"Burn the hot air balloon!"
Seeing the Song army's hasty but orderly deployment, Gao Jingshan, who had seen through Yue Fei's thoughts and knew Wang Bolun very well, felt like his scalp was about to explode. After he recovered a little, he immediately issued a new order.
"What?"
Gao Qingyi also saw the problem and broke out in a cold sweat, but he could not understand Gao Jingshan's order for a while.
"Raise the remaining hot air balloon and burn it as a warning!" Gao Jingshan urged. "This is the fastest and most obvious way for us right now."
"Is it useful?" Gao Qingyi asked back on the spot.
"We have to try it no matter if it works or not." Gao Jingshan was furious. "If it doesn't remind Wang Bolun, maybe it can remind Ali and Shaohe, remind the King of Wei and Balisu, burn them quickly!" At this point, Gao Jingshan's tone slowed down and added a little. "It's not a pity for Wang Bolun to die, but if it's because of him that the general attack today fails, we will really be trapped!"
Gao Qingyi was in a daze and left in a hurry.
However, a hot air balloon, like the Meng'an that Gao Qingyi had taught the city guards a lesson before, takes time to find, regulate, and make it rise. Moreover, it has to be temporarily modified into a type that can ignite quickly. How can it be done in a hurry?
Just when Gao Qingyi had conveyed the military order to use the hot air balloon and returned to the top of the city wall, in the core camp of the Song army in the north of the city, seeing that the ambush had been roughly arranged, Tian Shizhong did not hesitate to lead two commanding officers, eight leading officers, and about four thousand infantrymen, crossed the eastern line where there had been no fighting, directly occupied the river bank on the opposite bank, and challenged the Jin army.
It is said that from the moment the Song army flags crossed over the other side of the river bank, the Jin army scouts who were spying on the situation on the opposite bank could hardly believe their eyes. But when the Song army actually crossed the river and began to line up on this side of the river bank, the Jin army, who had just received the news from the scouts and witnessed the scene with their own eyes, simply turned their astonishment into laughter.
There is no way, what kind of commander will lead what kind of people.
Although Wang Bolong is a typical Han Chinese, judging from his place of origin, he is probably from Heilongjiang Province in later generations (a native of Shuangcheng, Harbin, Heilongjiang), and now he is considered to be from the vicinity of Huining Prefecture and Huanglong Prefecture. Therefore, from a cultural point of view, he is probably closer to the Jurchens than the Koreans and Bohai people in the south of Liao.
What's more, Wang Bolong had a very rich background. He was a member of a group of bandits at the end of the Liao Dynasty. Like the Jurchens and the Bohai people of the same period, he was a revolutionary comrade who resisted the brutal rule of the Liao Dynasty... In addition, Wang Bolong was a rare Han Chinese military leader in the early days of the Jurchen regime. He had a rough temperament and did not stick together like the Bohai people. However, he was a brave general and fought decisively and bravely. Therefore, although he was a Han Chinese, he was a standard descendant of Aguda and was extremely useful.
This can be seen at a glance from his later official positions and experiences.
After Aguda's death, Wuqimai succeeded to the throne. He was immediately appointed as the Jiedushi, and then showed his talents as the trusted general of the Second Prince Wuliebu. He was the most meritorious when he pacified Zhang Jue, was the main general of the left wing in the Battle of Baihe, and was the vanguard of the eastern army when he went south to destroy the Song Dynasty. During the Jingkang Incident, he was also one of the main Wanhu who besieged the city.
After the second prince Wulibu died, he followed the fourth prince Wuzhu and the military supervisor Talan to conquer Jingdong. After conquering Jinan, he fought in Qingzhou and defeated tens of thousands of Song troops and Shandong volunteers in one fell swoop, forcing Liu Hongdao and Zhao Mingcheng to leave. Later, he was ranked first in terms of merit.
Immediately afterwards, Wuzhu went south to the Huai River, and he was appointed to follow Talai to attack Daming Prefecture again, scare Du Chong away, and take over Hebei.
Later, he and his Wan Hu were stationed in the Hejian area, serving as a barrier to the south of Yanjing and the main rear force in Hebei region.
Such a person is undoubtedly one of the core generals of the Jin army, and his Wanhu is undoubtedly one of the foundation troops of the Jin Dynasty... This has nothing to do with whether he is Han or how many Han and Jurchen people are among his subordinates.
What is more important is that, starting from Huaishang, Wang Bolun happened to avoid several fierce battles between Song and Jin. This meant that while he maintained an almost invincible war record, he never had a real fight with the so-called imperial camp troops.
If we have to take it seriously, during this Northern Expedition, Wang Bolong's troops had a clear advantage in the battle with the right army of the Song Army's Imperial Camp. They won the victory in Xiajin and then forced the Song Army to abandon the three states.
With such an experience, why should he and his subordinates be cautious?
"What are you laughing at?"
Seeing the Song army hastily forming battle array after crossing the river bank and sending messengers to challenge them, Wang Bolong, who was the first to laugh, twirled his beard and looked around on his horse, his tone becoming stern. "What are you all laughing at? Don't you know that they have reason to attack, and that sending messengers to challenge us is a good strategy?"
There was a group of Meng'an and Mouke around, including Han people, Jurchen people, Xi people and Khitan people. They were all fully armored like Wang Bolun. When they heard what he said, they all straightened up, as if they were not the ones who were laughing just now.
Wang Bolong, who was about to turn fifty, was also slightly satisfied when he saw this. He pointed at the Song army formation on his horse with his belly bulging, and then asked with a disdainful look: "Do you know why they took the initiative to attack?"
No one around responded.
