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

Chapter 897: The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road
"Is this Huangniubao?"

Wanyan Lucheng, feeling smug, said to a prisoner, "Such a place that is easy to defend and difficult to attack, yet you took it so easily. Don't you Song people think you are utterly weak and incompetent?"

The captured Song scholar was clearly ashamed and angry, but he had no choice but to comply under the threat of execution, appearing extremely pathetic.

Wanyan Lucheng loved to tease these big-turbaned men with his words, and since he was in an extremely good mood, he didn't pay attention to the scholar's expression and said with a smile, "Back then, Commander Tudan and Commander Zhang led a large army to break through Dasanguan, but they were still defeated at Huangniubao. Do you think I am more valiant than these two veteran generals?"

The scholar remained silent, only offering a mocking laugh.

"Tsk, it seems you still have some sense of shame." Wanyan Lucheng continued to mutter to himself, "What's your name again? Oh, right, Zeng Di. I heard you're a close advisor to a minor official in the Southern Dynasty. Do you know that if you really side with me, I would definitely have you, this treacherous villain, killed on the spot?"

Zeng Di was almost in tears; he never expected that he would mess up this job to such an extent.

Now, the 60,000-strong army of Xichuan has been defeated, and the Jin army is advancing like fire. Even he, the one who delivered the imperial edict, could not escape and was captured in the chaos the night before.

This close advisor, who had always served the emperor, immediately understood what it meant to be subject to the vicissitudes of life and death, and what it meant to be a warrior.

Despite Wanyan Lucheng's seemingly easygoing nature, he had inexplicably lost his temper and publicly killed several people, displaying the ruthless attitude of a martial artist who disregards human life.

Zeng Di naturally knew that he couldn't remain silent. If Wanyan Lucheng's temper changed again, it might be a sin to not speak at this moment.

"Reporting to the general, I am merely a lackey who obeys the emperor's orders. My arrival in Guanzhong is simply a matter of fate. I had never even heard of Huangniubao before, let alone knew its terrain."

"If the general were to ask about the sights and scenery of Lin'an, I could probably manage a thing or two, but as for northern Sichuan, I truly have no way of knowing."

Zeng Di acted very submissively, but somehow she provoked Wanyan Lucheng, who lashed out with a whip: "The affairs of the world are ruined by you big-headed turbans! And that little official in Lin'an, how could he be even a fraction as good as our Emperor?!"
"Since you've come from Lin'an, are you the one who's here to force the Song army to withdraw?!"

The whip struck Zeng Di squarely in the face. He screamed and covered his face with his hands, but dared not ignore Wanyan Lucheng's question: "General! General! It wasn't me! I'm just a garrison farmer who came to Guanzhong to gain experience. Who would have thought I'd encounter something like this?"

Wanyan Lucheng was about to sneer again when someone came to report: "General, the grain and fodder at Huangniu Fort are still there. The livestock ate some, and they were not poisoned."

Wanyan Lucheng was overjoyed and laughed, scolding, "What foolish thing are you doing? The Song people aren't clairvoyant; they don't have time to release poison. Besides, what kind of poison could possibly wipe out my four thousand troops without anyone noticing?"

The military envoy also laughed.

That makes sense. If the Song army wanted to stop the Jin army from continuing its offensive, the best way would be to burn all the grain and fodder along the way, saving time and effort.

The fact that the Song army is now surrendering strategic locations without even doing such a thing shows that their morale has collapsed to a certain extent.

As long as Huangniu Fort is held, the pursuit will inevitably lead to the complete collapse of the Song army's defenses in northern Sichuan, and will also isolate Hanzhong.

With a bit of luck, it's not impossible to take advantage of the momentum and fight all the way to Chengdu.

The thought of being on equal footing with Deng Ai in the future filled Wanyan Lucheng with a blissful thrill.

However, just as Wanyan Lucheng was gathering his troops, another cavalryman arrived from the southern mountain road, waving a black flag that symbolized an enemy attack.

"General! Several thousand Song soldiers are coming from the south! They are well-organized and don't look like defeated troops!"

"Did Yilaman test the mettle of these Song soldiers?"

"We've tried it, which is why our general sent me to tell him that these Song soldiers are quite formidable, and their formation is very solid. Commander, you must be careful!"

After the military envoy finished speaking loudly, seeing that Wanyan Lucheng had no further instructions, he immediately rode away.

Wanyan Lucheng looked at Zeng Di beside him and said slowly, "Your Majesty is indeed insightful and far-sighted. There are indeed true heroes and outstanding figures among the Han people."

"Hmph, that makes sense. If it were just a bunch of good-for-nothings like you, how could the Song Dynasty have lasted for over a hundred years!"

After mocking Zeng Di as usual, Wanyan Lucheng ordered the entire army to assemble, forming ranks of Meng'an (a type of cavalry unit) to attack in succession.

Huangniu Fort was, after all, a newly occupied territory, and no one knew whether the Song army had left any secret passages or other backup plans, so it was impossible to hold it.

Moreover, although the Jin army is exhausted, it is still a newly victorious army with extremely high morale, enough to fight a tough battle.

As for the fighting strength of the Song army on the other side, Wanyan Lucheng also had some assessment.

If the newcomers were indeed a highly elite fighting force, why didn't Wu Lin send them to fight in Guanzhong? Why didn't he have them guard Dasanguan or Huangniubao?

Therefore, Wanyan Lucheng made a judgment as a professional general.

This must be a local militia and village soldiers, led by a somewhat responsible but arrogant figure, coming to bluff and gain some advantage.

