Jinting Han people

Sima Yi could clearly see the immense destructive power of Liu Xian's army as they charged towards Nanfeng, even from several miles away.

He remained standing on the mound in front of the emperor's carriage, continuing to observe the changing situation on the battlefield. However, his forces had dwindled considerably. After Liu Xian led the central army to attack, only about 20,000 men remained to protect the emperor on the right flank. This was a considerable number, but on the current battlefield of Mangshan, it seemed insignificant.

From the direction of the North Peak, it can be seen that half of the Northern Army's right flank has been deployed. Even though it is only half, under the sunlight, the Northern Army soldiers are like a huge golden wave, continuously launching attacks on the left flank of the Imperial Guard. The battle line is constantly twisting and changing, sometimes breaking apart, sometimes closing in, sometimes overflowing, and sometimes calm.

It must be said that Ji Shao's performance was better than Sima Yi had expected. Even if he believed in the resilience of the Imperial Guards, faced with such a disparate numerical disadvantage, Sima Yi, with his competitive nature, inevitably felt he was struggling to advance. Yet, faced with the relentless onslaught of waves, the left wing units were like a silent reef; each wave would wear down some of their edges, but they remained silently standing, without retreating an inch.

This made him look at Ji Shao with new respect, and he thought to himself, "Ji Yanzu is truly a man of great talent!"

Looking back at the battle at Nanfeng, Liu Xian's Songzi battalion had already broken through three enemy lines. They weren't concerned with inflicting heavy casualties, but instead launched a slow yet resolute charge towards the summit. The Northern Army soldiers along the way, seeing this, continuously attempted to intercept and block them. After passing Qian Xiu's spear formation, the rear began to send out archers to fire targeted shots.

Ordinary archers were manageable, unable to breach the defenses of Songzi Camp, but some crossbows were extremely deadly; a row of crossbows loaded with armor-piercing arrows was difficult even for those in bright armor to withstand. When Sima Yi saw over a hundred crossbowmen unleashing a barrage of arrows at the armored cavalry halfway up the southern peak, his brow twitched. A moment later, seeing Liu Xian unharmed and Guo Mo and his men having routed the crossbow formation, a relieved smile flashed in his eyes.

As Liu Xian relentlessly broke through the South Peak's lines, the cavalry following behind pressed forward, filling and tearing apart the gaps created by his advance. Compared to the vanguard, they moved faster and achieved equally significant results, holding fast to each torn section of the line, making it difficult to heal. Moreover, it was visibly clear that each failed counterattack by the South Peak army further demoralized them, as the Imperial Guard's cavalry's formidable breakthrough capabilities had exceeded their expectations.

Of course, it also exceeded Sima Yi's own expectations. He couldn't help but lower his head and glance at the expressions of the officials around him. Their faces were also filled with amazement. Although these officials and nobles handled all matters large and small in the country and affected the lives of millions of people across the land, they had never seen such a spectacular scene of slaughter before.

Prince Sima Shi of Pengcheng said, "Today I have seen what a good man who goes into battle to kill the enemy is."

Sima Yang, the Prince of Xiyang, had a past grudge against Liu Xian, but he couldn't help but praise him, saying, "If Lord Liu were a little more humble, he would be impeccable."

Sima Yue, the Prince of Donghai, murmured, "If we win this battle and he has made such a great contribution, how should we reward him?"

Upon hearing this, Sima Yi frowned slightly but remained silent. He had indeed pondered this question, and sometimes he didn't quite understand what Liu Xian was pursuing. This person seemed indifferent to everything, simply adhering to his principles and taking things as they came. But could anyone truly be without desires? Upon closer reflection, it seemed not, because Liu Xian often displayed an extremely strong will to win in the face of difficulties. Thinking of Sima Ying's previous betrayal, a slight shadow fell over Sima Yi's heart.

However, now is not the time to think about this. Although everything is progressing as expected, with both flanks advancing smoothly, there are still too many people involved in the battle, and the Mangshan battlefield is too vast. The battle has been going on for nearly two hours, but ending this battle will probably not be an easy task.

Furthermore, Sima Yi noticed a detail: so far, the Northern Army appearing on the battlefield, whether on the left or right flank, consisted almost entirely of infantry. Did the Northern Army not have any cavalry? During the campaign against Zhao, Ye City had mustered over ten thousand cavalry. Could it be that after two years of preparation, their strength was not as great as it was back then? This was entirely impossible.

Therefore, after a little thought, Sima Yi quickly guessed the truth: Lu Ji had not yet used his full strength, and he was waiting for a suitable opportunity to use this cavalry reserve as a force to turn the tide of the battle and change the overall situation.

Where would he deploy his troops? Sima Yi watched the battlefield intently, speculating in his mind. If he were Lu Ji, he would likely have deployed his cavalry when the Nanfeng battlefield was on the verge of collapse, directly repelling Liu Xian's offensive at its peak. As the saying goes, "One effort is enough, but a second weakens, and a third exhausts." After the first offensive failed, it would be very difficult for the Imperial Guards' cavalry to mount another counter-offensive.

