Chapter 311: Steed

Excellent commanders and military advisers can smell changes in the situation.

After further completing the reconnaissance mission and ensuring that the Khitans had turned around and started, Hu Hongxiu vaguely felt that the Xixia people would definitely reveal certain flaws after the outbreak of the war with their current troop deployment without a nationwide mobilization. Then he wisely chose the key location of the Yellow River Gorge for observation, and finally found a fatal flaw that the Xixia people might have flashed.

It can be imagined that if this window of opportunity was missed, with the statehood of Western Xia, it would take at least three to five days, or at most ten days, for military deployment and reinforcements to complete the defense of the Xingling area (Yinchuan Plain) where their capital was located.

By the same token, after Yue Fei retreated to Haoshuichuan, he was ordered to seek an opportunity to fight. Although he followed reason and chose to go to Zhuolo City in the direction of Lanzhou, in an attempt to attack the Khitans from both sides to open up the Hexi Corridor, he still kept his attention on the direction of Xingqing Prefecture, so he chose to go to Quwu Mountain to Huizhou as a reserve to make a decision, which enabled him to meet Hu Hongxiu successfully.

At the same time that the entire Western Xia was under attack from three sides and had completely entered a state of all-out war, here on the eastern front, on the opposite bank of Puzhou, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu also vaguely sensed something was wrong.

But they didn't know where this uneasy feeling came from.

Was it Li Yanxian's outstanding performance behind Zhongtiao Mountain that gave the Song army room to maneuver, or was it the slow march of reinforcements due to the harassment of the rebel army in the Taihang Mountains that gave the opposing Song army the courage to stop its reinforcement plan?

Or maybe it was in Hengshan and Yan'an that the Zhao Song government finally made up its mind to achieve some results regardless of the consequences? After all, the slogans were loud and clear, but if no results were achieved, how could they explain it to the country?

But no matter what, at this moment, Wanyan Wushu and Wanyan Balisu never thought about the other side of Western Xia, and did not even show such doubts... Until the fifth day of April, Wanyan Erluguan, the governor of Xijing (Datong) in the north who had direct communication channels with Western Xia, informed his brother of the news from Yinshan that caused unrest among the people of Western Xia at a slightly slower speed, with a slightly suspicious mentality and a slightly contemptuous attitude, but finally through military channels.

“It’s true!”

Wushu made a judgment immediately. "It's absolutely true! Yelu Yanshan and those Mongols are not bluffing. Yelu Dashi must have come from further west! The Song army must have left a large force in the west to attack him from both sides! The bluffing is here! It's on the opposite side!"

On the Stork Tower, which had long been the front-line command post of the Jin army, the surrounding Jin army generals looked at each other. Among them, another main general, Balisu, was silent for a moment, then took advantage of the bright sunshine in the morning to glance at the military camp across the river, and nodded heavily.

Obviously, Balisu also agreed with Wushu's judgment.

"Then what should we do now?" Wanhu Sali came to his senses and asked immediately.

Dozens of Wanhu, Meng'an, and a small number of Mouke present looked at the King of Wei and the Taiyuan Governor together… Although the former had the highest power, the latter was also the front-line commander and had considerable authority in military matters.

As expected, the pale-faced Wei Wang Wushu looked directly at the commander of the Western Route Army beside him and said, "I am confused. Balisu, tell me, what should I do now?"

"That depends on what His Royal Highness the Prince of Wei wants to do." Ba Lisu, with a sullen face, thought for a moment and answered frankly. "Do you want to preserve the overall situation, or do you want to save the overall situation? Or do you want to not give in and let the Song people's plan fail?"

"Can we still make the Song people's plan fail now?!" Wuzhu was cheered up.

"Why not?" Balisu drew his sword from his waist and pointed it at the other side of the river. "If the Song people left a large army on the western front to join forces with the Khitans, they would have to seize Hengshan and Yan'an, and hold on to Zhongtiao Mountain... Then I would like to ask Your Highness the King of Wei, how many soldiers are there on the other side of the river at this time? How credible is the statement made by the Goryeo Hammer that Yue Fei's troops were behind Pu Jin as a backup?"

Wuzhu's breathing became heavy.

Balisu turned a deaf ear to the enemy and pointed his sword at the other side, while speaking passionately: "The water in Pujin is slow. Although the island in the middle of the river is submerged, it is still roughly visible. Now that the summer flood season has not yet arrived, we can use some manpower to build several floating bridges, which will be enough for the army to pass. Then we can follow the example of Han Xin and send a detachment to cross the Longmen Ferry and attack the enemy from behind... The King of Wei has now ordered that only one Wanhu be left to guard the Hezhong Prefecture, and then the rest of the army will be sent out, regardless of casualties, to attack the positions on the other side! As long as we defeat this so-called elite army directly under the Zhao Song government before Li Yanxian and Han Shizhong come to rescue, I guarantee that the Song army will definitely abandon the damn Xixia and go back to defend with all their strength!"

Wuzhu's breathing became heavier, but he remained silent.

Finally, Balisu turned around and thrust the blade in his hand directly into the map on the table in front of Wuzhu, his face grim: "Send the troops, King of Wei! The Western Route Army has 50,000 to 60,000 troops here. With just one word from King of Wei, we will cross the Yellow River for Wanyan clan! To avenge our previous humiliation!"

Wuzhu stared at Balisu, but Balisu was not afraid at all and stared at him coldly as well.

The two of them stared at each other across a table, a map, and a knife for an unknown amount of time. Finally, their breathing gradually calmed down. At this time, the surrounding Western Route Army officers, a few of whom were really smart, gradually understood what Balisu meant.

"Are you so afraid that I will fight the Western Route Army to death?" Wuzhu asked with a grim smile, his pale face finally showing some rosy and lively look. "Do you think that if I send two more Wanhu to Pujin, the Western Route Army will never recover?"

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