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

Chapter 790 The General Dies After a Hundred Battles (Part 2)
The timing of Jia Gu Qingchen's attack was so ingenious that Shi Dunzhong, one of the parties involved, felt as if Wanyan Aguda had appeared before him.

At that time, Li Huo'er led the first wave of troops to break away from the battle, bypassing the flanks of the more than 700 elite Jin soldiers, and attempted to directly attack the gunpowder camp.

Wei Sheng's second force happened to connect with the Jin army's elite troops and officially began their battle.

The third formation, consisting of over seven hundred armored soldiers led by Yu Yuan, had just changed formation. The soldiers deployed in squads and attacked in all directions to clear the retreat of the Loyal Army.

Jia Gu Qingchen arrived just when Yu Yuan's forces were at their weakest. With a single, reckless charge, he inflicted heavy losses on Yu Yuan's hundred-plus armored guards. The fate of the commander, Yu Yuan, was unknown, and the banner was captured.

The third wave dispersed to clear the surrounding area, and the armored soldiers returned to reinforce, quickly engaging in a chaotic battle with the Jin army.

Although the loyal and righteous soldiers were still able to cooperate and fight together thanks to their good military discipline, the loss of Yu Yuan as the command center eventually led to some chaos and delays.

Wei Sheng glanced back at the scene where his retreat was cut off, but his expression didn't change at all. He simply put down his mask and said, "Ignore it, keep pushing forward!"

Wei Sheng's personal guards, along with the more than 500 light soldiers positioned on both flanks, were initially somewhat panicked upon seeing the chaos in their rear. However, upon seeing Wei Sheng's banner move forward, they still lined up and advanced as they had in their usual training.

The garrison commander, Meng'an, was greatly surprised, overjoyed, and then greatly alarmed again, but he could only grit his teeth and persevere.

"General, we are at a huge disadvantage fighting like this!" A military strategist rode up on his horse and shouted, "We are all armored cavalry, and we should be relying on the advantage of our warhorses. Why should we engage in a battle with the Shandong bandits!"

Xingjun Meng'an, who knew some of the inside story, immediately rebuked: "Stop talking nonsense, hold this position and do not move, that is the military order! It is both the military order I gave you and the military order given to me by the noble person above!"

The strategist who had spoken was still unwilling to give up: "General, since we cannot retreat, how about I lead my armored cavalry to harass them? It's too disadvantageous to fight against long-armored warriors with ordinary cavalry and spears. Even if we win every battle, how many of our brave soldiers will be killed or wounded?"

Xingjun Meng'an's eye twitched as he looked towards the front of the battle formation.

He knew that his subordinates were speaking the absolute truth, because in his view, his own armored soldiers were falling like leeks under the onslaught of the long-sword armored soldiers. In less than a moment of fighting, two of the soldiers could not withstand the casualties and scattered backward.

Even if this marching warrior knew that the long-sword armored soldiers were the standard three-hit combo, and that if he could hold out for a little longer, without inflicting too much damage, the long-sword armored soldiers would become ineffective due to exhaustion, how many more people would die in the meantime?
In this kind of weather, the wounds inflicted by such heavy weapons are practically no different from being killed outright.

"Alright, you take your own strategist and flank around to see if you can break through the Shandong bandits' rear. But remember this: the Shandong bandits are not easy to deal with. You can't break their formation unless their formation is scattered!"

The military advisor immediately agreed, then mounted his horse and led nearly a hundred armored cavalry around the right flank of the battlefield.

However, just as he brushed past the banner bearing the character "Li," this astute military strategist sensed something was amiss.

The number of people approaching from the front was clearly disproportionate to the amount of dust they were kicking up.

Just as the marching plan was in doubt, dozens of men a hundred paces away simultaneously mounted their horses and raised a small flag with the character "Cao".

"Jin traitors! You're lucky to have met your grandpa Cao!" Cao Dache, carrying a hard bow, burst into laughter: "Flying Tiger Army! Kill the traitors!"

The fifty Flying Tigers cavalrymen, who had been itching to charge forward, were almost overjoyed at the news and charged toward the Jin army.

The troops on both sides who wanted to bypass the enemy thus began a chaotic battle on their flanks.

