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

Chapter 466: National and Family Hatred
How effective can an elite cavalry general be?
Different people have different opinions on this issue.

Some say that the strongest army is always a composite army, with infantry as the core, and cavalry as the auxiliary scraps;

Some people also say that the upper limit of cavalry is high and the lower limit is low, and it all depends on the performance of the cavalry generals in battle. Some cavalry generals can defeat ten thousand cavalry with a hundred cavalry, and some cavalry generals can easily lead ten thousand cavalry into muddy ditches.

More extreme people would say that if La Salle, the King of Hussars under Napoleon's command, had survived, the Battle of Waterloo might have been a great victory for the French army.

But no matter what, everyone will admit that timing is extremely important for cavalry units.

The cavalry generals who were able to find opportunities and dared to throw everything, including their lives, when the time was right were all famous generals in history.

The most typical example is General Tiance and Prince of Qin Li Shimin.

Back to the present, Han Tang naturally knew Liu Huai's reputation. Apart from anything else, his closest and most capable nephew Han Wenguang died at the hands of this guy, and his life or death is still unknown. The Wu Rui Army's top warrior also suffered heavy casualties in the battle of Yuxikou. It can be said that the hatred between the two sides is higher than the sky and the resentment is deeper than the sea.

However, Han Tang's first reaction was to turn his horse and flee, and he did not retreat backwards, but galloped towards the direction of the melee on the battlefield.

The reason is simple: Liu Huai's timing of entering the battlefield was too clever.

It happened that all the elite cavalry of the Wu Rui Army were deployed, and Han Tang was left with only dozens of personal guards.

Although Han Tang was famous for his bravery, that was more than ten years ago. Was he crazy to have a life-and-death duel with a man nicknamed 'Flying Tiger' who sounded like a tough guy among tough guys?
Han Tang was also quite quick-witted. He knew that his armor robe was only slightly different from that of the guards beside him, and Liu Huai must be coming for the big flag.

Similarly, as long as he escapes into the melee of cavalry with a large flag, he will definitely be able to gather a group of armored cavalry to fight the enemy based on the large flag.

However, Han Tang made a mistake in one calculation.

Although the Wu Rui Army had the upper hand in the battle against the armored cavalry of the Chizhou Army, that was the overall situation. In fact, the cavalry organization was too easy to become chaotic. Once a melee began, even if the outcome was already decided, it would take a lot of time to chase and escape. It was not so easy to reorganize.

But on the other side, Liu Huai's gun tip was already in front of him.

Han Tang fled all the way and Liu Huai chased him all the way. The Flying Tiger flag and the Wu Rui flag were sometimes far away and sometimes close, but they were entangled with each other and could never get rid of each other.

During this period, many Jin soldiers broke away from the battle group and wanted to stop Liu Huai's 300 well-organized armored cavalry. However, in such a hurry, it was already considered good that they could organize dozens or hundreds of cavalry. These cavalry were too weak to face the frontal attack of the Flying Tiger Army.

As they approached the center of the battlefield, the number of armored cavalry behind Liu Huai not only did not decrease, but even increased by more than 400 cavalry.

These were the armored cavalry of the Chizhou army. When the Jin army came to stop Liu Huai but was defeated head-on, many Song troops also followed.

As long as the cavalry starts to charge forward, the slight difference in martial arts between the two sides will be quickly eliminated.

Han Tang's personal guards kept leaving. It was not because they were disloyal, but someone had to gather the troops and stop the pursuers. Others inevitably got lost or stumbled, so that at this time there were only a dozen personal guards left by his side.

Originally, Han Tang was counting on the armored cavalry to make a comeback, but after arriving at the center of the battlefield, he suddenly realized that although these 200 armored cavalry played a crucial and even decisive role, after the speed slowed down and the melee began, the armored knights could still hold on, but those carefully selected horses were exhausted. In less than two quarters of an hour, they could hardly gallop, and some even collapsed to the ground.

Even though they practiced on a daily basis, firstly, war horses were precious, so training to death was not an option. Secondly, real combat was different from training. Han Tang had not expected this expensive armored cavalry to be so vulnerable after a single blow.

It can only be said that there was a reason why armored cavalry was replaced by medium-armored cavalry after it shined during the Southern and Northern Dynasties.

After Liu Huai led his troops to defeat dozens of armored cavalry who were still fighting on horseback, he finally saw Li Xianzhong, who was covered in blood.

"General Xiao Liu! General Xiao Liu!"

