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

Chapter 991 Sword Slashes at the Head of the Treacherous Minister (Part 1)
Shao Hongyuan's reaction was undeniably swift, and his escape was undeniably timely, but he only managed to prolong his life for a mere fifteen minutes.

His personal guards were also loyal and devoted. Even though they were just light infantrymen with swords and shields, they were not afraid at all when facing the Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry rushing towards them. They launched a frontal charge to distract the enemy.

His personal guards, in particular, fought desperately to stop Xin Qiji.

After Xin Qiji slashed left and right, killing all the armored cavalry who came to entangle him, Shao Hongyuan had already run nearly ten zhang away.

"Shao the Traitor!" Faced with such a shameless and cowardly commander, even though the enemy and his own forces were divided, Xin Qiji was still furious and threw his long spear out.

The long spear flew like a shooting star, but ultimately lost its aim due to the great distance, only grazing Shao Hongyuan's shoulder armor before falling to the ground.

Shao Hongyuan turned back in alarm, but dared not linger for a moment, urging his horse to gallop wildly.

As the commander-in-chief of the entire army, Xin Qiji could not possibly abandon his troops to fight as a general. Therefore, he could only turn his anger into strength, draw two heavy swords, and slash at the banner with the character "Shao".

In just two strikes, the flagpole, about the size of an arm, broke, and the Shao-character flag crashed to the ground amidst the panicked gazes of the Song soldiers.

"The traitor Shao is dead!"

Xin Qiji shouted with all his might, which roused the already exhausted Flying Tiger cavalry to shout in unison: "The traitor Shao is dead! The Song traitor has been defeated!"

Upon hearing this, the Song soldiers, who still maintained some formation, all turned to look. When they saw that the large banner with the character "Shao" had indeed disappeared and had not been raised again for a long time, panic finally spread to everyone's hearts.

Whether it was a unit of the central army that collapsed on its own or was swept up by the other fleeing troops, the Song army's central formation collapsed after only a quarter of an hour of fighting, and the three commanders in charge fled in disarray.

Shao Hongyuan, who was at the front of the escape, felt both ashamed and guilty.

After receiving the imperial decree, he had already made up his mind to fight to the death to repay the emperor's kindness.

But when faced with life and death, and seeing Xin Qiji charging towards him like a mad rhinoceros, the commander was still afraid.

Once fear arose, it instantly shattered Shao Hongyuan's psychological defenses like a flood breaking through a dam. By the time he turned around, he had already left the army behind.

Standing in front of Shao Hongyuan was Li Xianzong, who was furious.

Shao Hongyuan sat up straight on his horse, forcibly maintaining a semblance of decorum: "Grand Commandant Li..."

Before he could finish speaking, Li Xianzong immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow through Shao Hongyuan's throat.

Shao Hongyuan clutched his neck, staring at Li Xianzong in disbelief. Blood gushed from between his fingers, quickly staining his robe.

"Forty thousand troops! Forty thousand troops!" Li Xianzong didn't continue looking at Shao Hongyuan, who had fallen from his horse. Instead, he gripped his bow and roared to the sky, "This is all the elite troops of Lianghuai! On this very day, you have destroyed them!"

Li Xianzong could not help but feel grief and indignation.

Since the Battle of Huaibei, the troops of Lianghuai have been on the defensive. Yu Yunwen then entrusted Li Xianzong with the important task of reorganizing the Lianghuai army.

It can be said that these tens of thousands of troops were trained bit by bit by Li Xianzong over the past two years.

In addition to prioritizing the supply of warhorses to the Xiangfan army, Yu Yunwen's support was also unwavering, making this newly reorganized army resemble the elite of the world.

But how could Li Xianzong not be filled with resentment when such an elite force was squandered by Shao Hongyuan in just one day?

Hou Gaolang rode up, glanced at Shao Hongyuan's corpse, and then turned to Li Xianzong, saying, "Grand Commandant, Shao is no less deserving of death, but the situation has already become like this, what should we do?"

Li Xianzong looked at Hou Gaolang, his gaze becoming somewhat complicated: "What do you think we should do?"

Hou Gaolang gritted his teeth and said, "Grand Commandant, the overall situation of the country was ruined by the retired emperor himself, and the army was destroyed by the traitor Shao, also at the hands of the retired emperor. Since the court officials do not care about the future of the country, why should we insist?!"

Besides, enough men of Lianghuai have already died today; they have done their duty to the Song Dynasty in every way. Grand Commandant, the situation is hopeless; surrender!

Li Xianzong opened his mouth, but then dejectedly threw down his bow, took off his helmet, revealing his gray hair: "I... my family has been favored by the country. Before my father died, he told me that if there was a chance to return to Song, I should never worry about my family. Even if there are treacherous officials in the court and the country is in ruins, how can I betray Song? You should surrender. I will stay here and die to repay the emperor's kindness."

Hou Gaolang was stunned for a moment. He first looked expressionlessly at the collapsing army in the northwest, then looked back at the rear army that was already somewhat agitated. After hesitating for a long time, he finally sighed and said, "Grand Commandant, you are loyal to the country, so shouldn't I be loyal to you as well?"

Li Xianzong threw off his helmet, letting his gray hair fly in the cold wind. Upon hearing this, he shook his head repeatedly: "Little Hou, what I said is absolutely not false. I did not mean to use you as a pretext."

The Song Dynasty has become like this, with the emperor no longer acting like an emperor and the ministers no longer acting like ministers. Traitors are in power and loyal ministers have died unjustly. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of us important ministers, but it has nothing to do with you.

With the Song Dynasty in its absurdity and the Jin invaders declining, wouldn't the fate of the world inevitably fall into Liu Dalang's hands? Letting you surrender to them is in accordance with the will of Heaven and does not diminish your loyalty.

