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

Chapter 941 The Three Armies Shout and Yinshan Trembles

"Report! The Han cavalry have bypassed the camp from the south and attacked the rear camp. They are already engaged in battle with the Mongol cavalry!"

"Report! The banner of Toghril Khan has been scattered by the Han army, and Toghril Khan's fate is unknown and he cannot be found."

"Report! The Mongol army has broken camp. Yesugei Khan sent me to report that they are incompetent and request that the Tumen Pass be opened to let them..."

"Enough!" Wanyan Guying shouted, then glanced contemptuously at the rear camp and spat a mouthful of phlegm on the ground: "You're all hopeless, a bunch of worthless bastards who only deserve to eat sheep dung."

All information about the Mongols is irrelevant; block it all!

The guards were in a state of panic.

The Mongols were almost all in the rear camp. Abandoning the Mongols would be easy, but wouldn't that also mean abandoning the rear camp?
However, upon hearing the shouts of battle coming from all directions and seeing the Jurchen armored cavalry already prepared, the personal guards immediately swallowed all their words of advice.

Wanyan Guying is right. Now that things have come to this, there is no time to think about anything else.

Wanyan Shoudao personally rode over and shouted loudly in front of everyone: "Uncle! The north is about to give way, and I guess Uncle Mouyan in the south is also in a difficult situation. Are you ready here?"

Wanyan Guying nodded slowly on horseback: "I originally hoped that the rear camp could organize some troops to attack with me, but now the Mongols are in chaos, and even our men are in disarray, so we can't count on them at all."

I have gathered thirty-seven elite armored cavalrymen from the Mouke here, enough to charge them head-on.

However, there's still one thing I need to do. I was originally hoping Mou Yan would come to me, but it seems that the fellow has truly lost his nerve.

Wanyan Shoudao immediately patted his chest and said, "Then I'll do it."

"I'm telling you clearly, you might die."

Wanyan Shoudao burst into laughter: "Uncle, if we lose this battle, the country will perish. What difference will it make whether we die now or then?"

Wanyan Guying looked at this most outstanding descendant of the Wanyan clan, his hands trembling slightly for a moment, before turning his head, hiding half his face in the shadow of his helmet, and said in a deep voice, "I need you to immediately lead your troops to attack the flank of the Han traitors. Deploy all your troops before Wang Shilong!"

Wanyan Shoudao turned his horse and rode away, but after taking three or four steps, he turned back and asked, "Uncle, if I were to throw all my troops into this battle, what are your chances of winning?"

Wanyan Guying: "Thirty percent."

"What if I die in front of Wang Shilong?"

Wanyan Guying gripped the reins tightly with both hands, gritting his teeth as he replied, "Thirty-five percent!"

Wanyan Shoudao burst into laughter again: "A 50% increase in the win rate is enough!"

Wanyan Shoudao said no more and immediately returned to the northernmost part of the main camp.

Because the Jingnan army's left, right, and eastern naval forces advanced simultaneously and swept through the Huolu camp, the Jin army's initial plan was to organize its troops to block the left and right flanks, leaving the eastern naval force in the center of the main formation as a salient, thus giving Wanyan Guying's Jin army the opportunity to concentrate its main force for a decisive battle.

However, the Jin army was the one that was attacked suddenly. Even though they had an absolute advantage in troop strength, how could they have assembled in a hurry?
Take Wanyan Shoudao's troops in the far north as an example. Theoretically, he saw eleven Meng'an banners, so there should have been more than 10,000 soldiers.

In reality, each Meng'an unit could only muster a maximum of seven or eight Moukes, and many of these Moukes were understaffed.

As a result, although the Jin army's left wing was supposed to be a unit of ten thousand households, only five or six thousand men were actually sent out to fight.

Even though the Jin army was roughly equal in number to the right wing led by Wang Shilong, one side was caught off guard and panicked, its formation incomplete, and it was forced to fight hastily; the other side had its political leader personally leading the charge, breaking through several strongholds in succession, and its morale was high.

