Jinting Han people

The counterattack was not only launched by the left wing army led by Liu Xian, but also by the right wing army led by Lu Zhi.

This plan to steal the city was actually something Liu Xian had revealed to Lu Zhi beforehand, and he was overjoyed when he saw that the plan had succeeded. At this time, his various units were entangled in fierce fighting with the left wing of the Zhao King's army, where Shi Yi was located. Although it was still a stalemate for the time being, this was actually something he had deliberately done.

Strategically, Lu Zhi adhered to the principles of integrity and righteousness, believing that strengthening the foundation and cultivating the source should be the primary goal, while harming the enemy and gaining profit should be secondary. Tactically, he followed the same principle: he would not deploy his most elite troops to the battlefield unless victory was assured.

Therefore, after an hour of fighting, he only allowed Liu Yuan to lead an infantry force composed of the defeated soldiers from the previous battle to resist, a considerable portion of whom were former Zhangwu troops who had mutinied. This arrangement made many people break out in a cold sweat, suspecting that a rout like the disastrous defeat at Huangqiao could occur at any moment.

But as it turned out, Lu Zhi's arrangements were flawless. Liu Yuan, with this hastily assembled ragtag force, actually managed to withstand the fierce attack of Shi Yi's troops. Liu Yuan's troops suffered heavy casualties, and even Liu Yuan himself was hit by more than ten arrows in his armor. Yet, facing such risks, Liu Yuan showed no fear, continuing to command his soldiers in battle as if observing the sea and listening to the waves. The infantry soldiers, seeing this, were all impressed by his spirit and followed suit, fighting to the death until the enemy's offensive subsided.

Seeing the commotion in Shi Yi's army, Lu Zhi immediately summoned Zhao Xiang and said, "General Zhao, are you willing to avenge this humiliation?"

Zhao Xiang's father, Zhao Jun, was one of the leaders of the Later Party Guard, and was tragically killed by Sun Xiu. Therefore, Zhao Xiang joined the Northern Expeditionary Army with a heart full of revenge. Although he had made some mistakes during the previous defeats and mutinies, he was generally the bravest among the generals.

Seeing that the situation had reversed and filled with a burning desire for revenge, Zhao Xiang immediately bowed and said upon hearing Lu Zhi's words, "Please give the order, Chief Secretary. No matter who they are, I will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Good!" Lu Zhi waved his hand, gesturing for him to look at the flank, and said, "The army is not lacking in armored cavalry, but compared to Zhao Ni, we have scattered them throughout the army, making it difficult for them to play a significant role. Today, I have gathered these thousand armored cavalry here, and previously kept them hidden, precisely to crush the enemy army in one blow! Go and lead the troops. This time, you must make the Hebei armored cavalry famous throughout the world!"

Zhao Xiang was overjoyed and promised again, "Rest assured, Chief Secretary, if I fail to avenge this humiliation, I will bring you my head!"

Having said that, he immediately positioned himself among the armored cavalry and said to them, "Follow me and fight bravely against the bandits! After this battle, whoever doesn't have the bandit leader on their hands will have to shave their skin off! I will do the same!"

After saying this, the gongs sounded, the war drums spurred on, and the soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army shouted and cheered, while making way for these armored cavalry. They trampled over the broken stones and withered grass and charged towards the left flank of the Zhao King's army, which was still struggling to hold on.

The Zhao army, already in a state of shock and doubt, had greatly reduced their fighting intensity. Suddenly, over a thousand armored cavalry appeared on their flank, charging forward like a thunderbolt. Completely caught off guard, they were torn apart almost instantly. The soldiers behind tried to counterattack, but the routed troops in front were pushed back, creating a dense, impenetrable mass, giving them no chance to retaliate.

Shi Yi never wanted to fight this battle; he was forced to come by Sun Hui's unauthorized advance. Seeing the defeat at the front, he immediately cursed, "That scoundrel has ruined my great cause!"

Li You, a captain who was accompanying the battle, asked Shi Yi what to do next. Shi Yi immediately replied, "The defeat is now irreversible, and we can only do our part."

"Each fulfills their destiny?"

"Let's run west first and get back to the river bridge! We'll get as many people back as possible!"

Having said that, Shi Yi didn't hesitate. He immediately turned his horse around and galloped towards the dark western horizon. The other guards were stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized that their commander was trying to escape! They spurred their horses and followed.

This flight quickly spread disorder throughout the entire army. Fleeing is an extremely cruel game; it may seem like a contest of who can escape the enemy's weapons, but in reality, it's a contest of who can outrun their comrades. There is no trust in fleeing. Thus, an army that was fighting fiercely not long ago, boasting of its certain victory, quickly turned into a river of spring water, flowing westward.