But this was a risky choice. Would Lu Ji do it? Sima Yi was unsure, after all, failure would mean the end of the game. If Lu Ji wanted to achieve more with less effort, he might use another strategy... Sima Yi glanced around at the surrounding terrain, then looked back at the emperor behind him, and had a fairly certain feeling.

Just as he was weighing the situation, the soldiers watching from afar cheered. Sima Yi looked up and saw that the Songzi Camp had broken through another barrier. Now, the vanguard of the Songzi Camp was only two battles' distance from the summit of the South Peak.

Sima Yi noticed, however, that while the Imperial Guards' vanguard remained sharp, their numbers were likely insufficient, and as the battle lines stretched, reinforcements were becoming increasingly inadequate. Furthermore, seeing the left flank struggling, Lu Ji eventually transferred 10,000 men from the right flank to reinforce it. This caused the Imperial Guards' precarious line, while not exactly crumbling under the onslaught of the Northern Army infantry, to show signs of danger.

Seeing this, Sima Yi immediately became alert. He knew that he had reached a critical juncture. Should he send reinforcements from his own forces, or should he trust Liu Xian to achieve victory directly? The success or failure of the left flank was crucial to the overall situation; to be on the safe side, sending reinforcements was the best option. But what if, as he suspected, the key to the Northern Army's victory was not at Nanfeng, but at the location of the Emperor's carriage?

A thought struck him, and he turned to Sima Yue beside him, asking, "Minister, how many crossbows do we have left in our army?"

Sima Yue said, "Each of the five departments is equipped with eight hundred crossbows, totaling approximately four thousand crossbows."

This number of crossbows was enough to cause a great deal of trouble, and Sima Yi immediately had an idea. He immediately ordered Wang Hu, Miao Yuan, and Cao Wu: "Gentlemen, leave the crossbows in the formation and rush to support Lord Liu. Do not let the enemy army catch their breath."

After the three divisions went to provide support and joined the battle at Nanfeng, he said to Sima Yue, "Sikong, go and set up all the crossbows. We'll set up an ambush on the mountain."

Then he personally directed the deployment of troops, utilizing the various blind spots in the Mangshan terrain, and setting up battle formations among the trees and hills. The officials around him, seeing the sudden preparations for battle, couldn't help but feel uneasy. Xing Jin Gongyang Xuanzhi asked, "General, what is the meaning of this?"

Sima Yi laughed and said, "Gentlemen, don't worry. I'm just waiting for the rabbit to run into the tree stump! If I'm not mistaken, our army has this battle in the bag." After saying that, he stopped talking and listened carefully, focusing his gaze on the foot of the South Peak. He had a premonition that the enemy was probably very close.

Indeed, just as he was speaking, Meng Chao's troops, who had followed Lu Ji's orders to flank from the side of Mangshan Mountain, were now located at the southwest corner of Mangshan Mountain, less than two miles from Sima Yi's position.

From the start of the great battle, Meng Chao harbored the intention of delivering a fatal blow, waiting until the entire army was engaged in fierce fighting and the defenses around the emperor were weak before launching his attack.

Fearing discovery by the Imperial Guards of Nanfeng, they deliberately kept their cavalry ranks small. The group trudged along the steep mountainside, their steps hesitant and unsteady. Though the path was winding, they maintained a clear objective: the location of the Emperor's chariot. Atop the chariot stood a twelve-tiered, five-colored canopy, two zhang high, extremely conspicuous on the mountaintop, like a torch in the night, drawing them ever forward.

After two hours of stealthy movement, they successfully circled around to the southwest corner where the imperial carriage was located without encountering any obstacles. Meng Chao sent men to scout the area around the imperial carriage, and the scouts quickly returned and reported: "Commander, the imperial carriage is surrounded by about ten thousand men, but not many cavalry."

Meng Chao was overjoyed upon hearing this. Ten thousand men was indeed a considerable number, comparable to his own forces, but his troops were all cavalry, a force the enemy could not match. He could almost picture the triumphant scene of capturing Sima Yi alive before reaching the imperial palace. He then encouraged his men, saying, "My men are the elite cavalry of Hebei, killing people like chickens! Sima Yi is nothing but a petty scoundrel relying on Liu Xian. The General has hated him for a long time, and we will surely avenge him!"

His deputy, Zhang Kai, was a brave general specially assigned to him by Meng Jiu. He was eight feet tall and strong enough to lift a cauldron. At this moment, he patted his chest and guaranteed, "I will definitely live up to the Commander's mission!"

So the group reorganized their ranks and re-formed their formation, accompanied by the sound of a horn. Like fallen leaves swirling in the air, Zhang Kai led thousands of cavalrymen in a swift charge uphill. Although there were some stones and obstacles on the hillside, it was not particularly steep. They passed through the desolate woods that blocked their view in a short time and suddenly appeared before the emperor, his officials, and Sima Yi.

