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

Chapter 608 Why Not Stand Guard on the Battlefield?

When the rebels appeared, Geng Jing completely lost his last glimmer of hope.

Contrary to expectations, Geng Jing did not show outrageous anger, but only a faint disappointment, coupled with extreme exhaustion.

Even Geng Jing himself was somewhat surprised by his calmness.

But now that things have come to this, is there any other choice?
Fight your way through!

The Taiping Army's peasant army and the private armies of powerful clans officially split at this time, and the Shandong Western Route rebels engaged in bloody battles with each other.

At the same time, Gao Anren once again advised, "Uncle, Kong Duanqi has already engaged in battle with the bandit Geng. Should we send troops?"

Gao Jingshan glanced at his nephews and nieces: "What's the rush? The Khitan and Bohai suffered heavy casualties today. How can these Han soldiers escape? Does Kong Duanqi really want to establish a country in Dongping Prefecture unscathed?"

Gao Anren felt that Gao Jingshan was being a bit extreme today, because Gao Jingshan had just said that "people should have a political stance and should not change it easily", but now he was conserving his strength, and his stance was extremely flexible.

But then he thought about it.

Gao Jingshan's stance has always been on the side of the Bohai people, and his efforts for the Jin Dynasty were also due to the Bohai people's superior status within the Jin Dynasty.

When the interests of the Jin state conflicted with those of the Bohai people, Gao Jingshan would naturally and decisively set aside the interests of the Jin state.

That's it now.

Heshi Lieliangbi, who represented the interests of the Jin state, actually wanted to deplete the strength of the Bohai people, which was simply unforgivable, and Gao Jingshan couldn't help but feel resentful.

Gao Jingshan continued, "As for the Left Prime Minister, we will naturally have to appease him as well. I have already sent my personal guards to that hill. When the vanguard of the Divine Might Army bypasses the city, he will raise the yellow flag. At that time, I will naturally lead my troops to attack the Tianping bandits!"

Gao Anren could only nod at this point, and then couldn't help but complain: "The Left Prime Minister is really too biased, just watching Steward Xiao fish in troubled waters."

Gao Jingshan chuckled coldly twice.

Perhaps Heshi Lieliangbi was completely powerless and could no longer command Xiao Qi.

If Xiao Qi were to hear the unspoken grievances of Wu Anjun and his son, Chief Steward Xiao would surely burst into a tirade of curses.

What do you mean by "fishing in troubled waters"? If your Wu'an Army has any guts, you can try it yourselves in the west of the city!
Ye Shichan's formation was positioned in such a cunning manner that it occupied half of the official road, making it impossible to ignore.

For the Divine Might Army, there were only two options: either deploy into battle formation and defeat Ye Shichan, or use marching formations and risk being ambushed by Ye Shichan to bypass the mountain from the foot.

But at this moment, Ye Shichan had already begun to fight desperately. Although there were only five hundred or so armored soldiers, how could they be shaken in such a hasty manner?

One forceful attack was met with a direct counterattack; two forces deployed together were enough to create chaos in the surrounding area and completely block the passage.

"How...how long has it been? Second Brother, how long have we held out?" A Taiping Army soldier with an arrow in his chest was dragged back from the front line and placed in the very center of the Six Flowers Formation. Blood was still spilling from his mouth, but he still reached out his hand and murmured questions to Ye Shichan.

Ye Shichan glanced at the sun, gritted his teeth, and said, "It's been half an hour. Just hold on for another half an hour, and we can leave!"

The soldier's voice quickly lowered: "Only two quarters of an hour... two quarters of an hour... but it feels like half an hour already..."

As he spoke, the armored soldier gasped for breath: "Second brother, when the time comes, let's leave quickly... Don't... Don't let all the brothers die here."

Having said that, the bodyguard who had followed Ye Shichan since the uprising in Tai'an Prefecture breathed his last.

Ye Shichan was only slightly stunned for a moment before picking up his great axe and personally leading the charge into battle.

How could he not know that three-quarters of an hour had already passed?

But now they are surrounded by the Jin army, their chances of survival are slim, and they have no choice but to fight to the death.

As the battle progressed, Xiao Qi's expression gradually changed from relaxed to serious, until it finally turned ashen.

Ordinary elite troops would collapse if they suddenly suffered 10% casualties, but the Jin army's most elite founding troops could withstand 30% casualties, which is why they were able to directly crush the Liao, Song, and Western Xia states.

However, Ye Shichan's 500 elite troops had already suffered more than 200 casualties, nearly half of them, but their morale remained high, and they fought fiercely, showing no signs of weakness whatsoever.

"Report! The Left Prime Minister has come to inquire why we haven't yet captured these mere hundred men?"

Faced with the military envoy's question, Xiao Qi's cheeks twitched for a moment before he said, "Go back and report to the Left Prime Minister that Ye Shichan, the general of the Tianping rebels, seems to really be here. It's difficult to act hastily, so I hope the Left Prime Minister can wait a moment."

After saying that, Xiao Qi said to his personal guards, "Go yourself and gather more heavy crossbowmen and archers. Since we can't take down these turtle shells, then shoot them to death!"

The guard was also terrified by the bloody battle before him, and he immediately spurred his horse and rode away.

