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

Chapter 722 A Thousand Enemy Cavalry Seems to Be Nothing

Being in a large army means you can see very little.

Surrounded by crowds on all sides, and with a military order to keep quiet, ordinary soldiers could only clearly hear the drumbeats used to mark their steps, in addition to the sounds of footsteps and the clanging of weapons.

Of course, the head coach has a lot of information to gather.

But in these flat plains where even mounds are hard to find, the generals' field of vision is at most only a horse's width above that of ordinary soldiers. Their means of obtaining information still largely depend on the communication between military envoys and scouts.

Because the quality of the scouts varies, the information received by the commander may not be entirely accurate.

You might mention the front gate tower, while he might say something completely unrelated like a hip joint—these kinds of situations can happen from time to time.

This requires the generals of each unit to make decisions on the spot.

For example, right now.

Liu Huai frowned and said to the military envoy, "Did Yelü Xingge really say that? Say it again!"

Under Liu Huai's intense gaze, the military envoy wiped the sweat from his brow and forced a smile, saying, "The Liao cavalry has already inflicted a great defeat on the Jin light cavalry. Commander Yelü has petitioned for merit on behalf of Monk Liu! At the same time, I request that Commander Langjun dispatch the entire armored cavalry to join the Liao cavalry in driving out the routed troops and charging into the Jin army's formation."

Liu Huai sneered: "Go back and tell Yelü Xingge that in large-scale military operations, discipline must be strict. Follow the plan step by step, don't harbor any illusions, and don't take risks at every opportunity. Also, ask him for me if those routed troops can truly shake the Jin army's formation!"

The military envoy dared not delay, immediately responded loudly, and rode away.

Although Liang Su was still nervous, he maintained the demeanor of a military advisor: "Young Master, don't be so harsh. After all, he is asking for battle, which is better than being afraid of battle."

Liu Huai stroked the Liquan Spear, looked at the billowing dust in the distance, and shook his head, saying, "It's not that I don't trust Yelü Xingge."

"The Liao cavalry fought brilliantly this time, but Yelü Xingge bypassed Xin Qiji, the vanguard commander, and came directly to me for orders. I'm worried..."

At this point, Liu Huai shook his head.

These naturalized Khitans and Jurchens basically regarded themselves as loyal subjects. Therefore, although Yelü Xingge had been on good terms with Xin Qiji when he was with the Tianping Army, after they both came under Liu Huai's command, they avoided each other and had little communication.

However, bringing political bad habits to the battlefield would cause serious problems.

"Cao Da Che!" After a moment's thought, Liu Huai took off his sword and said to his personal guard, "Give my sword to Xin Qiji, and I will grant him the authority to act unilaterally at the front!"

Cao Dache immediately took his sword and went to deliver the order.

Xin Qiji was, after all, a seasoned general forged in the crucible of war. He knew that once he took up the sword, it meant that all the soldiers fighting on the front lines would obey his command.

Despite such special treatment, Xin Qiji's expression remained unchanged. He simply took the sword and nodded slowly, saying, "Thank you for your hard work, Brother Cao. Please tell your brother that since I am at the forefront, I will never let the Jin invaders cross this line!"

Cao Dache nodded in agreement and was about to turn and leave when he saw the Han light cavalry in the midst of the two armies in disarray, before retreating to the flanks.

Then a troop of Jin armored cavalry broke through the enemy lines, seemingly having completely defeated the Han light cavalry and about to charge into the Han army's main formation to show off their might.

Xin Qiji merely glanced at the magnificent banner bearing the character "璋" (zhang) before ordering the formation to continue advancing.

Thanks to long-term drill training, the Han army was able to maintain the neatness of the horizontal formation when arranging small square formations into a large horizontal formation.

The Jin cavalry galloped back and forth at intervals of several hundred paces, but they could neither intimidate the Han army nor stop the advance of the Han army's formation.

Moreover, the Liao cavalry was only scattered, not defeated. They quickly regrouped under the command of Yelü Xingge and Dian Lun, and began to harass the Jin cavalry from all directions.

