"This Yue Wumu governs his army with such strictness. No wonder he can make his soldiers advance and withdraw in layers, enduring and persisting without collapse."
Pang Tong shook his head, having clearly seen where the real difference lay.
"Using military orders to send one's own son into the front line, and declaring that if he does not win, he will be executed. With that, how could orders not be carried out without hesitation?"
Sun Wu, in writing The Art of War, said that a general must possess five qualities: wisdom, courage, benevolence, trustworthiness, and strictness.
From that point on, every great military thinker of later generations emphasized strict discipline. From Rang Ju enforcing the law to Zhou Yafu's army at Xiliu Camp, all followed this principle. But to order one's own son to be the first to charge, and to openly declare that failure meant death, that was something few had ever heard of.
"I saw that fully armored cavalry back in Chengdu," someone said.
Zhang Fei was also carefully studying the oil painting on the light screen. The red clad soldiers were fighting to the death, standing firm behind obstacles and shoulder to shoulder with their comrades, forcibly withstanding the charge of cavalry encased in iron from head to toe, and even launching counterattacks.
"The armor used by my second brother's cavalry is still not as complete as that of these Iron Pagoda troops, yet even then it already made me feel that they would be hard to face head on."
"This Yue Wumu's…" Zhang Fei examined it carefully, then said, "The will of the Song Shenwu Rear Army is harder than iron. This truly is a powerful army."
Ma Chao also agreed deeply.
"If facing them on the battlefield, no one would want to block such a force."
"The only regret is that the person who drew this painting probably does not truly understand cavalry tactics."
"These Iron Pagoda troops are worth more than gold and jade. How could they be used so recklessly, charging head on and suffering such losses?"
Ma Chao of Yong and Liang was deeply versed in cavalry warfare. Even while listening to the younger generation's narration, he had already reconstructed the battle in his mind. His conclusion was that the Jin intended to use light cavalry, the Guaizi Horse, to lure the enemy, but instead they were entangled and worn down by the Beiwei Army. Forced into a desperate gamble, they sent the Iron Pagoda to trample the formation and break through the blockade. The result was that they failed to break through and instead suffered heavy losses.
So much calculation and exchange went on in this back and forth. None of that complexity could be seen in a single painting.
Zhang Fei immediately burst out laughing.
"What's so hard about that? Mengqi, lead troops tomorrow and explain it to me in detail."
"I'll put it into a painting, make a 'Jin Ma Chao Goes to War' illustration, so future generations can see it, know your heroic bearing, and understand your mighty reputation."
Those words immediately moved Ma Chao.
"Truly?"
Zhang Fei patted his chest at once.
"Would I lie to you?"
At the head of the hall, Liu Bei smiled as he watched this clearly. Earlier, Yi De had gone to Zhao Yun to learn cavalry tactics. Later, Zhao Yun had led troops south, and Yi De had led forces into Liangzhou to suppress unrest. By now, he clearly understood the advantages of cavalry, so he was once again digging into Ma Chao's store of cavalry experience.
In the end, it was a good thing. Liu Bei did not mind it. He only turned to his strategist and sighed.
"Between Song and Jin, the people want to fight, the generals ask to fight, imperial envoys falsify edicts to allow the northern expedition, and righteous armies rise everywhere to resist the Jin."
"Only this emperor alone insists on clinging to survival and seeking safety. Truly a man without noble virtue, no different from a leftover eunuch scoundrel."
"The great plan of the northern expedition is ruined in the hands of such rats. What a pity."
Liu Bei himself was also a northerner. As a child, he had known the old stories of Wei and Huo driving back the Xiongnu. He had heard of the troubles caused by the mixed tribes of You and Yan. Because of this, he felt strong sympathy with those righteous armies rising to resist the Jin. When speaking of Zhao Gou, he could no longer suppress his knight errant temperament and let a few harsh words slip out.
Kongming could only try to persuade him.
"The history of later generations is already set. Sighing over it is of no use. Better to inherit their will, use their strategies, pacify the north, and bring peace to the Han."
[Lightscreen]
[The records of Yue Fei's fourth northern expedition that survive to this day are mostly incomplete. We can only infer events from Jin records and from the victory reports submitted by Yue Fei's army.
What can be confirmed first is that after the Battle of Yancheng, Yue Fei's forces had already shifted from defense to offense, entering a phase of mutual attacks with the Jin.
After his defeat at Yancheng, Jin Wushu, as a famous Jin general, did not wallow in grief. Instead, he quickly gathered infantry and cavalry together and turned to attack Yingchang.
