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

Chapter 878 Shame Leads to Courage

Although Cheng Min intended to use the Cui Pian Army as bait, he did not mean to annihilate this elite Song army of archers.

Therefore, he was completely stunned when he learned that the enemy troops had scattered and fled.

At this time, it had been only an hour since the Jin army rushed to the battlefield and arrived, and only half an hour since the Beiwei Army had assembled and repelled the first wave of Jin troops that came to harass them.

These past few days, the troops have been directly occupying villages or market towns, giving them a geographical advantage. They can hold out for at least a day or two, if not ten days or half a month.

Moreover, since the main force of the Jin army was in the north of Kaifeng Prefecture confronting the Han army, only a few thousand mobile troops were available to move south.

As long as the Beiwei Army can break through and join forces with the Cuipian Army, they can still escape even if they can't win.

How come the Cui Pian Army completely collapsed and scattered and fled just one hour after the battle officially began?

Cheng Bofeng, drenched in sweat in the cold wind, said, "Grand Commandant, the army has already assembled. We can only charge forward and fight, but we absolutely cannot retreat in the face of battle!"

Cheng Min glanced at Cheng Bofeng: "You think I want to escape?"

His tone was somewhat stern, but in his heart he was very satisfied with his capable nephew's ability to make decisions on the spot.

Cheng Bofeng's forehead was covered in even more cold sweat: "Grand Commandant... this humble general just wanted to say, uh..."

Cheng Min lowered his head, put his helmet on, and waved his hand, saying, "Why would I want to run away? There are so many Jin cavalry. How can we retreat safely if we don't scare these bandits into submission?!"

"Cheng Bofeng!"

"exist!"

"You will lead a thousand Beiwei soldiers as the vanguard! Once you see the largest banner of the Jin invaders, charge straight at it! I will follow in your footsteps!"

"Here!"

Under Cheng Min's command, the Beiwei Army launched a fierce attack, charging northeastward.

Once the shock cavalry is launched, the harassing archers and light cavalry are simply unable to stop them, especially when the second-line old and weak are facing regular heavy armored cavalry.

After receiving the military order, Cheng Bofeng charged forward recklessly, easily defeating any Jin troops that tried to stop him. In less than a quarter of an hour, he approached the village where the Cui Pian Army had been stationed.

At this moment, Pu Sanzhongyi finally showed some change in expression.

He originally thought that given the Song army's tendency to remain indifferent to the plight of their allies, they would retreat immediately after losing a quarter of their troops.

Moreover, Cheng Min was his defeated opponent. During the great battle last year, Pu Sanzhongyi almost killed him on the spot and inflicted heavy casualties on the Beiwei Army. Logically speaking, Cheng Min should have avoided battle at this time.

However, on the other hand, for Cheng Min, being injured by a misstep last year is a disgrace that he can never wash away in his life.

The most serious consequence was that the Song army's pincer movement in Nanyang and Huaibei was broken in one corner.

Although this was indeed not a fault of war, judging by the outcome, and even by the history books, it was precisely because the Song army in Xiangfan was absent in the early and middle stages of the Central Plains war that Pusan ​​Zhongyi was able to mobilize the entire army to come to Huaibei.

The subsequent series of changes in the battle situation, including the defeat of the two armies in Huaibei, the death of Li Heng, and even the death of Wei Sheng, can all be traced back to the Battle of Nanyang.

As Han Shizhong's military successor, and also the Grand Commandant whom Han Shizhong had once used to elevate his status in front of the entire Song court by belittling himself, how could Cheng Min possibly swallow his anger?!

The Beiwei Army, an old-established force that began when Han Shizhong attacked Western Xia and quelled the Fang La rebellion, would never cower like a coward!
"Your Highness! Please excuse yourself for now. I will go and meet with Cheng Min!"

Pu Sanzhongyi didn't ask for permission at all. The next moment, he commanded his personal guards to seize the crown prince's ceremonial regalia, and then ordered his generals to escort Wanyan Guangying backward, giving the young crown prince no chance to object.

