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

Chapter 218: Fighting with one's back to the river to decide the outcome

Earlier today, on the south bank of the Xianggong River, at the southern end of the floating bridge across the Xianggong River.

Li Tieqiang kicked a head with braided hair away, pinching his chin and saying, "Fifth brother, you'd better think it through. Once you cross this river, it will be difficult to come back."

"Fighting with our backs to the river means either a great victory or a great defeat." Xin Qiji said, holding his helmet, "How could I not know such a thing?"

Yelu Xingge spat out the mint leaves in his mouth and said, "Is Wulang still so determined?"

Xin Qiji waved his hand and asked his younger brother Xin Wenyuan to lead the army across the river first. Then he turned back to look at Li Tieqiang and Yelu Xingge behind him and said: "We still have to fight hard, not only for Liu Dalang, but also for the Tianping Army."

Having come from afar this time, the 3,000 soldiers of the Tianping Army often needed to adapt to changing circumstances, so no military meetings were held. Often, the three generals would discuss and decide the way forward with just a few words.

Xin Qiji continued seriously, "You've all seen the mountains and rivers along the way. If Ju County is lost and these Jin bandits enter the plains between the Shu River and the Yi River, Liu Dalang will be unable to hold out. At that time, we will have to decide the outcome in Linyi."

If that's the case, will Chief Geng come? If not, wouldn't the covenant of mutual protection become a mere empty talk? If he comes, the process of military assembly will be abruptly interrupted, and we won't have this golden opportunity with the right time, place, and people."

Yelu Xingge chuckled, "What about the right time, right place, and right people? It's just that I don't want to fight with Chief Geng."

Li Tieqiang frowned and said impatiently: "Yelü Erlang, are you done yet? I took away 300 Khitan cavalry, but did I give you good horses? Supplement armor? Did I give you 500 Han cavalry?
"I begged the Duke of Wei from the Loyal Army for the armor and horses, and gave them all to you before they were even warmed up. Now you have a thousand cavalrymen at your disposal, so why are you still complaining?"

Of course, Li Tieqiang also knew that Yelu Xingge was just complaining.

In essence, Yelu Xingge was a little afraid of losing his independent status and was a little confused about the future.

You must know that although Geng Jing wanted to centralize power and was also wary of these three generals with outstanding contributions, he still acted absolutely honestly on the surface.

Geng Jing not only sent out the newly formed five Haner armored cavalry, but also asked his own brother Geng Xing to personally lead these cavalry to serve as Yelu Xingge's subordinates.

The two thousand men of Xin Qiji and Li Tieqiang were also filled with elite soldiers from various departments. Geng Jing even gritted his teeth and gathered two thousand mules and horses of various types, allowing these three thousand people to enjoy the same treatment as San Dezi in later generations and become a mule and horse corps.

Xin Qiji ignored the speechless Yelu Xingge and said sternly to the two men, "There's one more thing. We need to test whether the Jin bandits' military system works. If it doesn't, we can ask Chief Geng to make some changes while the boat is still small and easy to turn around."

The Tianping Army, or more precisely, the Tianping Army under Xin Qiji, was a hybrid product of the Meng'an Mouke system of the Jin Dynasty and the traditional Shiwudu system of the Han Dynasty.

To be precise, five people form a squad, ten people form a squad, fifty people form a team, one hundred people form a company, and one thousand people form a battalion.

Each camp is also equipped with scouts, clerks and military envoys to complete the regulations.

No one can say for sure how this system works, whether it can be used in combat, and whether it can accomplish anything. It can only be tested on the battlefield.

Seeing that Li Tieqiang and Yelu Xingge remained silent, Xin Qiji put on his helmet and said loudly: "Since you have no objection, I will formally issue the military order."

"Two thousand infantrymen will march forward in succession to engage in battle. You, the great iron spear, will be the second vanguard; Yelu Erlang, the cavalry will be the third vanguard. We don't ask you to defeat the enemy or kill the bandits, just protect our flanks."

