vrcanaries Chapter 398 Recapture of Shangzhou
Chapter 398 Recapture of Shangzhou
Zhang Jun had no objections and quickly agreed to his plan. Thus, Yue Fei marched north from Xiangyang to Dengzhou, and then divided his troops into two routes.
"The Jurchens had their Song generals as guides, just as Yue Fei had officials from the puppet Qi regime as guides."
"This man was Li Tong, the former magistrate of Luanchuan County in Guozhou under the puppet Qi regime. He had just surrendered in the spring, and Yue Fei used him as a guide to launch the second Northern Expedition."
"Not long after, Niu Gao, as the commander of the vanguard left army, quickly captured the puppet Qi Zhenru army."
……
“Niu Gao is also very fierce. In this mission, he captured Xue Heng, a garrison general known for his bravery.”
"It would be a waste to use this man merely as a prisoner. Later, in November, Li Ruoxu, the advisor of Yue Fei's army, escorted him to Lin'an Prefecture to meet Zhao Gou."
"Zhao Gou may have thought he was a talented general, so he ordered him to redeem himself in Yue Fei's army. No one expected that he would still be serving in the army in Ezhou many years later."
"After achieving this small objective, Niu Gao continued eastward, launching a feint attack from Yingchang Prefecture all the way to the vicinity of Caizhou."
"On the other hand, Yue Fei led the main force to attack in the northwest direction."
"In early August, Yue Fei's generals Wang Gui, Dong Xian, Hao Zheng, and others swiftly captured Lushi County, the seat of Guozhou Prefecture. In this operation, they seized a total of 150,000 shi of grain."
"At this time, Yue Fei's army had captured even more places, such as Guolue County, Zhuyang County, and Luanchuan County, where the guide Li Tong had previously served."
"These generals then launched a swift offensive, with Wang Gui continuing westward. Under this rapid offensive, he quickly conquered the entire territory of Shangzhou, including Shangluo County, Shangluo County, Luonan County, and so on."
"Shangzhou and Guozhou actually belonged to Shaanxi Circuit, which was Wu Jie's war zone before Yue Fei recovered these two places."
"Wu Jie's subordinate, Shao Long, had already submitted a memorial requesting the recapture of these two places, and Shao Long had also been appointed by the Song court as the prefect of Shangzhou."
"I just didn't expect that Yue Fei's army would take the lead and recover the lost territory ahead of schedule. After Yue Fei conquered Shangzhou, he sent Shao Long to take up his post so that Yue Fei's army would not be short of manpower."
Yuchi Jingde of the Tang Dynasty: Three consecutive victories, the Yue Family Army is truly formidable!
Empress Qing, the Great Han Guard: No wonder Yue Fei's name is known to all throughout history.
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: No wonder he was Yue Fei, it's a pity he ran into that grandson Zhao Gou! It's such a pity!
Li Si of Qin: Could it be that his achievements overshadowed the emperor's, making the emperor wary of him, which is why he took action against him?
An official from the Han Dynasty said: "I'd rather give up the chance to turn the tide than not frame him. It's hard to say!"
……
Upon hearing this, the people in the court couldn't help but let their imaginations run wild. The idea that someone's achievements would overshadow the emperor was indeed plausible!
Perhaps that's what Zhao Gou was thinking, and that the Jurchens were just his tools, not people he sought peace for the sake of peace!
It's a pity that General Yue Fei, who was so loyal to him, was wasted!
……
The live broadcast continues.
"When the news of Yue Fei's army's three consecutive victories reached the Song court, Zhao Gou was very pleased, especially since they had been defeated on the Huaihe River battlefield."
"Anyway, Zhao Gou was happy and could get back on his feet. For this, he even issued an edict to commend him, saying: '[He is about to drive into the country...and the sound will be heard...and the five routes will be shaken.]'"
"In mid-August, Yue Fei's army continued to advance toward its next objective, namely to capture Yiyang County, the capital of the puppet Qi state in Shunzhou."
