Volume 1 Chapter 80: Decisive Battle (Part 2)
As soon as the Jin cavalry rushed out, the blue flag was raised on time, but for Wang Sheng, the front-line commander who had already received orders from Han Shizhong, it still felt too late.
In fact, Wang Sheng was already furious after the attack from the Jin army. When he turned around and saw the blue flag raised, he hurriedly gave orders, asking his two lieutenants, Yue Chao and Dong Min, to lead a thousand men each to split into two wings according to the plan, while he led the remaining thousand men to flee eastward in embarrassment.
This is a typical strategy of luring the enemy deep into our territory and outflanking them from both sides.
However, it is always perfect to think about things, but it is extremely difficult to actually do them... Although Wang Sheng gave the order and put it into action, the imperial guards who came to support the front line of Dazhai and the various troops of Han Shizhong's central army were out of control due to the huge casualties caused by the Jin army. Therefore, when they heard Wang Sheng's signal from a distance, Yue Chao and Dong Min retreated together, but were surprised to find that their flags were crushed to the same side by the Jin cavalry!
The so-called two-wing encirclement immediately became a joke.
Of course, at this point, this idea was no longer important. Because as the three general flags retreated together, and the Jin army's armored knights came out, the front part of Wang Sheng's army was in chaos and completely lost its control. Countless soldiers and horses threw away their helmets and armor, and they were entangled with each other, splitting into small groups and exploding instantly, allowing the Jin army to chase, kill and hunt them from behind.
Obviously, as the experience gained from countless battles with the Jin people showed, the so-called pre-planned strategy of feigning defeat to lure the enemy would almost always result in a real defeat.
The reason why I say "almost" is because Wang Sheng's headquarters was at the back, that is, the easternmost position, and did not suffer too many casualties. In addition, Wang Sheng himself has always been prestigious, so this small half of about a thousand troops was not completely out of control. They were still able to maintain their formation, maintain their weapons and equipment, and followed Wang Sheng to rush eastward... but there was no doubt that they were in a state of panic.
Back to the present, Puluhun was waiting for the enemy to tire out, using cavalry to counter infantry. With a brave charge of 1,500 cavalrymen, the 3,000 Song soldiers on the east side of the camp almost collapsed. However, unlike Jin Wushu who was watching from a distance and laughing ecstatically in the central army, he did not neglect it at all. On the contrary, after the chisel worked, the chief Meng'an under Wanyan Wushu looked around for a while, and after seeing the surrounding situation clearly, he did not hesitate at all, but ordered the whole army to gather again to chase Wang Sheng's army, the only one in front that could still maintain a somewhat compact formation.
This was the responsible behavior of an excellent cavalry general and was also a natural choice... More than a thousand infantrymen, with their backs to almost the same number of cavalrymen, fled in embarrassment, yet they managed to maintain their organization. At the same time, the cavalry had broken through the blockade of the camp and entered the wilderness, and should have swept away the large number of enemy troops that remained in organization around the camp.
From any perspective, even out of human animal instinct, Puluhun had no reason to let go of the Song army that was fleeing with its back turned to him.
Thus, as Puluhun raised his hand slightly to signal, the black magpie flag began to wave vigorously in the center of the battlefield, causing the Jurchen cavalry who had succeeded in their attack to shout and scream. They gave up on killing the scattered Song army on both wings of the front line, and gathered under their flags again to form a sufficient formation.
Immediately, it slowly accelerated for the second time following the flag and continued to rumble eastward!
On the river bank, Yang Yi Zhong did not dare to be negligent in the slightest, but he also did not dare to violate Han Shizhong's arrangements. He mounted his horse, held the flag himself, and stared at the situation in front of him. Only after the Jin cavalry started again and the entire tail had completely left the range of the camp did he stop hesitating and personally waved the second yellow flag.
Wang Sheng, whose helmet had been knocked off, saw the yellow flag waving from afar and immediately turned his head back, but couldn't help but smile bitterly... The Jin army's cavalry was behind him, and his thousand good men were basically infantry. They would probably be attacked from behind and suffer heavy casualties while fleeing. How could they make any effective tactical moves as planned? It was good enough to escape.
