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

Chapter 810 Exhausted, Siege Unresolved (Part 2)
With the successive arrival of Han troops, the Jin army finally collapsed from the bottom up.

In fact, even at this stage, the casualties inflicted by the Han cavalry were not that many.

Because this was ultimately just a battle of cavalry defeating cavalry, unless there were terrain factors involved, it was impossible to cause massive casualties in an instant.

However, the Han army had its own merit record book, and the Jin army also had its own ulterior motives.

From the perspective of the Jin army, before the formal attack on the city, the 15,000 elite troops who had come on a long march had already suffered more than 2,000 casualties due to repeated battles. After the siege began, they had to divide their troops to go to the surrounding key locations for defense.

In other words, the Jin army launched the siege with 10,000 troops. Although they had already inflicted heavy casualties on the Loyal Army, they still suffered heavy losses in the subsequent siege, with more than a thousand casualties. The siege force also became somewhat strained.

Therefore, the two Meng'an led by Kiyotomi Kagaya were truly the last remaining force of the entire army.

However, this army was not only utterly defeated by the Han army, but their main camp was almost completely destroyed. How could the Jin army possibly hold on?

The exhaustion and casualties of the past few days caused a complete breakdown in morale, and the Jin army's defeat was inevitable.

Returning to the present, although the Jin army was not in a good position overall, there were still a few generals who wanted to get things done.

The second person to arrive at the banner of Heshilie was Shi Dunzhong. He was covered in blood and panting heavily as he asked, "Left Prime Minister, the Shandong bandits' reinforcements have arrived. You should lead your troops to retreat quickly, and I will cover the rear!"

Heshi Lieliangbi seemed to be waiting for this person as well: "Shi Dunzhong, have you killed Wei Sheng?"

Shi Dunzhong shook his head: "I only shot a few arrows, but this old thief is heavily armored, so he should be fine."

Heshi Lieliangbi sighed deeply, then finally slumped down: "This is probably fate. Shi Dunzhong, you go first. I will stay here and hold on for a while. Someone still needs to guard this end of the pontoon bridge."

Shi Dunzhong was equally dejected, but after a moment he immediately rallied: "Prime Minister, the Shandong bandits... the Han people are powerful. Our army has suffered repeated defeats, and there is no longer any place for us warriors to use our skills. If we want to preserve the country, we will ultimately have to rely on a prime minister like you. You should go now, Prime Minister. I will hold out here for a while and will not let the Han people cross the river!"

Upon hearing this, Heshi Lieliangbi looked Shi Dunzhong up and down, and then slowly said, "I never expected that I could misjudge someone like you, and actually thought you were a crude and uncouth warrior."

Shi Dunzhong shook his head and replied, "My lord is right. I am indeed just a crude and uncouth warrior, and I still am. But the reason why the Great Jin Kingdom has come to this state is ultimately because we warriors cannot defeat the Han people. Since that is the case, I should atone for my sins with my death, so that I can apologize to the founding emperor in the afterlife."

Seeing that Heshi Lie Liangbi was about to speak again, Shi Dunzhong became impatient and said to the guards behind Heshi Lie Liangbi, "Heshi Lie Basu, what are you waiting for? Are you waiting for Prime Minister Liangbi to die here?!"

With that, Shi Dunzhong snatched the reins from Heshi Lieliangbi's horse, pulled them, and shoved them into Heshi Liebasu's hand: "Hurry up! I'll try to stall for time!"

Seeing that his clan leader did not speak, Heshi Liebasu grabbed the reins and gritted his teeth as he rode away.

Heshi Lieliangbi spread his hands and remained silent for a moment before solemnly saying to Shi Dunzhong, "I will give you an explanation... regardless of whether we live or die."

Shi Dunzhong merely nodded haphazardly, snatched the banner from Heshilie, stood still, ignored Heshilie Liangbi, and loudly ordered: "Order all troops to assemble here!"

Regardless of the actual effect of Shi Dunzhong's heroic actions, the last general, Wanyan Qige, did not wait idly for orders amidst the chaos. Instead, he ordered his deputy to lead troops to the pontoon bridge while he personally led several hundred armored cavalry into the camp. He used the terrain to block the Han army while ordering the supply train and provisions to be burned, attempting to halt Zhang Baiyu's advance.

