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

Chapter 939 The Invasion of Ten Thousand Armies is Like Fire

As the sun rose fully above 9:00 AM, the battle taking place in the Jin army's Huolu camp had reached its climax.

Large-scale military movements on the battlefield cannot be kept secret, especially after real fighting has begun in broad daylight.

Now, including the laborers in the Jin army camp, there are more than 100,000 people fighting fiercely together, their momentum shaking the heavens and the earth, and stirring up the surrounding dozens of miles.

The straight-line distance between Zhen Ding City and Huo Lu is only seventy li, so how could they not have noticed the war?
In fact, several groups of scouts had already arrived in Zhen Ding City to report on military affairs.

However, all they saw was the smoke and fire of the Battle of Huolu, and they couldn't understand the specifics of the situation at all.

This also plunged Wanyan Yong and Tudan Kening into chaos.

"Did you see clearly? Is it really a banner with Chinese characters?"

The scout nodded repeatedly: "I can see it clearly, and that big flag is still moving westward."

Wanyan Yong muttered to himself, "This...this must be Liu the traitor coming in person."

Tudan Kening continued anxiously, "How many troops has Liu the traitor brought?"

The scout only glanced at the scene from a high vantage point before being chased away by Han scouts. How could he possibly understand what was going on? He said, "I...I don't know, but there are probably twenty or thirty thousand."

"Twenty or thirty thousand?!" Tudankening roared in fury, "How could it possibly be twenty or thirty thousand?!"

Wanyan Fushou was somewhat at a loss, and upon hearing this, he couldn't help but ask, "Marshal Du, is there any point in arguing about these things now? The time to make a decision is whether or not to send troops!"

Just as Wanyan Yong was about to nod, he heard Tudan Kening shout at Wanyan Fushou, "What do you know!"

"If Fei Huzi had sent twenty or thirty thousand men, how could Wanyan Guying not have noticed?! How could he not have been prepared?! Could those Han bandits have vanished without a trace and flown over?"

Conversely, if the Han rebels only sent a few thousand men who had vanished without a trace, why couldn't Wanyan Guying withstand them?! What exactly happened?! Wanyan Fushou, can you explain this clearly?!

Although he knew that Tudan Kening was already furious, Wanyan Fushou still felt extremely embarrassed to be called by his full name and scolded to his face.

However, Tudan Kening ignored Wanyan Fushou's petty temper and turned back to glare at the scout: "You scoundrel, explain yourself clearly, how many people are there?!"

Just as the Jin cavalry were about to swear an oath, they heard guards carrying a military envoy rushing in from outside the government office.

"Report! Liu the traitor has led his 30,000-strong Jingnan army, covering dozens of miles in one night... and is attacking Huolu's camp at dawn!" The military envoy had been shot in the thigh, and blood was still seeping out, but he still managed to say in a trembling voice, "My garrison cannot hold them off any longer. I have come to request Your Majesty to send reinforcements immediately!"

Wanyan Yong was somewhat better off, but all the Jin generals present turned pale.

Upon hearing this, Tudan Kening was even more distraught. He staggered back a few steps, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, before finally saying with his last glimmer of hope, "Did Wanyan Guying fail to discover Liu Bei, or did he discover him but fail to prepare a response?"

The military envoy's lips moved a few times before he hurriedly said, "I am, I am the personal guard left behind. At cockcrow, Liu the traitor launched his attack. At that time... at that time, our army did not discover anything..."

Seeing the silence in the palace hall, Wanyan Yong knew that this was a critical moment, and quickly said, "Grand Marshal, Liu the bandit has been on a night raid and must be exhausted, fighting with his last breath. If our army sends troops from Zhen Ding City, wouldn't we be able to block Liu the bandit at Huolu?"

Tudankening was about to continue his anger, but he restrained himself: "Your Majesty, that's not how the score is calculated."

Marching silently at night, without scattering or being detected, and then suddenly attacking the Huolu camp—these 30,000 troops must be an elite force that would be difficult to deal with.

However, this does not mean that the other troops of the Han army are much worse. Moreover, Your Majesty should not forget that Liu Bei has stationed as many as 100,000 troops in Luancheng. These troops cannot stand idly by and watch their lord fight to the death.

At this point, they may have already laid an ambush on the road, waiting for our army to rescue the Huolu camp.

If that were the case, the 40,000-strong army of Zhen Ding City would also be routed.

After thinking for a moment and struggling to understand Tudan Kening's words, Wanyan Yong rose from his throne and slowly walked to Tudan Kening's side: "I know nothing about military affairs, so I don't know how bad the situation is."

However, I do know one thing: even a wrong decision is better than no decision at all.

As he spoke, Wanyan Yong took Tudan Kening's hands and said, "Grand Marshal, Liu the traitor has already made a desperate gamble and mobilized the entire army. Now, the only chance for the Great Jin to win is to go to Huolu and join forces with Wanyan Liushou."

