Volume 5 Chapter 55: One Step Forward and One Step Back
Before November arrived, the Song army launched a swift and fierce attack on the Linfen Basin.
The first to take action were Wang De's troops. Wang De, Zhang Jing, and Qiao Zhongfu were famous generals of the Western Army before they joined Liu Guangshi's army. They were also the first military forces that Emperor Zhao conquered. At this time, they formed a V-shaped formation, leading the three troops with the best equipment, the most elite troops, and the largest organization in the imperial camp, totaling nearly 14,000 people. They were the first to cross the Fen River and attack Jiangzhou City in three directions.
Following closely behind were the troops led by Jie Yuan, deputy commander-in-chief of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp, including the commanders Huyan Tong, Chen Ju, Xu Shi'an, Dong Min, and Chen Yanzhang, who also had 17,000 to 18,000 men.
In theory, there are enough garrisons in Jiangzhou city. Wanyan Zhehe, the commander of the Jin army, has been leading his troops here to recuperate since the mixed night attack. There are a total of thirty to forty Moukes and a full five thousand Han soldiers inside and outside the city.
It's certainly enough to defend the city.
However, Jiangzhou is very close to the Fen River. Although there was frost and light fog on the day of crossing the river, it quickly dissipated from the moment the sun came out, so the overall view was wide. In this case, when Wanyan Zhehe climbed the city wall to watch, he saw countless Song army armors shining, clear flags, and clear formations. After building countless floating bridges on the Fen River, this veteran general of the Jin army's western army immediately ordered his well-prepared subordinates to be divided into two. The Han army immediately took the lead in escorting the baggage to retreat northward, and the Jurchen cavalry were all dressed in uniform and followed him out of the city.
After the Haner army left, Wanyan Zhehe, who led the main force of the Jurchens, came out of the city. He again avoided the powerful Wang Dewang Yaksha and went straight for Qiao Zhongfu's army, which had the most disorganized formation among the three armies that he had identified on the top of the city wall.
Three or four thousand Jurchen armored cavalry took advantage of the fact that Qiao Zhongfu had almost crossed the river and had not yet gained a firm foothold, and attacked him successfully, beheading hundreds of people. However, they did not linger in the fight and retreated in a hurry.
As expected, as soon as the Jurchen cavalry turned back, Wang De handed over the troops that had just crossed the river to his eldest son Wang Qi for organization, and then personally led more than a thousand core elite troops, a mixture of cavalry and infantry, to come to the rescue. His reaction speed and strong desire for battle were astonishing.
At the same time, the rest of the Song army continued to advance and cross the river.
At this time, something interesting happened. Facing Wang De's small group of elite troops advancing continuously, Wanyan Zhehe, who personally led thousands of Jurchen armored cavalry, had an absolute advantage in manpower and mobility, but he advanced and retreated with Wang De, and the intention of confrontation was obvious. Moreover, when he came to the four gates of Jiangzhou City, he had no intention of entering the city, but continued to march north in a strict manner.
Wang De was obviously confused for a moment. He hesitated for a moment whether there was any explanation in the city, but when he turned around and saw that his eldest son was leading his elite troops just two miles away, he finally gritted his teeth and directly commanded the troops to enter the city to investigate.
Wanyan Zhehe did not make any unnecessary moves at all, but remained calm and led his headquarters to retreat in an orderly manner.
When the large group of Song army rushed up and completely took over the city, everyone had no doubt - Wanyan Zhehe actually abandoned the city of Jiangzhou at the first opportunity, and his previous actions were also clear and unmistakable. He was actually personally leading a large group of Jurchen cavalry to cover the retreat of his own Han army!
In a sense, this was a textbook example of cavalry covering the rear, otherwise Qiao Zhongfu would never have accepted it.
The course of the battle was quickly reported to Han Shizhong, but Han Shizhong did not care, because the contrast of military strength on the west bank of Fenshui was too obvious. If the isolated city advanced and lost the protection of Fenshui, it was expected that Wanyan Zhehe would choose to abandon the city. As for Qiao Zhongfu being hit by a club... To put it bluntly, you came here to fight, do you expect no one to die?