Seeing this scene, Wei Sheng, though surprised by what he had expected, had at least managed to mobilize a portion of the Jin army. He then pointed forward and shouted, "This way! Charge!"

Subsequently, Wei Sheng led more than twenty personal guards and armored cavalrymen in a sudden charge.

The Jin army originally only had eight mouke (a type of military officer), and after assigning one mouke, it was almost natural for their formation to become chaotic and vulnerable.

Wei Sheng, carrying his great banner, charged through the gap in the Jin army's formation.

The first to react was Meng'an, who was in command on the spot. He immediately realized that if the Loyal Army were to break up their formation along this gap, his elite force would collapse.

Therefore, this marching Meng'an made the most correct and most natural decision almost immediately.

He also led his personal guards to the front!
Moreover, Wei Sheng's light troop advance gave him a glimmer of hope. Theoretically, as long as that banner with the character "Wei" was cut down here, not only could the current war be put to an end, but even this war could be concluded!

However, Wei Sheng had clearly seen the soldier move his position. Wei Sheng merely turned his horse slightly, seemingly unaware of the movement. As the soldier drew closer, Wei Sheng immediately pulled on the reins and charged head-on into him.

The soldier had no time to react, but the warhorses were galloping at incredible speeds, and in the blink of an eye, the two were only five steps apart.

"Ah!!!" The brave warrior, known for his fierceness in the army, did not back down and roared as he thrust his spear forward.

Wei Sheng merely raised his longsword slightly, without even a twitch of his long beard, and easily deflected the spear thrusting at him with the back of the blade, raising his longsword high in the air.

"Open!" Wei Sheng's phoenix eyes widened to the extreme, and as his two horses shifted, he forcefully slashed down with his long sword.

The longsword struck the soldier's neck. Although he was protected by three layers of armor—a neck guard, shoulder guards, and chainmail—the sharp blade did not penetrate directly through the neck. However, the powerful blow still broke his bones and tendons. He fell off his horse without uttering a sound.

After Wei Sheng's successful attack, his warhorse continued its rapid pace, his long sword swirling like lightning, slashing in all directions. He charged like waves, reaching the Jin army's flag bearer and felling him and his flag with a single, swift stroke.

The Jin army was immediately terrified and alarmed.

The reason for the Jin army's immediate chaos was not due to a rout, but rather because someone wanted to come to their aid, Meng'an. Such behavior would normally be commendable, but at this moment it became the source of the army's disorder.

Some wanted to advance, while others wanted to defend. The Jin army broke up its own formation, and the Loyal Army pressed forward, completely crushing the last few hundred elite troops that the Jin army could organize in the northern camp.

At the same time, Li Huo'er led more than 300 soldiers around the chaotic battle and reached the side of the gunpowder camp.

There were some Jin soldiers in the camp, but not many, only a mere two hundred.

Hearing the increasingly close shouts of battle, the Jin soldiers in the gunpowder camp also became uneasy.

"Quick! Put on the lasso!" "Zhang Er, light the torches and throw them inside, burn whatever you can! Hurry!"

Holding a bow and arrow, Li Huo'er gave a loud order and then shot down a Jin soldier who was peeking out from the top of the wall.

The soldiers of the Loyal Army quickly took out the tinder they carried with them, lit the torches, and some tried to set the wooden fence on fire, while others simply tore open the surrounding tents, set them on fire, and then used their spears to push them inside.

The Jin army was well aware of the situation. With fire coming from all sides, there was simply no room to maneuver in their relatively small camp.

"Go to hell!"

"The Shandong thieves are ruthless!"

"Put out the fire! Water! Sand!"

"Not enough! Not enough! Pick up the torches and throw them out!"

As the torches and other debris kept flying in, the Jin officer was momentarily stunned, but immediately ordered, "Push all the tubes out from the edges and concentrate them in the center!"

After a series of experiments, the Jin Kingdom also discovered the importance of airtightness. In order to ensure the convenience of movement on the battlefield, gunpowder was contained in small wooden barrels about half a person's height and sealed tightly, with a fuse. In critical moments, a knight could carry a barrel and move quickly.

"Boss, this is no good, it's already on fire."

Upon hearing this, the Jin officer felt as if he had been plunged into ice. In the sweltering summer heat, he felt a chill run through his body. He quickly kicked aside the person blocking his way and ran towards a shack.

