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

Chapter 617 Armored Forest Advances

War is both materialistic and idealistic.

This statement may sound contradictory, or even a bit like a charlatan, but that's the strange thing about war.

When everyone believes that one side will win, then that side will almost certainly win.

At this very moment, this was exactly what Kong Duanqi was thinking.

Was his grand dream of ruling Dongping Prefecture about to be crushed by Liu Dalang?
Not only were they repeatedly defeated in frontal battles, but even the troops ambushed on the flanks only caused the Dongping army some trouble. After the Dongping army reinforced its left flank, these ambushing troops were routed and fled back into the mountains in a sorry state.

This was only the first wave of the Han army, and only the Dongping army.

Gazing into the distance at the layers upon layers of Han army formations behind the Dongping army, Kong Duanqi felt a surge of despair.

If his few remaining troops could break through such a thick military formation, then there would be no need for any investiture from the Jin Dynasty; Kong Duanqi would dare to declare himself emperor right now!
"Shao Jin, are you even a little bit sober?" Kong Duanqi roared at Shao Jin, "This is a life-or-death battle for us! If you continue to act crazy, I'll let Zhang Nan command the troops!"

"Enough! You old bastard!" Shao Jin turned around and shouted, then simply drew his knife and glared fiercely at Kong Duanqi: "Isn't our current situation entirely your fault, you old dog?! If you dare to bark again, I'll chop off your head first!"

Kong Duan instinctively took a step back, but also drew his sword, confronting Shao Jin: "Then why don't you go and die for righteousness too?! Die like Ye Shichan and Liang Atai! You had ambitions back then, but now you're blaming me. Even villains have to cower and show their true colors?!"

The two commanders got into a dispute, and some of the guards around them were shocked, while others simply drew their swords and confronted each other, as if they were about to have a fight in the central command.

Seeing this, Shao Jin chuckled nervously twice, then turned around with his sword in hand, looking at the fierce battle in front of him, and said slowly as if nothing had happened: "Now is the time to muster our strength. If we can break through the Dongping army in front of us, we might still have a chance to survive, and we might even be able to wait for the Left Prime Minister's reinforcements. But if we continue to be beaten here, the whole army will collapse in no time!"

Although Kong Duanqi looked down on Shao Jin, he still acknowledged the latter's military capabilities and immediately asked, "Then, shall we order the armies to launch a counterattack now?"

Shao Jin nodded, then shook his head and said, "I know that Zhang Nan you just mentioned, his 800 armored soldiers are all elite troops gathered from various wealthy families. If they're not going to use them now, when will they?"

"Give Zhang Nan the order to take advantage of the Dongping army's reinforcements on the left flank, leaving the central force vulnerable, and attack from the middle to completely crush the Dongping army's central army!"

Kong Duanqi hesitated upon hearing this.

He wondered if Shao Jin had offended Zhang Nan because of his words, and that Zhang Nan wanted to use him as a tool to kill him.
Shao Jin seemed to see through Kong Duanqi's thoughts and chuckled a few more times: "Mr. Kong, anyway, I've already become a piece of trash. My brothers have turned against me, and my benefactor has died. My ambitions are burning, but I've been held back by a hero like Liu Dalang with his overwhelming power. There's no point in living anymore. Even if I die, I won't have any regrets. I just wonder if Mr. Kong thinks the same way."

Faced with Shao Jin's sneer, Kong Duanqi also made up his mind.

This is a battle we must fight with our lives on!
However, just as Kong Duanqi turned around, intending to personally arrange for Zhang Nan to go into battle, he heard Shao Jin's voice again behind him.

"The Dongping army in front of us only has a little over three thousand men, with less than six hundred soldiers in the central army and eight hundred armored soldiers under Zhang Nan. If we still can't break through, then let him not come back and die on the battlefield as an apology!"

Kong paused, then nodded slowly and quickly left.

As one of the leading figures of the powerful clans in Dongping Prefecture, Zhang Nan naturally wouldn't embarrass Kong Duanqi at this time. After Kong Duanqi personally issued the military order, Zhang Nan immediately ordered his soldiers to put on heavy armor and slowly advance two quarters of an hour later.

Although Zhang Nan was also afraid of the Han army, he did not believe that the Dongping army could stop him.

Just kidding, this is the most elite force assembled by the powerful families of Dongping Prefecture. If they can't even break through the first line of the Han army, then what's the point of fighting this battle?
This armored army did not wear robes or cloaks; their lapel armor was meticulously polished, reflecting the pale winter morning light, making the entire armored army seem to blend into the Beiqing River, becoming shimmering.

The phrase "armor gleaming in the sun, like golden scales opening" perfectly describes this scene.

The appearance of the armored army greatly emboldened the Dongping rebels, and their morale soared. Several powerful private armies launched a counterattack, hoping to use their superior numbers to crush the Dongping army first.

"Charge into Jinan! Take whatever wealth and women you desire!" Zhang Nan spurred his horse back and forth across the battlefield, shouting, "Back in Dongping, I'll bestow titles and honors upon my wife and children!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

Eight hundred armored soldiers, full of high morale, formed a square formation and slowly advanced towards the central army of the Dongping Army.

With the armored troops as the spearhead, the rebel army in Dongping Prefecture launched a full-scale counterattack.

