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

Chapter 356: Two Armies Confronted on the Yangtze River

The treatment of capable and incompetent people is completely different.

When Xin Qiji returned to the flagship carrying a long spear, he was warmly welcomed by the entire Dongting Lake navy.

No one doesn't like the Warriors, especially the Warriors on their side.

Li Dao simply threw aside the dagger Wanyan Liang had given him, stepped forward, and shook Xin Qiji's hands. "In today's battle, Commander Xin should be credited with the greatest achievement! Who would object?"

"it is good!!!"

The Song army cheered collectively again.

Liu Huai also applauded and cheered.

As the supreme commander of the Shandong rebel army heading south, Liu Huai could not be jealous of Xin Qiji's achievements. To be precise, the more Xin Qiji, as his subordinate, showed up, the more it showed that there were many hidden talents in the Jingnan army, and that he, the Flying Tiger, was a good leader.

As for being wooed, that is almost inevitable.

If the Shandong rebel army could really gain a foothold, the two routes of Shandong would become a huge piece of fat meat. Not to mention a young hero like Xin Qiji, even a little brat like Luo Huaiyan might have some governor's unmarried illegitimate daughter waiting for him.

Liu Huai was naturally mentally prepared for this, and even wary, but he didn't care too much about it.

Because the Song State was not only not aggressive enough, but also had difficulty in protecting itself, with many civil and military officials in the court. It was impossible for them to treat Shandong as a core interest that could not be transferred.

However, the Shandong generals would certainly not give up their hometown easily.

This is the fundamental contradiction.

As long as Liu Huai is determined to resist the Jin, the civil and military officials from Shandong and even Hebei will not betray him for the sake of mere solicitation.

The Song army was naturally very excited after winning this great victory and showing off their might in front of Wanyan Liang. However, the generals and the commander-in-chief remained sober.

Now the Jin army has gathered three thousand elite troops in Xicai Shihedge. Once the war breaks out, even the Shenfeng Army and the Weizhen Army in the navy will go ashore to help. This means that the Jin army has nearly 50,000 elite troops, and their morale is high due to their successive victories. The Song army is simply no match for them.

Even adding the Jingnan Army would not be enough.

Therefore, Li Dao personally drove the waterwheel boat around the Jin army camp twice, and then withdrew his troops back to the camp.

At this time, the Dongting Lake navy was roughly divided into two parts, east and west, along the island in the middle of the river. They were stationed in the river channels on both sides, occupying the upper reaches to maintain suppression of the Jin navy.

It can be said that as long as the Dongting Lake navy stays here for a day, the Jin army will have no chance of crossing the river.

"...I can't claim it's foolproof, but given the strength of the Jin navy, if they're upstream, they could use their numerical superiority to threaten our Dongting Lake navy. But if they're downstream, haha, if they dare leave the water stronghold, I'll dispatch my troops and send all these Jin thieves to the bottom of the river to feed the turtles!"

During the military meeting in the central army tent, facing an illegitimate Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Li Dao did not show the arrogance he had when facing Liu Huai before. After all, in the Song Dynasty, the suppression of military generals by high-ranking scholars and officials was natural.

Even a veteran like Li Dao felt inferior to Yu Yunwen.

Yu Yunwen, who was sitting in the main seat, showed no arrogance. He smiled and said, "General Li is indeed powerful, worthy of being a famous minister and veteran. If the general had not arrived in time today, it would have been a tough battle."

Li Dao stood before the map in a solemn voice, "Prime Minister Yu Chu, you're joking. With so many brave warriors here, Dongcai Shi is impregnable. How could it be my turn to take action?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the generals of the Dongting Lake navy and the Huaixi generals all had blank expressions, while the generals of the Jingnan army sneered, and some even looked angry.

This was not directed at Yu Yunwen and Li Dao, but because the Jingnan Army had a very hard march along the way, and their preparations were to attack the Jin army halfway across the river, fighting a bloody battle with the Jin bandits and winning a great victory.

By then, he will have all the merits and fame, and maybe even become the number one meritorious person in Lianghuai.

What now?
The Jin navy was directly beaten back, and the Dongting Lake navy sat down in the quarry and refused to leave.

As a result, the Jin army could not reach the east bank of the Yangtze River, and the Song army also found it difficult to reach the west of the Yangtze River.

So the 5,000 elite soldiers of the Jingnan Army left their hometown and traveled thousands of miles to the south of the Yangtze River just to stare down the Jin army across the river?
But you can't just say, 'All the Dongting Lake navy, go back and let the Jin army cross the river, I'm going to fight them', right?

The Yangtze River not only has military significance, but also is a political bottom line. Whether the Jin army crossed the Yangtze River or not is two completely different things in political terms.

Seeing that Luo Shenyan, Shi Qilang and others were all angry because they did not fight with the Jin army, Yu Yunwen was fine, but Li Dao was secretly shocked.

Why did so many arrogant and powerful soldiers come from Shandong?
No, if the Shandong rebel army had so many elite soldiers, and even heroes like Liu Huai and Xin Qiji, then what was the situation in the two routes of Shandong?
Has everything been recovered?

If that is the case, then these Shandong heroes are extremely powerful and must be made friends with.

Not to mention the turmoil in Li Dao's mind.

Liu Huai, sitting to the right of the coach, looked up at the map, pondered over it, and sighed softly.

This stalemate does not mean that the two sides are truly evenly matched, or that their strategic advantages are similar, but that both sides have entered a stage where they have to be prepared to pay a huge price if they want to achieve more tactical results.

