Volume 1 Chapter 70: Withdrawal
The Battle of Shouzhou is about to be won!
This was a matter of course after the victory at Liangshan Lake… because it was almost common sense. If the rear support troops were surrounded and annihilated, wouldn’t that mean the rear route was cut off? And if the rear route was cut off, wouldn’t it mean that the front line could no longer hold out? And once the front line withdrew its troops, wouldn’t it be a victory given that they had already annihilated thousands of Jin troops and prevented them from crossing the Huai River?
Which of the officials in Baguashan is not well-read in history books and does not understand this principle?
Otherwise, they would not have been so impatient to start warming up for the post-war political struggle after the great victory at Liangshanpo.
"Jin Wushu's future path has not been blocked?" On the fifth day of February, outside the imperial tent on the northern ridge of Bagua Mountain, next to the so-called wooden shed and under the dragon flag, Emperor Zhao Jiu looked back in surprise.
A group of close officials in the palace, such as scholars and attendants, also expressed their astonishment.
"It has never been cut off." Han Shizhong ignored the strange looks from the people around him, held his jade belt, and answered loudly with his chest and belly sticking out. "Your Majesty, don't forget that Jin Wushu's troops entered from Yishui. The Yishui passage is east of Mount Tai, and Jeju is west of Mount Tai... Jin Wushu deployed 5,000 troops in Jeju only because the west route is easier to travel than the east route, and he was afraid that there would be rebellion in the Yishui mountainous area on the east route, so he decided to set the route to Jeju. But now there has been no rebellion in Yishui."
Zhao Jiu was actually a little flustered for a moment.
"Besides, Liu Tai... Liu Guangshi was defeated so quickly before, and all the food and supplies from several military states were abandoned, so the Jin army will not be short of food for a while!" Han Shizhong continued. "Even if we take a step back, the Jin army's food and supplies are just about to run out. With more than 20,000 Jin troops under Jin Wushu, what city can't they take down? Are there so many military states in Huaibei, and each city has tens of thousands of soldiers and horses stationed like Rucai, and a bunch of stone cannons?"
"Then..." Zhao Jiu finally couldn't help but speak. "What's the battle of Liangshanpo?"
"Your Majesty, don't worry." Han Shizhong quickly expressed his own judgment after hearing this. "The battle of Liangshan Lake was still useful. How could it be useless to swallow up 5,000 Jin soldiers? It's just that it was not as effective as your Majesty thought... After this battle, Jin Wushu suffered heavy casualties and was in a dilemma. He couldn't cross the river in front of him, couldn't defeat Xiacai in front of him, and there was an army behind him that could swallow up his 5,000-strong army, and anyone should retreat!"
Zhao Jiu suddenly realized: "What Liang Chen meant is that the general threat has arrived. Jin Wushu is exhausted, but he has sufficient troops, strong strength, and a clear retreat. He still has room for counterattack, so even if he really retreats, he should be able to do so calmly."
"Your Majesty is truly wise!" Han Shizhong flattered him forcefully.
"I understand." Zhao Jiu nodded repeatedly. "If it weren't for the good minister's reminder, I would have almost made a mistake... In this case, we should continue to hold steady and wait for the enemy to retreat. Don't let your guard down."
"That's exactly what I mean." Han Shizhong nodded quickly.
"Then..." Zhao Jiufu looked at Tian Shizhong who was standing behind Han Shizhong. This son-in-law of Zhang Jun and the general of the central army had been bowing respectfully, and his whole body was covered by Han Shizhong's figure. "What did General Tian say? What did Zhang Boying and Zhao Yuanzhen mean?"
"Reporting to the emperor!" Tian Shizhong quickly stepped out from behind Han Shizhong and bowed with great respect. "Good instructor, the emperor knows that when General Zhang and General Zhao heard the news, they were extremely happy and asked me to congratulate the emperor on this great victory! However, Jin Wushu is powerful and should not be underestimated. General Zhang and General Zhao agree with General Han... and General Han."
Zhao Jiu nodded slightly, and Han Shizhong was slightly startled, but he held his belt and straightened his waist.
