Song Dynasty

Chapter 78 November [-]th ([-])

How can we not be in a hurry, now it is November [-]th of the third year of Jianyan.According to real historical records, the fierce Jiankang offensive and defensive battle will start on the [-]th of this month.At that time, the entire army of the left-behind division will be pulled into the battlefield, and the Sizhou camp will be no exception.After all, although the Left Behind Division claims to have a staff of [-], in fact, all the troops combined are only in the early [-]s, which is already insufficient.

In other words, Wang Shen still has half a month to train the recruits.At that time, if the troops are not well trained and go out to fight rashly, they will die.The 1000 men and horses were accumulated by him through hard work.In order to raise soldiers, the money obtained from Chen Lanruo was almost spent.If he lost his troops on the battlefield, how could he, Wang Shen, rely on to gain a foothold in this troubled world?
Recently, Jiankang has been very calm.

After the Jurchens hit the banks of the Yangtze River, they had to stop because there were no ships.Continue to send troops to sweep the states and counties on the north bank to gather food, grass and arms.

Seeing that the enemy could not cross the river, Jiankang soldiers and civilians were also relieved. They seemed very lax and hardly made any pre-war preparations.

But Wang Shen knew that this was just the calm before the storm, and he summed it up in a sentence from later generations: there is not much time left for Jiankang.

No matter how anxious you are in your heart, you must pay attention to science and step-by-step in training troops, and there is no rush.

During this period of time, Wang Shen spent all day on the training ground, personally participating in the drills, doing everything by himself, letting the wind and snow in the south of the Yangtze River blow his face black and his hands full of cracks.

Gradually, the battalion training improved, and the soldiers could understand and understand the flags, gongs and drums, when to advance and when to retreat, and how to cooperate with each other, so that they would not be crowded into a ball that was out of control.

While this made Wang Shen happy, he also felt uneasy.After he traveled to the Song Dynasty, he fought two bloody battles, and he was no stranger to war.However, those two battles were fought against the mob of the Jinan Army. Strictly speaking, Li Yu only had a large number of people, not even an army.If the troops on the battlefield were well-trained professional soldiers like the Western Army of the Northern Song Dynasty or Li Chengbu, the result would be different.

Not to mention that women in this period are really at the peak of their combat effectiveness. Can the Sizhou Camp compete with them face to face on the battlefield?
Wang Shen was not sure about this.

When he retreated from Anhe the previous time, he recruited refugees along the way, and it wasn't like he didn't meet the Jurchens' scouts.Every time everyone met, the Jurchens would dare to beat hundreds of refugees with just five riders.

At that time, in order to maintain the army, he was not good at fighting with the Jin army. Every time he encountered the enemy, he would retreat.

Now, the Sizhou army has just formed, and it can no longer retreat.

Time passed quickly, and soon it was November [-]th.On this day, the battle to defend Jiankang will officially start.

In real history, on this day, Du Chong heard a report from spies that a large number of enemy troops had gathered on the north bank, and the number was not large, only more than [-].And the military capacity is disorganized, the soldiers are exhausted, and the morale is low.Even better, it wasn't the old Jurchen Tartars who came, but a signing army composed of Han people from Hebei.

Hearing this news, Du Chong, the commander-in-chief of Jiankang's left-behind campaign, was tempted.He didn't have the guts to fight the Jurchens, but he was still happy to clean up the signers.

Therefore, they ordered the former army Qi Fang and the Chinese army Chen Cui of the left-behind division to lead the main force to cross the river and sign the army for a decisive battle, preparing to eat up this second-line garbage army of the golden men and make a head start.

Unexpectedly, after the army crossed the river, they gnawed a hard bone.

After a short period of chaos, the signing army on the way quickly restored order, fought well with the Song army, and even gained the upper hand.

That's right, the commander in chief of this signing army is Li Cheng.In real history, after the Jurchens invaded the south, he surrendered to the Jin soldiers and became a shameful traitor.

Li Tianwang's title is not for nothing, the fighting power of his troops is very strong, but they cannot be resisted by the soldiers left behind.

Of course, in this time and space, Li Cheng had already been recruited, crossed the Yangtze River from Sizhou, and was retreating westward.

The battle lasted until noon, at this time, Wanyan Zongbi, also known as Wushu, led the main force of Jurchen to rescue after hearing the news.

The Song Army of the left-behind division was almost overwhelmed by Li Cheng's beating. As soon as the Jurchen main force arrived, they immediately collapsed and fled back to the south bank in a hurry.Not only lost most of the elite, but also left some ships for the Jin people.Relying on the warships they left behind, the Jurchens crossed the Yangtze River bit by bit, and after several battles, they completely defeated the soldiers and horses left behind.

As a result, Jiankang fell, and Du Chong, seeing that the situation was over and unable to teach the emperor, surrendered Jurchen and became a traitor.

The beginning of all this is due to today's battle of crossing the river.

It's not that Wang Shen didn't think about reminding the decision makers of the left-behind department, and said that the main force of Wushu was found on the north bank.But he is just a small military envoy, and no one takes him seriously.Isn't it nonsense to say that the main force of the enemy has been discovered? Isn't the main force of the Jurchen always in the north? I want you to talk too much.

Knowing what will happen in the future, but being powerless, it feels very bad.

Now he can only sit in the tent of the Chinese army, silently looking at the Nanjing Jiangfang map drawn from memory over and over again, remembering every plant and tree in the surrounding hundred miles in his heart.