Wang Bolong also pointed and explained: "The one who came with the banner is Tian, ​​this is Tian Shizhong, Tian Shizhong is the son-in-law of Zhang Jun, the deputy commander-in-chief of Zhang's army and the commander-in-chief. It is said that Zhang Jun was ill and did not come, so he was asked to lead the troops. But it was also because of this that Yue Fei of Yue's army became the marshal, and Zhang's army became the subordinate this time, and Tian himself was also bullied by Yue Fei..."
Wang Bolong's words were so convincing that all the generals nodded in agreement.
"If I'm right." Wang Bolong continued to laugh. "It must be that the Song army had more deep trenches and high fortifications in the west, and the Fourth Prince had not yet made any effort, so they were temporarily blocked, making these people think that our Great Jin army was just so-so. So Yue Fei's subordinates used the fact that the Zhang family army was defeated by us to squeeze Tian Shizhong... If Tian Shizhong had any shame and wanted to continue to be the commander-in-chief, he would have to come out and make trouble with us, otherwise he would have no face to stay in the army... And Yue Fei, if he still cared about the overall situation, had to let him out."
After hearing this, everyone's faces suddenly became enlightened, and one after another, they all said that what Wan Hu said made sense.
"As for the strategy." Wang Bolong retracted his fingers and continued to twirl his beard and smiled. "I know the Tian Division. Although they are far inferior to us, they are not cowards. If I am right, Tian directly went to the river bank this time and sent people to challenge us. His original intention was to surprise us and then make us suspicious or just to make us laugh. Anyway, he wanted to confuse us so that he could take the opportunity to set up a formation, lean against the embankment, and set up the big guns and crossbows... In this way, at least he can hold on for a while, and then carefully retreat after a while, and he can also boast in the army."
The other generals suddenly realized it, and then one general asked on the spot: "But if this is the case, how should we deal with it?"
"Simple." Wang Bolong's expression changed again, and he gave a stern order. "That is, we can't do what Tian wants. If he wants to delay time, we have to rush him while he is still unstable! Captain Xiao!"
"I am here." Meng'an, the Xi man who asked the question, immediately reined in his horse and spoke.
"Take fifteen Moukes with you and charge along the levee from the south!"
“Yes.”
"Zhao Ba!"
"I am here." A Han general immediately rode his horse forward.
"You also have fifteen Moukes, attacking from the north."
"yes."
"Where's Lao He?"
“Here…”
"Don't charge forward. Go and lure out the Han army from behind. When Tian can't hold on any longer, you can hold him back for me. Then follow me and push forward together. Let's see if we can take advantage of the situation to break into his camp..."
"know."
"The rest of you, wait until Lao Zhao and Lao Xiao are caught, then come with me!" Wang Bolong suddenly raised his hand and waved it fiercely. "Do it now, don't wait... In this battle, I am still the vanguard of the entire army, and I will be at the front like you!"
The generals responded loudly.
Immediately, Wang Bolun's troops, which had been wandering outside the river on the east side of the Song army's main camp, immediately separated their cavalry and infantry. The cavalry was then divided into three, with the two wings spread out first, attacking Tian's division from both the left and right sides. Finally, Wang Bolun himself led the remaining cavalry and rushed forward.
It is said that as soon as Tian Shizhong came out and crossed the river, he sent someone to challenge him. When Wang Bolun saw the man coming, he chatted and laughed for a few words, then gave the order directly without waiting for an instant.
Then they just did what they said, leaving the infantry behind and letting the cavalry move first. How fast was that?
Not to mention Gao Jingshan who was still waiting for the hot air balloon on the city wall, even Yue Fei on the hill was stunned... He was still worried that the plan to lure the enemy might fail.
However, these people were far apart, so it was normal for them to have some cognitive deviations. However, there was one person who reacted very quickly, and that was Tian Shizhong, who was the closest to them.
You know, in order to lure the enemy, Tian Shizhong brought out two command units that were relatively weak, and he was already a little cautious. What made him even more horrified was that as soon as he crossed the river and came to the embankment here, he immediately noticed something, that is, the cavalry of Wang Bolun's unit were all fully armored!
This means two things.
First of all, Wang Bolong really couldn't hold back any longer and wanted to go into battle, so he didn't take off his armor the entire morning.
Secondly, since they are fully armored, Wang Bolun’s troops, especially the main cavalry, can definitely attack at any time.
Therefore, the moment he crossed the dike and noticed this matter, Tian Shizhong keenly realized that what he had to worry about next was not whether the lure of the enemy would be successful, but whether the two Imperial Camp Right Army Commanding Departments used to lure the enemy could be preserved.
In fact, Wang Bolun guessed correctly. The messenger was not trying to provoke Wang Bolun, but to delay time.
At this time, with this in mind, as soon as the Jin army moved, Tian Shizhong naturally did not hesitate and ordered the front team to become the rear team, with the two designated vanguard commanders each leading four to five hundred people as the rear guard, to cover the remaining troops to quickly cross the river and withdraw to the big camp.
However, even if Tian Shizhong reacted very quickly, how could the three thousand fully armored Jin cavalry on both wings be slow? Seeing the Song army retreating, the Jin army, who had long wanted to gain military merit, did not hesitate. Without waiting for the formation to be arranged or for all the troops to be in place, they rushed along the levee from both wings.
The Jin cavalry had no time to adjust their charging group, and the Song army troops turned hastily. The two sides gathered together in a chaotic manner and fell directly into a melee.
However, the two wings of cavalry collided with the two rear guard headquarters arranged by Tian Shizhong. Therefore, Tian Shizhong, as the commander, did not waver at all, but urged the central troops to return to the camp quickly.
But at this time, Wang Bolong's general flag also moved. Seeing that the Song army was about to retreat, he led his troops to charge hastily without caring about the unorganized formation.
You know what, Wang Bolun’s attack was really successful.
The main force of the Song army had turned around and climbed onto the river bank and was heading out onto the ice. The two headquarters left as the rear guard had less than a thousand people in total. Their two wings were sandwiched, and their rear was empty. Then they were rushed in the face by Wang Bolun, and suffered huge casualties almost instantly, and then collapsed immediately.
