One Piece of Song Dynasty

After hearing this, Jin Xizong said with a chill down his spine: "Prime Minister, what should we do now? The vicinity of Yanjing has been occupied by the Song army."

Wanyan Xiyin said: "Li Xin's move from the sea to penetrate Yanyun is too cruel. Our first priority now is to pass the news to the three armies on the front line. No matter how they fight, we must make them withdraw quickly and put them away." The West Route Army withdrew to the area around Taiyuan and Xijing. Yanjing had already lost Taiyuan and Xijing and could no longer lose it. It ordered the East Route Army and the Middle Route Army to withdraw to Hebei, leaving all south of the Yellow River to Li Xin. The Song Army lacked cavalry. Our army is not afraid of him in field battles on the Hebei Plain."

Jin Xizong asked again: "What about Yanjing?"

Wanyan Xiyin replied: "The reason for withdrawing the Third Army is for Yanjing. As long as we can block the Song Army from the two rivers, then we can slowly withdraw near Yanjing. Of course, when ordering the Third Army to withdraw, , the country will also mobilize a large army to press against Yanjing. I estimate that the Song army that will attack Yanjing will not exceed , so the Song army will only have defensive power but no offensive power."

Jin Xizong asked again: "Prime Minister, who can be the commander of the domestic army?"

Wanyan Xiyin recommended himself: "If your Majesty agrees, I will lead an army of to attack Yanjing."

As soon as Wanyan Xiyin finished, he heard a guard outside shouting: "Urgent report."

The guard came in and ordered him to kneel down and say, "Your Majesty, there is an urgent report coming from the capital."

Jin Xizong almost collapsed on the throne when he received the urgent report. He handed the report to Wanyan Xiyin and said: "Prime Minister, Huacheng County has also been seized by the Song Army."

After reading the report, Wanyan Xiyin frowned and said: "Your Majesty, don't worry, this must be a partial division of the Song Army. The report stated that this Song army has been strengthening the city defense after occupying Huacheng County, but did not take the initiative to attack. Obviously This Song army must be small in number, and their mission should be to contain our army so that our army cannot press on Yanjing with all its strength, because Conghuacheng County can reach the hinterland of Dajin directly from the north, but we can't deal with this Song army either. If we leave him alone, we must send another army to guard him. In this case, I recommend Xiao Qing, the right prime minister, to lead an army of to Huacheng County. I am willing to lead an army of to Yanjing."

Jin Xizong nodded and said: "Okay, I will comply with the Prime Minister's request. Does the Prime Minister have any other suggestions?"

Wanyan Xiyin said: "I ask the emperor to give the frontline the right to act expeditiously. The situation on the battlefield is changing rapidly. It takes too much time to send information back and forth. Fighter planes are fleeting. Sometimes the fighter plane disappears before the message is delivered."

Jin Xizong made up his mind and said: "Okay, I agree to the Prime Minister's request and give the front line the right to do things expediently. Does the Prime Minister have any other requests?"

Wanyan Xiyin shook his head and said: "It's gone for the time being. What I'm most worried about now is whether the three armies on the front can be safely withdrawn. The general has taken away most of our elite troops. The troops left at home are far inferior to those of the big army." It takes too long for Shuai’s troops to deliver news back and forth, and it delays things too much.”

Jin Xizong sighed and said: "There is no way. We are too far away from the Central Plains. Let's do this first. I will go back to Huining Mansion."

Just when the Jin people were busy recruiting troops to attack Yanjing and other places, the offensive and defensive battle in Luzhou entered a whitening stage. Jin Wushu assembled almost all available troops and took turns attacking Luzhou City night and day.

The situation in Luzhou immediately became more difficult. They had to face the attacks of the Jin army, which was much larger than theirs, and repelled the Jin army's attacks time and time again.

As the number of casualties continued to increase, Li Xin had to recruit more young men in Luzhou City to supplement the defensive force. However, even at Rucubu, Li Xin still did not agree with Yang Yizhong and Zhang Jun to use the reserve team and finally Suggestions for killer fire oil.

The Jin army forced the troops composed of northern Han and Khitan people to attack Luzhou City again and again. Catapults were erected outside the city as densely as a forest, and they rained cannons and rocks on Luzhou City. In Zhoucheng, such attacks are carried out almost continuously.

The Song Army in the city was not merciful either. Their hundreds of Thunder Chariots continued to fight back against the Jin Army outside the city, smashing the catapults of the Jin Army into pieces.

On July th, another white bloody battle ended. The Jin army still did not invade Luzhou City. Looking at the scarred Luzhou city wall, Jin Wushu sighed and returned to the camp. The army stayed awake for three consecutive white and dark nights. Already a little tired from the rest of the fighting, Jin Wushu decided to let the army rest for a night before fighting again.

At this time, Wanyan Alibu hurriedly came to report: "Commander, there is news from King Gai. He suggested that the commander withdraw his troops now. Qu Duan has led his troops into the Central Plains. Nanyang, Ruzhou, and Songzhou have all fallen. Qu Duan is heading towards Luoyang and Shaanzhou, and his target is obviously General Sa Lihe's Western Route Army."

After reading the letter, Jin Wushu said: "Is there any news from the East Route Army?"

A Libu shook his head and said: "There is no news from the East Route Army yet."

Jin Wushu said: "Tell King Gai that we will fight two more times. If we can't take Luzhou on July th, we will withdraw."

A Li cupped his fists and said, "Yes, Marshal."

At this time, Han Shizhong and his troops had already passed Chuzhou and were only a hundred kilometers away from Luzhou, which meant that they could reach Luzhou in two days at most.

At the Luzhou government office, Wang Shu said: "Your Majesty, our army has suffered casualties since the war started. The central part of Yangyi has suffered more than half and only people are left. The Zhang Jun army has suffered casualties. Luzhou City is not temporarily recruited at the moment. We are young and strong, and the available troops are only , and among them there are reserve troops that the prince has not allowed to use."

Zhang Jun on the side admonished: "Your Majesty, I think we can use the reserve team."

Li Xin waved his hand and said: "No, it's not time to use the reserve team yet. Let the soldiers hold on for two more days. I estimate that Han Shizhong's troops will arrive soon, but you can use the kerosene."

Zhang Jun breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's also good to use kerosene."

Li Xin took out a piece of paper and handed it to Zhang Jun and Yang Yizhong: "This is the battle report from more than half a month ago. Now you can use it to boost the morale of the soldiers."

After seeing it, Zhang Jun was surprised and said: "Yanyun"

Li Xin nodded and said: "Yes, Yanyun was occupied by our army more than half a month ago. Please tell Wang Shangshu the details about it with the two generals."

So Wang Shu explained Li Xin's entire Northern Expedition plan to Zhang Jun and Yang Yizhong in detail. After listening, Yang Yizhong said excitedly: "In other words, as long as this battle is won, I can return home." Let’s take a look at my hometown.”

Li Xin nodded and said: "That's right, but for now we still have to try to eliminate all the invading enemy troops, so that there will be less resistance when we regain the lost ground in the future."

The two clasped their fists and said, "Don't worry, Your Majesty, we will try our best to keep all the enemies behind."

That night, after receiving a letter from Wanyan Zongxian, Jin Wushu canceled his original plan to let the entire army rest for a night and arranged for the army to attack the city again.