wide. When the Xin army on the east bank saw the chaos on the west bank, they knew something bad was going to happen. Unfortunately, their commander was not there, so the generals of the Xin army could only try their best to prevent the chaos from spreading to the east bank, and they set up camp far away from the official road.

Although Sun Hei, who was marching on the east coast, was also a bandit, he was a law-abiding bandit. Seeing this, he naturally would not cause trouble and provoke Xin Qiji, so he passed through smoothly and everything was peaceful.

However, by nightfall, the two armies, originally advancing side by side, were now more than ten miles apart, a very awkward distance.

If you say it’s close, it’s indeed a bit disconnected; if you say it’s far, it’s only an hour’s journey, which is within the support range of friendly forces.

Shao Jin, who accompanied Liu Huai to watch the whole thing, was also a little embarrassed.

As Geng Jing's personal guard, this guy still has some political vision. He knows how big a trouble it would be to show this chaotic scene to the allies, but Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang both don't care, and naturally Shao Jin, with his status, can't say anything either.

However, seeing Liu Huai's increasingly serious expression, Shao Jin couldn't help but speak: "Don't blame me, General Liu. This isn't because General Xin is being cruel, but there really is no other way at this moment."

Liu Huai glanced at Shao Jin.

He frowned not because of what Xin Qiji had done, but because he finally remembered who Shao Jin was.

In the original history, it was Zhang Anguo and Shao Jin who killed Geng Jing and surrendered to the Jin Kingdom when Xin Qiji went south to ask the Song Dynasty for rewards.

Then the story of Xin Qiji leading a hundred riders to attack the enemy camp and capture the enemy alive was introduced.

It was my luck that I was able to capture both of these traitors within one day.

Of course, just like when he faced Zhang Anguo before, Liu Huai naturally had no position to deal with him at this time. Hearing this, he just sighed: "I'm not thinking that Xin Wulang is cruel, but I'm thinking that the marshals and generals of your Tianping Army are too weak."

At this time, Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang were not too far apart. In fact, these more than a hundred cavalrymen were basically the personal guards of these two people. Liu Huai and others were sandwiched among them, forming a small group.

After all, although the Tianping Army will not restrict Liu Huai's movements, they will not let him run around the world either.

"Weak?" Shao Jin was stunned. He rubbed his forehead and looked at the side of Xin Qiji's war horse's saddle.

There were three human heads hanging there, which were the ones that were chopped off during the previous military law rectification.

This look cannot be associated with weakness in any way.

"That's weakness." Liu Huai shook his head and said loudly, in a voice Xin Qiji could hear, "You dare not take the initiative to open the rotten wounds, you repeatedly tolerate and give in to the evil deeds in the army, you are afraid that you will lose your loyalty after killing people, you are indecisive and procrastinate.

The result was that what was supposed to be solved by killing a dozen people turned into an uncontrollable purge with hundreds of casualties."

Li Tieqiang turned to look at Liu Huai. Not sure if it was because of the conflict with Ru Linjun or because these words hurt him, he said with a grim expression: "Liu Dalang, you've gone too far."

Liu Huai sneered and just stared at Xin Qiji's back: "Big Iron Spear, I don't blame you if you haven't heard some stories, but I don't believe that Xin Wulang, who is well-read, has never heard the story of "Zichan's Admonition to Youji."

Li Tieqiang looked at Xin Qiji, and seeing that he was silent, he could only turn his head and bow again: "I hope Dalang can give me some advice."

This is actually a story recorded in "Han Feizi".

During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zichan was the Prime Minister of the State of Zheng. As he was dying, he told his successor, You Ji, "After I die, you must implement strict laws. Fire looks terrifying, so people rarely get burned. Water looks weak, yet many people drown in it. You must strictly enforce your laws, and don't let the people see your cowardice and break the law."

After Zichan died, You Ji refused to implement a strict system. As a result, the young men of Zheng State started to rebel in the Marsh, which gradually became a disaster for the state.

You Ji led his chariots and cavalry into battle, and after a fierce battle that lasted a day and a night, he finally defeated them. He sighed and said, "If I had listened to Zichan's advice earlier, I would not regret it as much as I do now."

After finishing his speech, Liu Huai sighed deeply: "What's the difference between what you are doing now and what You Ji did?"

Xin Qiji remained silent, but he stopped his horse in the cool breeze of the autumn evening, feeling lost.

(End of this chapter)