Liu Huai took off his helmet and looked over, only to see that Li Xianzhong and a dozen of his personal soldiers had lost their horses and were fighting on foot against the siege of the Jin army's armored cavalry. Although they were in a miserable state, they did not seem to have suffered any serious injuries.

Liu Huai pointed his spear, and Guan Chongyan and Chen Wenben understood each other and led a dozen armored cavalry to attack the Jin army.

After seeing the Jin cavalry, who had been showing off their might just now, being defeated by the enemy behind them, Li Xianzhong finally breathed a sigh of relief. However, when he looked back and saw the corpses of his men scattered all over the ground, he couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat and shed two tears.

Even though Li Xianzhong had been in charge of the army for many years and his mind was as hard as iron, he was still heartbroken when he saw the heavy casualties among his subordinates and confidants.

Liu Huai saw Li Xianzhong standing there in a daze from afar, and he understood what he was thinking. However, the dangers of war were inevitable.

Liu Huai rode his horse to Li Xianzhong, handed the object he had just picked up to the veteran general, and shouted sternly: "How can a great general lose his flag and lose his will?"

Li Xianzhong reached out to take it, looked up, and found that it was indeed his big flag with the Chinese character "Li" on it. This originally gorgeous flag no longer looked solemn and majestic after being trampled by war horses. It was covered with mud and blood, and had cracks and holes, like a piece of rag.

Li Xianzhong wiped the blood off his face, gritted his teeth, raised the banner, and said to the surrounding soldiers: "Quickly gather the ownerless horses! Follow me and continue to break the formation!"

"Commander Liu!" The flag seemed to be the courage of the army. After holding the flagpole tightly in his hand, Li Xianzhong quickly regained his composure and shouted to Liu Huai: "My flag has been down for a quarter of an hour. My troops are scattered. There is only one way to save them..."

Before Li Xianzhong finished speaking, Liu Huai nodded in understanding and shouted, "Follow me!"

As he spoke, the Flying Tiger Army's armored cavalry, which had been lined up again, started up and followed Liu Huai to chase after the Wu Rui flag.

As a master of all tactical transformations, General Liu certainly did not have a way to allow the Song army to assemble quickly, but he did create chaos for the Jin army.

For Han Tang, although he hated Liu Huai to the core, he was also extremely afraid when he saw that the other party killed the armored cavalry who were attacking spontaneously like cutting through waves, and killed the Jin soldiers who went to stop them one by one.

The generals who followed Wanyan Liang to attack Lianghuai this time were all veterans who had fought on many battles. Some of them were cruel, some were greedy, but they were not cowardly.

Han Tang is not afraid of death. What he is afraid of is that the situation will be completely hopeless after his death.

Although the Wurui army had crippled Liu Qi and Li Xianzhong, the infantry led by Yu Yunwen and the Jingnan army marched straight down Guishan Mountain. Although several Moukes surrounded and harassed them, it was useless.

If Han Tang died here, it would be heroic, but what would happen to the army led by Wanyan Liang?

"Captain, please get out of the way first!" The leader of Han Tang's personal guards also knew the dangers of the situation, and immediately ordered the flag bearer to move forward. Without waiting for Han Tang's consent, he and the other personal guards stripped off Han Tang's cloak and silver helmet and put them on themselves.

Logically speaking, at such a distance and in such a chaotic battlefield, even the sharpest eyes would not be able to detect such a small action as changing the helmet.

However, in the melee, a Song soldier broke away from the battle and pointed at Han Tang nearby, shouting, "It was Han Tang who changed the helmet!"

Soon, many more Song soldiers reacted and shouted at the same time: "The one who changed the helmet was Han Tang!"

The cavalry charge was so swift that with just this delay, Liu Huai had killed several officers and was about twenty steps away.

However, Liu Huai's attack ended here. Dozens of organized Jin army cavalry crowded together and charged forward without dodging.

Liu Huai knocked the two armored cavalrymen in front of him off their horses, and with a grim smile, he took out two short spears from his pouch. He first gave one to the flag-bearing officer who was under heavy protection, and pointed the second one directly at Han Tang who was hiding among the armored cavalrymen.

The short spear was as fast as thunder and lightning. Neither Han Tang nor his personal guards could react in time. Han Tang only had time to turn his head to dodge.

The short spear tip struck the gourd helmet, leaving a long trail of sparks before knocking it off. Han Tang felt his mind go blank and his neck ached. Fortunately, his personal guards supported him and he did not fall off his horse.

Without time to think, the guard put on his cloak and patted Han Tang's horse: "Master, hurry up!"