"However, I have good news for you!" Tian Shizhong continued to bow his head. "The inner ferry and water gates in Xiacai City have been repaired by me and others. As of today, they have been repaired almost completely. It's just that we won the previous artillery battle and forgot to report it. Therefore, even if Jin Wushu insists on not leaving, Xiacai City is connected to Huaishang and Bagong Mountain, and the Jin people will never be able to break the city! Huaishang is naturally as solid as a rock!"
Zhao Jiu nodded with satisfaction, and naturally encouraged the other party with some good words that seemed to have to be exchanged for money in the future.
Afterwards, since the military situation was still very urgent, Emperor Zhao did not keep Han Shizhong and Tian Shizhong. One of them returned to the water stronghold at the foot of the mountain, and the other went directly back to Xiacai. After a while, Zhao Jiufu conveyed these words as an oral order, which was actually a warning to the important officials in the palace, asking them to continue to work diligently and have fewer messy thoughts!
Or, come back to those messy thoughts later!
After all, although Emperor Zhao was young and impetuous, and only talked about war on paper, he knew very well that after the war came politics, and some things could not be avoided at all:
For example, the whereabouts of the emperor after the war would inevitably lead to the re-emergence of the dispute over the temporary capital of the day. This matter was of great importance and would affect the entire situation. It must be handled with caution no matter what.
Then there was the unstoppable rise of military officials. Since the decision had been made to launch an all-out war, military affairs would be the most important issue in the future court structure, and the status of military officials would no longer be suppressed. In fact, everyone was prepared for this, but Zhao Jiu still had not made up his mind on the specific arrangements.
Finally, there is Li Xiangong, who had deliberately avoided this battle before. Li Gang and Li Boji will definitely return to the court after the war. By then, Li will be both a minister and a trusted son, and will have the potential to be a complete wing of the southeast. And Zhao Guanjia will also have irreplaceable legitimacy, absolute superiority in military power, and prestige after a successful battle on the battlefield. Once the two of them meet, even the slightest friction or unusual movement will probably cause an earthquake in the court...
Thinking of this, Emperor Zhao really couldn't blame those people who had been jumping around recently... Put yourself in their shoes, the road ahead is long and the waves are turbulent, who wouldn't want to prepare an umbrella in advance?
However, just as Zhao Jiu suppressed all his complicated thoughts, based on the advice of Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun, and calmed himself down to prepare to continue the long war of resistance, just one day later, early in the morning of the second day, February 6, he was stunned by a new piece of news!
"Officials!"
Yang Yizhong, still wearing his armor, rushed into the imperial tent, knelt on one knee, and reported hastily. "Your Majesty, come and see quickly. The Jin army has actually withdrawn!"
Zhao Jiu, who had clearly asked others to handle the situation carefully but was sleeping in on the couch, was speechless and confused for a long time before rushing out of the imperial tent. However, he did not even have time to put on the iconic round-necked red robe, which was personally brought out by the chief escort Lan Gui and put on by him under the dragon flag.
However, these details are unimportant, because one fact that can be seen with the naked eye is that Zhao Jiuli stood under the Jinwu banner on the northern ridge of Bagua Mountain, looking at the Jin camp opposite from afar. Sure enough, he saw that the entire Jin army camp was busy - it seemed that they were indeed retreating!
By noon, the retreat of the Jin army was beyond doubt. According to the visual observations of Yang Yizhong and several soldiers, first a lightly armed elite cavalry unit of four to five hundred people led the way north as usual, and then a main force of the Jin army cavalry of at least 7,000 people, with a few baggage vehicles, slowly moved north, and then set out to leave the camp on the banks of the Huai River.
However, as soon as the 7,000-strong army left, the Jin army camp immediately returned to normal order, but no more troops were seen packing up and preparing to leave.
"It should be divided into three parts..." Yang Yizhong immediately explained to the civil officials in the temporary office. "The front army, the central army, and the rear guard... The front army should set out first, occupy a city in the north, or set up a camp, and then the central army will be sent out to escort the baggage out of the camp. After the central army arrives, the rear army will break camp and set out." At this point, Yang Yizhong paused slightly. "This is also because the Jin army is well-trained in field battles, and they claim that their cavalry is invincible on flat ground, and their support is extremely fast, so they can implement this strategy. Otherwise, they will inevitably be a taboo for military strategists because of their unauthorized division of troops. But on the other hand, it is precisely because of the invincibility of cavalry on flat ground and effective support that the Jin army can naturally preserve the previous spoils by retreating in this way."