The one thousand rearguard troops completely abandoned their weapons and retreated in panic.
The strategy of luring the enemy into feigning defeat resulted in at least half of them becoming a real defeat.
At this time, a commander who was left behind keenly discovered another danger - the hooves of the cavalry of Wang Bolun's army were actually wrapped in tattered linen.
This certainly wouldn't allow the Jin cavalry to charge on the Yellow River ice road, but it was enough to allow them to continue following the fleeing soldiers without having to dismount.
As a commander, it was impossible for him to know the Song army's overall plan, but he immediately became frightened.
"Wang Bolong!"
After a moment of hesitation, the Song army commander who had already fled to the highest point of the levee turned around again, took off his mask, raised his iron mace and shouted at the people below the levee. "Do you still remember Zhang Kui from Anzhou?!"
Wang Bolun, who was wearing a mask, looked in the direction of the voice and saw that it was his old friend from Liaodong. He immediately took off the mask and laughed.
But after only a short laugh, the Jin general suddenly stopped talking and turned around to look at us: "That man is an old friend of mine from Liaodong! He wants to delay us by himself... Shoot him to death!"
Upon hearing this, the many cavalrymen behind him did not hesitate but swarmed to the river bank, pulled the heavy bows in their hands, and shot intensively at the Song general holding the mace on the river bank. In just a whistle, Zhang Kui was shot through the armor by the heavy arrows and fell to the ground without a sound.
Wang Bolong saw this scene and spoke more hurriedly: "My old friend was also a bastard in the past, but I didn't expect him to be so courageous today... And he wants to delay like this, which shows that the Song people are really desperate. Don't hesitate, follow me to chase!"
As he finished speaking, the man rode his horse himself and headed westward from under the river bank. Although his speed was not fast, he did not hesitate or stop for even a moment.
Behind him and around him, the thousands of Liaodong cavalry who had been sweeping along the river bank in pursuit of the Song army no longer dared to fight or fight for the spoils, but gathered together, surrounding Wang Bolun's banner and Wang Bolun himself, and pressed forward at a steady pace, suppressing the fleeing Song army.
When they stepped onto the levee, most of their cavalry had already gathered. When they slowly walked down the river, almost no one was chasing them. By the time Wang Bolun's large flag followed the defeated Song soldiers across the ice road, thousands of cavalry had already gathered in an orderly manner on the frozen river, marching as one.
From a distance, it looks majestic and extraordinary.
The whole process only took a quarter of an hour.
On the hill, Yue Fei turned his chair and saw this scene. He did not change his expression at all. He just turned back and said to Huang Zong: "Wang Bolong came too quickly. This is a good thing, but we can't let a good thing turn into a bad thing... Let Zhang Xian send troops quickly, and don't wait for Wang Gang. Immediately signal the flags and let both sides attack immediately!"
Huang Zong understood and left.
At almost the same time, on the city gate tower in the north of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan and Gao Qingyi fell into a strange atmosphere of silence.
The two of them stared at Wang Bolong's fierce and ferocious momentum, but they didn't say a word until Wang Bolong's big flag flowed over the east river channel and surged onto the river bank on the Song army camp. Only then did Gao Qingyi come to his senses and ask:
"Tong-tung, do you still want to burn the hot air balloon?"
"Burn it, why not?" Gao Jingshan turned around and answered, his tone was terrifyingly calm. "Burning that thing can at least tell the world that we tried our best, right?"
Gao Qingyi had just asked the question because he had seen Wang Bolun's flag reappear at the highest point of the riverbank. He was so frightened that he wanted to escape. However, when he received the order, he turned around and hurriedly left the city again, regardless of the fact that the order had already been passed on.
"Hold Pu Suyue to come up." Gao Jingshan turned around and gave him a deep look, and added an order. "I want him to attack based on the situation... After you burn the balloons, come back quickly!"
Gao Qingyi didn't even turn his head, but just nodded continuously and hurried away.
Just as Gao Qingyi walked down the city wall, Wang Bolun also walked to the highest point on this side of the river bank and finally got a glimpse of the dense and huge camp of the Song army.
Of course, it was impossible for him to see the previous deployment direction of the Song army like Gao Jingshan in Yuancheng, and guess whether there were any obvious ambushes, but this did not prevent him from realizing that the strictness of the Song army's camp was far beyond his imagination.
So, he obviously hesitated.
But it was only for a moment, and the Jin Kingdom's senior general laughed three times, then turned around and looked at the generals:
"The Song army camp is well-organized and difficult to trample, but the Song army in front is already defeated. On the dirt hill four or five miles ahead is the Song army commander's banner, and the ball is also hanging there... We should be the first in the entire army to cross the outer defense line, but this is not worth mentioning. If we can chase the defeated soldiers to the dirt hill, then we will have achieved a great feat!"
The generals had already realized what Wang Bolong meant, but at this time, some officers were afraid of the Song army camp and took the initiative to persuade him: "Wan Hu, do you want to wait for General He? He will be here in one or two quarters of an hour at most. With 5,000 Han infantrymen to support this camp, the chances of winning are more than half."
Wang Bolong thought about it for a rare moment.
But at this moment, suddenly, there was a commotion among the surrounding soldiers, which attracted the generals on the ground to look in the direction of the sound. They saw a hot air balloon of the same size as the Song army suddenly rising above Yuan City in the north.
After staring at him for a while, the Han Wan Hu sneered:
"Gao Jingshan is thinking that I should go to the south to rescue him, instead of going to the camp... He is just being so pretentious all day long. When the time comes, won't he still ask me for help?"
All the generals remained silent.