Of course, Wang Sheng, who had nine black dragons tattooed on his body, was Han Shizhong's trusted general in the central army. He had served in the army for more than ten years and traveled all over the country with Han Shizhong. He was decisive and courageous. In addition, he knew the arrangement early on and knew better than anyone where the chance of victory was. So, in desperation, Wang Heilong gritted his teeth and held back his thoughts, and continued to lie on his horse and slowly lead the entire army forward to the predetermined location.
During this process, the Jin cavalry had already caught up, and the screams came from far away. Wang Sheng fell on his horse, tears flowing down his face, almost forming a line along the horse's mane, but he didn't even dare to turn his head. He held on until he reached the designated location, then he pulled his horse back and turned, leading the remaining troops with the flag to the north!
The Jin cavalry continued to charge forward, and the last organized Song infantry that had previously besieged the eastern camp was also severely damaged. The general named Wang under the Wang banner, who was the main siege commander in the east, was completely confused and moved away from the battlefield... It can be said that with the Jin army's successful charge again, they have completely wiped out the enemy who raided and besieged the east this morning!
After these two successful attacks, even Puluhun, who was always cold-faced and stern, trembled all over and could not help but roar loudly on his horse. He felt that the depression he had felt for the past two months was almost swept away.
However, in the next moment, when the large group of Jin cavalry continued to swing eastward due to the inertia of their horses, preparing to encircle Wang Sheng from the further east to the north...suddenly, the Jin army discovered that as Wang Sheng walked north, a well-prepared crossbow position was exposed on the eastern edge of the battlefield!
The Jin army was so focused on pursuit that they were caught off guard and exposed their flank to the archers!
That's right, this army was the Destroying Army under Han Shizhong. The nominal number of soldiers was 2,000, but the actual quota was 1,200, which was slightly less. Almost all of them used hard bows and crossbows. The leading general was called Jie Yuan, who was from the same hometown as Han Shizhong and was also the most senior general under Han Shizhong. This person was like Wang Gui under Yue Fei under Han Shizhong. Therefore, it goes without saying that this army was elite and brave enough to fight, and was rewarded and treated well, and equipped with weapons.
When Jie Yuan saw that Wang Sheng had sacrificed countless lives to complete the mission of luring the enemy, he did not hesitate at all. He raised the bow in his hand and asked the guards beside him to wave their flags and directly ordered to shoot.
All of a sudden, the troops that were lined up in a staggered manner launched their weapons together, with waist crossbows, double flying crossbows, divine arm bows, and the enemy-killing bow that Han Shizhong developed himself based on the divine arm bow, and even a bed crossbow, almost all shooting at the same time, but thousands of arrows were fired in an instant!
Saying that a thousand arrows were fired at once may not sound as impressive as saying that ten thousand arrows were fired at once, but how staggering would the damage be if a volley of arrows was fired at the unsuspecting cavalry flank at close range?
Not to mention, at this time, the Jin army had not yet had time to digest the armor technology of the Song army's craftsmen. Although everyone was wearing armor, the horses were rarely equipped with armor. If the armored cavalryman's horse was hit by an arrow and fell down while galloping, how could the knight survive ? Therefore, with this round of more than a thousand arrows that were actually aimed at the horses, the Jin cavalrymen exposed in front of the Chui Pian Army formation immediately fell off their horses and fell into a pool of blood!
It can only be said that the amount of blood loss and the suffering after the injury of the warhorse were much more stimulating than the struggle of the Jin army knights themselves.
At this time, the war horses in the front were neighing and the wounded were wailing, but the Jin cavalry in the rear were simply unable to stop their horses. Some people even continued to scream and charge forward, which caused a certain amount of trampling.
Just like this, the Cui Pian army hid here and accumulated strength for an attack. Just one round of volleys caused the loss of at least two to three hundred Jin cavalrymen in one encounter!
However, in a panic, the Jin army suffered heavy casualties due to the sudden attack, but Puluhun remained calm despite his anger. He was the first to rein in his horse, and after determining the battlefield situation at a glance, he personally seized the large black magpie flag, and lowered the glittering spear head of the flag slightly to the east. Then he personally held the flag to the east and led the cavalry... as if he wanted to destroy this daring Song army!
