In the morning, when Han Shizhong started to prepare his second bowl of mutton soup with pancakes, some Jurchen knights had already put on their armor and the battle officially broke out.
As soon as the battle started, the Song army guarding the main camp was caught in a tough battle.
This is of course true. In this era characterized by heavy iron lamellar armor, almost all tactics revolved around heavy armor and armor-piercing...and the part of the Song army on the front line only had leather armor, and were fundamentally unable to compete with the Jurchen warriors who hurriedly put on armor and went into battle.
Faced with the close-range heavy arrows of the Jurchen cavalry and close combat assaults, except for the camp which was their biggest reliance, these Song troops could basically only rely on wooden shields for defense and spears to hinder the attack.
But it was unable to cause any effective damage to the Jin army.
On the contrary, if we are not careful, we will be killed by a single arrow from the Jurchen knights or dismounted knights who will get close to us and shoot heavy arrows.
There was no way around it. Once hit by the Jurchens' heavy arrows, even if you didn't die, you would at least lose your combat effectiveness.
It's just a waste of time and effort.
But at this time, the elite soldiers of Han Shizhong's army, who were hiding behind stone ramparts, trenches, fences, water vapor, and these leather-armored rebels, were just eating and sitting around. They even kept quiet and chewed slowly at the request of their officers... Only a small number of obviously young faces would raise their heads and look towards the east, which was the battle area.
This is certainly not indifference, nor is it just a matter of Han Shizhong's extremely strict military discipline. It is more because the Beiwei Army and the Cuipian Army are truly extraordinary. Not only do they enjoy the best treatment of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp and use the best equipment, but they also have the most rigorous training and the strictest discipline.
At the same time, as the two troops formed immediately after Han Shizhong escaped from Hebei that day, these two troops have experienced almost all the major and minor battles since Jianyan, and have suffered both defeats and victories. Even though the soldiers in them are constantly being replaced, they can be said to have excellent combat traditions.
However, it is worth mentioning that the Beiwei Army has never specifically referred to the Guards Cavalry, and the Cuipian Army has never specifically referred to any crossbow unit... In a sense, are both very common.
The name of the Beiwei Army came from Western Xia. It doesn't matter whether Beiwei refers to tall stature or carrying a wine bottle or a shield. Anyway, it has become a common title in the hundreds of years of entanglement between the Western Army and Western Xia. Generally speaking, it refers to the general's guards. It's just that Han Shizhong has always been good at using cavalry, so after he became rich, he chose to set his Beiwei Army as cavalry.
In sharp contrast to this is Zhang Jun, who also formed a Beiwei Army after Han Shizhong. It had been led by Tian Shizhong before. Later, after Tian Shizhong actually took control of many of the daily operations of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp, it was only in recent years that it gradually came under the control of Zhang Zigai... and this Beiwei Army was a typical heavy armor and long axe army.
In addition, similar small-scale elite troops are generally selectively set up under the commanding officers and the leading officers. Although they are not called the Beiwei Army, they are actually the Beiwei Army.
However, later on, Yue Fei rose to power and became the commander-in-chief of an army. The Beiwei Army he reorganized was also a cavalry. This led to the fact that no matter in another historical time or in the current imperial army, the two most famous and largest Beiwei armies were cavalry. This gave people the illusion that the Beiwei Army was equal to the Royal Guards Cavalry.
Moreover, even at the level of a general, not everyone would set up a large personal guard. Wu Jie did not have this problem, but he would habitually concentrate the powerful crossbows and cavalry scattered among the various units every time he went to war...'Stationary Arrows' specifically refers to this tactic of concentrating the use of powerful crossbows and then rotating them for continuous shooting.
On that day at Qiaoshan in Fangzhou, Wu Jie used this tactic to shoot through Tuhesu's foot and made Salihe, who was showing off his power on the opposite side, cry. Then, the reputation of the Crying Young Master spread throughout the world with the spread of court reports. Even the people of Dali knew that there was a Crying Young Master in the Kingdom of Jin.
As for the Cui Pian Army, it is actually a unit within the Left Army of the Imperial Camp that concentrates on using powerful crossbows, and like the Beiwei Army, it is not a specific unit, as Cui Pian is also a common military title. It's just that the leader of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp, Jie Yuan and Jie Shanliang, is an old brother of Han Shizhong who he recognized for decades when he was in the Bao'an Army. He is also the deputy governor-general. He has good treatment and training, and he never misses a battle, so he has always been particularly well-known.
