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

Chapter 215: The Rabbit's Death Is Even More Tragic
"This battle is still going on! Tell me the fuck, what are you so anxious about?"

Hui Te Mile, who returned to the central army covered in dust and dirt, was hit on the head with a whip by Meng Tian before he could even say a word.

Hui Te Mile knew the temper of his own commander-in-chief, and naturally knew that this was Meng Tian venting his anger, and he didn't really want him to explain the situation of the battle today. If he spoke at this time, he might be considered to be quibbling and get a few more whips.

"We have as many soldiers as you want. If Juzhou isn't enough, we can go to Yidu Prefecture, Mizhou, Tai'an Prefecture, and Yanzhou to capture more. The lives of the northerners are so cheap, why are you sacrificing the lives of regular soldiers?" Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, was so furious that his hair stood on end. He tapped Hui Te Mi Le on the forehead with his whip and said, "Tell me! How many soldiers and horses have you lost today?"

Hui Te Mi Le fell to his knees. His arms trembled slightly from the strain of drawing the bow, and he could not hold up his armored upper body for a moment, and he almost stumbled and fell. "To the commander-in-chief, we have lost more than 180 light cavalry and less than 102 infantry, but the armored cavalry are unharmed."

"You..." Meng Tian, the state guardian, whipped Temile a few more times, making his armor crackle. "Three hundred regular soldiers! Three hundred regular soldiers are gone just like that!"

After cursing a few more times, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, finally calmed down. "Mile, I'm not angry because you lost your troops. There are always casualties in war. I'm angry because you actually threw your men's lives in such a ridiculous place. I asked you to drive away the soldiers and test that loyal thief. What did you do? How can I not be angry?!"

As he said this, Meng Tian, the state's guardian, threw down his whip, sat on the stool and began to breathe heavily.

The rest of the people looked at each other, staring at each other, but no one dared to step forward to persuade him.

At this time, the ones who could speak were usually the first general Tu Shanzhang and the second general Wen Dunhunyu, but one of them was probably dead, and the other was fighting in Ju County, so it was impossible for him to fly over to persuade.

After a moment, Wanyan Hongji, the third general of the Wuxing Army, said with a stiff upper lip, "General, things have come to this point. Even killing Maitreya will not help. Maitreya, the General wanted you to use the scepter army to test the enemy. Now that so many regular soldiers have lost their lives, fighting against the loyal thieves, what military intelligence have you learned? Tell us quickly."

Hui Temile also knew that this was Wanyan Hongji's way out, so he kowtowed deeply to Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, and then got up and started pointing and drawing on the simple sand table on the table.

Let me say something nonsense here. The sand table is not something brought back to ancient times by a time traveler. It has been recorded in "Records of the Grand Historian". It is said that Qin Shihuang once built a large terrain model in his mausoleum, using gold, silver and huge trees to represent mountains and plains, and mercury to represent mountains, rivers and seas.

At the turn of the Han Dynasty, Ma Yuan used rice to pile up a mountain on the table to indicate the terrain of mountains and rivers to Emperor Guangwu of Han. This is the earliest application of sand tables in military affairs recorded in history.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, the renowned scientist Shen Kuo developed a sand table method, creating a wooden model of the terrain along the border between the Song Dynasty and the Khitan Liao Dynasty. For convenience, this method was later modified to a wooden panel with sawdust coated with stone. In Dingzhou (present-day Dingzhou, Hebei), where he lived, the cold winters made the model vulnerable to fading, so he switched to using melted wax. He presented the method to the imperial court, where Emperor Shenzong was highly impressed and issued an edict directing all border prefectures to follow suit. Due to its military applicability, the method quickly gained popularity.

Of course, considering the level of confidentiality in the Song Dynasty, which allowed them to compile military equipment into the "Wujing Zongyao" and copy it throughout the country, it would be a pipe dream to want to keep it secret.

Soon, the Liao Kingdom had imitations.

When the Jin Dynasty rose, the first generation of Jurchen heroes quickly learned a lot of military technology from neighboring countries, and the method of making simple sand tables became a compulsory course for every officer.

