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

Chapter 357 No Hero is Afraid of a Bear

The Han family has heroes.

This sentence has been repeated by many people.

If some people still scoffed at this statement a few months ago, fewer and fewer people dared to refute it now that the Shandong rebel army has become so large and difficult to control.

Not only the Han people believed it, but many Jurchens also believed it.

Just as Li Dao was displaying his divine power on the Yangtze River, hundreds of miles away in Dongping Prefecture, the commander of the Weiyi Army, Shizhanxie, began to think of this:

The Han family has heroes.

After all, the development of world affairs is not a cheap novel, where everyone revolves around the protagonist. When the camera focuses on the protagonist, it is impossible for others to stand still like background boards.

If we count the intelligence gathered afterwards, it turns out that the person who launched the strategic counterattack in the Song camp and achieved effective results was not a famous teacher or general, or a person who would be recorded in history and praised for generations to come.

But it was Geng Jing, who was not well-known at that time and was just a small figure.

In fact, Geng Jing didn't want to be the first to speak out, but who could blame him for the situation?

The reason was that Tai'an Prefecture and Fei County were too poor to support so many people, so the entire Tianping army felt like they were desperate.

With the idea of fighting to the death, Geng Jing divided 15,000 elite Tianping soldiers from the more than 100,000 rebel troops into two groups. One group of 5,000 people set out from Tai'an Prefecture, led by Tianping Army General Ye Shichan, and directly attacked Dongping Prefecture along the Dawen River. Relying on the Dawen River and the surrounding mountains for defense, they confronted the Weiyi Army in Xucheng, Dongping Prefecture, across a distance of hundreds of miles.

Geng Jing personally led 10,000 main forces from Fei County and attacked Yanzhou along the Si River. He captured important places such as Si River and Qufu with great force and surrounded the Yanzhou provincial capital, Xiuyang County.

Geng Jing's position was already outside the Shandong hilly area, and was considered to be in the heart of the plains, which was just right for the Jin army's large-scale cavalry operations. If the Weiyi Army decisively made up their minds and marched south, they might really be able to wipe out the main force of the Tianping army.

However, Shizhanxie, who received the call for help, did not dare to move at all.

The reason is very simple, there is no one behind him.

This is not a metaphor for having support from the court, but rather that all the local Jin troops that should have gone south to Shandong to cooperate with him are gone.

Wanyan Fushou, who was supposed to go south with his family, saw the situation in Shandong and decided not to go south anymore. He led his two thousand households of soldiers and civilians back to Liaodong to prepare to welcome Wanyan Yong.

Of course, this enthronement was very unsuccessful. Hesheli Liangbi made a prompt decision to bring Wanyan Yong to Shangjing, which made Wanyan Fushou, who was in Shicheng, Liaoyang Prefecture, unable to move forward or backward, which was quite embarrassing.

Shizhanxie had no idea what was going on with Wanyan Fushou, nor did he want to care, but with his retreat, all the troops that were originally used to fill his position were gone.

This is not to say how powerful Wanyan Fushou's two Wanhu with their families are, but that with the existence of these two Wanhu, Shizhanxie will have a fallback and can find their own people in Shandong to take care of each other.

Even though Wanyan Fushou was a local force with weak combat effectiveness, Shizhanxie could safely place it on a major traffic route without having to worry about the retreat.

But now it's all over.

The Wei Yi Army has a total of 11,000 soldiers and horses. If they are spread out over an area as large as Shandong, it would be like peeing in the Yellow River. They can take care of this but not the other.

For example, in the current situation, if the entire Wei Yi Army attacks Yanzhou, do you believe that the 5,000 Tianping Army that jumps out from Tai'an Prefecture will immediately capture the empty Xucheng?

By then, Dongping Prefecture will be gone!
As for the local officials of Dongping Prefecture and the Meng'an Mouke households, to be frank, if they could be trusted, the Jin central government would not have sent Wanyan Fushou all the way south to Shandong.

Do you really think the Jin officials were all fools? Do you really think they didn't know how cruel it was to force people to migrate thousands of miles? Do you really think they didn't know there was a high possibility that something would go wrong?
But they can't help it.

