Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 465: Iron Cavalry Appears, Swords and Guns Cry
Liu Huai, who was on a watchtower in the Jin army's Chao County camp, didn't know that Bi Jin, whom he had met several times, had died in battle. He just looked around the battlefield and tried to piece together the information through the cavalry coming and going.

The generals of the Jingnan Army were gathering their troops and preparing for the next offensive.

"Report! Commander Liang of the Chaohu Navy has sent a message: the Ezhou army is at a disadvantage on Turtle Mountain. We hope that the commander-in-chief will quickly send troops to rescue them."

"Go and investigate again to see if Hezhameng'an and the Beiwei Army are participating in the battle."

"Here!"

"Report! Jin reinforcements are arriving from the East Pass. The Huaixi army is splitting up to stop them. The remaining Huaixi army, numbering over 10,000, has crossed the Qingxi River and is heading west."

"Go investigate further. Under what banner are the Jin bandits coming from the East Gate flying? Who is their commander?"

"Here!"

"Report! I just saw clearly that the main force of the Jin bandit Wu Rui army, led by Han Tang, was besieging the Huaidong army in Tangshan. Although the Huaidong army's flag has not fallen, they have suffered heavy casualties. The military envoy who came with me to seek help was shot and killed by the Jin bandits on the way."

"Then go contact General Liu of the Huaidong Army to confirm the casualties and the movements of the Wurui Army."

"Here!"

He Boqiu wiped the sweat mixed with blood from his forehead. "So, the Jin thieves actually want to use Han Tang's 10,000 troops to stop our Jingnan, Huaidong, and Huaixi armies? This Jin lord Wanyan Liang is truly arrogant!"

Liu Huai shook his head: "It's all just a matter of exchange. The Ezhou army is already at a disadvantage. If the Wurui army can delay our progress and allow the main force of the Jin thieves to destroy the Ezhou army, even if the Wurui army is defeated or even annihilated, what will it matter?"

He Boqiu sneered and was just about to say that it was only because Liu Qi was not careful that he was almost defeated. The Wu Rui army had more than 10,000 people, and they wanted to fight against three large armies. Could it be that Han Tang had the ability to turn beans into soldiers?

However, the next second, He Boqiu suddenly realized that it took the Jingnan Army more than an hour from the time they marched out of the city to fight to the time they gathered their troops.

This is not a deliberate delay, but in this era without radio, when communication basically relies on shouting, organizing an army of tens of thousands of people is just that difficult.

Especially after a big battle, the process of gathering troops but not returning to the camp to rest, but quickly re-engaging in a new battle is very complicated for any commander.

If there were not a few troops left behind to participate in the battle, the process would have been even more complicated.

If we look at it from this perspective, the Wurui Army spent two Meng'an, nearly 10,000 signed troops and a camp to delay the Jingnan Army for more than an hour, which can be considered a good deal.

Liu Huai continued, "We must rescue the Huaidong army. If we sit back and watch General Liu be defeated, not only will our morale and military resolve be ruined, but we will also be attacked from both sides. Moreover..."

As soon as Liu Huai finished speaking, he saw a cloud of dust suddenly rising from the Huaixi army in the distance, followed by war horses galloping out.

At the same time, several military envoys holding badges also arrived quickly. Among them, the two who looked particularly embarrassed were led in front of Liu Huai and said, "General Feihu, I am Peng Zhengqing, the commander of the Chizhou army. I have come to report on the military orders of Minister Yu and my general manager Li.

Li Zongguan personally led 4,000 armored cavalry to rescue General Liu. I hope General Feihu will make a quick decision."

Liu Huai frowned and asked, "What decision did your steward Li ask me to make?"

The commander, Peng Zhengqing, panted heavily and shouted back, "My steward has nothing else to say except what Minister Yu said. I only hope that Commander-in-Chief Feihu will live up to his people and his ghosts, live up to the world, and live up to his original intentions. That's all."

Liu Huai sighed, "You are indeed the most promising minister in the future. Just one sentence is enough to touch my heart. But even a scholar like Yu Xianggong has risked his life on the battlefield. How can a warrior like me cherish my life?"

At this point, Liu Huai said to the personal guard who was acting as the military envoy in a serious tone: "Pass on my orders."

"Order all the armored cavalry to return to their headquarters."

"Order Zhang Xiaoyi to lead his troops to defeat two thousand enemy troops and march north to join forces with Prime Minister Yu to reinforce their forces."

"Yes!" The two guards turned and left.