"General, the camp built by the loyal and righteous bandits is unusual," Hui Te Mi Le said, pointing to the sand table. "They didn't camp directly on the road, but instead held the narrowest part of the official road. They've stretched wooden fences from the Yi River all the way to the dozen or so earthen hills on the east side, and there are three layers of trenches in front of the fences."

"Although I didn't rush into the camp, I can roughly guess that the enemy army definitely wouldn't have a single wooden fence, three or four layers, or even something like a urn city."

While using a small wooden stick to change the shape of the Loyalty Army camp on the sand table, Hui Te Mi Le explained, "The wooden fences on the west side of the Yishui River have been inserted into the front beach, forming a large area of ​​wei. It is obviously a water camp. As for how many naval forces are there, I don't know.

And in the hills to the east, there's also a small camp of loyal bandits hidden there. It's hard to say exactly where it is, how big it is, and how many soldiers and horses are hidden there."

After these words were spoken, the Loyal Army camp on the sand table had changed a lot. The originally square camp had now turned into a huge structure with the main camp on the road as the main body, and the water camp in the west and the small camp in the mountains in the east as two fists.

All the generals present were sucking their teeth.

Although the current situation is that the Wuxing Army is in a strategic offensive posture, in terms of specific tactics, the Wuxing Army has to risk huge casualties to attack the Zhongyi Army's camp.

It would be fine if the Loyal Army’s camp was built perfunctorily, but now it seems that the Loyal Army still has capable people.

If we follow the usual practice, we should first eliminate the enemy's small camp and then launch a fierce attack on the enemy's main camp.

But the two small camps of the Loyal Army are located on the mountains and rivers respectively.

If they wanted to attack the small village in the mountains, the Wuxing Army would need to give up their best armored cavalry charge and switch to infantry combat, especially infantry combat in the mountains.

Not only is the terrain rugged, but there are also gullies and small paths crisscrossing the hills. The Jin army is not familiar with the area, so who knows where a group of soldiers might be ambushed to cut off their retreat, throwing rocks and rolling fireballs?
It is even more troublesome to attack the water fort.

The first problem is that Wuxing Army just has water army!

Attacking the water fort without a navy is like wanting to go to the moon without a rocket. It is a wishful thinking.

But if we leave these two small camps alone and directly attack the main camp of the Loyal Army, the situation today is very likely to occur.

The Jin army had just crossed a trench when the Zhongyi army held the front line with their camp, and a small camp on the side suddenly sent out troops to attack the Wuxing army from both sides.

Everyone present was a veteran of the battlefield. Just by looking at the situation on the battlefield, they already had a vague feeling that something was wrong.

With this kind of terrain, coupled with thousands of soldiers who are brave and capable of fighting, and one or two generals with acceptable wisdom and courage, it would be a great achievement if the problem could be solved before October 10, let alone September 10.

"A loyal traitor who eats dog shit." Pucha Guangpan, the fifth general of the Wuxing Army, calculated for a long time and couldn't help cursing. Then he looked at Meng Tian again and said, "General, I just looked back and forth along the Yishui River. This section of the Yishui River is just a riverbed with no riverbank. Why don't we just go all out and block the Yishui River upstream and flood the seven armies? Then, not to mention the water fort, even the main camp of the loyal traitors will be doomed!"

The eighth general, Zhuo Tuoan, glanced at him and said, "Never mind the manpower and material resources required, or the knowledge of the Yi River hydrology among our army, or whether we can accomplish such a task, or the fact that the court has only given us ten days. I just want to ask one question..."

As he spoke, Zhuo Tuoan also looked at Meng Tian, who was sitting on the first stool: "General, His Majesty asked us to defeat the loyal and righteous bandits and recapture Linyi, isn't it to open up the Yishui channel so that materials from the eastern Shandong Road can be transported to supply the southern expedition front?
Let me put it bluntly, digging the Yishui River is worse than missing the deadline!

If we miss the deadline, we can still use the excuse that the enemy army is too large and our army is too short of manpower to make excuses. The most we can do is delay things.