Soon, the two Meng'an who had gone to besiege Ye Shichan slowly retreated, and more than 500 archers stepped forward. Without saying a word, they nocked their arrows and fired them at Ye Shichan on the orders of their officers.

"Raise your shield!"

Ye Shichan roared, "Protect the left and right!" This elite force had almost completely lost its mobility and could only passively take the beating.

Amidst the rain of arrows, Ye Shichan did not ponder how to break through the encirclement, but instead anxiously wondered if the army had already broken through.

Meanwhile, the battle between the Taiping Army and the rebels had reached a fever pitch.

Liang Atai charged at the forefront, but his troops were exhausted. Many of them had fallen behind during the charge, and after advancing a hundred paces, only a few dozen men remained beside Liang Atai.

The general who had been leading the vanguard all day was also riddled with arrows. His heavy armor had been tattered by swords and axes, his skirt armor had disappeared, and his shoulder cape had been smashed and deformed.

But Liang Atai's eyes were only on the large banner with the character "Shao" on it, and Shao Jin, whose face was gradually becoming clearer as he drew closer.

"Traitor!"

"Traitor! Come and confront your Grandpa Liang!"

"You scoundrel Shao! You dare not?!"

Faced with Liang Atai's roar, Shao Jin's courage vanished like a snow lion encountering fire. He quickly retreated a few steps to a small hill and had his personal guards line up in layers in front of him before he felt a sense of security.

But Shao Jin still dared not confront Liang Atai head-on, and repeatedly ordered his guards: "Archers, shoot them! Shoot them!"

Under the command of the officer, nearly a hundred archers drew their bows and released their arrows, which rained down on Liang Atai.

Liang Atai lay prone on his warhorse, dodging most of the arrows, but the horse was riddled with arrows and collapsed to the ground with a neigh.

The warhorse was also extremely tired, so it wasn't going very fast. Liang Atai was prepared, so he simply rolled on the spot, got up, and charged forward on foot.

"Stop him! Stop him!"

At this moment, Shao Jin no longer cared that the entire formation had been shaken by Liang Atai. He was terrified and only kept ordering his personal guards to move forward to stop Liang Atai.

However, seeing Liang Atai's ferocious appearance, the rebels were terrified. Dozens of rebels gathered together, but Liang Atai and his dozen or so men scattered them. The remaining rebels dared not advance, and either fired arrows from a distance or threw grappling hooks and fishing nets, trying to stop Liang Atai and his men halfway.

The soldiers of the Taiping Army gradually fell, leaving only Liang Atai still shouting and fighting fiercely. He had been bound with several grappling hooks, and his face and body were covered in bloody marks from the hooks, yet he still held a long sword and strode towards Shao Jin.

Several rebels tried their best to drag him, but they couldn't stop him!

"Shao the traitor!"

"Shao the traitor!"

"Come out and see me!"

"You're so cowardly, did the Jin thieves cut off your testicles?"

"Shao, you scoundrel! How did you become a woman?!"

After Liang Atai's body was completely taut by the hooks and fishing nets, he could no longer move forward. However, he still struggled to stand firm and started shouting and cursing loudly.

Hiding behind layers of armored soldiers, Shao Jin was about to order his men to cut off Liang Atai's head when he noticed that the officers from powerful families around him were looking at him with strange eyes.

The meaning is quite clear.

Even at this point, Shao Jin still didn't dare to see Liang Atai. How could such a cowardly person become a general?

Shao Jin's eye twitched uncontrollably. He then pushed aside the armored soldiers and slowly stepped forward. Looking at Liang Atai, who was covered in wounds, blood, and torn flesh, practically a blood-soaked figure, he forced a smile and said, "Atai, how have you been? If you surrender, I promise..."

Liang Atai raised his head and stared intently at Shao Jin, as if he had fulfilled his last wish. His aura weakened, but after hearing Shao Jin's words of persuasion, he still managed to spit out a mouthful of bloody phlegm: "Shao traitor... you rebel, do you think that everyone in the world... is like you, who doesn't know the meaning of loyalty and righteousness?"

Shao Jin felt as if he were being pricked by needles, and was extremely embarrassed.

"Don't look at me! You... what do you know about loyalty and righteousness?! You..."

After a series of incoherent arguments, Shao Jin, seeing that Liang Atai was still staring intently at him, finally yelled, "You shut your eyes right now! Otherwise..."

A guard stepped forward, checked Liang Atai's breath, and turned to say, "General, he is dead..."

Shao Jin was stunned for a moment, about to say something, when he heard shouts of killing and cries of alarm coming from the side. He quickly returned to the hill and looked towards the northwest.

Under Geng Jing's personal charge, Kong Duan, who was arrayed in the road, raised his banner and fell. The army formation could not hold on and scattered in all directions.

The main force of the Taiping Army broke through this narrow gap, and more than 10,000 men continued their frantic march southeast.

Shao Jin stamped his feet repeatedly. At this point, how could he not know that it was because he had panicked and misjudged the main direction of the Taiping Army's attack due to Liang Atai's desperate surprise attack, which led to the failure to achieve victory in one battle?
If we fail to kill Geng Jing today, there will be more trouble in the future!
Shao Jin was devastated, but when he turned around and saw Liang Atai staring intently into his eyes, he once again roared like a madman, "Why are you still looking at me?! Do you think I have a choice?! Gouge his eyes out! Gouge them out!"

(End of this chapter)