Heavy cavalry, heavy infantry with axemen, heavy armor and powerful crossbowmen... these elite troops in the Song army did not appear out of thin air. They were elite troops set up to target the Jurchen heavy cavalry, and they were learned at the cost of the lives of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of Song soldiers.
It really doesn't matter what name you use.
"Shanliang, I remember your home is nearby?" Han Shizhong held the bowl, slowly swallowed a mouthful of steamed bun, took a sip of mutton soup, and looked at Li Yuan as if to make conversation.
"Sixty miles." Jie Yuan held the bowl and pointed his mouth towards the battle line to the east. "Following the Fen River, it is north of Luotuo Ridge and south of the Fen River. I remember it still belongs to Ji County."
"So close?" Han Shizhong was surprised for a moment.
"It's not close." Jie Yuan flipped the steamed bun with chopsticks... He put too much steamed bun in it... He replied helplessly. "I left home when I was a teenager and joined the Shaanxi Baoan Army. When I was 26, I became a deputy captain and took my family with me... Maybe there are still childhood friends, relatives, and old acquaintances, but if I hadn't come to the roots, I might not even remember that this is the place."
Han Shizhong was silent for a moment.
Jie Yuan ate two more bites, and seeing Han Shizhong's expression, he turned around and frowned, "Fifth brother, what's wrong with you today? Could it be that you can't stand the sight of blood after just a few years of rest? Listen to me, what can we do now? We didn't bring double sets of armor... Even if we did, it would be too late, and they wouldn't be used to it..."
Han Shizhong shook his head: "That's true, but it would have been better if we had given these rebels more armor!"
The rebels were going to hide in the mountains, so it was useless to give them armor... You didn't know? And it wasn't you who gave the order just now? Was the order wrong?
What kind of Buddha are you pretending to be now?!
Jie Yuan wanted to refute this, but he glanced at Han Shizhong who was eating steamed buns with his head down, and then glanced at the east where there was constant movement. In the end, he remained silent and just continued to chew slowly, drinking his mutton soup and eating his steamed buns.
In this way, the two led the Cui Pian Army to eat slowly for about a quarter of an hour, and the heavily armored Jin army had already reached the front of the fence, which meant that the trench outside had been partially filled and the stone fortress had been breached. Gu Jishan's rebel army was forced to retreat to the last line of defense.
Zhang Heng, who was wearing a helmet that was obviously a bit too big, ran over nervously. Han Shizhong had already recovered his normal expression, but he handed the empty bowl to him and said, "This mutton soup is really good. Commander Zhang, please give me another bowl."
Zhang Heng took it with his bloodstained hands in a daze, then came to his senses and nodded heavily: "Yes!"
Then, he turned around and walked away.
As soon as the person left, Han Shizhong immediately looked sideways at Jie Yuan.
Xie Shanliang understood and gave orders to the officers beside him without standing up. After the officers passed the order down layer by layer, the Cui Pian army began to put on armor on the spot and prepare bows, crossbows, arrows and other items.
After a while, Zhang Heng came over with a bowl of mutton soup in both hands, and Han Shizhong took the hot soup without saying a word, took a pancake from the basket beside him, tore it open and soaked it in the soup as before... The Beiwei soldiers who started eating also followed suit.
Seeing that the other party didn't say anything, Zhang Heng saw that the soldiers below Jie Yuan began to put on armor, but he also hurried back to the front line without saying a word.
Another half a quarter of an hour later, seeing more and more Jin troops approaching the fence and starting to try to destroy it, the Cui Pian army was also fully prepared.
Han Shizhong looked at Jie Yuan again, and finally issued a new military order: "Don't put on the armor yet."
Jie Yuan understood, nodded and left.
It was a slightly cold morning in early winter. The water vapor generated by the large-scale cooking of mutton soup diffused into the sky and formed mist. Under the mist, with the departure of Jie Yuan, three thousand well-armored soldiers, led by officers from various departments, stood up one after another. Then, according to the combat sequence, they rushed forward with nearly a thousand powerful crossbows and multiple crossbow arrow tubes, in addition to some spearmen and sword and shield men.
This army may not be the most elite one among the 300,000 imperial troops, but it can be regarded as one of the most elite troops of the Song army anyway.
"I realized long ago that these people should be the rebels in Gu Ji Mountain."