However, after calculating the cost of Song State's stone mining in the east, Liu Huai became melancholy again.

The 5,000-strong Jingnan Army; the 5,000-strong Huaixi Army whose morale was boosted but whose combat effectiveness was unknown; and the 6,000-odd Dongting Lake Navy which was invincible on the river but basically incompetent on land.

These costs cannot be lost at all.

We can only hope that there will be a strategic threat to the Jin Dynasty from the outside, which will lead to a change in the tactical situation.

But the good news is that Liu Huai is very sure that there are heroes in the Han family, and the heroes fighting on several fronts will not disappoint his expectations.

A strategic advantage may emerge at any time, perhaps by Wu Lin of Xichuan showing his might and invading Guanzhong.

It is possible that when Liu Qi faced the three Wanhu troops besieging Yangzhou, he recreated the Battle of Shunchang and defeated them in one fell swoop.

It is also possible that the Jin army attacking Xiangfan was too numerous and lost its composure, giving Wu Gong and Cheng Min the opportunity to achieve unprecedented feats.

It is more likely that his father Wei Sheng would lead the rebel army left behind in Shandong and march directly westward to capture Suzhou and even Xuzhou, cutting off the main artery of the Jin army in Lianghuai.

Of course, there is also the most important Wanyan Yong. According to historical records, he should have proclaimed himself emperor at this time, and the fatal news that would have caused chaos in the Jin army heading south should have been on the way.

While Liu Huai was absorbed in his calculations, he felt a poke on his shoulder from behind him. When he came to his senses, he saw that everyone in the tent was looking at him. Yu Yunwen seemed to be hesitant to speak. He couldn't help but stroke his forehead and said, "Yu Sheren, I was a little distracted just now. What's the matter?"

Yu Yunwen didn't care, shaking his head and saying, "What should we do with the captives and spoils we took this morning? Dalang, do you have any suggestions?"

Liu Huai nodded and said, "Yes, if we follow the practices of the Shandong Volunteers, we will pick out and kill those with blood on their hands, and execute the rest according to their crimes by 11 strokes, 5 strokes, or even 21 strokes. Those who survive will be sentenced according to their crimes and sent to work in salt fields and mines to reform through labor."

Yu Yunwen nodded repeatedly after hearing this, and felt that Liu Huai was no simple man. As a soldier with a sword in his hand, he did not kill to the death, but tried to use political strategy to solve the extremely complicated Shandong situation. It can be said that he is both civil and military.

However, Liu Huai's next sentence made Yu Yunwen slightly stunned.

"But for these Jin thieves, all this is unnecessary." Liu Huai sneered and said, "First Meng'an is the most elite soldier in the entire army, and his hands are stained with blood. The military judge will record their merits and then, after reading the verdict, execute them directly according to the law. They will all be executed as a sacrifice to the souls of the victims in heaven."

"Especially that Aligua. He's the main culprit and deserves to be killed. Keeping him alive is a waste of food." Liu Huai said fiercely, "Over the past few days, we've collected over 3,000 corpses from around the quarry. It's all his fault. Skin him alive, right? 3,000 cuts, not a single one less!"

This is just something said in anger.

After all, lingchi is a technical job that requires certain knowledge of human anatomy. How can you just cut someone alive with three thousand cuts?

Yu Yunwen thought for a moment, and when he saw that the generals of the Huaixi Army also nodded, he gave up the idea of presenting the prisoners to the emperor and nodded heavily.

"Then follow Liu Dalang's advice."

In fact, Yu Yunwen was also angry, especially when he found the bodies of more than a hundred women who had not been buried in a corner of the Jin army camp. He wanted to order the killing of all the captured Jin soldiers on the spot.

But as a politician, Yu Yunwen was unable to settle scores and always wanted to use these captives to maximize his political capital.

At this time, Liu Huai's words reminded him that the ultimate goal was to win this battle. It was too early to consider politics now. He should kill prisoners with pure military thinking to boost morale.

"As for the captured military supplies," Liu Huai said frankly, "Please, Mr. Yu, based on the results of yesterday's battle, we can make a decision now. If it doesn't belong to our Jingnan Army, we won't take a penny."

At this point, Liu Huai smiled and said, "But if Yu Sheren swallows up our achievements, I will also make a fuss."

Yu Yunwen knew that this was an opportunity given to him by Liu Huai to establish his prestige in the army. Even though he felt that this move was a bit beyond the limit, he couldn't help but feel excited.

On second thought, the country has reached this point. If I don’t do something extraordinary, how can I be the prime minister who helps the poor and the needy and turns the situation around?
Thinking of this, Yu Yunwen stroked his beard and smiled, "In the past, when Han Prime Minister Chen Ping was in a lowly position, he was known as someone who could rule the world because of his excellent distribution of sacrificial meat. I am a few years older than Chen Ping was then. Since I am known as the reserve prime minister, how can I not distribute these military supplies properly? Dalang really underestimates me."

After a few words, a burst of laughter rang out in the central military tent.

"In addition to military supplies, we also have gold, silver, and cloth shipped from Dangtu, which will be distributed as rewards today." Yu Yunwen looked around at the generals in the tent and said sternly, "Please tell the soldiers that although I, Yu Binfu, am only a secretary, I am a man of my word. If I say there will be rewards, then there will be. I hope that the troops will work hard to kill the bandits tomorrow, and when the court's rewards are distributed, I will definitely feast them all!"

"Here!"

"As ordered!"

The generals in the tent agreed at the same time, and the laughter this time was much more sincere than before.

(End of this chapter)