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

Chapter 211: Reinforcements Arrive and Generals Depart

In the afternoon of August 30th.

News came that a small-scale battle had occurred between the scouts of the Zhongyi Army and the Wuxing Army.

And what followed was Dianlun’s first piece of information.

There was really nothing much in it. It just said that all the members of the Dirty Gang had entered the city under his persuasion. When they saw the refugees of the Loyal Army fleeing outside the city, they also wanted to leave, but the city was under martial law and they couldn't all leave.

Of course, people have their own ways and rats have their own ways. City foxes and rats like them certainly have their own ways, but a place like this, which is like a rat hole, naturally cannot accommodate many people. They can only send some family members out.

These people were also persuaded to go south. Dian Lun made a list, hoping that Liu Huai could take care of them.

The only somewhat useful information was that all the people from Zhujiazhuang were expelled and taken to the county town. Many young and strong people were drafted into the army, apparently to organize them to sign up as soldiers and civilians. Several conflicts had already occurred, but they all ended with the Wuxing Army killing people.

And the five Zhujiazhuang villages seemed to have been occupied by the Jin army as places to station troops.

That's probably the situation.

In addition to continuing to strengthen the camp and prepare for a defensive counterattack, Liu Huai also sent a message to Kai Zhao, telling him that the 10,000 Jin troops had arrived in Yishui County and asked him to guard Ju County carefully and not lose it before the enemy could even get warm.

However, in the evening, the bad news came.

Two thousand regular troops of the Jin army raided the Dongping army's camp east of Ju County. Although they failed to capture Ju County, they suffered heavy casualties. Even the Dongping army general Ming Chun was seriously injured.

Kai Zhao said that if there was no reinforcement, he could only hold out for two days at most.

At the same time, the scouts of the Loyal Army also reported that most of the Wuxing Army went south along the Yishui River and set up camp overnight on the official road on the east bank, only ten miles away from the Loyal Army's front camp.

Moreover, the Jin army seemed to be looking for a place to build a pontoon bridge, as if they wanted to divide their troops on the west bank of Yishui.

Liu Huai wasn't worried about the west bank of the Yishui River, as the road there was densely hilly. The official road had been flooded during a major flood more than a decade ago, and it seemed unrepaired and overgrown with weeds. More importantly, the front camp was flanked by a hill called Zhishan, and in front of the hill ran a small river called Zhihe, about fifty steps wide.

With two hundred loyal soldiers setting up camp on the earthen hill, the west bank can be defended as firmly as Mount Tai.

But the west bank is different. Although the east bank is also covered with hills, it does not have the high mountains of the remnants of Mount Meng on the west bank. It is relatively flat and wide.

Wu Xingjun's actions also verified some of the information obtained from torturing prisoners the day before. It seemed that Wu Xingjun was really anxious and wanted to fight to the death.

Perhaps tomorrow, the main force of the Wuxing Army will launch a fierce attack on the Zhongyi Army, and the front army will face a severe test.

Liu Huai calculated the cost and found that including Wang Xiongyi's troops, there were a total of 3,400 people in the camp. He could just guard the camp, but how could he spare some troops to help Kai Zhao?

If Ju County was captured by the Jin army, at least two thousand Jin troops would move south along the Shu River and attack the flank of the front army unimpeded.

After Liu Huai figured out the situation, he felt a little complicated.

I used to find it tiring to play tricks and schemes, but now that someone is so decisive and willing to go straight into battle, I’m really not used to it.

But it’s true, this punch really hit the weakest point of the Loyal Army: insufficient capital.

After all, the Jin Dynasty was a vast country. No matter how much it had declined at this time, its manpower and material resources were still far superior to those of the Loyal Army.

When the regular Jin army roughly integrated its resources and attacked with a resolute attitude, putting everything on the line to solve, it became the most difficult opponent for the loyal army to deal with.

