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

Chapter 347 All I owe in life is death

Time moves forward three quarters of an hour.

Just as the Song army was deploying down from Heshan Mountain.

On the river, the soldiers led by Zhang Baiyu and Sheng Xin had already driven their small boats to the edge of the island in the middle of the river.

After the river turns a corner in Jiangzhou, it flows from southwest to northeast, and when it reaches the north of Wuhu, it basically flows from south to north.

The most important reason why Dangtu Quarry became the location for building a floating bridge on the river is the Jiangxin Island in the middle of the river.

Without this island in the middle of the river, the floating bridge would have to span five miles across the river, making construction extremely difficult. However, with this island in the middle of the river, the five-mile floating bridge was divided into two sections, three miles and two miles, and the water flow was significantly slowed down, allowing the floating bridge to be preserved for a long time during the flood season.

Therefore, if you want to break the floating bridge, it is impossible to break only one section. The most convenient and necessary method is to attack Jiangxinzhou and occupy it.

Although Jiangxinzhou at that time was not as huge as it was in later generations, it was still two miles from east to west and four miles from north to south, enough to serve as the first line of defense on the east bank of the Yangtze River after the fall of Hezhou.

More importantly, there is only one Mouke guarding Jiangxinzhou at this time. If the Jin navy arrives in a few days, no one knows how many people will come.

"Quietly." Zhang Baiyu held the Teng Shield Iron Mace and observed the situation ahead in the moonlight.

There was nothing but the sound of the waves, it was so quiet.

Zhang Baiyu frowned. If we calculate according to the time, Liu Huai should have led his army to directly besiege the Jin army's ferry camp. There must have been a lot of noise. This Mouke stationed in Jiangxinzhou would not be so stupid, right?
Just when Zhang Baiyu's boat was approaching Jiangxin Island, the shore of Jiangxin Island suddenly became brightly lit with flames. It seemed that dozens of huge bonfires had been poured with oil and were waiting to be ignited. Nearly a hundred Jin army soldiers shouted and killed at the same time.

The marching officer named Ali laughed out loud, "Song dog! Is that all you can do? Your grandfather has been waiting for this for a long time!"

After saying that, the man gave a call, and nearly a hundred soldiers simultaneously lit the arrows wrapped in oilcloth, and with a slight aim, threw them towards the small boat on the river.

Zhang Baiyu remained calm and shouted, "Oarsmen, row hard! The rest of you, lower your heads and raise your shields!"

As soon as he finished speaking, screams came from another small boat nearby. An oarsman wearing an iron crotch jacket was hit in the face by a rocket. He fell into the water screaming, causing the boat to shake violently. The other oarsman seemed to have no reaction and was still paddling hard. The boat soon capsized on the spot amid screams.

The six soldiers and one rower on board didn't even have a chance to struggle before they sank to the bottom of the river.

This has nothing to do with whether one is a good swimmer or not, it's simply because the armor on his body is too heavy.

Zhang Baiyu's eyes twitched, and he didn't have time to check the situation of the surrounding boats. He just kept shouting, "Hurry! There are only thirty steps left! Staying on the boat means you're a target, waiting to die! Only by getting ashore can you survive!"

I don't know if someone heard Zhang Baiyu's order amid the shouting and screaming, or because everyone realized that they couldn't hold out against the Jin army for long with such a small boat, the rowers all rowed hard, and the soldiers on the boat raised their shields if they had them, and those without shields lowered their heads and used their helmets to resist.

It is difficult to hit the target by shooting arrows in the dark, and rockets are even more inaccurate. After all, a hundred archers cannot form a firepower network to blockade the enemy, so the deterrent significance of rockets is greater than their practical significance.

Apart from the lucky chance of a blind cat catching a dead mouse, the only hope was that the boat would capsize on its own in the chaos of the night.