It is obvious at a glance which is stronger and which is weaker.

It can be said that the fact that the Jin army did not scatter at this point was already a worthy sacrifice for Wanyan Aguda's spirit in heaven.

Wanyan Shoudao returned to his headquarters and immediately ordered a counterattack, but suddenly discovered an important problem that he had not considered in his haste.

He was not a general from the Jin region.

The troops under Wanyan Shoudao's command were all in Zhen Ding City, so he was completely forced into this situation.

Although Wanyan Shoudao was a distant relative of the Wanyan clan and a renowned general of the imperial family, the Jin army was unlikely to disobey his commands. However, the fact that his orders were not being followed was absolutely true.

Wanyan Shoudao didn't even know which general was the bravest and most fearless, or which army was the most capable and daring to fight.

But at this moment, where would Wanyan Shoudao find the time to understand in detail?

Seeing the Han army sweeping in like an iron curtain, and the East Sea Navy in the center getting closer and closer to Wanyan Guying's banner, Wanyan Shoudao anxiously threw off his helmet, grabbed his own banner, and charged towards Wang Shilong.

Commanders personally leading the charge has always been the most effective, yet also the most helpless, tactic.

A general gambles with his prestige, leading all his troops in a desperate gamble. While this might be powerful enough to split mountains and shatter rocks, if the battle goes against him, the first to die will be the general who led the charge.

Upon seeing that the Jin army dared to launch a preemptive attack, Wang Shilong was astonished and immediately ordered his troops to halt and form ranks. Long spears and great axes were arrayed in front, and at the commander's order, the armored soldiers formed a horizontal line and quickly advanced.

Wang Shilong originally thought that these Jin soldiers would soon be wiped out by the Han soldiers' formation and advance, but he did not expect that Wanyan Shoudao was risking his life and advancing recklessly. He actually broke through the Han army's front line of more than a thousand men and dragged all these soldiers into the melee.

Wang Shilong was both shocked and furious, and immediately burst into curses: "Wang Tiepan really made me proud! He was actually forced into this state by a bunch of scoundrels!"

The guard immediately asked, "Should we have Deputy Commander Wang step down?"

"No need." Wang Shilong picked up his long axe on horseback and shook his head, saying, "Have Wang Tiepan continue to hold the line in front. Also, tell Deputy Commander Yuan to come behind me."

Wang Shilong raised his long axe and pointed at the approaching Wanyan banner: "I'll personally deal with this bastard!"

As the fighting on the battlefield north of the main camp intensified, the Han army's advancing Iron Curtain formation finally slowed down for the first time.

"What is Wang Shilong good for?"

Li Xiu stood in the very center of the East Sea Navy, on horseback, holding a telescope and gazing into the distance.

Deputy General Jiao Qiao said, "It's possible that the Jin invaders have launched a counterattack. Should we allocate some of our forces to provide some assistance?"

"Nonsense!" Li Xiu immediately rebuked, "The eldest son is right behind us, how dare you come up with such a terrible idea?"

Jiao Qiao's breath hitched slightly: "It can't be that bad, can it? The Jin bandits are already in such a state of chaos, how can they still threaten the Prince of Han?"

The King of Han's orders to us are to advance simultaneously. If our left and right flanks are cut off, our Eastern Navy won't be able to move either.

Li Xiu sighed, turned to Jiao Qiao and said, "Old Jiao, I know you're getting old and can't bring yourself to do it, but you really should go to the military academy and attend a couple of classes."

"Let me tell you, the Jin thieves used a very simplistic and obvious tactic of luring the enemy."

"Both the left and right armies were intercepted by the Jin invaders, but the central army is unimpeded. Don't you think there's something wrong with that? Don't you think the Jin invaders deliberately opened up the road so that our army could advance?"

Li Xiu pointed straight ahead: "I can guarantee that the Jin bandits have a force lying in wait ahead, just waiting for us to break away from our allies or split our forces!"