But Liu Huai had no other choice but to write a letter to the dispatched military envoy Wei Sheng, telling his father that the direction of the main attack of the Jin army had been determined, and asked him to lead the main forces of the central and right armies to come to support quickly.

However, just as the document was sent out, on the morning of August 31, a troop of about 3,000 men arrived near the front army camp.

Liu Huai looked at the three people leading the group, Xin Qiji, Li Tieqiang and Yelu Xingge, and was so surprised that he was speechless for a moment.

"How did you get here?"

Li Tieqiang smiled cheerfully: "Of course I'm here to fight against the Jin, Liu Dalang. I heard you have regular Jin troops here to kill, so I'm here to kill them."

Xin Qiji and Yelu Xingge bowed in response at the same time.

Liu Huai looked at the big flag of Tianping, then looked at the three thousand soldiers lined up in neat rows, and then looked at Lu You who was smiling silently beside him. He had a thousand words to ask, but he was so confused that he didn't know where to start.

Lu You smiled and said, "A few days ago, Duke Wei and Chief Geng discussed and agreed that the Zhongyi Army and the Tianping Army would support each other. If the Jin bandits came from Fei County, Duke Wei would personally lead the army to assist the Tianping Army; and if the Jin bandits came from Juzhou, the Tianping Army would also send troops to help us destroy the Jin bandits. However, I didn't expect them to come so soon."

Liu Huai scratched his head and quickly let the three people into the general's tent. The Tianping Army, led by the deputy general, rested on the spot.

After a few pleasantries, Liu Huai finally got to the point: "Xin Wulang, I guessed that Chief Geng would send troops, but why the three of you? I'm not saying that the Xin Army and the Rulin Army can't fight. I'm saying, one of you is good at politics, one is Chief Geng's confidant, and one has his own tribe. Why did you come to fight alongside me at this critical moment when Chief Geng is mobilizing his army?"

As if the key question had been asked, the three of them remained silent for a moment and just drank their cold tea.

Lu You watched this scene with great interest. After a moment, Yelu Xingge chuckled, "What else can we do? The three of us were kicked out!"

Li Tieqiang slammed his teacup down on the table. "Yelü Erlang, can you really say that behind Chief Geng's back?"

Yelu Xingge sneered, "Liu Dalang is such a powerful figure! Can you hide this from him by trying to cover up the truth? In my opinion, it's better to be transparent and open with each other. At least that will make Liu Dalang look at us with a higher regard."

Li Tieqiang remained silent again.

After a moment, Xin Qiji said again, "Dalang, there is no Xinzi Army or Rulin Army anymore. The reason why the three of us are here is very simple, it is to cooperate with Chief Geng in reorganizing the army."

At this point, both Liu Huai and Lu You suddenly understood. Liu Huai simply said, "So, you three leaders with the greatest prestige, fame, and achievements need to come out so that he can dismantle the mountain strongholds and reorganize the troops."

Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Liu Huaifu continued, chattering, "This Chief Geng is truly cunning. If anyone else had been caught in this situation, they might have simply fled, not to mention defecting to the Loyalty Army. But you three, Xin Wulang, have integrity, Da Tieqiang, loyalty, and Yelu Erlang, your tribe, aren't afraid of being captured by me. You're truly calculating."

Yelu Xingge frowned and said, "I don't like what you said, Dalang. Why do they have such high ideals and loyalty, but when they come to me, they become a tribe? Can't they praise me a little too?"

Liu Huai smiled and said, "Yelu Erlang is responsible and works hard for the tribe. Is that a good thing?"

Yelu Xingge raised his eyebrows. Although he didn't say anything, he was still somewhat happy.

Liu Huaifu asked curiously, "Wu Lang, how will Chief Geng organize his troops at this juncture? Will he break them up and reorganize them? Will they still be able to fight?"

Xin Qiji shook his head, then explained it in detail to Liu Huai.