At the same time, Wanyan Salihe, who was supervising the battle from far behind, held the reins of his warhorse with both hands, with a look of disdain on his face. "What's the use of a leather armor? If you don't hide in the mountains, how dare you block my army and use Han Shizhong to scare me? The front is about to collapse, and you are still boiling water in the back?"
Several Meng'an and Mouke echoed him.
This one said that because there were too many wounded, they had to boil water to remove the arrows.
That said, this was a plan of adding more stoves written in the military books of the Song Dynasty. It was planned originally to pretend that there was a large army having dinner in the back.
However, more people just disdain it.
In fact, there was no choice but to do so, because everyone understood what Salihe said... When the Jurchens first gained control of the two rivers, they had no idea how to rule. In Hebei, the Eastern Army simply divided the Meng'an and Mouke into local fiefs, and the Meng'an and Mouke had the power to govern, so almost instantly Hebei seemed to have regressed to the slave age, causing a large number of Hebei people, regardless of their class status, to abandon their homes and jobs, and either go to the Taihang Mountains or flee through Henan.
It also forced the then Jin Dynasty ruler Wanyan Wuqimai to hastily issue an edict to forcibly stop this historical reversal.
Here in Hedong, the Western Army had better military discipline, and it was rare for the Eastern Army to use Han people as bargaining chips. However, Nianhan was a strict person... In his time, there were orders for merchants not to walk more than 30 miles a day, and there were hair-shaving orders. Anyone who stole a penny, or even picked up a penny on the road, would be put to death.
All kinds of bizarre temporary laws were basically stricter than military laws. However, the Han people from Yanyun who were assigned to serve as officials generally had a hatred towards the Han people in Song Dynasty. They often used chicken feathers as a token of authority to abuse the people.
Under such circumstances, not only the common people, but even the powerful landlords could not bear it.
The so-called harsh laws in Hedong, the feudal system and slavery in Hebei, and the forced migration of population from northern Hebei and northeastern Hedong to the areas outside the Great Wall, these three things directly led to the outbreak of the Taihang Rebellion at that time, and also made it impossible for the Jin army to effectively rule the two river regions for many years.
Of course, this does not mean that they need to engage in any political reflection, but rather that the Jin army and these rebel armies are old acquaintances. As soon as they see the equipment of these troops and hear the accents of their orders and shouts, they immediately know their origins.
That's why I feel disdainful.
However, a Khitan Mouke could not help but express his doubts: "It should be true that they are the rebels in Guji Mountain, but don't they know that they can only move in the mountains with their leather armor? How dare they block the way? Are they really not afraid of death?"
Salihe sneered even more: "You come to ask me, who should I ask? Maybe you were forced by the high officials of the Song Dynasty!"
"That's exactly what I meant." The Khitan Mouke actually nodded.
Salihe was slightly stunned, then thought for a moment and became serious: "Tai Shi Nu, you mean that these rebels in Gu Ji Mountain may not be willing to come here... Either there are Song soldiers behind them who want to escape, and they use official titles to control these rebel leaders and force them to block the attack, or someone is bluffing them, saying that there will be reinforcements?"
"That's right." The Khitan Mouke, who was called Taishi Nu, nodded. "This is the most likely possibility, but there is another possibility... Wan Hu, could there really be elite soldiers from the Song army here? The Song army should have thought of sending an army to guard this place, right?"
"Impossible..." It was not Salihe who interrupted him, but another Jurchen Meng'an who had just returned from the front line. "I just saw it clearly with my own eyes. The strength of this camp is all in the trenches and fences on the road. From a distance, although the fog and the dense fences made it difficult to see the inside, I could still see that there were not even tents in the back, which shows that this camp was hastily built... If there were really a main force hiding in the back, it would be just a few thousand civilians, so why would it be like this?"
"The scouts who advanced ten miles this morning also said the same thing." Another Jurchen officer spoke up, verifying this statement. "They said that the Song army was small in number, their equipment was messy, and their camps were empty. Only the fences and trenches on the road were long enough to completely block our route of advance..."
Salihe nodded slightly.
"What I mean is that there are some main forces of the Song army, but they are not many, so they let the rebels in the mountains come to die first... This is enough to make us underestimate the enemy and lure us into the depths." The master's slave finally lost his patience and simply expressed his concerns in one breath. "Then they will suddenly go out to fight and cause casualties..."
