Chapter 16 The Sixteenth Day of the First Month

In the first month of the tenth year of Jianyan, on the sixteenth day, in early spring, the Song army launched a tentative attack towards Jingxing with organized large units. At the same time, troops gathered around Taiyuan also began to move eastward at a slightly slower pace.

The strategic intention behind this action was self-evident.

Perhaps, from the affected Zhao Guan, from the high-ranking civil and military officials on the Taiyuan front line before the war, it was still very difficult to make this decision... What was the stance of Eastern Mongolia? What was the surge in combat power of the Jin cavalry after gathering in the wilderness? What was the Jin army's desperate situation that might lead to a rapid and unexpected decisive battle? Including Zhao Guan's own considerations after the war, Chancellor Lü hurried from Linfen to Taiyuan to urge... These were all real experiences worth narrating and discussing.

The whole thing had a so-called agonizing and overcoming process.

But in fact, from a macro perspective, from the rear bureaucrats, scholars, and civilians, from the middle and lower-level officers and soldiers, from the Jin people on the opposite side, and from the allied reinforcements who had just arrived in Datong, Zhao Guan's and the main force of the Song army's advance was decisive, seamless, and even caused a suffocating pressure for the onlookers.

The reason was simple.

First of all, Zhao Guan's hesitation and struggle appeared during the necessary war interval and preparation period, just like washing a teacup took a lot of effort, but it was initially washed during the time when the water was being boiled, without delaying the subsequent main event.

Secondly, and most importantly, the process of the fall of Taiyuan was simply too astonishing.

Looking back now, from the opening of Que Shu Valley, Zhao Guan's and the Hedong Road army's speed of advance, speed of encirclement, speed of breaking the city, as well as the scale of the troops advancing in all directions, and logistical preparations, even without considering the almost mythical process of breaking the city, it still gave people a heart-shaking feeling.

To put it bluntly, when a very few people began to quickly consider the wilderness decisive battle that might occur after the city was breached, everyone else, including enemies and allies, was still immersed in the two-way city-breaking performance that was destined to be recorded in history in all aspects.

In fact, if this war is to be discussed in the future, the fall of Taiyuan and Yuan City may be placed together and regarded as the second stage of the Northern Expedition, as the same battle. In this battle with extraordinary strategic significance, the Song army achieved decisive victories in two directions at the same time, causing the Jin army to lose the entire Hedong area, and further lose the subsequent strategic options, and was forced into the single strategic orbit preset by the Song army.

"So, Hebul Khan himself did not resist our mentality, but he simply could not enforce orders and prohibitions on the various Eastern Mongolian tribes?" That afternoon, in the empty central army tent, Zhao Jiu was thoughtful, seemingly not surprised by this result.

"Yes."

Ren Baozhong, who was ordered by Wu Jie to rush back after learning the news of the dispatch of troops, disregarded his fatigue and immediately held up the warm salt tea in the seat and explained while wiping his sweat. "According to the news we heard during this trip, among the Eastern Mongolian tribes, the highest in status and the most numerous are certainly Hebul and his cousin's Borjigin-Taichiwud tribes, but the Merkit tribe is also very strong. The two major factions have been faintly opposed in Eastern Mongolia, but they had to unite because of the rise of the Jin Kingdom..."

"So this time it was the Merkit tribe who colluded with the Jin people, and Hebul couldn't control it at all?"

"No." Ren Baozhong was also a little helpless. "According to what Commander Wu and I investigated and guessed together, it should be the Tatar tribe who colluded with the Jin people... But it is also uncertain. It is not easy to say that there are tribal members who colluded with the Jin people. Perhaps the Jin army retreated too quickly, and the Eastern Mongolian army could not advance in time. We can only say that the Tatars are the family with the greatest possibility of colluding with the Jin people."

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, obviously digesting the information, and then asked: "Isn't the Tatar tribe a border tribe artificially pieced together by the Jin people to fight against Eastern Mongolia?"

"Yes." Ren Baozhong became more and more helpless. "But before, in order to show goodwill to Hebul Khan, the Jin people transferred all the Tatar tribe and its territory to Eastern Mongolia."

"Hebul wanted it?" Zhao Jiu was completely speechless.

