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

Suddenly, a cavalryman rushed in to report: "Many of the steppe cavalry who had fled have somehow returned, and we are arranging for them to return to their respective camps."

Wanyan Mouyan asked, "Can your identity be confirmed?"

The messenger cavalryman said, "They all escaped from the main camp; their identities have been confirmed."

Wanyan Hezhu exclaimed in surprise, "They've already escaped, how could they possibly come back on their own?"

"They are not allowed to enter the camp. They must all rest two miles away from the camp!"

"Woooooooo~~~~"

The bugle sounded suddenly, and Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu hurriedly rode off to investigate.

Several cavalrymen galloped in: "Someone attacked the granary, trying to burn the grain with torches, but they have been defeated by our Jurchen warriors!"

"kill!"

Suddenly, shouts of battle came from the side, and the faint light of fire could be seen.

However, since the steppe cavalry could not burn their grain, they simply set fire to their tents and other flammable materials.

"Boom!"

The thunderous sound of horses' hooves came from the north, and Yue Fei led his army straight into the enemy camp.

Wanyan Hezhu anxiously ordered, "Sound the horns to gather the troops and follow me to meet the enemy!"

The Jurchen elites were urgently summoned and hurriedly rode over to form ranks.

However, the number of Jurchen soldiers was too small, and most of them were taken by Wanyan Zonghan to fight Li Yanxian.

The remaining Jurchen soldiers were barely enough to guard the granary, but once they gathered together to fight Yue Fei, how could there possibly be anyone left to guard the granary?

The steppe cavalry were numerous, but countless spies who had already surrendered to the Ming were hidden among them!

Before Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu could finish gathering their troops, commotion broke out in the direction of the granary, and someone took the opportunity to set fire to the granary.

Then, throughout the military camp, grassland cavalrymen shouted: "The Emperor of the Great Ming is coming! His army of 300,000 is to the north!"

"We have already surrendered to the Ming, let's quickly join forces to kill the Jurchens and achieve merit!"

The entire Jin camp was in even greater chaos.

Some tribes defected on the spot, while others fled immediately.

Before leaving, some people took the opportunity to rob grain and packhorses.

Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu have already led their troops to defend the camp and have also ordered some grassland tribes to assist in the defense.

In the blink of an eye, the grassland cavalrymen who had been forced to guard the camp took advantage of the chaos in the main camp and fled.

"Order the soldiers to wait until the southern bandits get close before firing!" Wanyan Hezhu shouted.

Yue Fei led the Ming cavalry closer and closer, seemingly intending to ride his horse to ram the camp.

Suddenly, a bugle call sounded, and the Ming cavalry split into two, circling around the camp dozens of meters away.

They lured the Jurchen elite troops over, but instead of attacking the stronghold, they circled around to the east and west sides of the Jin army camp.

There were steppe cavalry burning camps as a signal!

Chapter 3461 Infantry Surrounds Cavalry

More than 1,600 elite Ming cavalry, led by Yue Fei, Wang Gui, Xu Qing, and Luo Ruming, entered the stronghold in four groups from different gates.

They set fire to military tents along the way, slaughtered nomadic tribesmen from the grasslands who refused to surrender to the Ming, and completely disrupted the entire Jin army camp.

The firelight flickered, and the sounds of people shouting and horses neighing filled the air.

Faced with the chaotic camp, Wanyan Mouyan stood frozen in place, completely unaware of where Yue Fei had gone or what to do next.

He couldn't even distinguish which of the many galloping steppe cavalry had surrendered to the Ming army and which remained loyal to the Jin dynasty.

"Go quickly and save the grain!" Wanyan Hezhu, being an old general, understood what the most urgent task was.

Wanyan Mouyan then realized what was happening: "Come with me to rescue the grain!"

They left the vicinity of the earthen mound, mounted their horses, and headed towards the granary.

There was a lot of military rations for tens of thousands of people, piled up in granaries of all sizes.

To prevent the fire from spreading, the various grain warehouses were separated from each other.

It was extremely difficult to burn all the military rations; they had to be lit one by one.

More than ten granaries had already been set on fire. Instead of putting out the fires, the Jurchen soldiers charged and killed the steppe cavalry who were still setting the fires.

"Fifty people per team, don't get separated!"

Wanyan Hezhu gave another warning and sent his personal guards to reiterate the military orders.

Even if it's dangerous, they have to stall for time until Wanyan Zonghan returns with his troops.

The Ming cavalry gave them no chance. Luo Ruming was the first to charge out from the vicinity, leading more than four hundred riders straight at the two Jurchen cavalry squads.

The Jurchen soldiers were driving away the steppe cavalry who had set fire to the area when they were suddenly attacked from the flank by Ming troops who outnumbered them four to one.

Caught off guard, they retreated under cover of each other, calling for reinforcements from friendly forces.

Luo Ruming killed or wounded only a few dozen enemy soldiers before ordering an immediate retreat, leading his troops to the chaotic military camp.

A few Ming cavalrymen fell behind along the way, but it was no big deal.

Even when separated from their own troops, these Ming cavalrymen could still create chaos, picking up torches and burning anything flammable they could find.

At another granary, Yue Fei led over four hundred cavalrymen in a surprise attack on the Jurchen soldiers who were protecting the military supplies.

The granaries in various places occupy too large an area, making it impossible for the Jurchen soldiers here to defend against them.

They had to disperse to drive away the steppe cavalry, but once they dispersed, they were vulnerable to attack.

They're risking their lives to buy time!

Flames were already raging everywhere in the Jin army camp.

Most of the steppe cavalry chose to flee the camp, with some running rapidly northwards, wanting only to return to the steppe as quickly as possible.