"Just think about it. If we delay any longer and let Liu Bei break through the Huolu camp, our 40,000 troops will collapse without a fight."

Wanyan Yong tightened his grip slightly, looking into Tudan Kening's eyes, and said, "Marshal, we are now gambling with the fate of the nation. Since we are going to gamble, let's play all our cards. Regardless of victory or defeat, it is still the result of our best efforts. But if we still have cards up our sleeves and still hold this large army, but watch the situation be completely destroyed, wouldn't that be a huge joke?"

Tudan Kening was startled, then gritted his teeth and said, "Your Majesty is right. I was not careful enough. We should indeed send troops immediately."

Wanyan Yong nodded, then slowly glanced at the generals in the hall: "Then please give the order immediately, Marshal."

I know this battle will be difficult, but the nation has raised soldiers for decades, and now is the time to fight to the death for our country. In this battle, everyone, including myself, must obey military orders and advance without retreat!

The Jurchen generals finally broke free from their fear and, under Wanyan Yong's piercing gaze, loudly agreed.

Soon, Wanyan Zhang led three elite armored cavalrymen of the Meng'an tribe as the vanguard and charged out of Zhengding Prefecture.

However, he had only marched less than ten miles when he saw hundreds of cavalry coming from the south.

As a general who had been captured once but was later released in exchange for the Shi Ju family, Wanyan Zhang was quite familiar with the high-ranking generals in the Han army.

To be precise, it was because I was brutally beaten by these people that I had such a deep impression of them.

Therefore, when Wanyan Zhang saw the Han cavalry, he dared not be negligent. He immediately ordered his three thousand armored cavalry to form ranks, while he rode his horse to a small hill and looked out into the distance.

The hundreds of Han cavalrymen seemed to have sensed the Jin army's caution, so they did not launch a surprise attack. The general in charge planted his flag on the ground as a marker to gather his troops.

As a gust of cold wind howled past, the large flag finally fluttered in the wind, allowing Wanyan Zhang to see clearly.

"The White Fish Banner! The White Fish Banner!" Wanyan Zhang gritted his teeth, but a hint of fear flickered in his eyes: "It's the Dongping Army, it's Zhang Baiyu!"

"General! Look!" a guard shouted, pointing to a line on the southern horizon, "A large army is coming! Many soldiers!"

Wanyan Zhang stood on his horse and gazed into the distance for a moment, feeling an even chill run through him.

On the horizon, as far as the eye could see, there was only billowing smoke and dust. For a moment, even Wanyan Zhang, a veteran general who had been through many battles, could not determine how many Han troops there were.

Despite the cold wind, Wanyan Zhang's undergarments were soaked with sweat. He grabbed his personal guard and shouted, "Quick! Go and report to His Majesty and the Grand Marshal!"

The Han bandits didn't lay an ambush; they charged straight at us in full battle formation! Forget about a quick rescue of Huolu; first, get into formation and fight a decisive battle!

The guards nodded hastily and rode away on horseback.

The lieutenant asked in a panic, "General, what do we do?"

After a moment's hesitation, Wanyan Zhang's inherent ferocity surged into his heart: "Never mind, my military orders are to go to Huolu to assist Wanyan Liu in guarding the city. Let's leave here!"

The lieutenant hesitated: "Are we just going to abandon this place?"

Wanyan Zhang glanced at the Dongping cavalry, who were already fully armored and eager to fight, and waved his hand, saying, "Our army has 40,000 soldiers, and the Han rebels have about the same number. In a head-on battle, two or three thousand more men are of no use at all."

But Wanyan Guying couldn't wait any longer! If reinforcements didn't arrive soon, he might really annihilate the Jin elite troops along with those Mongols!

Seeing the restless Dongping cavalry, the deputy general gritted his teeth and said, "Then General, you should leave quickly. I'll take some men to stop Zhang Baiyu."

Wanyan Zhang patted his deputy on the shoulder, then turned his horse and rode away without a word.

Twenty Moucks followed closely behind.

Seeing this, Zhang Baiyu relentlessly tried to follow, but was blocked on the spot by the remaining ten Mouke, and the two sides began to fight on the spot.

On the battlefield stretching for dozens of miles, sporadic skirmishes like those at Zhang Baiyu's place had already begun, and both the Han and Jin armies were inevitably drawn into skirmishes.

The combined forces of both sides numbered over 100,000. Although both generals wanted to advance in unison, once on the battlefield, the battle lines became uneven due to various factors. As a result, within half an hour, the two sides were already showing signs of engaging in a chaotic melee.

Seeing this, He Boqiu immediately ordered, "Tell Li Tieqiang that the Taiping Army should not come here! Turn around immediately and assist the Prince of Han in attacking Huolu!"

Meanwhile, the situation in Huolu had already undergone new changes.

(End of this chapter)