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

Chapter 990 The Bow Sings Like Thunder, the String Startles
Central Army Headquarters of the Song Army.

The shouts of battle could already be heard through the smoke and dust.

Although Shao Hongyuan was still stroking his beard, his hands were somewhat stiff, no longer displaying the composure he had before.

Faced with such a dire situation, the newly appointed commander-in-chief, the highest-ranking officer of the Song army in Lianghuai, did not fly into a rage as usual. Instead, he muttered to himself in bewilderment, "Twenty thousand soldiers, the elite troops and fierce generals of Lianghuai... couldn't even hold out for two hours against Xin Qiji?! Why... why has it come to this..."

Only after his personal guards had gathered around, awaiting orders, did Shao Hongyuan seem to snap out of a daze, and roared angrily, "This isn't a battle against the Flying Tiger! This is just a Great Blue Rhinoceros! Just a Great Blue Rhinoceros!"

Finally, one of the guards, exasperated, interrupted the man's grumbling: "Grand Commandant, we must now engage the enemy! Please give the order!"

Shao Hongyuan's hand trembled, and he plucked out a few hairs from his beard. However, the pain in his lips brought him back to his senses somewhat.

"Send word to Grand Commandant Li, ordering him to quickly lead the rear guard to join forces with the central army to deal with the enemy!"

"Send the order to all units to have their cavalry converge in front of me!"

After a pause, Shao Hongyuan gritted his teeth and said, "Today, I will advance and retreat with the army!"

From a retrospective perspective, Shao Hongyuan's words came a little too late.

Driven by the Flying Tiger Army, a large number of routed troops surged towards Shao Hongyuan's main camp like a tidal wave, catching the Song army, which had not yet deployed its main formation, off guard.

However, this can be considered a blessing in disguise. The terrain here is much wider than in the northwest. Before the Song army could fully deploy, the routed troops were able to bypass the enemy from both flanks. Although the Song army's formation was teetering on the brink of collapse, it was ultimately not completely routed.

At the same time, Shao Hongyuan's unwavering stance slightly boosted the morale of the Song army, preventing them from falling to the point of being afraid to fight.

To put it bluntly, almost every junior officer knew before the war that this northward march was to take advantage of the situation, as Henan and Shandong were extremely vulnerable, with only a few thousand regular troops.

These several thousand Han soldiers were surrounded in places like Xiapi, while the Han army facing them consisted of only a thousand cavalry.

Even excluding the tens of thousands of civilian laborers, the Song army still had 40,000 regular soldiers. How could they be afraid of a thousand Flying Tiger soldiers?

Even if the front lines have all collapsed, the Song army still has 20,000 regular troops, while the Flying Tiger Army, no matter how powerful, is almost exhausted.

How could something go wrong with 20,000 fresh troops fighting against 1,000 exhausted soldiers?!
Even though everyone in the Song army was confident about the outcome of the battle, they still couldn't help but panic when they saw the routed troops all over the mountains and fields.

This panic had always existed, spreading in everyone's hearts, but it was masked by the army's triumphant advance and unstoppable momentum.

The dramatic changes in the court brought about personnel turmoil, followed by a hasty war without the distribution of provisions and pay. The Song soldiers were all on edge, and at this point, they could no longer hold back.

Li Xianzong led his rear army around a hill at the foot of the Lüliang Mountains, only to be met with a field of routed soldiers. His heart sank immediately.

"Young Hou! Go there yourself and tell Grand Commandant Shao." Li Xianzong looked around a few times, but could only summon Hou Gaolang, the highest-ranking officer there: "Make it clear that the situation at the front is dangerous, and he is simply unable to provide support. I will personally take command of the central army, while he will return to the rear army to oversee operations!"

Hou Gaolang felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this, but without delay, he immediately mustered over a hundred personal guards and headed towards the central army after receiving the order.

Given Shao Hongyuan's petty nature, spreading such rumors could very well cost him his head.

As expected, Shao Hongyuan immediately became furious. However, when he looked back and saw that the rear army was rapidly approaching without stopping, he suppressed his anger: "I appreciate Grand Commandant Li's good intentions, but as the commander-in-chief, it is my duty to fight the enemy head-on. How can I hide in the rear army?! Wouldn't our morale collapse completely then?"

He reported back to Grand Commandant Li, saying that he hoped Li, as the deputy commander-in-chief, would also fulfill his responsibilities.

Upon hearing this, Hou Gaolang was filled with shock and anger. He remained silent, spurred his horse forward for more than ten paces, and then turned back and said loudly, "Grand Commandant Shao, I hope you will take care of yourself. If the overall situation collapses because of you, I will never let you go, even if it means being torn to pieces!"

After threatening everyone, Hou Gaolang ignored the surrounding generals who were also filled with shock and anger, spurred his horse, and galloped back.

Logically speaking, the public exposure of the conflict between the Song army's general and deputy general would certainly be a significant blow to morale. However, at this moment, Shao Hongyuan... or rather, the entire central army, could no longer afford to worry about such things.

The Flying Tigers, now equipped with spare horses, have once again charged to the front lines.

"Bai Hong!" Shao Hongyuan shouted the name of his trusted general: "Our army has a thousand cavalry, and I will keep them all to command with you!"

"Understood!" the cavalry commander, Bai Hong, responded loudly, but after glancing back at the blue rhinoceros banner, he continued, "However, the cavalry comes from various backgrounds, and this humble general is worried..."