"On the thirteenth, the fierce general Yang Zaixing of Yue Family Army faced off against Sun, the commander of the Shunzhou Pacification Commission of the puppet Qi regime, and Man Zai, the commander of the rear army. The location was Yeyang in Changshui County."
"The result was without a doubt: the forces of the puppet Qi were defeated. The final count of the defeated was: more than 500 people, including Sun, were killed, and more than 100 people, including Manzai, were captured alive."
"The following day, the valiant general Yang Zaixing again routed more than two thousand men of Zhang, the puppet Qi pacification commissioner of Shunzhou."
"Such a result can be described as very fruitful. Compared with the earlier wars against the Song court, it truly highlights Yue Fei's skillful use of troops and the bravery of the Yue Family Army."
"And you're fighting a war just like everyone else. You've been giving away points all along. Didn't you see that the Jurchens didn't bring any food or equipment when they marched south? The things they bought from conquering cities for free were enough to keep them going!"
Everyone in the Song Dynasty: (??-??) Ouch!!
"After Changshui County was captured, on the night of the 15th, Yue Fei's army seized a total of 20,000 shi of grain, which was distributed to soldiers and civilians. They also captured a puppet Qi horse stable and obtained tens of thousands of horses."
"The success in Changshui County led to the success in the other two counties. Before long, the other two counties in Shunzhou, Yongning County and Fuchang County, were also quickly captured!"
"Within two months, Yue Fei achieved a series of victories, and when the news reached Zhao Gou, who was far away in Lin'an, he was overjoyed."
"If the Song court is likened to the weaker party in a duel, then it is now the one who has been knocked down for most of the time, yet it has actually stood up and fought back. Who wouldn't be shocked by this?"
"However, Liu Guangshi and others had previously boasted that killing a few dozen people was a great victory. Yue Fei's achievements made him suspicious that they might be exaggerated, so he was somewhat indifferent to them."
"But Zhang Jun knew about Yue Fei's plan, so he was aware of the facts and spoke well of him to Zhao Gou."
The comments section at this moment:
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: He didn't believe when he should, but believed when he shouldn't!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: It has to be mentioned that Zhao Gou was a man who loved to overthink things! How could he possibly conceal such a victory!
Judy, the General Who Conquers the North: These two are really bad at exaggerating how a few dozen people can be considered a great victory!
A bystander in the Ming Dynasty commented: "If any other emperor won like this, wouldn't he be overjoyed? And yet he still has doubts!"
……
Zhao Gou's suspicions surprised everyone, especially the emperors of the Song Dynasty.
They thought that such a great victory would allow him to see clearly what kind of general Yue Fei really was!
To be honest, they can believe in the outcome of Liu Guangshi's case, but they don't believe in Yue Fei!
This also indirectly shows how good Yue Fei's achievements were at the time, which is unbelievable!
If we seize the opportunity, why can't we recover the lost territory?
……
On the other end of the screen, Lin Ke's voice continued: "After capturing Fuchang County, Yue Family Army intended to continue their advance."
"However, the terrain in Shaanxi is complex, and supplies are difficult to sustain. A lone army venturing deep into enemy territory could easily encounter other problems."
"Therefore, after considering these issues, Yue Fei decided to play it safe and return to Ezhou, leaving Wang Gui with a force to guard the front line."
"As for the residents who voluntarily retreated south with the army, Yue Fei also made all the necessary arrangements for them."
"For example, he allocated 10,000 shi of military rations to aid them, and also provided cattle and seeds, and recruited people to cultivate the land. Isn't this what the people rely on? So Yue Fei started by making arrangements in these areas!"
"As for the areas that Yue Fei's army has recovered this time, some of them were lost again."
"Although the entire territory of Shangzhou was subsequently controlled by the Southern Song Dynasty, after Shao Long took office, he gradually developed Shangzhou into a fortified area and a logistics base for the next time."
"Yet, Shangzhou, which had already resumed production, was ultimately given away by the Southern Song Dynasty in 1141 in the Shaoxing Peace Treaty, a peace treaty between the Song and Jin dynasties."
All the emperors of the Northern Song Dynasty: What?! Send them away?!