At this moment, Wang Shen can only hope for the butterfly effect.Now that Li Cheng has accepted the recruitment, the Hebei signing army that General Song is about to face should not be that strong. I hope they can defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, and calmly cross the river and withdraw their troops back to camp before Wushu arrives.With a passable victory, boost the morale of the troops left behind.

In the real history of this fiasco, apart from throwing part of the ships to the Jin army, the biggest problem was that the left-behind divisions were exhausted and their morale was low. After the Jurchens crossed the river, they hardly formed any decent resistance.As soon as the Jurchens charged, Song Junjun had no fighting spirit, and they dispersed in an instant.Even a god of war like Yue Fei couldn't restrain the troops, so he had to turn in sadly, and since then broke away from the main force of the Song army and fought independently.

After the main force was exhausted, the entire Jiankang army was sent to the battlefield by Du Chong, and the Sizhou camp was no exception.

With the level of training of the Sizhou Army, is it possible to go into battle and kill the enemy?

Thinking of these, Wang Shen felt heavy in his heart.Early in the morning, Du Shu was asked to go to the left-behind department to inquire about the news.

Ordinarily, today is the day when the soldiers are on vacation again.Worried, Wang Shen canceled his vacation and asked the soldiers to stay in the camp for training.

Du Shu had a very happy time in the Sizhou camp during this period. First of all, although Wang Shen did not receive military pay from the left-behind department, the allowance was paid out on time. With money, he can be regarded as able to support his family to make ends meet.Secondly, Wang Shen was very polite to everyone, he smiled a little before saying a word, and shouted affectionately, never putting on the airs of an officer.He is elegant in conversation and very interesting, he is a wonderful person, getting along with him is really like a spring breeze.

What made Du Shu most proud was that he solved the problems of official positions and meals for his former colleagues and friends all at once.Du Shu is a good man, he values ​​friendship and saves face, and he feels that he is the reincarnation of Lord Mengchang.

Although everyone held the positions of deputy commander, Yuhou, bureau chief, and public affairs, Wang Shen didn't let them lead the troops. Naturally, he was afraid that everyone would lead the troops away.

To eat other people's food, you have to have the awareness of diners. Everyone is a smart person, so they naturally know how to position themselves.

During this period of time, I sat in the tent of the Chinese army reading books and drinking tea all day long.Tired of chatting, I went to the playground to watch the soldiers drill, and I lived a happy life.If you are happy, you can also take a vacation to go home and see your wife and children. It is true that there are few things and you are close to home, you sleep until you wake up naturally, and you have a high position and light responsibilities.

They don't know much about military affairs, so it's really annoying to lead troops!

There is nothing good about being an officer and holding military power. You have to practice like soldiers on the playground every day, being exposed to the sun, rain, wind and snow, and exhausted like a dog.Every day when I come down, I can scrape off a catty of mud on my body.At any rate, we have also been officials who are masters, householders, and criminals. We roll in the dirt like rough people, is it plausible?

Besides, it's scary to think about running ten miles every morning.If you really want to take charge of the army, I will die.

Of course, it would be boring to go on like this.Hearing that Wang Shen asked him to go to the left-behind division to inquire about the news, Du Shu immediately got excited and left the barracks excitedly with a few colleagues.

Soon, there was news that the Hebei signing army was found on the north bank of the Yangtze River. Du Chong thought it was a good fighter. .

Wang Shen seemed to have been hit with a heavy hammer in his heart, and asked urgently which part of the Hebei signing army belonged to, and who was the general in charge of the army?

The one who came back with the news was a deputy commander surnamed Zheng. He used to be a secretary in the state government, and he was an old official who was experienced in clerks.He didn't know much about military affairs either, so he thought about it: "It seems to be a Liao native, Khitan, surnamed Ma and named Wu."

Wang Shen was shocked: "Yelu Mawu?"

"That's right, that's the name." Deputy Commander Zheng nodded repeatedly.

"It's over!" Wang Shen smiled wryly: "I think this battle is going to be over for the left-behind division."

Deputy Commander Zheng was puzzled: "It's just a Khitan barbarian. The Hebei signing army doesn't seem to be very capable of fighting, so why should we be afraid? They are few in number, less than five thousand, and they are a tired army. Our left-behind division is doing its best. Come out, is it possible to be defeated?"

"What is Hebei signing army? This is the main force of the Jin army." That's right, Yelu Ma Wu is indeed a Khitan, but he is now a general of the Jin Kingdom.The soldiers under him are all the elite of the former Liao Dynasty, and their combat power is very good. If compared, Zhen is still above Li Cheng's department, second only to Jurchen.In the real history, after crossing the Yangtze River, this Ma Wu has always been a frontrunner for Wushu and made great military exploits.

Moreover, this person is a fierce general who is not inferior to Li Cheng.

Since the internal strife and division of the left-behind division's troops, their combat effectiveness has been deteriorating, and their morale has dropped to the extreme.Not to mention meeting Yelu Mawu, even ordinary Hebei signing troops would probably be beaten all over the place.

Compared with this battle in real history, the situation of the main force of the left-behind division is even more dangerous.

He sighed angrily: "Du Xiang is so confused, why is he thinking of a decisive battle across the river?"

Deputy Commander Zheng agreed with Wang Shen's words: "That's right, the Jurchens can't cross the river anyway, so let's just stay on the south bank. It's better to stay still than to move. Well, why are you thinking about finding bad luck for others? Isn't that right?" Is it troublesome?"

(End of this chapter)