Once the left flank of the Zhao King's army collapsed, the morale of the remaining two armies naturally crumbled, and they completely lost the will to resist. Nearly a month ago, they had achieved a decisive victory against overwhelming odds, relentlessly pursuing the Hebei rebels and leaving the battlefield strewn with corpses and rivers running dry. This made them consider themselves invincible, referring to the soldiers of the Northern Expeditionary Army as "moth bandits," a mockery of their overestimation of their abilities and their willingness to fight like moths drawn to a flame. Little did they know that a month later, the roles would be reversed, and they would be the ones fleeing.

Liu Xian was commanding the left flank army. Seeing the enemy troops begin to flee in disarray, he knew that the overall situation was settled. Now, the question was how to expand the gains.

He immediately summoned Li Sheng and Zhuge Yan and said to them, "Now that our army has achieved victory, it is only the work of mediocre people to behead ordinary soldiers. There is also a tremendous merit to be made. Do you dare to take it?"

Li Sheng laughed and said, "If the lord has given any instructions, just tell us. Why try to provoke him with words?"

Liu Xian smiled upon hearing this, took out a portrait from his pocket, and handed it to them, saying, "This is a portrait of Sun Hui. I'll give you eight hundred riders. Don't worry about any of you. Head straight to Tongguan. There's a ferry crossing at Tongguan. I'm sure he'll cross the river there! If you can capture him, our mission will be accomplished."

Zhuge Yan was somewhat confused. He asked, "There are so many escape routes, why would he definitely go to Tongguan?"

Li Sheng quickly understood the reason and promised, "Please rest assured, my lord, I will definitely capture Sun Hui for you!"

Meanwhile, on Sun Hui's side, unable to withstand the provocations of the rebel army, he ordered a full-scale attack. Seeing Xu Chao and Shi Yi forced to join him in the advance, he felt an indescribable sense of pride and joy. However, as the fierce battle progressed and Ji County fell, his pleasure gradually faded, and panic welled up within him. He repeatedly asked those around him:

"Given the current situation, what should we do?"

This was a time when the commander-in-chief should have made a decision, but his question only left those around him bewildered. Sun Mao tried his best to reassure Sun Hui, offering some platitudes about remaining calm in the face of adversity and not losing his composure in public. However, he himself had no idea what to do next. It wasn't that he didn't want to escape, but of the three armies—left, center, and right—they were the first to launch the attack and were most deeply entangled with the enemy, making escape the most difficult.

But once the Shiyi tribe escaped first, the situation had deteriorated beyond repair, and even if it was difficult to escape, they had no choice but to flee.

Sun Mao had no choice but to say to his cavalrymen, "Go and fight! When we return to Luoyang, we will treat your families and parents well!" This was essentially sending his men to their deaths to buy time. The cavalrymen knew they had no other choice; fleeing would likely mean certain death. Staying might still be of some use, so they tearfully agreed, "Please keep your word, General. We will die without regret."

After saying this, more than a hundred cavalrymen spread out on the spot, creating a life-or-death line for Sun Hui and others, blocking the continuous stream of rebel soldiers, thus buying them a chance to escape.

With this layer of protection, Sun Hui and his men immediately fled, abandoning their flags and galloping westward without stopping. However, there were too many fleeing soldiers, who pushed and shoved, blocking their path like cotton trees, making their escape extremely slow. Some even saw that Sun Hui had a large number of armored cavalry with him and pulled on their horse's reins, begging their commander to give them a chance to escape.

How could Sun Hui possibly agree? In desperation, he had no choice but to establish his authority by killing these men one by one in public, thus silencing any further obstacles in their path. The group then ran for another quarter of an hour, and as the number of fleeing soldiers around them dwindled and the sounds of battle behind them grew fainter, they gradually breathed a sigh of relief. Looking back, they could see that the two rebel armies had converged, completely surrounding the remaining troops. If they had run even a quarter of an hour later, they might never have escaped.

But this does not mean safety. At the same time, it can be seen that many rebel knights have scattered and are hunting down the fleeing soldiers, but they are still some distance away from them for the time being.

Therefore, Sun Hui and his group still dared not relax. They left the main road and deliberately headed into the forest. The rebel army arrived in Ji County at noon, the formal battle began at 1-3 PM, and the general offensive started at 1:45 PM. Now it was almost 5-7 PM, which was dusk. In addition, it had been drizzling and the sky was gloomy, so they decided to stay in the deep forest until dark before escaping. At that time, the pursuers would have torches, making it easier to identify them in the dark.

