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

Chapter 971: The brave one wins when we meet on a narrow road
As the emperor of the Jin dynasty, Wanyan Liang naturally had no reason to lead his troops into battle in such terrain.

What a joke! It's not like we've reached the point of certain death in Chaoxian. Even if the emperor wanted to be the vanguard, countless ministers would stop him.

Therefore, Wanyan Liang erected the Golden Guard banner at the former location of the Song army camp, commanding his army to enter Fufeng Pass from a high vantage point.

This choice, in a sense, saved part of the Jin army.

"What's going on?! What happened up ahead? Why is there the sound of explosives? Did the Song traitors plant explosives on the official road?"

Upon hearing the cannon fire, Wanyan Liang immediately stood up, somewhat flustered, shading his eyes with his hand and looking westward through the vent.

The civil and military officials around them looked at each other, unsure of how to respond.

Wanyan Liang did not expect to get the answer from his ministers. Instead, he ordered scouts to investigate what was happening ahead and whether they had already made contact with the enemy, while he ordered his military commander to use his token to prevent the subsequent troops from entering Fufeng Pass.

Wanyan Yuanyi said with some hesitation, "Could it be a strategy by the Song army to lure the enemy deep into their territory? But that can't be right. With such a major event happening in the Song court, and Zhao Gou being such a person, how could the Song army still have the morale to feign defeat?"

Wanyan Liang's lips twitched twice: "Move the carriage, don't panic. It might just be the Song army's rearguard tactic. The setback ahead is just a minor one."

Wanyan Yuanyi opened her mouth, but dared not say anything.

Wanyan Liang's statement is certainly possible, but considering the possibility of defeat before victory, what if it really was a Song army's strategy to lure the Jin army into a deadly trap for their cavalry before launching a counterattack?
Given the political stability of the Jin state, the Song army didn't even need to wipe out the entire Jin army; as long as they defeated them and caused heavy casualties, the fragile political balance within the Western Jin would be broken.

Wanyan Liang had initially thought the scouts would return soon, but in reality, he waited and waited, sending out three waves of scouts in succession. Just as he was about to become impatient and personally investigate, the first group of scouts returned, panting, saying, "My lord, General Hu sent me to report that this is an ambush! The Song army has returned! The road ahead is blocked; we absolutely must not send any more troops in!"

A sense of disbelief rose in Wanyan Liang's heart: "Could this Lu You really be a figure like Zhuge Liang? With the Song court in such a chaotic state, how could he still stabilize the morale of the army?"

The thought only flashed through his mind for a moment, then he forced himself to calm down and loudly ordered, "Send word to all units, tell them to withdraw immediately! Forget about the warhorses, armor, and supplies, everyone withdraw!"

Wanyan Liang's decision was swift, but in the end, it was too late.

In this narrow strip of land, stretching fifty li from east to west and three li from north to south, military orders could no longer be transmitted.

It wasn't just that Wanyan Liang's military orders were difficult to reach the generals of various units; the generals also found it difficult to pass on their orders.

The troops were too close together, and the Song army had already arrived. The battlefield was filled with the sounds of battle, and the usual methods such as gongs and drums had become ineffective. The voices of the generals were drowned out by the surging roars.

Where is Zhang Zhen?

"Reporting to the Prime Minister, we have already broken into the enemy lines and cut off the Jin invaders' supply lines from the middle."

Where is Wu Ting?

"We have already routed the vanguard of the Jin cavalry and joined forces with Commander Cao, driving those western bandits to trample the Jin main force!"

"Good!" Lu You stood up, swung his horse, and ordered Gao Song, Liu Hai, and Cao Xiu's troops to form ranks and head east! They must not be fast, but they must not be slow either. I want them to be in perfect formation and to press forward with overwhelming force!

After saying this, Lu You, accompanied by a few personal guards and military advisors, slowly walked onto the official road, and then directly raised the large banner with the character "Lu" on it and the banner recognizing him as the Sichuan Military Commissioner.

At the same time, generals such as Gao Song had already stopped and led their troops to turn around and form ranks.

Upon hearing Lu You's order, Gao Song's face showed a hint of surprise: "Lord Lu...Lord Lu actually accomplished something great?!"

It's no wonder they were surprised. Their force of just over ten thousand men consisted of defeated soldiers and new recruits. The defeated soldiers were terrified, and the new recruits were inexperienced and incapable of fighting tough battles. They could only serve as a morale booster on the battlefield.

Lu You naturally couldn't let this group of people serve as the main force for the surprise attack, so they were only used to lure the enemy, creating the illusion that the army of 10,000 was really going to retreat.

Gao Song and his men were naturally happy to accept this arrangement. They knew better than anyone whether their troops were capable of fighting. Now they were retreating in large strides. If the surprise attack failed, they could take the opportunity to escape.

But to everyone's surprise, Lu You actually managed to make it happen!
The so-called "battlefield atmosphere team" can only fight when things are going well, but now is the time to show their loyalty and bravery.

Cao Xiu laughed and said, "As previously agreed, I will assign three hundred veteran soldiers to Brother Gao. I wish you success, brother!"

Gao Song nodded in agreement.

Subsequently, with 700 veteran soldiers as the vanguard, the entire Song army mobilized and attacked from west to east.

This bloody counterattack instantly wiped out the Jin army that was still fighting.

The Jin army had no idea that these ten thousand Song soldiers were all mere showpieces with silver spears and pewter tips. Seeing the ten thousand soldiers arrayed in a disciplined formation, advancing slowly and imposingly, the small battle groups surrounding their generals immediately collapsed, and the surrounding Jin troops scattered and fled. The ten thousand Song soldiers split up, leading Lu You to the central army, using the large banner bearing the character "Lu" as a guide, and continued their advance.