Jiao Qiao nodded repeatedly, and was about to speak when he heard a military envoy rushing over with an apricot-yellow command flag: "The King of Han has ordered Li Xiu to divide his troops to support the left and right armies and clear the middle road!"

Li Xiu, who had just been so confident, was instantly stunned. After taking the order and glancing at it briefly, his cheeks twitched involuntarily.

In that instant, Li Xiu felt an urge to immediately return and advise the King of Han.

Even Li Xiu knew that this was impossible.

This is a battlefield!

What was delivered to him was a clear and unambiguous military order.

Where can you bargain?

"Old Jiao! You take two commanders to the south side, and I'll take two commanders to the north side."

Jiao Qiao immediately countered with Li Xiu's earlier words: "The Jin bandits definitely have a final gamble..."

Li Xiu nodded: "So the King of Han wants to lure out the Jin invaders' last gamble and deal with them personally!"

After saying this, Li Xiu said to the military envoy, "Please tell the King of Han that I will obey your orders. After the Jin invaders attack, I will immediately dispatch troops to block their retreat! I hope the King of Han will take good care of himself."

The military envoy nodded repeatedly and was about to leave with the yellow flag when Li Xiu grabbed his arm again.

The East Sea Navy commander said with a ferocious expression, "Furthermore, whoever came up with this idea has put you in danger. After this war, I will never let him go!"

The military envoy continued to nod, not daring to linger any longer, and immediately turned and left.

A moment later, the East Navy split into two, heading north and south to provide support, clearing a wide road in the center that was about six or seven hundred paces wide.

Looking eastward through this wide road, one can see a huge Chinese character flag faintly visible under the golden morning sun.

Wanyan Guying stood on the high ground watching this scene. After a moment of calm expression, he suddenly burst into laughter.

"This must be Liu's trap to lure the enemy. That Flying Tiger is indeed a famous general. He was able to guess that I was going to lead my elite troops to launch a surprise attack on him."

The deputy general standing to the side, Wanyan Zongxu, the Right Supervisor of the Marshal and Vice Minister of War, was filled with doubt and uncertainty. Looking at the armored cavalry that had already assembled behind him, he felt a chill in his heart: "Leave the garrison here. What should we do now?"

Wanyan Guying put on his helmet, still laughing loudly: "Of course we'll charge forward! Even if Flying Tiger has a hundred thoughts and ten thousand schemes, in the end, the affairs of this world must be settled with swords and spears!"

Wanyan Zongxu's voice trembled slightly: "This must be Fei Huzi's attempt to lure the enemy deep into his territory; there must be a backup plan."

Wanyan Guying said sternly, "What you said makes no sense! If Feihuzi cuts off my head, it will be because I was hasty and reckless, and stubborn; but if I defeat Liu's army, it will be because Liu is arrogant and looks down on me."

In the end, everything in this world comes down to results!

"From a public-spirited perspective, the country has been raising an army for decades so that we can go forward without hesitation and fight to the death for the future of the Great Jin Dynasty!"
From a selfish perspective, Fei Hu Zi, a mere greenhorn, dared to so blatantly disrespect me and directly challenge me to a duel. If I dared not accept, wouldn't I become a laughingstock in history?!

After a few words, Wanyan Zongxu finally broke free from his panic.

Wanyan Guying, however, no longer cared about Wanyan Zongxu's thoughts. He snatched the banner from his guards and went to the front of the Jin army who were resting cross-legged on the ground. He rode back and forth, shouting, "Descendants of the White Mountains and Black Waters! Mount up! Mount up! Follow me! Follow me!"
"Today we swear to kill the traitor Liu!"

Under the officers' orders, the Jin cavalry mounted their horses and, after a quarter of an hour, formed ranks and slowly set off under Wanyan Guying's banner.

As the Jin army threw their final dart, the battle finally reached its final stage in the small battlefield of Huolu Camp.

(End of this chapter)