Not long after the navy of the Qi army was formed, even if it absorbed tens of thousands of Southern Song navy, it was still no match for the Southern Song navy.
After the Qi navy was driven out of the Huaihe River by the Southern Song navy, there was no obstacle for the Song army to cross the river.
Shi Zhaizhi had been holding a bad breath in his heart for several months, and finally it was time to take revenge on Zhao Tai.
At this time, the Song army who was preparing to force the crossing had already boarded the ship. As soon as Shi Songzhi gave the order, thousands of ships rushed straight to the north bank.
Although the Qi Army's navy was defeated, the Qi Army's infantry and cavalry were quite strong.
Shi Songzhi participated in the Huainan Campaign. At that time, he was defeated by the Mongols, but the Qi army turned the tide and ultimately changed the situation of the war.
Therefore, Shi Songzhi was more cautious about this river-crossing battle and did not dare to underestimate the Qi army, so he wanted to find a general to lead the front army.
In the military tent, Shi Songzhi glanced at everyone and asked in a deep voice: "The Qi pirate navy has been defeated. Now who dares to lead the front army across the river, defeat the Qi pirates on the north bank, and capture Lianshui City?"
In any forced crossing operation, the first wave of troops to cross the river and occupy the beach will definitely suffer heavy casualties.
Although the armies of the Southern Song Dynasty all obeyed the orders of the Lin'an court, as a soldier, sometimes it was inevitable to wonder whether the court's orders were right or wrong.
The Song Dynasty has always valued literature over military affairs. Even if the soldiers had the ambition to serve the country, they could hardly get the opportunity to display it.
The message issued by Zhao Tai had a great influence among the Song army. Many Song army officers felt the same way. They felt that Zhao Tai went to attack Mongolia but regained the mountains and rivers to realize their ideal of joining the army to serve the country. However, they unexpectedly attacked Zhao Tai, which was a bit unpleasant. Genuinely, shame on this behavior.
Many generals in the tent, either because they did not want to bear the casualties of the first wave of crossing the river, or because they did not agree with attacking Qi, kept their heads down and no one spoke.
Shi Songzhi frowned and his cheeks twitched. He looked at Jiang Wanzai and said, "Jiang Anfu, you are more suitable in your true form!"
When Jiang Wanzai was called, he could only step out of the queue and bow his head in salute, "Xiang Shi, I was only in charge of an army before and led less than 10,000 troops. Now there are tens of thousands of people crossing the river. I'm afraid I don't have this ability. Prime Minister Shi will use it." It’s a humble position, I’m afraid it will affect big things!”
Shi Songzhi's face fell as deep as water after hearing this. He had promoted Jiang Wanzai all the way. He had cultivated Jiang Wanzai for so long just for today.
In his mind, Jiang Wanzai was a more suitable candidate, but Jiang Wanzai was unwilling to help him share his worries, which made Shi Songzhi extremely unhappy.
"Prime Minister, I am willing to lead the front army to attack the Qi bandits!" Many generals of the Song Army were reluctant, but Shi Zhai was eager for revenge, so he volunteered.
Shi Songzhi looked at Shi Zhai and felt uneasy about him, but said with a smile on his face: "This time the 300,000 troops crossed the river to attack Qi. The chance of victory is crucial. The soldiers on the front line are also transferring military supplies in the rear. Shi Songzhi said Ambassador, you are familiar with the situation in Huainan, and I hope you will stay in Chuzhou and be responsible for transporting military supplies!"
Transporting grain and grass in the rear is not as enjoyable as commanding thousands of troops at the front.
Moreover, Zhao Tai was attacked from two sides, and the main force was in Hebei. The Song army's attack on Shandong was just to take advantage, and it was an opportunity to make a great contribution.
After hearing Shi Songzhi's words, Shi Zhaizhi felt a little unhappy and said resolutely, "Prime Minister, I am responsible for setting up envoys for the Huaihe system and controlling the Huai army. The commander of the former army should be appointed by me!"
As he spoke, Shi Zhaizhi suddenly knelt down and said: "Xiang Shi, that Zhao thief has repeatedly humiliated Xianguan and denounced him as a treacherous minister. Xianguan and his sworn enemies, please ask Prime Minister Shi to give Xianguan this opportunity. Xianguan is willing to issue a military order!" "
Seeing this, Shi Songzhi quickly left his seat and helped him: "Shi Zhizhi, please get up quickly."
However, Shi Zhaizhi knelt still and said, "Please also ask Shi Xiangcheng!"