Hou Gaolang was only momentarily dazed before he stepped forward, grabbed Li Xianzong's arm, and said through gritted teeth, "Grand Commandant, what I said is absolutely true!"

Moreover, this is not the time to be completely incompetent. The Great Blue Rhinoceros has defeated ten thousand men with a thousand cavalry. Even with the help of the terrain, it will probably be exhausted.

With so many routed soldiers blocking his way, he wouldn't reach the rear guard anytime soon. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the vanguard became the rear guard, and they immediately went to gather the laborers. As long as they withdrew from the Lüliang Mountains, and then gathered the troops from Xiapi and Suqian, retreating back into Song territory, they could still preserve some blood and bones for the Lianghuai army!

Hou Gaolang gripped Li Xianzong's arm tightly, his voice growing louder and louder: "In such a chaotic situation, my prestige is insufficient to command the entire army. Only the Grand Commandant can lead the troops. I hope the Grand Commandant will not underestimate himself and must be fully prepared!"

Li Xianzong stared at Hou Gaolang, remaining silent for a long time before nodding with difficulty. However, his gaze still involuntarily drifted towards the routed troops covering the mountains and plains.

Hou Gaolang immediately understood, but his words became even more anxious as he advised, "Grand Commandant, Liu Dalang wouldn't even exterminate the Jin bandits, let alone the Han people who share the same origin and race."

In my opinion, the more the Grand Commandant cherishes the lives of his men, the more he should withdraw his troops immediately. Only by withdrawing from this place can the Great Blue Rhinoceros have the resources to gather the routed soldiers.

If they are driven around and trampled by the Flying Tigers, who knows how many more will die!

Seeing that Li Xianzong was still hesitant, Hou Gaolang finally lost his patience, leaned over and grabbed the horse's reins, leading his Grand Commandant into the rear army formation.

Moments later, the last of the Song army's organized troops abandoned all their baggage and, traveling light, quickly retreated along the route they had come from.

As Li Xianzong withdrew from the battlefield, the Song army finally lost control completely. The few small square formations that were still holding on disintegrated under the impact of the fleeing army, while those Song soldiers who could no longer run were paralyzed on the ground.

"Surrender without killing!"

"Surrender without killing!"

Shouts rose and fell from the ranks of the Flying Tiger Cavalry.

More and more Song soldiers, driven to desperation, threw down their weapons and removed their armor, kneeling and begging to surrender under the guidance of their officers.

Chen Wenben approached Xin Qiji, his face weary but unable to conceal his smile: "Fifth Brother! After this battle, the Great Green Rhinoceros's fame will be known throughout the world, and its name will be etched in history!"

Xin Qiji smiled smugly: "Have you forgotten that I told my eldest son long ago that a founding duke is not enough to show my achievements, at least a prince is needed."

After this great battle, who dares to say I am unworthy of my position?!

Xin Qiji's words were plain, but the meaning behind them was extremely arrogant.

Chen Wenben originally wanted to say a few words of advice, but when he thought that as the deputy general in this battle, he could also gain great merit, becoming a viscount, an earl, and a marquis, his heart couldn't help but burn with excitement.

On the other hand, after this battle, the elite of the Song army in the Huai River region was gone, and the gates of the Song state in the Huai River region were wide open, allowing the Han army to advance and retreat at will.

Moreover, the Han army only deployed one thousand Flying Tiger Armored Cavalry in this great battle, and the casualties were negligible.

With such great merit, shouldn't the commander-in-chief be allowed to boast a little and make some grand pronouncements?
After boasting, you still have to do things in a down-to-earth manner.

After the brief excitement subsided, Xin Qiji's smile faded. He looked at the prisoners scattered across the mountains and fields, then at the setting sun. After a moment's thought, he said, "The Flying Tiger Army is exhausted, but they cannot rest yet. Gather the prisoners as soon as possible. Before nightfall, try to establish a prisoner-of-war camp and settle these people properly."

"Yes, sir!" Chen Wenben rode away.

Xin Qiji continued his orders: "Xin Wenyuan, return to Pengcheng with the captured banners and drums to announce the great victory and reassure the people."

Then, able-bodied men were immediately conscripted to serve as laborers. Their wages and food rations were all drawn from the government treasury.

Then you personally led them to collect the armor, weapons, money, and provisions left on the ground, and had the military finance department and the county clerk register and record them.

Xin Wenyuan knew this was a huge project, but he immediately became excited.

This was the meticulously crafted Lianghuai army of the Song Dynasty, equipped with luxurious gear such as infantry armor and crossbows. Although there were fewer warhorses, there were mules, foals, and donkeys all over the mountains and fields, and even if they died, they would become meat to fill their stomachs.

The saying goes, "profiting from war," and now is the time for that profit to flow into one's pocket.

"Your humble servant will certainly not fail in his mission!"

Watching Xin Wenyuan's hurried departure, Xin Qiji turned to look at the river water, which was gradually turning red in the sunlight, and a surge of heroic spirit welled up within him.

The saying goes, "With a three-foot-long sword, one can achieve unparalleled feats, gather the elite forces of the world, and rampage through armies without fear, breaking through enemy lines and killing generals as if it were nothing." Finally, faced with such a magnificent scene of the river, one should indeed write a poem.

However, Xin Wulang, who had been renowned for his literary talent in Shandong since his youth, racked his brains for a long time, but could only recall a bunch of official documents. He could only sigh, bend down, pick up a stone, and throw it into the Yellow River as a symbolic ending to the battle.

Then, with a feeling that was hard to describe as either happy or sad, Xin Qiji turned his horse around and left.

The ripples caused by the pebble hitting the water spread only halfway before being covered by the waves of the river. In an instant, only half of the river was green and the other half was red.

(End of this chapter)