"Let the Guan know that Hebul is not that stupid." Ren Baozhong really felt parched. "But Hebul took advantage of the Jin's rise and the Liao's demise and the previous smuggling trade between Song and Jin, and his tribe expanded greatly in the grassland. After the expansion, he divided the accounts with his cousin Ambahai according to tradition. Ambahai lived in the south, and his tribe gradually became stronger and changed its name to Taichiwud, and its power gradually became no weaker than Hebul's own Borjigin tribe... The two families are one and the same, and Ambahai is Hebul's greatest assistant, but after all, it has become two families..."

"Let me guess." Zhao Jiu suddenly sneered from the top. "The Tatar people are a small tribe supported by the Jin Kingdom, so they are naturally on the southeastern border of the grassland, and Ambahai and his Taichiwud tribe have always been responsible for dealing with them. And if they are transferred to Eastern Mongolia, they will inevitably become direct affiliates of Ambahai and the Taichiwud tribe. Ambahai actually doesn't mean to turn against Great Song, and he also knows that the Tatar people are destined to have inextricable links with the Jin people, but anyway, if the sky falls, Hebul will bear it, and he is happy to shed less blood and expand his own power, so he directly accepted the Tatar people, and Hebul has no choice but to turn against his cousin for this... Is it or isn't it?"

"Yes." Ren Baozhong quickly lowered his head in the seat. "Guan is wise and insightful."

"Bullshit insight." Zhao Jiu put away his smile and felt unwell. "What I fear most is this kind of primitive tribe that has no bad intentions, but can become enemies, can argue but cannot act, and can cause all kinds of troubles..."

Ren Baozhong didn't dare to answer for a while, and at this time there were only a few guards in the tent besides Liu Yan down below, so the tent was silent for a while.

"In any case, there are Tatar tribesmen in the Eastern Mongolian people who are internal agents of the Jin people, is it or isn't it?" Zhao Jiu waited for a moment, motioned Ren Baozhong to finish a cup of salt tea, and then asked again.

"Um... Yes." Ren Baozhong hesitated obviously, but gave a definite answer after wiping his mouth.

"How did Wu Jinqing decide?" Zhao Guan continued to ask.

"Commander Wu said that since Guan has decided to send troops, he will deal with it as quickly and strictly as possible according to the previous instructions... Before I came, Commander Wu had already sent a letter requesting Hebul Khan to deal with all the Tatar tribes in the army within three days." Ren Baozhong didn't dare to stop at all.

"What about after the disposal?" Zhao Jiu frowned slightly. "Then lead the remaining Eastern Mongolian reinforcements south?"

"No." Ren Baozhong finally swallowed a mouthful of saliva. "No matter how Eastern Mongolia deals with it, or doesn't deal with it, he will leave a part to guard Datong to monitor Eastern Mongolia; and leave another part to guard Yanmen Pass as a key point; then he will bring the Khitans, the Western Mongolian tribes, and the troops of Vice Commanders Wang and Guo back to Taiyuan together, without delaying the war... This is what Commander Wu meant by letting me come back first and tell Guan."

Zhao Jiu finally nodded, seemingly very satisfied with this disposal method, but soon fell into a second silence in his seat, as if thinking about something.

On the other side, Ren Baozhong finished drinking the salt tea, reported the important points, but still felt a little breathless, seemingly a little nervous.

This was also inevitable. It must be known that this time the events in Datong once again made Ren Baozhong feel the mentality of the fox mourning over the dead rabbit, because he once again felt the panic of the demise of Western Xia a few years ago.

This kind of panic was not caused by any specific betrayal or disposal, but that in the indifference of the superiors layer by layer, the fate of many people was decided.

Objectively speaking, this time those Tatar people in the Eastern Mongolian army may have colluded with the Jin people, but maybe they didn't. It is very likely that the Jin people retreated too quickly and didn't make it in time.

But Wu Da didn't care.

Those Tatar tribesmen who followed the army, as many as two or three thousand people, may encounter the fate of total destruction because of Wu Da's words, and many so-called Tatar tribes on the border will also fall into a catastrophe because of this incident.

And one level higher, no matter how Hebul and his cousin deal with the Tatar tribe, whether those Tatar people live or die, they cannot change the reality that the Eastern Mongolian tribes will be isolated from this war. No matter how they struggle and remedy, they cannot change the fact that Hebul and Eastern Mongolia have lost the military trust of Great Song.

By the same token, one level higher, coming to this kind Guan here who did not forget to give himself a seat and give salt tea, I am afraid that the fate of the entire Eastern Mongolian tribe will be completely changed after the war because of some potential possibilities, because of a misunderstanding, because of this Guan's thought.

