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

Chapter 628 His Prestige Shines Brightly

The Tianxiong Army stormed out of the city, crossed the defensive perimeter covered with deer antlers and wooden fences, and charged directly into the Jin army camp.

There were no dramatic scenes of cannons roaring and flames erupting, because oil and fodder were extremely precious and could not be used for such things.

But once the drums sounded, it was only natural that ambushes would spring up everywhere.

The Jin army that ambushed in the barren camp was not many, only about seven or eight hundred men, and most of them were infantry and cavalrymen with short weapons and light armor. They left their warhorses in the rear camp, waiting for Wang Youzhi to leave the city before the whole army came out.

If we can suppress Wang Youzhi's offensive this time, the army can safely return to the north with the spoils of war.

The commander of this force was Gao Cunxin, the third general of the Wu'an Army, who originally thought it was a simple task.

However, the two sides had only been fighting for a quarter of an hour when a series of urgent bugle calls came from the east.

Gao Cunxin knew that this was a warning from the cavalry, so he immediately became alert and ran to a watchtower to look east.

A line of smoke and dust billowed on the horizon, as if a large army was approaching.

Gao Cunxin was immediately terrified and then recklessly ordered a retreat.

Who else could be attacking at this time? It must be the elite of the Han army! And it is very likely that it is the elite force personally led by Fei Hu Zi, perhaps even the renowned Fei Hu armored cavalry.

Gao Cunxin did not consider himself to be more valiant than Jia Gu Qingchen.

Although the Wu'an Army's light cavalry withdrew, they did not inflict significant casualties on the Tianxiong Army. As a result, Wang Youzhi directly led his light infantry to follow the Jin army and cut through two empty camps.

Seeing that he couldn't shake off the Tianxiong Army, and seeing the faint outline of flags on the horizon, Gao Cunxin immediately made up his mind.

Run, and run fast!

The original plan was for Jia Gu Qingchen to delay the main force of the Han army by ambushing them for one or two days. Combined with the time saved by the Wu'an army's forced march, this would give them three or four days, enough to create a strategic distance for the main army to retreat.

No one expected that Liu Huai would personally lead the armored cavalry as the vanguard. Even more surprisingly, Jia Gu Qingchen, a recognized fierce general, was defeated by Liu Huai's army in the very first encounter, not only without delaying the Han army for a day.

This has led to the Jin army having very little time. Now it seems that the Han army is also making a desperate gamble, using all its cavalry as the vanguard, determined to kill all the Jin soldiers under the walls of Liaocheng!

After barely managing to shake off Wang Youzhi, Gao Cunxin rushed straight to the banks of the Majia River west of Liaocheng.

The Majia River is located west of Liaocheng. It is a small river running north-south, only about twenty paces wide. Several pontoon bridges have been built across it, but there are still more than two thousand soldiers who have not yet crossed the river.

It wasn't that the Wu'an Army was moving too slowly, but rather that the conscripted soldiers and abducted women were moving too slowly. Heshi Lieliangbi ordered the main army to cross the river first, and the Wu'an Army's rear camp escorted these able-bodied men and women, so their speed naturally slowed down.

Before Gao Cunxin could speak, Gao Anren, who was on the east bank of the Majia River directing the subsequent troops to cross the river, shouted: "Why did you come back so quickly? Didn't I tell you to hold off the enemy army?"

Gao Cunxin, a senior general in the Wu'an Army, couldn't care less about arguing with Gao Anren at this moment. He pointed to the east and said, "Liu the traitor is here! He's bringing a large army!"

The voice was not lowered, and many soldiers around heard the news and immediately became flustered.

Gao Anren wanted nothing more than to tear this fellow's mouth apart, but he still suppressed his anger and said, "Even if Liu the traitor has come, he has only made a long march, his troops are incomplete, and his formation is not in order. What are you afraid of? Go and hold him off!"

Gao Cunxin's face was alternating between pale and flushed.

Even if they had doubts about the extent of Liu Huai's achievements before, now that the Shenwei Army had been wiped out before their eyes, the officers of the Wu'an Army had a general idea of ​​what was going on.

This is truly a man-eating tiger.

Compared to Liu Huai, Gao Jingshan was at best a wolf. And Gao Cunxin wasn't even a rabbit.

"Gao Erlang, don't boast. If you think you're so capable, why don't you try stopping that Flying Tiger?" Gao Cunxin said through gritted teeth. "I'll stay here and keep the army crossing the river in an orderly manner, what do you say?"