As he spoke, several personal guards escorted Han Tang and fled in one direction, while the head personal guard wearing Han Tang's cloak turned to another direction with a large flag.

Liu Huai used the Liquan Spear to knock the man who was trying to stop him off his horse, then shouted loudly, "Kill Han Tang!"

Then his personal guards also shouted in the battle: "Kill Han Tang!"

Then came the Flying Tigers, and then the personal guards around Li Xianzhong. In the end, the entire Song army shouted, "Kill Han Tang!"

The Flying Tiger Army was like a catfish falling into the hold of a sardine ship, completely mobilizing the Song cavalry on the chaotic battlefield. The Chizhou army, which had been at a disadvantage and even on the verge of collapse, quickly stabilized the situation. In the small battle groups fighting in the melee, the Song army began to counterattack.

Liu Huai left the battle with dozens of personal guards and continued to chase the "Wu Rui" flag.

On the other side, Yao Buping stared at Han Tang's back, and couldn't help but think of the battle of Weizi Bridge where his father and grandfather were killed.

The second round of fierce attacks came from Wu Ruijun and Han Tang.

For Yao Buping, isn't this also a family feud and national hatred?
The enemy was right before his eyes. If he didn't chase him, what was the point of killing the enemy and serving his country? What was the point of talking about loyalty, filial piety, chastity, and righteousness?
"Second Brother Zhang, follow me!" Yao Buping waved his long sword and pointed it forward. Then he led more than ten armored cavalrymen to bypass the melee from the side and chase after Han Tang.

It is very difficult to track someone in a chaotic battlefield, but fortunately, there are several personal guards in bright armor beside Han Tang, which are quite conspicuous. In addition, there are Song soldiers in the melee who keep shouting words like "The one riding the red horse is Han Tang" and "The one with the long beard is Han Tang". Yao Buping is getting closer and closer to Han Tang.

Han Tang's personal guards also discovered the pursuers and kept calling on the Jin army's armored cavalry to escort them or even turn around to block them.

"Young Master, hurry!" Zhang Er also led the armored cavalry to meet them and shouted to Yao Buping in front of him: "Kill Han Tang! You must kill him!"

Without a moment to nod, Yao Buping struck the horse's rump with the butt of his blade. Amidst the horse's cries of pain, his speed increased even further, and soon he was within a horse's length of Han Tang. Han Tang turned around and saw the young man, disregarding his own life, charging towards him with his brow raised. He couldn't help but panic, and then, amidst his busy schedule, a hint of surprise.

It is reasonable to say that veterans like him have faced life and death many times, and Han Tang considers himself a brave man. Why is he afraid now when facing a clash of swords?

Am I old already?

However, there was no time to think about it. Yao Buping had already swung his long sword and knocked over the horse of the last Jin army guard. The knight's shouts and curses had just been replaced by screams when Yao Buping's long sword chopped down again.

Han Tang turned sideways and raised the spear in his hand, barely blocking the knife attacking him.

However, in a hurry, both of them used up their strength. The long sword in Yao Buping's hand was deflected and hit the raised hind legs of Han Tang's warhorse fiercely. Han Tang's long spear was knocked down, and the tip of the spear slashed downwards, blinding the eyes of Yao Buping's warhorse.

With two mournful cries, Han Tang's warhorse fell directly to the ground. Han Tang fell off the horse due to inertia and rolled on the ground for several times before he came to a stop in a mess.

Yao Buping's warhorse went crazy, jumping and leaping, and threw its master off its back.

Yao Buping was thrown to the ground and rolled over several times, holding on to his helmet, in order to avoid the mad warhorse and the reinforcements and enemy troops coming from behind.

"Butler!"

"Thief!"

"Don't worry about me! Go and see the young master!"

"You thieves!!"

The guards of both sides rushed over quickly, but they started fighting each other immediately.

Yao Buping stood up unsteadily, drew his knife from his waist, ducked to avoid the small-scale battle group in front of him, and walked towards the Jin army that was also staggering forward five or six steps away.

Han Tang came to a warhorse and was about to jump on it when he felt a force coming from his belt. He staggered back two steps and then lowered his head reflexively. He felt a chill on his head and his helmet was chopped off.

Seeing that the first blow did not work, Yao Buping kicked Han Tang and wanted to chop him a second time.

However, Han Tang roared like a tiger, turned around and hugged Yao Buping's waist and abdomen. The two knights, who were injured all over, fell to the ground and fought each other like hooligans.

"The thief shall die!"

"You little baby, if you don't drink your milk, you're going to die here!"

"I'll help you!"