Ren Baozhong had seen this kind of thing once. Last time, in order to obtain a strategic place for attacking Hedong, this Guan easily chose to destroy Western Xia... And after destroying Western Xia on the grounds of over-cultivation and damage to water and soil, the irrigated area in Ningxia was actually larger in order to reserve military food for this dispatch of troops.

"Ren Qing... Ren Qing."

"I am here." Ren Baozhong came back to his senses, broke out in a cold sweat, but quickly got up to respond.

"Please sit."

"Yes."

"What about Western Mongolia?"

"Western Mongolia is okay. Hurhaz Khan is just a fool, and the various Western Mongolian tribes, as I said before, are also influenced by the Western Liao Eight Tribes because they are located between Western Liao and Great Song, and the foundation is still stable... However, after Guan let Tuoli go back this time, Tuoli jumped up and down, showing a lot of false power, and won over many tribal members directly under his father, which seems a little inappropriate."

"That's it, a fool can't be kept." Zhao Jiu suddenly said, which seemed inexplicable.

"What Guan said is..." Ren Baozhong also did not stop at all, and quickly echoed.

"What about the Khitans?"

"The Khitans are even more appropriate... Although they allowed Hurhaz Khan to plunder Datong and had a intention of testing, Yelu Yu Du is originally a frightened bird, knowing that the Yin Mountains and his long-term future are still in Great Song, and it is reasonable to do so." Ren Baozhong continued. "This matter is in charge of Bachelor Mei. He was in Datong for only two or three days, and he had seven banquets with a group of Khitans and wrote eight or nine poems..."

"That doesn't matter." Zhao Jiu chuckled and quickly interrupted the other party after confirming that there was no problem with the Khitans. "That's what he was supposed to do."

"Yes." Ren Baozhong became more and more careful.

And the central army tent fell into silence for the third time at this time... Because Ren Baozhong's report was theoretically completed.

"Is Ren Qing's body okay?" After a moment, Zhao Jiu looked at the other party thoughtfully.

"Although I am old, I can still put on armor and gallop on horseback." Ren Baozhong was startled and stood up again.

"I don't need you to put on armor and gallop on horseback." Zhao Jiu finally smiled in response, but did not let the other party sit down again. "I want to say that you have been by my side for several years, and you have made many contributions in advising on military affairs and border strategies. And if this battle can be successful, then no matter where the northern border is pushed to, there will always be a new road set up along the border... I am not talking about Yanshan Road, but about taking Datong as the core, controlling the surrounding prefectures and counties, participating in the affairs of the Yin Mountains and the affairs of Mongolia, roughly equivalent to the Liao Kingdom's previous..."

"Western Capital Circuit." Ren Baozhong finally couldn't help but remind.

At this moment, all the previous thoughts, timidity, and panic were gone.

"Yes, Western Capital Circuit."

Zhao Jiu was thoughtful. "Ren Qing has been with me for many years, and knows that I am not the kind of person who likes to make empty promises. Whether it is Datong Road or Western Capital Circuit, I think that Qing's family is the most suitable to be the first pacification commissioner of this new road... Because you are from a close minister, you will definitely be able to understand my intentions and will not do anything wrong."

"I..." Ren Baozhong's mind was almost blank.

"Moreover, most of the territory in this circuit cannot be actually occupied at the beginning, and there are too many and too chaotic tribes. You should win over those who should be won over, integrate those who should be integrated, and suppress those who should be suppressed. You can be regarded as experienced." Zhao Jiu didn't care about the other party's reaction, but continued to analyze on his own. "Besides, Ren Qing is still a Tangut, and is a Tangut hero who was famous all over the world decades ago. Although the imperial court opposes ethnic divisions, some things can be regarded as historical legacy issues. Our monarch and ministers don't have to hide it. As a Tangut benchmark, you should also have the experience of a powerful envoy to make the Tangut people return to their hearts. I even thought that if you can handle the affairs of Datong Road beautifully, it is feasible to come back and fill a position as a minister... But your age really makes me a little worried."

"Guan." Ren Baozhong finally waited until the other party's words came to an end, but he directly knelt down in the tent, weeping for a while. "I can share the Guan's worries, and I am not afraid of being crushed to pieces. Why should I worry about my old age? For the sake of Guan, I can work for another ten years!"