In fact, at this time Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian and others had been waiting for battle reports from the east bank of Fenshui River, because this side was more important.
On the east bank of the Fen River, because there was only a smaller Hui River blocking the way, the war broke out early on a larger scale.
The vanguard troops on this side were the Eight Characters Army led by Li Qiong, who were familiar with the terrain of the Taihang Mountains. However, because a considerable part of the Eight Characters Army had been sent to the other side of Chenguanxing, and they also had to take on the task of blocking the passages on the west wing of the Taihang Mountains along the way, Li Qiong only had a little over 10,000 troops at this time, far less than the Shanluo troops that "assisted" him.
Zhai Jin, Zhai Cong, Zhai Chong, Niu Gao and Dong Xian, five typical commanders from the Henan volunteer army, formed a large column for easy marching and marched non-stop along the Fen River.
At the same time, Shao Long, Song Yan, Jia He, Lü Heshang who was demoted to deputy commander due to the defeat at Tieling Pass, and Zhang Qi and Zhang Boyu who were the former deputy generals promoted from Luoyang by Li Yanxian against all odds, and now replaced Zhao Cheng who was dismissed for crimes to lead his troops... were also five commanders, but they led the troops from Shanzhou, also formed a column, and then chose to cross Quwo City on the east side of Li Qiong's Eight Character Army, and march towards Yicheng in the northeast of Quwo City.
It seems that they are preparing to block the retreat of the main force of the Jin army.
From this posture, it can be said that apart from Li Yanxian's own troops who valued their status and Yan Ping's troops who suffered heavy losses and could not engage in battle, the entire Shanluo Army Group also came out in full force.
However, in the afternoon, a little later than the Song army on the west bank of the Fen River, the Song army on the east bank encountered a similar situation.
The difference between Datong and Jin was that the Jin army in Quwo also voluntarily gave up defending the city. Faced with the overwhelming offensive of the Song army, the main force of the Jin army that was originally entrenched there directly chose to turn around and retreat.
The slight difference is that, unlike the city of Jiangzhou on the other side of the Fen River, the Jin army should have gathered three to four thousand households here and in the surrounding areas, and the terrain around Quwo is flat, and there is a sufficient distance from the Huishui River... And don't forget, except for the combat effectiveness of the Eight Character Army in the vanguard, the Shaanxi-Luo Army Group, which serves as the actual main force on both wings, has long been proven to have relatively weak field combat capabilities, and the combat effectiveness of each unit is uneven.
Especially at this moment, the Song army's formation on both wings is too long, which also makes it convenient for the Jin army's cavalry to break through by force.
In other words, the Jin army had enough strength and enough room to maneuver (the distance from Quwo City), and even enough preparation time, to give the Song army a head-on blow.
However, tens of thousands of main forces of the Jin army simply abandoned Quwo, and did not even make any tactical moves like Wanyan Zhehe on the other side who relied on the numerical advantage of cavalry. They retreated in an orderly manner without even touching the Song army.
Judging from the flag, it was Yelu Mawu who was the rear guard.
"The Jin army is not stupid!"
When the news reached the bank of the Rui River, which was full of pontoon bridges, Han Shizhong, who was stationed under his own banner, finally frowned slightly.
Beside him, of course, were Li Yanxian and Li Jiedu standing with large banners, and behind him were Li Shifu, deputy commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry, Cheng Min, commander of the Imperial Camp Left Army Beiwei Army, and Weiming Yunge, commander of the Imperial Camp Cavalry Poxi Army... Behind these people, there were a total of 15,000 cavalrymen who were fully equipped and were dismounting and sitting in a row to rest.
In addition, there are Li Yanxian's main force and Shao Yun's force thoughtfully assigned by Emperor Zhao, totaling nearly 10,000 troops... This is Li Yanxian's lifeblood... but they have already crossed the river and are sitting on the ground on the east side of the opposite bank.
