Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Amidst the chaos, Liu E led several hundred tribal soldiers to the north bank of the Shahe River, shouting, "Long live the Ming Dynasty! Long live the Ming Dynasty! We have come to surrender and submit!"

"Don't fire! We've come to surrender!"

This guy not only disregarded his family, but also abandoned all the extra local soldiers, bringing only a few hundred elite clan soldiers with him.

He's the one who set fire to the camp!

Zhao Yuan had already guessed that someone might betray the Jin and surrender.

However, on the first night of the standoff between the two armies, an enemy general directly burned down the camp and caused chaos, which was completely unexpected by Zhao Yuan.

The situation was so outrageous that the Ming army did not react immediately!

The shouts coming from three miles away were first heard by the Ming soldiers patrolling the riverbank, who immediately went to report the news.

The more than 10,000 Ming soldiers who were encamped nearby were also gradually awakened, as they were already sleeping in armor and had been maintaining a high level of vigilance.

Zhang Xian and Zhong Yanchong each led their troops out of the camp, quickly formed ranks by the river, and awaited Zhao Yuan's specific orders.

Yang Yun, Li Shifu, Yang Zaixing and other cavalry generals led their main warhorses to the riverbank.

Gu San rode his horse at breakneck speed through the camp, urging the heavy infantry to quickly don their armor.

Hua Rong led the musketeers to guard the outer perimeter of Zhao Yuan's camp.

Inside, Bai Sheng ordered his guards to form a protective formation to safeguard Zhao Yuan and his accompanying eunuchs and civil officials.

Zhao Yuan, already dressed in his Heavenly King Armor, was helped onto his warhorse and charged toward the riverbank despite everyone's attempts to dissuade him.

"Beat the drums! Cross the river! Cross the river!"

Zhao Yuan shouted loudly.

The thunderous sound of drums soon began.

In fact, the generals had already been preparing to cross the river, but the entire army did not arrive until the afternoon, leaving only enough time to set up camp.

Although the laborers cut down a lot of wood, the craftsmen only had time to process the timber and hadn't even started nailing the planks for the pontoon bridge.

The enemy general who burned down the camp and caused chaos was acting far too hastily!

If the attack had been delayed by a few days, allowing Zhao Yuan time to prepare for the river crossing, it's estimated that the Jin army could have been completely annihilated.

Of course, if Zhao Yuan had made preparations to cross the river, the Jin soldiers might have been frightened and retreated, and Liu E might not have had a chance to cause trouble.

It can only be said that Liu E's defection was too unexpected, catching both sides' generals off guard.

Seven thousand cavalrymen placed their armor on their horses' backs, then quickly crossed the river by holding onto their horses' necks.

After landing, they helped each other put on their armor and then mounted their horses to chase after the others.

As for the infantry, they carried the timber into the water and swam quickly while lying on the timber.

The Ming cavalry hadn't gone far when they spotted hundreds of Jin cavalry rushing towards them.

These were all elite soldiers of Liu E's clan. At the height of the Jin Dynasty, the Liu family once commanded more than 10,000 troops (including militia temporarily recruited).

Therefore, when Wanyan Zongwang occupied Youyan, Liu E's father was regarded as the number two figure in Youyan.

After a series of defeats, with too many casualties and escapees, and after being moved back to Liaodong, they were scattered and resettled. Liu E only had a few hundred cavalrymen left. Of course, there were also miscellaneous soldiers, but they could not be brought out to the enemy at night.

"Long live the Great Ming Dynasty! We have come to surrender and submit!"

"Don't fire! We've come to surrender!"

"Long live the Great Ming Dynasty! We have come to surrender and submit!"

"Don't fire! We've come to surrender!"

Liu E ordered all several hundred cavalrymen to dismount, thus eliminating the threat to the Ming cavalry.

Then he stood on the ground, waving a torch and shouting loudly.

Seven thousand cavalrymen galloped wildly, unable to hear what the other side was saying at all.

Only when Liu E's entire army dismounted and waved torches did they truly convey the message of surrender.

