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

Chapter 710: Going to the altar again despite the waves

"This is news from Bianliang."

"The Jin general Pusan ​​Zhongyi led his elite troops in a surprise attack on Nanyang. Cheng Min, the Grand Commandant, was caught off guard and his 20,000 troops were routed. At this time, they had already retreated to Rangcheng in Dengzhou."

In Jinan Prefecture, Liu Huai handed the document he had just received to He Boqiu, his expression somewhat complicated.

After taking the document, He Boqiu glanced at it and shook his head helplessly: "Even if we knew the Song state was incompetent, this defeat was too swift. Is the information accurate?"

Liu Huai shook his head: "The victory report from Bianliang of the Jin Kingdom may be exaggerated. Cheng Min may not have suffered heavy casualties, but he was ultimately defeated."

Otherwise, Pusan ​​Zhongyi would have been forced to engage Cheng Min in a stalemate at Fangcheng, thus undermining his claim of a great victory.

In those days, after winning a battle, it was customary to announce the victory, both to boost morale and to reassure the people.

At this time, the Jinyiwei (Imperial Guard) that Liu Huai had placed in Bianliang did not have a very high status, but they could still investigate news that was out in the open, such as reports of victory.

However, only those involved, such as Pusan ​​Zhongyi, know the truth.

He Boqiu pondered for a long time, then said, "In other words, one of the two armies of the Song state has been driven back, and Pusan ​​Zhongyi can now free up his forces to come to the Central Plains."

Liu Huai nodded: "That's right. At least another ten or twenty thousand troops will be needed, and the situation may change again."

Pu Sanzhongyi, having conserved his strength, struck Cheng Min on the head with his first blow, which was good news for the Shandong rebels.

But now that Pu Sanzhongyi has won a great victory, he will certainly not return to Bianliang to sit back and watch the tigers fight, but will go to Huaibei to support Pu Chashijie and others.

The situation in the Central Plains will change then. If Yu Yunwen's forces can't hold out and have to withdraw, it might lead to a situation where the two Jin states join forces to attack Shandong.

Throughout history, the battlefield has always been a place where a single move can have far-reaching consequences.

He Boqiu read through the intelligence report twice, then looked up at Liu Huai and smiled, "Young Master, you didn't come here just to tell me this, did you?"

Liu Huai also smiled.

At this time, He Boqiu led 20,000 regular troops to garrison Jiyang, and was considered to be in a high position of power.

The two of them certainly didn't meet just to chat or joke around.

"What I mean is, since the situation in the Central Plains is so critical, even if He Zizheng and He Erlang go on an expedition, it won't involve many troops. Shouldn't we postpone it?"

He Zizheng was He Boqiu's second son. This time, he was to lead the newly established navy, along with some armed merchant ships, from Dengzhou Port (the northernmost point of the Shandong Peninsula, present-day Penglai City), across the Bohai Bay, to attack Hesuguan Road (present-day Dalian City). This would make them a thorn in the side of the enemy, threatening the Jin Dynasty's capital, Liaoyang Prefecture, and thus mobilizing the Jin army.

The plan was initially proposed by Liu Huai, but it was Li Bao and his son who perfected and promoted it.

To prove his resolve, Li Bao even sent his son, Li Gongzuo, to accompany the army on its journey.

But now that great changes are about to occur in the Central Plains, He Zizheng and Li Gongzuo are going to take great risks by attacking Liaodong from behind, and it is unknown how much of an effect they can still play.

Therefore, Liu Huai personally came to ask He Boqiu to make a decision on whether to send his second son to the dangerous place.

He Boqiu remained silent for a moment before saying with his hands behind his back, "From an official standpoint, once A-Zheng leads his troops out to attack and establishes a foothold in Hesuguan Road, even a small force can attract the attention of the Jin bandits. If they can attract the attention of one Mouke, Hebei will lose a hundred Jin bandit soldiers."

"Moreover, our army has many merchant ships that frequently travel at sea. The route from Dengzhou to Hesuguan can be completed in a day or two, so Azheng cannot be said to be fighting alone."

Unless he is too careless and his ship is burned to the ground by the Jin pirates, he will still have some way out.

He Boqiu sighed: "Personally speaking, the third brother, Azhen, has accomplished a great career. He became the Admiral of the Maritime Transport Bureau, traveling back and forth between Zhejiang, Zhejiang, Shandong, and Hebei. He's doing very well."

"This is Ah Zhen's good fortune. Ah Zheng can't help but be jealous, but he can't help but feel bitter. Sometimes he even tries to drown his sorrows in alcohol and gets completely drunk."

"Now that he wants to achieve something great, I cannot dissuade him."

"Let him be."

Upon hearing this, Liu Huai could only nod repeatedly.

"Then let's do it this way. Let Ah Zheng set off immediately."

The military advisor beside him had already prepared the document, waiting for Liu Huai and He Boqiu to affix their seals simultaneously before handing it over to the waiting military envoy.

