The garrison on the riverbank did not relax, and the harassment of the Jin army also appeared from time to time.

In the confrontation across the river, there were mutual casualties, and the Jin soldiers would lurk in the snow near the river bank, endure the biting cold, waiting for the opportunity to shoot cold arrows at the Song soldiers who left the ice wall and came to the shore to stir up water and push the ice, while the Song soldiers would counterattack with bows and crossbows while the opponent showed their heads, or shoot aimlessly at the opposite bank at any time.

This kind of temptation was staged everywhere, from day to night, and the casualties on both sides were not small at first, and when the situation of the other side was gradually clarified, the casualties decreased rapidly.

When the day passed, the night came, and it became colder.

Although the soldiers of the Song army are fully armed, cotton clothes, cotton pants, cotton boots and gloves, but in the wind and snow for a long time, the heat on their bodies is still taken away little by little, and they can bear it for an hour, and they must be active for more than an hour, otherwise their hands and feet will be frozen.

The Jin soldiers on the other side of the river are not as equipped as the Song soldiers, and they are far from being warm and cold-resistant, and lying in the snow for half an hour is already the limit, and the vast majority of people have to quietly retreat and slip away after lying on the snow for a few quarters of an hour, otherwise their hands and feet are frozen and they want to act again, it is easy to be discovered by the Song soldiers.

Although the temperature is low during the day, the Jin soldiers without cotton clothes can still bear it, but at night, the temperature is even lower, and the heat loss on the body is serious, few of the Jin soldiers can reach the river bank to ambush, for the task assigned to them by the superiors, they can only perfunctory in the dark, anyway, it is impossible for the superior officers to risk the front line of the river bank.

The goal of the Song army soldiers stationed on the river bank was very clear, that is, to block the Jin soldiers and prevent anyone from escaping from the canal, so the number of Song army garrisons on the river bank at night was not much less than during the day.

This is a contest of perseverance and patience, but also a contest of equipment and logistical supply capabilities.

On the first night, the Jin army did not know the situation of the Song army on the other side, and did not dare to sneak across the river, let alone break through, while the Song army spent the night safely in several rotations.

There was nothing to do all night, the next day dawned, both sides of the canal were still quiet, especially the east bank of the canal, white and silent, the west bank ushered in another shift change, the cold and sluggish defenders left, ate a hot meal, and the soldiers who were 100 times more energetic took over the post of guarding the river.

An hour later, the two sides of the canal entered the second day of the standoff.

The Jin army could not know the intentions of the Song army, and did not know how many Song troops there were on the other side, so they never dared to move lightly, and only tried sporadically, hanging the emotions and nerves of the Song army.

But thirty miles to the south, the two armies of Song and Jin met in the wilderness, and when the two armies met, there was nothing to say, since they did not escape or avoid, the final result was to meet them head-on.

Most of the Ming Fu's army had withdrawn from the transportation camp before, and the remaining 8,000 defenders suffered a lot of losses in the entanglement with the Jin army, and their morale was low.

The other armies withdrew without fighting, although they were ordered, they still held their breath in their hearts, after all, the Jin army seized their big camp, so that they could only live in temporary camps, not eating and sleeping well, the key is that they have no face.

What a beautiful scenery they were in Guanzhong back then, attacking the city and conquering the land, never retreating, which one came to the north, there were not a few hard battles, and even the big camp was lost, if it spread, their face would definitely be lost.

Therefore, when they found that a Jin army was heading south in the snow and chasing after them, they immediately decided to counterattack and give the Jin army a little color, so that the Jin army knew that the retreat a few days ago was not because they were afraid of them.

Ming Fu didn't forcibly persuade them, nor did he send too many troops, after all, now is not the time to fight hard, if you can win with skill, why risk your strength?

In the past two days, he is under the command according to Yang Congyi's intention to re-plan the position, using ice and snow to build a defensive position, with the cooperation of course, there is also a killing array, if the Jin army dares to break through, he will mercilessly kill the Jin army in the formation, after seeing the power of the Jingwu forbidden army, he is full of confidence.

The hand-to-hand combat between the two armies of Song and Jin on the wilderness and snow field was extremely fierce and very laborious, and at the beginning the two sides were still full of anger, full of strength with a knife and a gun, and after half an hour, they were all deflated, and they couldn't run or move, as if their legs, feet, and hands were not their own.

As a result, the two sides almost unanimously separated, the Jin army went north, and the Song army went south, and soon broke away from the battlefield.

Both sides were unwilling and dissatisfied with this battle, and they both felt that the other party was obviously not better than themselves, so why couldn't they have an advantage in the fight? Can't beat the other side quickly?

The snow on the wasteland is very thick, hand-to-hand combat, any army will be substandard, combat effectiveness will be reduced to varying degrees, combat effectiveness will be reduced, slow knife out, slow action, naturally can not hurt people, and can not kill people.

The generals of the Song army, who had fought hard and did not return victorious, felt very faceless, and did not even want to say anything in front of other generals.

"Don't be discouraged, isn't it just that you haven't won, and on the other hand, aren't you also undefeated? Are you still not satisfied? Ming Fu said with relief.