The two men rolled on the ground and were soon covered in mud and dirt. No one knew where Yao Buping's hand knife was thrown.

After a while, Yao Buping finally gained the upper hand. After pressing Han Tang to the ground, he couldn't find a suitable weapon, so he simply took off his helmet and smashed it hard on Han Tang's face.

"you!"

"Little... puff... thief..."

"this!"

"Disgusting..."

"thief!"

"die!"

Just like using the helmet as a stone to crack a walnut, Yao Buping smashed the helmet on Han Tang's head again and again until Han Tang's shouting and cursing became quieter, his cries of pain turned into groans, and finally into a sound somewhat like exhalation, and then he stopped.

At this time, reinforcements had arrived and surrounded Yao Buping, allowing him to calmly cut off the head and insert it into the spearhead.

"The thief general Han Tang has been beheaded!"

Yao Buping raised his spear high, his face covered in blood and dust, and roared with all his might: "Surrender the thief general Han Tang! Father! Grandfather! Look! I killed Han Tang that day!"

At the end of his shouting, Yao Buping's voice became distorted and trembling, and the armored cavalrymen from Yao Xing's army also burst into tears and cheered.

And even louder cheers came from more than a hundred steps away, and resounded throughout the battlefield where the armored cavalry were fighting.

Over there, the Flying Tiger flag finally entangled the "Wu Rui" flag. After a short and fierce battle, the Flying Tiger flag was still standing, while the Wu Rui flag fell down in full view of the public.

"Kill Han Tang!"

"Kill the gold thief!"

The cheers grew louder and louder. Under the horrified gaze of the Jin army, the Song army launched an all-out counterattack, and the situation reversed.

A quarter of an hour later, the Wu Rui army was defeated.

Liu Huai immediately joined forces with Li Xianzhong, hastily gathered his troops, and guided by the big flag, led nearly 3,000 armored cavalry of the Song army, surrounded the defeated army and attacked Tangshan.

The Wu Rui Army soldiers at the foot of Tangshan were still fighting with Liu Qi, but they had already discovered that something was wrong.

However, Liu Qi was not a fool. He knew that this was the time to fight, so he directly ordered the entire army to counterattack.

Under the desperate attacks of brave generals such as Wei You, Wang Fang, and Yuan Qi, it was simply a daydream for the Jin army to withdraw from the battle.

The Wurui Army infantry had just organized six Moukes to form a battle array in the rear to meet the attack when the defeated Jin cavalry rushed over.

However, the Jin army was composed of veterans after all. Even when they were defeated, they still remembered military orders. They did not attack the main formation, but bypassed it from both sides. The officers among them were still trying to reorganize the cavalry.

However, this undoubtedly told all the infantrymen an ironclad fact.

The Wu Rui army and cavalry were completely defeated.

What frightened the three marching soldiers the most was that they could neither find Han Tang's flag nor see Han Tang himself.

There were all kinds of confusing news. Some said that he was separated from Han Tang, some said that Han Tang was dead, and some said that Han Tang had run away to the Guishan camp.

However, when Liu Huai personally arrived at the battlefield, all these discussions came to an abrupt end.

The Wu Rui army watched in amazement as General Liu Da held the Wanhu flag upside down and showed off his power in front of the battle line.

Liu Huai immediately threw Han Tang's head into the pile of Jin soldiers and shouted, "Han Tang has been killed!"

"Han Tang has been executed!"

"kill!"

The Chizhou army's armored cavalry formed a battle array behind Liu Huai, shouting in unison and issuing naked threats.

The morale of the Jin army almost collapsed and their formation was in chaos.

There is never a shortage of brave people in this world.

Before Liu Huai could take action, Yuan Qi, a fierce general under Liu Qi, seized the opportunity and took advantage of the commotion of the Jin army to lead 300 soldiers to attack Wang Nandang, who was commanding the battle. He not only cut down the flag, but also took off the head of this fierce general.

At this point, the Wu Rui Army was completely finished. At least twenty Mouke's soldiers were defeated without even shedding blood. The officers and generals also lost the courage to continue fighting and led a dozen of their confidants to escape back to the camp.

It's not that easy. To the south are the Song army's armored cavalry, to the north are the armored soldiers, and the Jin army is sandwiched in between. They are neither side by side.

The two Song armies attacked simultaneously, showing no intention of accepting surrender or accepting traitors. Soldiers with swords drawn and horses trampling on the Jin army, within two minutes most of the Jin army was slaughtered, with only a few defeated troops escaping into Tangshan.

In the chaos, Liu Huai finally met the veteran Liu Qi again.

(End of this chapter)