"So you want to send me mutton soup and pancakes in the name of Han Shizhong?" Sali interrupted him, thinking. "By then, we will be caught off guard and suffer casualties. We will think that Han Shizhong has really come here? Who knows, he will be discouraged and retreat?"
The other Meng'ans and Moukes also thought about it for a while, and many of them nodded.
The Khitan Mouke called Taishi Nu wanted to say something, but unexpectedly his superior, the Khitan Meng'an called Yelu Yizhen, took advantage of the situation and said with a smile:
"Tai Shi Nu is just speculating. In my opinion, Wan Hu is right. It is the empty city plan in the Han storytelling... Just think about it. We were under the cover of the commander-in-chief (Balisu) and attacked from the rear. Gu Jishan's rebels may be able to detect it, but how can the main force of the Song army know?"
"Yelü Yizhen is right." Salihe also laughed. "And even if it is so, it is useless... If he said Wang Sheng, Xu Shi'an or Wu Jie on the other side, I would still believe him a little, but he shouldn't bring up Han Shizhong to scare us... First, we know where Han Shizhong is better than he, Gu Jishan, who is a rebellious army; second, Han Shizhong is a famous general, a marshal, and the so-called number one in the Song army. How can he come to stop us in person? I guess he is just an ignorant rebellious leader, a country tyrant, who knows nothing and has only heard of Han Shizhong, so he took the opportunity to talk nonsense."
Yelu Yizhen quickly laughed again, and the others followed suit.
Tai Shi Nu was helpless, knowing that this temporary army was half Jurchen and half Khitan, which was very embarrassing, and Yelu Yizhen was protecting him... but he could only laugh dryly.
But before the laughter died down, a collective shout was heard from the front line, followed by dense shrieks, and then screams, hisses, sounds of gongs and drums, shouts of killing, and cheers.
The finale was a series of neat whistling sounds breaking through the air.
Even without much combat experience, these Jin army officers realized what was going on, because there was no cover on the road and the tragic scene in front of the fence in the distance was clearly visible. There were even crossbow arrows that flew directly to within a few dozen steps of them.
The chaos lasted for a while. Seeing that the main force of the Jin army in front was in chaos, but due to military discipline, they did not dare to retreat and reorganize their troops. After being hit by another round of crossbow arrows from the enemy's bows, the Jin army officers watching the battle in the rear woke up as if from a dream - the front-line commander was likely to have been sniped and killed in the first place.
Immediately, a Meng'an quickly jumped forward on his horse and blew the horn, temporarily taking over the command, which temporarily stopped the chaos on the front line, but the offensive also came to an end soon.
The Jin soldiers retreated hastily to regroup. Hundreds of wounded Jin soldiers were carried down, with wailing sounds everywhere. Salihe and other generals were stunned, but they couldn't help but look at the Tai Shi Nu together.
Tai Shi Nu opened his mouth to speak, but in the end no words came out - considering the current casualties, he would rather his judgment was wrong.
However, the Jin army still had some combat skills.
Some officers had already stepped forward to investigate, risking their lives, and some had taken the opportunity to interrogate the retreating soldiers, and they soon came to a conclusion.
After all, laymen watch the excitement while experts watch the details. Unlike the cheering Gu Jishan rebels, the Jin army had already glimpsed the number of crossbows, the uniformity of the firing, and the intervals between the firings from the three rounds of volleys just now.
They even noticed that the landing points of the Song army's three volleys were all tactically optimal.
Therefore, the answer is obvious - the Song army not only has its main force stationed at the mouth of Fenshui, but it is also definitely an elite force.
After realizing this, the generals of the Jin army went to see Salihe.
Salihe's face turned pale as he stood on his horse, but he actually wanted to retreat in his heart... because these three rounds of volleys reminded him instinctively of the Battle of Qiaoshan and Wu Jie's garrison arrows.
The scene of the Jin army's elite troops being unable to advance an inch and could only passively take the beating, with constant casualties, had long been like a nightmare, engraved in the minds of these Jin soldiers who originally had a bright future.
Of course, reason reminded Salihe that even if the Song army had an elite crossbow unit waiting here, and even judging from the fact that these people did not have bronze faces, a unique symbol of Han Shizhong's army, it was very likely that the old rival Wu Jie on the other side of the Yellow River had gathered the elite crossbow troops here that day, and it would not be like the battle at Qiaoshan.