He Boqiu wanted to persuade them not to worry about Yu Yunwen's Huaixi army anymore, and to march the entire army directly to the foot of Guishan Mountain and fight a decisive battle with the main force of the Jin army. Either they would kill Wanyan Liang, or they would be killed by Wanyan Liang.

However, He Sanye was a sensible man after all. As the Shandong rebel army's close supporter in the Song court, Yu Yunwen could not afford to get into trouble.

Not to mention death, even if they were injured or disabled, the Shandong rebel army's strategic attitude towards the Song Dynasty would have to change drastically.

On the other side, Liu Huai's orders continued.

"Send a message to Xin Qiji. I will give him the flag of the Jingnan Army and let him take command. The whole army will line up and march towards Guishan. We can go slowly, but we must not stop."

"Send a message to Zhang Baiyu, have him lead 500 Flying Tiger cavalry to protect the right wing of the army. No fighting is allowed without orders."

"Send a message to General Yang of the Dongting Lake Navy, asking him to assist the army's advance and retreat on the left wing."

"Send a message to Yang Chun, the prefect, that the three thousand Luzhou troops follow the Jingnan army and join the battle immediately. Explain to him clearly that the Huaixi army suffered such a crushing defeat that renowned commanders and generals have fled south of the Yangtze River. Only Yang Chun has remained at Chaohu, a pillar of support. Even if he wasn't well-known before, he will surely become famous after this battle. Don't let those who fled south of the Yangtze River and are just returning to fight take all the credit!"

After issuing a few orders, Liu Huai looked at He Boqiu and Lu You. Sure enough, the next moment, He Boqiu frowned and asked, "Lord, have you asked Xin Wulang to take charge of the army? Where are you going, Lord?"

Liu Huai pointed to the north. There, at the foot of Tangshan Mountain, the Wurui Army besieging Liu Qi had also detached a large force of cavalry. Amidst billowing clouds of dust, they headed eastward, seemingly intent on blocking Li Xianzhong's cavalry. "I will personally lead three hundred armored cavalry to join the battle there."

Even though Lu You still thought he knew nothing about military affairs, his first reaction after hearing Liu Huai's statement was absurd.

The commander-in-chief of an army of 10,000 people gave up the responsibility of commanding the army and led hundreds of cavalrymen to fight and die in battle. No matter how you think about it, you feel that there is something seriously wrong.

Seeing Lu You trying to persuade him, Liu Huai waved his hand without further ado, explaining, "Mr. Lu, the current situation is that we are surrounded on all sides, and the Jin bandits are dividing their forces to resist. Our chance of victory lies in gathering all our strength and pressing forward with the entire army for a decisive battle.

Whoever gathers all the troops first will win. Therefore, I cannot sit back and watch Liu Qi and Li Xianzhong fight it out. At this time, the only ones who can rush over to support us are the Flying Tigers.

He Boqiu was also a little angry at this time: "Then let Zhang Baiyu go!"

Liu Huai shook his head. "General Zhang died for his country, and Zhang Silang is deeply upset. I'm worried that if I send him out, he'll just get lost. And if Zhang Silang can't go, I'm the most important cavalry commander in the Jingnan Army. If I don't go, who can?"

He Boqiu was speechless.

As the saying goes, northerners ride horses and southerners sail boats. When the Jingnan Army marched south, it had a total of 5,000 soldiers and horses, but by this time there were more than 12,000. Most of these newly recruited soldiers were infantry and armored soldiers, and many of them were even veteran soldiers from Huainan. It was no problem for them to form a large formation to meet a powerful enemy, but it was difficult to select elite cavalry from them.

Even though the Jingnan Army captured many war horses in several major battles, knights could not grow from the ground, and each unit needed cavalry to serve as scouts, military envoys, and personal guards. At this point, the Flying Tiger Army had only expanded to 800 people.

If we continue to divide our troops and send 300 armored cavalrymen to fight on a battlefield where tens of thousands of people are fighting, without the leadership of an elite cavalry general, it will be easy for something bad to happen.

Although Liang Pan, Guan Chongyan, and Chen Wenben are capable of use, they are ultimately not as good as Liu Huai and Zhang Baiyu. Since Zhang Baiyu is unable to attack, Liu Huai has to go in person.

Even Uncle He begged Master He San to do it, but it still wouldn't work!
Lu You also reacted at this time. He stamped his feet and said, "Then I will go with Zhang Xiaoyi. Although Yu Xianggong is a scholar, he is also very capable. With me here, I will definitely not let the enemy army suffer any loss."