The thousand armored cavalrymen who went into battle quickly dispersed and were fighting independently.

However, these elite Jin troops were far superior to the Khitan soldiers. Even when dispersed, they could still overwhelm the Liao cavalry. They not only regained control of the surrounding battlefield but also rescued Yelü Wowo's six thousand defeated Khitan soldiers.

"Brother Xin Wu..." Dian Lun, somewhat disheveled, made his way through the gaps between the infantry formations to Xin Qiji's blue rhinoceros banner. He bowed awkwardly and uttered a single sentence before Xin Qiji responded.

“I have a clear understanding of the situation. The Liao cavalry will all withdraw.” Xin Qiji decisively ordered, “Withdraw along the gaps left between the square formations and reorganize the troops at the rear.”

Dian Lun breathed a long sigh of relief.

Light cavalry is not meant for hard battles, and as the two main formations drew closer, with the distance between them less than a mile, the light cavalry lost their space to maneuver and maneuver.

Xin Qiji continued issuing orders: "Order the Tianping Army's Li Tieqiang, Shi Baiju, Du Shiba, and Xin Yuanying to don their armor and advance! Order the Dongping Army to don their armor and form a train formation!"

After saying that, Xin Qiji looked at Cao Dache, who was still standing there, frowned, and then added, "The Jin bandits seem to be using more than just a simple cavalry formation. Tell the Commander to make some preparations as soon as possible."

Cao Dache was already parched from the sight of this grand spectacle, and could only nod repeatedly upon hearing this.

A moment later, the Han army's first vanguard made a slight change in formation.

Nine thousand Taiping infantrymen charged forward and attacked the Jin army's central camp.

Although the Taiping Army also deployed in a horizontal formation, it was impossible for it to be completely seamless. In fact, this horizontal formation consisted of four small square formations, with the central junction serving as a passage for the Liao cavalry to retreat.

Wanyan Zhang's eyes lit up when he saw this.

Of course, "eyes light up" is not just an adjective.

Because the Han army was attacking from east to west, and it was early morning, the Jin army was fighting against the sunlight.

Even though it was early morning, the sun still shone directly on them every now and then, much to Wanyan Zhang's annoyance. At this moment, Wanyan Zhang squinted at the Tianping Army, which had now exposed their flanks, and pulled his deputy general aside, saying, "Go and find the marshal yourself, and have him send another three thousand armored cavalry to wipe out these Shandong bandits!"

The lieutenant, wiping the sweat from his brow, glanced at the Taiping Army's formation and said anxiously, "General, I roughly know what you want to do, but it's too risky. The Marshal won't agree."

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Zhang flew into a rage: "Damn it, whether he agrees or not, I am a veteran who has fought alongside Commander Sa Lihe. Do you think I can't see the situation clearly?! Tell him that no matter whether reinforcements come or not, I will go to carry out my military strategy in a quarter of an hour. Does he think he is the only capable and loyal minister in this Great Jin Dynasty?"

The lieutenant left with a stiff upper lip.

After meeting Heshilie Zhining, he repeated what he had said. He originally thought that the marshal would be furious, but to his surprise, Heshilie Zhining actually ordered Wanyan Shoudao to lead three thousand armored cavalry to fight from the center of the army.

At the same time, Heshilie Zhining ordered all infantrymen to don armor and prepare for battle.

Seeing this, the deputy general could only sigh, "A man's reputation is well-deserved. If his general can see it, how could this marshal not see it?"
"Xileni!" Wanyan Zhang shouted Wanyan Shoudao's Jurchen name: "Today's first merit is rightfully ours!"

Wanyan Shoudao gazed at the Great Balance Banner and shouted back, "I was besieged in Yuancheng by the Taiping rebels because of insufficient troops. It was a great humiliation! Today, I shall avenge this!"

Wanyan Zhang laughed heartily, then raised his spear high: "Charge!"

Subsequently, more than 3,000 Jin cavalrymen pursued the Liao cavalry battalion and swarmed in through the gaps between the various camps of the Tianping Army, dividing the Tianping Army into four square formations that could not coordinate with each other.