If we dig up the Yishui River and completely destroy Shandong's eastern transportation, then Your Majesty will probably ask, "Does the Wuxing Army oppose the southern expedition against the Song Kingdom?" How should we answer?

When he was halfway through his speech, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, had already nodded repeatedly, while Puchaguang was sweating profusely.

Meng Tian, the state guardian, snorted coldly at Pucha Guang, "If this method works, would I need your reminder? The Yi River is so wide, there's no need to build a dam to hold back the water. We can just breach the dam upstream! Use your brain when you speak next time."

Who else has something to say? This is a military discussion, and speaking is not a crime! "

There was another commotion in the tent.

Before the generals of the Wuxing Army could come to a conclusion, an officer came to the camp gate to report that a soldier who had been captured in battle had been released.

Meng Tian, the state's governor, frowned and asked the officer to bring him in. The released prisoner had been stripped naked, leaving only a pair of trousers. The only thing that could prove his identity was his bald head and two small braids behind his head.

His right hand was drenched in blood, and in his left he held a small basket. Perhaps it was because he was frightened, or perhaps because he was afraid of the crowd of Dutong and Meng'an, but his face was filled with fear.

"Hucha?" Hui Te Mi Le recognized the man as one of his squad leaders and quickly said to Meng Tian, "This is the boy from our Sixth Meng'an."

"Hu Cha, how did you get released?" Hui Te Mi Le saw Meng Tian Zhenguo nod, and turned to ask Hu Cha: "Did the thief have any message?"

Hu Cha knelt on the ground, sweat dripping down his forehead, and said in a trembling voice: "General, the bandit leader Fei Huzi asked me to give this to the general."

As he spoke, he raised the small basket.

Meng Tian, Zhenguo and other generals of the Wuxing Army saw clearly that the head was that of Tu Danzhang.

Meng Tian, the guardian of the state, clenched his fists until they creaked, then suppressed his anger and asked, "What else did Fei Huzi say? Tell me everything clearly."

Hu Cha's cold sweat broke out even more. After a moment's hesitation, he said, "He said, he said... Don't worry, sooner or later the Wuxing Army will reunite with General Tushan."

The generals' faces changed and they were all filled with anger.

After hearing this, Meng Tian, the state's wrath, inexplicably dissipated. Instead, he walked up to Hu Cha and asked softly, "Why did the loyal thief only let you go?"

Hu Cha shook his head: "I don't know, Feihuzi just pointed at me."

"what happened to your hand?"

Hu Cha raised his right hand: "I was hit by the loyal thief's axe. I lost my weapon and lost two fingers."

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, looked at Hu Cha's severed thumb and index finger and was silent for a moment.

This Feihuzi has such a vicious heart. Without these two fingers, the soldier could not hold the sword or gun at all and became half-crippled.

If it was a signed soldier, he would die and no one would care. But this was a regular soldier injured on the battlefield, so of course we couldn't just ignore him. Otherwise, what would happen to the morale of the army?

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, could only carry the bamboo basket containing the head of his trusted general, comforted Hu Cha with a few words in a gentle voice, and sent him to the wounded camp. Then, he looked at the head of Tu Dan Zhang in the basket and was speechless for a moment.

The generals of the Wuxing Army wanted to curse a few words, but seeing Meng Tian's expression of defending the country, they dared not say anything more.

A moment later, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, placed the bamboo basket on the table, took out a water bag from the side, and poured it on the ground in front of him as a memorial.

"Everyone, I originally wanted to criticize A Zhang for his imprudent use of troops, and to call Fei Hu Zi a despicable villain, but Dan Zhang's death and the destruction of his army, and the loss of many soldiers and generals by Huite Mi Le, coupled with such a well-organized camp, doesn't that prove that this loyal and righteous thief is the most powerful army in the world? Doesn't that also prove that Liu Fei Hu Zi is a great hero?
If one day our army is defeated and we die at the hands of this man, even if we go to the King of Youdu to reunite with A Zhang, what will we have to say?"

