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

Chapter 613 Alas, the years have passed so swiftly.

Dark as ink.

The foothills of Mount Tai are crisscrossed with numerous ravines, providing ample opportunities for troop deployment.

Not to mention at night, even during the daytime, it would be difficult for scouts to take care of every area.

In a mountain valley directly opposite Pingde Town, all was dark and silent, but if you listened carefully, you could still hear the panting of soldiers and the snorting of warhorses.

After the Divine Might Army had gone far away, and the uniquely shaped Heshilie banner arrived near Pingde Town, a sound finally came from the darkness.

"Although I am not from a wealthy or powerful family, I am from a middle-class family. During the Song Dynasty, a member of my family passed the imperial examination and served as a county magistrate. This is what is meant by a family of farmers and scholars."

"Later, the Jurchen invaders came, and my grandfather fled to Jinan Prefecture. After settling down, he married my mother."

"The world is in chaos. Reading and writing are not as useful as a knife. My uncle's family is good at wielding knives and sticks, so when I was a child, I always practiced martial arts at my uncle's house. After living there for a long time, we naturally developed a bond, and I even got engaged to my cousin."

"Later, the State of Qi was gone, Shandong fell into chaos, and my whole family was wiped out."

"I have some martial arts skills, so I led a few brothers to become outlaws and lived a life of hunger and hardship."

As Geng Jing slowly recounted his past, his eyes grew brighter and brighter, and even his hands seemed to gain strength.

Although decades of effort had ultimately amounted to nothing, his personal guards were no different from the old soldiers who had risen and fallen in the tides of history and drowned several times. As they listened to Geng Jing's story and recalled their own experiences, even though they could not communicate due to gags in their mouths, their emotions began to rise and fall.

Ignoring all that, Geng Jing continued, “After a few years of peace, that traitor Wanyan Liang started causing trouble again. There were refugees everywhere in Jinan Prefecture, and more and more people came to seek refuge with me. I didn’t have enough land to settle them, nor enough food to feed them, and I couldn’t drive away those who came to me either, so I took the opportunity to raise the flag and rebel.”

At this point, Geng Jing couldn't help but chuckle: "Hehe, and then we were routed by the main force of the Jin invaders, fleeing in disarray. Several of our old brothers disappeared without a trace, their bodies never seen again."

"Later, as you all know, I arrived in Tai'an Prefecture, established some control over the situation, and then went south to Yizhou and west to Dongping Prefecture. Finally, I established a system and dared to rightfully call myself a Jiedushi."

At this point, Geng Jing slowly stood up, gazing at the distant, shadowy ranks of the Jin army, his voice growing louder and louder: "Finally, I have arrived here."

"Although I had suffered repeated defeats before, I could still use the excuse of the Jin invaders' great power to cover it up."

"But this time, I was wrong after all. I shouldn't have acted rashly, shouldn't have trusted Kong Duanqi and the other landlords of Dongping Prefecture so easily, and I shouldn't have become disloyal to Wei Gong and Liu Dalang and harbored suspicions towards them."

Geng Jing remained silent for a moment before saying, "Now that Atai and Ye Er have both risked their lives for my mistakes, if I don't acknowledge them, wouldn't I be treating them both as fools?"

"And if you admit it, you have to change it!"

With that, Geng Jing gripped the reins and led his warhorse to a high ground. He then lit torches so that his two hundred-odd personal guards could clearly see his figure: "Gentlemen, you are all my trusted confidants. I will not speak empty words today. With the Jin bandits pursuing us so relentlessly, it will be very difficult for our main force of the Tianping Army to escape unscathed. If there are no one to stop us, the entire army will be routed, and who knows how many more will die."

Today, many people have risked their lives for me; now, I will risk my life for them.

At this moment, I am about to behead that damned Left Prime Minister of the Jin dynasty. This is a deal with a near-certain death. Those of you who don't want to go, take advantage of the darkness and secretly disperse.

"After we light the torch, no matter how many men are left, I will personally lead them to fight to the bitter end."

A moment later, rustling sounds came from the darkness, as if someone was leaving, or perhaps just organizing their weapons.

However, a moment later, the torches were lit one after another.

These people were all loyal followers of Geng Jing, who had been cared for for many years and had risked their lives alongside Geng Jing many times.

