The advantage of cavalry lies in mobility and surprise attacks when the enemy is unprepared.
Zhao Tai led the cavalry south, intending to raid the advancing Song army, but the Song army was already prepared and the army was marching in formation. Seeing that there was no chance, Zhao Tai led the cavalry and quickly returned to Pizhou.
After returning to Pizhou, Zhao Tai immediately ordered a high platform to be built in the eastern suburbs of Pizhou.
The next day, before the main force of the Song army arrived, 10,000 Qi troops and horses formed a formation outside the city. After more than 50,000 prisoners had breakfast, they were also asked to leave the camp and stand under the high platform.
While the troops and prisoners were arrayed, thousands of Qi army infantrymen and civilians began to dismantle the camps in the eastern and southern suburbs and transport tents and supplies into Pizhou City.
Near noon, Zhao Tai killed three animals in the suburbs to offer sacrifices to heaven and earth. Then he climbed to the high platform, formally read the proclamation, and raised troops to appease Nan.
Before Zhao Tai sent troops to Hebei, he asked Yuan Haowen to write two propaganda articles, one about the Northern Expedition and the other about the Qing Dynasty.
The Northern Expedition chapter had already been announced to the world before the expedition to Hebei, but the Qingjun side chapter had not been published because the time was not ripe.
Now the Song army crossed the Huaihe River and took the lead in attacking Shandong. Zhao Tai was forced to counterattack, and it was time for Fengtian to be in trouble and Qingjun side.
At this time, flags were fluttering on the high platform, soldiers were surrounding the high platform, and the atmosphere was solemn.
After Zhao Tai offered sacrifices to heaven and earth, he began to read the proclamation aloud.
"Husband Shi Song is the traitor of the Song Dynasty! The thief used traitor to flatter his country and stole a high position! The evil of the thief will not be forgiven."
"I will now enumerate my crimes, and our soldiers and people will listen attentively! It is the first crime to make peace with Mongolia. It is the second crime to abandon the people of the Central Plains. It is the third crime to recognize the captives as my father. It is the third crime to cut off the aspirations of our people. The fourth crime is the crime of framing loyal and good people and excluding dissidents, the crime of the fifth crime. The crime of obstructing the Northern Expedition and being willing to serve as a minister of Hu is the crime of the sixth crime. The crime of being disrespectful to the soldiers and provoking a war is the crime of the seventh crime. The crime of deceiving the emperor is the eighth crime. It is the Song Dynasty. It is a crime of nine if the prime minister does not contribute to the affairs of the Song Dynasty. It is a crime of ten if he prohibits trade and makes the people poor!"
"The thieves abandoned our people in the Central Plains and ruined our people's ambition to recover. They have no ridges on their backs and are willing to serve as hawks and dogs of the barbarians. Seeing that our heroes are determined to recover, they do not want to help, but collude with the Tartars to destroy them."
"Ugh, the bamboos in Qingnan Mountain are full of sins; the water of the Yellow River is full of sins!
! "
"Ugh, since the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has been in decline. By the Five Dynasties, Shi Jingtang cut off Yanyun to feed tigers and wolves, and regarded himself as the son of the emperor, making the Han people look up to the barbarians for more than three hundred years!"
"Ugh, our clan will always be the slaves of the barbarians, treating ourselves as sons and ministers, how can we sleep peacefully overnight?"
"I often think about the glory of our people in the Han and Tang Dynasties. Our current difficulties are not due to our army, our people, and our race being weaker than the Tartars. It is probably because of the historical thieves who seize high positions and do not do anything for the Song Dynasty when they are the Prime Minister of the Song Dynasty. It’s a Hulu thing!”
"If I want to carry out the important task of restoration, I must first eliminate the internal bandits, and then eliminate the Tartars from the outside to restore China!"
"Today, I worship great righteousness and feel the hardships of my family. I entrust the spirit of my great ancestor to respectfully carry out heaven's punishment and declare my righteous words. I tell all my soldiers and recruit my fellow soldiers. I will provide peace to heaven and fight against the traitors of the country together."
"As pointed out by the righteous master, if you kill one person, once the original evil has been eliminated, don't ask any questions. Those who have partisans, evil friends, and are willing to be rebels will be killed without mercy! Those who are spies will be killed without mercy! Those who resist the righteous soldiers will be killed. No pardon! Promote your kindness widely, and reward it with talismans. This is a message to the world!"
