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

Chapter 137: I finally knew Feihuzi

Facts have proved that no matter what kind of army it is, there will be some chaos if it suddenly retreats before a battle.

Even the He family army, whose main component is farmers, is no exception.

At the very least, it would take a large number of people to deal with the wounded and the bodies of the dead, and when people in fixed positions were supporting other things, a few mistakes would definitely occur within their original scope of responsibility.

For example, after He Boqiu announced the release of the captives, the nephews of He Boqiu's eldest brother, who were like close brothers to him, and Pang Rugui, the messenger sent by Wei Sheng to Liu Huai, were also released inexplicably.

Maybe the farmer who was in charge of looking after Pang Rugui heard it wrong, or maybe someone gave the order specifically, but it didn't matter to Pang Rugui.

This guy first mixed in with the captives, and only started running after about two miles away from the He family army camp. After swimming across the Anzi River, he rushed directly to the Xinzi army camp regardless of the mud and grass stems on his body.

Pang Rugui didn't know whether the information he brought was still useful at this time, and he didn't even know whether Liu Huai had died in the chaos last night, but he had received the military order after all, and if there was a possibility, he should try his best to do it.

God helps those who work hard. When Pang Rugui tried to cross the trench but was stopped by the soldiers of Rulin Army, Liu Huai, who was standing on a high ground, recognized him.

"Pang Shisan! Why are you here? And you look so embarrassed?"

Liu Huai walked quickly through the path reserved in the trench and came to Pang Rugui. He reached out and patted the other's shoulder, and his hands were covered with mud.

"Which mud pit did you play in?"

Pang Rugui wiped the mud off his face with his hand and said, "Don't be ridiculous, Dalang. I'm here with important military information. The Marshal asked me to convey it."

Liu Huai nodded: "This is not the place to talk, just follow me."

As he spoke, Liu Huai led Pang Rugui into the central military tent of the camp, and asked someone to call generals Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang. During this time, he asked the personal guards who stayed behind in the central army to prepare some hot food. Then he personally fetched two buckets of water and helped Pang Rugui wash in front of the central military tent.

All this made Pang Rugui marvel, and he even had the illusion that he was in the Zhongyi Army instead of the Tianping Army.

Apart from anything else, it was only natural for Liu Dalang to order the personal soldiers in the big tent around, and those personal soldiers actually had no complaints and just got busy.

"Da Lang, have you absorbed the Tianping Army into the Zhongyi Army in just a few days?"

Pang Rugui was only wearing trousers and had disheveled hair. He allowed Liu Huai and Guan Chongyan to pour water on him with a ladle, shaking his muscles and making jokes.

Liu Huai snorted, "Pang Shisan, you better be careful with your words and actions. What you just said could cause you big trouble. If you meet someone who is really stubborn, you will have to fight him to the death."

Pang Rugui immediately laughed awkwardly.

Guan Chongyan directly replied, "The reason is simple: they are in awe of you. When they are confused, you see things clearly; when they are incompetent, you succeed; when they are hesitant, you persevere. After doing this a few times, they naturally become in awe of you."

Liu Huai curled his lips: "Guan Qilang, your words are so corny, your praise gives me goose bumps."

At this moment, someone behind the crowd responded loudly: "This is not a compliment, but the truth."

There was a clanging sound of golden rings colliding with each other, and the first one to arrive here was Yelu Xingge.

He strode up to Liu Huai with his knife in hand, and looked him up and down carefully as if he was seeing Liu Huai for the first time.

Frankly speaking, this was quite rude, but Liu Huai pretended not to notice. After a moment, he asked, "Yelü Xingge, what did you see?" Yelü Xingge smiled and said, "I'm just a barbarian. I don't know how to read qi, so how can I tell anything? As for compliments like pine-like figure and jade-like face, even if you want to hear them, I can't say them."

After finishing his words, Yelu Xingge said solemnly: "Liu Dalang, the Jin thieves have indeed retreated as you said. What should we do?"