To put it bluntly, at this point, how could these people not even have the courage to die alongside their lord?
Geng Jing looked around, nodded in satisfaction, and laughed loudly, "I, Geng Jing, have reached such a level that I still have 170 or 180 loyal and brave men following me. What more could I ask for, what more could I regret?!"

Having said that, Geng Jing mounted his warhorse, raised his long sword high, and roared in the cold winter wind, just as he had when he raised his army against the Jin: "Raise the flag! Kill the Jin traitors!"

Over the past year, Geng Jing has been trying to play the role of a third-rate politician and a second-rate military leader, but by now, all of these identities have failed.

Geng Jing then put these identities aside and rediscovered the courage of a top-tier martial artist.

Since I am not a match for ten thousand men, nor can I use mountains as blades or the world as a chessboard, then let you Jin thieves try my personal bravery!
The knights spat out the gags in their mouths and roared in unison, "Kill the Jin traitors! Kill the Jin traitors!"

After shouting three times, Geng Jing took the lead, raising his torch high and charging towards the Jin army ranks several hundred paces away.

Cavalry raids, especially night raids, don't require much finesse.

Because cavalrymen are inherently difficult to maintain order, and the darkness naturally weakens the order of the army, cavalry night raids usually only have one method.

Once you've identified your target, charge straight for it!

In fact, when Geng Jing lit the fire, some Jin scouts had already noticed something amiss and immediately sounded the alarm by blowing their whistles.

Wen Dunqi was the first to spot the scouts' warning. He quickly ran up to a high point to find the direction from which the enemy was coming.

After seeing the firelight gradually becoming clearer behind the hill, Wendun Qizhi instructed the military envoy to inform Heshi Lie Liangbi, while simultaneously ordering his own troops to prepare to meet the enemy.

The first option is simple, since Heshi Lieliangbi is located near the left side of the commander's flag, where the torches are most concentrated, making him easy to find.

But the second item caused a big problem.

When the army marches, at most one-third of the soldiers wear armor, while the remaining two-thirds carry long weapons and armor on large carts and march with short weapons.

This arrangement serves two purposes: it prevents enemy surprise attacks and conserves energy. In the event of an enemy attack, this third of the armored soldiers must immediately engage the enemy, buying time for the rest of their comrades to don their armor and form ranks.

However, Winston suddenly realized that he could no longer command this third of the armored soldiers.

In broad daylight, he only needed to blow the horn and point the banner to quickly gather his troops.

But with only torches for lighting, how could one possibly use their limbs as a guide?
While Wendun Qizhi was in a panic, his troops, namely the three Jurchen warriors who were guarding Heshi Lieliangbi, had already reacted.

The combat quality of the regular field army was on full display at this moment, and soon junior officers such as Xingjun Mouke and Puliyan spontaneously led their troops to form ranks and meet the enemy.

Before Wen Dunqi could even feel happy, he discovered both good news and bad news.

The good news is that even though the Jin army was exhausted after today's battle and night march, they showed no fear of fighting and quickly began to deploy their ranks.

The bad news is that military orders are not clear in the dark, and the strategists have no idea where the enemy is coming from. They each make their own judgments, which leads to them interfering with each other and even trampling each other during the deployment of the army.

The army quickly descended into chaos, centered around Heshilie's banner.

This is the horror of being ambushed during a night march. No matter how well-trained or how high the morale of the army, it cannot withstand the chaos caused by losing its command system.

"General! Everything is in chaos, what should we do?" A lieutenant gathered about a few dozen armored cavalrymen and came to Wendun Qizhi's side, asking anxiously.

Wen Dunqi took off his helmet, letting the night wind clear his head, and then gritted his teeth and said, "Find torches, light a fire! We can't go into the middle of the formation, otherwise these dozens of riders will all be in chaos and there will be no way to save them."

"The Tianping bandits, even in this predicament, still manage to set up ambushes. They're really capable." Wen Dunqizhi sighed, his cheek twitching as he watched the Geng-character banner gallop past a hundred paces to his side. He then said to his deputy, "But even if the Tianping bandits have set up an ambush, they won't have many men! We must plan carefully before we act!"

Upon hearing this, the lieutenant spurred his horse forward and whispered, "But what about the Left Chancellor..."