Therefore, when the Jingnan Army quickly calmed down and continued to charge onto the beach with an indomitable momentum, ignoring the rockets flying past them, the Jin army's deterrence immediately became meaningless.

Ali's face darkened, and he shouted to the people around him: "Form a formation!"

More than 20 Jin soldiers threw down their bows and arrows, took off their long weapons and short blades, and formed a small square formation with the help of Ali, protecting the rest of the archers behind them.

Zhang Baiyu's boat was moving the fastest, and naturally attracted the attention of most of the Jin army. Arrows rained down, and three or four arrows were stuck on Zhang Baiyu's shield. The heat from the flames penetrated the shield and burned his arms, making him grimace in pain.

However, the distance between the two sides was only thirty steps after all, and they were going downstream. In just a moment, Zhang Baiyu felt his feet pause, and after hearing the sound of the bottom of the boat rubbing against the sand, the man threw Teng Dun aside, jumped off the boat, brandished an iron mace, and rushed out first.

"Kill the thief!"

"Kill the gold thief!"

The eight soldiers on the boat followed their general's example and charged forward bravely.

As the saying goes, one man's desperate efforts terrify ten thousand. Although the Jin army was elite, they had been accustomed to favorable battles during their southern expedition. How could they have ever seen such a capable and courageous Song army? Although their formation was not overwhelmed, they were still in a state of panic for a while. More than twenty people were suppressed by a mere nine soldiers.

Before the Jin army could react, small boat after small boat rushed onto the mudflat, and the soldiers of the Jingnan Army and Huaixi Army on them jumped off one after another. Even in the dark, they did not take advantage of the chaos, but instead rushed towards the Jin army fearlessly.

At this time, the more than ten bonfires lit to ignite the rockets and illuminate the river surface became huge landmarks. The Jingnan Army and the Huaixi Army, which were originally unable to respond in the dark and were at risk of being separated, gradually coordinated with each other. Nearly three hundred soldiers launched a siege on the one hundred Jin troops.

Under this kind of attack, even the elite No. 1 Meng'an could not withstand it and was forced to retreat by the Song army.

It all comes down to the same old saying: we all have two arms to support our heads, and no one is inherently inferior to anyone else.

When the Jin army gathered its strength and marched into the Huai River and Huai River regions, the Song army, whose command was in disarray, would naturally collapse. However, when the Song army had no way to retreat and could only fight to the death, the Jin army naturally could not cope with it easily.

Soon, after Ali died inexplicably in the chaos, this elite hundred-man team finally couldn't hold on and collapsed.

"How many are still breathing?" Sheng Xin panted, leaning on his axe and shouting loudly: "Come to me! Come to me!"

The Huaixi Army... or rather, the Chaohu Navy, had sporadically responded. Sheng Xin counted the number and found only about seventy men. Even with the surrounding fires providing illumination, he couldn't immediately tell whether the remaining dozens had been pursued by the enemy or simply died in battle.

Not to mention the second brother, the Jingnan Army wasn't much better off. After Zhang Baiyu gathered around 120 soldiers, he shouted, "Commander Sheng, as we agreed before, after I go to the east side of Jiangxin Island to harass the enemy troops, you will go to the west side to destroy the floating bridge. Do you have any spare strength? Do you need any support?"

Sheng Xin took a few heavy breaths before saying, "No need. It's just the pontoon bridge, we can do it. Commander Zhang, you have a heavier responsibility, so go quickly."

In the light of the fire, Zhang Baiyu nodded heavily and was about to lead the Jingnan Army away. At this moment, he heard Sheng Xin shouting loudly behind him again.

"Commander Zhang, I'm a good man, and all of us Chaohu navy are good men. Am I right or not?!"

Although he didn't understand where this remark came from, in order to boost morale, Zhang Baiyu immediately responded: "Of course. Whether it's yesterday, today, or tomorrow, anyone who fights against the Jin is a hero!"

After saying this, he ignored everything else and led the Jingnan Army to the northeast.

