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

Chapter 732 Hesitation and Intensive Fighting

Wuyan Chala personally led his personal guards, mingling among the ordinary soldiers, and circled twice in front of the Han army's central formation. This not only failed to alleviate his anxiety but also made his headache worse.

Generally speaking, no matter how well-trained and powerful an army is, it will still have weaknesses of one kind or another.

This was even caused by force majeure, because the abilities of generals varied, and the quality of each soldier also varied, with some being brave and fierce, and others being cowardly and lazy.

These weaknesses are the best points of attack for the Jin army.

Testing these weaknesses is quite simple: just have cavalry circle around the enemy and fire intimidating them. Then, you can determine where the enemy's fighting strength is weak based on their reaction.

In the past, whether it was the Khitan, the Mongols, the Western Xia, or the Song Dynasty, their armies were just as powerful as the main force of the Jin army, but they had too many weaknesses. As long as the Jin army could seize one point and launch a fierce attack, it could use that point to cause the entire enemy army to collapse.

But the Han army was different.

This does not mean that the Han army had no weaknesses at all, but rather that the quality of the Han soldiers was very even, and even if they were weak, they were not so weak that they were vulnerable.

At this moment, Tudan Hailuo also arrived from the south side of the great formation. Wuyan Chala did not hold back and directly explained the current difficulties.

Tudan Hailuo circled the Han army's formation twice on his horse, then agreed with Wuyan Chala's statement, and also felt somewhat helpless.

"Chala, the marshal has to deal with 30,000 Shandong bandits, and the troops on both flanks are also entangled with each other, which is why we found this opportunity. We simply cannot afford not to fight."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yanchala also looked helpless and somewhat exasperated: "Hailuo, is it that I don't want to fight? We've brought our entire elite cavalry force and waited for so long, isn't this the opportunity we've been waiting for? But the key is..."

Wu Yanchala pointed to the Han army's formation, his finger finally stopping on the huge banner with the character "Han": "With the formation set up by the Shandong bandits, how can we take them down so easily? How many people will die? And don't forget, although our army's strength is exhausted, the Shandong bandits still have at least several thousand men in their rear guard. No matter how strong these troops are, what will we do if they surround us from the east?!"

Tu Danhailuo clicked his tongue, then fell silent.

Doesn't he know these problems? He's only worrying about them because he doesn't know how to solve them.

Seeing that Tudan Hailuo remained silent, Wuyan Chala solemnly offered a terrible idea: "How about we change our target? Attack the vanguard or rearguard of the Shandong bandits, or if that fails, wipe out all those armored cavalry? We can't just stay here and waste our time!"

Tu Dan Hailuo shook his head repeatedly: "So many armored cavalrymen, many of whom have already begun harassing the Shandong bandits, how can they be so easily gathered together? Even if they are gathered together, how long will it take? And even if there is enough time, won't the round trip consume energy and morale?"

As if he had been waiting for this, Wu Yanchala immediately widened his eyes and angrily said, "This won't do, that won't do, are we just going to stay here and waste our time?"

Tudan Hailuo spread his hands helplessly: "Chala, you can say whatever you want, why test me? Don't you trust me? Or are you worried that I'm afraid of dying?"

Wu Yanchala immediately calmed down, as if he hadn't been the one shouting loudly just now: "The only way now is to dismount and fight on foot. As long as we break down the Shandong bandits' strong defenses, our armored cavalry can charge in and kill Liu the bandit in one fell swoop, and we can pacify half of the Shandong bandits!"

Without any hesitation, Tudan Hailuo immediately nodded: "Then let's do it this way!"

What are the methods to break the mold of strongman politics?
The simplest solution is to physically eliminate this powerful figure.

Based on Liu Huai's past achievements, his personality, and the performance of the Han army, both Jin generals could easily determine that Liu Huai was in the camp.

At this moment, they were only five or six rows of armored soldiers away from the political core of the Han army. How could Wuyan Chala possibly tolerate this?!

No matter how many deaths or injuries his mother suffered, as long as Liu Huai could be killed on the spot, it would still be a win!

With this in mind, Wuyan Chala returned to his main camp on the north side, led twelve armored cavalrymen of the Mouke to dismount, and launched a fierce attack on the central army of the Han army.

On the other side, Tudan Hailuo followed suit, also sending his trusted generals to lead foot knights in a fierce attack.

These elite Jurchen armored cavalry cannot be simply classified as cavalry; they were traditional East Asian warriors, equipped with three weapons, capable of both mounted and foot combat.

