Chapter 391: Internal and External Dilemma

As the Jin army retreated, the Song army began to rest on a large scale while cleaning up the battlefield and guarding against possible raids.

Without time to set up tents, many Song soldiers just lay down and slept in the wild.

Last night's fatigue and today's hard battle were really exhausting. The warm sunshine in the winter afternoon further aggravated the weariness, so that many soldiers, without taking off their armor, fell asleep as soon as they lay down.

The common people are no less inferior.

In this situation, no one was interested in the hot soup and noodles prepared at noon except for a few people on duty. A large amount of steaming hot soup and noodles with oily spots had to be brought back and warmed up again to prevent chaos caused by the large number of people eating in the evening.

Tian Shizhong was also very tired, but he did not fall asleep immediately like the people around him while sitting on a small mound, because Yue Fei once again pushed forward the military plan by hitting his bottom line.

It was like this every time, every step of the way. It was like this when he faced Li Cheng many years ago, and it was still like this now. The other party had a firm grasp of his character, so that he, who was obviously resistant and defensive, was repeatedly used by him.

And you can't lose your temper or get angry, you can only grit your teeth and do it.

If only I were also a Jiedushi... Tian Shizhong sighed slightly in his heart. He knew that Yue Fei must have consulted Zhang Rong in advance. Unlike himself, when he got there and discovered the possibility, he realized that he was forced into a corner by the other party.

Of course, Master Tian actually had a vague guess in his mind, that is, Yue Fei might not really be deliberately trying to control him. It was more that although he had a plan in his mind, he still needed to verify the approximate success rate with his own eyes... For example, today, if the war was not so sufficient, if the navy's suppression ability on the other side of the shore was not so outstanding, he might not really implement this plan. He might let his Beiwei Army retain the cavalry in Yuancheng at a certain cost, and then fight hard to attack the city, and blow up the city when the city was most shaky, as a conservative measure.

Of course, when I think about it this way, it seems like I am actively trying to excuse the fact that the other party is holding me hostage, which is really ridiculous.

For a moment, it was extremely awkward.

Just like this, Tian Shizhong thought for a while, tossed and turned for a while, but finally he could not resist the growing tiredness and gradually fell asleep.

Then, like most people, they could not sleep for long, only one or two hours, or two or three hours. They would wake up before dusk, and those who were awake would be awakened. Then it would be another busy evening and the first half of the night - light a bonfire, use some water and food, set up tents, calculate military merits, count casualties, and even need the scholars who followed the army to boost morale and comfort the dead and wounded.

In addition, the civilians had to work harder. They continued to repair the defense lines overnight, build pontoon bridges overnight, transport supplies, and clean up the battlefield.

It was not until the second half of the night that I rested for a while and then returned to a relatively normal rhythm.

In the next few days, Yue Fei did not actually announce his military plan. Zhang Rong and Tian Shizhong also pretended that nothing had happened and just followed the routine... Not to mention strengthening the northern defense line, building fortifications, and firing large numbers of artillery in the north and south were just siege tactics, and no one said anything.

After Tang Huai captured a large number of ships, he once again used land navigation to send a considerable number of ships to the westernmost part to sweep and take over the things that were naturally being cleared up in the west branch of the Yellow River North Road.

After all, everyone witnessed the powerful role of the navy with ultra-long-range projection capability in such a narrow area. Moreover, the army still mainly relies on the Yellow River for supplies. Once the West Branch of the Yellow River North Road is controlled and Xiao Wusha is opened, it will greatly save the transportation time between the battlefield and Tokyo and improve the transportation efficiency.

There's no reason not to do this.

Of course, small-scale military conflicts were inevitable during this period.

A small number of ships turned back again, and then moved continuously along the river to bombard the east wall of Yuan City, testing the weak points. Shaohe and Ali also came to spy many times, but they were just spying at best. After that battle, they had already realized that their own forces were not enough to break through the Song army, especially as the Song army's northern defense positions were becoming increasingly solid and complex.

Fighting on the northern front, more scattered cavalry battles.

But at the same time, some obvious signals gradually increased. For example, Wang Bolun, who ignored Gao Jingshan's call, suddenly went south again and almost reached Xiajin. For example, the Song army scouts reported that in Mingzhou and Xiangzhou areas west of the river, the Jurchen cavalry was gradually dense, making it difficult for the scouts to conduct armed reconnaissance there.

What this portends is self-evident.

However, with the passage of time and the intensive preparations, the intentions of the Song army have become more and more obvious - there are some things that the civilians and soldiers below will not care about at all, but in the eyes of senior commanders it is a different matter.

First, the main position of the Song army moved westward. The huge Song army military zone between Damingcheng and Gucheng was almost entirely moved to the north of Yuancheng. As for the original East Branch of the Yellow River North Road, the Song army gradually gave up and only defended Damingcheng and Gucheng. After the Song army controlled the more convenient West Branch of the Yellow River North Road, even Gucheng began to loosen up.

It is almost conceivable that once the worst time came, the Song army would most likely abandon the military deployment on the east coast and just besiege Xiajin and Daming City. If the old city could be defended, then it would be defended, but if it could not be defended, then so be it.

Secondly, after the Song army completed the construction of the northern defense line, they began to build a defense line south of Yuancheng without any rest, and the regulations were almost the same as those of the north.

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