Yang Yun slightly reined in his horse to slow it down and shouted to the messenger, "Let the surrendered generals go and fight the enemy!"

The messenger immediately advanced at full speed, rushed to Liu E, and shouted, "Keep up! Kill the enemy!"

Liu E was overjoyed and turned around to order: "Men, follow me to kill the Jin dogs and rescue our families!"

Several miles ahead, the mountains and plains were filled with routed soldiers.

Unfortunately, although the Jin dynasty had a small population, it had more than enough horses.

They not only had their own horse farms, but also ordered the grassland tribes to donate horses. Militiamen who had fought a couple of battles were temporarily assigned inferior horses for travel.

When the Jin soldiers were fleeing in disarray, their first instinct was to look for their horses, and then they abandoned their orders and ran away.

Those still trying to escape on foot were mostly green recruits, along with some unlucky souls who hadn't found a horse.

Upon hearing the approaching hoofbeats, the routed soldiers fled to both sides, clearing the way and kneeling to surrender to the Ming army.

The distance of several miles was quickly closed, and Yang Zaixing led two thousand cavalrymen, cutting down the fleeing soldiers blocking the way as easily as mowing grass.

He quickly rushed into the canyon between two small hills.

The canyon is about seven or eight miles long, with its widest point being nearly two miles and its narrowest point only half a mile long.

Of course, the hills on both sides are not steep, and in some places you can even ride a horse on the hillside.

“Woooooooo~~~”

Just as Yang Zaixing was about to rush out of the valley, a horn suddenly sounded from ahead.

The remaining few hundred Heza Meng'an of the Jin Kingdom's Eastern Route Army, along with more than a thousand elite cavalry, charged fiercely towards Yang Zaixing.

The cavalry of all ethnic groups fled and could not be contained at all. Wanyan Zongfu had no choice but to personally lead the Jurchen elite troops to ambush them in the most vulnerable locations.

In fact, the Bohai cavalry hadn't finished their run yet. Gao Biao was leading several hundred elite cavalrymen in a charge alongside Wanyan Zongfu.

Driven by the hatred of his clan's extermination and the cruelty of having his wife stolen, he was irreconcilably opposed to the Ming army.

In the dark, Yang Zaixing was unaware of the danger.

He was even a little excited and led his troops to accelerate their charge.

As the two armies drew closer, Yang Zaixing finally understood the situation by the faint moonlight.

"Sound the alarm! Charge with me!"

It was too late to retreat; we had no choice but to speed up and rush forward.

Instead of charging together, the Heza Meng'an formed mixed squads to fight.

Twenty heavy cavalrymen were in the middle, thirty elite cavalrymen were on both sides, and fifty riders charged in alternating columns.

In the instant the battle began, over a hundred Ming cavalrymen were killed or wounded.

Yang Zaixing thrust his spear into the armor of the Ironclad Pagoda, but it only made the opponent stagger.

He simply abandoned his spear, drew his iron mace from his waist, and charged towards another iron pagoda.

Yang Zaixing easily dodged the Ironclad Pagoda's spear thrusting at him, then suddenly swept his mace around Yang Zaixing's waist.

Chapter 3416 Iron Cavalry

"puff!"

The Ironclad Pagoda soldier coughed up blood and flew backward from his horse.

The bugle call before Yang Zaixing engaged in battle greatly alarmed Yang Yun and Li Shifu.

Li Shifu said to the messenger, "I will lead my troops to abandon their horses and charge, circling around the hillside to the enemy's right flank. Go and tell General Yang!"

The messenger turned and spurred his horse to gallop away to inform Yang Yun, who was holding the rear.

Yang Yun immediately understood what it meant and led his troops to circle around the Jin army's left flank from the hillside.

The slopes on both sides are relatively gentle, and most of the area is suitable for horseback riding.

However, there were too many loose stones and rocks, and the light was very dim. The Ming cavalrymen would easily stumble and fall if they were not careful.

The moment Li Shifu fell from his horse, he quickly pulled his feet out of the stirrups, then rolled over to avoid injury. He then stood up, abandoned his spear, and ran down the hillside.