In that battle, the Song army had an absolute geographical advantage. They were in a dominant position, forcing the Jin army to attack from above. The roads were narrow, so the Jin army could only advance in large numbers. Moreover, the top of the mountain was rocky, and there was a state city across the river from the top of the mountain, which was attacked from both sides.
Moreover, there were tens of thousands of main forces of the Song army lingering in front, and Lou Shi was in poor health, which made it impossible for the Jin army to take care of the front and rear. But what about now?
With the current broad road and flat terrain, plus the fact that there are a hundred solid cavalrymen from two Wanhu, it would be !
By then, even if the Fourth Prince had arrived in Jingxing, he might not be able to save him from Balisu's wrath.
We have to fight seriously!
Salihe forced himself to remain calm, then sat upright on his horse and gave a series of orders, pointing out that a Jurchen Meng'an, who was originally his trusted member, was to take over as the commander of the front line. He ordered thirty Moukes and three thousand cavalry and infantry to replace the first wave of attacking troops and continue the attack.
Then, they urgently dispatched another 1,500 cavalrymen, who dismounted and entered the hilly area south of the battlefield, trying to bypass the fence and attack from the side and rear.
This is not the Tieling Pass, but a passage on the south bank of the Fen River. It is only a matter of time to bypass it.
At the same time, of course, we cannot forget the foul-mouthed Khitan Mouke Taishi Nu. Because of this person, Yelu Yizhen's Meng'an was appointed as the vanguard of the flank detour.
Finally, he had to ask someone to quickly chop wood and get firewood behind him, boil water on the spot with a helmet, and help the wounded soldiers remove the crossbow arrows.
Although it was a bit hasty, it must be said that Salihe's arrangement was very appropriate.
The Jin army, from top to bottom, quickly stabilized their mentality and tried to continue the attack.
However, from this point on, they would have to pay a real and continuous price in casualties. The enemy-killing bow and the divine arm bow that could penetrate armor within a hundred steps were not just for show.
"The Jin army is indeed not what it used to be."
After the Jin army launched another wave of attacks, Jie Yuan returned from the front line to report, but he did not mention the specific military situation.
"How do you mean?"
Han Shizhong sat on the ground holding an empty bowl, with Zhang Heng who had just withdrawn next to him.
"Back then, even if the Jin army was just feinting, they would charge forward as soon as the military order was given, regardless of casualties, and we would often be crushed by the Jin army." Jie Yuan frowned. "But in the current situation, the Jin army's frontal attack can't even be called a feint, but when they saw the friendly troops walking to the flank, they were already perfunctory..."
Han Shizhong finally seemed a little nervous: "Are you not going to fill the trenches, push up the stone ramparts and fences?"
“They only filled the trenches and pushed the stone barriers, but they didn’t want to get close to the fence.” Jie Yuan shook his head.
"It's human nature to be hit by a crossbow arrow close to you and far away from you." Han Shizhong was relieved. "When I fought the Jin people, I felt strange... Why were the Jin people so fearless and brave? Why were we so cowardly that we fled at the sight of the enemy? Now it seems that the Jin people are also human. After a long time, they will think more and fear death. We have experienced more and thought more, and we can gradually stop being so absurd... But we are still human, not as strict as the official newspapers say, and we are bound to make mistakes."
"If we had the military pay and armaments we have now, why would we have lost the two rivers? " Jie Yuan finally sneered. "As for whether we made a mistake or not... let me say something unpleasant, we are all loyal ministers and good generals who dare to die for the country, and we are all heroes. With the situation gradually becoming more relaxed, shouldn't we fight for seats and rank first? Otherwise, when we die and are enshrined in the Yuetai, we will be inferior to others in incense offerings."
"You're right. This is not the time to tolerate each other for the sake of the country." Han Shizhong thought for a moment and nodded slightly, but then he glanced at Zhang Heng who was obviously unable to get a word in. "But the two rivers have not been recovered after all, and it's not time to rest... Commander Zhang!"
"exist."
"First, tear down the southern fence, then go to the east and wait, clean up the ground of the camp, and be ready. When the Jin army coming around from the south is repelled, I will give you the order, and you will take action. Pull down the front fence yourself, push down your own stone fortress, and fill your own trench! You must also allocate some manpower to help the Beiwei army watch over the horses!"
"I know!" Zhang Heng quickly responded. After a while, he saw that the other party was silent, so he carefully asked again. "Is there anything else that the king needs me to do?"
