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

Chapter 765 Autumn Harvest Season, Evening Clouds of Sorrow

On June 13th, just one day later, rumors began to circulate in the two Jin army camps on both sides of the Fei River.

Needless to say, Chenzhou Army was a conscripted army of the Jin Dynasty, which also established regional military commands and bestowed titles upon military governors.

Meanwhile, another major military intelligence was circulating among the main force of the Jin army.

This refers to the outcome of the Battle of Daming Prefecture.

By June 15th, with the help of certain individuals, these messages became known throughout the entire army.

Needless to say, both the Chenzhou army and the main force of the Jin army became somewhat flustered.

This is a classic example of widespread morale collapse within the army.

The Jurchens of the Western Jin Dynasty felt that the treatment given to the Han people was too generous. Since the Great Jin Dynasty wanted to divide the country into regional warlords, why not let their own people become kings and rulers, but instead gave it to the Han people?

At the same time, they were both happy and worried about the outcome of the Battle of Daming Prefecture. They were happy that these rebels had finally achieved their goal, but worried that since the Han people had gained momentum, there was no reason for them to finish off the Eastern Jin and then let the Western Jin go.

Meanwhile, the 10,000 troops of Dongjin marching south were in complete panic. They couldn't care less about the border regions and warlords. Instead, they were thinking that their hometown in Hebei was about to be lost, so why were they still fighting in the Central Plains? Why didn't they hurry back north?
It can only be said that it was fortunate that Pusan ​​Zhongyi and Jiagu Qingchen were capable enough to quickly suppress the army under such circumstances, giving the Song army no opportunity to take advantage.

The chaos in Chenzhou's army was all the more understandable.

A small portion of this was due to the establishment of regional military governorships, but lower-ranking officers like captains and squad leaders didn't really care, because the benefits of tyranny wouldn't fall on them. However, the chaos in Henan caused by the conscription would truly affect their life and death.

Only after Shi Ju and officers of all ranks exerted their efforts to suppress the Chenzhou army were they able to pacify the situation.

However, none of these matters concerned Du Wuji anymore. After receiving Shi Ju's instructions that day, he first contacted Hou Yuanliang, who was still on the east side of Feishui, and then rushed towards Suzhou with Shi Ju's handwritten letter.

Around the same time, Wei Sheng's mobilization order around Xuzhou had spread, and countless laborers put down their farm work and abandoned their gradually ripening fields, either escorting grain or forming second-line troops according to the militia order, and marched towards Xuzhou.

Looking at the thriving crops, Hao Donglai couldn't help but sigh inwardly, his expression becoming quite animated: "Sister, I'm going with the troops to transport grain this time, and I don't know when I'll be back. The crops are almost ripe, so we'll have to rely on you, Sanlang, and Silang."

Hao Donglai's wife was a widow surnamed Liu whom he married two years ago. She brought with her two young sons with her.

The saying goes that a half-grown son can eat his father alive. Including the eldest son, Hao Nan, there are five mouths to feed in the family, and they live a very frugal life.

Later, Hao Nan followed Liu Yung-gu to Youyan to do business and was recruited into the Embroidered Uniform Guard. Although the Hao family lost one mouth to feed, they still had money coming in from Hao Nan, so their lives improved. The two boys were able to eat their fill every meal and grew taller rapidly. In just over a year, they were already able to work in the fields.

Upon hearing this, Liu, holding her child who was less than a year old, said with a resolute expression, "My husband, I am not some delicate city woman. I will definitely protect the family business for Erlang."

Hao Donglai stepped forward and patted his youngest son's head: "It's not for Erlang. Gou'er has grown up and is ready to start over. We need to save up some money for Sanlang, Silang, and Wulang in the future."

Liu shook her head repeatedly, and just as she was about to say something, she saw Hao Donglai put his hands on his hips and say, "Third Brother, Fourth Brother."

The two boys, who were squatting on the ridge of the field pointing at the sky and talking about the earth, immediately stood up: "Father."

Hao Donglai pulled the third brother over, looked him up and down, and then nodded and sighed, saying, "Sanlang, after I leave, you'll be the only man left in the family. Protect your mother and brother, and be kind to everyone. We'll talk about it when I get back."

Although Hao Sanlang was not related to Hao Donglai by blood, they had lived together for two years, so he naturally wouldn't contradict his adoptive father: "Father, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of the crops."

Hao Donglai nodded: "But you can't be too cowardly. If anyone comes to bully you, fight them back. I'll take care of everything!"

"This time our village needs to send out sixty men, almost half of our able-bodied men. You should also take Silang and help with other people's farm work. Be sure not to let the crops rot in the fields, or you will be punished by heaven!"

"You can't neglect literacy either. When I come back, I'll ask Mr. Zhang to test your knowledge. If you dare to slack off, I'll beat you to death."

"Also, the calf at home can pull the cart now, but it can't be overworked. It needs to be fed concentrated feed every two days..."

Hao Donglai rambled on for a long time until someone at the village entrance called out loudly. Only then did he get up, pick up a bundle from the ground, and sling it over his shoulder: "I'm leaving. You all must live in peace."

Finally, Liu couldn't hold back anymore. Holding her one-year-old child, tears streamed down her face. She grabbed Hao Donglai's sleeve and said, "Husband, I know it's unlucky to say this, but Sanlang and Silang's father went to the battlefield and never came back. I'm worried... Can you not go?"

Hao Donglai patted Liu's hand: "Sister, no way. I've been on the battlefield, and I led a group of people to survive in Huaixi. I do have some skills."

"This time, all 800 able-bodied men from the surrounding thirteen villages have simultaneously elected me as their village head. I cannot refuse. If I go, several of these pillars of their families will survive; if I don't go, I worry they won't even know how to deal with the officials."

