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

Chapter 253: The Hero's Future Will Be Tortured

"Don't worry about the enemy's navy for now. We still have some regular troops and many signed soldiers and civilians left in the camp. Even if we can't defeat the enemy, we can still hold out for a while."

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, looked around the battlefield and made silent calculations in his mind.

"The Wuxing Army has a total of four and a half Meng'an, and they must have suffered many casualties by now. Among them, Wanyan Hongji's third Meng'an suffered the heaviest casualties. Not only were the marching Meng'an killed in battle, but many of their skilled breakout fighters were also surrounded and killed, and the formation was almost collapsed.

But thanks to the support of the Fifth Meng'an Puchaguang, the situation was maintained."

"The left wing's Hui Te Mi Le and the banner with the inscription are still entangled. Both sides have suffered casualties, but just now the Sixth Meng An was able to suppress the opponent. Now the enemy army has reinforcements and it seems that they are about to fall behind."

"Zhuo Tuo'an and the Yu clan bandits on the right wing fought with restraint, perhaps due to the terrain. The battlefield is too close to the Yi River to the west, and the riverbed is muddy and difficult to navigate. Not only would it be difficult for the cavalry to maneuver, but even the infantry formation would be loose and sluggish."

"The available troops on hand, including the four Moukes of the First Meng'an and the two Moukes of the personal guards, total 600 elite armored cavalry. We only have one chance to make a throw, where should we make it?"

Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, had a gloomy face and was calculating rapidly in his mind.

As for the withdrawal?

Don't be ridiculous! The battle is so intense that we can't withdraw. If we turn back, we will immediately suffer a major defeat.

The Loyal Army was not exhausted, nor had they been hurt, and they still retained a considerable number of fresh cavalry, so they had no shortage of pursuit capabilities.

At this time, on the left wing of the Loyal Army, Xin Qiji had led 400 Tianping cavalry to join Yu Yuan, totaling 1,400 troops.

On the center line, Wei Sheng personally led a large army to join Liu Huai, totaling 2,800 infantry and 600 armored cavalry.

On the right wing, all the members of the right army rushed over, totaling 1,800 infantry and 200 armored cavalry.

After the troops gathered, the Loyal Army launched an all-out counterattack.

"Father." Liu Huai stabbed the halberd into the ground and bowed to Wei Sheng: "It's going to be done!"

Wei Sheng also smiled, but he still said, "Don't let your guard down, Dalang. If my prediction is correct, the Jin army still has some elite armored cavalry waiting to see if we reveal a flaw."

Liu Huai smiled and nodded: "The Jin thieves are indeed planning this, but how could there be any flaws in my father's command of the army?"

Wei Sheng shook his head: "It's not me who's in charge, it's you, Dalang."

Liu Huai mounted his warhorse and looked at his father in surprise.

"This time, I am only a stamp. Dalang, you can command the entire Loyal Army at will and let the young men see the skills of your Flying Tiger. Dalang, I am old. In the end, it is you young people who will handle the affairs of the world."

Wei Sheng stroked his beard and spoke with a smile.

Liu Huai was inexplicably moved for a moment.

Power is different from prestige. Power is difficult to share. If one person has too much power, it means that the power of another person will be damaged.

What Wei Sheng did at this time was to use his power as a prelude to transition to Liu Huai.

Even though Wei Sheng had shown magnanimity in power many times before, he still seemed to be giving away too much power at this time.

To put it bluntly, if Liu Huai could fight better this time, when he raised the flag of rebellion, he would be able to take away at least more than half of the troops of the Loyal Army.

Liu Huai did not refuse, but bowed his head and said, "As you command!"

With that, he rode his horse to a stand beneath the banner of 'Loyalty and Righteousness' and issued his first order: "Send word. Command the four central generals, Wang Xiongyi, Pang Rugui, Yuchi Mingyue, and Zhou Xinglie, to lead their 1,500 infantrymen to attack the Jin bandits directly ahead! The three divisions of Luo Shenyan, Wei Chang, and Lei Ben, each must reorganize their troops and rest for a while."

"Yes!" The military envoy was shocked, took the token, and rode away.

"Send a message to Zhang Xiaoyi and Li Xiu, commanders of the right wing. Tell them that the right army has a total of 2,000 soldiers. The opposing Hui Te Mi Le has only one Meng An. They have been defeated several times by our army in the past few days, and their fighting spirit and strength have been shattered. They are now just a fat man. Therefore, order the right army to launch a resolute attack to defeat the Jin army in front of them, to attract a counterattack from the Jin bandits' armored cavalry, and to maintain their formation until reinforcements arrive.

"I clearly told Zhang Xiaoyi that this order will expose the weakness of the right army and cause them to suffer heavy casualties, but this is for the victory of the entire army! I hope he will do his best and I will never let him down."