On the other side, Sheng Xin let out a long breath and laughed heartily twice, as if a huge stone had been lifted from his heart.

Afterwards, Sheng Xin left behind only eight young soldiers who were responsible for executing the Jin thieves and rescuing the wounded. He gathered more than sixty Song soldiers who were still capable of fighting, and found a floating bridge along the west bank of Jiangxinzhou as agreed in advance.

The pontoon bridge is about three steps wide, with dozens of wooden piles fixed deep into the shore at both ends. It uses a boat or a closed wooden box as a base, connected by ropes and chains, and covered with wooden planks that are wide enough for ordinary carriages to pass.

Under the impact of the river, the floating bridge formed a huge arc, like a fully drawn longbow, stretching across in front of Sheng Xin and others.

This pontoon bridge still looks the same as it did when they fled in panic that day, except that there were local officials and militiamen from Dangtu at both ends of the bridge. It was they who built this pontoon bridge, giving the defeated soldiers from Huainan West Road a chance to survive.

Those civilians... they should all be dead...

Thinking of this, Sheng Xin felt a little dazed.

But now wasn't the time to dwell on that. A line of fire had already spread from the west side of the river along the pontoon bridge, now reaching its center. Sheng Xin could tell at a glance that this must be the troops sent by the Mouke guarding the west end of the pontoon bridge to investigate after discovering the fire on Jiangxin Island.

But just as Sheng Xin was leading everyone to the floating bridge, a group of more than 30 defeated Jin soldiers broke through the night and appeared in front of Sheng Xin and others.

There were not many torches on both sides, and the waves of the river obscured the whereabouts of the two teams. It was not until they were less than ten meters apart and almost face to face that they discovered each other at the bridgehead of the floating bridge.

Both sides were stunned for a moment, but then shouted at the same time, raised their weapons and rushed towards each other.

Needless to say, the Song army had all the family feuds and national hatreds on their shoulders, and they were basically furious when they saw the Jin army.

Although the Jin army had just been defeated and its morale had been broken, it should have been unable to compete with the Song army. However, the floating bridge that served as an escape route was blocked by the Song army, so it could only grit its teeth and fight for survival.

The struggle between soldiers... especially between exhausted soldiers, was dull and tedious. The Song army's armor-piercing axes and hammers were heavy, inflexible, and easily dodged, while the Jin army's long swords and spears were incapable of inflicting a fatal blow on the soldiers.

The battle quickly turned into a fierce battle.

Many armored soldiers simply discarded their long weapons that were in the way, threw the enemy to the ground, and took out their daggers and short knives to stab the weak points of the armor such as the ribs, eyes, and neck.

Sheng Xin swung his two hammers and smashed one on the helmet of the Jin soldier in front of him. The Jin soldier's body tilted greatly during the charge, but still hit Sheng Xin, knocking him back two steps.

At this moment, the second hammer finally arrived and hit Jin Jun's neck. With a creaking sound, Jin Jun's head tilted abnormally and then fell to the ground.

Sheng Xin wiped his face and was about to shout to boost morale when he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his left ribs. He reached out to touch it, but only felt the handle of a knife.

The Jin soldier's last attack was a stroke of luck, as his sword pierced the gap in Sheng Xin's armor.

"I can't pull it out... I'll be dead if I see the wind!" With many years of military experience, Sheng Xin knew that even if the armor had stuck most of the dagger, the blow would still damage his internal organs.

But now is not the time to treat the wound.

As if hearing the movement here, the line of fire on the pontoon bridge suddenly accelerated and became even thicker. At this time, the shouts of the Jin army's vanguard could be heard.

It’s less than a hundred steps!
"The bridge is broken! Don't worry about these birds, the bridge is broken!" Sheng Xin shouted while enduring the pain.

The remaining Song army naturally knew the pros and cons, and sent two men to run to the pontoon bridge.