After all, in his opinion, although the arrangement of the Song army was brilliant, the problem was that the general surnamed Wang pretended to be defeated while luring the enemy and turned it into a real defeat... Without the support and encirclement of the infantry, this elite crossbow army lost their lives in vain!
At the same time, according to the plan, the Cui Pian army could have left, but Jie Shanchang (Jie Yuan's name), who had just witnessed the Jin cavalry wantonly killing Han Shizhong's central army in front, had no intention of leaving.
After Han Shizhong's most trusted confidant shot an arrow with his enemy-killing bow, he saw that the Jin army remained unshakable and immediately adjusted its position and marched towards his own position without any intention of wavering.
On the contrary, at this moment, Jie Yuan glanced and saw the red flag waving on the high ground of the river bank in the distance, but he actually lowered his head, and regardless of the approaching Jin army, he calmly stepped on the ground and loaded the second crossbow arrow into the Ke Di bow (both the Ke Di bow and the Shen Bi bow were crossbows), then raised it again and nodded to the guard holding the flag beside him.
By this time, many Jin army knights had already rushed to a distance of only a few dozen steps from the Cuipian army's position as ordered, and were preparing to shoot arrows. Seeing this situation, some of them gritted their teeth and bravely moved forward, successfully stepping on the Song army's position while shooting arrows. Some others were almost frightened to death, and turned around and tried to flee without even using their bows and arrows!
No matter what, as the military flag with the words "Cui Pian" was waved and fell forward, the Song army's second round of volleys was finally successfully fired... Although the effect was far inferior to the first round, it still brought huge battlefield casualties to the Jin army, which originally had a total of only 1,500 cavalry, and finally stopped the momentum of the Jin cavalry for the second time!
Speaking of which, when they broke out of the stronghold, they charged and were hit by crossbows twice. The Jin cavalry were not gods, and their combat strength had been reduced to barely a thousand. If it were the Song cavalry, they would have been defeated long ago... However, the Jin army was good at hard battles and emphasized strict military law. They continued to move forward under the command of Puluhun, who had to change his horse because his horse was shot by an arrow... The officers commanded with confidence and killed those who retreated recklessly. The ordinary knights stepped on the blood of their comrades and their mounts, trying to force forward and trample this elite crossbow force that they hated so much into mud.
On the crossbow position, some of the Cui Pian Army began to waver even though they knew there would be no third round of cavalry archery. However, Jie Yuan, the commander of the Cui Pian Army, who was the only general under the flag of the second army on the battlefield, remained calm. Under the watchful eyes of thousands of people, he threw away his bow and arrows, drew his sword, jumped out of the position, and led his personal guards forward to engage in hand-to-hand combat. Naturally, the Cui Pian Army flag followed suit... Seeing this, the surrounding soldiers were so encouraged that they followed suit!
Not only that, further north, Wang Sheng's military flag was also turning around for some unknown reason.
A mere general, without saying a word, just drew his sword and stepped forward, and he actually made an army of archers and crossbows stand their ground in front of the cavalry!
When Puluhun saw this general, he recalled what he had seen in the river that day. He was so angry that he laughed instead. He then personally rode his horse, held the flag like a gun, and prepared to go there in person to get this man!
Not to mention how the two generals cheered up, don't forget that, in fact, as early as when the Jin army was hit by the first round of arrow rain, Yang Yi Zhong and Yang Dalang, who saw from afar that the Jin army's momentum had stopped, could not wait to wave the red flag in his hand!
The reason why Xie Yuan was so calm and brave was that he knew very well that once the red flag was waved, his brother Han Shizhong would arrive immediately. And since Han Shizhong was coming soon, given that the enemy army was only a thousand people, according to Xie Yuan's twenty years of military experience, there would be no battle in the world that could not be won!