Liu Huai thought about it, nodded and said, "Take care, Mr. Lu."

After Lu You mounted his horse, he turned around and lost his composure: "Liu Dalang! General Liu! You are the one who should be taken care of. A corrupt scholar like me can die a hundred times, but if you die, what will happen to the Northern Expedition? Take care of yourself! Take care of yourself!"

After that, Lu You took several personal cavalrymen and went to find Zhang Xiaoyi's defeated enemy army according to the flag.

Liu Huai was somewhat touched, but he forced a smile and said to He Boqiu, "Mr. Lu is really stingy. He hasn't even written a poem to send me off yet."

He Boqiu had originally wanted to express his loyalty, but Liu Huai's nonsensical words suddenly threw him off. After a moment's silence, he shook his head and smiled bitterly, "Then I'll go to Yang Chun's army. If necessary, I'll do what I did to Zhu Hai and kidnap him."

Liu Huai said sternly, "Even though Yang Chun has these shortcomings, he still managed to remain unyielding in the face of dire straits. He was able to persevere even when the Huai River and Huai River were defeated, let alone now. However, what He Daguan is worried about does make some sense. Take my token and proceed to command the army."

After saying that, Liu Huai jumped on his horse, bowed, and left with his personal guards.

When the Flying Tiger Army was divided into two parts, one of which consisted of 300 cavalrymen heading north under the guidance of the Flying Tiger flag, Xin Qiji also received orders from Liu Huai. Afterwards, the flag-bearing officer carrying the Jingnan flag also stood behind him, and many military envoys and staff officers also gathered here.

Even though Xin Qiji had already gotten used to commanding large armies and managing local affairs several times before, he still felt a trembling excitement when such a heavy responsibility suddenly fell on his head, and even the banner of the Jingnan Campaign was raised behind him.

Despite his excitement, Xin Qiji didn't act like a child. He drew his sword and gave the order: "Li Tieqiang and Jia Rui of the Tianping Army will lead their own two thousand soldiers as the vanguard. Luo Shenyan and Shi Qilang will be the second vanguard. Wang Shilong and Lei Ben will be the third vanguard. I will be the rear guard, and Zhang Baiyu will be the right wing. Form a battle line immediately and march towards Guishan!"

The military envoys received the order and left one after another. Two moments later, the Jingnan army had completed its battle array. The entire army of 10,000 people rushed towards the Guishan camp where Wanyan Liang was located like a sledgehammer.

Meanwhile, Zhang Xiaoyi and Li Xiu led the defeated troops northward, heading towards Yu Yunwen's Huaixi army. Lu You galloped over, but the first person he encountered was Xu Zongyan, who had been managing the general affairs of the defeated troops.

"President Xu, why aren't you in the city?" Lu You asked with a frown.

At this time, Xu Zongyan was only wearing an iron jacket and no helmet. Perhaps it was because of nervousness or fatigue, but bursts of white mist rose from his head, making him look extremely embarrassed.

He bowed and said to Lu You calmly, "I turned away the heroes of Donghai on the pretext of disturbing the Song Dynasty, and because of this, they were slaughtered by the Jin thieves. Now, the Donghai righteous army has come here to die for the Song Dynasty. How can I sit back and watch them die in this city?"

Lu You looked at Xu Zongyan for a long moment before nodding and saying, "In that case, let us all die for the Song Dynasty!"

Just as Xu Zongyan was about to speak, he heard a loud rumbling sound in the north, like thunder in the sky or a rushing flood. The two men hurriedly stood up in their stirrups and looked out.

In the distance, two clouds of smoke and dust were approaching each other. A large-scale cavalry duel was about to begin.

Han Tang was also very anxious at this time.

Wanyan Liang's order to Wu Chengjun was very simple, which was to encircle and annihilate Liu Qi at all costs and hold back Yu Yunwen, Li Xianzhong, and Liu Huai.

If Cheng Min lost his temper and left the camp to fight, Wanyan Liang would use this time to destroy Cheng Min. If Cheng Min was a coward, Wanyan Liang would lead his army to devour all the Song army's field troops.

By then, no matter how high the morale of Cheng Min's troops is, they will be doomed.

However, the first step of this plan went awry. Although Liu Qi's troops were crippled, they were not killed in one blow.

Seeing Yu Yunwen and Li Xianzhong crossing the Qingxi River, Han Tang could no longer bear it. He left thirty Moukes to continue besieging Liu Qi, and took the remaining four cavalry Meng'an to rush straight towards Li Xianzhong.