In hindsight, Wanyan Qige did succeed; he enabled some Jin soldiers who would otherwise have had no chance of escaping to cross the pontoon bridge.

However, when it came to the specific situation, Zhang Baiyu was instantly enraged. He felt that these Jin bandits were incredibly audacious. Instead of fleeing after seeing his banner, they dared to cause trouble. If he let them go, wouldn't that mean that Zhang Baiyu's reputation was not resounding enough and his achievements were not terrifying enough?

Before I kill so many Jin soldiers, I cannot allow them to flee at the mere sight of me;
Even after killing so many Jin soldiers, they still couldn't make them flee at the mere sight of them.

So many Jin soldiers died for nothing!

With this utterly unreasonable thought in mind, Zhang Baiyu led dozens of his personal guards and charged towards Wanyan Qige.

The result was naturally unsurprising. The Jin army was already in a state of great defeat. Wanyan Qige was already considered to be exceptionally capable to be able to raise such an army. At most, it could only be used to contain the enemy. How could it possibly fight the Han army led by Zhang Baiyu head-on?

Even if the number were ten times greater, it wouldn't work!

After only a short exchange, Wanyan Qige was defeated by Zhang Baiyu and forced to flee in a sorry state.

At this point, the Jin army was completely doomed. Most of them fled towards the Huanshui pontoon bridge, while a small number knew that even the widest pontoon bridge could not withstand thousands of people crossing at the same time, so they simply scattered and fled.

Amidst the chaos, Liu Huai arrived at the city walls with his own banners. Finding the large banner bearing the character "Wei," he reined in his horse and shouted, "Father! Is Father alright?!"

A moment later, Wei Sheng leaned over the parapet and peeked out, grinning, "I'm fine, I'm just waiting for you to perform another great feat!"

Seeing this, Liu Huai breathed a sigh of relief, then immediately laughed and said, "Father, please sit comfortably on the city wall and watch us, your juniors, defeat the enemy!"

Wei Sheng nodded with a smile from the city wall and pointed to the southwest: "There are several pontoon bridges over there. The Jin invaders will definitely cross the river using the pontoon bridges."

Liu Huai knew that Wei Sheng had a high vantage point and a broad perspective, so he wasn't surprised. He simply cupped his hands and said, "Your son will go and seize the pontoon bridge right away!"

Having said that, Liu Huai, now riding a new warhorse, didn't stop for a moment. He led several hundred armored cavalry, drove away the routed troops, and pressed towards the pontoon bridge.

The Han cavalry were all clad in black armor, the only difference being that ordinary Han soldiers wore black robes, while the Flying Tiger Army wore red robes. At that moment, dark clouds filled the sky, and the sun's golden rays suddenly appeared; on the ground, black armor stood like a forest, dotted with red spots. The combined pressure from heaven and earth was like the might of a god descending to earth, causing all who beheld it to tremble with fear.

Shi Dunzhong was equally fearful and helpless, but his fierce nature still made him stand firm, gather his armored soldiers, and prepare to put up a last-ditch effort at the bridgehead, giving his comrades a chance to escape.

As the pontoon bridge became increasingly crowded, Jin soldiers and their horses continued to fall into the Huan River. The armored cavalrymen often wore dozens of kilograms of heavy armor, and once they fell into the water, it was a certain death. They struggled on the surface for a moment before sinking to the bottom.

This naturally caused great panic among the Jin army.

Everyone knew that if they crossed in an orderly manner, more people could escape safely. However, by rushing onto the pontoon bridge and blocking it, they made it much harder for everyone to escape.

But that's human nature. Just as if the Jin army had gathered its troops at this time and fought the Han army head-on, the outcome would still be uncertain.

Everyone knew that doing so was the right thing to do, but everyone also knew that their comrades would never do it at this moment. As a result, the army, which still had the means to fight back, was routed like stray dogs.

Many Jin cavalrymen, seeing the tragic scene on the pontoon bridge, scattered and fled, trying to find a way out from the north and south; others took off their heavy armor and crossed the river bare-chested on horseback.
A few exceptionally brave individuals, unwilling to die such a pathetic death in the water, and also unwilling to seek any chance of survival within the sphere of influence of the Han army in Shandong, simply gathered under the banner of Heshilie to make a final, desperate resistance.

Liu Huai drove the routed troops all the way to this place, and when he saw the banner of Heshi Lie held by Shi Dunzhong, he thought that Heshi Lie Liangbi was still here, so he immediately ordered his troops to start the attack.