"Go get me another bowl of soup. We're out of steamed buns, so find me one." Han Shizhong handed the empty bowl to the other person, his face as usual. "I have always had a big appetite..."
Zhang Heng was stunned for a moment, then hurried to pick up the bowl.
Han Shizhong finally nodded to Cheng Min, the commander of the Beiwei Army who had already finished his meal. The latter understood and took action immediately.
The sun gradually rose higher. Although this battle was an encounter, the Jin army needed to wear armor before the battle. Then they gave up the attack on the front halfway, and placed their hopes of breaking through the defense line on the flank troops that bypassed the rugged terrain on the south side, preparing to launch a pincer attack at that time, but it wasted a lot of time.
By the time Zhang Heng's troops hastily pushed down the simple fortifications on the side and turned east again, there was only one Han Shizhong, Prince Han, in the entire camp. He was still sitting calmly in the camp, eating his fourth bowl of mutton soup and pancake.
This time, he ate very, very slowly, but even so, by the time the bowl was empty, the Jin army arrived to attack from the north.
Under the bright and sunny day, the morning moisture dissipated, making the vision gradually clearer and causing the smoke and dust on the ground in the battle area to gradually roll up.
However, when the vanguard of the Jin army dismounted and circled around the gullies and hills and emerged from a ravine, covered in mud and dead leaves, they saw the Song army camp appear before them in full view. They were shocked and stunned on the spot - inside the Song army camp, where the side fences had been removed, three thousand bronze-masked, fully armed soldiers were lined up in front of them, and in the camp behind them, including the rear of the camp, there were no less than six or seven thousand war horses and livestock!
"It's the Beiwei Army!"
A few simple factors, plus the bowl of soup, made the leading Khitan Meng'an Yelu Yizhen almost blurt out, "The front is the Chui Pian army! Han Shizhong is really here!"
"Let the war begin!"
Cheng Min did not hesitate, he immediately stood up, drew his sword and pointed the finger, saying concisely. "Forward! Kill!"
The surrounding officers immediately waved their flags to convey the military order. The 3,000 Beiwei troops fighting on foot, seeing that the order had been given, formed a neat formation and fought forward, charging straight at the Jin army that was attacking in a disorderly manner from the flank.
"Master slave, go back!"
At the critical moment, amid the shouts of the Song army, the Jin army's Meng'an Yelu Yizhen who arrived first did not have time to sigh, and turned back to give orders to the Taishi Nu beside him. "Tell the two Meng'an men behind not to come and die, and quickly retreat back the same way, and tell Wan Hu that Han Shizhong is really here! The Beiwei Army and the Cuipian Army are all here, and they can't steal in the river!"
After saying this, without waiting for Tai Shi Nu to react, he shouted with all his might, then drew his sword and rushed towards the top elite troops of the Song army whose number was several times greater than his own.
Tai Shi Nu was obviously stunned for a moment, and instinctively wanted to chase after them, but when he looked back and looked around, he saw that there were only a few hundred people who had arrived earlier, but their formation was scattered, and they had worked hard to cross ravines and hills to get here. Only a small half of them followed their Meng An to charge forward, while most of them were terrified and hesitated to move forward, but finally stomped their feet, turned around and went back into the ravine.
Using superior numbers to defeat the weak, and taking advantage of the situation to tire the enemy out, plus the psychological deterrence prepared in advance, Han Shizhong didn't even glance at the battle on the flank. He just held the bowl of mutton soup that had long been empty and pretended to drink it non-stop... No one knew what he was drinking... Anyway, it was enough to give confidence to everyone who saw this scene.
Just as shouts of killing suddenly rang out from the south of the camp, the Jin army finally launched another fierce attack on the front line to the east.
Thousands of Jin troops, under the command of their respective officers, moved back and forth continuously, wearing heavy armor and charging forward in waves.
The already dilapidated stone fortress was completely pushed down, and the gully was filled up. The thick Jurchen heavy arrows were fired continuously, intersecting with the crossbow arrows of the Song army in the air.
In just a moment, a small group of Jin army cavalry warriors approached the fence and began to fight the Song army at a closer distance using heavy arrows from horseback.
This group of heavily armored archers and crossbowmen of the Song army that had suddenly arrived began to suffer proportional casualties.
"Wait a moment."
Standing on a hastily built small platform behind the fence, Jie Yuan looked back at Han Shizhong who was sitting there drinking air, then looked at Cheng Min's troops who had just turned back from the south, and turned around to give an order. "Wait a little longer to put on the armor!"