Immediately afterwards, Liu E led nearly 10,000 Jin infantrymen in an attack, launching a frontal assault on the Taiping army.

This is the opportunity that Heshilie Zhining and Wanyan Zhang discovered.

Although the Taiping army launched the offensive, in a sense they were separated from the protection of the Han army on both flanks, and in order to create waves of troops that followed, they created some distance between themselves and the rest of the army.

This is essentially a case of an isolated force penetrating deep into enemy territory.

Wanyan Zhang wanted to take a military gamble, dividing and encircling the Taiping Army, and then having the main force of the Jin infantry press forward to completely defeat the Taiping Army in one fell swoop.

Whether Heshilie Zhining had no choice or genuinely felt he should take a gamble, the fact is that he dispatched another three thousand armored cavalry and immediately ordered the entire infantry force to advance.

If we can quickly defeat the Taiping Army, then we can be almost certain to win this battle!

Leading over two thousand armored soldiers at the southern end of the battlefield, on the left flank of the Taiping Army, Li Tieqiang faced the surging Jin army and inexplicably recalled the time when the uprising had just begun in Jinan Prefecture.

Strangely enough, it has only been four or five years since Geng Jing led them to start the uprising, but because they have experienced so much in those years, it feels like a lifetime ago when they look back now.

"Fire your spears!"

"Armored soldiers, advance!"

"Form a six-flower formation! Fire arrows from all sides!"

"Stand still! Anyone who retreats will be executed!"

As well-trained troops, Li Tieqiang's soldiers did not wait for their commander's order before taking action. Instead, they quickly changed formations according to their usual training and engaged the Jin army in direct combat.

Amidst the chaos of the battlefield, Li Tieqiang's thoughts became even more confused.

Only six people joined Geng Jing in the uprising that day.

One of them died in the first battle when he was attacked by a Meng'an Mouke household; he was shot in the neck with an arrow.

One of them was killed in a pincer attack by troops personally led by Heshilie Zhining and Wanyan Bendu, leaving no trace of his body.

Another man, Liu Chuibing, followed Li Tieqiang south to make contact with the Song Dynasty. He was inexplicably captured and, while fleeing, blocked the Jin army's pursuit, and was hacked to pieces.

By the time Geng Jing established his business in Dongping Prefecture, only three of the six old brothers remained: Li Tieqiang, Zhang Anguo, and Shao Jin.

Later, Shao Jin betrayed the Taiping Army, stabbing them in the back and forcing Geng Jiedu to his death.

Zhang Anguo had ulterior motives and became a local military commander.

Of the seven who rose up in the past, is Li Tieqiang the only one who has come to Hebei to face the elite forces of the Jin invaders?

"The earth collapsed and the mountains crumbled, and brave men died; only then were the heavenly ladders and stone steps linked together..."

This poem suddenly came to mind when Li Tieqiang, who had recently started reading, and his heart was filled with emotion.

"General, send a message to the rear army requesting reinforcements!"

"What aid are you asking for?!" Li Tieqiang shouted in response to his deputy's question, "How can a man born between heaven and earth expect others to save him?! Didn't you hear what the military envoy just said?! This is a war to establish the nation! I tell you, I, Li Tieqiang, will fight to the death here today!"

The lieutenant was taken aback, then gritted his teeth and asked, "What does the general intend to do?"

Li Tieqiang put down his shovel, picked up his usual iron spear, pointed it forward, and said arrogantly, "The military order that Brother Xin Wu just gave was to attack. Even though the Jin bandits are powerful now, how can we only defend and not attack?! I will personally go forward and fight for a while, and you will support me. Do you know what to do?"

Seeing the deputy general nod emphatically, Li Tieqiang raised his spear high and shouted, then led two hundred guards wielding large axes forward slowly.

Although the Jin army was mentally prepared and knew that the Han army was not to be trifled with, they did not expect the counterattack to come so quickly. The Han army commander on the right flank was caught off guard and was directly torn apart by Li Tieqiang and killed in front of him.

The right wing of the Jin Dynasty's Han Chinese army immediately descended into chaos.

(End of this chapter)