Some tribes also gathered together and had already agreed to surrender to the Ming Dynasty.

A Ming Dynasty cavalryman, separated from his comrades in the chaos, set fire to more than ten military tents and, in a daze, rushed to the gate of the stockade.

He saw many torches outside the camp and knew that the steppe cavalry were watching a play.

So he spurred his horse and galloped out, shouting, "I am a cavalry general of the Ming Dynasty! Don't stand there any longer, come with me to kill the Jurchens!"

"The tribe that performs meritorious service will be rewarded with one hundred sets of iron armor!"

Most of the grassland tribesmen cannot understand Mandarin, but a few can.

After repeated shouts from the Ming cavalry, someone finally led troops to follow closely behind and even helped shout in the Khitan language.

Soon, more than a thousand riders followed this man and charged back into the camp, which was ablaze with fire, and sped toward the granary.

These guys didn't dare to engage in close combat with the Jurchen cavalry, and they couldn't even distinguish between the Jurchen and Ming troops.

They shoot whoever is protecting the supplies. If no one attacks, they keep shooting; if someone attacks, they ride away.

The Jurchen cavalry were thoroughly annoyed, as if they were being slept by countless mosquitoes at night.

This was Wang Gui's second raid. He led his troops around the camp, and when they saw someone protecting the granary, they charged forward.

He didn't even know who he was charging at; he only knew that the enemy had fewer soldiers than him and was being shot at terribly by the steppe cavalry.

When Wang Gui led his troops to charge, the first to flee were actually a group of steppe cavalrymen who were shooting arrows—they thought Wang Gui was a Jurchen general.

Wanyan Mouyan was driving a group of grassland cavalry when he suddenly heard the thunderous sound of hooves behind him.

Immediately afterwards, another sound came from the side.

However, the passage here was too narrow, so Wang Gui's four hundred cavalrymen split into two groups to launch a pincer attack.

Just as Wanyan Mouyan was about to turn around to face the enemy, an arrow suddenly flew in.

It wasn't very powerful, but it hit him squarely in the cheek.

Who knows which herdsman was shooting arrows, because there were archers everywhere around.

Wanyan Mouyan was in excruciating pain in his teeth. He reached out and pulled out the arrow, tearing his face in the process.

"Fight to the death! Fight to the death! Hold out until the marshal returns with his troops!"

Wanyan Mouyan shouted desperately, pulling at his wound and causing his facial muscles to twitch in pain.

Xu Qing rushed over from the other side, unable to tell which side in the melee was on his side.

However, judging from the steppe cavalry, those guys were definitely shooting at the enemy!

Xu Qing led his troops in a fierce charge, instantly turning the situation into a three-pronged attack.

Even the fiercest and most fearless Jurchen soldiers were driven to desperation and began to break out towards the side where there were no Ming troops.

Chapter 3462 Successful Sneak Attack

Another Jurchen army arrived to their aid, and along their route, the steppe cavalry were terrified and scattered in panic. Then, they shot arrows at this Jurchen army.

Wang Gui led his troops in a fierce pursuit, and the Jurchen soldiers responsible for providing cover were all annihilated by him.

He continued to pursue relentlessly, preventing the enemy troops who had broken through from regrouping.

Just then, reinforcements arrived!

Wanyan Zonghan was still on his way when Han Su led the Ming cavalry from Dading Prefecture, along with several thousand grassland cavalry who had surrendered to the Ming, to attack.

The cavalry general sent by Wang Yan was named Shi Ziming.

Historically, he led a group of civilian militia to a great victory over Han Chang, who was already a Wanhu (a high-ranking official) in the Jin Dynasty.

"General Yue has successfully raided the camp. Come with me to kill the Jin invaders."

"The entire army shouted, 'One hundred thousand Ming troops have arrived!'"

Shi Ziming said to Han Su,

"Go and tell those grassland tribes to shout that 100,000 Ming troops are coming!"

"One hundred thousand Ming troops are coming!"

"One hundred thousand Ming troops are coming!"

Thousands of people shouted in both Han and Khitan languages.

Although the shouting is chaotic, you can understand it after listening a few times.

The grassland tribesmen who were still watching the battle from the outside of the main camp also joined the ranks and charged towards the granary.

The "Ming-Grassland Allied Forces" suddenly became incredibly powerful.

Those guys who only dared to shoot arrows were now filled with fervor, and they charged forward with their weapons.

The camp is on fire, all friendly forces have defected, and who knows how many enemies have arrived.

The Jurchen soldiers finally couldn't hold out any longer and broke through to escape to a less populated area.

Wanyan Mouyan was constantly being pursued by Wang Gui's troops, and the number of soldiers behind him was dwindling.

They didn't know how long they had been fleeing, but they were already two or three miles away from the camp when they heard the Ming army's retreat bugle call from behind.

Wang Gui, cursing and swearing, stopped the pursuit and led his troops to the main camp to join Yue Fei.

Wanyan Mouyan dared not linger and continued to flee for another two miles.

He finally stopped to count the number of people—only a dozen or so soldiers remained who had been with him.

Continuing to flee south, Wanyan Mouyan heard the sound of horses' hooves behind him and hurriedly sped up in fright.

But Wanyan Hezhu arrived with his remaining troops. The old general's helmet had been knocked off, and he actually brought out more than two hundred Jurchen cavalry.

After traveling another mile or so, they encountered the advance troops sent back by Wanyan Zonghan.

Unable to ascertain the situation, and not daring to rashly return, they could only continue to wait for Wanyan Zonghan's main force.

Before long, Wanyan Zonghan arrived and asked, "Were all the grain supplies burned?"

Wanyan Mouyan said, "Only a dozen or so granaries were burned, but the main camp was occupied by the southern bandits."