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

Chapter 725 Moved by Righteousness, Scholars Forget Their Lives
"Shi Baiju's troops were defeated, so is he still alive?"

Luo Shenyan, who was bypassing the northernmost part of the Dongping army's chariot formation, watched helplessly as the rightmost flank of the Tianping army collapsed, his heart filled with unease.

Originally, his three thousand troops were supposed to be positioned to the right rear of Shi Baiju, blocking the retreat of the Jin army's armored cavalry, then cooperating with the Tianping army to stabilize the line, and then taking turns fighting with Shi Baiju's troops.

Luo Shenyan had just arrived at his position and was still forming ranks when Shi Baiju's troops suffered a rout, catching him completely off guard.

The scout pulled on the reins and shouted, "Someone saw Commander Shi's flag, but the battlefield is too chaotic, and we don't know where he went."

Looking at the chaotic battlefield and listening to the vague reports from the scouts, Luo Shenyan knew that it was time for him to make a decision.

"Issue my order: All troops, advance! The people of Shandong have supported us with their blood and sweat until now; today is the day to kill the enemy and serve our country!"

As the core force of the Han army, the Jingnan Army naturally made extraordinary moves. The three thousand soldiers formed a battle formation during their march, with each unit consisting of fifty men forming a small square formation to cooperate in clearing the surrounding battlefield.

In contrast to Luo Shenyan's resolute advance, Wanyan Zhang and Liu E were practically at each other's throats at this point.

"General Wanyan, the Tianping rebels have already collapsed. Why don't you lead your troops to pursue them? Do you want them to regroup and turn around to fight again?" Liu E shouted, somewhat losing his composure.

Liu E's anger was justified. This was the first victory his Han army had achieved. After being suppressed for a long time, they had finally broken a corner of the Han army's formation. However, Wanyan Zhang did not cooperate with him to expand the victory. How could he not be extremely angry?

Wanyan Zhang initially ignored Liu E, only turning his head to look at the Jin cavalry swarming out from the breach. Only after being thoroughly annoyed by the entanglement did he spur his horse forward a few steps, grab Liu E's arm, and roar: "Are you blind? Can't you see the state of our army?! How can we continue fighting?!"

Liu E's cheek twitched, deeply regretting handing over all his Han cavalry. Otherwise, how could he be at a disadvantage now? He could only stubbornly say, "General Wanyan, you always boast that your Jurchen armored cavalry is invincible with over ten thousand men. Is it really that in such a short time that you can only retreat in such a sorry state? Is it that the Jin cavalry is incompetent, or that you, Wanyan Zhang, are useless?!"

Upon hearing this, Wanyan Zhang flew into a rage, released Liu E's arm, and drew his sword, ready to strike.

Liu E also wanted to draw his sword, but Wanyan Shoudao was one step ahead of him and directly used his spear to deflect the sword in Wanyan Zhang's hand.

"Say less!" Wanyan Shoudao was also somewhat exasperated.

Two generals, right before everyone's eyes, were actually about to kill each other! What kind of situation was that?!

However, as the general who led the cavalry attack alongside Wanyan Zhang, Wanyan Shoudao was equally furious with Liu E: "Commander Liu, you are being completely unreasonable. If your Han infantry had been able to defeat the Tianping rebels head-on earlier, the armored cavalry would not have been in such a sorry state."

Faced with this question that He Shi Lie Zhi Ning had already raised, Liu E felt extremely ashamed and indignant, yet she could not deny it.

The infantry of the Han army in Youyan could not break through the Han army's formation head-on, even when the formation was isolated. This was an undeniable fact that no one could refute.

To be honest, it was only because Heshilie Zhining wasn't around that he was upset about not being able to call Wanyan Yong over.

Wanyan Liang had a thousand faults, but he had one thing in common: he dared to go to the battlefield, even personally leading his elite troops into battle. Maintaining morale was one aspect, but more importantly, it meant that his generals dared not be lenient with him.

For example, right now, as soon as Wanyan Yong's Golden Guard banner is erected in the central army, Wanyan Zhang would already be leading his banner, gathering a group of armored cavalry, and driving the routed troops to charge into the Han army's formation. Why would he be here making a fuss?
In the short time that was wasted, the three suddenly realized that the armored cavalry, which had begun to withdraw in an orderly manner, had suddenly become chaotic again.

Surprised, Wanyan Zhang still sent his personal guards to investigate.

The guards merely circled around a group of armored cavalry, glanced at them in the distance, and returned, their faces filled with tension: "General! It's the Shandong bandits' troops! The Shandong bandits are here again!"

“How many people are there?!”

"I don't know, but there are definitely two or three thousand people. The front row is full of armored soldiers, and they're only about two miles from here!"

Wanyan Zhang's face immediately turned ashen.

At this point, at least two thousand Jin cavalrymen had not yet escaped. If the Han army blocked the way, then all would be lost.

"Liu E!" Before Wanyan Zhang could speak, the more composed Wanyan Shoudao spoke first, abandoning even the most basic courtesy: "I don't want to argue about right and wrong with you now, but many of the Golden Armor Cavalry haven't withdrawn! Let all the Han soldiers hold the line! We must take advantage of this Shandong bandit group's unstable foothold and crush them!"

Upon hearing this, Liu E's face also turned ashen.

After a moment of uncertain expression, Wanyan Zhang said, "I can probably muster another five or six hundred cavalry to attack the Shandong bandits from the flank and tie them down! Commander Liu! The front is your responsibility!"

After saying this, Wanyan Zhang led his troops away and headed north.