After Zhao Jiu, there were Lu Haowen, Wang Boyan, and a host of other people who seemed to understand but not quite.
"So are they going to withdraw from Yishui in the east or from Jizhou in the west?" Zhao Jiu suddenly remembered what Han Shizhong said yesterday and couldn't help asking again. "How to go due north?"
"It's hard to say!" This time it was not Yang Yizhong, but the recently re-active Imperial Camp Commander Wang Yuan who answered. "Reporting to the emperor, whether to go east or west depends on whether the Jin army crosses the Wo River to the east. To the north of this place is Mengcheng, which is located on the bank of the Wo River. The outcome will only be known when the Jin army reaches there..."
Everyone nodded in understanding.
Zhao Jiufu asked again, "Maybe we could send out scouts to monitor?"
"Of course!" Wang Yuan responded immediately. "But we have to wait until the rear army breaks camp."
Zhao Jiu finally stopped asking any more questions.
However, Zhao Jiu did not ask, but someone could not help but interrupt: "Your Majesty, I, the Secretary of the Central Secretariat, Hu Yin, would like to ask that Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun said yesterday that the great victory at Liangshanpo was not enough to quickly shake Jin Wushu. Then, may I ask why Jin Wushu left in such a hurry today?"
"I, the Hanlin scholar Lin Jingmo, have the same question." Xiao Lin also spoke up, and was more direct and blunt. "Is it that Han and Zhang heard that Yue and Zhang had won such a great victory and were rewarded as pacification envoys, and they were jealous and deliberately belittled the victory of Liangshanpo?"
Zhao Jiu's heart moved slightly.
To be honest, Emperor Zhao knew that it was common for Han Shizhong and Zhang Jun to do such things, and the questioning of Xiaolin and Hu Sheren was reasonable. Of course, he knew that Xiaolin and Hu Yin had no ill intentions. They were just following Zhao Ding and Zhang Jun's example, each of them praised the military officials they recommended, and wanted to remind Emperor Zhao that Jin Wushu's retreat was directly related to the victory of Liangshanpo, and the credit should still be attributed to Yue Fei and Zhang Rong!
However, although Hu Yin understood it, he was fine. But when Scholar Kobayashi spoke so directly, he, as an official, didn't know how to respond for a moment... Should he admit that Han and Zhang were shameless, or deny the contributions of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong?
"Let Lin Xueshi and Hu Sheren know." At this time, the Chief Censor Zhang Jun suddenly spoke up. "The reason for the misjudgment in this matter is not that the two generals Han and Zhang are jealous of talents, but that they are not capable enough... You must know that although General Han, who made the suggestion yesterday, is familiar with military affairs, he does not understand politics and people's hearts."
Zhao Jiu raised his eyebrows slightly, and Hu Yin and Lin Jingmo also listened quietly.
"Especially Mr. Lin, you entered the industry later and you don't know that Jin Wushu's military action was lured by the emperor's personal visit to Huaidian, which was considered as sending troops without authorization! From a military perspective, Commander Han did not make a wrong judgment, but he forgot that although Jin Wushu was the fourth prince of the Jin Dynasty, he was also controlled by Wanyan Talan, the direct descendant of the current Jin Dynasty's ruler. With such a big event happening behind him, perhaps it is not enough to withdraw the troops urgently from a military perspective, but should he consider Talan's urging? Moreover, he lost 7,000 soldiers and stayed in Huaidian for almost two months without any progress. Should he worry about being blamed by the Jin Dynasty's ruler, Wanyan Nianhan, and even his two brothers after returning home? Is he afraid of losing the military power he fought so hard for?"
Zhang Jun spoke eloquently while Hu Yin kept silent. Scholar Kobayashi tried to refute several times but had nothing to say. As for the other important officials in the imperial court, they all nodded and agreed with Zhang Jun's inference of the Jin army's retreat, which was consistent with their own understanding.
