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

Chapter 19: The Storm Rises from the Darkness (Part )
Just when Liu Huai and Li Gongzuo admired each other.

In Lianshui County, the marching general Wang Xian watched his immediate superior Zhang Yu take his last breath.

The unlucky Zhang Yu had his back broken by a knife first, and then he fell off his horse and broke his neck. He was able to struggle for a whole day with foam at the mouth, which was considered to be a strong vitality.

However, his death was not a big deal, but Wang Xian was completely devastated.

At the founding of the Jin Dynasty, there was a military law called "beating the troops to death." Simply put, if a Jin army officer died in battle, his subordinates would be executed after the battle, regardless of whether they fought hard or not.

It is precisely because of the existence of this military law that when the Jin army general personally led his guards to launch a charge, the entire army would disregard life and death and rush into the battle.

During the Jingkang period, the Jin invaded the south, confronting the Song army across the Yellow River. Wanyan Wuliebujing, the second crown prince of the Jin dynasty, took off his armor in winter and personally led the charge across the river on horseback. The Jin army was energized and rushed to cross the river first.

Seeing this, the Song army on the other side of the river was so frightened that they fled without fighting!

Of course, the Jin Dynasty had been established for decades, so it would be a stretch to say that it had always maintained such strict military law. However, the key point was that after Wanyan Liang usurped the throne, he launched a series of campaigns to establish his position, and in the process, the Jin army revived this tradition.

As a military commander, Wang Xian usually respected this military law and thought it was very reasonable. However, when this military law fell on his head, he still felt a tremor in his soul.

No one can say that Zhang Yu did not die in battle, but Wang Xian still felt that he was wronged.

He was clearly still organizing his troops at the time, but who knew that Zhang Yu would rush forward and be killed by a few thieves who had sneaked into the camp?
Of course, what might be even more unfair is that the seven marching commanders who originally belonged to Zhang Yu and followed Meng Tian back to Bianliang to defend the country might have been beheaded for no apparent reason by the marching commanders.

Thinking of this, Wang Xian sighed, opened the door, walked out of Zhang Yu's room and came to the courtyard.

"Old Wang, what should we do?"

Another marching officer named Gao Yuanqing at the door asked while wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

Wang Xian glanced at him and said nothing.

Although Gao Yuanqing also had a shaved head, he was not a Jurchen, but a Bohai... or a Goryeo. He usually relied on the fact that his ancestors had passed the border with Wanyan Aguda, and he often looked down on others. He was dissatisfied and indignant that Wang Xian, a man from the Central Plains, could be on equal footing with him.

However, at this point, the two are like grasshoppers on the same rope. No matter how much they hate each other, they have to stand together and find a way to save their own lives.

"What should we do?" Wang Xian pointed at the two shirtless men tied up in the yard and said, "Let's release them both first!"

These two strong men were both Puliyan (captain of fifty men), and their immediate superior was Pushan Saba who was beheaded by Liu Huai.

According to the military law of beheading the whole team, if Pushan Saba died in battle, these two people would be executed.

But who has the energy to care whether these two Puliyans live or die? !
Gao Yuanqing waved his guards forward and untied the two men: "I told you, Zhang Meng'an is also injured, and I don't have time to deal with you... You are just flirting with a blind man!"

The two Puliyans stood up awkwardly, stretched their numb upper bodies, and were about to cross their arms in salute when Wang Xian gave another order: "Military intelligence has been reported. Everyone below the Puliyans, get out!"

After all the Jin soldiers in the courtyard filed out, Wang Xian whispered to Gao Yuanqing and the two Puliyans, "Let me be frank. According to military law, none of us can escape and we will all be executed. So, if you don't want to die, quickly come up with a solution for me!" Hearing this, Gao Yuanqing's face was as gloomy as water and he said nothing.

The two Puliyans were suddenly startled and looked up at the big house behind Wang Xian.

"Zhang Meng'an is indeed dead, but don't spread the news." Wang Xian instructed: "Keep it a secret for a while, not only from Song Gou, but also from the commander-in-chief."

The two Puliyans' faces turned even paler.

"Pusansaba is dead anyway, so we might as well say that Meng'an was slightly injured, but the wound festered. After a few days, the wound ruptured and he bled to death." Gao Yuanqing slammed his fist and said viciously.

Pushan Saba was a personal guard of Meng Tian, the commander-in-chief of the Wuxing Army, and everyone assumed that he must have the responsibility of supervising the army.

"As for Zhang Hu and the others..." Gao Yuanqing thought of Zhang Yu's personal guard leader and gritted his teeth, "I'll go talk to them myself. I just don't believe that if their master dies in battle, they, the personal guards, will have a good ending! If they obey me, fine. If they don't... humph!"

Wang Xian glanced at Gao Yuanqing again, secretly cursing him as an idiot, then forced himself to suppress the urge to curse, and said coldly: "What about the Meng'an seal? Did the gold wound break and disappear?

Do you think the commander-in-chief is someone who can tolerate no sand in his eyes? If he feels something is wrong, it would be strange if he didn't investigate thoroughly. We have an army of more than 200 people. Can you guarantee that nothing will be leaked?
If we find out about something, hmph... don't forget, if we kill one of us, we'll just be executed, but if we falsely report military intelligence, our entire family will be executed!"

Gao Yuanqing stamped his feet angrily: "Then what do you say we should do?!"

Wang Xian said calmly, "First, this matter must be reported truthfully to the Commander-in-Chief. We all must apologize, but we need to give ourselves as much time as possible to respond. And you all need to think carefully. Since Your Majesty ascended the throne, has anyone escaped the Execution? Rumors or mere whispers count!"

There was a moment of silence in the courtyard, and everyone lowered their heads and frowned in thought.

After a long while, Gao Yuanqing slowly said, "I once heard a story that the Minister of War Wanyan Yuanyi once led the Shenwu Army to participate in the northern expedition against the Mongols. His son Wanyan Wangxiang was a military commander at that time.

After his superior, Meng'an, died in battle, Minister Wanyan first concealed the incident, allowing his son to take the blame and gain meritorious service. He then used his own merits to plead with His Majesty, and only then was the incident finally covered up."

After finishing speaking, Gao Yuanqing spread his hands and said, "Actually, there's no point in saying this. Who among us has a father who is a Shangshu?"

Wang Xian sat on the steps, looking up at the sky, silent for a long time. "...I've heard about this in general. Now that I think about it, this incident wasn't essentially Minister Wanyan pleading for his son, but rather a military commander pleading for a meritorious subordinate, who was then pardoned personally by Your Majesty."

Gao Yuanqing scoffed, "It's all the same anyway. If he's not my father, who would disregard military law and risk their future to beg His Majesty for mercy? Do we all know how to do this?"

"If..." Wang Xian stared at the three people in front of him with bloodshot eyes: "If we can also accomplish something that the commander-in-chief will remember, can we also show our face in front of His Majesty?!"

"Old Wang, what are you going to do?"

Wang Xian's face was already grim: "How about we take over Chuzhou City?"

(End of this chapter)