Li Xianzhong's own 3,000 elite cavalry, plus the 1,000 armored cavalry that Yu Yunwen gave him, totaled more than 4,000 people.

These soldiers and horses are Li Xianzhong's lifeblood and the basis for his foothold in the army.

However, when two brave men meet in a narrow road, the braver one wins. There is absolutely no reason to retreat at this time.

The Jin cavalry spread out, and each Mouke formed small cone formations of hundreds of people. They quickly reorganized their troops while running, with the armored cavalry in the middle and front, and the light cavalry on both wings behind. A huge crane-wing formation quickly took shape.

The light cavalry on both wings gradually broke away from the formation and surrounded the Song army from left to right like the sharp claws of a tiger.

The Song army, however, did not resort to any fancy moves. Even the light cavalry trained by Li Xianzhong were not good enough to withstand the Jin army in terms of horseback archery. Therefore, as the Song army's armored cavalry advanced, they gradually formed a simple cone formation.

The man leading the troops in front of the battle was Wei Yongshou, a fierce general under Li Xianzhong.

"Kill them! Kill them!" Wei Yongshou shouted orders while his horse galloped.

"what!!!"

"kill!!!"

Hundreds of Song army cavalrymen around Wei Yongshou also roared loudly at the same time to reduce the fear of facing death.

"Kill the Song dogs!" Jin army Meng'an Han Zaichun also roared. As Han Tang's nephew, he was leading hundreds of armored cavalry at the forefront of the Jin army, guiding the direction of the cavalry's charge.

A relative charge between 8,000 cavalrymen was rare even when the Jin army was besieging the Eastern Mongols, let alone against the Song army?

Even if such a cavalry decisive battle is victorious, it will come at a huge cost. The cavalry in the battle formation will be killed even if they cannot control their horses. The casualties caused by falling off horses, being hit by stray arrows, and being accidentally injured will be a painful number for all commanders.

However, it is time and fate. At this moment, both sides have their reasons to fight!

The cavalry galloped towards each other at such a speed that the distance of three miles was passed in a flash.

The deafening shouts of killing even drowned out the sounds of drums, horns, and horses' hooves. The armored cavalry of the Song and Jin armies collided with each other with the determination to die.

After Han Zaichun knocked two Song soldiers away, he stumbled and fell to the ground, and was trampled into mud by war horses, whether from the Song or Jin army.

Wei Yongshou swung his sword and knocked down more than ten Jin soldiers. Then his arms became numb and the oncoming Jin cavalry took advantage of the opportunity and knocked him off his horse with an axe. Wei Yongshou's son Wei Shijian dismounted and tried to rescue his father, but was also drowned in the torrent of cavalry.

Life has become the least valuable thing.

In the previous minute, both the Song and Jin sides suffered more than 400 casualties, and this number almost immediately reached the limit that the medieval army could bear.

However, Han Tang and Li Xianzhong took over the command respectively, and continued to urge the armored cavalry regardless of the consequences, fighting each other while ensuring the speed of the charge.

Cavalry combat is like two eggs colliding with each other; the winner is determined in an instant. In the process of collision, even the smallest weakness, like a crack, will be released to infinity.

A moment later, the strength of the army was clearly distinguished, and the Song army gradually fell into a disadvantage.

Han Tang had seen many such battles when he accompanied the emperor on the expedition against the Eastern Mongols. What would happen next was that the enemy would lose their organization, and the Jin army would continue to encircle and suppress them in units of Mouke until the enemy could no longer bear the casualties and began to retreat. Then the Jin army would follow up and kill them wantonly, and the victory or defeat would be decided, and the overall situation would be determined.

When the cavalry's charge stopped and a melee began, the entire battlefield became extremely chaotic. Han Tang and Li Xianzhong had actually lost command, and their flags and drums could only serve as a general indicator of the attack direction.

Apart from the hundreds of armored cavalry surrounding their respective commanders, the rest of the battlefield had to be decided by junior officers such as marching Meng'an, marching Mouke, Puliyan, commanders, leading officers, and captains.

"Follow me!" Li Xianzhong's graying beard fluttered in the wind, like an enraged lion. He led his personal armored cavalry and routed wave after wave of Jin troops. The Jin army, as if aware of Li Xianzhong's formidable strength, after two attempts, abandoned their attempts to break through the formation and instead mobilized a large number of light cavalry to rain arrows upon the Song army.