Li Tieqiang asked in surprise, "Brother Xin Wu, are you going to personally lead the charge again?" Xin Qiji held his sword and said proudly, "Indeed, who else but me will lead the charge?"

After saying that, Xin Qiji mounted his horse, waved his large flag embroidered with a blue rhinoceros, stepped onto the pontoon bridge, and led his army across the river.

Li Tieqiang smacked his lips and turned to Yelu Xingge, saying, "Look at that large banner that Brother Geng just gifted to Brother Xin Wu. It truly suits his status as the 'Great Blue Rhinoceros.' Your banner is a blue ox and a white horse, while Liu Dalang's is a flying tiger with wings on its ribs. I've even seen banners embroidered with white swimming fish in the Loyalty Army camp."

"Do you think a flag with a beast on it would look more majestic? What should I change it to?"

Yelu Xingge simply ignored the guy's jokes and turned away.

The pontoon bridge on the Xianggong River is a semi-permanent pontoon bridge and is very wide. Therefore, after the 3,000 Tianping soldiers left their baggage on the south bank of the river, all of them successfully crossed the river in less than two quarters of an hour and formed a battle line to move forward.

At this point, Wendun Hunyu also responded. Since the army was not large enough to block the four gates of Ju County, the Wuxing Army had only one solution.

That is to take the initiative to line up and attack, crush the invading forces on the banks of the Shu River, and by the way, open the eyes of the thieves in the city and let them know that the Wuxing Army, as the main force of the Jin Dynasty, is not made of mud!

Naturally, the two thousand soldiers who went to fight became cannon fodder for testing the enemy in front of the battle line.

The so-called lineup of elite cavalry plus a sea of garbage is the characteristic of the Jin army and it is a must-try.

Pu Sandong, the seventh general of the Wuxing Army, looked at the leader of the signing army as he hurried away and said to Wen Dun Hunyu, "If you force them like this, aren't you afraid that they will just scatter?"

Wen Dunhunyu, riding astride his warhorse and holding a long halberd, shook his head and replied, "Whether they run or fight to the death, as long as they are surrounded by our army, they can only flee south.

It would be best if the enemy's formation was broken up, but if that's not possible, it would also consume some of the enemy's energy and blunt their swords."

At this point, Wendun Hunyu chuckled. "Tianping Army? Shandong is really bustling. There's the Dongping Army, the Zhongyi Army, and now the Tianping Army. Damn it, they're just given three grains of rice and they dare to open a porridge stall! These days, any random person dares to call themselves an army. Today, let's see how our Wuxing Army can beat these three thousand bandits back to their true form!"

After saying this, Wen Dunhunyu shook the reins of his horse and personally led 500 infantrymen who had already been lined up behind the troops and pressed forward.

Pu Sandong moved his throat and wanted to advise people not to underestimate these thieves, otherwise it might cause big trouble. Isn’t that how Tu Danzhang died?
But after thinking about it, he felt that Wen Dunhunyu, as the think tank of Wuxing Army, should not have failed to think of this, so he turned around to lead the cavalry.

The Shu River in Ju County had a tangled network of tributaries, numerous small streams, many of which had dried up. These ditches, only a few steps wide, became natural obstacles that hindered the army's advance. Both the Wuxing and Tianping armies had to stop and regroup after marching about half a mile.

But for the signing army, this problem is not a problem at all.

Because there is no queue at all for signing the army.

In fact, the soldiers had been in a semi-out-of-control state since they left the camp. Many men who were good at swimming simply jumped into the river when passing by. Although the Jin army cavalry who maintained order in the soldiers would use bows and arrows to punish them, a few men still managed to escape.

Although the number of escapees was not too large, the situation of the Qian army collapsing while marching was getting worse and worse. When the Qian army and the Tianping army were only half a mile apart, the collapse finally reached a point where the regular army could no longer suppress it.

(End of this chapter)