It is obvious that the Prince of Yan'an wants to catch a big fish.
But people don’t even look at it, let alone take the bait.
"Why does the prince think the Jin army is stupid?" Li Yanxian sneered when he saw this. "You should have thought of it earlier, right?"
"Why is Li Jiedu laughing?" After Guannei's shocking words, Han Shizhong, who seemed to have become exceptionally calm, turned his head and faced the opponent. He was not angry at all.
Li Yanxian wanted to take the opportunity to ridicule him, but when he saw the other party's attitude, and the one who worked hard to lure the enemy was his own son, he no longer had the room to be angry, and just sighed:
"Prince, the famous Jurchen generals have died out in recent years and they no longer have the momentum they once had. In my opinion, the Jin army no longer has top-notch commanders or generals... However, the veterans are still here! Gao Jingshan, Ali, Erlubu, and Wang Bolong of the Eastern Army, Tuhesu, Zhehe, and Ma Wu of the Western Army, and Wulinda Taiyu and Wanyan Huonu of the Yanshan New Army... Even though these people were young at the time, they were still Aguda's old men when he founded the Jin and destroyed the Liao, and they never left the army. They may have different personalities and incomplete talents, but they all have basic military experience and will never make some obvious mistakes."
Han Shizhong nodded slightly, and just as he was about to speak, he immediately realized something: "Why didn't Li Jiedu mention Balisu?"
"Because I want to talk about this person." Li Yanxian said seriously. "Balisu can't be regarded as a simple veteran... When he was leading 200 people at the beginning, he fought beside Lou Shi and Yin Shuke, and was often assigned by the two to do some tasks that could not be called independent, but were indeed independent... Nianhan wanted to take charge of military affairs, and the Western Route Army was often divided between Lou Shi and Yin Shuke, and the two often let Balisu lead a small army alone... Prince, this person has been following the path of a general from the beginning."
Han Shizhong thought for a moment, and said thoughtfully: "Balisu was originally the commander-in-chief of the Taiyuan Military Command, a standard general. Li Jiedu meant that this person was a standard general among the Jin army generals, right?"
"No." Li Yanxian shook his head slightly. "What I want to say is that this man is a true general."
"Can generals be real or fake?" This time it was Han Shizhong's turn to laugh.
"There is no such thing as a true or false general, but there is a real or fake one, just like the prince told me before at the pass that the real marshal of our march to Hedong this time is the emperor, and you, the prince, are a marshal on the surface, but in fact you are just a vanguard." Li Yanxian turned his head and stared at him. "Does the prince remember?"
Han Shizhong finally calmed down, but the people behind him all reined in their horses and retreated, staggering back and forth, as if they had become accustomed to this after being beaten by these two men at Tieling Pass.
Han Shizhong waited for a while, until everyone behind him had moved away a little, and then he looked at Li Shaoyan seriously: "If this is the case, the real leader of the Jin army must be the deceased Third Prince Erliduo, or the Fourth Prince Wushu who should have arrived in Taiyuan or Jingxing by now."
"The following words are not meant to mock the prince, nor are they meant to compete with him. I hope you will forgive me if I have offended you." Li Yanxian sighed lightly, and it was a rare opportunity for him to hold the reins and bow to the other party on horseback.
Han Shizhong hesitated for a moment, then immediately pulled the reins to return the greeting.
The two of them put it down, but Li Yanxian immediately spoke:
"In my humble opinion, there are differences among generals. There are real generals and authorized generals, regular generals and partial generals... these are all talented generals."
"Are you trying to say that I'm handsome?"
"Yes." Li Yanxian responded without hesitation. "Prince Han is extremely talented, gifted, brave and resourceful. His talent for fighting is truly like that of the famous generals of ancient times. It is so amazing that people can only sigh and sigh. It is definitely impossible to learn... But the prince's talent is usually limited to the level of knowing how to use people and enforcing military law. His ability to dispatch and deploy troops on the battlefield can only be generalized, and he often has to personally lead the elite troops to determine the outcome."