This actually constitutes a violation of military orders.

However, disobeying Gao Jingshan's military orders would at worst result in being beaten with a military rod; but going against the Han army could really lead to death.

Now it was Gao Anren's turn to turn pale.

Gao Cunxin was afraid of Liu Huai, but wasn't Gao Anren also afraid?

Although Gao Anren's military rank and official position were constantly rising, on the battlefield against the Han army, he went from one defeat to another. From Haizhou to Yizhou, from Huaidong back to Dongping Prefecture, he was constantly being beaten by Liu Huai. Every time they met, he would suffer heavy losses. Gao Anren had long been traumatized.

Sending Gao Anren to stop the Han army? Don't be ridiculous!
Not to mention the two Gao family members shifting the blame to each other.

After Wang Youzhi chased the Jin army's light cavalry through the empty camp, he saw more than two thousand Jin soldiers standing guard on the banks of the Majia River, and he felt a little uneasy.

After all, the Tianxiong Army had been fighting for many days and was only able to keep up with their courage and fighting spirit. After another round of fighting, there were only about four hundred light soldiers following Wang Youzhi. Could they really defeat the Jin army with these people?

"Are you the Tianxiong Army?"

Just as Wang Youzhi hesitated, a Han army scout carrying a small flag with Chinese characters approached and shouted, "Is there a general in charge here?"

Wang Youzhi immediately stepped forward and shouted back to the camp: "Wang Youzhi of Bozhou, Tianxiong Army, is here! Is it Flying Tiger Gentleman who has arrived?!"

The scout sized Wang Youzhi up and down, then nodded solemnly and said, "Commander-in-Chief, you have led the entire cavalry force, galloping through the night. You will arrive in a quarter of an hour. General Wang, today is the day to make your mark!"

With that, the rider turned his horse around and prepared to leave.

Wang Youzhi quickly asked, "Does Lord Feihu have any instructions?"

The scout pointed to the Majia River, two miles away, and said, "What more orders do I need? Kill the Jin bandits!" The scout then immediately left. After hesitating for a moment, Wang Youzhi turned back and shouted, "Our villagers who have been coerced are right in front of us, only a few hundred steps away. If we can break through, our villagers will be reunited, and Bozhou will be at peace; if we can't, the next time we meet will be thousands of miles apart, separated by life and death!"

"A mere few hundred steps! Let's all do our best!"

With that, Wang Youzhi put down his helmet and charged at the Jin army's formation.

Before Gao Anren and Gao Cunxin could reach a conclusion, they looked up and saw that the Tianxiong Army, armed with short weapons, had already charged into the Jin army's formation. They were immediately taken aback, and then flew into a rage.

It's only natural that we're afraid of the Han army. What is King Jiu of Bozhou? A stray dog ​​that's been driven to the brink of destruction by the Jin army. Do you dare to keep baring your teeth?
Gao Cunxin was about to lead his personal guards into battle, but Gao Anren stopped him, suppressing his anger and saying, "Enough, it's not just about Wang Youzhi now, it's about Fei Huzi who's here."

"Drive out all those conscripts and women, let them block the way, and our army will immediately retreat across the Majia River!"

Gao Cunxin was somewhat surprised: "These are all General Jiagu's spoils, this..."

Most of the troops under Jia Gu Qingchen's command were tribal soldiers from Liaodong, and they had a certain degree of private army characteristics. The Jin court only borne a small part of the military pay, and the majority of the pay came from looting on the battlefield.

The conscripted soldiers and women abducted from Bortala were either reduced to slaves, sold off, or kept for their own use outside the Great Wall once they reached a safe place.

Losing these men is equivalent to two thousand cavalrymen under Jia Gu Qingchen working hard for several months, suffering heavy casualties, but only having some gold and silk to keep them, without gaining any significant benefits.

It would be a miracle if things didn't get chaotic by then.

Gao Anren ignored all of this and said directly, "You know this is Jia Gu Qingchen's spoils, what does it have to do with our Wu'an Army?! You're afraid of Jia Gu Qingchen, but aren't you afraid of Fei Huzi?! Damn it, even Jia Gu Qingchen is afraid of Fei Huzi!"

As the dust kicked up by the Han cavalry drew ever closer, Gao Anren said impatiently, "You go quickly. Your cavalry are perfect for this. I'll maintain the pontoon bridge!"

