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

Chapter 281: Unpredictable Events

"Liang Bang, Fu Duo, the two of you come with me to see the Commander-in-Chief. The rest of you can rest and water your horses for a while."

Li Gongzuo brought everyone to the general's tent, then asked the guards to disperse. He pointed at Liang Bang and Zhang Rong's guards representing the Dongping Army, and invited them to enter the camp together.

However, Liang Bang grabbed Xi Yong's arm and said, "Mr. Li, our commander values this guy very much and asked me to bring him to meet him."

Li Gongzuo waved his hand impatiently: "As you wish."

Then, the four of them were called in one by one.

Inside the general's tent, Liu Huai was gesturing on a sand table. Hearing the voice, he smiled and said, "Li Sanlang is here? Any good news?"

Li Gongzuo bowed and said, "Yes."

"Don't worry, sit down and drink some tea. I'll go get the other generals."

Because they still had to besiege the remnants of the Wuxing Army, the Loyal Army did not come out in full force. The mountainous terrain east of Juzhou was not large enough to support the movement of an army of 10,000 people. Therefore, this time Liu Huai led the rested vanguard and part of the central army, totaling 4,500 soldiers, to support the Dongping Army.

If we calculate the comparison of military strength, the Northern Expedition Army gathered in Rizhao County has reached about 18,000 people. But even so, it is still difficult to defeat the 15,000-strong Jin navy head-on. Even the best situation can only result in mutual losses.

Therefore, we should try to recruit as many reinforcements as possible.

But where will the reinforcements come from?

It was impossible for the Tianping Army to do so; they had already done their utmost. Geng Jing, who had already established contact with Wang Youzhi, knew that the Tianxiong Army, which had retreated from Daming Prefecture, was followed by a major Jin army that was about to invade Shandong. Naturally, he regarded it as a formidable enemy and could not send any more reinforcements.

But even so, Geng Jing did not call back Xin Qiji's 3,000 troops. You can say that he had some sinister thoughts, but he was definitely very kind to the Loyal Army.

Therefore, reinforcements can only come from the State of Song.

In fact, when the keyword "Jin Kingdom Navy" appeared in front of Liu Huai, the first person he thought of was Li San and Li Bao.

What's going on with this guy?

The Northern Expedition had clearly begun in advance, and all preparations had been made in advance, so why was the action so late?

What went wrong?
It is impossible for a hero who is famous in history to back down at the last moment, right?
As the saying goes, a son pays for his father's debts. Since Li Gongzuo was still in the Northern Expedition, Li Bao could not escape. After repeatedly emphasizing the issue of reinforcements, Li Gongzuo became increasingly nervous and sent his personal soldiers to inquire about where his father was.

Just last night, someone finally got accurate intelligence that Li Bao's fleet would arrive in Haizhou on October 1st at the latest, and after a day of rest, Li Bao would come to join the battle on October 3rd.

This news greatly encouraged Zhang Rong and others. Li Gongzuo could not wait any longer. He brought Zhang and Dong's confidants and rode at full speed to Chentong Town where Liu Huai was. He decided to send troops to encircle and kill the Jin navy based on Li Bao's news.

Damn it, the Northern Expedition Army has a total of more than 20,000 soldiers and horses. Can’t they defeat the Jin navy?

Soon, the officers of the Loyal Army arrived, and at this moment, Li Gongzuo discovered that a stranger had come to the big tent to participate in this most important military meeting.

The man was about thirty years old, with a fair complexion and two mustaches on his lips. He looked like a Confucian general, except that his face was a little haggard.

Seeing Li Gongzuo looking at the man with questioning eyes, Liu Huai smiled and said, "Li Sanlang, this man is none other than Huyan Nanxian, the deputy commander of the Wucheng Army. He has risen in rebellion and is joining our army in the fight against the Jin army and the Northern Expedition to restore the Han Dynasty."

Li Gongzuo suddenly understood and quickly bowed.

Huyan Nanxian immediately returned the greeting.

Although the collusion between Huyan Nanxian and Zhang Rong was a secret, Zhang Rong still had some words for his officers to prevent them from treating the messenger sent by Wu Chengjun as a spy and beheading him.

Li Gongzuo was naturally aware of this, especially after the public split of Wu Chengjun a few days ago, there was basically no need to keep these things secret.

Huyan Nanxian naturally knew Li Gongzuo, not only because this man was extremely powerful in leading the navy in battle, but also because his father Li Bao was a general of the Song State. Huyan Nanxian hoped to get in touch with the official figures of the Song State through Li Gongzuo.

This is not Hu Yannanxian's fault. After all, compared with a vast country like Song and Jin, both the Zhongyi Army and the Dongping Army are just makeshift teams.

If you want to hug someone big, you must pick a thick one.

In real history, the Haner Army led by Wu Chengjun did just that. As soon as Li Bao arrived near Shijiu Mountain, the Haner Army sold out all the secrets of the Jin navy. As a result, Li Bao was able to block the Jin navy at Chenjia Island and burn them to ashes.