The Dongping army was already at a disadvantage in terms of strength, with a large number of troops concentrated on Li Jinyi's left wing, so the central army immediately appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

Xiao En was furious when he saw this. Just as he was about to personally lead his guards to stabilize the line, he heard a horn sound behind him.

He glanced back for a moment, and only after seeing the yellow flag, representing urging, raised did he grit his teeth and say angrily, "Ah-Chuo, divide the army into two groups. You lead half to the right wing, and I'll go to the left wing. Hurry!"

Hu Yanchuo originally wanted to say something, but after hearing Xiao En's decision, he could only nod slightly.

Zhang Nan's armored troops, clad in three layers of heavy armor, were unable to launch a rapid assault.

But so many armored soldiers marched forward slowly, their long spears and great axes forming a formidable wall, enough to crush everything in their path. However, just before the formal engagement, Zhang Nan discovered that the Dongping army's central force seemed to have collapsed without a fight.

Although Zhang Nan was somewhat surprised by this, he was not too astonished. After all, facing the armored army pressing in, temporarily avoiding their sharp edge was actually the right choice.

However, the armored army had no way to pursue them. Just as Zhang Nan was about to give the order for the light infantry on both flanks to pursue the fleeing Dongping soldiers, he suddenly realized that the Dongping army's central force had not scattered or fled backwards, but had split into two flanks, leaving only the wide, flat road in the middle.

Looking at the dust-filled road, Zhang Nan immediately felt a chill run down his spine.

The Dongping army did not retreat, but rather made way for subsequent troops to advance.

Could it be the Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry, famous for their charge into battle?
Thinking of this, Zhang Nan quickly tensed up and instinctively wanted to stop the armored troops and form ranks to meet the impending attack.

However, upon turning his head and seeing the private soldiers of powerful clans who were following the Ironclad Army in launching a counterattack on both flanks, Zhang Nan quickly realized that if the Ironclad Army stopped at this moment, those private soldiers of powerful clans would definitely become separated, and then the invading enemy would have too many directions to choose from for their attack.

"Push them down! No matter what kind of demons or monsters they are! Push them down!" In a flash, Zhang Nan made his decision. He drew his knife and shouted.

His personal guards immediately roared in unison, "Kill the traitors! Kill the traitors!"

Soon, the entire armored army marched with firm steps into the dust raised by the retreat of the Dongping army.

After advancing no more than a hundred paces, the sound of armor scraping against each other could be heard from the dust, and the sound of orderly footsteps echoed in the distance, confirming Zhang Nan's guess.

"Not cavalry...not cavalry, but infantrymen!"

Zhang Nan felt reassured, but upon seeing the banner piercing through the smoke and dust, his heart sank again.

Select forward!

thunder!
It's the Vanguard! It's Lei Ben!
One of Liu Huai's two trump cards!

Zhang Nan knew he would encounter the elite Han army today, but he did not expect to meet the elite cadet swordsman at the Han army's first vanguard.

Is Liu Huai also facing a life-or-death situation? Why are they fighting so desperately?
Even though infantrymen like the Vanguard Army are incredibly strong and have impressive combat capabilities, they cannot fight for long. After one battle, they are unlikely to be deployed a second time in a normal major battle.

This trump card, appearing in the very first round, felt to Zhang Nan like an opponent in a poker game starting with four twos and two kings—an utterly absurd preemptive strike.

However, both sides were heavily armored infantrymen, and they were already fully arrayed in battle formation. They were only a hundred paces apart, and at this point, there was no room for retreat.

"Halt! Halt! Form ranks!"

"Form ranks! Align left and right! Eat it all! Eat it all!"

Both sides simultaneously ordered themselves to stand firm and then began to reorganize their ranks.

Archers and crossbowmen, along with light infantry and a small number of cavalry, moved out immediately, javelins and spears raised, arrows and crossbow bolts flying, and the battle between the two sides' lightly armed troops instantly became fierce.

Both sides attempted to scatter the enemy's heavy infantry covering their own troops, while simultaneously disrupting the enemy's heavy infantry formation.

Both sides failed.

Both Lei Ben and Zhang Nan immediately put all their cards on the table. After finding that the cards were evenly matched, they increased their bets and risked their entire fortunes.

"Enter!"

"attack!"

Lei Ben and Zhang Nan issued their orders almost simultaneously, and the armored infantry on both sides shouted in unison, launching a frontal attack.

On one side were spears and axes, and on the other side were heavy longswords. Both sides were armor-piercing weapons, but they couldn't withstand the fact that everyone's armor was too thick.

If we consider the typical duration of a heavy infantry duel, it would be quite normal for the two sides to fight for an hour.

The battle will continue until one side is exhausted and unable to maintain its formation, and the army's formation collapses on a large scale, before a victor can be determined.

The Vanguard is not fighting alone.

Hu Yananxian, as the second vanguard, has led four thousand Wucheng soldiers into the battlefield and immediately found the weak point of the Dongping Prefecture rebels, and has committed his five hundred most elite cavalry and one thousand infantrymen to the battle.

This weak link was precisely the right wing of the Dongping Prefecture rebels, which Li Jinyi's troops were directly facing.

(End of this chapter)