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

Chapter 863 Fate and timing are unpredictable

Tonight, Dalitai's attack on Heishuipu was not actually for looting.

Thirty percent of these efforts were aimed at demonstrating against the Jin dynasty and the Khitans, forcing them to make a swift compromise.

Seventy percent of their purpose was to have a formal meeting with Cao Zhuowo.

To put it more bluntly, the meeting between Dalitai and Wanyan Xiang was merely a pretext. Yesugei's real purpose was to exploit Cao Zhuwo, a Khitan leader who had only recently taken control of the Khitan tribes, in order to easily seize Linhuang Prefecture.

Cao Zhuowo did not seem too resistant to this. He knew that there would definitely be Jin spies around him, so he hid in the Khitan army and came to Heishuipu.

But Dalitai remained unrepentant and, in an attempt to intimidate Wanyan Xiang, plundered Khitan people, which greatly angered Cao Zhuowo.

However, Wanyan Xiang happened to be nearby, so Cao Zhuowo didn't dare to leave directly and instead hid in Heishuipu.

After learning of this news, Dalitai was worried that things might change if he delayed, so he decided to go all out and, under the guise of looting, stormed into Heishuipu, hoping to take advantage of the chaos.

To be fair, Dalitai was indeed a nobleman of the Qiyan tribe who bore heavy responsibilities. Although his actions were reckless, they still managed to corner Cao Zhuwo.

But he still overlooked two things.

The first thing was that Wanyan Xiang was so arrogant that he completely disregarded the possible alliance between the Jin and Mongol states and launched a direct attack.

In order to intimidate the Mongols at night, Wanyan Xiang even lit a small amount of explosives and threw them into the Mongols' ranks, blasting a wide road through them.

The second thing was something that Dalitai could never have imagined, no matter how hard he racked his brains, that so many elite Han troops had already infiltrated Heishuipu.

According to news from last year, wasn't the Han army still in Daming Prefecture?

How did we end up outside the Great Wall?
Could it be that the Han army has already annexed Youyan?
Although he had thought of many things in a short time, now that he had started communicating with knives, it was impossible for Dalitai to stop, given his personality!

"Sound the bugle to gather the troops! Slaughter these thieves!"

In an instant, the Han, Jurchen, Khitan, and Mongol peoples engaged in the fiercest battle over the ownership of Linhuang Prefecture and tens of thousands of Khitan people.

If we compare them by carriages and horses, the Han army in Linhuang Prefecture is the weakest, with at most a hundred or so elite troops.

However, Dalitai's choice of time was too clever. To march and fight in such darkness, unless the military discipline and system were as good as the Han army, it would almost certainly turn into a chaotic melee.

The generals of the three major powers, Jurchen, Khitan, and Mongol, were unable to control their entire army or even gather their troops. They could only rely on their personal guards and their own martial prowess to fight to the death.

Dalitai's purpose was to fish in troubled waters, but objectively he achieved the result of allowing the Han army to fish in troubled waters, which is truly laughable.

Instead of leading the charge, Liu Ba remained in the ranks of his troops, joining his Han soldiers in a defensive formation as they advanced, shouting, "Today, all the bandit chieftains are here! Kill them all, and the Han king's great cause will be settled!"

The Han soldiers who were chosen to come here were already among the most loyal, and they were fighting with their backs to the wall. Upon hearing Liu Ba's call, they immediately shouted and responded.

After a brief exchange with the Han army, Cao Zhuowo was already reliving the experience of the Battle of Daming Prefecture.

On that day, the Jin army's various fierce generals attacked the Han army's infantry formation using various methods, including iron cavalry, armored soldiers, and crossbow formations, in an attempt to disrupt the Han army's formation.

However, the Han army remained as steadfast as a mountain.

Now that Cao Zhuowo's forces are even at a disadvantage, how could he possibly defeat a square formation composed of dozens of Han soldiers?

"Cao Zhuowo! Surrender! Only the King of Han can save Linhuang Prefecture now!"

Cao Zhuowo deflected the thrusting spears and tried to charge into the formation, but was pushed away by the swordsmen and shieldmen on both flanks. He roared angrily, "Where is the King of Han? If he comes to Linhuang Prefecture today, I will immediately prostrate myself and surrender! Is he here?!"
Now that Yesugei Khan has arrived, what can I do but lead my tribe a thousand miles to Hebei?!

Before Liu Ba could refute, he heard an angry shout: "Cao Zhuwo, you traitorous dog! You betrayed Saba, and now you want to betray Yelü Wowo!"

His Majesty is wise and mighty, yet he misjudged you; you truly are an ungrateful dog!

While cursing, Wanyan Xiang shot an arrow from afar.

Although Wanyan Xiang's arrow was completely inaccurate due to the chaos of battle, it still pierced Cao Zhuo's heart, causing his face to turn purple.

Liu Ba was about to persuade him again when Cao Zhuowo let out a shrill roar, as if venting his anger or crying out like a vengeful ghost, sending chills down one's spine.

Cao Zhuowo, after all, did not have the ability to transform into a vengeful ghost. After cursing a few times to the sky, he grabbed his sword and shield and charged at the Han army formation again.

Meanwhile, at the northern end of the battlefield, the war between the Jurchens and the Mongols had also become a mess.

The terrain of Heishuipu was originally a series of illegal buildings. Apart from the central official road and market, which were somewhat presentable, the rest of the area had narrow and cramped streets, crudely made houses, and uneven courtyards.

In this kind of environment, it's only natural that you'd be divided by the terrain when fighting.

