A person's minor emotions in war may seem insignificant, especially when his position in the army seems so insignificant.
In fact, no matter what emotions and thoughts there were, they soon became unnoticed, because just one day later, the silence on the Huaihe River battlefield, or the previous flashy and seemingly fierce battle of hearts and minds, was completely over, and was replaced by a real military action - the Jin army began to build a pontoon bridge and tried to cross the Huai River!
Moreover, there is no doubt that almost everyone knows that over the past decade or so, the Jin people have risen to this point by relying on this trick... They are barbaric and rude, they are not as smart as their opponents, they do not have as many opponents as them, they do not understand what Sun Tzu's Art of War is, they only know how to use hunting methods to deal with wild beasts, and even when necessary, they will only fight hard!
However, they are the winners every time!
All honor and morality, human calculations, strategies and equipment, even civilization and the system itself, were wiped out by the Jin people in the final showdown with real swords and guns!
In fact, compared with his predecessors, Zhao Jiu’s previous performances on both sides of the Huaihe River are really not worth mentioning. The key still lies in the military operations themselves.
This time, if the Jin army is really blocked at the Huai River line, no matter how badly the Song army is beaten, then Emperor Zhao's actions may still have the hope of becoming the prelude to a great era; but if Jin Wushu makes a fool of himself but finally succeeds in crossing the river and actually cuts off Zhao Jiu's head and leaves... then Emperor Zhao's previous performance can only become a joke.
"This must be because the emperor issued an order a few days ago that the envoys to Huaibei were robbed on both wings." On the Xiacai City, looking at the starting point of the floating bridge less than two miles east of the city, Tian Shizhong, who was fully armed, almost blurted out. "Jin Wushu is really capable in using troops. He tolerated the provocation of Lord Taishan in the front, and then realized that there might be a righteous army coming to help, so he immediately crossed the river. It can be said that he acted decisively!"
However, General Zhang Jun, who was also wearing full armor, just looked in the direction of the pontoon bridge without saying a word and did not respond to his son-in-law's words.
"Captain." Another general of Zhang Jun's army, Liu Bao, could not help but grit his teeth and say more. "The morale of the people in the city is still high, and there is no obstruction along the Huai River embankment. Should we take the initiative to attack? If we can destroy the front foundation of the floating bridge, it will be a great achievement!"
"No!" Zhang Jun had no expression on his face and shook his head repeatedly. "The Jin army deliberately came so close and opened this road... It may seem like only two miles, but even if all the two or three thousand people in the city were sent away, they might not be able to pass through."
"What about a night attack?" Tian Shizhong lowered his head and thought for a moment, then asked again. "Wait until dusk, make a feint here, then hang more than a hundred death-defying warriors through the water gate and sneak along the river bank..."
"This plan might work." Zhang Jun shook his head. "But I'm afraid it won't be in time..."
"What do you mean?" Zhao Ding, who had been silent the whole time, nodded repeatedly, but was shocked when he heard this. "Could it be possible that this floating bridge can be completed in one day?"
"It won't be done in one day." Zhang Jun turned his head and replied seriously. "It will probably take half a day. By the time the sun sets, thousands of elite soldiers will be able to cross!"
Zhao Ding was speechless in shock.
"What Zhao Damu doesn't know is that the Huai River is wide and narrow. The Jin people cut down trees temporarily, and the wood was not polished and dried, so it was impossible to make a ferry. However, after drying, it can be made into safe things such as wooden boxes and cabins. The rafts are put on and connected with ropes. So if there is no obstacle, the floating bridge can be built at any time!" Tian Shizhong hurriedly explained. "And the Jin army's courage to fight is extraordinary. When I was fighting in Hebei that day, I saw with my own eyes that tens of thousands of Jin troops, led by the second prince of the Jin Kingdom, Wulibu, openly took off their armor in winter, rode on horses and waded through the river, and did not care about the lives of livestock, soldiers, and even the lives of the nobles of the Jin Kingdom..."
At this point, Tian Shizhong could not help but pause for a moment, and then he added one more sentence in Zhao Ding's astonished expression: "At that time, Liang Shicheng, one of the six thieves, was the commander. He originally thought that he could resist the Jin army across the river. However, when he saw that Wuliebu, one of the most powerful people in the Jin Kingdom, was the first to cross the river on horseback, he was so frightened that he fled without a fight, and the army of more than 100,000 people was defeated at the first touch! And the fourth prince of the Jin Kingdom, Wushu, who is outside the city today, was also a general under Wuliebu. I don't think that in just one year, he has lost the courage to cross the river on horseback himself. I am afraid that once the floating bridge is completed, he will force the entire army to cross the river at the risk of his life."
Zhao Ding's face turned pale when he heard this, but he was speechless.
Come to think of it, what could Zhao Yuanzhen and Zhao Damu say at this time? He knew that the foundation of this battle was the official of Bagong Mountain in Henan, and he also knew that the success or failure of this battle depended on whether the Jin army could successfully cross the Huai River. He also knew that even if it was to protect themselves in Caicheng, they should try their best to prevent the Jin army from crossing the Huai River... But the problem was, didn't Zhang Jun, Tian Shizhong, and Liu Bao know?
They also knew it, and they had made efforts in the past few days, and they also had some ideas now, but the Jin people ignored them before and did not give them a chance now... Or, Zhao Ding himself knew very well that with Xiacai City and Huainan Camp separated, since the Jin army chose to cross the Huai River instead of attacking the city, the pressure should have been borne by the Huainan Camp, and Xiacai City could not do much.
Zhang Jun looked at it for a while, then turned back with an unchanged expression, and asked another question: "How is the renovation of Neidu going?"
"It's still very slow!" Tian Shizhong quickly replied. "The key is that there are too many debris deposited in the water, which is extremely difficult to salvage, and there is a shortage of staff..."
"Send more manpower, work day and night... the artillery vehicles can slow down a bit; in addition, the entire army must be on guard and no one is allowed to go into battle without my personal order!" After Zhang Jun gave all the instructions he could, he immediately turned around and went down the city.
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