Cheng Bofeng saw the flags fluttering on the hillside from afar and immediately urged his troops to launch an attack.

The servant San Zhongyi immediately felt flustered and overwhelmed.

He brought only three thousand usable soldiers, of which only a little over a thousand were Zha Meng'an.

More than two thousand Jin cavalrymen had already participated in the attack on the Cui Pian Army, and at this time there were still more than a thousand people in the village clearing out enemy troops, so they could not withdraw for the time being.

If Cheng Bofeng were a mature and prudent person, seeing Pu Sanzhongyi's open and honest demeanor, he would have taken his time to plan his move.

But he was the commander of the Beiwei Army. If heavy cavalry wanted to win on the battlefield, there should be no detours. They should just urge all their troops to charge forward and fight to the death. If they succeeded, they succeeded; if they failed, they died.

At this moment, what Pu Sanzhongyi feared most was this kind of reckless man.

The charge cavalry had no way to retreat, and Pusan ​​Zhongyi was also determined to fight back. He led all his personal guards and more than a hundred armored cavalrymen, charging down the small slope.

More than 700 Beiwei soldiers clashed head-on with more than 300 Jin soldiers.

With one side having a numerical advantage and the other a geographical advantage, the two sides fought a fierce and evenly matched battle.

If the Cui Pian Army had continued to hold their ground at this point, Cheng Bofeng might have actually been able to kill the Jin capital's marshal and become famous throughout the world.

However, after the banner of loyalty and righteousness was raised and the prince's entourage charged into battle, the Jin army, which had been somewhat chaotic, was quickly organized by the junior officers and gathered together to try to provide support. Just then, Cheng Min arrived with the follow-up troops. Seeing this, he dispatched more than a thousand armored cavalry to block the attack, while he personally led all the remaining troops to rush towards the banner of the Grand Marshal.

The battlefield, which was no more than twenty miles in circumference, immediately turned into a chaotic melee.

The main generals on both sides also lost command and could only use flags to transmit simple orders.

That's how cavalry battles are; even the best-trained warhorses can't be as intelligent as humans. Warriors may disregard their own lives, but warhorses can still feel fear and panic, causing chaos in the entire formation.

When this situation occurs every moment and in every place on this battlefield, it naturally evolves into a massive melee.

It was already afternoon. In the north, the days are short in winter, and after two hours of fighting, the sun had already set.

But the opportunity to end this battle came from someone no one could have predicted.

The young crown prince, Wanyan Guangying, was escorted back to the city of Bianliang by his guards, but he did not enter the city at all. Instead, he loudly called out to his confidants, ordering them to immediately send troops to support Pusan ​​Zhongyi.

Fifty percent of the Western Jin army was stationed further north on the banks of the Yellow River, confronting the Han army personally led by Liu Huai. Another thirty percent went to Xingyang to set up defenses. The Jin army guarding Bianliang was not large to begin with, and its elite forces were even fewer. Therefore, the Eastern Palace Guard refused to go into battle, citing the safety of the Crown Prince.

Wanyan Guangying was unusually angry and whipped several officers on the spot, making it clear that the military situation was urgent and that if Pusan ​​Zhongyi were to be lost, the Jin state would be completely finished!

If you don't send troops, then I will take all the guards of the Eastern Palace to the battlefield and die with the Grand Marshal!
Wanyan Guangying's threat worked. The Eastern Palace guards and the Bianliang garrison reluctantly squeezed out another two thousand soldiers, led by Wanyan Guangying himself, and returned to the battlefield.

When Cheng Min heard that fresh troops had arrived, he knew that there was no hope of revenge today, so he could only angrily order his troops to retreat.

Cheng Bofeng, covered in blood, clutched a flag and laughed loudly, "Grand Commandant! This humble general has seized the Jin prince's flag! And..."