Wanyan Xiang had already dismounted, holding two blood-dripping iron maces, and grinned maliciously at Dalitai: "Mongol barbarian, your grandpa has tolerated you for too long. Today I'll use your head as a chamber pot!"

Looking at the corpses of several Mongol warriors behind Wanyan Xiang, Dalitai broke out in a cold sweat. He knew this fellow was brave, but he hadn't realized he was so ferocious. *Pfft. Pfft.*

With a series of swings of his iron mace, two more Mongol warriors had their heads smashed open. Wanyan Xiang then rescued more than ten Jurchen soldiers and had them form a battle formation to follow him as they approached Dalitai step by step.

Dalitai hurriedly turned around, only to see the Han army's well-organized formation.

Dozens of Mongol warriors were sandwiched between the elite troops of the Han and Jin dynasties, like fat meat in a roujiamo (Chinese hamburger), with no chance of escape.

"Wanyan Xiang! Have you thought this through?! You may feel good killing me and the Khitans, but what about dealing with the Han people?!"

Wanyan Xiang paused, knowing that Dalitai was not only talking about the present moment, but also about the state of the world.

To counter the increasingly powerful Han army, the Jin dynasty had to rely on the Mongols as allies.

However, Wanyan Xiang was an arrogant man after all. He only paused slightly before grinning and saying, "Dalitai, I will personally explain to Yesugei, so you don't need to worry about it!"

As soon as Wanyan Xiang finished speaking, he saw several people rushing out of the Han army ranks by the dim firelight. They then raised objects the size of melons in their hands and threw them towards the center of the battle between the Jurchens and Mongols.

Wanyan Xiang initially thought it was a hidden weapon and ducked slightly to avoid it.

However, these iron-ball-like objects did not kill anyone. Instead, they drew an arc in the sky, and one of them rolled down between Wanyan Xiang and Dalitai.

Even amidst his busy schedule, Dalitai still looked down at the dark iron ball: "What...is this...?"

Upon seeing the sparks burning on it, Wanyan Xiang was horrified and jumped aside, shouting, "Damn it!"

boom!
boom!
boom!
Fires erupted among the Mongol and Jurchen crowd. Caught off guard, Dalitai was hit in the face by two hand grenades at close range, and the iron nails and scraps of iron almost turned him into a sieve.

This young brother of Yesugei, who had supported Temujin as the Great Khan in history and later followed Jamukha to join Wang Khan and rebelled against the Qiyan tribe, died mysteriously on the banks of the Huang River without saying a word.

Of course, these were just a few hand grenades, loaded with black powder. It was unlikely that they could annihilate all the enemy troops in the melee.

However, it is undeniable that after these grenades exploded, the other three sides in the chaotic battle were thrown into disarray.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, the Han army formed an offensive formation similar to the Mandarin Duck Formation, using units of ten (十) as units, and swept forward.

"I absolutely...I must see the heads of Wanyan Xiang and Dalitai!"

Hou Anyuan arrived covered in blood and immediately took command of the Flying Tigers: "Not a single one can escape!"

With the Han army launching a full-scale offensive, things finally changed in this small, bloody, and chaotic battlefield.

The Khitans were the first to collapse.

Their numbers were already small, and their fighting spirit and combat effectiveness were even lower. After Cao Zhuowo disappeared into the chaos of battle, they quickly succumbed to casualties and scattered.

However, this battlefield was surrounded by burning houses on both sides, and Han troops, Jurchen and Mongol troops in front and behind. The Khitans were caught in the middle and could only flee to the north.

This action naturally led to even greater chaos among the already confused Jurchen and Mongol people.

Wanyan Xiang coughed as he stood up from the ground. He had no idea where he had thrown his two iron maces. His chest and abdomen were also throbbing with pain. So he simply drew his waist knife and glared fiercely at the direction from which the Han army was sweeping in.

"Hou Anyuan! You Han slave!"

Having said that, Wanyan Xiang, still arrogant, staggered toward the Han army.

In hindsight, if Wanyan Xiang had backed down at that moment, he would have had an 80% chance of escaping alive. However, he hated Hou Anyuan, a trusted confidant whom he had personally promoted, so even if the final result was to flee in disgrace, he had to kill this guy first.

Hou Anyuan quickly locked onto Wanyan Xiang's figure from afar.

"Do you think I'm stupid?! Why would I fight you one-on-one?!" Hou Anyuan wiped the blood from his face and laughed loudly, then called out to the men behind him, "Shoot him!"

Wanyan Xiang was first met with a barrage of crossbow bolts at close range, and then several Han soldiers worked together to knock him to the ground with heavy weapons.

Even though he was completely paralyzed and bleeding from his mouth and nose, Wanyan Xiang still remained arrogant and laughed loudly, saying, "Hahaha, Han slave, you actually think that killing me will make things happen?!"

Hou Anyuan approached and laughed loudly in response: "Isn't that right?! You're about to die, and you still want to lie to your grandpa Hou!"

Wanyan Xiang fell backward, looking up at the sky and shouting, "Hahaha! I already handed over the official letter! Did you think I was just arguing with the Mongol barbarians that day?!"

Hou Anyuan's face immediately turned ashen, but he did not engage in any further verbal sparring. He stepped forward, pinned Wanyan Xiang's chest down, and swung his knife down with both hands.

This famous Jin general, who fought in numerous battles throughout history, from the Khitan to the Song Dynasty in the early years of the Dading era, and who later defeated the Mongol Kereit tribe at the Longju River in his old age, thus rising to the position of Left Chancellor, lost his head tonight in a muddle.

It can only be said that it's all about timing and fate, and cannot be predicted.

(End of this chapter)