Zhao Jiu nodded: "If Ren Qing is willing, then so be it... Take a rest, and when I discuss with Chancellor Lü, I will give you a formal decree, and you can go directly back to Datong."

Ren Baozhong was stunned for a moment, and then suddenly realized in his heart - he finally knew why Wu Jie sent his old man back to report! This was a great favor!

However, although he realized it, Ren Baozhong did not show it on his face at all, but became more serious: "Since Guan has chosen me as the pacification commissioner of Datong Road, I will definitely do my best to repay Guan's trust."

"The situation is like this, and at this time, a pacification commissioner who is so different from the inland envoys is needed, and Ren Qing happens to be in front of me." Zhao Jiu sighed faintly. "Therefore, it can also be said that the times and the country have chosen Ren Qing. Please also don't let down the times and the country."

Ren Baozhong just kowtowed, and already didn't know what Zhao Guan was talking about.

In this way, after hastily determining the arrangements in the Datong direction, the last trace of the Song army's concerns disappeared, and in the next few days, unit after unit of the main force of the Imperial Guard began to advance eastward on a large scale by the control unit.

In the beginning, of course, it was the two units of Dong Xian and Zhang Qi who advanced first on the sixteenth day of the first month.

And that afternoon, there were four control officers, Niu Gao, Zhai Jin, Zhai Chong, and Shao Yun, with a total of more than 10,000 people, dividing their troops into two routes, one south and one north, and advanced eastward, sandwiching Xiong Ling as reinforcements.

On the morning of the seventeenth day of the first month, the two generals, Dong Xian and Zhang Qi, arrived at the eastern part of Shouyang County, which was almost the easternmost part of Taiyuan Prefecture, came to the famous Mianman River, and engaged with a small number of Jin troops.

The so-called Mianman River is a tributary of the Hutuo River, and it is also the famous river that crossed Jingxing and experienced the battle with its back to the water.

At the same time, Commander of the Imperial Guard Left Army, King of Yan'an, Han Shizhong personally led the seven control officers led by the Imperial Guard Left Army and Xie Yuan, nearly 25,000 Imperial Guard soldiers, plus more than 10,000 civilian husbands and auxiliary soldiers, and advanced along the road on the north side of Sha Xiong Ling.

By the afternoon of this day, that is, at the same time when Ren Baozhong hurriedly returned to Taiyuan, the four control officers led by Niu Gao also arrived in the east and south, respectively, in Meng County and Shouyang County, the easternmost part of Taiyuan Prefecture.

On the eighteenth day of the first month, Ren Baozhong took the appointment and returned north early in the morning.

In the morning, Zhao Guan personally led the Dragon Banner and left Taiyuan City under the **** of Yang Yizhong and Liu Yan, the two guards... Accompanying him were Wang Yan, the general commander of the Imperial Guard, Li Shifu, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard cavalry, and Wu Lin, the deputy commander of the Imperial Guard Rear Army, who had arrived and merged from the rear not long ago. Under the three, there were fifteen control officers, and the various troops they led were the 30,000 Imperial Guard Rear Army and the Tangut light cavalry in the 15,000 Imperial Guard cavalry, which had almost no casualties in this Northern Expedition and could be called fresh troops.

With so many people, plus the 4,000 guards in front of the palace itself, and the 60,000 Tangut auxiliary soldiers with rich combat experience, plus miscellaneous people such as Japanese samurai and Po Xi army, the total number must be 110,000.

Of course, with so many people, marching only 30 miles a day, they slowly headed east along the main road on the south side of Sha Xiong Ling, passing through Yuci.

And the grand scale of this dispatch of troops basically overshadowed all other information... Whether it was the two generals, Dong Xian and Zhang Qi, who were the vanguards, cooperated tacitly and successfully conquered Pinding City, the capital of Pinding Army, which did not have many garrisons on the Mianman River, and approached the narrow entrance of Jingxing Road; or whether Li Qiong's 10,000 troops transferred from the Shangdang Basin to Liaozhou (the area of ​​Zuoquan County in later generations); or whether Wang De led his troops to return from Datong Prefecture and passed Yanmen Pass, no one cared.

On the nineteenth day of the first month, the wind was calm and the waves were calm, and the troops only advanced without stopping.

