vrcanaries Chapter 415 The 4rd Northern Expedition
Chapter 415 The 4rd Northern Expedition
"Actually, we don't need to say much, you all know that Zhao Gou probably changed his mind again. At the last minute, he didn't let Yue Fei go. This is his usual tactic. He's utterly shameless!"
"However, several armies have already arrived at the distant front lines. As the general in command, how can Yue Fei not go to battle?"
"Moreover, the battlefield is ever-changing; once a good opportunity is missed, it may never come again."
"So, he could only plead with Li Ruoxu, saying that this imperial decree was illogical!"
"Although Li Ruoxu remained silent, if he had a choice, he would definitely choose to resist the Jin."
"The devastating impact of foreign invasion is something that rulers and ministers in high positions cannot comprehend; otherwise, how could Zhao Gou have been in the mood for pleasure?"
"But Li Ruoxu was different; he had personal pain—his younger brother, Li Ruoshui."
"Having denounced the Jurchens during the Jingkang Incident, and ultimately not even having a complete corpse left behind, how could someone with such an experience possibly follow the crowd and fawn upon the Jurchens!"
At this point, he decided to make a decision that went against the imperial court. He was willing to be punished by the court in order to support Yue Fei's Northern Expedition. Thus, the fourth Northern Expedition of the Yue Family Army began.
"One has to admire that the literati of the Song Dynasty also had unyielding integrity and many loyal and righteous men. So what sins did these loyal and righteous men commit to encounter Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, as well as Zhao Gou and Qin Hui?"
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "If the knife doesn't cut you, it won't hurt!"
Fang Xuanling of the Tang Dynasty: The more one compares to those who are servile and obsequious, the more one feels the tragic sacrifices made by those who resisted the Jin!
Fan Zhongyan of the Song Dynasty: Why sue for peace?!
Empress Qing, the Great Han Guard: Probably no one can understand this, so Zhao Gou and his people are abnormal!
Upon hearing this, Yan Zhenqing from another timeline was enraged. He thought that if he were to forgive those who had hurt his family from a different perspective, he would want to bite them to death and would never negotiate with them!
Let alone a single peace talk, there's no way we could ever have one in our lifetime!
Therefore, he could understand Li Ruoxu's choice. Such an incompetent court was only putting him in a dilemma!
.....
On the other side, Lin Ke continued to recount Yue Fei's last Northern Expedition.
"On the Shaanxi battlefield, Wu Jie's position was vacant because he had died of illness the previous year."
"Therefore, the imperial court appointed Hu Shijiang, Wu Jie's younger brother Wu Lin, and Yang Zheng and Guo Hao as the three commanders to oversee the situation."
"As mentioned earlier, Salihe crossed the river and entered Tongzhou, because he was a former general of the puppet Qi state."
"So they basically surrendered at the mere sight of the enemy, and that's how Chang'an was captured."
When news of the fall of Chang'an reached Hu Shijiang's ears, he immediately summoned his generals to discuss countermeasures.
"At this point, some people suggested retreating to Xianren Pass, but this was sternly rejected by Wu Lin, who believed that the battles at Heshangyuan were won by the two brothers at the cost of their lives..."
"In the end, Wu Lin pledged his entire family's lives as collateral, vowing to defeat the enemy!! Hu Shijiang was also swept up in the passion and wanted to advance and retreat with him."
"Therefore, Hu Shi appointed Wu Lin as the Right Protector General, leading an army of 20,000 to Baoji."
"At this time, the Song and Jin armies were locked in a stalemate, and the two sides fought in Fufeng County. However, Wu Lingao was superior and defeated the Jin army. He then took the opportunity to pursue and attack Fengxiang."
"On the western front, however, neither the Song nor the Jin side was able to launch another offensive, so the fighting temporarily ceased."
"The eastern battlefield was still dominated by Han Shizhong. He first sent Wang Sheng to seize Haizhou, while he himself led a large army to fight against the Jin army on the eastern route and besieged the Huaiyang army."
"Although we repelled the Jin army's offensive, we still failed to capture Huaiyang."
"Let's look at the central battlefield. Liu Qi and others achieved a great victory at Shunchang, but Emperor Gaozong of Song suddenly ordered him to retreat to Zhenjiang Prefecture."
“His original forces were not many, less than 30,000. He did not go north, nor did he retreat from Zhenjiang. He only sent a part of his forces to escort his family to Jiangnan.”
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: "The Song army's fighting strength has increased through continuous warfare!"
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: Back then, we were terrified of the Jin people, but now we can fight them to the death. The Jin people are definitely not as terrifying as they imagine!
Xu Da of the Ming Dynasty: The one who dragged things out the longest was Emperor Gaozong of Song, Zhao Gou!
A Han Dynasty official: I always feel like he's targeting someone! Why does he always let us down at crucial moments!?