"...That's it. On October 3rd, my father will arrive in Rizhao with 3,000 naval troops. They are all elite and capable of meeting the enemy head-on."

After explaining the military situation around Rizhao, Li Gongzuo looked at Liu Huai expectantly, awaiting his decision. Liu Huai, on the other hand, stared at the sand table and fell into deep thought again.

This time he was not hesitating whether to fight. Now that the time had come, how could he not fight?

Apart from anything else, although the Jin scouts would not cross Jiuxian Mountain to discover the ambush for the time being because they were plundering in all directions, if this continued, the morale of the Dongping Army would be really ruined.

The original strategy was to crush the morale of the Jin army at the foot of Rizhao County, and when the Dongping army found an opportunity, they would retreat to Dishui Town for defense. If the Jin army still wanted to pursue, they could only send more troops to besiege Shijiu Mountain.

At that time, the Loyal Army would rush out from the small path of Jiuxian Mountain, first raid and defeat the Jin army that was besieging Shijiu Mountain, and then cut off the retreat of the Jin navy. All the troops would attack from the front and back, rush forward and kill all the Jin navy.

But things are unpredictable. The Jin navy seemed to have learned their lesson and simply surrounded the enemy without attacking. They also sent cavalry to plunder villages and towns for their own benefit. This made the morale of the Jin army higher and higher, and the Dongping army was about to collapse.

Although the Shandong Volunteer Army and Li Bao's navy still participated in this battle, it was completely different from the Battle of Chendao in history.

This is a grand formation.

Thinking of this, Liu Huai couldn't help feeling guilty and annoyed.

Damn it, how did the situation develop to this point!

Seeing all the generals in the tent looking at him at the same time, Liu Huai knew that now was not the time to hesitate, but to make a decision. He immediately asked solemnly, "General Huyan, can your 2,000-plus Wucheng Army participate in the battle?"

Huyan Nanxian was silent for a long moment before he said sullenly, "To be honest, Commander-in-Chief, I do want them to participate in the war and gain merit, but after all, they are all comrades who have been together day and night, and have all been involved in the same mess that is the navy. I can complain, but without time to train them, it's hard to kill them."

Liu Huai nodded. "I understand General Huyan's difficulties, and I ask General Huyan to understand mine. Since a major war is about to begin, and these two thousand Wucheng troops are unable to surrender, I cannot safely leave you on the back burner. I ask the Wucheng troops to temporarily leave Ju County and head west to Yishui County to seek out my father, Duke Wei, and serve under his command."

At the same time, I will also send a letter to my father, saying that if Wu Chengjun does not arrive at his camp on October 3, it will be regarded as a rebellion, and my father will abandon the remnants of Wuxingjun and kill Wu Chengjun first.

General Huyan, let me make this clear: I'm not suspicious of you, but this is a dangerous time in battle, and I need to be mindful of my men's lives."

Huyan Nanxian was a little embarrassed, but he knew that this was the best way.

To put it bluntly, Liu Huai was kind enough not to disarm all 2,000 Wucheng troops and send them to the front as cannon fodder.

"What nonsense are you talking about, Commander-in-Chief? This also saved me from an awkward situation with the navy. I can't even thank you enough..."

Seeing that Liu Huai was still staring at him intently, Huyan Nanxian suddenly understood and immediately bowed and said goodbye. He didn't even pack his luggage and went to Ju County to lead the army.

Liu Huai was not worried that this person would change his ways.

Now that the deed has been done, there will be a rift between the two parties. Why should I believe that you will repent? How can you possibly believe that I will let go of the past?

People's hearts are hidden, and once a chain of suspicion is formed, it takes a lot of time to calm down.

Not to mention that Liu Huai also sent scouts to monitor the marching direction of Wu Chengjun at all times. If there was any unusual movement, Wei Sheng would definitely send troops to destroy him first.

"In this battle, the entire army will participate. No one will be spared." Seeing the outsiders leave, Liu Huai set the tone first, and then looked at Li Gongzuo: "Li Sanlang, how the entire army will cooperate has been discussed clearly in the past few days. If there are no major changes, this is how it will be."

Li Gongzuo bowed and said he received the order.

After saying this, Liu Huai turned his gaze to the generals of the Loyal Army and said, "Zhang Baiyu, you will lead the armored cavalry and follow me as the vanguard."

"Here!"

"Yu Yuan, you lead the 2,000 men in the central army as the second vanguard."

"Here!"

"Li Huo'er, you will lead Luo Shenyan, Shi Qilang, Wang Shilong, and Wei Chang as the third vanguard."

"Here!"

Liu Huai thought about it, and after making sure that nothing was missed, he pointed to the sand table and said, "This is the largest wave of troops the Jin bandits have in Shandong right now. After swallowing it, the eastern road of Shandong will be smooth sailing, and we can completely recover it! I hope you will work together to show those barbarians that this land of Shandong is actually under the control of the barbarians, or that we Han people have the final say!"

(End of this chapter)