Volume 2 Chapter 67: March
Upon hearing that Yue Fei suddenly turned around and was heading towards him, Talai was just stunned for a moment, and then seemed to be completely unconcerned... This was not a pretense to stabilize the morale of the troops, but a reaction from the heart.
The reason is simple. The Song-Jin War lasted for four or five years. Up to now, in the four major invasions, the Jin army has never lost a field battle involving more than 10,000 people!
If the Jurchens have less than 10,000 men, they cannot fight! This is still an axiom that has not been broken!
Even if Wanyan Talan left with 10,000 men, he still had 15 meng'an! Among the 15 meng'an, there were no less than 10,000 Jin troops under the Mouke system, and 5,000 to 6,000 reinforcements. How could they be afraid of the mere 20,000 Song troops?
In addition, although Yue Fei's move was considered a surprise attack, it was just a time difference. Calculating the time, as long as Yue Fei could not completely break through this place within an afternoon, then when Pucha Hubalu arrived in the evening, he would inevitably be attacked from both sides... However, could the Song army really defeat Wanyan Talan's fifteen men in one afternoon?
But then again, Yue Fei, the actual commander of the Song army in this battle, also understood this. He fully understood Wanyan Talan's psychology, and he never pursued any brilliant strategies!
Besides, things like military strategy have always been extremely simple. The more self-righteous a strategy is, the more likely it is to go wrong.
For example, in this battle, Li Kui's false surrender was never intended to push Wanyan Talai to make a specific choice. He was simply there to pass on the message, with the fundamental purpose of allowing Wanyan Talai to make a decision as soon as possible. It didn't matter even if Li Kui himself was discovered, because Li Kui himself didn't know what Yue Fei was planning.
So what was Yue Fei’s plan?
It's very simple. Yue Fei's real so-called "brilliant strategy" is to divide the troops to the left and right... I divide my troops to attack your weak two wings, will you divide your troops to respond? You are a cavalry, you run fast, and you know it early, so do you want to ambush under the city in advance? As long as Wanyan Talan decides to divide his troops, whether he goes to Changge in the north or Linying in the south, he will fall into the strategy of luring the tiger away from the mountain, which gives the Song army the opportunity to concentrate its forces to attack the city of Changsha with more troops.
In fact, Yue Fei had already made it very clear to Emperor Zhao the day before about what he believed he could rely on to win this battle:
The key point is that the Jin army's southward march has lasted for several months, and Wanyan Talai and his troops have been under the city of Changsha for so long that they are tired and gradually relax.
The key point is that as the spring weather gets warmer, the Jin cavalry's mobility is greatly weakened by the rivers that have entered the flood season and are densely distributed in the western part of Beijing.
The key point is that Wanyan Talan went south many times, and his conservative attitude in military affairs has gradually become known to many people. Moreover, he did not experience any setbacks suffered by the Jin army.
The key point is that after Emperor Zhao crossed the line of fire and came here to integrate the troops, the morale of the Song army was high in a short period of time, and the officers were willing to obey the arrangements, so they could make bold and clustered military actions. Moreover, these actions could only be made in the next few days, otherwise changes would occur if it was too late.
The key point is that everyone in the Jin army thought that the Song army would not take the initiative to attack the main force of the Jin army. However, with the arrival of an emperor and the bold decision of a temporary commander, the Song army came anyway, and came so determinedly and so aggressively!
These things, plus a simple and direct method of dividing troops to lure the enemy with the advantage of military strength, are the real art of war, the real high-level military knowledge, and the real strategy at the strategic level... On a battlefield with tens of thousands of people, there is nothing fancy except the number of people, morale, armaments, and fighter planes. Even Han Shizhong's bravery can only show its value in the most tense situation! What else?
Things like war are absolutely absurd on a micro level, but when all the absurd things are put together, they seem so logical.
Back to the present, the current situation of the Song army is that they just need to fight with the most resolute attitude!