Wendun Qizhi looked at this Jurchen general, who was also from Yidu Prefecture, and rebuked him in a low voice, "Do you still want to go home? Do you still want to see your family? Or do you want to follow the Left Prime Minister to fight across the north and south and make a name for yourself?"

The lieutenant was stunned for a moment, then, as if realizing something, looked up in shock: "General, you..."

Wendun Qizhi rebuked again: "What are you yelling about? Of course I am loyal to the Great Jin and the Left Prime Minister, but some things must be done in accordance with the circumstances."

If the course of history forces us to fight on the battlefield, I will have no regrets. But I cannot, without reason, personally push the situation forward! Understand?!

The lieutenant nodded hastily, having fully grasped Wen Dunqi's intentions.

To be precise, this guy didn't know whether he should betray the Jin or join Liu Huai, so he left everything to fate.

If Heshilie Liangbi can achieve a series of victories and sweep across the entire Shandong, then continuing to serve as a lackey of the Jin Dynasty wouldn't be so bad.

However, if the Jin dynasty is unable to maintain its rule in Shandong, or even suffers a complete defeat and loses half of Hebei, then Wen Dunqizhi will not hesitate to switch allegiance.

If we were to describe Wen Dunqizhi's behavior using a famous saying from later generations, it would be: He helps whoever wins!

No one is perfect, and such behavior is understandable, but on the battlefield, only those with unwavering will can ultimately prevail.

Therefore, Wendun Qizhi, the only Jin cavalry unit that had assembled on the battlefield, could only watch helplessly as Geng Jing led his personal guards directly into the Jin army's formation.

Geng Jing brandished his longsword, cleaving a marching soldier in two. With undiminished momentum, he swept his longsword out, cutting down a Jin infantryman who came to intercept him.

The Jin soldiers here hadn't even had time to put on their armor, and when faced with the wielding longswords, they had few ways to defend themselves. If they were touched, they would die; if they were brushed against, they would be maimed. They all dodged away.

After scattering the enemies in front of him, Geng Jing did not immediately expand his gains, but instead charged toward the huge banner of Heshi Lie Liangbi.

Behind him, over a hundred armored cavalrymen of the Tianping Army surged in through the gap, instantly drawing all the surrounding Jin infantry into the battlefield, disrupting the Jin army's formation, and then trampling them wantonly.

In a short while, the two hastily assembled square formations collapsed, and the fleeing soldiers scattered in all directions, with the chaos instantly spreading in all directions.

Heshi Lieliangbi, dressed in ordinary armor and a plain battle robe, mingled among his personal guards. Looking at the Ping Army cavalry charging like waves, he couldn't help but sigh repeatedly: "This must be that traitor Geng. He is truly a hero. Under such circumstances, he still managed to personally set up an ambush. He is both bold and meticulous."

"In that case, Kening, try to keep Geng Jiedu here."

The general who had been silently following Heshi Lieliangbi beside him responded loudly, and then led his dozens of armored cavalrymen forward with shouts.

Geng Jing fought his way through as if he were in an empty field, but just as he was about to reach the banner, his long sword was blocked by a ten-foot steel spear.

With a loud clang, both men's hands went numb. The immense force was then transmitted through the stirrups to the warhorse, causing it to rear up with a neighing whinny.

Geng Jing had not expected to encounter such a fierce general here. Surprised, he immediately changed his move, taking advantage of the moment when the warhorse blocked his view, and swung his long sword upwards at a very tricky angle.

At the same time, the Jin general had the same idea and thrust his spear out from the lower right.

Their weapons clashed again by a twist of fate, causing both of them to sway slightly on horseback.

But the warhorses could not withstand such a tremendous force. After neighing again, they each took a step back and widened the distance between them.

"You scoundrel! Remember this! The one who killed you is Tudan Kening!" The Jin general roared and swung his eighteen-foot steel spear down again.

"Tudan Kening?!" Geng Jing reined in his horse to dodge, and as he swung his long sword again, he was equally assertive in his words: "Then remember this, the one who entered your mother's body is your father, Geng!"

(Tudan Kening's current name is still Tudan Xixian. He changed his name in his later years, but for the sake of smooth reading, he will be referred to as Tudan Kening here.)
(End of this chapter)