"Wait a little longer..."
A few hundred steps away, Wanyan Salihe withdrew his gaze from the front line and looked down at the Taishi slave who had hurried back to give him advice. "Wait a little longer... maybe Yelu Yizhen was wrong... the frontal offensive was clearly going well!"
The Taishi Nu raised his head, his face showing grief and indignation: "Wan Hu doesn't trust us because we are Khitans?"
"How could Han Shizhong be here?" Salihe felt bad and hurried to explain, but he didn't know who he was explaining to. "Even if he noticed us passing behind the governor and came here immediately, he would have to take a detour from Hezhong Prefecture... How could he have arrived before us? Again, did he fly here?!"
Tai Shi Nu was so angry and anxious that he stood up and stood there, but he couldn't know that Li Yanxian was familiar with the terrain of Hedong and had anticipated the enemy's situation, so that Han Shizhong set out two days in advance and arrived first... So, after thinking about it, he didn't know how to convince the other party and could only grit his teeth. The surrounding Jin army officers were helpless and anxious, but they all looked forward to the main battlefield, and some even rode their horses forward to observe.
However, the results of the observation were just as Salihe said. Although there were constant casualties in the front, the offensive was indeed going smoothly. More and more waves of Jin army attacks had directly reached the most important fence.
The fence was also shaky and seemed like it might be crushed at any time, and then the cavalry could follow and massacre the Song army on the road.
"Han Shizhong did it on purpose!"
The master's slave also gritted his teeth and looked at the smoke and dust on the front line for a while, but he seemed to suddenly think of something, and gave up worrying about the time issue, and ran over to hug the neck of Salihe's horse. "Wan Hu, Han Shizhong is imitating the fourth prince's battle on Huaishang that day!"
"What?" Sali was confused.
"We have to rush over and pave the road to allow the cavalry to pass!" Tai Shi Nu explained hastily under his horse. "So Han Shizhong is sitting there waiting for us to suffer casualties while he paves the road, so that his Beiwei army can counterattack! Then he will meet us on a narrow road and drive us back!"
"If you wanted to charge the Beiwei Army head-on, why did you waste so much energy hastily building a fort?" Salihe was also a little furious, and directly poked the opponent's helmet with his horse whip. "Tai Shi Nu, you are a criminal who followed Yelu Yudu to escape to Xixia and then escaped back. If Yelu Yizhen hadn't recommended you out of old friendship, and Yelu Ma Wu was a soft-hearted person, how could he have allowed you to continue to hang around in the army... What nonsense are you talking about?!"
The master's slave became more anxious after hearing this, but he let go of the horse's neck, turned around several times, and then suddenly realized:
"Wan Hu, the Song army must be divided into two groups. One is the chaotic army that is blocking the enemy and setting up a fort here. The other group is Han Shizhong leading the Beiwei and Cuipian armies to come to support them in a hurry. However, they are exhausted, so they simply use the strategy of confusing the enemy and let us help them to level the fort while they rest and eat in the rear... pretend to be calm!"
Sali was stunned after listening to it, and after thinking for a moment, he still instinctively maintained his objection: "It's still not right... If it's to destroy a partial army, why doesn't he have a bronze mask?!"
"What?" Tai Shi Nu didn't understand the other party's thinking for a moment.
"I mean, the crossbowmen who blocked our way clearly don't have any reputation. They are clearly the crossbowmen hastily assembled by Wu Jie..." Salihe spoke as if he had found some incredible evidence, and seemed anxious to receive some reward for refuting the other party.
"So what?!" This time, it was not the Taishi slave, but a Jurchen Meng'an beside him who also came to his senses. "Wan Hu! Is the crossbowman in front of you Wu Jie's stationed arrows or Han Shizhong's destroying troops, what difference does it make?"
"If it is the garrison arrows, not to destroy the small army, then it means that someone is pretending to be Han Shizhong behind..." Salihe hurried to explain.
"It's just a bronze mask. You can put it on anytime!" Tai Shi Nu got angry after hearing half of it.
Salihe was finally stunned.
But the Grand Master's slave was still angry: "Wan Hu, don't you understand? Starting from that bowl of soup, Han Shizhong did it on purpose, just to make you not believe that he came here in person. So that when he rushes out with the Beiwei Army in person later, you will probably panic and not dare to fight!"