"Old Xiao, you're overthinking. We can't let the defeated army gain a foothold." After laughing, Wang Bolong immediately shook his head solemnly, but he made another decision. "If the defeated army recovers in the camp and defends the camp, it will be really difficult for us to get through... We can't miss this opportunity, we must press on immediately!"
At the end of his words, he had an obviously stern attitude, and what prompted him to make this decision so quickly was actually Gao Jingshan's warning.
All the generals did not hesitate and led their troops, chasing the Song army's defeated soldiers down the river bank and heading towards the earthen hill to the west, forcing Tian Shizhong's flag to continue leading the defeated army westward, vaguely heading straight for the earthen hill in the middle.
It was around noon when Wang Bolong's troops officially entered the huge Song army camp.
At almost the same time, on the northeasternmost side of the Song army camp and the center of the western front, the gates were opened, and the two Song army units that received the flag signal left the camp almost at the same time... To the northeast were the 4,000 Beiwei cavalry led by Zhang Xian, the former commander of the imperial camp. At this time, they were just leading their horses wrapped in sackcloth, and they carefully leaned forward and filed out under the cover of the camp and fortifications, for fear of attracting the attention of Wang Bolun's troops. To the west, although there were only 1,000 heavy infantrymen wearing straw sandals, they made a big fanfare, shouted in unison, and struggled to break out. Under the leadership of Wang Gang, the former commander who had made meritorious contributions after being convicted of a crime, they rushed to the already chaotic western river channel, and then fell into fierce hand-to-hand combat as soon as they met the battle line.
At the same time, the Jin army commanders on the western front, namely Balisu and Wuzhu, did not actually think so much, because the battle seemed big and fierce at this moment, but in fact it was not the time to really decide the outcome... The Jin army had not even assembled the flanking troops, the Song army was not yet exhausted, and the reserve troops in the rear camp had not fought desperately.
In this situation, what do you think the two Jin army commanders will think?
In fact, at this critical moment, all the Jin army officers were attracted by the hot air balloon over Yuan City.
All the staff and officers including Balisu and Wuzhu were discussing what the hot air balloon meant, but in the end, it was nothing more than a request for help or a warning.
Confused, the Jin army's top brass reacted directly, ordering scouts to go around and find out the situation... But they couldn't raise the balloon anyway, because according to the original plan, the signal for the general attack this afternoon was to be made using a hot air balloon.
Just as I was daydreaming, the hot air balloon over Yuancheng suddenly began to emit thick smoke, and then it was obviously out of control, flying up in the dead of winter like a real out-of-control Kongming lantern.
At this point, the Jin army's top brass became even more speechless, and even the soldiers fighting between the two armies in the river on the west side were a little stagnant.
Soon after, news came that a group of more than a thousand heavy infantrymen of the Song army had rushed into the river along the Yongji Canal and began to sweep southwards.
This time, no one was hesitating anymore.
"Marshal, Fourth Prince, Commander Gao should have reminded us of this." Wan Hu Tuhesu looked at the big ball of black smoke and sighed on the horse. "The Song army also realized that the southern section of the western line was a weak point, so they sent troops to sweep the river in time to relieve the pressure..."
"That's right." Wushu felt that what Tuhesu said was all nonsense, but he could only nod his head, but then shook his head again with emotion. "Although it is a large Kongming lantern, the Song army's hot air balloons are obviously fire-resistant. If our hot air balloons rise three, two will be burned... Look at Gao Dutong's place, it was just a warning, and it caught fire directly... So we can only use it as a signal for a general attack."
"The most urgent task at this moment is to send an elite force to stop the heavy infantry of the Song army, in order to prevent it from becoming a trend and giving the Song army a chance to catch their breath." Balisu had no intention of discussing the hot air balloon. "Tuhesu, your unit is good at infantry combat, send out 20 Moukes to quickly intercept them."
Tu Hesu immediately accepted the order, selected a few men, determined the order, formed an army, and sent it out immediately.
This matter came to an end, and on the western front, all the high-ranking Jin army officers were paying attention to when the hot air balloon would burn out, when it would fall, or where it would fall.
Of course, the battlefield was so large that Wuzhu Balisu and others didn’t know the meaning of the hot air balloon, but some people combined the intelligence sensitivity and realized something.
Directly north of Yuancheng, the Song army camp was further north. Ali and Shao, who were gathering in a safe area, noticed the burning hot air balloon at the same time. Moreover, they were the first Jin army troops to notice any unusual movements of Wang Bolun's troops.
Gao Jingshan might be warning Wang Bolong not to attack without authorization! This possibility was immediately recognized as the two generals hurriedly met. So the two men temporarily changed their battle plan. The Ali tribe on the east side immediately gathered cavalry, crossed the Yellow River, and went to the east to meet Wang Bolong.
To be fair, based on this point alone, Gao Jingshan's warning has been successful.
However, in order to prevent being blocked on the river, the Ali tribe, which originally had no plan to cross the river, needed to temporarily add anti-slip measures to the war horses.
And everyone, from the Song army to the Jin army, from Yue Fei to Tian Shizhong, from Gao Jingshan to Ali and Shaohe, all felt helpless because Wang Bolun was too fast!
Everyone was following the procedures, except Wang Bolun, who was so decisive from beginning to end!
Tian Shizhong came out to lure the enemy, but as soon as he came out, Wang Bolun immediately launched an attack; Gao Jingshan tried to sound the alarm, but the hot air balloon did not rise, and Wang Bolun directly crossed the Yellow River channel on the east; the hot air balloon had just risen and had not yet been ignited, and Ali Shaohe had not yet realized the danger, when Wang Bolun's troops had already broken into the Song army camp.
So, just when the hot air balloon was filled with smoke and Ali Shaohe realized the danger and temporarily decided to change the battle plan to make necessary preparations for rescue, Wang Bolun and his Wan Hu were still one step ahead and were so decisive even when they were in anxiety and danger.