On the twentieth day of the first month, Wang De, who was anxious, took the lead in returning from Datong, leading 20,000 troops into the Taiyuan Basin, and after learning of this news, Chancellor Lü Yihou, who was accompanying the army, also set off immediately. He only led thousands of troops and 20,000 civilian husbands selected by Ma Kuo, carrying a large amount of supplies, plus most of the civil officials accompanying the army, and advanced eastward.

That afternoon, the two generals Dong and Zhang, who had officially entered the scope of Jingxing, suddenly encountered the main force of the Jin army at Baijing Village. The Song army, which was caught off guard, had difficulty overcoming it for a while and had to retreat ten miles to set up camp.

On the twenty-first day of the first month, after three days of leisurely marching, the main force led by Zhao Guan arrived in Shouyang County, and Wu Jie led 10,000 Khitan Yinshan reinforcements, 15,000 Western Mongolian reinforcements, plus the remaining 10,000 Imperial Guard Rear Army, and also crossed Xinzhou and arrived at the Taiyuan Basin.

Immediately, Li Yanxian led the remaining Shanluo troops, about 10,000 troops, plus Wang De's 20,000 troops, a total of 30,000 soldiers, and set off together, catching up with Lü Yihou in one day.

On the same day, Niu Gao, Shao Yun, Zhai Jin, Zhai Chong and Dong Xian, Zhang Qi joined forces in Jingxing. Six control officers took turns to fight day and night, and they conquered Baijing Village in one fell swoop, seized the key points in the front section of Jingxing, and sent envoys to report the victory to Zhao Guan behind them in the second half of the night.

On the twenty-second day of the first month, seven days after Dong and Zhang set off, Wu Jie finally reorganized his army and headed east from Taiyuan. After leaving 10,000 guards distributed in Taiyuan and Xihe, he led the troops mainly composed of Khitan, Mongolian, Tangut, Xi and other light cavalry reinforcements and set off eastward.

So far, the Song army has dispatched as many as 140,000 soldiers from Taiyuan alone!

Moreover, at the beginning of the war, the 300,000 Imperial Guard of the Song army was divided into two. The Hebei direction was the Imperial Guard Front Army, Right Army, Navy, and Navy, with about 90,000 soldiers, then the main force of the Imperial Guard gathered in the Hedong direction was self-evident, which was a full 210,000 soldiers! Including the 25,000 Yinshan and Western Mongolian reinforcements this time, there should be 230,000 to 240,000 soldiers.

However, after several months of war, there will inevitably be consumption and various strange casualties. In addition, after the Song army occupied almost the entire Hedong area, it will always be inevitable to leave garrisons in key points to prevent accidents and participate in maintaining logistics... For example, Taiyuan, Datong, Yanmen Pass, Xihe, and Longde Prefecture, more organized garrisons were left behind.

Therefore, Li Yanxian saw Wu Jie appear in the Taiyuan Basin and led his troops eastward without waiting for the other party to return. In fact, the internal reason was to let the Imperial Guard Rear Army undertake the defense work in the Taiyuan Basin and let his remaining troops participate in the eastward war... And Wu Jie could only suffer this dumb loss and had to spread all of Guo Hao's 20,000 troops in the Datong Basin and the Taiyuan Basin.

Poor Guo Hao, he was pitted by Qu Duan in the Wubao in Yaoshan, and this time he was pitted by Li Yanxian in Taiyuan.

Wang Sheng was also pitted in the same way, but Wang Sheng was clever and could not blame others - he was defeated in Pingxing Village, lost his supplies, and could not advance. After the logistics were just supplied, he could only continue to advance from Puyin Xing as a 'surprise soldier' to harass the rear of Zhending Prefecture.

But everyone knows that Jingxing is the most direct channel from Taiyuan to Hebei, and it is the most convenient channel of the Taihang Eight Xings, and even the importance of the Zhending Prefecture's itinerary and the Taiyuan Prefecture is largely because of their relationship with Jingxing... In this case, it seems a little difficult for Wang Sheng to catch up with some things.

In addition, there were also the 10,000 main troops led by the small Fan control unit, who were initially thrown down by Li Qiong's Eight-Character Army. It is not necessary to think about it. They will definitely follow Qu Duan's Imperial Guard cavalry into Longde Prefecture and become the garrison of Longde Prefecture. Only the 10,000 main troops led by Li Qiong himself were able to return from Liaozhou and should be able to join Zhao Guan's main force in time.