Salihe was about to say something else when he suddenly heard a loud bang on the front line. It turned out that the crossbow arrows of the Song army suddenly became dense for some reason, forcing the Jin army to retreat as a whole. There seemed to be some other explanation as well.
Soon, a Mouke came running in and reported: "Wan Hu, the Song army suddenly put on visors, all of them were dark red copper masks. My Meng'an asked me to tell you that it must be Han Shizhong who destroyed the army... Make a decision quickly and be careful!"
After saying this, the Mouke rushed back.
Upon hearing this, all the Meng'an and Mouke around looked unhappy and stared at Salihe and Tai Shi Nu under Salihe's horse. Tai Shi Nu said nothing and climbed onto the horse with a serious look. At this moment, Salihe was stunned on the spot. He felt his hands and feet were cold, his mind was empty, and his words were choked.
But at least I didn't cry again.
“Great soup!”
While the scene was bustling a few hundred steps away, in the empty camp, Han Shizhong handed the soup bowl to Zhang Heng, then put on his helmet, fastened his armor buckles, and calmly mounted his horse. The soldiers around him, including Cheng Min, had already turned back, but they also mounted their horses again, replaced their spears, and lined up to wait for military orders.
"That's enough." After taking a look at the Beiwei Army knights around him, Han Shizhong took out the bronze mask from behind his waist, put it on on the spot, and then spoke to Zhang Heng again.
When Zhang Heng heard the military order, he did not go to deliver it in person, nor did he use any trumpets, gongs or drums. He just raised the already empty soup bowl in his hand high up and made a downward gesture in the air.
Immediately, the Gu Jishan rebels, who had been prepared, dragged the rope and pulled together.
Then the sound of plop echoed throughout the river valley, raising countless smoke and dust.
Han Shizhong did not say a word. He just reined in his horse with one hand and took out his spear with the other hand, throwing away the lasso on the spear head, then rushed towards the smoke. The guards around him rushed up to follow him. Then, without Cheng Min's order, the 3,000 Beiwei soldiers on horseback rushed up together and charged eastward with their own prince.
It is said that there was a thud before, which raised a lot of dust. Outside the dust, the Jin army was still at a loss. Then they heard the rumbling sound of horse hooves, followed by the shouts of countless people cheering, and the enemy-killing bows and divine arm bows took advantage of the situation to fire, making the Jin army even more panicked.
But unexpectedly, the iron cavalry with bronze faces and shining spears, like arrows shot from a bow, pierced through the rolling smoke and dust, and came towards him from west to east, just like a thunderbolt.
In this case, how can a human being withstand such a situation? ! As the saying goes, three times and four bowls, be patient and wait for the right time, and then strike hard, and you will win the will of the three armies, and the victory or defeat will be determined!
And when the charge came, on the banks of the Fen River, in the smoke and dust, the Jin troops on the front line believed earlier than Salihe that Han Shizhong was here! The King of Han was here!
A few hundred steps away, although the smoke and dust ahead made it impossible to see the specific situation, the rumbling of horse hooves was enough to wake Salihe up. Then thousands of Jin soldiers fled in a panic, hastily seizing horses and heading backwards, talking about the Beiwei Army or calling out for Han Shizhong, which made him completely awake.
When they met on a narrow road, the front army had already been defeated. Facing this situation, Salihe looked hatefully at the Tai Shi slave in front of him who was already holding a weapon, turned around and rode away.
Tai Shi Nu was stunned. He looked towards the east, then glanced towards the northeast. But seeing the smoke and dust rolling in, he could only turn his horse around and leave in anger.
"First Prize!"
In another incident, Han Shizhong had already defeated the Jin army's foot knights who were caught off guard, but he did not rush to kill them. Instead, he turned directly to the general direction of the previous Jie Yuan and shouted in the smoke and dust. "It's done!"
"I'm here! I see!" Although separated by smoke and dust, Jie Yuan could almost imagine how Han Shizhong, who had been pretending to be so arrogant for most of the day, was now showing off his power. He quickly replied, "Fifth brother, please give the order!"
"Tell the Cui Pian army to get back on their horses! Follow us!"
Through the smoke and dust, Han Shizhong's voice was like thunder and lightning, piercing through everything. "You are close, so I, Han Wu, will take you home today!"
The smoke and dust rolled eastward, and behind the smoke and dust and the bronze face, it took a long time for Jie Yuan to respond.