Cheng Bofeng held up two thick fingers: "I just shot Pu Sanzhongyi with two arrows, one in the leg and one in the arm! This is my revenge for the arrow that struck me in Nanyang that day!"

Cheng Min nodded with satisfaction upon hearing this, but there was no sign of surprise or loss of composure: "In that case, we can withdraw our troops at our leisure."

As soon as he finished speaking, in the afterglow of the setting sun, Cheng Min saw another banner representing the Five Virtues of the Eastern Palace appear on the hillside. Hundreds of Jin cavalrymen stood in neat formation and then rushed towards him, guided by the banner.

Now Cheng Min found himself in the same predicament as Pu Sanzhongyi, where, after the great battle, his troops were difficult to regroup and he was suddenly attacked by the enemy's fresh forces.

"Grand Commandant! This humble general will go and try to stop them!"

Cheng Min grabbed Cheng Bofeng's arm: "Stop blocking me! This must be because the little prince has brought back reinforcements after he escaped. The troops here are only from Bianliang City. They're exhausted after running so far, and they can't catch up with us at all."

Cheng Bofeng, having fought for a long time, was a little confused: "Since we're already exhausted, why not take this opportunity to kill this bastard?!"

Cheng Min shook his head: "Aren't we tired? Besides, go and look at the sky, it's almost dark, what kind of time is this for a proper fight?!"

Retreat immediately! This young prince knows nothing of warfare. As long as we gather our troops and rest in our camp for a day, if he dares to pursue us, we'll use his head as a sacrifice to our flag!

As the bugle call signaling the retreat gradually sounded in the Beiwei Army, even the soldiers still engaged in battle gathered around Cheng Min's banner under the setting sun before slowly withdrawing.

Although Wanyan Guangying knew nothing about military affairs, he could tell from the expressions of the generals and soldiers around him that this was no longer the best time to pursue.

Therefore, after chasing for five or six miles, before night completely enveloped the sky, they returned to the hill with gongs and drums, as if they had won a great victory.

"His Highness the Crown Prince should not have returned."

In the makeshift camp, Pusan ​​Zhongyi stood naked, wearing only a loincloth, while the army doctor cleaned his wounds.

Just as Wanyan Guangying was about to speak, he was completely terrified by the scene before him.

Pu Sanzhongyi had two serious wounds, one on the outside of his thigh and the other on the upper part of his chest. It seemed that he was shot at close range by a heavy arrow, but the arrow was blocked by his heavy armor.

There were many more fine wounds, most of which were shallow arrow wounds, and there were also many bruises.

The blood flowed from the wound and, by the time it reached his feet, was enough to leave bloody footprints on the ground.

Wanyan Guangying felt a lump in his throat, then took two steps forward: "Marshal Du, are you alright?"

The servant, full of vigor, laughed loudly and said, "Thank you for your concern, Your Highness. If I were seriously ill, I would already be lying down by now."

As they spoke, the doctor had already used a knife to remove the arrowhead from Pu Sanzhongyi's thigh. After cleaning the wound a few times, he carefully stitched it up with fish gut thread, applied wound medicine, wrapped it with gauze, and then immediately moved on to the next wound.

Pu Sanzhongyi seemed oblivious, not even frowning, and continued, "Your Highness, you really shouldn't have come. If Cheng Min really does risk everything, in the chaos of the night, I really cannot guarantee Your Highness's safety."

Wanyan Guangying shook his head and replied, "The Grand Marshal is risking his life for the Wanyan family's empire, how can I possibly back down? Tomorrow, please rest a while, Grand Marshal, I will go after the Song army!"

Just as Pusan ​​Zhongyi was about to retort, he hesitated for a moment before thinking of something else. Then, with a sudden realization, he looked at Wanyan Guangying with approval and said, "The Crown Prince is indeed the heir apparent of the Great Jin. I admire him."

Wanyan Guangying was stunned for a moment, and after understanding the key point, he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Marshal Du, I am truly single-minded and only want to share the burden of the country."

(End of this chapter)