There's nothing I can do.
On the top of the city wall, Gao Jingshan watched scene after scene coldly. He saw that Wang Bolun, in order to gain merit, scattered his cavalry into the thick and complex camp of the Song army; he saw that these elite soldiers who could have run rampant in the field battle were naturally separated because of the camp and the terrain, and because of the pursuit of the defeated Song army; he saw that these cavalry had to dismount and fight on foot in order to fight effectively and avoid the dense arrows.
Now, he saw again the Song cavalry that had impressed him so much.
This cavalry unit tried to cross the river cautiously, but as soon as they set foot on the eastern river channel, they attracted the attention and warning of Wang Bolun's remaining subordinates.
Wang Bolong, who had received the warning, turned his horse around in surprise and looked over the river bank. With just one glance, the experienced Wan Hu suddenly realized what was going on and his face changed drastically:
"Wave the flag!"
The surrounding officers were caught off guard.
"Raise the flag!" Wang Bolong turned around, his face more serious than ever. "Raise the flag immediately and tell the front troops to withdraw! This is a trap!"
The officer beside him was in a daze, and quickly waved several flags and blew the bugle.
Inside the Song army camp, the Jin army, which was still advancing despite some difficulty, dismounted their cavalry and looked back in shock. The sound and the flag clearly meant a retreat, but why?
They were down there with no vision and had no idea what was happening.
Many people immediately became panicked.
"Attack immediately!" On the hill, Yue Fei looked down from above and issued another military order without hesitation.
For a moment, seven or eight red flags were waving together on the earthen hill that served as the command post of the Song army. The Beiwei Army of the Right Army of the Imperial Camp, which had been hiding in a camp on the side, that is, the heavy infantry with long axes that had long been unable to contain themselves, immediately followed the familiar camp road and, under the leadership of Zhang Zigai, attacked the Jin army that was pouring into the camp from the flank.
At the same time, several reserve troops at the foot of the earthen hill also rushed forward. Tian Shizhong, who was extremely frustrated at the front line, turned around, raised his flag and ordered a counterattack.
Even some brave civilians began to take advantage of their familiarity with the terrain and rushed out of some small villages, trying to seize those precious war horses.
The two sides moved in unison, as if Wang Bolun's decisive withdrawal had summoned the Song army's ambush.
At this time, some of the Jin army knights who had noticed the movements around them came to their senses and turned around, but the dense trenches, camps, and corridors remained unchanged. Just as they had previously prevented them from advancing effectively, they now became obstacles to their retreat.
In panic, even the elite soldiers who had fought in hundreds of battles fell into a state of confusion.
On the riverbank, Wang Bolun saw more clearly than the soldiers... Not only was the extremely elite heavy infantry advancing at a very fast speed, but they were also intentionally or unintentionally shifting to the outer riverbank on the east side, as if they wanted to surround their own troops in the camp and swallow them all up.
At the same time, the retreat speed of his subordinates was too slow.
If this continues, it seems only a matter of time before the troops he has broken into the Song army camp are completely surrounded and annihilated. As the commander, he must make a quick decision. Should he lead his personal guards and the infantry behind him to provide support, or should he make a heroic move and withdraw immediately?
Wang Bolun stood on the river bank, his warhorse taking him around in circles several times, causing his eyes to repeatedly move between his ambushed subordinates in front, the huge Yuan city to the south, the increasing number of Song cavalry on the river to the north, and his own infantry formation on the east bank embankment behind him.
Finally, the decisive Wang Bolun became decisive again. He took off his mask, turned his horse's head, rode eastward, and took his last cavalry and personal guards to find his infantry formation.
No less than forty Mouke were thrown into the camp of the Song army by him!
In the huge camp, these forty Moukes were like insignificant ink stains and were being quickly cleaned up with a huge rag.
Wang Bolong rode away on his horse, disappointing everyone.
The Jin army was in a low position and witnessed their general abandoning them, so they were naturally frustrated and angry. Yue Fei and other generals were also disappointed when they saw Wang Bolong escape at such a high speed with his limbs cut off. This was a Wan Hu, and a veteran general equivalent to a founding Wan Hu, who was known as the bravest veteran of the Eastern Route Army.
What a pity.
Even Tian Shizhong felt a little unfair. He had sacrificed hundreds of lives, and might even have suffered thousands of casualties, to catch this big fish. Now, not to mention that Wang Bolun had escaped, he found it difficult to accept that the Jin army's infantry had not followed him.
"Big Ladle, how many people have come?"
On the other side of the Yellow River on the east side, Deputy General Yang Zaixing, wearing heavy armor, turned his head on his horse and looked back.
"A little over three hundred..." Commander Guo Jin said seriously. "All three, but one is the young master's."
"That's two hundred, two of them, one for each of us." Yang Zaixing swung the iron spear in his hand while speaking. "Old Guo, that Wang is a millionaire, how can we let him get away like this? If I don't charge, I will definitely not be able to sleep tonight... We haven't fought since we crossed the river!"
Guo Jin thought about it, then looked back at the 'young official' who was organizing the troops at the riverbank in the distance. He was the young marshal Yue Yun, who was actually the head of the Beiwei Army under the banner of "Ji Yi". Then he nodded and said, "I think it's okay... Let's charge in quickly while the young official hasn't reacted!"
After he finished speaking, Yang Zaixing reined in his horse, turned around, whistled on the horse, and pulled down his mask. Then, without any flags or words, he led the way towards the Jin army's large formation of 5,000 infantrymen.
In other words, it was heading towards the big flag with the word "king" on it that had just entered the infantry formation.
Guo Jin followed closely behind, and the two Beiwei troops were used to following people, so they did not hesitate and immediately caught up. Only the one who was cleaning up the river bank was obviously a little stunned, but after looking at the leader, who was only fifteen or sixteen years old, he chose to stay where he was with a little agitation.
