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

Chapter 344: There May Not Be No Good Men in the World

At midnight (0:) on November th, on the bank of the river, Zhang Baiyu was drinking cold water mixed with dogwood powder, frowning with every sip.

I learned this from Zhang Xiaoyi. Ever since Zhang Xiaoyi quit drinking, he has been using water mixed with dogwood powder to refresh himself and keep warm.

To be honest, it's very hard to drink.

But the spicy feeling in the water can still give people a false sense of warmth, so that they won’t be frozen to death silently in this winter.

The more than one hundred Jingnan troops behind him also followed suit, eating some dried meat and other things from time to time to conserve calories.

The same was probably true for the hundred or so Huaixi soldiers, but they really couldn't swallow the dogwood juice, so they could only wrap themselves in blankets and jump around on the spot to keep warm.

After all, they are special forces and cannot start fires.

"General, when are we going to set out? If we don't start fighting now, our men will freeze to death." Someone in the Huaixi army asked in a low voice.

Commanding Officer Sheng Xin didn't care whether the other party could see in the dark or not, and simply shook his head and replied: "I've already made it very clear. We agreed to move out at three quarters of an hour. There are still two quarters of an hour left. Why are you in such a hurry?"

The man laughed dryly twice, then sighed in the darkness: "General, I'm not afraid of death, but freezing to death is too cowardly. At least let me kill a few Jin thieves before I die."

"Pfft, pfft, what bad luck..." Someone else joined in the conversation: "I want to achieve merit, get rewarded, and get married. What's with all the life and death? Don't say such depressing words."

Hearing this, everyone was silent for a while. After a long while, someone finally said, "My family is in Luzhou. I wonder how my wife is doing..."

Seeing that morale was about to decline if he continued, Sheng Xin quickly interrupted him: "Is this the time to talk about this? Ge Lao San, if you really have nothing to do, why don't you check those boats? We are all heavily armored. If the boat capsizes, it will be a disaster."

"Order."

In the darkness, someone whispered a promise, and then several people left together in the moonlight, heading towards the river.

The movement here also attracted Zhang Baiyu's attention. He thought that someone in the Huaixi army was trying to escape, and he couldn't help but get furious. But after he vaguely saw in the moonlight that those people were just checking the bottom of the boat and the oars, he felt relieved.

Although the Huaixi Army has suffered such a terrible defeat, those who participated in the night attack today and served as surprise troops all volunteered and have undergone several rounds of screening. Basically, they will not retreat in the face of battle.

In other words, those who retreat in the face of battle will not be chosen as surprise troops in the first place.

Nearly three hundred soldiers waited silently in the cold west wind until the moon reached the zenith. Only then did Zhang Baiyu stand up and reveal his figure in the moonlight.

"Everyone, get moving and go!"

Soon, the Huaixi army pushed the small boats into the river. Fifty small boats carrying soldiers went downstream and headed towards the island in the middle of the river.

Tonight the sky is cloudless, the moon is bright and the stars are sparse. The river is sparkling, and the scenery in the sky is reflected on the water. For a moment, people can't tell whether the sky is in the water or the water is in the sky.

Sheng Xin held the long axe and looked at this scene, and couldn't help but be a little dazed.

However, when he looked at the spearhead composed of small boats carrying the Jingnan Army in the moonlight, he couldn't help but sigh again.

Zhang Baiyu Zhang Silang is a good man.

Commander Liu Huai is a good man.

The Jingnan Army is full of heroes.

Yu Yunwen and Yu Chuxiang were even more courageous.

Things in the military are complex and simple at the same time. Regardless, those who are capable and daring of fighting will inevitably be respected by everyone.

Among the five commanders of Huaixi, why did Shi Jun have some extraordinary status? Isn't it because he dared to fight against the Jin army, and even after being defeated, he dared to follow Yu Yunwen to explore the enemy camp, and dared to lead his personal guards to the Caishiji small camp to participate in the battle yesterday?

That's what a hero does.

Sheng Xin was different from several other commanders. He was the commander of the Chaohu navy, which was the main reason why he was able to grab this task.

Sheng Xin's fleet was stationed in Chaohu. After Luzhou fell, he burned the ships and retreated under Wang Quan's military order.

Originally, he could have ignored the cowardly Wang Quan and chosen to lead his fleet to fight guerrilla warfare in Chaohu Lake.

Anyway, Chaohu Lake is big enough, and the surrounding military and civilians are all familiar faces, while the Jin army lacks naval forces, so it will take at least ten or eight years to wipe out Shengxin.

But that's how the world is. When major choices in life arise, no one will pop up with a sign, and there will be no passionate background music.

Sheng Xin only remembered the moment he ordered the burning of the ships. It was an ordinary, dull afternoon. The strange looks from his subordinates and the wailing of the civilians were only memories afterward. At the time, Sheng Xin was simply filled with fear and wanted to escape the front lines. Looking back, Sheng Xin realized that the fire had split his life in two. Before, he was a commander, a hero. But after, even with the royal order as a cover, how could he deceive himself?