Since ancient times, there has only been one road through Shu. As long as you attack from the front and defeat the Song army's vanguard, you can immediately turn the tide.

Upon receiving the order, the Jin soldiers immediately forced themselves to rise from their exhaustion and lined up in units of mouke, slowly advancing along the narrow Chencang Road.

Wanyan Lucheng only rode his horse for a short while before dismounting, cursing incessantly: "Damn it, this Chencang Road is too difficult to travel."

Indeed, even though Chencang Road wasn't the narrowest point in this area, some sections only allowed five or six people to pass side by side. The terrain, with a river to the west and mountains to the east, made troop deployment impossible and deprived the Jin army's most powerful cavalry of any opportunity for flanking maneuvers.

In order to keep up with the army and avoid falling into the ravine after the horse was startled, Wanyan Lucheng had no choice but to start walking.

Not long after they had marched, Wanyan Lucheng heard shouts of battle ahead. The shouts grew louder and louder, indicating that a battle had begun. However, Wanyan Lucheng was in the middle of the army, separated from the front lines by a mountain, and had no idea about the situation on the mountain road.

The advancing column gradually came to a stop, with some pushing and trampling occurring in some places, but it quickly calmed down after being reprimanded by officers.

Wanyan Lucheng was in the thick of it and couldn't see what was happening in the battle ahead, so he couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Ayu, find a few men skilled in mountain climbing, have them remove their armor, and take only short weapons and bows and arrows to find mountain paths." Wanyan Lucheng instructed his guards, while pointing to the mountains to the side: "Large armies cannot pass through here, but there should be a path for one or two people. Don't go too far, and you don't need to do anything special. Gather intelligence from ahead and report back to me immediately, understand?"

The guard glanced at the mountain peaks beside him; some of the slopes were practically sheer cliffs. He felt a pang of bitterness in his heart.

However, military orders are absolute, and the guards could only turn around with a dozen or so men to find a mountain path.

Wanyan Lucheng could only stand there and wait, but as the shouts of battle grew louder and closer, he finally had a bad feeling.

This...this isn't our army attacking, it's...it's the Song army attacking!
Upon realizing this, Wanyan Lucheng was extremely shocked.

How can this be?

Before he could figure it out, he heard the commotion and shouts getting closer and closer. He looked up and saw a huge flag with the character "Lu" leading the way around the foot of the mountain, followed by several other flags bearing the characters "Sichuan Military Commissioner," "Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Army of Chengdu Prefecture," and "Zhang."

These banners were so powerful that the Jin soldiers could not stop them at all. They were either knocked to the ground and trampled over, or knocked into the ravine.

Wanyan Lucheng had sharp eyes; he even spotted a tiger's head among the string of flags, though he didn't know why.

However, there was no time to think about such things now. Wanyan Lucheng drew his sword, pointed it forward, and shouted, "In a narrow encounter, the brave shall prevail! Follow me!"

The moment Wanyan Lucheng uttered his military order, it was drowned out by a song:

"Heroes sing on the battlefield, and the green hills listen attentively."

Thunder roars like drums, and surging waves harmonize with their melody.
Heroes drive away tigers and leopards, risking their lives to protect peace.
Banners flutter like flowers, loyalty and courage are embodied in crimson tassels.
Spring breezes rise over the earth; triumphant songs will follow in the days to come.

This song, "Singing of Heroes," was learned by the Song army from the Tianping army during the Battle of Chaoxian.

Later, through repeated singing and simplification by literati, not only was the melody completely different from the original, but the lyrics also became much more elegant.

Of course, it's just much more elegant; it's still not up to the standard of nouns.

However, the original intention of the song to defend the country was preserved intact. At this moment, after the Song army's rear ranks began to sing, the armored soldiers in front became like mad tigers, and began to slash and kill the Jin army whose formation was in disarray.

Wanyan Lucheng was right just now.

The battle on the road to Chencang is a case of the brave prevailing when paths cross.

The fundamental reason why the Song army was able to defeat the Jin army and advance the battle line was that these 5,000 Song soldiers were better equipped, had more pay, were better trained, and had higher morale than the Jin army.

With such overwhelming force and terrain like Chencang Road, how could the Song army not advance with unstoppable momentum?
After all, we all have two arms and one head, so there's no such thing as one being inferior to the other.

This was a force that Lu You trained after entering Sichuan, based on the Huaixi troops and following the regulations of the Han army.

He was holding his breath, wanting to train an elite army and show the world whether he, Lu You, was a fraud!
And this first strike landed squarely on Wanyan Lucheng's forehead.

If the Jin army had not underestimated the enemy, had not lost its cavalry advantage, and had not been exhausted from continuous fighting, they might still be able to fight today.

But now the first few Jin troops have been defeated and are being routed on the mountain road, like a curtain of pearls being rolled upside down. There is nothing a god can do to save them.

"On the mountain! Someone's firing arrows from the mountain!"

Wanyan Lucheng suddenly turned his head, only to see more than a hundred arrows flying into the dense crowd of Jin soldiers on the cliff.

The Jin army consisted mostly of armored soldiers, and the hundred or so arrows caused virtually no casualties, but the chaos they created was unparalleled.

When Jin soldiers dodged arrows, they inevitably bumped into their comrades, and the movement caused trampling and shoving as it reached the edges.

Even the slightest deviation from tactical maneuvers can be fatal at this moment.

Wanyan Lucheng watched in almost despair as more than ten battle-hardened armored soldiers screamed and fell into the ravine, not even making a ripple in the Jialing River.

As the Song army drew closer, Wanyan Lucheng finally made a decision and turned to flee.

(End of this chapter)