The young captain, Yue Yun, who was only sixteen or seventeen years old, was also obviously confused... It was his first time on a battlefield, how could he know what to do?
If I don't go, would it be considered as cowardice?
But if I go, would it be considered as attacking without authorization?
Who will be beaten with a stick?
However, this doubt was soon dispelled as a general appeared on the river bank with hundreds of cavalry who were no longer hiding.
"Yue Yun!" Zhang Xian glared at him from the riverbank. "The enemy is about to flee, what are you doing? All the cavalry here are yours, quickly take them to Da Mashao! Remember, if you make a mistake, you will be punished with twenty military sticks!"
Upon receiving the order, Yue Yun did not hesitate and immediately mounted his horse, leading the two or three hundred cavalrymen who had just crossed the river and his own captain to chase after Guo and Yang.
However, Zhang Xian stayed where he was, urging his troops behind him... but they failed to cross the river without a battle. Instead, the Beiwei Army of the right army of the Imperial Camp repeatedly made the final blow. From the perspective of Tian Shizhong, he was certainly being controlled, but from the perspective of the two armies under Zhang Xian and Zhang Zigai, Zhang Zigai's troops were increasingly respected in the camp, while the Beiwei cavalry of the front army of the Imperial Camp became the target of many people's ridicule.
Some even said that Marshal Yue's real Beiwei Army was actually Zhang Jiedu's army. How could Zhang Xian tolerate this?
Just like that, Zhang Xian was organizing the troops here, and he would send out one city at a time as he organized them. On the other side, a small group of cavalrymen sped up, so fast that in just a few miles, Wang Bolun had just led the infantry to the east, and just a few hundred steps away from the dike, the two sides engaged in direct battle!
Of course Wang Bolong saw this small group of cavalry, and he also became nervous... But what made him nervous was not the power of these two hundred cavalrymen, but the fear that if he was bitten, the Song cavalry would continue to attack and tear him apart here.
Therefore, he immediately pointed out two Moukes and asked them to lead the remaining two hundred cavalry to meet the enemy in person.
But at this time, the Jin army was already in a panic. The two Mouke cavalrymen were already furious when they saw Wang Bolun abandoning a large number of main forces. It would have been fine if they were ordered to meet the Song cavalry at this time, but the key was that there was more smoke and dust rolling behind these cavalrymen, and it was obvious that they were constantly receiving reinforcements. How could they be willing to go and die?
Once the thoughts start to turn, even if one dares not to openly disobey orders, his actions will inevitably slow down.
At the same time, Generals Guo and Yang were not just charging in recklessly. Seeing that there were still many cavalrymen protecting the Wang banner and that reinforcements were coming from behind, they simply turned slightly and rushed to the east together to attack the corner of the Jin army's infantry formation, intending to stop the Jin army from escaping.
The two men cooperated well. The two hundred cavalrymen were like two huge iron spears, and the two generals were like spear tips that never rusted. On one hand, they avoided the Jin cavalry who were somewhat slow in movement, and on the other hand, they kept finding loose areas in the corners of the Jin army's infantry formation to gouge out flesh.
After only two or three successful attacks, the Jin army's infantry formation became somewhat chaotic.
When Yue Yun arrived with several hundred cavalrymen and ran into the Jin army's blocking forces, the chaos became more severe and the speed of the army's retreat was obviously hindered.
The situation Wang Bolong was most worried about happened.
Then, this famous Jin general, who was known as the bravest and most strategic general in the Eastern Army, hesitated again and made a quick decision again. He took off his mask for the umpteenth time and ordered the remaining hundreds of cavalry to break away from the infantry formation and drive away the two small cavalry groups that blocked the infantry's retreat.
This time, he really was not running away, and he did not leave the infantry formation, because he had realized that if he abandoned the infantry again, he would inevitably become a hunted object in the wilderness.
He really wanted to save this infantry unit and himself.
However, when Yang Zaixing saw the cavalry under General Wang Bolun disperse and rush towards him, he was extremely excited, because the opponent's action also revealed a flaw and opened the infantry's tight gate.
Without waiting to whistle Guo Jin, Yang Zaixing waved his iron spear and led the dozens of cavalrymen behind him to go upstream against the Jin cavalry. Guo Jin saw it from a distance and was furious, but he had to give up his original tactics and led his troops forward to cover Yang Zaixing.
Wang Bolong stood under his own flag and watched the scene through the eyeholes on his mask.
He saw that the leading rider was holding a huge iron spear, and he was waving it as easily as if it was a small gadget. He rushed all the way, upstream, and killed his cavalry continuously. In just a moment, he killed more than ten people, and kept advancing towards him. In a trance, he thought of how he looked when he was fighting more than ten years ago.
I still remember that during a siege he even lost his helmet. However, instead of retreating, he ignored the fact that he was already a general and simply put on heavy armor, used a big pot as a helmet, and climbed up the city wall with an iron spear. He killed more than 20 people on the city wall with his own hands and finally broke into the city first.
From then on, even Elubu did not dare to show off his bravery in front of him.
This man today is as brave as I was back then!
There was nothing wrong with the order he had just given, it was just that this man's courage was truly remarkable.
Thinking of this, Wang Bolun summoned up his remaining courage, took out his spear from his horse, and rushed forward to meet the enemy.
Yang Zaixing saw a general in extraordinary armor coming over from his banner. How could he not know that it was Wang Bolong? He was even more delighted, and he killed several more riders, rushed to the front, and thrust his spear. Wang Bolong just raised his hand to receive it, and felt his arms go numb, and then suddenly woke up... It was not a question of whether he still had the courage of the past, but that the other party was even stronger than he was in his prime!
