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

Chapter 129: Situation in the Eyes and Strategy in the Heart

This surprise attack on the night of August 11th stunned everyone in the Taiping Army.

Geng Jing, Xin Qiji, Li Tieqiang and other high-ranking officials of the Tianping Army had been beaten by the regular army of the Jin Dynasty.

In fact, the reason they came to Tai'an Prefecture was that they were defeated by the Jin army and could no longer gain a foothold in Jinan Prefecture.

But they really didn't think that there were still masters among the people of Jin.

To be precise, the Jin Dynasty did have heroes. Among them, the rentiers who were loyal to the Jin Dynasty had long been ready to follow Wanyan Liang to the Song Dynasty to make a fortune, while those whose interests were harmed had long been preparing to fight the Jin Dynasty to the death, just waiting for the waves to rise with the wind.

Didn’t you see what those powerful people in Tai’an Prefecture did?

When Geng Jing arrived with his remaining defeated troops, they immediately swarmed up and surrendered.

Before this moment, if someone had told Geng Jing that the powerful people in Yizhou were planning to unite and compete with the Tianping Army for freedom, he would have certainly scoffed.

Why? What's the point?

Even though Liu Huai had already made it clear that these powerful people had begun to fight against the Loyal Army, Geng Jing only thought that Fei County might be more difficult to attack. How could he have imagined that they might encounter an ambush in Mengshan?

Defending one's hometown and organizing a field battle are two completely different things in terms of difficulty.

But among this group of powerful people, there happened to be an outlier named He Boqiu.

But Pushandharma was also a man of his own skill.

The two sides worked together to create the current situation where the Jin army is unstoppable.

Xin Qiji was sweating profusely at this time, and even his voice was distorted when he shouted orders.

But to be fair, his response was already very good. At least he did not collapse at the first blow like in the previous battles, and none of his subordinates noticed his panic.

For a smart person like Xin Qiji, after experiencing and overcoming many things once, he can remain calm and deal with them calmly when he encounters them next time.

But the cruel reality is that most people will be at a loss when they experience it for the first time, and lose their will, courage, and life in panic.

At this time, the Xin army had already lined up in the camp. The soldiers who tried to escape or ran around in the camp had been punished by military law and their heads were lifted high.

Xin Qiji felt as if he hadn't missed anything, but he wasn't entirely sure. He quickly asked the person next to him, "Liu Dalang... I'm really confused. What should I do next? Do you have anything else to remind me of?"

The two men were standing side by side on the watchtower in front of the camp. Liu Huai glanced at Xin Qiji and said, "Be quiet when you speak. You are the commander-in-chief and must remain calm at all times. It's fine for you to ask me privately, but if your subordinates hear them, they will think you are incapable, panic, and look down on you."

Xin Qiji's mouth was dry and he could only nod repeatedly.

Liu Huai continued, pointing to the south, "The Anzi River runs from north to south, naturally dividing the forces. Not only will the Tianping Army be divided into two parts, east and west, but the attacking Jin bandits will also be divided into two armies, east and west."

Xin Qiji frowned: "The Anzi River is only a few dozen steps wide at its widest point. How can such a river possibly stop a large army?"

Liu Huai shook his head. "It's already too late. Not to mention at night, even trying to swim across the river during the day would cause the army to lose control and become difficult to organize. Performing such a tactical maneuver when the enemy is in front of us is simply courting death. That's why we say to attack them halfway across the river."

Xin Qiji nodded suddenly.

Seeing that Xin Qiji was alright, Liu Huai continued, "Looking at the firelight, the number of Jin thieves on the east and west banks is about the same, but it must be us on the east bank who were the first to be attacked."

"First, although they're all illuminated by torches, the torches on the west bank are clearly aligned, indicating the infantry are forming a battle array. The torches on the east bank are more scattered, but very fast, indicating the cavalry." "Second, the Jin bandits launched their attacks on both sides simultaneously and in the same place. So, the Jin bandits on the west bank are attacking the first group of Pingshan Hu on the west bank. The Jin bandits on the east bank, the cavalry group we're facing, are first attacking Jia Rui, the second group on the east bank."