He became as much of a coward as the king.

And now, everyone in the army was praising Liu Huai, Yu Yunwen, and even Shi Jun. Sheng Xin watched all this with a cold eye, and although he also agreed with them, one could imagine how he felt in his heart.

"I am a hero too!" At this moment, Sheng Xin squatted on the boat, touching the axe in his arms, and said to himself in his heart.

"This time, I will never retreat again!" Sheng Xin looked at the Jingnan Army at the front and muttered to himself.

Perhaps it was because of the excessive silence, or perhaps it was because the ten soldiers on the boat had been carefully listening to the surrounding sounds, but soon, several more whispers echoed: "No retreat..."

"We can't retreat anymore..." The voice quickly disappeared in the waves of the river.

At the same time, on Heshan Mountain, Liu Huai looked at the moon in the sky and said to Yu Yunwen, "Yu Sheren, it's time."

Yu Yunwen was silent for a moment before asking, "According to the military report we just received, tomorrow... no, early this morning, Li Dao will lead the navy from Ezhou to provide support. Do we still need to go into battle now?"

Liu Huai said sternly, "Yu Sheren, morale must be boosted, not weakened. If we withdraw now, it will take more than ten days to gather troops for another attack. In addition..."

A sinister smile crossed Liu Huai's face. "I am a warrior, and I always trust the swords in the hands of my comrades. If the main force of the Jin bandits arrives tomorrow, what will happen if Li Dao misses the deadline? Can I just rely on luck and hand over the natural barrier of the Yangtze River to others?"

Yu Yunwen thought about it and felt that what Liu Huai said made sense. He finally nodded and said, "Let's get started."

Liu Huai also nodded, put the helmet on his head, took a deep breath and shouted: "Raise the fire!"

At a command, the topless warriors swung their drumsticks, and the rumbling of the general drums sounded. The five thousand Song soldiers already lined up on Heshan passed the fire and lit their torches.

After a while, the fire on the west side of Heshan turned from tiny dots into a sky full of stars, and finally into a blazing field.

"Go!" Liu Huai raised his spear again and shouted the order.

The sound of the general drum suddenly changed and became more intense.

"call!"

"drink!"

The Song army shouted, and under the leadership of their respective officers, they slowly walked down the hillside in order, just like magma flowing neatly down from an erupting volcano.

Yu Yunwen stood in the center of the formation, slowly advancing on his horse. Beside him stood a massive banner bearing a single, large character, "Yu." The banner fluttered in the west wind, its inscription appearing and disappearing with the flickering torches of the surrounding fires.

Liu Huai, however, led 200 armored cavalrymen of the Jingnan Army at the front of the team, giving orders and messengers from time to time to keep the soldiers on both wings in line with the central army.

"I've told you before, my father is Wang De, the Duke of Longxi!" Wang Qi, commander of the Song army's right wing, encouraged his soldiers from within the ranks. "He's invincible against the Jin bandits; they call him Wang Yasha. I'm no match for my father. I've come all the way here in disgrace. I've completely disgraced my ancestors!"

"But I don't want to leave. I really want to have a fair fight with the Jin thieves!" Wang Qi raised the axe that Wang De had used. "We have five thousand men! The Jin thieves only have five hundred! Five thousand against five hundred, ten against one. Today we have no choice but to advance. I don't believe these Jin thieves are indestructible!"

The other commanders, generals, and captains also cheered. Rewards and money for the expedition had already been distributed. The reward for the Jin head was set very high, and the rewards for the selected vanguards were especially generous. Coupled with the family feud and national hatred, there was no reason to retreat at this moment.

The most important point is, as Wang Qi said, the Jin army in the opposite camp has only 500 regular soldiers, while their side has a total of 5,000 people, not counting the local people and militia in Dangtu.

When the Jin army had a thousand men, the Song army was still a little timid. But now there are only 500 left. To be afraid is not to be a hero, not even as good as a woman.

At the moment when the Song army was spreading out from the mountain and forming a battle line on the flat ground, horns sounded loudly and lights were brightly lit in the Jin army camp.

"kill!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

Faced with the Song army that was ten times larger than their own, the Jin army did not show any fear. They quickly formed a battle line under the leadership of various Moukes and Puliyans.

The soldiers, who had just rested, were driven back up the wall, their weapons in hand, trembling as they looked towards the Song army, which was spreading like wildfire. Occasionally, one or two soldiers would flee in fear of the enemy, but they would be quickly pulled out of the crowd by the Jin army and beheaded for public display.

Aligua walked out of the military tent, climbed up the watchtower, looked at the large formation of the Song army with sharp eyes, and sighed in his heart, they finally came.

(End of this chapter)