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

Chapter 861: Dark Moon and High Wind, Killing Night
After Liu Ba left, the first thing he did was find a room in Heishuipu and hide himself again.

This adventure into the Khitan army camp was indeed fruitful.

At least before this, Liu Ba never expected that Cao Zhuwo had already arrived here.

However, even if Cao Zhuowo had his own plans, it was best to forget about expecting him to produce any results.

Liu Ba had already realized when this group betrayed Yelü Saba that following them would not lead to anything great.

In addition, Liu Ba took advantage of the chaos today to stuff his Khitan men into the refugees, waiting for the next two days to pass so that they could spread rumors.

But besides that, and excluding the final act of killing, what other methods are there to disrupt the situation?
Liu Ba carefully considered the power in his hands, pondering until late at night, when he suddenly heard a commotion outside.

"What happened?"

Several Khitan warriors and two Flying Tiger soldiers lived in the house. Upon hearing the noise, they all came out of the house, but their expressions immediately changed.

The reason is simple: these veterans of the battlefield heard it clearly – it was the sound of a large-scale troop movement.

Liu Ba also realized what was happening: "Quickly grab your weapons and warn the others! There's probably going to be a lot of chaos tonight!"

At the same time, horns sounded in the Jin army camp, and Hou Anyuan was awakened from his sleep. He immediately put on his armor, drew his sword, got up, and rushed out of the tent, rushing up a watchtower.

In his field of vision, torches stretched out in a continuous line amidst the sound of horses' hooves, and the shouts commonly used by the Mongols pierced the night, coming from all directions.

Hou Anyuan unconsciously gripped the knife handle tighter.

That's how everything is in this world. Things don't wait until everything is in place before they happen, and they don't even give others the chance to just wait for the right opportunity. Most of the time, it's just a matter of striking first with a 30% chance of success.

After a day of probing and a breakdown in negotiations on the second day, Dalitai, whom the Jurchens called a northern barbarian, decisively made an even more extreme choice.

While tightening his leather belt, Wanyan Xiang ordered his men to light fires, thus exposing himself to them: "Don't panic!"

"Benli, beat the drums to gather the troops!"

"Cao Huizhi, bring my personal guards and assemble at the camp!"

"Pass on my order: Light fires on all sides! Hold the fort!"

After Wanyan Xiang loudly gave the order, he finally erupted in anger, drew his knife and slashed twice in the air: "Today I must kill that Mongol barbarian to vent my hatred!"

Seeing their general so calm, the Jin army, which had been somewhat flustered, immediately calmed down.

When Hou Anyuan saw this scene from afar, his heart stirred, and he reached for the bow and arrow on the watchtower, but then he became somewhat discouraged.

Let's forget about his archery skills.

However, Hou Anyuan had no time to be discouraged; he was soon drawn to the commotion outside the camp.

The long line of torches from the Mongols did not rush straight to the Jin army camp, nor did they attack the Khitan army camp. Instead, they went directly to Heishuipu and began setting fires on all sides.

As a border market outside the Great Wall, Heishuipu was inhabited by merchants who were known for their fierce and warlike nature. When faced with the Mongols who seemed to want to rob them, some of them spontaneously stood on the low walls and watchtowers and exchanged arrows with the Mongols.

Now, not only Hou Anyuan, but even Wanyan Xiang and Xiao Ping were confused about what Dalitai was trying to do.

Is it really just that he hasn't changed his ways and wants to rob someone?

Thinking about it this way, it's not impossible. After all, that's just how nomadic peoples are. They don't have much strategic vision. To put it more politely, they're afraid to risk their lives for big things, but they're willing to risk their lives for small gains.

Otherwise, where did the saying "the barbarians have no kingdoms that last a hundred years" come from?

However, Heishuipu was a major commercial center in Linhuang Prefecture, and they could not allow the Mongols to be so arrogant. Soon, the Jin army and the Khitan army sent out troops at the same time. Two thousand soldiers, holding torches high, shouted various slogans and beat drums and gongs, went to meet the Mongols.

The battlefield instantly became chaotic.

There's no other way; this is the norm for large-scale military operations at night.

This is no longer a small army of dozens or hundreds of people. Once the number of people reaches thousands, the difficulty of commanding at night increases exponentially. Without such methods, it would be impossible to organize an army.

Even so, a large number of troops from all three sides were lost or scattered.

Given the tense situation, when people meet in small groups, it's inevitable that they'll shout insults at each other, and small-scale conflicts are also unavoidable.

As these small-scale conflicts increased, the battlefield became more chaotic, gradually escalating into a free-for-all.

The thousands of riders were completely mixed together, like a pot of eight-treasure porridge.

Hou Anyuan had only followed Wanyan Xiang out of the camp when he was temporarily stopped because a knight in front of him stumbled. When he managed to turn his horse and leave the chaotic area, Hou Anyuan found that he had completely broken away from the formation.

Seeing this, he simply left the battlefield and rushed towards the low wall of Heishuipu.

"Let me in! I have important news to report!" Hou Anyuan, holding a torch, came to the low wall: "Don't hide, Lao Hong, I see you! Open the door!"

Hou Anyuan had served as Cao Wance's trusted bodyguard for a time and had become familiar with the guards at the Blackwater Inn. He quickly found a way to infiltrate the inn.