"That's right." Han Shizhong nodded with a smile. "The one who knows me best is Li Jiedu, that's why I promoted Wang Sheng and why I always brought Jie Yuan with me... Wang Sheng is a good player who can use the crowd, and Jie Yuan is a confidant who can cooperate with me... When fighting, I will use Wang Sheng as an anvil, Jie Yuan as a flanker, and then I will lead the Beiwei Army as a spear to win the battle. Oh, I forgot to mention Xu Shian, there is nothing surprising about Xu Shian, but he is steady and good at filling in the gaps, I always let him fill in the gaps and command the rear."
"That's why I say the prince is a general, not just a general." Li Yanxian said with a sigh. "Otherwise, what's the difference between the prince and Wang Yasha?"
Han Liangchen smiled and said, "Wang Yasha is also a good man."
Li Yanxian was slightly startled, then immediately changed his expression: "Yes, Wang Yasha is also a hero."
"I am a bit handsome, who is the real handsome?" Han Shizhong continued to ask with a smile, seeming to be in a good mood. "The official?"
"Your Majesty is a commander-in-chief." Li Yanxian also smiled. "That's what I want to say... Your Majesty's commander-in-chief is to shock the superiors and subordinates, harmonize yin and yang, and make decisions, but he doesn't necessarily have to be a general. The dead third prince Erliduo and the living fourth prince Wushu are actually half commanders-in-chief... In terms of military strategy, Wushu doesn't have any great strategy, and Erliduo doesn't have anything surprising, but the Great Jin Kingdom belongs to the Wanyan family. As long as they can listen to opinions and make the best decisions, they are already considered a commander-in-chief."
Han Shizhong nodded slightly, as if he had some feeling: "It is hard to find a good official, and it is also hard to find a good prince... There is some truth to this."
"Yes, the title of commander-in-chief also depends on his capital and effort." Li Yanxian continued. "Let's not talk about flattering the emperor. Let's just talk about the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty. He has been defeated in many battles, but the people around him who can be commanders are either gone or useless, so they praise him even more. The Jin Dynasty is his, who else can they choose? Others, such as Talan, once his son-in-law died and lost his breath, he could no longer be his 'Dragon and Tiger King'; Yin Shuke, once he became a villain in the internal struggle, the Western Army and the princes could not really let him go. Even his own brother Balisu did not allow him to come back."
"Does the Jiedu want to say that Balisu is really handsome?"
"yes!"
"What does it mean to be really handsome?"
"Actually, the one who makes the plans and implements the strategies." Li Yanxian replied sternly. "The difficulty of using troops lies in using the masses. An army of 50,000 is a threshold... Prince, this march is a clear proof that the emperor has let you go, but you cannot deploy them properly, and you underestimate the enemy."
"That's right." Han Shizhong smiled. "I don't have the ability to pull a hundred thousand people away quickly, do I?"
"I think he is... and I think Wu Jinqing is also, he was the real commander of Yaoshan before!" Li Yanxian answered seriously. "I am afraid that after passing Queshu Valley and reaching Taiyuan, when the real battle comes, the emperor will still be the commander-in-chief and Wu Jinqing will be the real commander... However, this is not what I should say today. What I should say today is that on the Jin side, the fourth prince Wuzhu can be the commander-in-chief, and Balisu can be the real commander. Together, the two of them can do great things just like us." Li Yanxian reminded seriously. "Prince, I think that the Jin army's decisiveness this time can no longer be explained by the word "veteran". They must be like us... There are big figures who have taken over the foundation and have an overall strategy. That's why the left and right wings, no matter how many soldiers there are, retreated so straightforwardly, just like we advanced so swiftly and fearlessly."
Han Shizhong thought about it, put away his smile, and said seriously: "Yes!"
"I can roughly guess what the prince is thinking." Li Yanxian continued. "In fact, the prince said in the previous military meeting that if we were the commander of the Jin army, we would never dare to fight in such a place... The reason why we are still carrying out such an unreasonable strategy here even though we know that the Jin army should not fight is nothing more than hoping that the Jin army will look ahead and behind, hesitate and make mistakes, giving us an opportunity. But in fact, at this point, the Jin army should have someone to clean up the situation and make a decision, and we can no longer expect any mistakes."