…
After Zhao Tai finished reciting the motto, Xu Erzhu in the audience immediately pulled out his sword, raised it high and shouted, "Qing Jun! Kill the traitorous officials! Fengtian Jingnan!"
More than 10,000 Qi troops in the audience immediately raised their weapons and cheered in unison, "Qing Jun, kill the treacherous officials! Fengtian Jingnan!"
The Qi army shouted in unison, and their voices reached the sky. The morale of the soldiers was high and their blood was boiling.
The shouts of the Qi army reached the Song army camp in the western suburbs, and Shi Zhaizhi and others couldn't help but turn pale.
When Jiang Wanzai heard the words "Qingjun side! Fengtian Jingnan!" and other words, Jiang Wanzai couldn't help but feel heavy.
Previously, the Song army provoked, but the Qi army had actually been relatively restrained. They did not even attack the Song army when the Song army was provocative, but chose to attack Mongolia in the Northern Expedition.
After the Song army crossed the Huaihe River and took the lead in launching an attack on Shandong, the Qi army did not express its position.
Today, the Qi army finally waved its own banner, "Qingjun side, Fengtian Jingnan", and once this banner is raised, it means that one of the two sides will fall.
If Shandong cannot be conquered in this battle, then the Qi army will not be satisfied with driving the Song army across the Huaihe River, but will attack Lin'an.
This shocked Jiang Wanzai's heart.
In the eastern suburbs, the soldiers of the Qi army shouted loudly, and the more than 50,000 prisoners who were asked to stand at the swearing-in ceremony were in a somewhat embarrassing situation.
They looked at each other, and when they were hesitating, Zhao Tai waved his hand, and Qi Jun stopped shouting.
Zhao Tai then stepped down from the high platform, and the Qi army's infantry lined up and entered Pizhou City, while the cavalry mounted their horses one after another.
The prisoners standing in the field couldn't help but wonder why no one came to arrange for them to return to the camp for dinner when the Qi army dispersed.
At this time, Zhao Tai rode up to the prisoners, glanced at everyone, and then said loudly: "Soldiers of the Song Dynasty, the traitor is about to lead an army to attack King Gu. Gu does not want to kill any more soldiers of the Song army, so he decided to retreat thirty miles. I can’t take you with me now, so I’ll let you go back. I hope we won’t meet on the battlefield in the future!”
As soon as these words came out, the prisoners started talking, but Zhao Tai did not give them time to discuss. He directly pulled the reins of the horse and led the cavalry to gallop away.
Shi Songzhi led the main force of the Song army to the north. In order to maintain the advantage of the cavalry, Zhao Tai naturally could not let the Song army surround him in Pizhou.
Therefore, he left Xu Erzhu to continue to defend the city, while he led Wanqi to stay on the outside of the battlefield.
As a result, after the main force of the Song army arrived, if Shi Songzhi attacked Pizhou, he would lead his cavalry to harass, making it impossible for the Song army to attack the city with peace of mind.
If Shi Songzhi sent troops to pursue him, Zhao Tai could rely on the advantage of the cavalry to walk the Song army near Pizhou and wait for the Qi navy to take action.
Zhao Tai didn't hesitate at all. Without saying a word, he led the cavalry away.
Tens of thousands of captives in the wilderness were stunned for a moment, and many of them were still waiting to return to camp for dinner.
Now the Qi army ignored them and the camp had been demolished. The prisoners looked at each other and walked south one after another.
Although there was a Song army camp in the western suburbs, the prisoners were treated favorably by Zhao Tai, and after hearing the message just now, everyone felt a psychological burden to continue to help the Song army in the battle.
Therefore, except for a very small number of officers who took some people to the western suburbs and took refuge in Shizhai, most of the prisoners and civilians went south and wanted to return to Huainan.
South of Pizhou, hundreds of thousands of Song troops were advancing northward in a mighty manner. As they were about to approach Pizhou, a crowd of people suddenly appeared in front of them.
This shocked the Song Army. Didn't it mean that the main force of the Qi Army was in Hebei? Why are there tens of thousands of people coming from the wilderness?
The forwards of the Song army stopped quickly and formed a formation on the spot. But when the others came forward and took a look, they were dumbfounded. They were all prisoners without weapons and armor, as well as Huainan civilians who were not transporting food for them.
