Then, without paying any attention to the more than 10,000 elite Jin troops in Liaocheng behind him who might not have yet withdrawn, he continued to move westward, quickly sweeping through Chaocheng, Liutaji and other places, and captured Shanghusha on the second day, allowing the Imperial Camp Navy to enter the eastern flow of the Yellow River unhindered.
This is the second river channel from south to north among the three channels and five branches of the Yellow River in Hebei Province, and it is also one of the main channels, which has certain strategic significance.
However, just as Ali gave up Liaocheng without hesitation and headed north in the face of Yue Fei's main force, the warships and equipment in Shanghusha were also taken away by the defenders early on, and it seemed that they should have been delivered to the Maling Road in front of Damingfu long ago... Obviously, Gao Jingshan, the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's Damingfu Marching Division, remained sober and made the most reasonable strategic decision he could.
That is to say, before the arrival of someone who can truly lead a big battle, we must maintain our manpower and carry out strategic contraction.
At the same time, as the Song army crossed the river, the Jin army began to give up its last glimmer of hope. Jin soldiers were conscripting men everywhere around Daming Prefecture, looting any potentially useful food, ironware, and wood.
At this time, the military-related decree of the Yanjing Shangshutai meeting had not even been delivered to Daming Prefecture.
Also because the Song army captured Shanghusha, a large number of civilians began to travel by boat to the undisputed Hebei region.
Zhou Bin, who led the civilians of the First A-Tun in Heyin, was one of them. As a civilian settlement in Heyin, this First A-Tun filled with refugees and veterans had always been affiliated with the Imperial Camp Navy. They knew several years ago that once a war broke out, they would have to undertake the corvee of transporting supplies to the Imperial Camp Navy.
But this time, the journey was obviously beyond their imagination... Within a few days, they followed the large ships of the Imperial Navy downstream and unknowingly became the first group of civilians to cross the river.
On the Yellow River, when the people on the boat gradually realized where they were going, some refugees from Hebei could not help but cheer on the boat and even burst into tears, while some refugees from the Central Plains seemed numb and puzzled, and some even shrank back in fear at coming to this unfamiliar place, Hebei.
As the head of the village and a county official, Zhou Bin stood up with his shoulder pole, intending to scold the cheering Hebei boys and comfort the Central Plains residents. But when he stood up from the boat and looked around, he saw countless ships, flags, soldiers, and civilians, and the outline of Hebei towns and markets in the distance. When he looked back and noticed the unchanging river flowing eastward under his feet, shining brightly in the sun, he seemed a little dazed.
I drew my sword and looked around, feeling confused.
Inexplicably, this heroic scholar who once boasted of being a man of both civil and military talents during the Jingkang Rebellion, but was quickly crushed to pieces by the times, the head of the first garrison in Heyin Jiazi, suddenly thought of this poem.
But soon, he thought of his wife in Hebei, his infant son, and his hometown that his father-in-law kept mentioning after a few cups of wine during every festive occasion... It seemed to be Guantao, but where was Guantao?
No one cares where Guantao is, at least not the bigwigs in Tokyo.
For Tokyo, this expected war came too hastily. The army marched hastily, the government hurried west, Yue Fei had already led his main force across the river, and Zhang Rong had seized the eastward flow of the Yellow River, but the city of Tokyo was still worried about countless troubles.
Not to mention that Prime Minister Zhang Deyuan had become cautious because of the previous memorial incident, and most of the other important officials were also working hard because of their previous serious mistakes... However, from the prime minister to the deputy ministers of the six ministries, they found that every time they tried their best to solve a problem, new problems would arrive in multiples.
It’s not their fault, really not their fault.
This year's autumn taxes in the south are still on the way to transportation, and they will immediately launch corvée labor in the four routes of the Central Plains... One prefecture, seven states, and thirty-eight counties in Jingdong East Road, four prefectures, five states, one army, and forty-three counties in Jingdong West Road, one prefecture, seven states, one army, and thirty-one counties in Jingxi Southwest Road, four prefectures, five roads, one army, and sixty-three counties in Jingxi Northwest Road, plus the sixteen counties of Kaifeng Prefecture itself, a total of thirty-eight counties and two hundred and one counties... Such a large-scale mobilization itself is unprecedented.
The Ministry of Revenue needed to count household registrations, conscript able-bodied men, and check supplies; the Ministry of War needed to measure military supplies and coordinate military equipment, from armor to bows and crossbows, from the military pay of family members in the rear to the selection and dispatch of reserve officers, everything had to be done with great care; because if there was any mistake, the Ministry of Works would directly send back.
The Ministry of Works was not deliberately making things difficult. They were responsible for directly connecting with the front line. As for military and national affairs, Emperor Zhao himself was already in Luoyang waiting to depart. Who would dare to delay things?
Even the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Justice were at a loss as to what to do with the wrangling at the local level and the assessment of officials. The Honglu Temple was intimidating the Koreans in Beijing day and night, and had to find time to discuss with the Ministry of War how to deal with the Japanese samurai who might arrive next month.
Under such circumstances, all the people from the Ministry of Rites simply went to the Privy Council to help.
For a while, in the whole Tokyo, except for the imperial gazette, everything was fine and the situation was magnificent. Today was the great victory on the river and the successful crossing of the river, and tomorrow the vanguard of the imperial camp would be approaching the daimyo mansion... However, after just two issues, with the slowness of military news from the front line, Hu Quan, the editor, didn't know what to say.
You can't say with a sullen face that Hezhong Prefecture has been conquered, right?
The Minister of the Ministry of Rites Wang Lun has complained to Hu Quan several times, asking why he didn't talk about the four counties captured by the front army of the imperial camp separately?
Four great victories, how awesome is that?!
Hu Quan only regretted that he had been too quick with his hands... And that evening, this world-famous editor pondered and sat until late at night, and only then did he write on the manuscript paper in front of him an article about the government personally coming to the river, and Hezhong Prefecture being surrounded on three sides and already in its pocket.
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