As he spoke, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, suddenly turned around and looked at the generals in the tent, whose faces were either terrified, sad, or angry. "My only concern is that Your Majesty has promoted me from humble beginnings, allowing a lowly Jurchen of forty years to become the commander of a thousand troops and a general of an army. This great favor, which I could never repay even at the cost of my life, is now stagnant on the banks of the Yi River, unable to advance an inch. This has caused the country to collapse. If the transportation of supplies through the eastern Shandong route hinders Your Majesty's southern expedition, I will never rest in peace even in death!"

Wanyan Hongji gritted his teeth and said, "General, the people of the Wuxing Army owe half of their support to Your Majesty and half to you, General. You said we cannot betray Your Majesty, and neither can we. If you have a plan, please issue the order. We will fight for it, no matter how hard it takes."

Meng Tian, the state guardian, looked at the marching troops and Meng'an who were expressing their opinions one after another and asked, "Do you think so too?"

Zhuo Tuoan responded loudly: "The Great Jin Kingdom relies on the upper echelons layer by layer. The marching troops rely on us, we rely on the general, and the general relies on Your Majesty. Without the people below fighting hard, the people above can't sit firmly. Without the people above sitting firmly, the people below can't get rich even if they fight hard!"

The others also nodded.

Not only did Tu Danzhang's head not scare the Wuxing army, it even gave Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, the opportunity to show his strength and make the Wuxing army's Xingjun Meng'an and other classes unite against the enemy.

"Well."

Meng Tian, the guardian of the state, had a ferocious expression on his face. He drew his sword and issued a military order: "Second General Wendun Hunyu and Seventh General Pu Sandong have led two Meng'an Districts to besiege Ju County. They should see results within the next two days. Whether we succeed or fail, our army will fight a decisive battle with the loyal and righteous bandits."

"Before that, pass on my military orders. Ninth General Pei Manhui and Tenth General Wugu Suntan, who are staying in Yishui County, send all the conscripted soldiers here! Also, find me ten thousand-ton ships, no matter where they come from, with sailors and ship owners! I'll use them to tie up the loyal bandits' water stronghold!"

The clerk quickly wrote the military order. Meng Tian, the state guardian, took it, glanced at it, and then stamped it with his seal.

"Third General Wanyan Hongji, Fifth General Puchaguang, Sixth General Huite Mile, and Eighth General Zhuo Tuoan, the four of you will drive out the Qian army over the next few days and take turns attacking the enemy camp. Make sure the enemy army reveals a flaw! So we can see their true strength!"

After saying this, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, looked at a man in the corner of the tent again and said, "Fourth General Zhang Jueming, you lead your men Meng'an to the mountains to investigate the true strength of the loyal bandit stronghold!"

Zhang Jueming was obviously a little flustered among this group of Jurchens, but facing the direct military order from the commander-in-chief, he did not even dare to hesitate and simply took on this difficult task.

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, nodded in satisfaction and called out to the head of his personal guards again, "Catch Atu'er!"

A strong armored soldier walked in from outside the tent and bowed.

Meng Tian, the state guardian, handed the bamboo basket on the table to the other party. After hesitating for a moment, he seemed to have made a great decision: "Take A Zhang's head to the rear camp, bring my personal guards with me, and show it to the four marching officers of the First Meng'an.

Tell them clearly that I am too embarrassed to see them. This incident is not their fault, it is simply their bad luck. However, I still have to maintain the morale and discipline of the entire Wuxing Army. No matter what, I will not let them off."

Waving his hand to stop several marching soldiers from trying to persuade him, Meng Tian Zhenguo gritted his teeth and said, "Draw the troops and kill them!"

Ba'atur remained calm, bowed his hands in agreement, then called on his personal guards and went to the rear camp with the basket in hand.

Although the others looked unhappy, they felt that there was nothing they could do about it and could only sigh.

If a superior officer died in battle, his direct subordinates would be executed. This was the rule from the founding of the country, and it was also a military law that had been strictly enforced in the regular army in recent years. This was beneficial to the safety of the officers, so the few marching soldiers did not stop him.

The fourth general named Zhang Jueming had turned pale.

(End of this chapter)