Sure enough, about an hour later, night fell. After crossing the forest, they could still see some firelight in the distance, but it was far away. Only then did they discuss their next escape route.

Sun Mao said to Sun Hui, "Marshal, we now have three paths."

“One option is to head directly west. We will gather the defeated soldiers along the way and travel through Huojia, Wude, Huai County, Wen County, and Heqiao. We will travel more than 300 li and escape back to Luoyang.”

“One way is to go south to Tongguan, where there are boats. Once we get there, we can cross the river directly to Xingyang.”

“One option is to go east to Yanjin, or we can cross the river south to Xingyang.”

Sun was somewhat puzzled and asked, "What's the difference between these roads?"

Sun Mao analyzed, "Going west is the longest route, but we can gather some of the defeated soldiers and defend the river bridge from a strategic position, so that the enemy army won't be able to rush to Luoyang in one go."

“Going south is faster; we can get there in about an hour on horseback. But the enemy might catch up there, and if we abandon our troops, we'll probably be held accountable by the court.”

“Going east to Yanjin and then south is risky, but in my opinion, it will be unexpected by the enemy, so they will definitely not set up defenses. Going that way is actually the safest.”

After listening, Sun Hui pondered silently. The first option he would abandon was heading east; he was terrified and dared not take any risks. Heading east seemed like the best course of action, but the thought of the long and arduous journey, the constant fear before reaching the river bridge, and the responsibility of gathering the routed soldiers and continuing to fight the Hebei rebels made him somewhat anxious.

Thinking it over, the only option left was to head south to Tongguan and cross the river. So he decisively said to Sun Mao, "Hey, let's go to Tongguan. Since the enemy could follow at any time, we need to hurry. Don't worry about being punished by the court. My father is the Grand Secretary, the current prime minister. What can he do to me?"

Sun Mao was slightly disappointed, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. Theoretically, he should have assisted Sun Hui in halting the defeat and reorganizing the army. But now, he didn't understand how he had lost, which made him somewhat fearful. He also didn't know which general was in charge of this battle. But whoever it was, he didn't want to face him again.

Having made up their minds, the group hurried south under the cover of night. Sun Mao was quite capable; as the night cleared and some stars appeared in the sky, he used the Big Dipper to determine his direction. Fortunately, he didn't take a lot of detours like Sima Ying did during his escape. He said he could reach Tongguan in an hour, and he did reach Tongguan in an hour.

Despite its name, Tongguan was actually just a small checkpoint, a small ferry crossing used in ancient times to transport copper from Hebei to Henan. With the uprising of the rebel army, the checkpoint was naturally abandoned. When Sun Hui and his group arrived, they could only see endless reeds and a desolate, deserted outpost.

Fortunately, after walking a few more steps south of the checkpoint, they soon came to the ferry crossing. There were three small boats at the crossing, and a fisherman wearing a straw hat was sitting at the bow, fishing. Apart from that, there were only the rippling waves on the river and a gentle breeze blowing from the east.

Upon seeing the boat, Sun Hui breathed a sigh of relief. His group of about twenty men rushed forward, intending to seize the boat. The fisherman was startled and quickly got up, throwing down his fishing rod. He shouted, "Where did you come from? Why are you trying to steal my boat? This boat isn't mine. Do you know whose boat it is?"

Sun Hui, feeling like he had nowhere to vent his anger, stepped forward and grabbed the fisherman by the collar, saying, "Haha, do you know who I am?"

"Who is it?" Surprisingly, the fisherman's face was somewhat young.

Sun Hui disregarded all else and loudly proclaimed, "Haha, don't be too surprised to hear this! My father is the current Prime Minister, Grand Secretary, one of the four chief priests of the Celestial Masters Sect, and the greatest contributor to the suppression of the Empress Dowager's faction! His name is Sun Xiu!"

At this point, he couldn't help but feel a little smug, after all, he had learned to avoid using his name like a cultured person. But before he could finish speaking, Li Sheng pulled out a short knife from his sleeve, pressed it against Sun Hui's chest, and sneered, "I've been waiting for you!"

After saying that, he whistled into the air, and hundreds of cavalrymen suddenly sprang out from the reeds, surging out like a flood and surrounding them.

Thus, the Second Battle of Huangqiao ended with the capture of the enemy general Sun Hui. Despite suffering more than 4,000 casualties, the rebel army beheaded more than 8,000 of Zhao Wang's troops, captured more than 8,000, successfully crossed the Qingshui River, and occupied Ji County.

For the Hebei rebels, after this battle, the only things that could stop them were the Yellow River and Mount Mang. (End of Chapter)