Sure enough, Puluhun had just arrived at the front line in person, and before he engaged in battle with the Song general, he instinctively sensed the ground shaking, and then his face changed drastically... Previously, Wang Sheng fought desperately to turn the Jin army's head to the north; then he destroyed the Jin army twice and shot at it, causing huge casualties to the Jin army; the Song generals' outstanding courage; plus the illusion that only the Jin army had organized cavalry on the battlefield... made this veteran of the battlefield ignore some slight movements that he should have noticed earlier.
At this time, after finally realizing that something was wrong, Puluhun was shocked to find that in the south of the battlefield, a cavalry group that should have been hiding behind the river bank had already crossed the river bank and came to the flat ground, and had already accelerated!
Moreover, unlike his previous ignorance of Wang Sheng and Jie Yuan, this cavalry of only about 700 to 800 people had two flags in front, one was a large flag with the word "Han" on it, and the other was a flag with the word "Beiwei" on it. Puluhun knew their background at a glance:
Among them, Beiwei is the name given to the personal guards by the Xixia people. It is not clear whether it was named so because the Xixia personal guards often needed to carry shields to accompany the commander, or because they needed to carry wine jugs as rewards at any time. However, the Song army fought countless battles with the Xixia army and gradually were influenced by the culture. It was common to name the personal guards in this way. Puluhun fought countless battles with the Song army and naturally understood the meaning of Beiwei!
As for the flag with the word "Han" on it, it goes without saying that it must be one of the two actual commanders of the Song army, Han Shizhong, who came in person!
Han Shizhong was a famous general, and the Beiwei Army was the best of the army. Even if Puluhun was brave and proud, he would not underestimate the enemy. Not to mention, the Song cavalry had already increased their speed, and the Jin cavalry was successfully tricked and stuck in front of the formation, unable to turn around.
However, at this moment, Puluhun also acted decisively. He looked back and saw a general behind him, who was desperate and shouted loudly: "Ali no!"
"I am here!" Ali was unaware of the crisis and responded immediately.
"Lead your own Mouke, and the two Mouke from Xiao Luo who were assigned to you to command before, and push forward to the south with me!" Puluhun shouted at the top of his lungs.
Ali looked south instinctively. He knew Han Shizhong's name, and he also knew that Han Shizhong's 800 cavalrymen had already completed their march. At this time, his own Meng'an asked him to take three Mouke to meet the enemy, which was basically to let him be a meat shield... However, there was no room for hesitation on the battlefield. Out of the will of an outstanding soldier, he just looked south instinctively, and immediately ordered the three Mouke he led to fight southward!
"The rest of you, don't worry about destroying the enemy's side. Follow me, turn north, kill Wang Sheng, then circle back and attack this bastard Han Wu!" Puluhun was relieved when he saw that Ali did not obey his orders. He ignored the rumbling of horses' hooves and the Song cavalry that were about to rush to him while he was speaking, but he struggled to hold his Wuque flag spear, trying to mobilize the remaining troops to turn around!
However, the chief Meng'an under Wanyan Wushu had finally gathered the remaining cavalrymen, about five or six hundred people, who had received military orders one after another. When he was about to circle back, he suddenly heard a deafening yet extremely familiar noisy sound behind him!
The rumbling sound of cavalrymen's trampling, shouts of killing, neighing of war horses, the harsh sound of clashing swords, the sound of heavy objects falling to the ground... You don't need to look to know that this is the final fatal blow of Han Shizhong, and since Ali is not on good terms with the three Moukes, it can be said that he is beyond help.
However, Puluhun could not help but look back, and he was overjoyed again. It turned out that although Alibu's three Moukes had suffered countless casualties, they had actually used their bodies to withstand the charge of Han Shizhong's 800 Beiwei troops! The Song army's Han character flag and the Beiwei army flag were simply blocked by Alibu's life at a distance of only a hundred steps!
"What a good man of our Jurchens!" Puluhun's blood boiled and he shouted repeatedly, but he continued to order the rest of the cavalry to follow him back from the north.
However, before he could continue to rejoice, the next moment, Puluhun could see that a Song general with a huge frame and a strong body had already jumped out of Alibu's human flesh formation on horseback, as easy as a tiger leaping over a flock of sheep. This man was fully armored and had a cowhide mask on his face, almost dressed like Puluhun himself. Logically, Puluhun could not recognize who this man was!
