Chapter 315 The territory of the Kingdom of Jin shrinks again
Wanyan Zongfu stood at the height of the military camp, looking at the city wall of Datong Mansion in the distance, his brows furrowed. The long siege had exhausted the Jin army, but Datong Mansion still stood firm. He knew that a change of strategy was needed.
Returning to the main tent, Wanyan Zongfu immediately wrote an urgent message and asked Wanyan Zonghan to mobilize the 200,000 troops stationed in Zhending to march westward and attack Datong Mansion from both sides. The messenger rushed quickly to deliver the letter to Yanjing.
In the Imperial Palace of Yanjing, Wanyan Zonghan fell into deep thought after receiving Wanyan Zongfu's request. He understood Wanyan Zongfu's predicament, but he hesitated to mobilize Zhending's army.
"Your Majesty, if Zhending's army advances westward, the siege of Datong Mansion may be solved." A counselor suggested cautiously.
Wanyan Zonghan shook his head, "With the loss of Datong Mansion, there is still the natural barrier of Taihang to protect Yanjing. But if the Song army takes the opportunity to capture Zhending, there will be plains all the way to the north, and the Song army can directly attack Yanjing. We can't take the risk This risk.”
The counselor was speechless after hearing this. Wanyan Zonghan's worries were not unreasonable. The importance of Zhending's army is self-evident. Once mobilized, Yanjing's defense line will become extremely fragile.
Wanyan Zonghan's decision put Wanyan Zongfu into a dilemma. He stood in the tent with a solemn expression. "Your Majesty rejected my request." He said solemnly, with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
The generals were talking a lot and were confused about the next direction of action. Wanyan Zongfu took a deep breath and tried to calm down the anxiety in his heart.
He knew that as the general, he had to make a decision and find a way out for the Jin Army.
The night was dark, the lights in Wanyan Zongfu's camp were brightly lit, and the soldiers were busy arranging their armaments in preparation for the next battle. However, they did not realize that a disaster was coming quietly.
Wang Zaixing wore a black cloak and quietly approached the Jin Army camp. His eyes were sharp, like a falcon in the night sky, watching every move of his prey. Behind him was a group of Song Army elites also dressed in black. They moved quickly and silently.
"General, everything is ready." A deputy general reported to Wang Zaixing in a low voice.
Wang Zaixing nodded slightly, with a sneer on his lips, "Tonight, we will let the Jin Army know how powerful the Song Army is!"
In the night, the Song army sneaked into the Jin army camp like ghosts. They set fire, killed people, and robbed. For a time, the Jin Army camp was in flames, and wailings could be heard one after another.
Wanyan Zongfu was discussing tactics with the generals in the camp when he was suddenly alerted by the commotion outside. He rushed out of the camp and saw the Song army descending from the mountain like tigers in the light of the fire, while the Jin army soldiers were retreating steadily.
"What's going on?" Wanyan Zongfu roared, but his voice seemed so weak in the chaos.
"General, we were attacked!" A general came panting to report, "The Song army attacked at night and our men and horses suffered heavy losses!"
Wanyan Zongfu's heart sank. He looked around and saw that the Jin Army soldiers were in a panic and could no longer organize effective resistance. He knew that there was no point in persisting at this time.
"Send the order, the whole army retreats!" Wanyan Zongfu reluctantly gave the order to retreat.
The soldiers of the Jin Army abandoned their weapons and armors and fled the camp in a hurry, taking only their personal belongings. In the night, their figures gradually disappeared into the darkness in the distance. Wang Zaixing stood on a high place, watching the Jin Army's fleeing back, with a victorious smile on his face, "In tonight's battle, the Jin Army's vitality was severely damaged, and we won a precious fighter plane!"
The soldiers around him cheered. They knew that this victory was hard-won, and they knew that this victory would have a decisive significance for the next battle.
However, Wang Zaixing did not relax his vigilance. He knew that Wanyan Zongfu was not an easy person, and the Jin army would never give up. "Send the order and strengthen the vigilance to prevent the Jin army from counterattack!"
As expected by Wang Zaixing, Wanyan Zongfu did not give up the opportunity to counterattack after escaping from the camp.
He quickly gathered the remaining defeated soldiers and set up camp again not far from the main camp, preparing to wait for an opportunity.
The two sides faced each other in the night, with no one daring to launch an attack easily. Until dawn, Wanyan Zongfu saw that there was no hope of counterattack and had to order the entire army to withdraw to Yanjing.
On the way to Yanjing, Wanyan Zongfu felt extremely heavy. He looked at the exhausted and demoralized soldiers around him, and his heart was full of helplessness and frustration. He had lost so miserably in this battle, not only losing a large number of men and horses. and supplies, and also lost the important strategic location of Datong Mansion. How could he explain this to the emperor? How to face the people and soldiers of the Jin Kingdom?
However, he knew that now was not the time to blame himself and be depressed. He must cheer up and lead the soldiers to retreat safely to Yanjing, and then plan a counterattack. Thinking of this, he cheered up and shouted: "Soldiers, hold on! We will definitely be able to Return to Yanjing!”
At the same time, Wang Zaixing also led the Song army to follow closely, intending to take the opportunity to eliminate more of the Jin army's effective forces. The two sides launched a fierce pursuit battle.
Both sides made huge sacrifices in this pursuit, but in the end Wanyan Zongfu led the remaining Jin army to successfully escape back to Yanjing, while Wang Zaixing also gave up and did not continue the pursuit. He knew that at this time Although the Jin army is exhausted, it still has strong combat effectiveness. If it pursues blindly, it may be surrounded by the enemy.
In the Imperial Palace of Yanjing, Wanyan Zonghan was furious after hearing the news of Yan Zongfu's defeat, "What happened to you? How could you lose to the Song Army?"
Wanyan Zongfu knelt on the ground, bowed his head and admitted his mistake, "Your Majesty, I was responsible for neglecting my duty. Please punish me."
Wanyan Zonghan couldn't help but feel regretful when he saw that this general who had made great achievements in battle had now ended up like this. But he knew that now was not the time to hold people accountable, "Get up, the most important thing now is how to save the situation."
Wanyan Zongfu stood up, a trace of determination flashed in his eyes, "Thank you for not killing me, Your Majesty. I will do my best to save the defeat!"
Wanyan Zonghan nodded, "Go down and rest your troops and wait for new opportunities. Remember, our Jin Kingdom will never give up easily!"
Wanyan Zonghan stood at the door of the main hall, watching Wanyan Zongfu's heavy back fade away.
His face looked worse than before, and his brows were furrowed, as if he was thinking about Daikin's future.
The loss of Datong Mansion was a heavy blow to the Kingdom of Jin. The territory shrank again, and the dignity and strength of Dajin seemed to be weakened bit by bit.
He wanted to start an all-out war with the Song Dynasty and regain the lost territory and dignity in one fell swoop. However, he also knew clearly that the current Jin Kingdom was no longer the country that could compete with the Song Dynasty. Years of war and internal strife have greatly reduced the country's strength.