Liu Huai's conclusion was very accurate.

In the Jin Dynasty, the army owned the country, not the country owned the army.

At this time when all the armies are heading south to attack the Song Dynasty, it would be really strange if there is no chaos within the Jin Dynasty!

Shizhanxie hesitated for a few days, then immediately stopped wasting time.

Because Xiuyang County was captured by the Tianping Army, at the same time, the wealthy families in Ningyang County also killed the Jin officials and started a rebellion under the banner of Geng Jing.

In just a few days, before the news could be sorted out, the entire Yanzhou was captured in a crushing manner, leaving Shizhanxie stunned.

In fact, it was not just Shizhanxie, Geng Jing was also extremely surprised by this result.

It turns out that the Tianping Army is so strong after reorganization!

The wealthy families and scholars who came to seek refuge were also excited. They had originally watched the Tianping Army stumbling around in its military formation and thought that Geng Jing just wanted to be a rich man and guard his own little piece of land.

What was unexpected was that Chief Geng was as still as a mountain and as powerful as thunder, and he could attack a wealthy province like Yanzhou with a fiery aggressive momentum.

Wang Youzhi, the governor of Tianxiong Army, was completely convinced.

Geng Jing was slightly inferior to Wei Sheng, but that was only the case. He was much stronger than Wei Sheng, a defeated general.

But he was still secretly worried.

When the Tianxiong Army started the rebellion, although it was not as agile as the Tianping Army, it was also unstoppable in conquering cities and territories. However, when facing the Jin Dynasty's regular army, it still seemed too weak.

The Tianping Army was so determined, but after all, there was no precedent of defeating the Jin army head-on like the Zhongyi Army did. Facing the Weiyi Army entrenched in Dongping Prefecture, could they really win?

Geng Jing did not seem to be worried about this. After simply commending their merits and giving them rewards, he recruited some powerful soldiers. The 12,000 regular troops in the south and 8,000 civilians, a total of 20,000 people, went straight from Yanzhou to Wenyang, and together with the 5,000 Tianping troops in the Dawen River, one in the south and one in the east, they clamped towards Xucheng like a pair of big pliers.

At this time, Yanggu County, northwest of Xucheng, instigated by Geng Jing's men, killed the officials of the Jin Dynasty and officially rebelled.

This had a demonstration effect. In addition to Bozhou, which was also cleaned up by Shizhanxie, there were disturbances in several surrounding states and counties, and even people in Daming Prefecture started an uprising.

Shizhanxie also knew that he couldn't wait any longer.

If he waits any longer, the 10,000 soldiers and horses in his hands will be defeated without a fight.

The entire Wei Yi Army was mobilized, making a gesture to attack the 5,000 Tianping Army on the Dawen River, and then quickly moved south and rushed towards Wenyang.

Shizhan Xieye’s strategic goal is very simple. He wants to achieve his goal in one battle and kill the main force of the Tianping Army directly!

However, as soon as Wei Yijun turned around, Shizhanxie realized that something was wrong.

It seemed as if all the people, all the powerful people, and all the officials in Dongping Prefecture were against the Wei Yi Army. The forced laborers would quickly flee if they were not seen, and the powerful people and officials who were supposed to maintain order would also flee with them.

If that were all, that would be fine.

Being shot by several arrows while passing through the woods, finding that the bridge was demolished when crossing the river, taking a fork in the road and walking for several miles only to find that the road signs were wrong, and the captured guide giving blind instructions, it was just a common occurrence.

This harassing attack may not cause much damage to the Wei Yi Army, but it will definitely make them a little confused.

To use the jargon of later generations, the Wei Yi Army was caught in the vast ocean of people's war.

This is naturally not to say that Geng Jing had the ability of the iron army in later generations, but because the kindness of the Jin Kingdom was heavier than a mountain, and it wanted to crush the people and powerful people of Dongping Prefecture to death, so he had to rebel.