At that time, although the Yue Family Army was scattered across various places to defend recovered territories, under Yue Fei's orders, overall they concentrated forces in two main locations.
One was Yue Fei's main force, stationed at Yancheng, which had just repelled Jin Wushu.
The other was Zhang Xian, Wang Gui, Dong Xian, and others, stationed at Yingchang, which Jin Wushu listed as his second main target.
The busiest among them was Zhang Xian's unit. After first learning that Yancheng was under attack, they rushed to provide support. After the siege of Yancheng was lifted, they replenished their troops and once again marched north to return to Yingchang. But on the way, at Lin Ying, they encountered Jin Wushu's forces preparing to attack Yingchang. More than three hundred scouting cavalry clashed with the Jin army at Xiao Shang Bridge, and a fierce battle broke out.
From the reports submitted by Yue Fei, the fighting at Xiao Shang Bridge did not last very long. But in terms of intensity, it could even rival the Battle of Yancheng.
In less than half a day, more than a thousand Jin soldiers were killed. One wanhu and one qianhu were slain in battle.
More than three hundred elite Youyi cavalry were almost completely wiped out. Among them was the fierce general Yang Zaixing, who had once tried to capture Jin Wushu single handedly. He was killed on the spot, at the age of thirty six.
The encounter at Xiao Shang Bridge was not large in scale, but the exchange ratio achieved by Yue Fei's forces was extremely impressive. For the sake of stability, the Jin army ultimately chose to withdraw from Lin Ying and march toward Yingchang. Zhang Xian temporarily chose to station his troops at Lin Ying.
And within this small window of time, the Battle of Yingchang broke out once again. Wang Gui, stationed at Yingchang, looked at the nearly one hundred thousand Jin troops advancing, then looked at his own more than thirty thousand northern expedition troops, and did not hesitate much at all.
There was only one choice.
Fight.
The Battle of Yingchang had no fancy tricks. Fortunately, the victory report written by Wang Gui was preserved. From it, one can glimpse how fierce the fighting was.
First, the Jin army's composition was recorded:
"There were the Fan bandit Fourth Prince Jin Wushu, the Prince of Zhen Guo, and the Zhaowu General Han Chang, along with four wanhu. They personally led more than thirty thousand cavalry and directly reached Yingchang."
What Wang Gui first had to ensure was that Yingchang did not fall:
"Gui therefore ordered Dong Xian, commander of the Tabai Army, and Hu Qing, commander of the Vanguard Army, to defend the city."
Then this fierce general under Yue Fei personally led troops to face the enemy:
"Gui personally commanded the central army and the Youyi troops, and together with Yue Yun, who led the Beiwei Army, went out of the city to engage the enemy."
With both sides deploying, they fought fiercely from morning until noon. The Yue Family Army "not a single man willing to look back." In the end, they crushed the Jin army, beheading Jin Wushu's son in law, the wanhu Xia Jinwu, five qianhu, and more than five thousand soldiers. They captured seventy eight officers alive and more than two thousand Jin troops.
Jin Wushu fled in panic. His deputy also suffered severe wounds and died on the road before he could be treated.
The Prince of Zhen Guo, Han Chang, completely lost his will to fight and secretly sent people to Yue Fei's army to discuss surrender. This was also normal. After all, Han Chang was of noble status. Even if he were to surrender, it would have to be done with some ceremony to preserve face.
After this battle, Jin Wushu retreated to Kaifeng. After gathering strength, he made a final attempt at Zhuxian Town, forty five li southwest of Kaifeng. In the end, he was once again mercilessly crushed by Yue Fei.
At that time, morale under Jin Wushu was unstable, and they were no longer able to hold Kaifeng Prefecture. He continued retreating north to the Yellow River, hesitating over whether to cross the river and flee. In this life and death choice between survival and face, one surrendered man under Jin Wushu, who had once been a student of the Imperial Academy in Northern Song, strongly advised Jin Wushu not to cross the river, and claimed that Yue Fei would certainly withdraw.
His reasoning was very clear. Since ancient times, there had never been a case where powerful ministers held the court while great generals achieved merit outside. At present, whether Yue Shaobao could even survive was in question. Let alone anything else.
This former Imperial Academy student's judgment was, in fact, completely correct.
Zhao Gou's assist had arrived.
On the twenty first day of the seventh month, Yue Fei received an imperial handwritten order issued by Zhao Gou on the tenth day of the seventh month. In the end, Yue Fei had no choice but to "respectfully obey the repeatedly issued imperial instructions" and chose to withdraw his army.]