After two rounds of armored fighting, the Jin and Song armies were both exhausted and were barely holding on.

At this time, the Song army also knew that if the Jin army reinforcements arrived first, they would definitely be defeated and slaughtered.

The Jin army knew that the way out was right in front of them.

A Jin soldier wearing only an iron crotch and a helmet ignored the war hammer wielded by the Song army and took a hit on the shoulder blade. Although one of his arms was broken on the spot, he still screamed and knocked down a Song soldier who was holding an axe and wanted to destroy the pontoon bridge.

The Jin soldiers' hands holding weapons were so weak that they bit the enemy in desperation.

Another Song soldier holding an axe ignored this scene and ran straight to the bridgehead. He walked forward more than ten steps on the bridge before stopping. He used three axes on each side to cut off the chains connecting the boats on both sides.

But the pontoon did not disperse.

Seeing this, the Song army raised their axes and split the wooden boards on the boat.

Three heavy Jurchen arrows were shot from the pontoon bridge. The Jurchen soldiers who came to support shouted and drew their bows and arrows while running towards the bridge head.

Thirty steps!
Two arrows passed by and hit the wooden planks of the floating bridge with a clang sound. The remaining arrow broke through the skirt armor of the axe-wielding Song soldier and pierced his thigh.

The axe-wielding Song soldier seemed unaware and took another step forward with his injured leg. He used the long axe to flip the split wooden boards to the left and right and raised the long axe high again.

But at this time, three more heavy arrows were shot, but fate did not favor the axe-wielding Song army like last time. One arrow hit his abdomen, and one arrow pierced Dun's neck and pierced his throat.

The axe-wielding Song Jun stumbled two steps unwillingly, still trying to steady himself in his dying moments, but the axe was taken by someone behind him. Seeing this person's figure, the axe-wielding Song Jun finally fell backwards. Before his consciousness quickly dissipated, he felt a touch of joy and died with a smile on his face.

Sheng Xin took the long axe, took a look under the flying wooden board in the moonlight, and knew what was going on.

The wooden stake closest to the shore below was holding the boat tightly.

Several more arrows flew over, and with a "pu" sound, Sheng Xin was hit by an arrow on the shoulder. However, he didn't care, swung the long axe and roared like a tiger, chopping it on the wooden stake.

"Wu Nan dog!"

"Dogs kill talents!"

Fifteen steps!
The shouting and cursing of the Jin army coming to support them could be clearly heard.

Sheng Xin was hit by another arrow in the chest, but he seemed unaware of it. With another blow of the axe, he finally chopped off the wooden stake that was in the way.

The three-mile-long floating bridge broke at one end and began to slowly move away from the shore under the impact of the water like a giant snake.

But all this takes time, and the nearest Jin army is already in sight!

"Hahaha!" Blood gushed out of Sheng Xin's mouth, but he laughed out loud without caring at all.

"Hahaha..." The laughter suddenly stopped, and Sheng Xin shouted: "Chaohu Sheng Xin, the Jin thieves were defeated here!"

After saying this, the commander who had escaped again and again used his long axe to hold the side of the boat offshore, roared like a tiger, and used all his strength to push it away.

Although the Jin army on the pontoon bridge was very close, they could not stand steadily due to the violent shaking of the bridge and fell on the bridge. Several Jin soldiers even fell directly into the water.

At this point, the trend of the floating bridge drifting downstream could no longer be stopped.

After pushing the pontoon away from the shore, Sheng Xin collapsed into the water. Clad in heavy armor and severely wounded, he was unable to struggle. A wave struck, and Sheng Xin vanished silently into the Yangtze River.

Sheng Xin, commander of the Chaohu navy, died in battle at the age of 37.

This time, he didn't retreat after all.

　Sorry, there should only be one chapter today.

　　Alas, there are too many things to do at the end of the year, so I will try to catch up on Saturdays and Sundays.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)