Almost within half a quarter of an hour after Yue Fei turned around, as the thick smoke reserved along the way ignited one after another, Zhao Jiu did not hesitate, raised his Jinwu flag, and led the army in person for the first time... Wang Yan's 20,000 Eight-Character Army went first as the vanguard, the remaining seven commanders of the Tokyo Garrison followed closely as the central army, and Wang Sheng and Niu Gao's troops followed last as the rear guard... And Emperor Zhao himself wore armor and carried a bow, riding a horse, with Li Qiong's troops as guards, leaving Yanling almost empty, and with a desperate attitude, smashed everything into the city of Changsha.
Because Ma Gao and Yue Fei's actions attracted a large number of scouts, and the number of troops dispatched was somewhat astonishing, the news might have been delayed in reaching Changsha City.
In fact, after learning that Yue Fei had turned against him, Wanyan Talai started to lose his temper and kill people.
It was not because of military intelligence, but because he had previously asked his subordinates to keep an eye on Li Kui, but Li Kui disappeared in just one morning...The seemingly rude commander of the Song army bribed several leaders of the civilian camp with the bag of pearls and quickly gained a certain degree of freedom. Then, in enough time, he trimmed his beard, threw away his armor, changed into the dirty clothes worn by the civilians, and sneaked into the chaotically managed civilian camp.
When Talai learned that Yue Fei was coming with only 20,000 men, he did not take it seriously and prepared to have Da (Shangbai Xiada) lead six or seven Meng'an to cross the Qingqi River to meet the attack. However, Da (Shangbai Xiada) and the entire army were fully armed, but they could not find anyone, so they had to bring a few bribed civilian leaders to replace them.
People were killed, and the central army tent was in a mess. Da (Bai on top and Da on bottom) was just about to leave all these troubles behind and attack this old man, but at this moment a scout came forward and reported carefully that someone from the direction of Yanling had suddenly sent out and was also heading here. Although the exact number could not be determined for the time being, but with neat flags and a large number of soldiers and horses, it was probably the main force of Yanling!
The Yanling army had a total of more than 80,000 soldiers. Even the troops of Ma Gao who went to the north as a cover and Yue Fei who went to the south were equal in number. The remaining troops were at least 40,000... In other words, the Song army coming here had actually reached more than 60,000! If we count the silent tiger in Xiashe City behind us, this afternoon, the 15 men of the Jin army here might be attacked by 70,000 troops, which is nearly five times the number of the Song army.
At this time, Talai became completely serious. He ordered the messenger to rush to Changge to chase his son-in-law, and ordered the Da (upper Bai and lower Da) to give up the attack and only defend within the river circle... Of course, this order is better than nothing, because after the scouts catch up, Pucha Hubalu will definitely have noticed the movement of Yanling and will definitely turn back to rescue; as for giving up the attack, isn't that nonsense? Are 20,000 and 60,000 the same thing?
However, since the decision to attack was canceled, it was completely too late for the Jin army to make any additional preparations at this moment.
After all, a long-distance continuous trekking march carried out to maintain combat effectiveness is completely different from a sudden march that drops everything... In conventional long-distance marches, everything is based on the army's baggage carts. Therefore, until the Napoleonic era, his cavalry units still marched at a speed of forty to fifty miles a day. Therefore, Xiahou Yuan's three days, five hundred, sixty days, and one thousand were amazing, and Sima Yi's rapid attack on Meng Da with a speed of sixty to seventy miles a day was called a military myth; however, when the baggage is put aside and pure combat mode is entered, it is a completely different matter. In this case, the cavalry can run seventy to eighty miles in an hour, and the infantry can turn back and forth twice in one day and night to cross the Yangtze River and cross a hundred miles (Zang Ba did something similar).
Back to the present, according to the distance calculation, Yue Fei was twenty-five or six miles away from here when he suddenly turned back, and Zhao Jiu was about thirty-six or thirty-seven miles away from here when he set out from the camp under the city of Yanling... So for the Song army that had abandoned everything, it would only take about half an hour to more than an hour to engage in battle.
After such a long period of time, if we deduct the cost of the Jin army's scouts running back and the time Wanyan Talan takes to find and kill people, how many minutes are left?
This is exactly the case.