Even Qu Duan's Imperial Guard cavalry, after Zhang Zhongfu's tragic defeat, did not know how many usable troops were available for a while, and they should now be carrying out the task of following the main force of the Jin army northward east of the Taihang Mountains, and the situation was even more obscure.

And the Eastern Mongolian tribes that no one cares about have been excluded from all calculations... Even if Hebul sent Ambahai to Datong as soon as possible to explain after receiving Wu Jie's request, even if Ambahai found that the various troops in Datong were heading south one after another, he immediately turned his head, took the initiative to persuade Hebul to give up the explanation and dealt with the Tatars.

More than 10,000 Eastern Mongolian tribesmen, from the leader down, almost fell into panic and confusion, and did not know where to go.

But as the saying goes, no one cares anymore.

Even so, even if all these trivial issues are put aside, everyone can calculate a possible and shocking final participating figure.

"At least 150,000 to 160,000, at most 200,000, and the final actual number may be 170,000 to 180,000..."

Across a Taihang Mountain, less than 100 miles away from the Song army's vanguard in a straight line, north of the Daluzawa, in Gaoyi County, Zhao Prefecture, in the county government hall in the city, after gathering information from all parties, Gao Qingyi, who was sitting in the lower position with bloodshot eyes, gave a more accurate number than Zhao Guan, because they knew very clearly how many cavalry groups were gathered by Qu Duan, Liu Qi, Zhang Zhongfu, Zhang Zhongyan, Zhang Xian and other generals who were far behind him. "It mainly depends on Wang Sheng in Puyin Xing, and whether Hebul in the north will gather together. As for Qu Duan and Zhang Xian and others, it is impossible to solve it before the main force of the Song army leaves Jingxing."

"Including Elu Guan and the others who are already in Zhending, we have thirteen Meng'an, but various battle losses cannot be replenished in time, and in fact there are still more than 100,000 infantry and cavalry soldiers." In the hall, it was empty, with only a table with a map laid out, and Wushu, who was equally exhausted, was closing his eyes and speaking on one side of the table, but he was repeating those numbers that he had already memorized by heart. "Huo Nu and Wulinda Taiyu have arrived in Baoding (Baoding in later generations), and my brother has also handed over the four Heza Meng'an in Yanjing to Wanyan Poshu according to my letter, and will arrive in Baoding soon... These three will definitely make it in time! But what about the south? Is it undefended? What if Yue Fei chases after them and participates in it?"

"So we must launch it as soon as possible." Gao Qingyi also repeated the sentence that he had repeated many times. "Launch it before Yue Fei goes down the river and arrives in Hejian, and before the Zhao Song Guan leaves Jingxing and arrives in Zhending... It is best that Wang Sheng in the north has no time to join forces, so it will be 120,000 to 130,000 against 170,000 to 180,000!"

"What does the marshal think?" Wushu, who was dry-mouthed and exhausted, shouted to another person in the hall with his eyes closed... In fact, there were only three people around the table with the map in the hall at this time, and they also arrived here in a hurry and held a small-scale military meeting in a hurry.

The retreat was not that easy, especially after Qu Duan left Fukou Xing and joined Yue Fei's 'cavalry', he had been closely following behind. Helplessly, countless conscripted soldiers were abandoned in large numbers, and many materials were also abandoned. Only a small number of family members, valuable property, and military supplies were preserved... It can only be said that fortunately the conscripted soldiers can be replenished along the way, and Zhending still has a certain amount of storage.

But as soon as these words came out, they did not receive an answer for a long time.

Wushu opened his eyes in surprise to see, but found that Basaile, who was sitting withered on the opposite side, was staring at the map with bloodshot eyes like Gao Qingyi, and then he raised his head and glanced at himself: "That's the number. I have calculated it so many times along the way. Why does Prince Wei have to calculate it again?"

Wushu was noncommittal, but just asked: "Then what was the marshal thinking just now?"

"I was thinking about the Zhao Song Guan's advance." Basaile stroked the simple map in front of him and shook his head. "Prince Wei, do you think the Zhao Guan's previous attack on Taiyuan was as fast as the wind? This time, the advance from Taiyuan to Jingxing is as slow as the forest? Next, will it be as aggressive as fire?"

Wushu was stunned for a moment and could not refute for a while, but soon he came back to his senses and looked at Gao Qingyi again: "Tongshi Gao, let me ask you again, putting aside the issue of troops, what important things need to be dealt with in the army after a short rest?"