As he spoke, Liu Huai looked Xin Qiji straight in the eye and said, "Don't forget, a few days ago, the west bank was moving a few miles slower due to the conflict between the Pingshan Hu and the Rulin Army."

Xin Qiji finally sketched out the strategic map of the main battlefield in his mind, and asked with a heavy breath, "Then if Sun Hei, the first wave of our army, returns to reinforce us, can we lock all the Jin bandits' cavalry on the east bank?"

Liu Huai asked in return: "Will Sun Hei come back to help?"

Xin Qiji was immediately speechless.

How could he possibly come back to help? Not to mention whether Sun Hei had the ability to organize an army under such circumstances, even if he did, did they really think he was some loyal hero with great righteousness and faith?

It's good enough if we can hold on.

In fact, it was just as the two expected. Jiagu Shou and Shuhu Ali on the east bank simply sent fifty cavalrymen to Sun Hei's black-headed army, threw a few torches, shot a few arrows, and the black-headed army collapsed on its own.

"It seems that Jia Rui's army has been defeated. Next is Shi Baiju, then Yelu Xingge, and then it's our turn."

"As for the other side, Pingshan Hu is finished. Du Shiba in the second formation is almost finished. Liang Atai in the third formation hasn't even lit up yet, and it looks like he's already collapsed. Ye Shichan in the fourth formation is quite good, his camp is brightly lit, and it seems he has a plan."

After a pause, Liu Huai pointed to the opposite side of the Anzi River. "Then there are the Rulin Army and the Tianwang Army. We've controlled our marching speed over the past few days so we can camp opposite each other. A pontoon bridge has been built across the Anzi River between the two camps, and behind the bridge are the food ships. With this pontoon bridge, the Tianwang Army, the Rulin Army, and the Xinzi Army can support each other."

"I just can't figure it out. Since the Jin thieves have already discovered the Tianping Army so clearly, why don't they come and destroy the floating bridge?"

Xin Qiji thought for a moment and said, "Perhaps it's because the Anzi River flows from north to south, and it's impossible to set fire to it downstream."

He didn't realize that after Liu Huai's analysis, he also sorted out the current situation and became confident.

Liu Huai continued to shake his head. "What kind of excuse is that? A large army is fighting, thousands and tens of thousands of lives are at stake. How could they give up just because of a simple change in the current? Wouldn't the Jin thieves send out desperate soldiers armed with large shields and rowing straw boats to storm the pontoon bridge?"

Before the topic was discussed, the sound of horse hooves was heard coming rapidly from far away.

A big man with naked upper body, braided hair and a gold ring came to the front of the Xinzi Army camp with more than 300 cavalrymen.

"Xin Wulang, I'm Yelu Xingge. Please open the gate and let us in."

The cavalryman with braided hair, Yelu Xingge, looked up and shouted at Xin Qiji on the watchtower in front of the Xinzi Army camp.

Xin Qiji took a deep breath and said, "Yelü Xingge, is this all the cavalry you have? Where are the rest of your troops?"

Yelu Xingge was sweating profusely. "They're all behind us. That useless Shi Baiju couldn't even hold out for half an hour before the Jin bandits' cavalry trampled through the camp. I brought my men here first. Xin Wulang, quickly open the camp gate and let us in!"

Xin Qiji shouted, "You can't come in. You are all cavalrymen. What's the point of coming to the camp? All the defeated soldiers are not allowed to come in, otherwise my Xin army will be in chaos!"

Yelu Xingge was furious, but before he could utter another harsh word, he heard Xin Qiji continue, "My camp is set up along the riverbank. There's a gap of seven or eight hundred paces between the east side and the foot of the mountain. You're sending all the defeated soldiers fleeing north through that. But you can't flee. You must gather those soldiers who can still fight there, including your five hundred cavalrymen."

Yelu Xingge gasped, "Even if I gathered all five hundred cavalry, we would still be no match for the Jin bandits' cavalry. Do you know how many Jin bandits' cavalry there are? At least two thousand!"

Xin Qiji looked at the long line of torches approaching, and became a little impatient. "I will send troops to support you from the east gate. Stop talking nonsense. Even if you are greedy for life, you must fight for your Khitan tribe!"

Yelu Xingge could only grit his teeth and agree.

(End of this chapter)