"My lord, he bragged that he would win a big victory, and made a bet with us that if he didn't win, when the Northern Expedition was won, he would invite all of us to the most famous Qinglou in Bianjing and listen to the first prostitute singing. This is a lot of money, I am afraid that he will have to take out all the money he has accumulated for many years and the reward money given to him by the imperial court, and it is estimated that he will still have to owe debts. Brothers, I can't bear it! The general said that he couldn't bear it, but the corners of his mouth turned upwards uncontrollably.

"I think this bet is a joke, brothers, don't take it seriously, if it were me, I wouldn't be able to take this money." There are generals on the side, yin and yang weird arch fire.

"Yes, don't take it seriously, it's just a bet, so what to do seriously, it's all about money, who doesn't feel distressed, right?" Another general echoed.

The invincible general listened to the words of others, his face became more and more ugly, and finally he couldn't help but say loudly: "If you say it, splash out the water, how can it be reasonable to bet, the Northern Expedition is victorious, Lao Tzu will invite you to Bianjing Qinglou, I will cover the cost!" ”

"What are you all messing about? The Northern Expedition is a major national event, and even the emperor has personally marched to Jinan Mansion, which you used to bet? Since some people win the bet, are there still people who lose the bet? Ming Fu saw that the more they made trouble, the more disagreeable they became, and immediately spoke out to stop them.

"If you bet on winning or losing a war, you bet that you can win this game, and he bets that he will lose this game, what will be the consequences, will someone deliberately fail to contribute to the war in order to win the gambling game, or make trouble? Remember I said before that gambling is not allowed in my army, so you should all turn a deaf ear? Mingfu's tone was stern, and gambling was not a trivial matter.

A serious gaze swept over everyone's face, and then he said, "All of you will be fined for a month!" From today onwards, there will be more gambling in the army, and they will be severely punished! ”

"My lord, we are just joking, we didn't take it seriously!" was suddenly fined for a month, and some generals felt very aggrieved.

As soon as the words fell, other generals immediately echoed: "Yes, my lord, we are just talking, not serious." ”

Ming Fu said: "I don't care if you take it seriously or not, whether you are joking or not, gambling is absolutely prohibited, and you, as a commander and general of an army, should set an example." Okay, let's not talk about this matter, let's get down to business and talk about the war situation. ”

After speaking, he unfolded a map on the table, which was a map with a radius of 100 miles in the center of the transportation camp, and the rivers, roads, villages, and towns on the map were all clear.

Then Ming Fu pointed to the map and said while gesturing: "Yao Shuaibu is here now, and in two days, he will arrive at the predetermined location." The remnants of the Haizi Village camp and the Jingwu Forbidden Army, which were personally commanded by the marshal, were setting up a defensive line along this canal to prevent the Jin army from fleeing westward. And most of the defensive positions we have set up in Matou Village and in the direction of the Xianghe River have been completed, and in another day, we will be able to complete it. If nothing else, the 40,000 Jin army surrounded by our army will be wiped out in a few days. But now there is another problem, that is, a loophole, Matou Village. Matou Village is the narrowest part of the entire canal, and if the Jin army guesses our intentions before we complete our deployment, they will attack Matou Village with all their strength and fight for a way out. The marshal handed over Matou Village to us to garrison, and sent 5,000 elite forbidden troops to assist, this place must not be lost! What do you think, if the Jin army attacks Matou Village with all its might, how will it be defended? ”

When it came to the battle situation and the war, the generals quickly adjusted from the state of being reprimanded and did not dare to speak, and one of the generals said: "My lord, since the troops of Matou Village are weak, it is possible for the Jin army to attack with all their strength from here, we can adjust the deployment of troops slightly and strengthen the defensive forces of Matou Village." ”

"No, since it is possible for the Jin army to attack Matou Village, crossing the river from Matou Village, it is more likely to attack the Xianghe River directly, don't forget that there is no river barrier from here to the Xianghe River, and the county seat of Xianghe is not strong. I think we should go out to lure the Jin army into our pre-set position, and as long as we defeat them in one fell swoop, whether it is Matou Village or Xianghe, we will no longer be threatened by the Jin army. Immediately, some generals refuted and expressed their opinions.

"The Jin army will not be all fools, our position is so obvious that as long as there are people who don't want to die, it is impossible to break in. It is not appropriate to put all our hopes on the killing formation, we should consider it from the position of the Jin army, figure out how they may choose, and then we will make adjustments according to their choice, whether to reinforce Matou Village, or strengthen the killing formation, don't forget, the battlefield should fully consider both the enemy and us. ”

Another general directly deviated the issue, and Ming Fu immediately said: "Don't talk too far, the whole battle situation has been decided, and the overall situation no longer needs to be discussed." What we want to discuss is how to defend Matou Village if the Jin army attacks Matou Village with all its might, and how to wipe them all out in Matou Village. ”

"Then you can only desperately or transfer troops to support, 15,000 people fight 40,000 people, to be honest, it is not easy."

"How to fight, how to support, use your brains, think more, you won't panic when you really get to the battlefield." Ming Fu said.