……
People watching on the screen right now: Okay, okay, my joy has just been dampened again!
The live broadcast continues.
"Let's look at Zhang Jun's side. According to the History of Song, Zhang Jun ordered Wang De to attack Suzhou. The attack was very fast, and the prefect Ma Tai surrendered."
"Wang De then joined forces with Zhang Jun to attack Bozhou. However, as soon as Li Qiong heard of Wang De's great name, he was so frightened that he cried out, 'The Yaksha is coming!'"
"He didn't even have the courage to fight head-on, so he led his troops away and fled. That's how Zhang Jun recovered Bozhou."
"His speed was probably the fastest and most successful among the other generals, but this person is really not easy to evaluate!!!"
"For example, when he led his army to the outskirts of the city, the local people gave him an extremely enthusiastic welcome. According to historical records, there were even lavish carriages and the like."
"However, his subordinates looted Bozhou City and even captured wives and concubines. How is this any different from the actions of the Jurchens?!"
"Not long after, he returned to the capital in triumph and asked Zhao Gou for rewards, especially for his generals, who expressed their gratitude for everyone's contributions."
"Even Qin Hui's cronies couldn't stand his shamelessness, but Zhao Gou actually rewarded him!?"
"He was only ordered to handle Bozhou, and he didn't take any action in other places. In his eyes, he was just an obedient henchman!"
"However, the most troublesome thing is that in the Song-Jin War, there is almost only Yue Fei left. The others are either returning to the capital in triumph, or lacking troops, while the others are still in a stalemate."
"This is not very advantageous for Yue Fei!"
People in the court: ?? This isn't Zhao Gou's fault!
"As for Yue Fei's fourth Northern Expedition, he had already made strategic plans before he even set out."
"The first point is that Li Bao, Sun Yan, Liang Xing and others will lead the guerrilla army deep into the rear of the Jin army, then attack cities and occupy territory, cutting off and harassing the Jin army's supply channels."
"The second point is to have Wu Jiu lead his soldiers to occupy Guozhou, and at the same time fight alongside Shao Long, the prefect of Shangzhou, and Wu Qi, the leader of the armed forces in Shanzhou [Zhongyi Army], in order to cut off Wanyan Wushu's communication channels with Wanyan Salihe in Guanzhong!"
"There is a third point: the troops left behind in the rear, including the entire navy, will take over the defense of the Yue Family Army's areas of Jiangnan West Road Jiangzhou and Jiangnan East Road Chizhou."
"Finally, lead the main force to advance from the front and attack Caizhou, Yingchang Prefecture, Huaining Prefecture, etc. In short, first clear the outskirts of Kaifeng, then join forces to capture Kaifeng, and finally seize the opportunity to cross the river and recover the Central Plains."
Du Ruhui of the Tang Dynasty: I feel that Yue Fei was exhausted in his efforts to recover the Central Plains, but it was a pity that he encountered such a roadblock as Zhao Gou!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: Recovering lost territory was merely a dream...sigh...
General Judy: Unless Zhao Gou had been replaced, it would have been impossible. It's such a pity!
A minor official in the Qin Dynasty: Zhang Jun is like a bandit, yet Zhao Gou still values him!?
A Han Dynasty official said: "The people have suffered, yet they are still welcomed. In the end, they are no different from bandits!"
……
Meanwhile, people in another dimension were cursing and swearing. They never imagined that the one who would deliver a heavy blow to their own people would be the government soldiers!
The most incredible thing was that Zhao Gou actually rewarded them. This was the behavior of a ruler of a country; they simply couldn't believe it!
This dynasty, despite having so many loyal and righteous officials, was unfortunately labeled as a weak Song by later generations.
Looking back now, perhaps there was a reason for it; someone like Zhao Gou was simply not a good ruler!
……
In the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke continued with a sigh, "After the defeat at Shunchang, Wanyan Zongbi and the others returned to Kaifeng."
"Order Wanyan Arubu to garrison Yingtian Prefecture, General Zhai to garrison Chenzhou, and Han Changze to garrison Yingchang Prefecture."
"If Yue Fei wanted to recapture Kaifeng, then these four places had to be eliminated one by one first."
"On the other hand, in early June of the tenth year of Shaoxing, Zhang Xian and Yao Zheng, who were sent out by Yue Fei, led the vanguard and the roving army to Guangzhou."
"Then they advanced towards Shunchang Prefecture, originally to support Shunchang, but Shunchang had already resolved the crisis on the 12th."
"Zhang Xian simply led his troops northwest, captured Caizhou, and placed Ma Yu in charge of defending Caizhou."
"The next day, Niu Gao, the commander of Yue Family Army, a very fierce man, defeated the Jin army with his left wing in Jingxi Road, and then fought in the Ruzhou area. After that, he led his troops eastward to join the main army."