"First, should Jingxing be guarded?" Gao Qingyi blurted out. "Second, where should the battlefield be chosen? These two are also related to each other."

Wushu thought for a moment and asked back: "Are these the only ones?"

"There are many more." Gao Qingyi sneered almost coldly. "For example, is Yanjing stable? Will a cavalry army leave Jundu Xing and approach Yanjing directly? Are the new recruits of the Yanjing New Army really usable? Who should be the commander? How much military supplies are there in Zhending Prefecture? How many conscripted soldiers did Chen Wang (Elu Guan) prepare for us in Zhending to assist us? Our army has worked so hard to get here, how many have dropped out and lost? When will we be able to gather them properly? As long as you think about it, there are things everywhere..."

"But none of them are urgent, and none of them are global strategies." Wushu sighed faintly, and then cheered up and looked at the simple map as well. "At the moment, what must be decided regardless of everything is whether Yelu Maba should withdraw from Jingxing to join us, and then where to choose to fight the decisive battle?"

"Withdraw!"

Basaile spoke suddenly. "Jingxing is wide inside. Han Xin fought a battle of 100,000 people in Xingdao in those years and did not feel that it was narrow... Ma Ba and his subordinates must not be able to stop the large Song army. It is better to withdraw and preserve their strength. Moreover, you have been saying all the way that we must fight the decisive battle as soon as possible, before Yue Fei catches up... Relying on resistance layer by layer to delay will be detrimental to us."

"Can we fight the decisive battle inside Jingxing?" Wushu suddenly interjected, apparently directly acquiescing to the opinion of letting Yelu Maba retreat.

"It is a channel terrain after all, not suitable for a large cavalry army." Basaile shook his head.

Wushu looked at Gao Qingyi again, and Gao Qingyi also shook his head.

"In this case." The fourth prince first nodded, and then looked at the map and muttered. "Today we have to find a good terrain to fight east of Jingxing and west of Zhending? Defend the Hutuo River, or the Mianman River?"

"Is Prince Wei confused?" Basaile suddenly became impatient. "I have already said that we cannot delay... The faster we fight the decisive battle with the Song army, the more power we will have in the battle. Once we delay, and Yue Fei goes north to Hejian, we will be flanked on both sides, and the situation will only get worse! And if we want to fight the decisive battle with the Song army as soon as possible, what is the point of defending these rivers? Letting them cross the rivers is the main point!"

Wushu was suddenly shocked and looked at the map again, but moved his gaze to the area east of the Mianman River (running north and south after leaving Jingxing) and southwest of the Hutuo River (running northwest to southeast near Zhending) which almost turned due north after entering the Hebei Plain.

At this time, Gao Qingyi also slowly said: "Although it is true, we cannot let the Song army cross the Hutuo River, because Zhending City is behind the Hutuo River. In case the Song army uses that kind of city-breaking method again, the entire army will be terrified and dare not engage in battle, and we will sit idly by and watch the Song army seize Zhending. What should we do?"

"We cannot set up camp next to the Hutuo River." Basaile added again. "Otherwise, it will become a battle with its back to the water... Once... Once we are defeated, although we are cavalry, we will not be able to disperse and run away, and there is a danger of being annihilated and encircled."

When Wushu heard this, he finally smiled bitterly while touching the map: "In this case, we can almost only find an awkward place in the plain between the east of the Mianman River (running north and south after leaving Jingxing) and the southwest of the Hutuo River (running northwest to southeast near Zhending), and then lead the Song army across the Mianman River to attack us... But there is only one county in this area, and it is estimated that hundreds of thousands of troops will almost fill this place."

"Huo Lu!"

In the next moment, after a slight pause, Basaile and Gao Qingyi, who were not looking at the map at all, almost shouted the name of that county at the same time.

"One hundred and twenty miles from here." Gao Qingyi added. "In our northwest direction."

"Huo Lu... What a good name."

On the banks of the Mianman River, no more than 150 miles away from Gaoyi County, Zhao Prefecture, in the camp, Zhao Jiu gave another evaluation of this place while looking at the map. "It really is a good name."

Han Shizhong was about to agree, but Zhao Jiu suddenly raised his head and asked again: "Look at the map, in our northeast direction... How far is it?"

"One hundred and twenty miles." Han Shizhong was slightly stunned, and then became solemn. "It is a Jingxing passage, plus a Mianman River."

ps: Thanks to Lord Yunzhu's Song for the second Meng.