Just after Wanyan Talan learned that the main force of the Song army had left Yanling, Yue Fei had already led his troops to the lower reaches of the Qingqi River, about ten miles away from Changsha City, and only about five or six miles away from the front line of the Jin army. Then he was not in a hurry, but actually ordered the troops to make a final rest . After waiting for another quarter of an hour, he ordered some of the most elite troops to start wearing the few pieces of armor that Emperor Zhao had ordered to be concentrated, and then he ordered the final advance.
Another quarter of an hour later, or a quarter of an hour later, Yue Fei's troops officially began fighting with the Jin army's position on the east bank of the Qingqi River!
The core positions of the Jin army were all located on the continent between the Qingqi River and the Zhuoqi River, that is, under the city of Changsha. At this time, because ten Meng'an had left, and Talan made a temporary decision to give up the plan of crossing the river and fighting on the east bank, the positions on the east bank of the Qingqi River were extremely empty, with basically only some scattered surrendered Han troops and a Meng'an Jin army. So, after the Meng'an took the initiative to withdraw, this position fell into the hands of the Song army almost instantly.
This matter was expected and of course insignificant, but at this time, another inevitable choice was placed before Talan.
"Tear down the floating bridge on the Qingqi River in the east?" Talan, who rarely put on armor and rode out of the tent, looked at the densely packed Song army on the other side of the river and hesitated for a moment about the suggestion of Da (white on top and big on bottom) beside him.
"That's right." The young Da (white on top, big on the bottom) suggested carefully. "The key to this battle is to delay time and wait for Pucha Wanhu to come back for reinforcements. We have pontoon bridges almost everywhere on the river for the transportation of food and fodder and the movement of cavalry. If we dismantle the pontoon bridges now, won't we be able to delay the Song army as much as possible?"
"That makes sense! But it's not good!" Talan thought for a moment and shook his head. "If the pontoon bridge is dismantled, it will be difficult for Hubalu to attack from both sides after turning back. If we fail to defeat the main force of the Song army before dark, we will be forced into a night battle... It's not that we can't fight a night battle, but what if Han Shizhong takes the opportunity to escape?"
This seems to make sense, and Da (Bai on top and Da on bottom) has nothing to say... In fact, there is nothing that can be done about it. If we rush into a war hastily, everything will be right and everything will be wrong. No one will know which decision is right or wrong until after the war.
"That's it. Don't worry about the floating bridges. Use them to lure the Song army over. When half of the Song army has crossed, that is, about 10,000 people have come, you will immediately lead the eight Meng'an to attack them head-on. As long as they are defeated in one blow, they can be defeated before the follow-up army of the Song army arrives." Talai finally looked at the Yue flag advancing at a very fast speed on the other side, and finally gave a decisive strategy. "I will lead the remaining seven Meng'an to defend Han Shizhong!"
When the young Bohai royal family member Da (Bai on top and Da on bottom) heard this, he not only had no objection, but felt reassured. He stopped talking and immediately rode away to fight as ordered.
Talan looked at the sun that was already setting above his head, and regained his composure... At this moment, in the mind of the right deputy marshal of the Jin army, there was such an equation:
In a battle involving more than 10,000 people, Meng An alone was enough to defeat 3,000 soldiers of the Song army!
Therefore, eight Meng'an are enough to defeat 20,000 Song troops. Therefore, twenty-five Meng'an together are enough to defeat all Song troops on the battlefield... Therefore, the only thing to avoid in this battle is to let these fifteen Meng'an be besieged by 70,000 to 80,000 Song troops.
That's all.
While Talai, who had not put on armor and fought in a battle for a long time, was cheering himself up, Zhao Jiu, the Emperor Zhao, had already reached the boundary ditch between Kaifeng and Yingchang, which was only 20 miles away from the right deputy marshal of the Jin army.
Here, Zhao Jiu let the entire army take a short rest as planned. In order to prevent surprise attacks, most of the soldiers began to wear leather armor and slightly thinner iron armor before setting off again... Of course, except for the two hundred cavalrymen of Liu Yan, none of the best lamellar armor was available.