Under Wanyan Shoudao's intense gaze, Liu E had no choice but to issue the following orders: "Order Liu Qing to lead his three thousand troops eastward, only allowed to advance, not retreat! Order Zhang An to lead his two thousand troops to follow Liu Qing."

After giving the order, Liu E hurriedly retreated as if avoiding something, whether because he dared not face the elite Han army or because he could not bear to see the Youyan soldiers who were about to suffer heavy casualties.

After receiving the military order, Liu Qing and Zhang An did not hesitate. They simply gathered their troops, arranged their ranks, and then advanced according to the command. However, they had just finished a major battle, and fatigue and weakness were inevitable.

Liu Qing's force consisted of fresh reinforcements sent from the central army, so they were in a better position. Zhang An's two thousand soldiers had been fighting for over an hour, and even with rotations and rest, they were already exhausted.

But they were, after all, the elite troops of Youyan Han, and their morale was still quite high.

If the Youyan region were to recruit soldiers with the same ruthless methods as Wanyan Liang, it wouldn't be impossible to raise another 70,000 to 80,000 troops, but their fighting strength would be completely unreliable.

Therefore, this time only 20,000 elite Han soldiers were transferred south, while Liu E sent 5,000 infantrymen. Luo Shenyan's face was undoubtedly very big.

Ding Daxing, the deputy commander of the left army, was maintaining more than twenty small square formations advancing in unison when he saw that some Jin infantry dared to come to meet him. He immediately led his troops to meet them.

The two sides clashed on the spot, just a few hundred paces behind the position of Baiju's troops, once again blocking the retreat route of the Jin cavalry.

The Jin army's attack over half a day was ultimately in vain.

Liu Huai remained in the central command position, gazing into the distance while piecing together information about the battlefield based on intelligence gathered by passing military envoys and scouts.

"Luo Shenyan has gone to protect the flank of the Tianping Army." Liu Huai nodded slightly, and then issued a military order: "Order Li Xiu to lead the enemy-breaking army westward from the right flank of the chariot formation, following behind Luo Shenyan!"

Liang Su also became somewhat uneasy: "We've defeated 2,500 enemy soldiers, should we send them all?"

Liu Huai nodded: "Go, all of you!"

Liang Su was not the commander-in-chief after all; he was resourceful but indecisive. Upon hearing this, he became even more nervous: "In that case, the central army will only have eight thousand men left."

As he spoke, Liang Su pointed to the large cavalry formations on both flanks of the Jin army and swallowed hard: "The main force of the Jin cavalry hasn't moved yet. Isn't that a bit too risky?"

Liu Huai also looked at the massive cavalry and shook his head, saying, "I originally wanted to use Marshal Yue's method to deal with the Jin bandits, but who knew they had improved so much. Let's try a different approach then."

Liang Su immediately understood that Liu Huai actually wanted to use himself as bait to lure the main force of the Jin cavalry to attack.

Only after forcing the Jin army to use its trump card can the Han army's trump card be used to kill the Jin army without fail.

Seeing that Liang Su was deep in thought and his face was pale, Liu Huai couldn't help but reassure him: "Don't worry, our army has already set up its formation and we have elite troops and fierce generals in charge. How could we be defeated by these ten thousand Jin cavalry? Mr. Liang, you underestimate the accumulation and efforts of Shandong over the years."

Liang Su finally nodded with difficulty.

After Liu Huai affixed his seal to the troop mobilization document, he solemnly said to the military envoy, "Tell Li Xiu that after this great battle, the Po Di Army will be renamed the Dong Hai Army!"

Although the military envoy was somewhat puzzled, he still conveyed the original message to Li Xiu.

It must be said that Liu Huai's grasp of people's hearts was extremely precise; with just a word spoken on the spot, he moved Li Xiu to tears of gratitude.

The army that broke through the enemy lines was formed from the remnants of the uprising led by Zhang Wang and Xu Yuandong, with the strongmen of Haizhou as its backbone. After Zhang Xiaoyi's death in battle, Li Xiu took command of the army.

As the Han army achieved victory after victory, fewer and fewer of the former members of the enemy forces who had participated in the Donghai Uprising were left in the ranks.

Li Xiu fears that one day, everyone, including himself, will forget that there was once a fisherman and a farmer who rose up against the Jin Dynasty's exorbitant taxes and levies, and died and had their families wiped out for it.

Now that Liu Huai has made a promise to change the general's name to the Eastern Navy after the war, as the Han army conquers the world and gradually grows stronger, the origin of the Eastern Navy's name will be recorded in historical books. Those who died anonymously on the road of resistance will finally be remembered in history books and their names will be passed down to posterity. How can this not move people to tears of gratitude?

At this moment, Li Xiu held the military order document, looked up at the East China Sea wave flag embroidered with the words "Li" and "Zhang", and said through gritted teeth, "Brother Xiao Yi, let's go!"

The momentum of the enemy's 2,500 men advancing towards the battlefield could not be kept secret. Soon, Tudan Hailuo, who commanded the right wing of the Jin army's armored cavalry, learned of this news and fell into great doubt.

After splitting his forces, Tudan Hailuo still had five Meng'an armored cavalrymen under his command, but he dared not make any more rash moves.

Like Uyanchala on the left wing, they were not afraid of death, but they were afraid that the war would collapse because of their mistakes.

In such a tense atmosphere, Tudan Hailuo really wanted to talk to someone, but when he looked at his lieutenant and then at his personal guards, he found that they were just as nervous, so he gave up the idea of ​​speaking.

Suddenly, Tudan Hailuo had an idea and said to his guards, "Summon that man surnamed Gao from Bohai. I have something to ask him!"

(End of this chapter)