However, he didn't go looking for Cao Wance, but instead tried to find Liu Ba and the others amidst the low shacks and chaotic crowd. But even before the Mongols had invaded, Heishuipu was already in complete disarray; how could they be so easily found?

Those exceptionally brave warriors went to guard the low wall on the outskirts, but most of them were just ordinary people who were helpless in the chaos. Cries and screams echoed through the sky, and flames and thick smoke rose sporadically all around.

Many merchants wanted to flee, but were reluctant to give up their hard-earned wealth. They drove out their large carts, which only made the already narrow streets even more congested.

Stumbling and falling along the way, Hou Anyuan finally arrived at the houses where Liu Ba lived a quarter of an hour later, only to find that the place was already deserted.

Despite his rare moment of panic, Hou Anyuan also understood the situation.

In this situation, Liu Ba would naturally not remain inactive. He would likely gather all his forces to try and take advantage of the chaos.

This is not wrong, because the Mongol, Jurchen and Khitan people have already started a great war. The so-called all-in bet means that everyone has a safety net. Everyone is reckless and impulsive, which means that everyone is shrewd and calculating. At this time, even a messy idea or a hastily put-together action is better than doing nothing.

However, this really put Hou Anyuan in a terrible situation.

It's absurd that the commander of the Flying Tigers would completely lose contact with his subordinates at such a critical moment.

"Hou Anyuan?! What are you doing here?!"

Just as Hou Anyuan was wondering if he should cause another big commotion, he heard someone shout from the side. He turned around and saw Cao Wance.

"Sir Cao! It's too chaotic outside! I lost my troops and am unfamiliar with the area, so I came back to find my own companion to protect you, Sir Cao, but I found that you were all gone, it's really..."

Cao Wance immediately believed it.

Cao Wance sent Hou Anyuan to Wanyan Xiang's side because he wanted to build a good relationship with this arrogant general of the Jin Dynasty, but he didn't expect Wanyan Xiang to value Hou Anyuan much.

After all, the two sides are of vastly different social standing.

It was only natural for Hou Anyuan to return after the Jin army had lost its order during the chaos of the night.

"In that case, come with me! Let's go north together! The Mongol dogs are simply going too far!"

As soon as Cao Wance finished speaking, a muffled rumbling sound came from the north, and he turned his head in surprise: "This is...this is thunder?"

Hou Anyuan was immediately stunned, and even more shocked.

That's utter nonsense! That's clearly the sound of gunpowder exploding!

It's unclear whether it was the gunpowder from the Eastern Jin or the Han army that exploded, but regardless of which side it was, something big was bound to happen at the northernmost point of Heishuipu.

"I'll clear the way for Chief Cao!"

Hou Anyuan roared, then threw down his torch, put on his helmet, and, wielding his spear, spurred his horse to charge north.

Seeing the loyalty and bravery of this newly surrendered Han Chinese, Cao Wance couldn't help but feel a surge of pride and loudly ordered, "Follow me!"

He hastily gathered dozens of his confidants, who followed him northward, their faces filled with a heroic air, as if they were heading to their execution.

Although Hou Anyuan claimed he was paving the way for Cao Wance, he actually didn't care about this Khitan official at all.
In no time at all, he had escaped Cao Wance's sight and arrived at the north wall where the fighting and shouting were the loudest.

Hou Anyuan was also caught in the melee. After knocking several burly men with braided hair, who were either Mongols or Khitans, off their horses, he dared not continue charging alone. He dismounted, took a short weapon, and walked quickly forward along the alley, hiding his figure in the shadows.

The alleyways were now filled with chaotic fighting. In the darkness, everyone had revealed their primal instincts. Anyone they didn't know was attacked without a word, with a single blow to the head.

Hou Anyuan fought his way forward, and when he reached the edge of a chaotic battle zone, he used his childhood experience in stealing chickens and dogs to climb onto a rooftop and look at the low wall to the north.

There was indeed a large gap in the low wall there, and an army was surging in, but it was unclear whether they were Mongol, Jurchen, or Khitan.

Moreover, even with torches illuminating the area, Hou Anyuan could not determine from a distance whether the breach was caused by gunpowder.

Hou Anyuan stood on the rooftop again, looking around for a while, and finally spotted a group of well-organized soldiers about fifty paces to his right.

The shouts of battle there didn't seem intense, but they firmly occupied a high ground and concealed themselves with several houses, like a large tiger lying in ambush behind the trees.

All the chaos that had spread was quietly swallowed up by the night.

This group of people were so well hidden that if Hou Anyuan hadn't been looking down from above, he might not have discovered them at all.

"This must be Liu Ba and his group."

Hou Anyuan touched the fireworks in his pocket that he used for emergency assemblies. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to get a little closer.

But just as he was about to take a few more steps forward from the roof, he suddenly felt his footing give way, the roof collapsed with a crash, and he fell into the house.

The house was probably the bedroom of a poor family. Hou Anyuan fell into the soft straw. Although he was dazed and confused, he was not seriously injured.

Just as he was about to get up, he heard someone shouting from behind the wall in heavily accented Liaodong Mandarin: "Whether you Khitans have ever submitted to us Mongols or not, I have come to see you in person today, what words do you have to say to appease me?!"

(End of this chapter)