Not to mention Wang Youzhi's repeated troubles, Shizhanxie also followed suit and plundered the land several times. Dongping Prefecture is the best place in Shandong. If Dongping Prefecture doesn't provide the money and food used for the southern expedition, the manpower and material resources for building the Bianliang Palace, and the money, silk and timber for building the navy, who will?

In the past, Dongping Prefecture was able to maintain peace for a while because of the Jin army. Anyone who rebelled would be killed. Now that you have come out of Xucheng, who will be afraid of you?

At this point, when you will die if you rebel, and you will also die if you don't rebel, you still don't rebel. Do you really think that Dongping Prefecture, which has produced such ruthless people like Zhang Rong and Song Jiang, is a good place?

Shizhan Xie also felt that things were becoming difficult.

Unlike the battle between the Loyal and Righteous Army and the Wuxing Army, the main force of the Jin Army had not yet moved south, so both the ambitious and the righteous army were waiting for the right time. Therefore, the battle between the Loyal and Righteous Army and the Wuxing Army at that time was more like a pure military battle.

Things were different now. The Song and Jin dynasties had already gone to war, and the Jin dynasty no longer had a large army to hold them back.

Therefore, at this time it is not a showdown between the Tianping Army and the Weiyi Army, but the forces of the entire Yanzhou and Dongping Prefecture, from the common people to the powerful, gathered together to cooperate with the Tianping Army to fight the Weiyi Army!

Of course, these are not the worst things.

Just when the Wei Yi Army arrived in Wenyang and had just crossed the Dawen River, a piece of shocking news came.

The "Tianping" flag was hoisted in Xucheng, the capital of Dongping Prefecture, and the powerful people there officially started an uprising.

With their retreat route cut off, the Weizhen Army was blocked in a narrow strip of land with a radius of only a hundred miles, consisting of Liangshan Lake in the west, Dawen River in the east, and Wenyang in the south.

This time, not only the ordinary generals, but even Shizhan Xie was panicked.

However, the Jin army was still quite ruthless after all. After a brief military discussion, the senior officers reached a consensus.

It is absolutely impossible to escape at this time. The distance is so close, even the scouts have already started fighting. If you turn around and run away, you will be chased and killed, and the end result will be inexplicable collapse.

Don't forget that it was the local rebel army from Dongping Prefecture who were blocking and harassing us along the way.

By then, we will be thankful if 3,000 people can escape back to Daming Prefecture.

If we continue to move forward, we don't have to defeat the Cheonping Army, and we don't even have to fight with the Cheonping Army. As long as we go south to Jeju Imseong, we will escape.

As for Dongping Prefecture...

Whoever wants to guard this fucking Dongping Prefecture can do so. I won’t serve you anymore.

The idea is beautiful, but the reality is very ugly.

Under the harassment of the local rebel army in Dongping Prefecture, the Wei Yi Army marched extremely slowly.

Taking advantage of this delay, Geng Jing finally understood the surrounding situation and confidently called in the 5,000 Tianping troops stationed on the Dawen River to launch a pincer attack.

When Ye Shichan arrived with 5,000 Tianping troops, it was the early morning of November 9th. The Tianping troops, totaling 17,000 regular troops, officially launched an attack on the Weiyi Army.

The Wei Yi Army, already exhausted physically and mentally by the harassment of small units, had no choice but to abandon its baggage and retreat westward in the face of the overwhelming attack of the Tianping Army, in order to gain space to transform from a marching formation into a large-scale combat formation.

But no one expected that something big would happen during this retreat.

It should be said that the military quality of the Wei Yi Army was still sufficient and did not disappear with the erosion of strength and spirit. They sent cavalry to engage with the Tianping Army and cover the army's formation. At the critical moment, even Shizhanxie personally stepped forward to launch an assault and stabilize the army's formation.

But to the west of the Weizhen Army's marching route was Liangshan Lake.

To put it more clearly, it is the 800-li Liangshan Marsh, where Song Jiang and others once gathered, and where Zhang Rong and Zhang Diwan started their careers.

If it was just Liangshan Lake, it would be fine. The Weizhen Army is not stupid and will not let the soldiers and cavalry fight in the lake.

The key point is that since the Yellow River changed its course, Liangshan Lake has also been affected a lot and its area has gradually shrunk.