This time, the founding general of the Jin Dynasty did not hesitate any more. He leaned over and held his horse with one hand, dragged his spear with the other hand and walked away, trying to break out with his scattered cavalrymen... At this point, he no longer cared about the war and only wanted to survive.
After Wang Bolong escaped, some of his personal guards were loyal to him and swarmed forward again, risking their lives to stop Yang Zaixing. However, no matter how tyrannical Yang Zaixing was, he had to kill them one by one.
Instead, the mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Guo Jin was blocking Yang Zaixing in the rear. When he saw this scene, he knew that the critical moment had come, so he rushed forward to block the general head-on.
Wang Bolong was not a man without eyesight. He had spotted the man he had spotted before, just like the previous one, the sharpest among the hundred cavalrymen. His arms were still numb, so he dared not confront him. He immediately turned around on his horse and rushed into another cavalry regiment in a panic.
On the chaotic battlefield, Yue Yun, holding the double maces given by his father, watched with his own eyes as the general in extraordinary armor turned several times and finally rushed towards him. He was confused for a moment and seemed a little worried... If this man escaped from him, would he be beaten with a military stick?
But Commander Zhang’s order is to hand over the troops to Commander Guo. If he doesn’t do it, will he also be punished with twenty military sticks?
But no matter how urged he was by the thought, as the Jin army general with sophisticated armor and exquisite cloak rushed up to him, Yue Yun, who was new to the battlefield, was stunned for a moment, but he immediately stepped forward to meet him, wielding his double maces to hit the man himself.
Wang Bolun saw that it was just an ordinary captain with short stature, so he was not afraid. He immediately raised his gun to block it. However, as soon as he raised it, his already numb arm suddenly felt a sharp pain and he lost control of his arm, and he dropped his gun on the spot.
That was not all. The short captain did not dare to be negligent. He smashed the opponent's weapon with one mace, and then the other mace followed directly and continued to hit the opponent's shoulder. Then he kept hitting the opponent with one mace after another, as seriously as if he was smashing wood during training, without stopping for a moment.
But it hit Wang Bolun so hard that he was shocked on the spot. He couldn't even make a sound. He was in so much pain that he lost control and fell off his horse on the spot.
Yue Yun did not dare to be careless, fearing that the other party was pretending to be dead. He dismounted under the cover of his own cavalry, and smashed the ground with his double maces more than ten times, causing the man's armor to be deformed. Then he left the man and mounted his horse again to fight, trying to complete the task assigned by Zhang Xian, which was to hand over these hundreds of cavalry to Guo Jin.
Let's not talk about Yue Yun, let's just talk about Wang Bolong, a famous general. However, he ultimately failed to have a good end as a prince as in another time and space. In the end, he was beaten to the ground by a rookie and even his head was not cut off.
Yang Zaixing, who was chasing all the way from a distance, was already stunned when he saw this scene. When he turned around again, he heard a cry of surprise. It turned out that Guo Jin saw a gap, snatched Wang Bolun's flag with all his strength, and broke it on the ground.
This time, Yang Zaixing was completely speechless and could only turn his horse around and rush forward to kill indiscriminately.
This scene sounds complicated, but it actually only took about two quarters of an hour. If you count from the time when Master Tian came to lure the enemy, the whole process took less than an hour... In fact, at this time, Ali's troops had just been ready and were preparing to cross the ice road, and had not yet set out.
It can only be said that Wang Bolun's decisiveness and speed exceeded everyone's imagination.
On the top of Yuancheng City, Gao Jingshan witnessed with his own eyes how Wang Bolun's army was suddenly dispersed by a small group of elite cavalry of the Song army, saw with his own eyes Wang Bolun's flags drowned in the chaos, and then saw with his own eyes that the dozens of Mouke trapped in the Song army camp were completely surrounded, but he didn't know when they fell into a strange silence.
Behind him, Gao Qingyi and Pu Suyue had nothing to say either.
There's no way, Wang Bolun is just too fast.
"Pu Suyue!" Gao Jingshan suddenly turned around and looked back. "Send troops!"
"General, what's the point of sending troops at this time?" Pu Suyue gave a bitter smile, obviously puzzled.
"The troops sent by the Fourth Prince should be arriving soon. Go out from the southeast water gate, lead the horses across the river, and meet them!" Gao Jingshan gave the order expressionlessly. "See if you can meet up with them and try to save as many people as possible."
Pu Suyue was still puzzled: "General! I understand what you mean. The Song army is busy annihilating Wang Bolong's troops. It's possible that they can get out. But even if they do, they will inevitably be attacked by Wang Gui in Daming City and Tang Huai's troops in the south. There will be casualties... Besides, even if they get out, how can they come back?"
Gao Jingshan looked at him with a strange look, and then suddenly said something irrelevant: "Pu Suyue, the one who first reported your father's resentment was not someone else, but me... That's why I was able to stay in Daming Prefecture, and then took advantage of the situation to become the commander-in-chief during the subsequent changes in the court... In other words, your father's disappearance in Xiaowusha was due to my contribution... Did you know that?"
Pu Suyue was stunned on the spot, then his face flushed, and his breathing gradually became heavy, which made the guards on the city wall alert, but in the end, this man just said nothing and just stood there with his sword in hand.
"This is a military order, execute it immediately." Gao Jingshan urged and said nothing more.
Pu Suyue stood there for a while, then suddenly walked down the city wall. At the signal of their commander-in-chief, Gao Jingshan's guards followed him down the stairs as if they were escorting some criminals.
"General!" As soon as Pu Suyue left, Gao Qingyi, who had pretended to be dead before, stepped forward. "Why is it so?"
"You go with him too!" Gao Jingshan certainly didn't act like that when facing Gao Qingyi. Instead, he leaned against the railing and sighed.
"I've already said it, why is it necessary?" Gao Qingyi continued to stomp his feet.
