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

Chapter 967 A Mighty Cavalry Camp, Not a Bird Can Fly

The Song army was holding a position at Fufeng Pass, which, from a macro perspective, is located in a plain area between the Qinling Mountains and the Loess Plateau.

This narrow strip of land is about fifty miles long from north to south, and it gradually narrows from east to west.

The Song army was mainly composed of infantry, and in order to prevent the Jin army from having room to maneuver, they continued to march and fight on the south bank of the Wei River.

This narrow passage between the northern foothills of the Qinling Mountains and the Wei River is only five li wide in some places and only one or two li in others. The Jin army could only attack from the east or west.

For the Jin army, which was unable to utilize the advantages of its cavalry, this was undoubtedly the most difficult tactic to employ.

"Your Majesty, I sent a few skilled swimmers to check on the Wei River. The Wei River is only covered with thick ice along the riverbanks, while there is only a thin layer of ice in the middle, making it very difficult to cross."

Wanyan Liang was somewhat disappointed upon hearing this: "Then let it be. However, since the Song army has withdrawn, we have no choice but to pursue and kill them."

Tell Wanyan Wangxiang to quickly defeat the Song rebels in front of him, then clear the road and regroup his troops on the spot, allowing Liang Yuanfu to lead the Dangxiang light cavalry in pursuit!

Liang Yuanfu was overjoyed upon hearing this: "Your Majesty, this humble general will certainly live up to your expectations!"

Upon hearing the military order, Wanyan Wangxiang angrily slammed his knife into the ground: "Why does Your Majesty favor the Tanguts so much? Does Your Majesty really intend to let those barbarians fill the court?"

The lieutenant quickly said, "General, please be quiet."

After seeing that Wanyan Wangxiang's anger had subsided, the deputy general Lou Xue said in a low voice, "His Majesty is the ruler of the Jurchens. How could he allow the Tanguts to succeed? However, the Western Xia Kingdom is so large. The Jin Dynasty has taken a huge chunk of their flesh. They can't just leave without giving something in return."

Seeing that Wanyan Wangxiang was still angry, Lou Xue quickly continued, "Besides, I think His Majesty felt that the Song army's withdrawal was too opportune and wanted to send the Dangxiang people to test the waters."

Wanyan Wangxiang was taken aback and quickly asked, "What do you mean?"

Lou Xue shook his head: "I don't know what happened either. I just feel that after this news from the Song Kingdom came, the Song army immediately withdrew, as if... as if someone deliberately let us know. It's too much of a coincidence..."

After pondering carefully for a moment on the battlefield, Wanyan Wangxiang nodded in agreement with Lou Xue's statement, but then shook his head slightly as he looked at the Song army's camp: "No matter what, the Song army retreated in the face of battle, which is a major taboo in military strategy. Even if Lu You is cunning, as long as our army catches up, we will be able to defeat him!"

Lou Xue agreed with Wanyan Wangxiang's statement.

However, he then saw Wanyan Wangxiang draw his twin swords: "I will personally lead my personal guards to break through the formation!"

Lou Xue hurriedly stopped him: "The battle has only been going on for three-quarters of an hour, not even half an hour yet. What's the rush? Let's wait until the Song army is exhausted before I lead a charge. You can join the battle after that! I don't want you to be killed in a confused and disorganized manner after something bad happens to you!"

Wanyan Wangxiang just smiled bitterly and shook his head, but suddenly asked a question: "How long has it been since the Jin army carried out a detachment killing?"

Lou Xue was taken aback, but then laughed.

The Jurchen population in the Western Jin Dynasty was already small. If the cruel military law of "splitting the troops" were still implemented, they would have been wiped out. Therefore, after Wanyan Liang arrived in Guanzhong, this military law was tacitly abolished by the Jin army.

"As we just said, the Song army may have some plans and won't be foolish enough to retreat in the face of battle. All I can do is immediately wipe out the Song bandits ahead, open up the road, and prevent Lu You from having any chance to use his clever tricks!"

Once Wanyan Wangxiang had made up his mind, he led dozens of heavily armored guards, trudging through the snow and slowly advancing into the attacking ranks.

The Song army's defensive fortifications were already poorly constructed, and after a heavy snowfall, they appeared even more chaotic.

The Jin army's offensive was relentless, tearing the Song army's outer wooden fence and palisades to shreds. At this point, the Song army was basically relying on that high ground to maintain its formation.

Wanyan Wangxiang walked slowly forward, when suddenly he felt his foot slip. Looking down, he saw that the snow had melted a bit after being trampled by so many people, and it was even more slippery after mixing with the soil.

Wanyan Wangxiang felt a chill run down his spine and became more vigilant before continuing to walk slowly forward.

Meanwhile, in order to create space for Wanyan Wangxiang to launch an attack, Lou Xue organized more than a hundred armored soldiers to launch a surprise attack on the Song army from the north.

Upon recognizing the approaching enemy, the Song general was horrified: "Jin soldiers! It's Jin soldiers! Bring all the crossbowmen! Crossbowmen!"

Aside from the crossbowmen who were caught up in the fierce battle and couldn't leave, the remaining nearly fifty men quickly gathered around.

"Aim carefully! Fire the crossbow! Fire it now!"