No matter when or where, the charge of tens of thousands of cavalry is terrifying. The sound of iron hooves pounding the ground seems to make the mountains tremble. The grass and mud kicked up by the horses' hooves are kicked up and splashed up. A damp smell of autumn grass follows the dull thud of the hooves.

The imperial guards protecting the emperor were immediately alarmed when they saw such a large number of cavalry suddenly appear from their flanks and rear. However, to Meng Chao and his men's surprise, they did not break their formation. Instead, at the command of their officers, they quickly raised their longbows and fired arrows at the charging Northern army knights.

The Imperial Guards had a large number of arrows, but when they landed among the Northern Army knights, their effect was negligible. Although the Northern Army lacked horses, resulting in a shortage of knights, Lu Ji had focused on improving the quality of horse armor and helmets. This meant that many of these knights were heavily armored, like the Songzi Battalion, and could charge freely even with a dozen arrows stuck in their armor.

Therefore, this insignificant counterattack not only failed to deter the Northern army, but also made the knights laugh heartily, believing they had gained an absolute advantage. They immediately gripped their long spears and charged into the enemy formation. Seeing this, even the armored soldiers at the forefront seemed to waver and become fearful; they collapsed at the first contact, everyone climbing upwards in escape, and the first line of defense quickly crumbled.

Seeing this, Meng Chao was overjoyed and shouted, "Kill! Seize the emperor and everyone will be made a marquis!" This sparked another round of cheers.

Everything seemed so natural. At this moment, Zhang Kai's vanguard was less than a mile away from the mound where the imperial carriage was located. It seemed that as long as they put in a little more effort, the battle would be over.

But at that moment, like rocks revealed by receding tides, a dense line of armored soldiers suddenly appeared on the slope shortly after the fleeing vanished. They stood close together, holding crossbows with cocked strings, the armor-piercing arrows gleaming with sharp edges. The moment the knights saw this, the hairs on their skin stood on end in horror.

The lead Northern cavalryman tried to rein in his horse to avoid the attack, but it was too late. The cavalry behind him continued to surge forward, unable to see what was ahead, only focused on advancing, even striking the horses in front with their spear shafts. The horses collided, leaving the lead cavalryman with no room to maneuver and no way to escape.

At a command, the Imperial Guard crossbowmen pulled the triggers, and thousands of armor-piercing arrows burst forth. The immense impact, like hail, knocked down the Northern Army knights in front of them. Almost instantly, hundreds of armored cavalrymen fell backward to the ground, their bodies and horses tumbling over each other, immediately halting the cavalry's offensive.

This development was completely unexpected by Meng Chao and his men, but with the emperor right before their eyes, how could they give up so easily? Thus, some brave Northern Army knights, disregarding the corpses of their comrades piled before them and the arrows lodged in their bodies, relied on their long-trained horsemanship to spur their horses forward, leaping into the air to fight. Led by Zhang Kai, they continuously spurred their horses forward, leaping and bounding, like fish suddenly jumping out of the water and then nimbly diving back in. A very few managed to leap into the Jin army's ranks, causing a stir among the onlookers.

Unfortunately, this chaos was not enough to shake the Imperial Guard's formation. The crossbows fired at a very slow rate, but now there were four thousand crossbows aimed at them from all directions. Whenever there was an opportunity, armor-piercing arrows would come flying at them, killing them quickly and leaving them with nothing but empty ambitions. Many of them didn't even know what had happened.

Meng Chao watched helplessly as his cavalry were ambushed and felled by crossbow bolts, only then realizing he had walked right into a trap. This seemingly insurmountable distance was practically impossible to close. He had no idea what to do next, and could only watch blankly as his men died one by one, without issuing any further orders.

When Zhang Kai finally broke into the Imperial Guard's ranks and was riddled with crossbow bolts, Meng Chao's troops could no longer hold out. Without orders from their commander, they turned their horses and retreated. But it was too late. Within moments, they had left behind thousands of knights' corpses before the imperial carriage. They had come full of confidence, but they left in utter disarray, unable to even maintain the most basic formation. People were swept along, fleeing in panic down the mountain, creating a chaotic scene where comrades jostled each other on the path, refusing to give way.

Sima Yi, on the other hand, was overjoyed to see the enemy army routed. He saw this as a golden opportunity to press his advantage and would not let it slip by. He ordered Chen Zhen to lead his troops to capture the fleeing soldiers and maximize the gains.

But everything happened too fast. After he gave the order, two unexpected variables appeared on the battlefield:

First, without his orders, Sima Yue's troops secretly followed Chen Zhen's troops down the mountain to encircle and pursue the fleeing soldiers.
Secondly, to the northwest of the main camp, a plume of dust gradually rose. This was not dust generated by infantry; judging from the frequency of the trembling ground beneath their feet, it seemed to be another cavalry force. And the direction they pointed remained steadfast, still towards the imperial carriage.

The newcomers were none other than Qiao Zhiming's Xianbei cavalry, whom Lu Ji had invited from Pingzhou. (End of Chapter)