The saying goes, "When a person fights with all their might, even ghosts are afraid."

Shi Dunzhong had completely given up any chance of escape and led more than a thousand remaining soldiers to fight against the Han army.

Unfortunately, because the Han army consisted of armored cavalry and had come on a long march, they were exhausted after the battle and found it difficult to break through Shi Dunzhong's formation.

Just as the two sides were at a stalemate, the north wind grew stronger and stronger, and the rain finally began to fall. Wei Jiao, Zhou Xinglie, Dong Cheng and others finally arrived at the battlefield. After receiving Liu Huai's order, they immediately cleared the battlefield and gathered all the archers of the army and sent them to Liu Huai to await further orders.

Although these second-line troops only had a total of more than 500 divine crossbows, it was enough.

Ignoring the heavy rain, Liu Huai ordered the crossbowmen, under the cover of armored soldiers, to close in and fire at the Jin army, quickly creating a gap in their formation.

Subsequently, a small number of heavily armed Han cavalry dismounted and charged into the Jin army's formation through gaps, further tearing the Jin army's formation apart.

Zhang Baiyu seized the opportunity, ordering his armored cavalry to draw the enemy's attention from all sides, while he led dozens of men to charge into the enemy lines and directly knock down the banner of Heshilie.

Zhang Baiyu did not find a scholar who looked like a prime minister of the Jin Dynasty under the banner, but he was not annoyed, assuming that the fellow had already escaped.

As the commander-in-chief of the Dongping Army, Zhang Baiyu had also developed a sense of the overall situation. Instead of carrying the banner back to claim credit, he continued to fight his way through the chaos of the enemy and arrived at the pontoon bridge, where he engaged in a fierce battle with the Jin soldiers who were preparing to destroy it.

In the short time that was wasted, the Han army launched a general offensive and completely crushed the last organized force of the Jin army.

"Surrender or die!"

"Surrender or die!"

With the arrival of a large number of garrison troops, Liu Huai immediately handed over the task of cleaning up the mess to Dong Cheng, then raised the flag and led the armored cavalry toward the pontoon bridge.

As the rain intensified, more than 3,000 Han cavalrymen crossed the pontoon bridge and began to pursue the remnants of the Jin army.

This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to strike a fatal blow. At least five thousand elite armored cavalrymen have escaped. Normally, it would take some effort to defeat them, but now is a golden opportunity. It all depends on who can hold their breath and swallow their pride.

After chasing for less than five miles, Liu Huai received some good news.

Guan Chongyan led 500 armored cavalrymen to advance on the west bank of the Huan River. When he arrived at the battlefield, the Jin army had already begun to cross the river and their military formation was still orderly. Therefore, he did not launch an attack immediately, but instead stayed at a distance and harassed them from time to time.

Wanyan Cong, who had crossed the river first, dared not linger in battle and could only lead his army in a frantic retreat towards Mengcheng. In the chase, they had already covered nearly thirty miles.

Looking at the gloomy sky and sensing that the rain was gradually subsiding, Liu Huai immediately made up his mind: "Order all the troops to pursue the fleeing enemy! We should pursue the enemy with our remaining strength, not seek fame like Xiang Yu. The main force of the Jin bandits is here. As long as we destroy them, Henan can be pacified, and half of the world will be pacified!"

Having said that, Liu Huai continued his pursuit.

However, after traveling another twenty miles, as dusk approached, Wei Chang rode swiftly to find Liu Huai. Ignoring the large number of soldiers around him, he collapsed onto the muddy ground and wailed.

"Brother, hurry back to Qixian... Father... Father is dying..."

Liu Huai seemed not to understand. He stood still on his horse for a moment, looked up at the sky, and exchanged a few glances with Xin Qiji and the others who looked horrified. Finally, he came to his senses.

He immediately flew into a rage, and without even dismounting, kicked Wei Chang into the mud, shouting angrily, "Ah Chang, what are you doing?! You dare to try and fool me with this? I spoke clearly with my father down below the city wall today, how come it's not true now?!"

As he spoke, Liu Huai suddenly became enraged: "You haven't taken money from the Jin bandits, are you? You're trying to trick me into returning to my army so they can escape!"

Everyone stopped their horses, becoming even more dumbfounded in the light rain.

(End of this chapter)