"Let me tell you, sir, we are now at the exit of Jingxing, west of the Mianman River and south of the Hutuo River..." Wu Jie continued to point at the map, his words clear and logical. "The main force of the Jin army is concentrated in Huolu on the south side of the Hutuo River, facing us across the Mianman River. Both armies are huge and powerful, and we must not easily split our forces at this time."

"Not bad." Lu Yihao thought for a moment and then twirled his beard in approval.

"And then, for the offensive, our main force will either cross the Hutuo River to Zhending, or cross the Mianman River to Huolu... But we don't have the final say on where to go, because according to the scouts, the main force of the Jin army has obviously set up camp in the wilderness around Shiyi Town, southeast of Huolu City. If we cross the Hutuo River, we don't need to cross all of them, as long as we can cross 40,000 to 50,000 people, they will immediately cross the Mianman River and take the opportunity to fight us. Or we can wait a little longer and try to block our retreat after most of us have crossed the river!"

"Can't we use the terrain along the Mianman River to stop the Jin army?" Fan Zongyin couldn't help but interrupt.

"No." Wu Jie's reply was decisive. "The Hutuo River is a big river, but the Mianman River is just a tributary, a small river. It is much more difficult for troops to travel to and from the Hutuo River than to and from the Mianman River! Moreover, from our point of view, the section of the Hutuo River controlled by the Wang army is too short, far less convenient than the Mianman River, which stretches for dozens of miles."

At this point, Wu Jie paused for a moment, but looked at Emperor Zhao who had remained silent, because he knew that if Lu Yihao had no objection, then according to the current hasty situation, it would basically be a matter of a word from Emperor Zhao: "In fact, to put it bluntly, with such a large army on both sides, no matter what river it is, it is impossible to effectively stop it. Only an army of more than 100,000 can stop an army of more than 100,000! Moreover, the royal army went east to Hebei this time to target the main force of the Jin army. There is absolutely no reason to put the cart before the horse!"

After these words were spoken, Lü Yihao, Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang Yan, Wang De, Li Qiong, Wu Lin, Li Shifu and others turned around to look at Emperor Zhao who was sitting on the side under the candlelight.

Wu Jie understood, and they certainly understood too, that the war was so hasty and often all it took was a word from Emperor Zhao.

"Well said." Zhao Jiu, who had listened to Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang Yan and others' analysis several times, nodded without hesitation. "We can only go to Huolu to fight! Besides, if we don't cross the Mianman River, we can't join up with Qu Duan... But Jin Qing, if we fight in Huolu, do you have any plans?"

Wu Jie was silent for a moment when he heard this question, and then he said seriously: "Let your Majesty know that this battle is almost three times larger than the Battle of Yaoshan... If your Majesty asks about the marching arrangements, I can certainly imitate the style of the court reports to list one, two, three, and four, but they are all based on experience... The real targeted deployment will probably have to wait until we cross the Mianman River and arrive at the battlefront, and then make temporary arrangements based on the terrain, military situation, and weather."

There was a slight commotion in the hall.

But Zhao Jiu's expression did not change at all, he just nodded: "It doesn't matter! We are like this, and the Jurchens are like this too. It doesn't matter if we are in a hurry or have no experience... According to the military report, the Jurchens arrived in Huolu only a day and a half earlier than we arrived in Jingxing County... Just tell me what to do now."

Everyone felt relieved.

Wu Jie was also very straightforward: "Cross the Mianman River and take the city of Jingxing County. Then send a large army to set up a large camp in the hilly areas east of Jingxing County and west of Huolu County, arrange defenses, and then join up with Qu Dutong's cavalry and move forward. Along the way, observe the enemy situation, test the Jin army, and decide on strategy."

"Okay, let's do it."

Zhao Jiu spoke briefly and directly concluded the day's military meeting in front of the emperor.

Since the first military meeting had been held, Emperor Zhao personally issued an order and the army immediately made adjustments and deployed along the Mianman River, determined to cross the river and seize the county towns of Jingxing and Pingshan to establish a foothold.

On the morning of the next day, Emperor Zhao led his generals and a large army eastward to the Mianman River, where he personally supervised the battle and made preparations for crossing the river.

According to the military order drawn up by Wu Jie last night and handed down by Emperor Zhao, early this morning, thirteen commanding divisions, led by their respective generals, crossed the river together to carry out the necessary mopping-up operation.

Once the mopping-up operation is completed, the main force of the Song army will advance eastward and force its way into Huolu.

In addition, of the thirteen commanding departments, each commander was a famous general, and the total number of troops under their command, including pure combat troops, reached nearly 30,000. So many armored combat troops and so many famous generals, simultaneously crossed the river on a front line of dozens of miles, and attacked cities and seized lands... Moreover, they not only crossed the Mianman River to attack the two county towns of Jingxing and Pingshan, but also three commanders led thousands of people to cross the Hutuo River to the north to capture Bailingzhai, Xilinshanzhai, and Donglinshanzhai (the area of ​​Xibaipo in later generations)... It is said that the regular and the bizarre have a certain degree of control, and the regulations are grand.

Such a military force and such actions, if placed in a small country, would almost be considered a battle that determines the fate of the country. However, whether it was the Song Army or even the Jin Army on the opposite side, everyone knew that this was just a necessary action for the Song Army to clear obstacles, make room, and prevent surprise attacks for the large army to advance.

All I can say is that the scale of the war was so absurd that it was numbing.

However, the Jin army was no less powerful.

On the 27th day of the first lunar month, at noon, all the grass and trees are green and the world is full of life.

In front of the gurgling spring water, the dragon flag of Emperor Zhao was swaying slightly in the spring breeze, while the county town of Jingxing, which was within sight on the opposite bank, was already on the verge of crumbling under the brave attacks of Dong Xian's troops, which had performed increasingly well in this Northern Expedition.

But at this moment, the rumbling sound like spring thunder came from far away and became more and more obvious.

My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!