Shao Hongyuan waved his hand: "Don't worry about that. I don't expect you to defeat the Great Blue Rhinoceros. Just keep him occupied. When the time comes, our armored soldiers and crossbowmen will meet the enemy together and annihilate him!"

Bai Hong made up his mind and loudly agreed again.

"Fifth Brother, the Song army's formation is solid and hasn't been broken up by the fleeing troops," Chen Wenben said, panting heavily. "Concentrate all the explosives in the army, I'll blast a path open for you!"

After scanning the army formation with his binoculars, Xin Qiji shook his head repeatedly: "No, we don't have enough explosives. We can't break through such a thick formation. We can only manage a single blow."

Just as Chen Wenben was about to say something, he heard Xin Qiji give the order: "You take three hundred cavalry and march from south to north, driving away the routed troops. Make it appear as if you are attacking the Song army's flank. I will lead the remaining troops and follow behind you. If any Song cavalry charge out from the main force, you immediately turn back and hold them off for me!"

Chen Wenben didn't speak, but responded directly with his actions: "First, third, and seventh, follow me!"

A moment later, nearly a thousand Flying Tiger cavalrymen slightly turned, like a giant shovel, sweeping the routed Song army from the banks of the Yellow River into the Lüliang Mountains.

During this process, the flanks of the Flying Tiger Army were inevitably exposed in front of the Song army's main formation, with the two sides coming within two or three hundred paces at their closest point.

"Bai Hong! This is a fighter jet! Take off immediately!"

Faced with Shao Hongyuan's urging, Bai Hong had no choice but to lead over a thousand cavalrymen into battle.

After more than a thousand Song cavalry appeared on the battlefield, the Flying Tiger Army slowed down significantly, but its pace never stopped, continuing to drive the routed troops northward.

The Song cavalry was not a well-organized cavalry force. Most of them were distributed among various commanders. Before the battle, Shao Hongyuan intercepted a portion of them and hastily put them together. They had never experienced large-scale cavalry group combat.

Therefore, the Song cavalry only ran parallel to the Flying Tiger Army for less than a mile before their formation became somewhat scattered.

Bai Hong was naturally aware of this as well, and felt extremely uneasy. He dared not launch an immediate offensive, but instead adjusted his direction, bringing the two armies closer together in order to avoid the most casualty-filled clash phase and directly enter into a melee.

In Bai Hong's view, no matter how capable the Flying Tiger Army was, it was impossible for them to defeat the Song army in a few moves during the melee. The Song cavalry could also play to their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, such as inconsistent command.

Xin Qiji stood in the very center of the Flying Tigers' formation. He glanced at the cavalry and immediately understood their strength. After a brief laugh, he signaled his personal guards to sound the horn.

Upon hearing the pre-arranged signal, Chen Wenben raised his spear high, and the small flag on it turned around. The flag bearer behind him then turned the large flag around as well.

Under Chen Wenben's guidance, the three hundred Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry abandoned the routed troops in front of them and charged fiercely at the Song army cavalry.

Bai Hong was terrified. Even if he wanted to escape, there was nowhere to run. He had no choice but to grit his teeth and engage in a head-on battle with the well-organized Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry.

At the same time, Xin Qiji turned the Green Rhinoceros Banner, and the remaining Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry charged towards the Shao character banner.

"Form ranks! Form ranks now! Spears, axes, crossbows, bring them all!"

Shao Hongyuan roared loudly, sweat mixed with dust streaming down his face, making his neatly groomed beard a complete mess.

Shao Hongyuan couldn't care less about any of that now, because he had just realized that he had made a huge mistake.

We shouldn't have urged the cavalry to attack immediately upon seeing even a slight opportunity.

Because the Song cavalry were assembled behind Shao Hongyuan, and if they wanted to enter the battlefield, they needed the infantry formation to make way for them.

It wasn't until the Flying Tigers launched their charge that Shao Hongyuan was horrified to discover that the great formation that had just split open in front of him had not yet been stabilized again.

The road that the Song army vacated not only allowed the Song cavalry to pass, but also provided the Flying Tiger Army with an excellent passage.

"Send the order to Li Bin! Zhou Hu! Tell them to take their personal guards and take the lead!" Shao Hongyuan's voice became somewhat shrill, but the order came too late.

Xin Qiji had gathered the last few dozen explosive charges and launched a concentrated bombardment on the central army of the Song army.

These explosive packages were filled with granulated black powder, and had to be stuffed with shrapnel and nails while also taking into account the weight of the explosive charge. Therefore, the amount of explosive charge was not very large, and the lethality was only average. It was unlikely that a single explosive charge could kill hundreds of people.

However, this was a huge blow to morale.

Even if the explosive charge is small, the fragments it shoots out and the shockwave it generates are beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. Especially since the Song army had not yet completed its formation, chaos almost immediately spread.

When the first wave of smoke cleared, the more than two thousand soldiers at the forefront of the central army had completely collapsed.

The distance between the Flying Tiger Army and the Song army's Shao-character banner was only two or three squads of light soldiers.

Before Shao Hongyuan's horrified eyes, a large blue rhinoceros banner pierced through the smoke of battle, followed by a valiant knight who, like an icebreaker breaking through ice, cleaved through the Song army's ranks.

He came within three zhang of the Song army's banner, raised his long spear, and shouted loudly.

"The one who killed Shao Hongyuan was the Great Blue Rhinoceros!"

Shao Hongyuan turned his horse and fled.

(End of this chapter)