The military commander's forehead was covered with sweat. After repeating the order, he rode away without paying attention to the sidelong glances from the people around him.

Liu Huaifu pointed at another general and said, "Zhang Baiyu!"

"Yes!" Zhang Baiyu immediately bowed in response.

"Gather five hundred armored cavalrymen under your command, lower your banners and drums, lead your horses and march, hiding behind the large formation of infantrymen.

"If the right army attacks proactively, it will be disconnected from the center army. Now, I order you to wait for the right moment, then follow the gap between the center and the right army and lead all the armored cavalry to charge out. Remember, until that Wuxing flag moves, you must not move either."

"Yes!" Zhang Baiyu immediately dismounted, then led his trusted officers and formed a battle array between the central army and the right army, holding the horse.

"Send a message to Yu Yuan, the deputy commander of the Central Army, and have him continue to hold the battle line on the left wing."

After a moment's thought, Liu Huai waved his hand. "No, send a message to Xin Qiji of the Tianping Army. Tell him that famous generals in ancient times were all capable of creating miracles. But before Zhang Liao defeated the Wuhuan, before Guan Gong killed Yan Liang, before Huo Qubing led 800 cavalrymen across the northern desert, and before Zhou Yu burned Chibi with Jiangdong, they were all minor generals of unknown rank. Was it because their abilities were much less than theirs at the time? It was simply because of bad luck."

As the saying goes, a golden scale cannot be confined to a pond; when faced with stormy weather, it transforms into a dragon. In my opinion, Xin Qiji is a renowned general capable of performing miracles. Therefore, the Tianping Army can proceed on its own, and I have asked the Deputy Commander of the Central Army, Yu Yuan, to cooperate as best he can.

After the military envoy roughly repeated what he said, he rode away.

Seeing that Liu Huai had no other orders, Wei Sheng finally asked in surprise, "Da Lang, are you so optimistic about Xin Wu Lang?"

Liu Huai nodded, ignoring the guards still surrounding him. "I've spent a few days in the Tianping Army and found that although there are many heroes in the Tianping Army, such as Li Tieqiang, Yelu Xingge, and Geng Jing, they are all outstanding at the time, but the only great hero who can truly be recorded in history is Xin Qiji."

Wei Sheng nodded first, then smiled and said to Liu Huai, "Who do you think is a great hero like Xin Qiji in our loyal and righteous army?"

Liu Huai cupped his hands and said with a smile, "Of course it's only father."

This time, not only Wei Sheng laughed, but even the staff and soldiers around him who were originally a little nervous smiled.

The so-called ability to remain calm even when facing a collapse is a compulsory course for generals. At this time, Wei Sheng and Liu Huai were not just joking, but were also using their calmness to infect the people around them and stabilize the morale.

Seeing the atmosphere relax a little, Wei Sheng continued to laugh and said, "Why is Dalang speaking so nicely now? Could it be that he met some young lady and suddenly he became smart?"

As soon as these words were spoken, even on the battlefield where fighting was everywhere, some people laughed out loud.

There has actually been a rumor circulating among the Loyal Army, that is, Liu Huai is actually Wei Sheng's adopted son-in-law. No one knows who spread the rumor, but it sounds very convincing, and Wei Sheng did not change Liu Huai's surname, which seems to prove this point.

According to this kind of relationship, what Wei Sheng said was not a father teasing his son, but clearly a father-in-law teaching his son-in-law a lesson.

Liu Huai also laughed, but shook his head: "Father, you're joking. I'm not bragging about you, but I'm saying..."

As he spoke, Liu Dalang looked around the battlefield and said, "If it weren't for my father, even if I could survive, I would only live a peaceful life. The vast majority of the Loyal Army would just go with the flow. Those who are better off will enjoy wealth and glory, while those who are worse off will starve to death.

However, if Father didn't have us, he would surely have gathered a group of men, overcome all difficulties, and bravely fight to the death in the Northern Expedition to save the people of the North."

"I once heard someone comment on the generals who crossed the Southern Migration. He praised and criticized all the others, but singled out Yue Fei, Yue Pengju, as the top hero. People were puzzled. But the man said, 'Everyone chases profit, but he pursues justice, so he ranks first among heroes. My father was no different from Yue Pengju, so isn't he also a great hero?'"

Ignoring the stunned silence of the others, Wei Sheng smiled and shook his head, "Da Lang, your words are overly exaggerated. It's said that when righteousness triumphs, the world is in order; when profit overcomes righteousness, the world is in chaos. Now, we are trying to quell this chaos, and the Loyal and Righteous Army is fighting tooth and nail. Isn't it because 'righteousness triumphed'? And how can the Loyal and Righteous Army soldiers who put righteousness first not be called heroes?"

Liu Dalang, who was always eloquent, could only laugh when he heard this, and nodded repeatedly for a while.

(End of this chapter)