Upon getting closer, he suddenly noticed that two torches had fallen into a corner of the shack and were already smoldering.

Fortunately, only two gunpowder barrels were charred, and a slight hissing sound could be heard.

The bad news is that this place, which has nearly two hundred gunpowder barrels, will explode like an old house on fire, and there will be no saving it.

"Aliben, you are the commander!" the Jin officer roared, then, steeling himself, stepped forward, tucked the two lit barrels of gunpowder under his arms, and shouted, "Open the gate!"

The Jin soldiers were terrified, but they still carried out the order, kicking open the bolt of the small village gate and pulling open the main gate of the camp.

The Jin army officer, carrying two obviously lit gunpowder barrels, ran wildly toward the visibly astonished Loyal Army soldiers outside the gate.

"Ah!!! Shandong thieves!!! You want gunpowder? I'll give it to you right now!"

As he spoke, the Jin officer forcefully pushed out the gunpowder barrel in his right hand.

The gunpowder barrel traced an arc in the sky, rolled forward more than ten steps after hitting the ground, and then exploded with a loud bang.

Before the Jin officer's laughter could subside, another gunpowder barrel in his hand exploded, engulfing him entirely in flames.

The sound of the explosion traveled at the speed of sound from near to far.

The fighting between the Loyal Army and the Jin army only paused for a moment before resuming in an even more intense manner.

Heshi Lieliangbi put down his teacup, looked at the Wei character banner that appeared and disappeared and sighed, as if he had expected this outcome. His face showed neither sadness nor joy, and he simply clasped his hands together and continued to look up at the sky.

Meanwhile, the Jin generals who had already gathered a portion of their troops in the east and west camps could no longer tolerate it and, disregarding any military orders, rushed to support the northern camp.

Lu You, who had been extremely anxious in the city, finally breathed a sigh of relief and shouted, "Open the city gates! Quickly open the city gates to provide support!"

Military orders were passed down through the ranks, and soon, the last 1,600 or so fresh troops of the Loyal and Righteous Army, led by Yuchi Mingyue, lined up in the north of the city, ready to support the Loyal and Righteous Army outside the city.

At the epicenter of the explosion, Li Huo'er, who was lying on the ground, tried to get up, but fell to the ground because he lost feeling in his right leg. He looked down and saw that his right leg was a bloody mess.

Li Huo'er naturally knew this would be the outcome. In fact, the moment the first gunpowder barrel rolled in front of him and exploded, he knew he couldn't possibly emerge unscathed. The fact that he was still conscious at this point was already a stroke of luck.

Li Huo'er forced herself to get up, hopped twice on one foot, and took two steps toward the gunpowder camp with the gate of the Jin army open. However, she lost her balance and fell to the ground. After getting up again, she picked up a torch that had fallen to the ground.

He staggered two more steps and finally reached the side of a warhorse.

These appear to be Jin army warhorses, but they were startled by the recent explosion and fled here in a panic.

Li Huo'er gripped the saddle, trying to mount the horse, but all he felt was pain throughout his body, and he couldn't muster any strength. In the end, he had to give up. He then grabbed the horse's tail with his right hand, raised the torch high with his left hand, and slammed it hard into the horse's rump.

The warhorse, once again startled and in pain, galloped wildly toward the Jin army's gunpowder camp.

Li Huo'er gritted her teeth and grabbed the horse's tail. Soon, she was dragged as if she were being pulled into the very center of the gunpowder camp, and was thrown by the warhorse into the small hill made of gunpowder barrels in the very center of the camp.

Seeing the fear and panic in the eyes of the Jin soldiers in the camp, Li Huo'er chuckled.

He casually tossed the torch onto a wooden bucket beside him, and amidst the smell of gunpowder smoke, he pulled a handful of dried mint leaves from his pocket with his bloodied hands, popped them into his mouth, and began to chew them with relish, enjoying a rare moment of leisure since the Northern Expedition.

"boom!"

"boom!"

The earth-shattering explosion resounded through the sky.

Li Huo'er, a senior general of the Northern Expeditionary Army and commander of the vanguard of the Loyal Army, died in battle at the age of forty-two.

(End of this chapter)