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

Chapter 275: If You Want to Kill an Army, You Must Kill Its Heart First

On September 17th, Zhang Rong stood on the city wall of Xinyang Town, looking suspiciously at the people before him, then gazing at the distant military camp. After a long pause, he finally said, "Damn it! How could the Jin thieves have become so depraved?"

Standing in front of him was Jin Wenyan, the commander of the Wucheng Army.

He was not frightened by Zhang Rong's reputation. He sneered at the words, "Although the Wucheng Army is only this kind of people, they still managed to force the Dongping Army to hold their ground. I don't know who is really embarrassed."

After hearing this, Zhang Rong was not annoyed, but just smiled and said nothing.

Seeing Zhang Rong's expression, Jin Wenyan was the first to break down.

As someone involved, this matter seems outrageous when I think about it.

Because the Jin navy relied on surprise attacks, they first defeated the 4,000 soldiers of the Dongping Army, and then used 25,000 troops to attack Zhang Rong's remaining 8,000 soldiers in a fair and open manner, and the battle turned out like this.

Up to now, the Dongping Army still seems to be as stable as a rock, but the navy is about to collapse from the inside.

This is outrageous.

Thinking of this, Jin Wenyan also felt a little bored. He cupped his hands and said, "General Zhang, I didn't come here to argue with you. I came to tell you that this morning, the naval commander Su Baoheng also came to our Wucheng Army to personally persuade the generals.

"Our general said that whatever General Zhang wants to do must be done immediately. Su Baoheng is very prestigious. Give him a few days to calmly rally the troops. We may have to continue the battle with your army."

Zhang Rong laughed heartily after hearing this. "Your words make me feel as if your captain is urging me to dispatch my troops quickly and walk into a trap set by your navy."

Jin Wenyan was stunned for a moment, then shook his head helplessly: "General Zhang, you're joking."

"What a joke!" Zhang Rong said, his expression serious. "Do you know what Old Dog Su came to say to your captain?"

Jin Wenyan shook his head again: "I am just a commander and cannot participate in the military meeting. When my general saw General Su coming, he immediately sent me out, so the general didn't say much."

Zhang Rong said, "Then I'll tell you what Su Laogou is here to say. He'll tell you that the Loyalty Army has defeated the Wuxing Army, captured thousands, and seized countless military supplies and horses. Now, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, can only retreat to Yishui County with his 3,000 remaining soldiers.

Little brother, what do you think of this news?

Jin Wenyan is not a rough soldier. Anyone who was sent by Huyan Nanxian to be a spy must be a smart person.

Therefore, after he drew the surrounding mountains and rivers in his mind, he immediately became a little panicked.

What if the Loyal Army, with the power of a great victory, cuts off the retreat of the Jin navy, or even directly raids the Jin navy’s base and burns the ships on Chenjia Island? What should we do?

This is not impossible. The Shenfeng, Weizhen and Wucheng armies are all infantry of the marine corps, and the total number of cavalry of the three armies is only about 1,000.

It is impossible for such a large number of cavalry to cover the entire battlefield. Perhaps at this moment, a cavalry unit of the Loyal Army is rushing towards Chenjia Island along the mountain road.

This is fucking weird. The cavalry of these rebels is even larger than that of the Jin Dynasty's regular army. How can this be justified?
Jin Wenyan immediately thought that the generals could not have failed to think of this. The flank had been exposed. Did they still have to continue attacking the Dongping Army?
The best way, of course, is to divide the troops. The Weizhen Army, which is mainly composed of Xi people, Bohai people, and Khitan people, will all go back. The 10,000-strong army stationed on Chenjia Island will be as stable as Mount Tai.

A few thousand more soldiers were sent to guard the rear, and the remaining tens of thousands of people rushed forward to send the Dongping Army to the paradise.

But this method has now become a bubble.

There are 10,000 Wu Chengjun troops in between who are destabilizing factors. No matter how we divide the troops, we can't separate them.

The only solution seems to be to withdraw troops.

But withdrawing troops also has its own troubles.

With 8,000 Dongping troops behind us, there must be someone to cover our retreat, right?

Could it be Wu Chengjun doing this kind of job again?!

In addition, failing to return with complete success means that the general admits that he cannot destroy the enemy army, which is very damaging to morale. If he is ambushed again and suffers casualties, morale will be ruined.

All of a sudden, a myriad of thoughts came to his mind, causing Jin Wenyan's head to feel a bit swollen and painful.

Zhang Rong saw that the other party had figured things out, so he stopped talking. "To be honest, when I first heard that Wei Dadao had defeated the Jin bandits' main force head-on, I was also extremely shocked. I never thought the Loyalty Army was so elite..."

At this point, Zhang Rong smiled and shook his head: "But since Wei Dadao has won, the situation in Shandong is no longer in your hands.

To tell you the truth, Wei Dadao and I have already agreed that within half a month, the Loyalty Army will absolutely not come to Xinyang. I will wear you down here, and when you are all exhausted, I will surround and kill you all in one fell swoop!

Bullshit truth.

Jin Wenyan wasn't fooled by Zhang Rong and secretly complained. Who the hell knew where the Loyalty Army was actually going to attack? They were an independent army too, so why should they listen to orders from you, Zhang Rong?