After a moment of silence, Hao Donglai said seriously, "Moreover, I owe my survival and arrival in this peaceful place to Lord Wei's kindness. Now that he's at the forefront, what kind of behavior would we have if we didn't follow him?"

"Go back!"

After saying this, Hao Donglai ignored Liu's continued weeping, carried his small bundle, and strode to the village entrance. After joining the sixty-five able-bodied men from Erdao Village who were pulling carts, he walked onto the official road under the watchful eyes of the villagers.

According to the plan, Hao Donglai will gather 800 able-bodied men from 13 surrounding villages in Shuyang County, then head west, cross the Shu River and enter Suqian, and then go upstream along the Ju River to enter Suzhou.

This scene unfolded in villages and towns across several prefectures in southern Shandong. Individuals left their homes, gathering at village entrances to form groups. These groups then assembled at ferry crossings, markets, and county towns, hauling various supplies towards western Shandong.

This story naturally includes moving tales, the lofty ambitions of heroes from humble backgrounds, and the inevitable tender emotions between lovers.

However, all that's gathered on the paper is just numbers, and can only ever be numbers. This is the cruel reality, the cruelty of war.

"...Marshal, this is the situation regarding supplies." Lu You closed the document, sighed, and said, "In five days, about three thousand garrison troops will arrive, and in ten days, there will be ten thousand garrison troops. The number of laborers mobilized throughout southern Shandong will not be less than thirty thousand."

When Lu You arrived in Suzhou, he immediately became Wei Sheng's chief logistics officer.

No one dared to object to this, not to mention his position as the Pacification Commissioner of Shandong and the Northern Expedition, his experience in the Northern Expedition alone was enough to convince everyone.

After quickly reviewing the documents and making a rough estimate of the troop deployment, Lu You said to Wei Sheng in a serious tone, "The autumn harvest is just around the corner. Conscripting so many laborers could very well lead to a large-scale reduction in the autumn grain yield."

Wei Sheng, leaning on the table, nodded and said, "Mr. Lu, I am aware of this matter, but with a great battle about to begin, we can only grit our teeth and endure this ordeal."

Seeing this, Lu You could only swallow the rest of his words.

Needless to say, after this defeat, it will simply be a matter of dying in battle; if we had won, half of Henan would have been devastated, and then Shandong would have had to provide money and supplies for disaster relief.

Where will the money and supplies come from then?

Lu You banished the chaotic thoughts from his mind.

Ultimately, the current battle is the most important thing.

"Mr. Lu, have any new military orders been delivered from Xia Cai?"

Faced with Wei Sheng's question, Lu You shook his head with some difficulty.

Although they were all loyal subjects of the Song Dynasty, and it wasn't as embarrassing as it would be for someone standing next to Liu Huai, Lu You still felt that the Song army's performance this time was really terrible.

Leaving aside the disgraceful actions of Shao Hongyuan and Liu Bao, the contents of the correspondence between Wei Sheng and Zhang Jun alone were enough to make Lu You facepalm.

Wei Sheng's idea was simple: the autumn harvest wasn't just a matter for Shandong. Didn't Henan and Lianghuai also harvest grain?

The sooner this battle ends, the sooner the laborers can be released, and the more autumn grain can be preserved.

Zhang Jun agreed to this in principle, but only ordered Wei Sheng to send troops to attack the Jin army first, and then the main force of the Song army would arrive later to join forces with the Zhongyi Army to attack the Jin army from both sides.

After reading Zhang Jun's handwritten letter, Wei Sheng and Lu You, two loyal ministers of the Song Dynasty, looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

At this time, the State of Song had at least 50,000 Northern Expeditionary troops gathered in Xia Cai. Instead of taking the initiative to attack, it was quite incomprehensible that the Zhongyi Army, which was only 8,000 strong and located on the flank, would make the first move.

What is this? Using unorthodox methods to combine forces, and winning with conventional ones?

Lu You knew that Zhang Jun was completely hopeless, so he could only send the letter to Yu Yunwen to see if he had any other options.

The letter had just been sent when Yu Yunwen sent a private message.

The article listed a long list of reasons, but the main point was that Yu Yunwen had no way to motivate the main force of the Song army to launch an offensive.

The two groups of defeated soldiers need no further explanation; the key lies with Li Xianzong.

Li Xianzong was not afraid of battle, nor did he feel that his 30,000 troops in Chizhou were incapable of fighting. Rather, with the other Song armies all retreating, as the de facto military commander, he had no choice but to seek stability.

Just as Yu Yunwen said, this was likely the most successful Northern Expedition in the next few decades, and Li Xianzong dared not let this opportunity slip away.

Even though Li Xianzong was unaware of the internal contradictions within the Jin army, he could still strategically deduce that once the outcome of the Battle of Damingfu spread, it would certainly cause unrest within the Jin army.

After Daming Prefecture is captured by Liu Huai, Bianliang will be within reach. At that time, we will not be afraid of the Western Jin army and will not panic.

As long as the stalemate continues, the Jin army will eventually make a change.

When Zhang Jun, the nominal commander of the entire army, joined forces with Li Xianzong, the de facto military commander, they could essentially decide everything on the front lines.

In response, Wei Sheng could only grumble and continue to send military envoys to Xia Cai to maintain military intelligence exchange.

"Report!" Just as Wei Sheng and Lu You were each in a dilemma, a guard called out and entered: "Commander Shan has dispatched troops to send a man, saying he is a messenger from an old friend."

Wei Sheng had an idea: "Bring the person in, but don't make a big fuss."

(End of this chapter)