At each small battlefield, they would rout a portion of the Jin army and absorb the Song army into their larger formation. In a short while, the Song army's formation became increasingly solid, with more and more elite soldiers and generals. Meanwhile, the Jin army became increasingly hesitant to engage the Song army, and like chickens and ducks scattered by a spoiled child, the crowd surged eastward in a tidal wave.

Some soldiers, in their panic, tried to escape along the frozen Wei River to the north bank. When they reached the center of the river, they discovered that the area about two or three zhang in the middle was still flowing water.

The Jin soldiers in front wanted to stop, but were pushed and shoved by the Jin soldiers who came after them. Wearing armor weighing dozens of kilograms, they fell into the cold river water. The bubbles that rose up only swirled once before disappearing with the armored soldiers.

When the Jin army that followed saw the scene ahead, they were equally horrified, but they still could not stop. In an instant, more than a hundred Jin soldiers were swallowed up by the Wei River.

This is not over yet.

Many Tangut cavalrymen panicked and ran onto the frozen surface of the Wei River, but they often crashed onto the ice after only a few meters.

The combined weight of the warhorses and knights was seven or eight hundred pounds, which made the ice creak and groan. Moreover, the sharp iron weapons such as horseshoes, armor, and weapons pierced the ice surface under the enormous force. Soon, the first crack spread in the horrified eyes of the Jin army and quickly expanded like a spider web.

"Do not move!"

"Take off your armor! Take off your armor!"

Some Jin soldiers shouted orders, but amidst the neighing of men and horses, who could hear them?
The cracking sounds of ice breaking were incessant; in one place, the ice on the Wei River, which had just frozen over, finally gave way and shattered with a crash.

Hundreds of Jin soldiers were instantly swallowed up by the surging Wei River.

The might of heaven and earth is beyond human power to resist. Even the Han army had to put up a fight against these battle-hardened elites. Yet, after swallowing nearly a thousand lives, the Wei River remained calm and its scenery was magnificent.

The few Jin troops that charged into the Qinling Mountains also met a bad end.

Most of these brave Jin soldiers were directly intercepted by the Song army, while a few lucky ones, such as Wanyan Wangxiang, who rushed to the artillery positions, witnessed a type of ammunition that the Han army had never used before.

Shotgun.

Because this battle was truly urgent, Lu You simply used a pile of iron coins from the Huizong era as ammunition. Just as nearly a hundred Jin soldiers rushed to the vicinity, the Emperor Taishang Daojun's favor came crashing down on them.

Feeling the same grief and indignation as the people of Hanzhong and Sichuan that day, Wanyan Wangxiang turned and ran, causing the Jin army, which had finally managed to reach the Song army's artillery position, to collapse as well.

However, Wanyan Wangxiang was quick-witted. He glanced down from his high vantage point and knew that both the Wei River and the official road were dead ends. He simply abandoned his armor and weapons, threw his flags aside, and led his personal guards eastward along the mountain path.

Many Jin generals who were watching Wanyan Wangxiang's actions understood, even if they didn't know whether Wanyan Wangxiang was dead or had escaped, that the Song army's artillery was completely ineffective after seeing his flag fall.

After the last breath of the Jin generals dissipated, the army could no longer hold on and gradually collapsed.

At this point, the nearly 30,000 Jin troops who had stormed into Fufeng Pass finally collapsed completely. Countless soldiers trampled and killed each other. The Song army did not even need to launch a frontal attack; simply advancing calmly was enough to inflict heavy casualties on the Jin army.

Despite being covered in blood, Wu Ting couldn't hide his joy: "Mr. Lu, please wait here for a moment. Let us brave warriors defeat the enemy!"

Lu You shook his head and replied: "The original plan was for Hui Feng to break out from Wuzhangyuan and block the Jin invaders' retreat. Now that Hui Feng's troops have been completely defeated, how can I ensure the army's orderly advance and retreat if I cannot lead from the front?"
You must understand that Wanyan Liang would definitely leave some troops behind as a backup plan, and only I can make this decision on the spot.

Wu Ting wanted to persuade him further, but after witnessing Lu You easily annihilate the main force of the Jin army, he couldn't help but feel convinced and simply nodded.

The Song army marched in great numbers, while the Jin army suffered a miserable defeat.

Originally, Wanyan Liang wanted to lead a small number of troops to maintain order at Fufeng Pass, but soon, the elite Heza Meng'an were scattered by the fleeing army.

After failing to reorganize his troops and nearly being slashed by the fleeing soldiers, Wanyan Yuanyi could only sigh and return to Wanyan Liang, saying, "Your Majesty, things are hopeless. Let's return to Chang'an first."

Wanyan Liang threw his riding whip on the ground, his eyes practically spitting fire: "The army is gone! What's the use of returning to Chang'an?! It's just a matter of dying sooner or later! Men, follow me..."

"Your Majesty!" Wanyan Yuanyi hurriedly stopped Wanyan Liang: "What use is Lu You's strength? What about Yue Fei back then? What about Zhuge Liang? I have never heard of a cowardly general in the court who can lead a large army to success! Now, the one in power in the Song Dynasty is not Zhao Shen, but Zhao Gou! As long as we survive and gather our troops, the world will undergo a great change! I hope Your Majesty can preserve your life to be of use!"

Upon hearing these words, Wanyan Liang took several deep breaths to calm his agitation. After a moment, he smiled bitterly at Wanyan Yuanyi and said, "Now, can our Great Jin only rely on someone like Zhao Gou to succeed?"

Wanyan Yuanyi silently pulled on the reins and led Wanyan Liang's warhorse eastward.

(End of this chapter)