After shouting at the top of his lungs, the Song general felt a chill in his heart upon seeing only a sparse barrage of crossbow bolts: "There are still over a hundred crossbowmen with Hui Tou. Tell Hui Tou that I need reinforcements!"

"It's too late! Get Old Yu with the big axe!"

After a period of chaos, the Song army assembled nearly a hundred heavily armored soldiers, ready for battle.

However, this inevitably left the rest of the defensive line vulnerable.

Wanyan Wangxiang, leaning on his twin swords, climbed up a gentle slope to a high point. After prying open the last deer antler, he spat out the copper coin from his mouth and roared, "Kill the traitors!" Dozens of Jin soldiers suddenly accelerated and rushed up the high ground, then brandished their weapons and slashed wildly.

Three quarters of an hour after launching their attack, the Jin army finally broke into the Song army's ranks.

Under normal circumstances, Hui Feng should have led his personal guards to meet the enemy. He also had over a hundred crossbowmen and dozens of armored soldiers by his side, enough to quickly kill Wanyan Wangxiang's vanguard.

However, at this crucial moment, Hui Feng hesitated.

On the fierce battlefield, he immediately turned to his personal guard leader and asked, "Have we held out for an hour?"

The head of the guards was taken aback, feeling a bit absurd, but dared not refuse to answer: "It's not an hour, it's probably just a little over half an hour."

Upon hearing this, Hui Feng stomped his foot in front of everyone and exclaimed, "Why isn't it the agreed time yet? What should we do?"

The head of the guards was stunned again, and then he stared in disbelief.

"Uh... General... Shouldn't we immediately send troops to wipe out these Jin bandits?!"

The head of the guards, having recovered his composure, anxiously advised, "The Jin bandits have a large force, but haven't we also made thorough preparations? I can see clearly that there are only a few dozen Jin bandits coming up. Please give me all the crossbowmen, General, and I will deal with them for you!"

"You know nothing!" Hui Feng was both anxious and angry, and he shouted. He wanted to give his confidant some pointers, but he felt that the trivial matters concerning the court and the army could not be explained in a few words, so he could only stomp his feet repeatedly.

The general is the courage of the army.

Seeing their commander in such a state, the rest of the Song army also lost their composure, and the previously breached lines even began to sway precariously.

The head of the guards rushed forward and embraced Hui Feng, his voice trembling with tears: "General, what's wrong with you? If you didn't want the credit for covering the rear, why did you accept the task? But now our men are fighting bravely against the Jin invaders, why have you lost your will? You have something to say to me! Would I betray you, General?"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hui Feng leaned close to the head of the guards' ear and whispered, "Huo San, do you know? All the rumors that Prime Minister Lu had us spread are true! He already knew that something had happened in the court! He didn't want to lure the enemy deep into his territory and swallow up the main force of the Jin rebels, but rather he wanted us to cover their retreat so that we could escape alive!"

After a long pause, the head of the personal guards, Huo San, looked at Hui Feng with disbelief: "General! Is this your guess or is it true?!"

Hui Feng stamped his foot again: "Of course there are guesses, but there are also genuine words!"

Having followed Hui Feng for many years, how could Huo San not know his master's thoughts?
Hui Feng was simply afraid!

Rumors and gossip are inherently ambiguous. If everything goes smoothly in the war, Hui Feng will believe the other version of events and be able to muster the courage to persevere.

But now the Jin army is fighting desperately, isn't it? In the situation of being isolated and covering the rear, even with more thorough preparations, Hui Feng would naturally start to panic instinctively.

This panic was the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Huo San hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "General, you should go! I'll stay here and hold things up for you for a while! Go find Lord Lu, and don't say or ask anything else. Just say that the Jin invaders' offensive is too fierce and they can't hold on!"

In the short time it took to speak, the Jin army's momentum had completely overwhelmed the Song army, and Wanyan Wangxiang even raised his own banner to show that he had taken the lead.

Upon witnessing this scene, the Jin army's morale soared, and they launched a desperate attack on the Song army.

The Song army's formation instantly became precarious, and finally the right flank was the first to give way and began to collapse.

Wanyan Wangxiang drove his routed troops toward Huifeng's command flag, and in just a short while, the Song army's central army was on the verge of collapse.

The chaos gradually escalated, and more and more Song soldiers fled. At one point, the Song army's formation finally collapsed completely, and the soldiers threw off their armor and fled in all directions on the snow.

At this point, it doesn't matter who brings up the rear or who goes first.

The more than one hundred crossbowmen, whom Hui Feng had kept by his side as if they were treasures, fled with Hui Feng and other generals without firing a single shot.

However, after escaping for two or three miles, Hui Feng's mind calmed down as he was blown by the cold winter wind.

"What...what have I done?" Hui Feng looked at his fleeing subordinates, his hands gripping the reins trembling uncontrollably. "How could I run away? If the entire Sichuan army is wiped out, and the Jin invaders conquer Sichuan..."

Huo San was panting heavily. Hearing this, he was speechless, but could only helplessly ask, "What does the general want to do?"

Hui Feng forced himself to calm down and suddenly shouted, "Go to Wuzhangyuan! As agreed before! Go to the Wuzhangyuan camp, retreat south, retreat south!"

Hui Feng had just shouted a few times when he heard the sound of horses' hooves like muffled thunder behind him. His face turned pale instantly, and his heart sank to his backside.

The Jin cavalry charged in.

(End of this chapter)