At this moment, Wang Yan, the vanguard, suddenly rode up on his horse, went straight to the dragon flag, and found Emperor Zhao who was drinking water. Then he immediately proposed a proposal that went beyond the original plan:
"Your Majesty, this place is only 20 miles away from the front line. My vanguard can already see the fireworks ahead. In addition, the messenger sent by Yue Fei's troops during their last rest period has confirmed that a battle is taking place ahead... Therefore, I ask Your Majesty to issue an order to have our Eight Character Army stop resting and run forward immediately! And to have the cavalry in the army concentrate first and move forward to provide support!"
"It's certainly okay for the cavalry to go first, but if the entire army runs forward, will they still have the strength to fight when they reach the battlefront?" Zhao Jiu, who hurriedly stood up, was stunned for a moment.
"No need to fight immediately!" Wang Yan still did not dismount, but responded seriously. "At this time, Yue Fei must be fighting with the Jin army for the floating bridge on the river. There are not many places where we can fight, and it is extremely difficult for 20,000 troops to cross the river. Even if our army runs to pieces, we can rest leisurely by the river and then cross the river. Your Majesty, please forgive me for speaking frankly, the key to winning this battle lies in whether we can crush the Jin army with absolute force in one go, there is no other way... In order to do this, the key is to continue the offensive!"
"I second the motion!" Hu Yin, the highest ranking civil servant in the military, suddenly saluted. "With Yue Zhenfu away, the military affairs here should be decided by Wang Zhi!"
Zhao Jiu heard this and no longer hesitated: "In this case, Liu Yan will lead the cavalry first, and Wang Qing will take care of the front military operations. There is no need to report to me!"
Wang Yan was overjoyed and immediately thanked him and left on horseback. Liu Yan also immediately ordered his soldiers to put on armor and after a moment, they galloped away.
Seeing that Liu Yan had also set off, Zhao Jiu did not delay any longer and ordered the entire army to set off again and follow the vanguard.
Just a quarter of an hour later, the Song army reinforcements arrived one after another. The first vanguard cavalry to arrive was only a few hundred, but the flag of the leading heavy cavalry caused all the Jin troops to become slightly agitated - the Red Heart Team was an acquaintance of many Jin soldiers.
Not only that, although the formation of the subsequent Song army was a little chaotic, they were continuous and came rapidly. Moreover, the characteristics of these soldiers made all the Jin troops quickly realize the identity of their opponents - the Eight Character Army was also an acquaintance!
At this time, Wanyan Talan, who was watching the battle, had begun to become confused. The reason was simple. In the previous two quarters of an hour, although the eight Meng'an had not been at a disadvantage on the scene, or in other words, they had indeed been suppressing the Song army, they had never been able to quickly defeat or crush the 10,000 Song troops who had crossed the river during the so-called half-crossing attack!
After crossing the river, the 10,000 Song troops did not risk advancing. Instead, under the command of the large flag with the character "Yue" on it, they formed a solid formation consisting of multiple spears and crossbows on the west bank of the Qingqi River, with their backs against a series of pontoon bridges, before the Jin cavalry attacked. The formation was as solid as a mountain.
This was beyond his long-standing understanding of the Song army, and he even began to regret not dismantling the pontoon bridge.
"Marshal!" A Bohai Mouke came running and shouted from a distance. "The Song army is coming, and we, the Wanhu family, ask the Marshal for some support!"
Wanyan Talan, who had watched the entire battle from the rammed earth heights of the general platform and was familiar with the entire battlefield, instinctively wanted to agree. However, just as he was about to open his mouth, there was a sudden commotion beside him, and a trusted attendant took the initiative to pull him.
Talai looked in the direction his confidant's finger pointed, and sweat began to break out on his forehead, because on the ruins of a certain wall of Changsha City that had collapsed and been blocked, Han Shizhong's flag had appeared there silently at some point... That flag was like the eye of a hidden tiger staring at his back.
After hesitating for a while, Talai gritted his teeth and replied to the Bohai Mouke: "Tell Da (white on top, big on bottom) that I will give him two more Meng'an, but tell him not to worry about casualties. Let him lead the way and break into the Song army formation with me!"