The Tianping Army's reorganization this time was mainly aimed at the leaders of various factions. The army that Xin Qiji had built by spending all his family wealth only knew Xin Qiji and not Geng Jing.

Geng Jing would establish connections with the various commanders of thousands and hundreds of men, placing the power of mobilizing troops in his sole hands. By retaining the best and eliminating the worst, allowing the old, weak, and disabled to retire and train the strongest as regular soldiers, he would train an army of 10,000 to 20,000 men, while strengthening central power and avoiding the situation where people only obey orders but not orders.

To be fair, this relatively mild military reorganization is a good thing for everyone. For the generals, there is no need to kill people and cause rivers of blood to flow, which naturally makes everyone feel relieved.

This is even more true for the lower classes, because the vast majority of people joined the Tianping Army not to gain fame on the battlefield, but to live a peaceful life.

But for the middle-level military leaders, I originally had three thousand soldiers, but now you have reorganized them and let two thousand of them return home, so now I only have one thousand left, and all the centurions are still grateful to you, Chief Geng. What should I do?

The pressure will be transmitted layer by layer, and will eventually pile up on the general.

Therefore, if the three largest mountain groups break away from the vortex at this time, disputes and even civil wars can be eliminated.

Moreover, Geng Jing's reasons were also very legitimate.

We must resist the Jin! We must kill the Jin thieves! We must support our allies!

If they have to avoid even such things, then what is the point of the Tianping Army raising an uprising?

Of course, in everything there are winners and losers. Geng Jing gained the greatest benefit and the power to make the final decision, so naturally the three people in front of him lost something.

Yelu Xingge was better off. He still existed as an "outsider". Although his tribe would be resettled like the Han people, they would not be disbanded and registered. After all, they had some independent status.

Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang simply couldn't keep their military numbers because the two military numbers were too independent.

However, Geng Jing also changed his own somewhat taboo Tianwang Army into the Beiwei Army, not only to give face to the Southern Emperor Zhao, but also to give enough face to Xin and Li, and finally did not discourage the loyalists.

If nothing unexpected happens, the new name of the Xin Army will be the Tabai Army, and the new name of the Rulin Army will be the Xuanfeng Army.

I don't know which genius came up with this military horn based on Yue Family Army's military code.

Liu Huai secretly complained in his heart, then looked at the three people in front of him: "We are all acquaintances, so I won't waste time. You are a guest army, so the military supplies and baggage will naturally be provided by our army. I will ask Mr. Lu to inform the Tianping Army's baggage officer later."

Lu You nodded, this was what should be done.

Liu Huaifu continued, "Regarding the distribution of captured spoils and the commendation of beheadings, if the Tianping Army fights independently, then it will be your decision. I will not interfere. If you join forces with the Zhongyi Army, the captured armor, war horses, and military supplies will be distributed proportionally to the number of soldiers. Five-tenths of the gold, silver, and silk, excluding rewards, will be deposited into the public account, and the other five-tenths will be divided equally among the entire army, with officers taking double and civilians taking half. How do you do that?"

The three of them looked at each other, and Xin Qiji nodded and said, "Da Lang's ambition is as strong as frost and snow, so we naturally believe it."

Liu Huai said again: "In this battle, before my father arrives, I am the leader. When my father arrives, he will be the leader. Do you have any objections?"

The three knew they were being asked to express their opinions, so they immediately bowed and responded, "We will follow Commander Liu's orders."

"Alright!" Liu Huai said, gesturing to the map behind him. "You've come so far, so you should rest for a day. But the military situation is dire. The Dongping army is surrounded by two thousand Jin bandits in Ju County, and they're in imminent danger. You need to relieve Ju County by tomorrow at the latest. Can you do it?"

"Yes!" Xin Qiji bowed and promised: "General Liu, if a thief with a thousand gold comes, I will defeat him for you; if a thief with two thousand gold comes, I will defeat him for you; if a thief with five thousand gold comes, I will face him for you!"

(End of this chapter)