"Yes." Han Shizhong nodded slightly. "Li Jiedu is right. I know how to fight now..."
At this point, Han Liangchen turned around and gestured. Li Shifu, who had followed the others and retreated to an unknown distance, realized for a long time that the other party was talking to him, and then hurriedly rode forward: "Prince?"
"Send a message to Wang De, tell him not to worry, leave Jiangzhou to the follow-up troops, and continue to go north to seize Taiping County. Send a message to Li Qiong, tell him to also leave Quwo to the follow-up troops, and quickly take Yicheng to the north... You don't have to stay here, you personally lead the cavalry to reinforce the right wing." Han Shizhong ordered solemnly. "After Yicheng is captured, the east-west passage will be narrowed, and then order the left and right wings to advance in parallel, along the river to the north, and directly take Linfen... Every day, the left and right wings must not be disconnected, and every night when resting, they must set up a strong camp! At the same time, a floating bridge must be built every three miles on the Fen River to ensure the connection between the east and the west... Do you understand?"
Of course Li Shifu understood. Wasn't it the same thing that happened in Hengshan during the war with Western Xia?
Build a strong camp and fight a stupid battle.
However, considering the current situation, there seems to be nothing to say about this method.
So Li Shifu bowed on the horse and led the crowd away.
More than 10,000 cavalry crossed the Huishui River on dozens of floating bridges, and then there was a constant rumbling sound, gathering and organizing, and marching northward continuously. Han Shizhong stood under the big flag on the south bank of the Huishui River, and when he saw this, he suddenly laughed again, and his laughter continued.
"Why is the prince laughing?" This time it was Li Yanxian's turn to ask.
"I was just thinking..." Han Shizhong smiled. "We have been talking about this and that for a long time, but isn't it true that the Jin army is quick to see the opportunity and is running away all at once?"
Li Yanxian was slightly startled, then laughed: "That's right... No matter what, we won a great victory, and the Jin army was defeated... How about it, Prince, are you feeling poetic again?"
Han Shizhong shook his head and replied: "A little bit, but still a little short."
Li Yanxian tried hard not to bite his nails, and also suppressed the urge to ask the other party what "eight hundred miles" meant... This was an allusion that he only learned about after his trusted aide Xie Sheng explained it to him that night. He was very curious whether Han Shizhong knew it... but he just shook his head.
"Let's get down to business." After watching the cavalry crossing the river for half a day, Han Shizhong suddenly spoke again. "The army will not move overnight... Li Jiedu, did you leave something unfinished?"
"I'm done talking." Li Yanxian was puzzled. "I was just trying to say that Wushu and Balisu from the Jurchens must have communicated with each other. We can't expect to get an advantage by using small tricks..."
"You forgot to mention the word 'Zhengshuai'." Han Liangchen turned his head and smiled. "Yes and no?"
Li Shaoyan was slightly stunned, but nodded slowly.
"Who is the commander-in-chief? Yue Pengju?" Han Shizhong looked disdainful.
"He looks like him, but he may not be." Li Yanxian replied solemnly. "Because handsomeness is something that cannot be seen by humans. It has to be determined after the fact."
"How do you mean?"
"Let's not talk about anything else. Since ancient times, how many people have had the opportunity to be a general?" Li Yanxian sighed. "And how many generals can be trusted by their superiors and not be envied by their subordinates, and get a proper opportunity to display their talents? Just like what Han Junwang lamented in that poem... Poor white hair... Since ancient times, famous generals are like beauties, and they are most afraid of white hair. Their lives pass by in a flash, and they can't even get the position of a general. Even if they get it, there is no place to display their talents. How could it be such a coincidence that a person with the talent of a true general became a general and caught up with a time of earth-shaking changes? Before Jiang Taigong Muye, before Bai Qi Changping, before Han Xin dominated Qi, before Wei Huo chased the north and south of the desert, before Zhou Lang Chibi, before Wei Hu Zhongli, before Emperor Taizong of Tang Hulao Pass, before Li Yaoshi went to the Turks on a snowy night, which one of them didn't have a good reputation? But which one of them can be called a general? They all got this name after a battle."