Yang Zaixing's cavalry had suffered five or six hundred casualties by this time.

However, the dozen or so Jin cavalry units that charged ahead were increasingly entangled by the growing number of Ming cavalry.

Their horses slowed down, and neither could charge anymore; they could only move their horses in small circles to fight.

The remaining Golden Cavalry arrived to provide support, but due to the narrow terrain and the large number of cavalry in the canyon, the front-line cavalry of both sides were completely entangled in a chaotic battle.

"Retreat and charge again! Alternate charges!"

Although the Jin cavalry achieved great success, Wanyan Zongfu was left feeling anxious and uneasy.

Surprisingly, the Ming cavalry were not routed by the Heza Meng'an, but instead managed to entangle the Heza Meng'an in front of them!

Yang Zaixing was also completely entangled, and the space around him for his horse to move was very narrow.

He fought fiercely while searching for the enemy general, but unfortunately the light was too dim to see clearly.

Yang Zaixing could not find the enemy general, but the enemy general took the initiative to approach him.

In another timeline, Gao Biao, one of the most formidable generals under Jin Wuzhu, had just killed three Ming cavalrymen and finally rode up to Yang Zaixing.

Gao Biao thrust his spear forward with great speed and ferocity.

Yang Zaixing dodged another enemy's weapon and charged straight at Gao Biao.

He felt he couldn't dodge Gao Biao's spear, so he instinctively swung his iron mace and managed to parry and evade it with great difficulty.

Gao Biao returned with his gun, but his warhorse couldn't move, so he had to rein in his horse and turn around, thrusting his spear into Yang Zaixing's back once more.

Yang Zaixing was stabbed in the waist, but fortunately his armor blocked the impact, and he was thrown forward on his horse.

It was too late to turn his horse around. Another Jin cavalryman charged in. Yang Zaixing took the opportunity to dismount and smash the Jin cavalryman's horse's leg with his mace.

This was a sudden, violent fall; the horse's leg was broken, and the warhorse neighed in pain, slamming the tin can down hard.

Yang Zaixing snatched the spear from the other man's hand, while simultaneously rolling to dodge Gao Biao's spear attack.

Then, crouching down, he thrust at Gao Biao, who was still on horseback. Taking advantage of Gao Biao's dodge, Yang Zaixing abandoned his spear, picked up his mace, and pounced.

"Buzzing..."

The iron mace even made a whistling sound as it slammed into the horse's leg.

Gao Biao fell off his horse, but in the instant he fell, he adjusted his body and lunged at Yang Zaixing.

The two fierce warriors then locked in a struggle, grappling with each other.

With more and more cavalry joining the fray, the two sides were no longer able to charge and could only stop and fight on horseback.

Every now and then, horses' hooves would tread on their sides. They didn't care about anything else; they just wanted to kill each other with hand-to-hand combat as soon as possible.

Short weapons were useless, because they were already entangled together.

At this moment, Li Shifu led his cavalry, who had abandoned their horses, around the hillside to join the battle.

This fierce man threw away his spear and charged in wielding two swords.

His twin swords were typical Song Dynasty hand swords, but thicker and heavier, so they could be used as blunt weapons.

Crouching low to dodge the Jin cavalry's weapons, Li Shifu swung his sword to chop at the horse's leg with the force of an iron rod.

Such foot combat is more efficient at killing enemies than horseback combat.

The two sides' cavalry were locked in a fierce battle, and the Jin cavalry had no way to evade.

Li Shifu charged ahead, slashing at the horse's legs. The infantry and cavalry that followed immediately rushed forward to surround and kill the fallen enemy soldiers.

Even the Hezha Meng'an had their horses' legs cut off and fell off, only to be surrounded and killed by two or more Ming soldiers.

The sturdy full-body armor became a hindrance after the fall from the horse.

Often, one Ming soldier would hold him down while another Ming soldier would tear off his neck and slit it.

Or you could just use a mace and a halberd to smash it down on the head.

It hit the faceplate, and immediately the face was covered in bruises.

If it hits the helmet, it would at least cause a concussion.