"How could it not be like this?" Gao Jingshan's tone was slightly depressed. "After setting up the camp overnight, I knew that Yuancheng only had a 40% chance of survival. Although Wang Bolong died today, it was not a pity, but we lost almost an entire 10,000 households, and we lost them so quickly that today's offensive was almost abandoned. All the hard work of the past few days wasted in an instant, leaving Yuancheng with only a 10% chance of survival..."
"General." Gao Qingyi became increasingly uneasy. "Not even a tenth of that."
"Even if it's not that bad, the way out is not inside, but outside! What's the point of you staying here?" Gao Jingshan cheered up and said calmly. "If you are willing, try to save me outside! You can't let me go with you, right? If I abandon the city and leave, the King of Wei will definitely kill me according to military law."
Gao Qingyi was also sad, and then he said with difficulty: "General, if you want to live..."
"Don't say it." Gao Jingshan shook his head quickly. "I can't possibly surrender... After all, the kindness of the Wanyan family is there. For twenty years, I have been a commander-in-chief, commanding tens of thousands of troops, and owning a famous city. What's the point of surrendering? Do you think I'm the second saint of the Song Dynasty? When you go out, tell the King of Wei and ask him not to worry. Just say that if something unexpected happens, I will never bring shame to the country."
Gao Qingyi was completely speechless and could only grit his teeth and reply: "If that's the case! I will do my best to help the commander-in-chief in front of the King of Wei and seek a chance of victory!"
Gao Jingshan nodded repeatedly, obviously in a perfunctory manner.
Gao Qingyi didn't stay any longer and went downstairs directly.
Without mentioning how these Bohai people lamented the situation, let's just say that after Wang Bolong died, his main cavalry was still surrounded in the camp, and the infantry left on the other side of the river were also attacked and killed in large numbers. Both sides almost collapsed completely at the same time. But only a quarter of an hour later, the Ali tribe, who had already seen the collapsed army and realized that the situation was not good, hurriedly appeared in the north.
The Song army's Beiwei cavalry was immediately divided into two, one part engaged in a melee with the Ali tribe to block the attack, while the other part continued to charge and kill in an attempt to annihilate as many defeated Jin army soldiers as possible.
However, as more and more Ali cavalry crossed the river, and especially as the remaining cavalry in Yuancheng risked huge casualties and forced their way out of the city through the frozen water gate, they gradually appeared on the south side. The Beiwei Army finally gave up the intention of annihilating the last remnants of Wang Bolun and began to retreat cautiously.
Half an hour later, as the Song army completely withdrew to the camp, the eastern front of the battlefield returned to peace, and civilians even began to repair the defense line on the easternmost end. On the southern side of the eastern front, the flags of Erlubu and Wanyan Bendu finally appeared behind Damingcheng.
The two generals were already terrified when they encountered the defeated soldiers on the road. But when they met up with the Ali tribe and learned about the detailed battle situation, and found Wang Bolun's body which was as thin as cotton wool, they were completely panic-stricken and heartbroken.
This was not a matter of defeat or the death of a great general. It was a matter of thousands of households being destroyed out of thin air, and being destroyed so quickly!
Considering the critical juncture, if something like this happened, it would be more than just the loss of one million households.
There are some truths that these generals may not be able to explain clearly, but that does not prevent them from having a perceptual and keen understanding in their hearts.
In the afternoon, the scheduled time for the general attack arrived. Wanyan Bendu, Olubu, Ali, as well as Gao Qingyi and Pu Suyue who had escaped from the city, just stood there, not knowing how to respond, let alone whether to launch the general attack as originally planned.
Ali simply didn't know where to go.
Not only this side, but also the Shaohe tribe in the north heard the news and didn't know whether they should send their lives to the Song army's most solid northern defense line.
However, the transmission of information was delayed, and the main force of the Jin army on the western front, unaware of this, still organized and dispatched its troops, and launched the hot air balloon at the scheduled time at great risk.
Only after the hot air balloon rose, the senior commanders of the Jin army realized that something was wrong with the war, because at least Shaohe did not launch the entanglement operation as planned, and there was no reason why the movement of three Wanhu on the eastern front should be so small.
Just as they were hesitating and puzzled, a rider came from the north. Shaohe handed over the accurate information he had just obtained before Balisu and Wuzhu could question them.
Ba Lisu took a look first, was stunned on the spot, and then his hands began to tremble unconcealedly.
Wuzhu couldn't bear it any longer, so he stepped forward and snatched it away. But this time, as the back of his head began to churn again, he could no longer hold back as before.
"Wang Bolong! Give me back my ten thousand households!" On the bank of the Yellow River, Wuzhu roared instinctively, and he felt a black screen in front of his eyes and almost fell off his horse.
Fortunately, Tai Shi Nu was by his side and supported the King of Wei.
Just when Wuzhu was shocked by the intelligence and was in a dilemma, the last trace of fighting in the Song army camp was completely ended. He pulled the tooth out of the tiger's mouth in one battle. Although there were twists and turns, he finally achieved a great feat. The earthen hill that served as the command platform was naturally excited.
Like the Jin troops on both sides, although they could not say a thing or two, they all knew that at this critical juncture, the impact of swiftly and successfully annihilating a force of the Jin army would definitely exceed the victory itself.
Tian Shizhong was even more keenly aware that the situation, which had seemed difficult, had loosened.
At this moment, Yue Fei, who had hardly left his seat the entire time, noticed a messenger, and turned to Huang Zong, whose face changed visibly after hearing the news: "What's the matter?"
"Commander Wang Gang was seriously injured and died moments after returning." Huang Zong responded helplessly.
Yue Fei was silent for a moment, nodded slightly to show that he understood, and then looked to the west without saying a word.
Over there, the sounds of killing were still deafening, and there were still hundreds of thousands of soldiers fighting hard up and down the river, as if nothing had happened.
But the work has been done, so how could there be no changes?