"Yes." Han Shizhong narrowed his eyes. "I understand what you mean. Yue Fei is young after all. He may be a general or a fool. But for now, he has only got this opportunity to lead 90,000 people to fight on his own... We have to fight in Hebei this time to determine the outcome. We can't make a blind judgment from thousands of miles away."
"That's what I meant." Li Yanxian nodded, but after a slight hesitation, he was still sad. "In fact, when I was in Shanzhou, I also wanted to achieve great success, but now that things have come to this, I have given up the idea."
"You are only 40 years old this year, why do you have to do this?" Han Shizhong actually tried to comfort him. "It's just a temporary gain or loss. The Jin Kingdom is also a vast country, and we can't take it all at once... There will still be opportunities for a northern expedition in the future."
"Maybe." Li Yanxian shook his head. "But I'm so anxious, not just because I've been depressed for too long in Shanzhou... I've felt vaguely in the past few years that the armor is getting thicker and thicker, the logistics and training of the troops are getting more rigorous, and the artillery, gunpowder, and hot air balloons, the scene of overturning the situation of the war with the excellence of one person like the prince will probably become less and less... I'm afraid that after our generation, there will be no more famous generals and generals, and we will really have to rely on temple calculations to decide the outcome."
Han Shizhong thought about it and nodded: "That's a little bit of the idea."
However, the man laughed again: "If that's the case, then haven't we made a big profit? There have been no famous generals in the world since Han, Li, Yue, and Zhang! And I, Han Shizhong, will be the first to go!"
Li Yanxian was in a trance.
But it was not over yet. Seeing that the cavalry under Li Shifu had almost crossed the Huishui River and Li Shifu himself was about to cross, Han Liangchen, who was under the banner of Tianxia Wushu, immediately let out a sigh on his horse and shouted from afar:
"Li Shifu, come here!"
Li Shifu was puzzled when he heard the voice, but how could he refuse? It would not delay anything anyway, so he immediately rode over again, bowed and greeted him, calling him the Prince.
The next moment, Han Shizhong could not help but look down on everyone: "Before crossing the river at Pujin, I wrote a poem. There was a chaotic battle in the river for a month, and I couldn't get the last few lines. But just now, I was standing here with Li Jiedu to discuss military situation and make plans. Thinking about the main force of the Jin army fleeing at the sight of the enemy, I finally felt like writing a poem... I will recite it, and you can tell the frontline commanders for me!"
Li Yanxian felt his scalp tingling for a moment, and Li Shifu was so frightened that he reined in his horse and took two steps back.
Only Prince Han remained calm and heroic. He reined in his horse with one hand, pointed north with the other, and chanted on the spot:
"You have fought in many battles in the desert, and the Red Land has been filled with many difficulties.
The kingdom has always belonged to the Han Dynasty. How can we share it with the enemy?
The warm sunshine melts the frost on thousands of trees, and the cold wind blows away the clouds in the sky.
There are still many places where foxes and rats have fled, and every household in Hebei is looking forward to the Six Armies. "
After finishing the poem, Han Shizhong became solemn again and instructed them sternly without waiting for the two Li brothers to recover or say anything, "Tell them! This battle is a great victory, and the enemy fled in panic! Don't let your imagination run wild! But this victory is the result of three years of hard work and planning by the government and the central government. You must not be complacent! Moreover, the country has lost the two rivers for a long time, and millions of people have long been looking forward to the royal army. As the main force of the imperial camp, you must not fight today, but you must fight tomorrow. You must strictly enforce military discipline and sharpen your sword! Don't slack off!"
Li Shifu nodded and left.
As for Li Yanxian, after this incident, he would never dare to ask about the "eight hundred miles" again even if he was beaten to death.