"Go back quickly and tell your captain this disastrous news." Zhang Rong waved his hand impatiently. "Next time you come, bring some sincere terms. What do you mean by establishing a relationship with the Song Dynasty? You still want to carve out your own territory in this world? With only 10,000 soldiers? You're crazy."

Having said that, he ignored Jin Wenyan's pale face and shook his head as he walked down the city wall.

Meanwhile, in the Wucheng Army's tent below the city, Su Baoheng, seated at the head of the army, had just finished explaining the situation at the Wuxing Army. "...You are all veteran generals, and you should know that the Wuxing Army is completely powerless at this point. The loyalist bandits could appear on our flanks at any moment."

The generals of Wucheng Army did not dare to go to Wanyan Zheng's family. Similarly, the generals of Shenfeng and Weizhen did not dare to come to Wucheng Army, for fear that none of them would be able to escape after a break-up. So at this time, only Su Baoheng presided over the military meeting in Wucheng Army, and there were only the generals of Wucheng Army in the tent.

After hearing this, the generals of Wucheng Army, led by Xu Wen and Huyan Nanxian, were all speechless.

What else can I say at this point?

The deputy commander of Wu Chengjun died inexplicably, and the entire 10,000-man army was in a panic and felt sympathetic. In addition, with people like Huyan Nanxian acting as a link between them, Wu Chengjun now felt that they were united against a common enemy.

Even if they knew that the Wuxing Army was doomed, what could they do?

Xu Wen was silent for a while, then he asked, "I wonder what the Minister wants us to do with the military?"

Su Baoheng shook his head and smiled, "Can I still command your Wu Chengjun now?"

Xu Wen was speechless.

Huyan Nanxian, who was following behind him, was silent for a moment before speaking, "The Commander-in-Chief is an elder, and I dare not lie to his face. Actually, it's not that the Commander-in-Chief is unable to command the Wucheng Army, but rather that the Wucheng Army has lost control. Even I can only restrain some of the soldiers close to me, and I cannot force them to obey."

Huyan Nanxian paused, then spoke again sincerely, "General, the Wuxing Army is in this state, not because of the general manager or me, the deputy general manager, but because the country has treated these good families unfairly. How many times have they fought for the Jin Dynasty? And how has the Jin Dynasty treated them? Even if we don't talk about rising to prominence, we must at least ensure that our families are protected. General, you are a wise man. You must know how many middle-class families in Shandong have been impoverished in recent years, right?"

If even this can't be guaranteed, the army must treat everyone equally, right? But these past few days, the Wucheng Army has been fighting the hard battles, while the other two armies have just sat back and watched. We can't even rest, and next we're being driven to attack Langya Mountain! Commander-in-Chief, we are the regular army! Not the signed troops who deserve to die!"

At the end of the conversation, Huyan Nanxian became furious again and could no longer bear it.

Su Baoheng did not interrupt him, but listened quietly before saying, "General Xu, is this what you meant?"

Xu Wen looked back at several senior military officers, some of whom had even followed him since the Jing Kang era, and their gazes were now evasive.

Power has always been from the bottom up. If the people below do not recognize you, even if you are the emperor, all your words will be meaningless. If the people below recognize you, even if you are a commoner, a casual word from you will carry great weight.

Just as Xu Wen cannot do without the support of senior officers, senior officers cannot do without the support of middle-level officers and soldiers.

The current situation is very clear. If Xu Wen does not stand with Wu Chengjun, Wu Chengjun will quickly abandon him.

Xu Wen, as the general manager, could still somewhat control the entire army, because he still had some loyal followers. If Xu Wen was gone, Wu Chengjun would only get further out of control.

Therefore, Xu Wen could only grit his teeth and say in front of Su Baoheng: "Indeed, this is exactly what I want to say. The court is unfair, His Majesty is unfair, and the commander-in-chief is also unfair!"

Su Baoheng sighed upon hearing this. "Indeed, the country owes you, the Wucheng Army, a great deal. But the right and wrong of this matter is something we could debate here for three days and three nights without a clear conclusion. I only have one question: His Majesty has ordered the navy to march south, directly to capture Lin'an. Do you still intend to obey his orders?"

There is a difference between disobeying an imperial order and disobeying an order. The latter can be handled through verbal lawsuits and military tactics, but the former is almost like raising the flag of rebellion.

"General Xu, General Huyan, I understand both of you. You are truly powerless despite your good intentions. So, I would like to ask the four commanders and three deputy commanders in this tent: will you obey my orders?"

Su Baoheng ignored the two general-level officials and directly asked seven middle-level officers.

Huyan Nanxian sneered in his heart.

Su Baoheng can only resort to such petty tricks. Isn't it shameful for him to use his status as the governor-general and the minister of state to put pressure on commanding-level officers?

Even if these commanders were scared, what about the commanding officers? What about the captains? What about the lieutenant commanders? What about the sergeants, corporals, and privates? Do you, the commander-in-chief, have to convince them one by one?
However, as soon as Su Baoheng finished speaking, three people said at the same time: "We are willing to die for the commander-in-chief!"

The voices were loud and clear, as if they had been rehearsed.

Huyan Nanxian suddenly turned around and found that the two commanders and a deputy commander had already stood up with their swords in hand and were looking around proudly in the tent.

This time, not only Huyan Nanxian, but also the other four commanders were horrified.

Only Xu Wen seemed to have expected this. He just sighed and closed his eyes without saying anything.

(End of this chapter)