The place where the Wei Yi Army was lined up at this time was exactly the mudflats and even the lake bed of Liangshan Lake.

In summer, the lake bed was a swamp covered by reeds, but in winter, the ground was frozen relatively solid, making the Jin army believe that this was a solid place where they could stand.

However, not to mention that it is not the coldest time of the year, the ground is just a hard shell. Even in the coldest days of winter, no matter how hard the ground is frozen, it cannot withstand the trampling of tens of thousands of people at the same time!

Soon, the cavalry in formation got stuck in the mud, and the armored infantrymen began to move slowly. When some Jin army officers discovered this, they were horrified, but it was too late to change the situation.

Because the Tianping Army was already right in front of them.

Geng Jing had originally prepared for heavy casualties today, but after deploying his formation and launching a frontal attack, he discovered that the Wei Yi Army had actually stepped into the quagmire, and almost instantly disabled their most powerful armored cavalry.

Although the Jin soldiers could move, it was extremely difficult and they could hardly maintain their formation.

Geng Jing was overjoyed. He summoned archers and crossbowmen to start shooting at the Jin army. He also organized light soldiers who were barefoot and only wearing iron crotch jackets to launch repeated surprise attacks.

In this battlefield environment, the heavy armor of the Jin army became a death curse. After falling in the muddy swamp, it was difficult to stand up again.

After facing repeated barrages of bows and crossbows and light infantry raids, the Wei Yi Army finally began to disintegrate, and a small number of people finally began to flee.

But where can you escape to?
There were muddy frozen swamps to the north and south, and Liangshan Lake covered with thin ice to the west, but the only way out was blocked by the Tianping Army.

At 4:00 PM, after several hours of fighting, the Weiyi Army finally collapsed. The Jin army, once capable of crushing tens of thousands of rebels, fled in all directions. Some, in their panic, leaped into the water in their armor, punching holes in the ice in the shape of human figures before instantly sinking into the lake, spinning and disappearing.

Shizhan also looked at this scene, his heart filled with huge regret and sadness, but the huge fear that followed quickly overwhelmed it a little.

He was not worried about his personal future. The captain was going to sink with the ship. As the commander of an army, he had suffered heavy casualties. If he could not die, how could he be worthy of his comrades who obeyed his orders and went to the battlefield?

Shizhanxie's only fear was that when the only regular army in Shandong was destroyed in such a ridiculous way without even causing great damage to the Tianping army, what direction would the situation in Shandong develop in?
Will Shandong still be the territory of the Jin Dynasty in the future?

What will be the fate of the army that marches south to Lianghuai?
Your Majesty entrusted me with state affairs, and this is the result?

Shizhan Xie was so frightened that he didn't even dare to think any further. He drew his sword impatiently and cut his own throat in the midst of the chaos.

As Shizhanxie fell off his horse, the battle came to an end.

"Kill the gold thief!"

"The one who captured the bandit's flag was Zhang Anguo, Zhang Qilang!"

"Whoever surrenders will avoid death!"

"Drop your weapons, take off your armor, and strip off all your clothes!"

The Tianping Army cheered and launched a general attack on the Jin Army. After the "Wei Yi" flag was taken away, the few Jin soldiers who were still resisting completely lost their will to resist and knelt down to beg for surrender.

"Big victory!"

"Long live the Tianping Army!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!"

The cheers from all sides finally united in one voice.

Amidst the shouts of "Long live the emperor", Geng Jing's mouth, which had been tense all day, finally curled up.

However, he did not issue any military orders at the first time, but just stretched out his right hand towards the setting sun in the afterglow of the setting sun.

At this time, the lower edge of the sun had already touched the surface of Liangshan Lake. The lake water covered with thin ice was shimmering, shining brightly with the sun.

Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Geng Jing suddenly clenched his fist, as if grasping the setting sun in his palm. Then he raised his fist high and shouted to the cheering soldiers on all sides: "This Dongping Prefecture belongs to our Tianping Army! Long live!"

"Long live!"

　For smooth reading, today's two chapters are combined into one
　　
　
(End of this chapter)