Shi Songzhi's cheeks twitched, he pondered for a while, and then made a decision, "Okay! I will make you the commander-in-chief of the front army and lead the troops across the river!"
Shi Zhai was overjoyed, "Thank you, Prime Minister!"
Although Shi Zhaizhi is not the best candidate in Shi Songzhi's mind, the Song Army currently has an absolute advantage, and there is no big problem in letting him command the front army.
After deciding on the commander of the former army, Shi Songzhi immediately led the generals and quickly formulated a rather detailed plan to cross the river.
One day later, the Song army made some preparations, and Shi Songzhi immediately took Shi Zhai as the commander-in-chief of the front army and led the reorganized Huai army to cross the river as a vanguard.
The wind was rustling and the water was cold. Shi Zhaizhi led 50,000 Huai troops to cross the river in the first wave.
For a time, thousands of sails competed on the Huaihe River, and a huge fleet headed towards the north bank.
The navy of the Qi army was defeated, and the fleet of the Song army crossed the middle of the river without any interference. When they were about to reach the shore, the infantry of the Qi army stood on the shore and fired arrows at the fleet.
The arrow missed and was blocked by the hull, making a "doo" sound. The soldiers of the Song Dynasty were so frightened that they crouched down to avoid the missed arrow. However, Shi Zhaizhi was wearing armor and a red cloak, standing coquettishly on the building. The ship remained motionless.
Shi Zhai did not avoid missing arrows. Those bows and arrows seemed to have eyes and they did not shoot at him, as if there was divine help.
Seeing this, the morale of the Song soldiers on the ship was greatly boosted, and the crossbowmen began to fire arrows to fight back. An overwhelming amount of arrows were lost, covering the beach like rising dark clouds.
The Qi army had few soldiers and was suppressed by the Song army's crossbowmen. The Xuanwu army controlled Chang Yu. Seeing the Song army's sharp bows and arrows and numerous warships, he immediately ordered his troops to retreat.
Zhao Tai placed three armies on the north bank of the Huaihe River, of which 20,000 were naval troops and only 10,000 Xuanwu troops were infantry.
After the 20,000 navy troops withdrew from the Huaihe River, the 10,000 Xuanwu troops could not defend themselves at all and could only show off. They would certainly not be able to stop the Southern Song Dynasty's hundreds of thousands of troops.
Seeing the Song army crossing the river in large numbers, Chang Yu led the Xuanwu army to retreat towards Haizhou in an orderly manner.
At this time, the Southern Song Dynasty fleet successfully arrived at the north bank of the Huaihe River. Shi Zhaizhi looked from a distance and saw the Qi army retreating in the wild. He was immediately overjoyed. He pulled out his sword coquettishly and pointed forward, "Soldiers, break the Lianshui first, and then take it." Pizhou, rush for me!"
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A large number of Song soldiers boarded the north bank, roaring and charging forward. However, the Song troops were all infantry and wore dozens of kilograms of infantry armor, and they could not catch up with the retreating Qi army.
The Song army landed on the north bank and made some preparations. Seeing that the Qi army guarding the river beach had withdrawn, they began to attack Lianshui County.
The Song army that crossed the river gathered at the foot of Lianshui City. Shi Zhaizhi urged his soldiers to attack before the follow-up troops could bring in siege equipment.
"We will capture Lianshui within one day. I will stay in the city overnight!" Shi Zhaizhi said with high fighting spirit, brandishing his sword and shouting, "Come on, soldiers!"
The Song army, which had just crossed the river, made simple siege equipment and charged towards Lianshui.
The defenders in the city resisted for a long time with trebuchets and bows and arrows, killing thousands of Song troops. Seeing that more and more Song troops were landing and Lianshui was about to be surrounded, they broke through and headed north. The Song troops captured Lianshui before dark.
At this time, Shi Zhaizhi entered Lianshui City, climbed to the top of the city in high spirits, and said to his subordinates: "Tell Prime Minister that I will defeat the Qi army on the north bank and occupy Lianshui! Please follow up and cross the river immediately to follow me. March speed!”
The front army of the Song Army crossed the north bank, but it would not take a day or two for all the 300,000 troops to cross the river.
When Shi Songzhi saw that the former army had successfully crossed the river, he immediately ordered a pontoon bridge to be built on the Huaihe River.
It took six days for the Song Army to transport warships and cross the river on pontoon bridges, and the 300,000-strong army barely managed to cross. However, a large amount of baggage and provisions were still on the south bank.
At this time, the main force of the Song army was still crossing the river, but Shi Zhaizhi had already led the front army to march north, attacking the city and camp all the way, and reached the foot of Pizhou City.
