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

Chapter 24: A Brief Analysis of the Trends

"Lord Li, General Wang, how is my fleet? Is it impressive?"

Zhang Tong jumped onto the dock from a small boat and said with a big laugh.

Before Wang Xian could say anything, County Magistrate Li was furious: "Zhang Tong, are you foolish enough to die? You're trying to fool me with these little boats. Do you really think the Great Jin Heavenly Soldier Swords are weak?"

It turned out that the five ships in front were all small boats more than twenty steps long.

Not to mention that it is not as good as a tower ship or a fighting ship, it is even smaller than an ordinary boat.

Excluding the sailors on board, how many more people can it hold?
Zhang Tong quickly waved his hand. "Your Excellency, that's ridiculous! Speed is paramount in this deal. Not only do we need to advance quickly when the situation is favorable, but we also need to be able to retreat quickly when the situation is unfavorable. After all, since the Song people dared to attack the Tianbing camp, there's no guarantee they'll be prepared."

Zhang Tong waved his hand as he spoke. "These five ships are incredibly agile, able to maneuver forward, backward, left, and right on the river. Even if we're at a slight disadvantage, a calm retreat is no problem. General, select your elite troops and embark them. Once we reach the south bank, we can surge out in a flash. We won't be afraid of any preparations made by the Song State."

Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Li and Wang Xian were both stunned and then speechless.

The loss of the Wuxing Army was caused by the rebellion of the Qian Army. Because it was too shameful, neither County Magistrate Li nor Wang Xian publicized it.

However, the ordinary regular troops had no idea what had happened because the night was too chaotic, so they also agreed with Wang Xian's statement and believed that it was the Song army that attacked the camp that night.

Similarly, Wang Xian thought that Zhang Tong did not know that the root cause of all this was the rebellion of the Qian army.

Zhang Tong probably really believed that it was the Song people who took the initiative to provoke.

Zhang Tong must have really believed that the Song people were prepared.

Thinking of this, Wang Xian couldn't help but laugh and cry, feeling frustrated as if he had shot himself in the foot.

But Wang Xian thought about it and admitted that what Zhang Tong said made sense.

Be lenient when estimating the enemy's strength!
"Gao Yuanqing!" Wang Xian turned around and shouted, holding his sword, "You take the cavalry and board the ship first!"

Gao Yuanqing muttered a few words, obviously feeling uncomfortable with Wang Xian's order, but he also knew that things had their priorities and this was not the time to argue over these trivial matters, so he immediately ordered more than seventy armored cavalrymen to lead their horses onto the boat.

Zhang Tong gave his men a few instructions, then he and several of his attendants made way for the boat, and pulled Magistrate Li aside to talk in private.

Wang Xian, upon seeing this, also grabbed Gao Yuanqing and whispered, "It's not that I don't trust Mr. Zhang, but when it comes to life and death, it's always better to be cautious. Once you're on board, be careful and send soldiers to keep an eye on the captain. If he dares to make any unusual moves..."

As he spoke, Wang Xian stretched out his hand and gently gestured at his neck.

Gao Yuanqing nodded repeatedly.

Wang Xian thought for a moment and continued, "We still have too few men. Once we get off the ship, if the battle goes well, we can just bring in all the boatmen and sailors. We can at least get two thousand men."

Gao Yuanqing frowned: "Can they be on the same page with us?"

Wang Xian chuckled grimly in his low voice, "Take them to plunder and kill in Chuzhou City. Even if they are not of one mind, they will be of one mind. You know, a dog that has tasted human flesh is no longer a dog, it's a wolf!"

Gao Yuanqing quickly agreed.

There were more than seventy armored cavalrymen, which was not too many, but not too few either, and the five boats were fully packed.

Although the Jin army was elite and well-organized, it still took some effort to get the horses on board. By the time the five boats weighed anchor, two quarters of an hour had passed.

Wang Xian was anxious: "At this rate, when will everyone be able to board the ship?"

Fortunately, after the boat race, two thousand-ton ships finally docked at the pier. Wang Xian just breathed a sigh of relief and wanted to turn around to tell a few Puliyans about something, but he felt a chill rushing to his head, making him shiver unconsciously.

Wang Xian, with his years of battlefield experience, immediately sensed the approaching danger. He turned back in horror, only to see two warships approaching the harbor, their parapets slamming down and resting on the dock. Two armored cavalrymen and dozens of soldiers disembarked from the ships.

Just as the armored soldiers had gained their footing, the armored cavalryman in the lead, riding a familiar warhorse, suddenly charged forward alone.

Two large flags were then raised, one with the huge Chinese character "Song" written on it, and the other with the six large characters "Loyal and Righteous Army Commander Wei" written on it.

Two huge flags fluttered in the wind, full of murderous aura.

The Song army is coming to attack?
The Song army actually took the initiative to attack! ?

Wang Xian's first thought was disbelief, but then he flew into a rage: "Form a battle array to meet the enemy!"

At the same time, the rumbling sound of war drums rang out from the two fighting ships. Fifty crossbowmen stood up from the ceiling and raised the crossbows with the strings already strung.

"lead!"

"put!"

At Zhang Xiaoyi's command, fifty crossbow arrows were fired from high above into the crowd of Jin soldiers.

The so-called "divine arm crossbow can penetrate armor at 200 steps" is just a beautiful myth. However, the fighting ship was only 50 steps away from the Jin army, and the Jin army was not wearing armor, so how could they withstand it?

More than ten Jin soldiers in the lead fell to the ground on the spot, with wailing and screams merging into one.

Although Wang Xian was standing at the front, he was not hit by the arrow. The moment the crossbow arrow flew over, his personal guards threw him to the ground and used their bodies as a shield.

Although Wang Xian was safe, several of his personal guards were shot into hedgehogs in an instant.

However, before Wang Xian pushed the corpse away and stood up, the thunderous sound of horse hooves rang in his ears.

He raised his head, and the tip of the long knife suddenly enlarged in his pupils.

Liu Huai galloped on his horse, lifted Wang Xian high up with his long sword, roared like a tiger, and threw him out with all his might, using him as a human sandbag to smash a gap in the Jin army's formation.

Liu Huai squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and the warhorse under him sped up again. He rushed straight into the gap, stepped on the bodies of the two leading Jin soldiers, and charged into the formation.

The sharp long sword spun like flying in his hand, causing a bloody storm.

If the Jin army is fully armored, in formation, and equipped with spears and axes, then charging into their ranks alone would be courting death.

But the Jin army was not wearing armor, but only cloth clothes, carrying short weapons such as hand knives and melon hammers. Even if there were one or two brave men who risked their lives to stop them, how could they stop the charge of the neatly armed armored cavalry?

Liu Huai had been fully armed when he arrived on the boat. After removing his visor, only his armpits, elbows, and knees were exposed. The Jin soldiers' flying melon hammers and hasty chopping knives were not powerful enough to penetrate his armor and only caused the formation to become more chaotic.

No matter how brave the Jin army was, when they realized that they lacked even the most basic means of counterattack, their first reaction was to retreat.

However, the dock itself was only more than ten steps wide, and the Jin soldiers were crowded together in teams of ten to board the ship. As a result of the pushing and shoving, many Jin soldiers fell directly into the water.

The already chaotic array became even more chaotic.

"Kill the gold thief!"

Taking advantage of the brief period of confusion among the Jin army, the Song army had already formed up its battle array while striding forward, especially the fifty armored soldiers in the lead, who followed Wei Sheng's horse and charged straight into the battle array.

Even greater chaos spread.

(End of this chapter)