When He Bo asked to see Liu Huai, he saw some worry in his eyes. Knowing that Liu Huai was concerned about the situation in the Central Plains, He Bo immediately advised, "There is no need to worry about Lord Wei for the time being."

"Oh?" "The rainy season is coming soon. The Jin bandits have a lot of cavalry. At this time, we won't gain any advantage by forcibly attacking the city. By July, the outcome of this great battle will be clearer, and then our army will be able to make some moves."

Liu Huai sighed, "Yes, just as the strategist predicted, this rainy season is not only beneficial to our army's defense, but it might even do the Song Kingdom a great favor, allowing Prime Minister Yu to hold out in Henan for a while longer. But..."

“But my father suffered too many injuries in his early years. Whenever it rains continuously, his whole body aches terribly and he can hardly move. This is especially true after he was injured the year before last. If I hadn’t been so busy, I would never have let my father stay in Xuzhou.”

As Wei Sheng's contemporary, He Boqiu was quite open-minded. He directly advised, "Young Master, it's all fate. If we let Lord Wei stay in Jinan Prefecture, he might feel better, but he would be even more heartbroken."

Liu Huai remained silent for a moment, then said, "Third Master He, you're right. In that case, let's end this battle as soon as possible."

With that, Liu Huai mounted his horse and took the opportunity to inspect the defenses of Jiyang. He stayed for two days until He Zizheng and Li Gongzuo set off from Dengzhou Port with more than 40 warships and more than 3,000 soldiers. Only then did Liu Huai ride back to Bozhou.

This day was the first day of the fifth lunar month.

After Liu Huai arrived in Bozhou and had just finished dealing with some official business, he heard from a scout that there seemed to be troops from Daming Prefecture, numbering around 10,000. However, judging from the route, the Jin army did not seem to be coming to attack the Bozhou camp.

Liu Huai stroked his chin thoughtfully.

Could it be that Wanyan Yong discovered that Pusan ​​Zhongyi's elite troops had gone to Huaibei to fight against Zhang Jun, leaving Bianliang vulnerable, and finally couldn't resist heading south to attack Wanyan Liang's stronghold?
That doesn't seem quite right either.

Why did they have to start fighting now, of all times? Isn't that a bit too much of a coincidence?

"Send an order to Zhang Baiyu to lead his cavalry to scout the situation." Liu Huai paused, then added, "Try to avoid fighting."

"Here!"

When the military envoy delivered the order to the Dongping army, Zhang Baiyu was eating soup dumplings in a rice bowl bigger than his head. Upon hearing the news, he immediately wiped his mouth and instructed Liang Pan, "Third Brother Liang, you maintain military discipline. I'll be right back!"

After saying this, Zhang Baiyu mustered two hundred cavalrymen and left the camp in a hurry. After simply assessing the time difference in intelligence transmission, he headed south towards Yanggu County.

Although the Jin army had horses, they were not all cavalry; some were Han Chinese infantry on horseback. Therefore, the 10,000 troops did not rush down in a chaotic mob, but rather marched in waves.

This resulted in Heshi Lieliangbi having already reached Baima County north of the Yellow River, but the last contingent of his troops had just arrived in Puyang.

Zhang Baiyu ran wildly and finally caught up with the Jin army here, his spirits immediately lifted.

The rearguard commander, Kiyotomi Kagaya, was no pushover either, and immediately led his troops to form a battle formation.

Upon seeing this, Zhang Baiyu immediately ordered the entire army to form ranks and prepare for battle.

"Fourth Master, the Commander-in-Chief's orders are to avoid fighting the Jin invaders as much as possible, and to focus on gathering intelligence..."

A guard tried to warn him, but Zhang Baiyu shooed him away like a fly.

"Do you think I don't know that the main task is to gather military intelligence? But what can I do in this situation? Am I supposed to go over and ask them a few questions?"

Zhang Baiyu excitedly stretched his shoulders, then took off his large bow and pointed to the banner in Jiagu: "Guess if he'll respond?"

"On the contrary, as long as we fight a battle and capture a few bandits, we will know everything."

"Furthermore, the eldest son said to avoid fighting as much as possible. I have the authority to make decisions on the battlefield. Today, I will lead you to achieve great deeds. Do you have the courage?!"

Encouraged by Zhang Baiyu, the Dongping army cavalrymen immediately rose in morale and roared with cheers: "Kill!"

"kill!"

Kiyoshi Kagaya's cheek twitched twice as he paused.

If he had underestimated the Shandong bandits a few years ago, after nearly being killed in battle while intercepting Liu Huai, Jia Gu Qingchen now regarded the Shandong Han army as an opponent of equal strength.

Two hundred cavalrymen may seem like a small number, but they are enough for a surprise attack and decapitation strike.

It should be noted that on that day, Yang Zaixing led two hundred cavalrymen and almost killed Wanyan Wuzhu in battle.

However, now that the situation had come to this, there was no turning back. Looking at the more than three hundred cavalrymen gathered around him, Kagaya Kiyoshi shouted, "Today is the day to make a name for ourselves!"

"kill!"

(End of this chapter)