The Eastern Jin dynasty occupied Hebei, Youyan, Liaodong, Jin, and parts of the grasslands. They were still carrying on the political legacy of Wanyan Liang, and could only muster more than 20,000 armored cavalrymen, which shows how precious these knights were.

These knights received their pay first, took the spoils of war first, and even snatched women first; their rewards were incredibly generous.

But why do we treat these knights with such kindness on a regular basis?
Isn't it precisely so that at this very moment, these elite troops can brave fire and water and charge forward without regard for anything else?

The saying "love your soldiers like your own children, but use them like mud" perfectly describes this situation. The battle escalated instantly, with both sides taking turns sending archers to exchange fire within five paces, while armored soldiers formed long spear squares, thrusting and shoving at each other.

Light infantrymen crawled through the thicket of spears, engaging in fierce combat with daggers and short swords.

When the battle reached a stalemate, both sides almost simultaneously dispatched heavily armed warriors wielding long swords and great axes, who engaged in a desperate, cutthroat fight.

Compared to this moment and place, the previous battles between the two sides seemed like child's play.

The casualties in that quarter of an hour were enough to make Tudan Hailuo close his eyes in agony, and also to make Wuyan Chala tremble with fear and feel his heart burning with rage.

Liu Huai sat upright on his horse, watching the Han soldiers fight desperately for their lives, and felt the same grief in his heart.

These Han soldiers were warriors who had been tempered by years of war. They were elites who had followed Liu Huai through many battles and were granted land by Liu Huai, allowing them to settle down and build their careers in Shandong.

They are also sons to their parents, fathers to their children, and husbands to their wives.

In such a fierce battle, they were like a leaf thrown into a furnace, silently turning to ashes.

"This is a necessary sacrifice."

Liu Huai tried to convince himself in this way, but a fire was still burning in his heart.

As if sensing Liu Huai's thoughts, Liang Su quickly stepped forward, grabbed the reins of Liu Huai's warhorse, and, despite the sweat beading on his forehead and his trembling, flustered voice, said solemnly, "Commander-in-Chief, I know you are a renowned general, having slain more generals than I have ever seen. However, this is absolutely not the time for you to go into battle. If you fight alone, you will only be adding one more soldier to the army. But if you are wounded and forced to retreat, the morale of the troops will suffer, and even more people will die."

Liu Huai stroked the Liquan Spear on the Victory Hook, nodded with difficulty, and said, "Mr. Liang, you are right..."

Liang Su continued speaking, urging, "Young Master, as long as you keep the banner in the center, it will greatly boost morale. You must not act rashly!"

Liu Huai remained silent, only looking up at the northernmost end of the formation.

Because Liu Huai was on a high, gentle slope, he had a clear view of the surrounding battle. He saw that the Jin army was advancing the fastest to the north of the formation, and a general holding two gleaming golden maces was particularly eye-catching.

At this moment, Wuyan Chala, who was holding two maces, seemed to sense something and looked up.

Their eyes met from dozens of paces apart. Liu Huai's expression remained cold and stern, while Wu Yanchala seemed to have been provoked by something, raising his iron mace and pointing it forward, roaring loudly.

"You traitor Liu! Today I will take your dog's life!"

The Han soldiers on the battlefield were furious, and the crossbowmen firing their crossbows from the gaps in their formation almost simultaneously set their sights on this conspicuous clown.

"General, hurry up!"

The Shenbi crossbow's armor-piercing capability within five paces was even stronger than that of the Jurchen's traditional heavy bow. Upon seeing this, Wuyanchala's personal guards felt their hair stand on end and immediately pulled Wuyanchala behind them before raising their large shields to block.

The shield, made of cowhide and covered with iron, was very sturdy, but it was useless against the crossbow at this distance.

Two shield-bearing guards were shot down, forcing Wuyanchala to retreat temporarily.

As a fierce general who charged into battle, Wuyan Chala was positioned very far forward. With his retreat, the other Jin soldiers were unable to quickly fill his position and could only watch helplessly as the Han army pushed the battle line back.

Wu Yanchala roared angrily. Just as he was about to calm down and organize another offensive, he saw his deputy general approach. His face was normal, but his low voice was full of anxiety.

"General, the Shandong bandits' rear guard has arrived!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yanchala's brows and forehead twitched, and he followed the deputy general's gaze to the easternmost point of the battlefield.

Over there, a large banner with the character "He" was already faintly visible.

(End of this chapter)