Although the armor and weapons of Li Xianzhong's elite cavalry were not inferior to those of the Beiwei Army, the quality of their war horses and their archery skills were much worse. Faced with the large number of light cavalry of the Jin Army shooting in circles, the armored cavalry of the Song Army could neither catch up nor fight back with archery, and could only silently endure the casualties caused by the rain of arrows.

"General! What should we do?" During a break on the battlefield, the personal guard asked Li Xianzhong.

Li Xianzhong stood on his horse and looked around: "How many people do we have left?"

"Four hundred!"

"Alright!" Li Xianzhong sat back on his horse, holding his sword high. "Blow the horn, gather the troops! Follow me to tear down the Jin bandits' banner!"

After saying that, the veteran general once again took the lead and led dozens of personal guards to charge towards the Korean flag.

As soon as Li Xianzhong moved, the big flag with the word "Li" followed closely behind, and the surrounding Song cavalry who had lost their command also moved accordingly. On the local battlefield, more than 600 Song soldiers instantly joined forces and rushed straight towards Han Tang's big flag.

Han Tang naturally saw the unusual movements on the battlefield, but he did not react at all.

After Li Xianzhong defeated wave after wave of Jin troops, he was less than 300 steps away from the Han flag. Only then did Han Tang laugh heartily, raise his right hand and wave it down, and the war drum sounded again.

The armored cavalry of the Jin army fighting in the front immediately separated to both sides, and Li Xianzhong finally saw the true appearance of the Jin army hidden behind the armored cavalry.

The Jin troops under Han Tang Wurui's banner weren't numerous, numbering no more than two hundred at most. However, the knights were tall, and their horses were handsome. Most importantly, both men and horses were clad in iron armor. The cavalrymen were completely covered in zip-mail, revealing only their murderous eyes. The weapons on their horses were only two eight-foot-long spears and a cavalry mace.

This is an armored cavalry that has completely abandoned long-range means and is born only to break through the formation.

Even though Han Tang fought for many years, he could only collect these 200 vests by collecting chicken feathers and dusters.

The warhorses capable of carrying these armored cavalry were all carefully selected Hexi horses, and the riders were powerful warriors with great martial arts skills. The monthly cost of eggs and beans to feed the horses and meat and rice to feed the riders was astronomical.

Of course, all this is worth it. At the critical moment, these two hundred armored cavalrymen galloped out and were enough to defeat two thousand elite cavalrymen!
And now is the critical moment!

Li Xianzhong certainly knew the stakes. He had also seen the Jin Empire's Iron Pagoda before, so he immediately accelerated his horse to its maximum speed: "Go at it! We can't let the Jin thieves charge! Go at it!"

But it was too late.

"Push!" Han Tang said coldly.

The flag bearer beside him immediately lowered a red flag. Seeing this, the leader of the armored cavalry shouted, raised his lance, and slowly drove his horse forward.

Behind him, the armored cavalry were arranged in two rows, with a hundred people in each row, forming a noodle formation, and slowly accelerated.

Like a heavy chariot with only accelerators but no brakes, the armored cavalry advanced without retreating, and accelerated to their maximum speed in less than fifty steps. At this moment, even if Han Tang ordered to stop the charge, they would definitely not be able to stop.

The next second, the armored cavalry shouted and raised their spears to charge together with Li Xianzhong's armored cavalry.

The man fell on his back and his horse fell over.

Corpses are everywhere.

The screams of people, the neighing of horses, the crisp sound of broken bones, and the dull plop of torn flesh and falling bodies became the main theme of this battlefield.

Because of the pile of corpses on the ground, the sound of horse hooves miraculously became smaller.

The Jin army's armored cavalry completely defeated Li Xianzhong's 400 elite cavalry at the cost of less than 20 people. Li Xianzhong's flag was caught in the defeat and trampled under the horses' hooves, and Li Xianzhong's life or death was unknown.

After this battle, the Song army's armored cavalry became more disorganized, and the battle groups on the periphery had begun to retreat.

Han Tang laughed heartily, finally letting out all the frustration that had been pent up in his chest.

However, before Han Tang had the chance to boast about his battle achievements to his personal soldiers, a horn sounded from the south side of the battle formation.

Three hundred armored cavalrymen in neat formations charged forward, with a flag at the head painted with a tiger with wings growing from its ribs. The flag fluttered in the cold wind, and the tiger also came to life, as if pouncing on its prey.

Han Tang gritted his teeth and squeezed out a word from between his teeth: "Fei Huzi!!!"

　Today's two-in-one chapter
　　
　
(End of this chapter)