As for Zhao Jiu, although he was rescued, he surprisingly didn't say much.
Just like that, everyone dispersed. No one mentioned the cheers and excitement from Xia Caicheng, Bagua Mountain, and the navy on the Huai River when they saw the Jin army retreat. They only said that in the evening of that day, after Zhao Jiu had dinner, he first looked at the lights of the Jin camp on the opposite bank under the dragon flag, pondered for a long time, and then went back to the tent to rest. However, he lay there for a quarter of an hour, and finally could not suppress the doubts in his heart, so he got up temporarily and called Yang Yizhong to the couch.
"Zhengfu!" Under the light, Zhao Jiu, wearing an outer robe, sat upright on the couch, looking serious. "Who do you think is right about Jin Wushu's withdrawal of troops?"
"I am just a humble servant, and it is not my place to discuss this matter..."
"This is a matter of military strategy, don't delay!"
"I think what Zhongcheng Zhang said makes a lot of sense!" Yang Yizhong was slightly startled. "I actually agree with what Commander Han said yesterday, but when Jin Wushu really started to withdraw his troops today, I was confused for a while, but Zhongcheng Zhang made me suddenly enlightened... I really didn't think of anything other than military strategy before."
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly: "So, if Han Shizhong's remarks yesterday were actually not wrong from a military perspective? He had no selfish motives, or was he jealous of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong's military achievements?"
Yang Yizhong quickly shook his head: "I just said that my views happen to be similar to those of Han Tongzhi, I dare not say that I am not wrong."
Zhao Jiu hesitated for a moment, but still spoke in a serious tone: "Call Zhang Jun, Hu Yin, and Lin Jingmo, and the four of you follow me to the water stronghold at the foot of the mountain. I want to find Han Shizhong in person and ask him clearly!"
Yang Yizhong was obviously startled: "Sir, the Jin army has retreated anyway, why bother about this?"
Zhao Jiu stood up and answered while getting dressed: "The most frightening thing in the world is the word 'seriousness'. Is it the same thing to retreat when you can or don't retreat, or to retreat because you have to retreat?"
Yang Yi Zhong had no choice but to go out and call for help. The eunuch standing nearby also hurried forward to help Zhao Jiu put on his clothes.
After a moment, Emperor Zhao came out and met the four people in front of the gate of the small village on the top of the mountain. However, the four people with different thoughts went directly to the water village at the foot of the mountain at night to meet Han Shizhong.
It has to be said that it was probably a traditional skill for General Han to bring his wife with him to accompany the army. Then when he suddenly heard that the emperor had arrived, he had to flee in a panic, which was even more helpless... Who made Emperor Zhao always go to find important ministers in the middle of the night?
All I can say is that this is where the imperial court is, so Emperor Zhao doesn't have to disguise himself as an envoy and wait for Han Shizhong to come out and scare him.
Or rather, this time he walked in, sat down, drank a sip of tea, and then grabbed the other person's hand to scare him:
"Good minister, today, Yutang scholar Lin Jingmo and Zhongshu Sheren Hu Yin have impeached you, saying that your words yesterday were just jealous of Yue Fei and Zhang Rong, and were selfish. In fact, the Jin army will inevitably retreat after the battle of Liangshanpo... Tell me the truth, stand up straight and speak! Was your words yesterday based on public judgment, or was it selfish nonsense? Is the retreat of the Jin army inevitable or inevitable?"
Han Shizhong was held , so he could only turn around and look at Xiaolin Xueshi and Hu Yin angrily. However, seeing that both of them had blank expressions and seemed to be thinking about something, he was helpless and could only hold his waist and say earnestly to Zhao Jiu in front of him:
"Your Majesty! Please know that since I have this jade belt, I have not cared about any official position. Who is Yue Fei? He is just a small town governor whose name I have never heard of before. Is he worthy of being jealous of me? What I said yesterday was fair! The sudden withdrawal of the Jin army today was beyond my expectation!"
Zhao Jiu nodded slowly...he believed it!