After saying this, Gao Anren ignored Gao Cunxin's reaction and directly sounded the horn, ordering his infantry to retreat to the pontoon bridge and form a battle formation with their backs to the river.

Gao Cunxin only pondered for a moment before gritting his teeth and making up his mind.

When the time comes, just say that Fei Hu Zi has come in person to rescue the people of Bozhou. If Jia Gu Qing Chen wants to argue, let him go and reason with Liu Huai himself.

"You few, each take your troops and drive out all those conscripts and women! Make them run, the more chaotic the better!"

The Jin army's light cavalry acted swiftly and quickly drove away the more than 1,000 women and more than 2,000 conscripted soldiers.

The Jin infantry then retreated, and these women and conscripts filled the space in front of the Tianxiong Army and the Jin army, preventing Wang Youzhi from advancing any further.

However, Wang Youzhi was not angry; on the contrary, he was overjoyed. After all, his initial goal was to rescue the villagers, so this was a lucky accident.

"Quick! Quick! Quick! Find some loud voices and shout together, 'Run towards Liaocheng! Run towards Liaocheng!'"

Wang Youzhi shouted the order, while grabbing Chen Zhongkan: "Old Chen, run back! Stop Flying Tiger Lord's cavalry! These are all our own people, don't charge around and trample them!"

Knowing the danger, Chen Zhongkan turned and ran.

However, after running only a few steps, Chen Zhongkan saw a large Chinese character flag stop several hundred paces away and immediately began blowing horns to gather troops.

When Chen Zhongkan arrived under the banner, he couldn't tell who Liu Huai was, so he bowed and said loudly, "This humble general Chen Zhongkan pays respects to Flying Tiger Gentleman!"

Liu Huai removed his helmet and, without any formalities, asked directly, "General Wang, are you going into battle to rescue our fellow villagers?"

Chen Zhongkan turned slightly and replied to Liu Huai, "No one is more wise than Commander-in-Chief! That's absolutely right!"

Looking at the chaos, Liu Huai sneered: "The Jurchen traitors are really quick-witted. Do they really think they can stop my Han army's iron cavalry like this?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhongkan became anxious and was about to say something when Liu Huai continued, "Brother Bi, there is a gap along the river on the north side, and there is a banner with the character 'Gao' on it. Go around through there; you can avoid trampling the people and charge straight at the enemy general. However, you can only bring about fifty armored cavalry. You must seize that banner for me!"

Before Bi Zaiyu could respond, Yao Buping interjected, "What's so difficult about that, young master? I only need thirty riders! I will surely capture the enemy general alive and present him to you!"

Bi Zaiyu was extremely anxious: "Young master, I only need twenty riders! If I cannot kill the enemy, I am willing to accept military law."

Having said that, Bi Zaiyu stopped arguing with Yao Buping and immediately called over twenty armored cavalrymen to quietly detour along the road Liu Huai had pointed out.

Liu Huai first patted Yao Buping on the shoulder to appease him, then smiled at Chen Zhongkan and said, "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, General Chen."

"Bi Zaiyu, who just went into battle, is the young hero who killed Wanyan Alin, the general of Wuping Army."

Chen Zhongkan was filled with awe.

Liu Huai then patted Yao Buping on the shoulder and said, "And this Yao Buping, Yao Erlang, is the young hero who killed Han Tang, the commander of the Wu Rui Army."

Chen Zhongkan was even more surprised.

Is the General Commander of the Jin State's Army like a field of leeks, able to be plucked by anyone?
Liu Huai sighed and said, "The two are close in age and both have youthful spirits. They always compete with each other and insist on determining who is better, which really puts me in a difficult position."

Chen Zhongkan couldn't understand this happy trouble, but immediately felt inferior in front of the two young men, and even Liu Huai seemed somewhat unfathomable.

Liu Bei may have a kind appearance, but when Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun stand by his side, swords in hand, looking down with disdain, no one would regard Liu Bei as a friendly uncle next door.

Red flowers need green leaves to complement them, especially when those green leaves are another blooming flower, which makes the red flowers look even more noble.

Yao Buping ignored Chen Zhongkan's ulterior motives. While gathering his troops, he kept an eye on the battlefield and then slammed his palm hard with his horsewhip after a short while.

"How come Bi Da got to win again?!"

(End of this chapter)