But for some reason, when the Song general looked from afar and pointed his gun, Puluhun realized from the other party's lightning-like gaze that this person must be Han Shizhong!
This person must be the culprit that caused the current situation!
This person must be one of the two commanders of the Song army in front of us!
This person is the backbone of the new emperor of Zhao Song!
This man is the bravest and most famous general in China today!
Kill this man, and this war will end! You can also become famous throughout the world!
With his blood boiling, Puluhun advanced instead of retreating. He clamped the flag that looked like a spear with his arm, let out a loud roar, and headed south with all his might, facing the Song general head-on!
Not only that, seeing the commander's counterattack, more than a dozen guards instantly realized the commander's intention and jumped on their horses to follow.
Han Shizhong jumped out of Alibuluo's formation on his horse and saw the enemy's main general accepting the challenge with more than ten riders, but he said nothing and only led three or five riders to charge without reducing their momentum.
But in the blink of an eye, the two generals came forward. Han Shizhong first gritted his teeth and tried his best to block the opponent's thick and long flagpole with his long spear. Then he let go of the long spear and slightly stretched out his right arm, pushing the opponent's flagpole with his shoulder and collided with the horse! The armor plate above his arm rubbed against the flagpole, and there were sparks. It was obvious that the two generals were fast. And because of the torque problem, the gold general was pushed by Han Shizhong and couldn't exert any force!
When the two horses met, Puluhun just felt the force on the flagpole loosen, and was about to turn around and sweep, but unexpectedly Han Shizhong on the opposite side did not move his right arm, and directly grasped Puluhun's entire waist along the flagpole, then let out a loud roar, and pulled... and actually pulled the Jin army general up from the horse like pulling an onion!
Puluhun was in the air, losing all his strength. He was terrified and astonished that there was such a brave man in the world... But he didn't have time to think about it anymore. He felt like he was flying in the clouds and was thrown out by the opponent. Then he fell alive in front of the iron spears and horse hooves of his own guards behind him... He felt so painful all over that he saw black in front of his eyes and couldn't get up immediately.
The surrounding Jin army generals were stunned, and as Puluhun and his banner disappeared from the battlefield, the Jin cavalry, which had already been exhausted, injured, and attacked, could no longer hold on . Therefore, as Han Shizhong ignored the people on the ground behind him and turned back to support his own Beiwei cavalry, the Jin cavalry, who had lost their last bit of strength, finally took advantage of the situation and fled north, just as the Song army had demonstrated countless times before, abandoning their weapons and weapons and fleeing in embarrassment!
At the same time, on the battlefield to the east of the Jin army camp, all the troops were under Han Shizhong's command. They saw their commander's flag appear at the forefront at the critical moment as usual, while the flag of the Jin army cavalry commander disappeared in front of them. How could they not know that Han Shizhong's plan was successful and the battle was a great victory?
After defeating the bandits, Han Shizhong did not stop and led his army westward, joining forces with other troops and charging into the empty Jin camp himself... As a result, the Song army, which had been scattered all over the land, cheered and gathered around the flag of General Han and headed westward. Even the civilians who were watching the battle on the Huai River and Yang Yizhong and others on the riverbank were all excited when they saw this turning point.
In the end, as Han Shizhong showed off his military power and personally led his troops to march forward and sweep the area, the cheers from all around were as loud as thunder, shocking the whole country!
At the same time, on the westernmost side of the battlefield, an unknown distance of several miles away, Emperor Zhao was looking at the stalemate in hand-to-hand combat right in front of the city. How could he know that this battle had already been won and that a great victory was about to take place?
On the contrary, when he heard the thunder-like sound from the east, he was a little flustered, but he couldn't help speak... After all, the officials below the Yutang Bachelor and the Chief Censor naturally did not include the emperor himself.
"Lin Qing, what do you think this sound means?" Emperor Zhao was afraid of disturbing people's hearts, so he could only ask in a low voice to the person closest to him.
When asked, Mr. Kobayashi opened his mouth to speak, but his mind was blank the whole morning and he had no idea what to say, so he could only remain silent.
