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

Chapter 56: The enemy's fate is over and the business is settled

An hour later, when Liu Huai heard the news that Gao Anren had escaped, he was still somewhat in disbelief.

"What? He actually ran away?!"

Liu Huai, Zhang Xiaoyi and Zhang Baiyu looked at each other in disbelief.

The Jin soldier, stripped of his armor, tied up and kneeling on the ground with his bare chest, replied dejectedly: "The young general has indeed returned to Qushan. I saw it with my own eyes."

Liu Huai sat on the horse, took off his helmet, and still frowned in confusion.

The Song army had come on a long expedition, had just crossed the Yellow River flood area, and had to fight across the river. It could be said that they were at the end of their strength.

Even if Gao Anren didn't dare to gather his troops to fight again, he wouldn't be so scared that he would flee.

Aren't the Jin army composed entirely of cavalry? They could fight and flee at the same time, hold their ground in strategic locations, ambush in secluded areas, or, taking advantage of their familiarity with the terrain, attack and kill the Song army's baggage train and civilians. Aren't there plenty of options?

Didn’t the Jin army always boast that “If you don’t charge and kill eight or ten times a day, how can you be called a cavalry”?

This is just a slight setback. Why did the main general run away?
You must know that Gao Anren's escape was not just a matter of being afraid of death. He was actually selling out all the Jin army's regular troops and signed troops, totaling thousands of people.

This has nothing to do with Gao Anren's ability and prestige, but rather that as the commander of the army, he is naturally the strategic fulcrum of these thousands of people. As long as he is there, no matter whether the Jin army is defeated or not participating in the war, as long as they are alive, they will gather around him and work together.

But he actually escaped.

"How is this possible?" Liu Huai tapped the bound Jin soldier's cheek with the tip of his spear. "You're being dishonest, kid! Even if Gao Anren is as dumb as a pig, he shouldn't be running away at this time, and running all the way to Qushan County... Why didn't you say he went to Bianjing?"

The bound Jin soldier tilted his head back, trying to escape the spear, but the Song soldiers behind him grabbed his braid and pinned his shoulders, preventing him from moving. Seeing the spear tip dangling before him, he quickly explained, "It's true, it's true. There was a bastard named Shi Qi who bewitched the young general. I was confused at the time and followed him."

"Shi Qilang..." Zhang Baiyu blurted out with a look of surprise on his face.

The bound Jin soldier suddenly looked up in shock. He couldn't understand why the Song army general knew the name of a fugitive.

Liu Huai turned around and glared at Zhang Baiyu fiercely. Zhang Baiyu immediately looked down at his nose and mouth, lowered his head and stopped talking.

Zhang Xiaoyi took over the conversation, "Commander Liu, there's nothing strange about this. Aren't there many people who never recover after a defeat? Gao Anren's behavior is normal throughout history. Those who can fight again and again without losing their spirit are the truly rare heroes of the world."

As he spoke, Zhang Xiaoyi pointed at Zhang Baiyu and said, "Isn't Wanyan Talan, the defeated general under Zhang Silang's father, General Zhang, a good example? After losing tens of thousands of soldiers and his son-in-law at the Battle of Suotoutan, he immediately switched from advocating war to advocating peace, and later became a useless person who dared not even talk about military matters... Commander Liu, you must remember that he was the founding prince of the Jin Dynasty!"

The surrounding Song soldiers nodded repeatedly after hearing these words, but the bound Jin soldier became even more frightened.

"Then why did you come back? But don't say that you have a change of heart and blood is rushing to your head." Liu Huai thrust his spear forward again, but the stinging pain on the cheek of the bound Jin army brought his thoughts back, and he quickly answered.

"My brother was in charge of the baggage train in the rear, and he was a captain. I pretended my horse was tired and fell behind, so I could take the opportunity to fall behind, hoping that my brother would be on the alert. But before I could find the rear, I lost my way and injured my horse while crossing a trench. Then I was captured."

"So, your rear troops don't know about the defeat at the front?"

"How is that possible? It would be fine if they didn't know about it an hour ago, but who knows how many defeated soldiers have escaped. Luo Guzi, the leader of the troops, is no fool."

"Oh, Luo Guzi is commanding the rear army." Liu Huai found the name Luo Guzi familiar and thought about it carefully. Isn't this the father of the boy named Luo Huaiyan who was hiding in the reed marsh?
"That kid called Luo Huaiyan." Zhang Xiaoyi also remembered: "And that group of young boys. Luo Guzi is their teacher."

Liu Huai nodded: "Brother Xiaoyi, take people to fetch them quickly. It's so chaotic here, don't hurt them."

Zhang Xiaoyi bowed and said he had received the order. He turned his horse back and heard Liu Huai say, "Wait."

Liu Huai narrowed his eyes and said, "Don't use an ox cart. Each of you can carry one or two and bring them here directly on horseback. Be quick."

Zhang Xiaoyi didn't understand Liu Huai's intention, but he immediately took the order and left.

"Let's get this straight. Do you have anything else to say?" Liu Huai turned his head again and looked at the bound Jin soldiers with a smile.

The bound Jin soldiers kept silent.

"Don't tell me, I'll ask your brother myself later."

"Wait...wait, I'll tell you everything."

"That's right. Life and death are uncertain on the battlefield, but a real man should always seek a way out for his family." Liu Huai said with a smile, then his expression became serious: "How many cavalrymen are there in Haizhou?"

The bound Jin soldier trembled all over and managed to speak: "There are still some in the Meng'an Mouke households. The prefect Gao originally asked General Gao to defend the Shu River and he would recruit them later, but you arrived too quickly, it's probably too late."

"Conscripting the Meng'an and Mouke households?" Liu Huai pinched his chin. "Why do I remember that your prefecture could only sign civilian laborers, that is, conscript soldiers, but could not conscript the Meng'an and Mouke households? Your prefect Gao is really bold!"

The Meng'an and Mouke households of the Jin Dynasty were considered regular troops. It was not a big deal for the prefect to issue civilian laborers, and he had no power to mobilize regular troops at all.

Apart from special matters, the Jin Dynasty court would not give the prefect this power, otherwise every prefecture and county would become a country within a country, wouldn't it?

The bound Jin soldier said in a panic, "Your Majesty has ordered the conscription of all the young and strong men from the Meng'an and Mouke households to join the army in preparation for the southern expedition. That's why the prefect was able to use a trick to gather them together first, to... to resist the Song army."

Liu Huai nodded, but immediately realized something: "So, the Meng'an Mouke households in Haizhou only know that Wanyan Liang issued an order for them to join the army and invade the Song Dynasty. But they don't know that our loyal army has already reached their doorstep, right?"

The bound Jin soldiers grew increasingly panicked. "Perhaps. But there's no such thing as a completely impenetrable wall. While Governor Gao won't publicize it, such a large-scale military deployment is sure to attract attention."

Liu Huai finally got the information he wanted to hear and sat up straight on his horse. "In that case, we need to hurry up. There are so many things that are always urgent. Ten thousand years is too long. We must seize the day."

After showing off his book bag in a very literary manner and scaring Zhang Baiyu beside him, Liu Huai smiled at the Jin army and made a gesture of scratching his neck.

The next moment, the Jin soldier was killed by the Song army behind him.

This person guessed that Shi Qilang might have connections with the Song army, so he absolutely could not be kept any longer.

Liu Huai sighed and continued to give orders: "Zhang Silang, let's take the remaining cavalry and go find the Jin bandits' rear army first to see if we can seize some supplies."

Zhang Baiyu hurriedly agreed.

(End of this chapter)