Liu Huai looked back at Yelu Xingge in surprise. "Shouldn't it be you, the Tianping Army, who decide what to do? How can I, an outsider, make the decision?"

Yelu Xingge ignored the fact that this place was the center of Xin Qiji's army and that Xin Qiji's personal soldiers were around him, and said directly: "We Khitans have an old saying: A single piece of good advice from a wise man is worth a thousand words from a fool.

Liu Dalang, a few days ago, you said the Tianping Army was bound to be in trouble if they continued like this, and then it happened. Last night, you said that as long as we persisted, the Jin bandits would definitely collapse, and then they hastily withdrew. Honestly, if you hadn't saved the day, with your divine ability to predict the future, I would have thought you were a Jin bandit spy.

Now, I don't ask for advice from a wise man like you, but instead discuss things with others. Isn't that a joke? What can we get out of discussing with those idiots?"

Before he finished speaking, another rough voice came from behind: "Yelü Xingge, you bastard, next time I kill a bird, I will stuff your mouth with bird feathers."

The person who came was Li Tieqiang, who was a little angry.

"Wait a minute. Once everyone who can arrive has arrived, we can discuss the way forward." Seeing the two men about to start arguing again, Liu Huai thought that if the external pressure was removed, internal cracks would appear. He quickly changed the subject: "This is also the rule of our Loyal Army. It allows for collective wisdom and unity of purpose. Don't you think I can point out the right path? This is the right path."

After saying that, Liu Huai said nothing more, but urged Pang Rugui to eat some hot food quickly.

A moment later, all the generals of the Tianping Army gathered here arrived.

"Pang Shisanlang, briefly tell me about the order you received from the Marshal, and what you saw, heard, and experienced along the way."

Pang Rugui wiped his mouth and stood up. He began by recounting the story of how Wei Sheng had discovered Hejia Village deserted, with thousands of villagers missing. Wei Sheng had believed the Jin army was likely to attack the Tianping army, so he had sent Pang Rugui to meet up with Liu Huai, who had already arrived. However, Pang Rugui was captured and delayed for a day, missing the village. He was later released along with the other captives after the situation settled, which was why he had only just arrived.

After these words were spoken, all the generals sighed, and some even stamped their feet. They all felt that if Pang Rugui had not been captured and had arrived a day earlier, the Tianping Army would have been more prepared.

But even if they wanted to talk about hindsight, they had to admit that even if Pang Rugui arrived safely, based on the performance of the Tianping Army in the past few days, it would be difficult to organize a defense in one day.

But unlike the other guys, Xin Qiji, Li Tieqiang and Yelu Xingge, who were very thoughtful, looked at each other and saw the thoughtful look in each other's eyes.

In summary, given Liu Huai's status in the Loyal Army, he was surprised when he encountered the Tianping Army just after passing the Mengshan Pass.

However, Pang Rugui, who set out a few days later, was able to accurately go through Fei County and Mengshan to find the Tianping Army.

This means that Wei Sheng knew the movements of the Tianping Army not long after Liu Huai left.

How did he know?
It is impossible that it was Liu Huai who informed him, because Liu Huai met Xin Qiji unexpectedly, and the two people he brought with him were under Xin Qiji's nose, so it was impossible for him to travel hundreds of miles to inform Wei Sheng.

Considering that Wei Sheng was able to determine that Linyi was empty, the only possibility was that the Jin army in Yizhou first discovered the marching route of the Tianping army, and then the spies of the Zhongyi army ambushed in the Jin army in Yizhou told Wei Sheng everything, so Wei Sheng was able to know everything about this place even though he was hundreds of miles away.

Then, the three of them had another question. Since Wei Sheng could teach a person like Liu Huai, his ability must be good. When such a hero faced Linyi, which was already very weak, would he take any action?
Is the Jin bandits' hasty withdrawal today related to Wei Sheng's victory in Linyi?

If the Loyal Army has won a great victory, then the Jin Army in Yizhou will definitely be at a loss. Can the Tianping Army take this opportunity to avenge the attack last night?
At least Xin Qiji's heart was moved.

(End of this chapter)