Wang De led the charge, boosting the morale of his troops. Although Ali's tribe was caught off guard and was shaken for a time, they were able to immediately reorganize their army thanks to Ali's prestige and battlefield experience, as well as the tactical qualities of his core members. The two sides immediately engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand fight on the small slope in front of the stone bridge in the drizzle.
From this perspective, the attack by Wang De and his son did not seem to be successful.
But in fact, from a larger perspective, this charge by Wang De and his son was of extraordinary significance.
First of all, it greatly boosted the morale of the whole army... There is no need to say more. Since ancient times, the first soldiers to climb the ladders and the soldiers who break through the enemy lines have all been valued by the entire army. Wang De was a respected military governor, and the two of them, father and son, charged in the front. It goes without saying that this shocked the enemy and inspired our own army.
Moreover, as the battle began, the sun rose in the east, and the drizzle had a limited effect in blocking the sunlight behind the clouds. In the increasingly bright field of vision, the small slope in front of the stone bridge was the most eye-catching place for both armies and the first place of battle. Naturally, it attracted the most attention on the battlefield. Even the various units that could not see this place sent out scouts to keep looking for news of the battle here.
Turning back to the present, after Xiaopo fell into a bitter battle, the battle line was up and down, and Wang De and his two sons, relying on their bravery and heavy armor, led dozens of cavalry to charge back and forth on the battle line, rescuing trapped subordinates on the left and dispersing the large-scale counterattack of the Jin army on the right. The three father and sons led the elite guards as their leader, like a blade, sharp and unstoppable. Although the cavalry behind them continued to suffer casualties, they continued to gather and increase from the soldiers who crossed the river, as if there was some root connected to the Taiping River, making it endless.
On the other hand, Ali personally supervised the battle, gave proper command, and constantly dispatched troops to put pressure on the front line, which actually made Wang De and his son exhausted and made it difficult for the troops to deploy.
The details of such a tragic battle were of course impossible for the onlookers from both armies to know due to the vastness of the battlefield, but they could still see Wang De's flag moving back and forth constantly, the ups and downs of the battle lines of both sides, and how Ali's general's flag was only two or three hundred steps away from Wang De's flag, but could never get any closer.
Then, he used his own experience to judge the intensity of the battle.
This brings us to the second important role of Wang De’s vanguard role this time.
"Jiedu Li, General Wu has issued an order, asking the front troops to take this opportunity to build a large-scale pontoon bridge." A red-hearted cavalryman came galloping with a bell ringing. After receiving commands from various levels along the way, he went straight to Li Yanxian's banner, but he only said a simple word.
Li Yanxian thought for a moment and understood immediately, then immediately conveyed the order to his headquarters: "Order all units to move forward to the riverside and build a pontoon bridge, but do not cross the river without permission."
The front-line troops did not dare to delay and took action immediately. Generals Dong Xian and Niu Gao, who had already advanced to the river, had just started to build a bridge upon hearing the news. Before they had even dragged out the prepared rafts and long logs, they immediately received a new special military order, which said that Li Yanxian had allowed the two troops to send a small group of elite troops to cross the river to share the pressure on Jiedushi Wang Dewang.
Besides, the Taiping River is really just a small river. The sudden rise after the rain a few days ago could not conceal the narrowness of the main river channel, especially since the scouts of the two armies had already understood the river conditions within a few days and knew where there were shallows in the river, where the river channel was narrow, and where the flow was slow.
Therefore, just as Wu Jie had promised before, and just as Wang De's troops had just put it into practice, the construction of the pontoon bridge was quick and simple, and soon more than a dozen simple but practical pontoon bridges were built along the river. A small group of elite Song troops crossed the river and tried to gather at the stone bridge, which triggered a chain reaction on the Jin army's front line along the river... The large group of Jin troops stationed on the high ground was fine, but the Jin troops on both sides of the high ground facing the river reacted instinctively, and some cavalry and infantry took the initiative to fight, trying to stop the Song army's "large-scale crossing of the river."
"Go tell Wanyan Bendu that the Song army is deliberately bluffing, hoping to trap Pushan Beilu near the river. In fact, the Song army cannot risk crossing the river at this time. Even Wang De's surprise attack was intended to cover Han Shizhong. Don't let him make a misjudgment and lose the big picture because of the small one! Just let Pushan Beilu go upstream as planned to stop Han Shizhong... In short, the four Wanhu in the west must advance and retreat together to ensure the stability of the front line."
On the west and south side of the highland, Tuhesu's army had already received military orders and was marching to the upstream area further west to suppress the left army of the imperial camp from crossing the river. However, Tuhesu, who was stationed on his horse to observe the situation on the side of the marching column, immediately noticed the movement by the river and was keenly aware of the intention of the Song army. He turned around and conveyed it to his personal guards.
After hearing the words, the guards repeated them roughly and then hurried away.
But as soon as the guards left, Tuhesu still felt uneasy, and turned to another guard: "Relay what you just said to Marshal Balisu... If Ben Du wavers or hesitates, have him directly send an order to intervene."
Another guard received the order and hurried away.
Tuhesu then continued to urge his horse and continued to move westward with the main force.
"Wan Hu." A Han soldier named Meng An couldn't help but follow up and asked. "Han Shizhong's Imperial Camp Left Army has a total of 40,000 people. Wang Sheng was assigned 10,000 people and couldn't reach the battlefield. There have been constant battles in the past few months, and there must have been a lot of losses. Now there are only 20,000 or 30,000 people. Is the upstream so important that four Wan Hu are needed to stop it? On the contrary, the troops of Li Yanxian and Wu Jie in front of the stone bridge have clear flags and strong troops. It can be seen at a glance... I'm afraid this is the real main battlefield?"
"In a war like this, how can there be any order of priority? This is the main battlefield!"
Tu Hesu knew that this Han general who had just become a Meng'an in Daming Prefecture had always been around him out of insecurity, but at this point, he also had the responsibility to win over and appease these people, so he did not rule out making explanations during the march, and even spoke a little louder. "The key is the order in which the war is launched..."
"Please give me some advice, Lord Wanhu." Han'er Meng'an interrupted without losing the opportunity.
"What can I teach you?" Tu Hesu sighed as he walked forward. "Our army plus the newly arrived reinforcements has 130,000 to 140,000 soldiers, and the Song army plus the newly arrived reinforcements has 170,000 to 180,000 soldiers. There are too many soldiers, no one can properly command them, and it is even more impossible to rush forward. That would destroy the organization and seek death. At this time, we must pay attention to the division of the battlefield, and the waves and order of the march... Although Han Shizhong's troops only have 20,000 to 30,000 people, they are all elite troops that have never lost a battle and are well-organized. Han Shizhong himself is a famous general in the world, and it is just right for them to gain a foothold first..."
"Once they cross the river, those Khitans, Tanguts, and Mongols, a total of 40,000 light cavalry, can easily come over under the cover of Han Shizhong..."
"Once 40,000 light cavalry rush over, their killing power may not be enough, but they will be enough to harass and contain the entire battlefield. By then, we will not be able to stop the main force of Li Yanxian's army from crossing the river and fighting with us for the high ground."
"And if Han Shizhong's troops and those light cavalry cannot succeed, although Li Yanxian still has to lead the main force to cross the river before noon, he will inevitably be overwhelmed by our main force from the high ground when crossing the river, and suffer heavy casualties... This is the chance of victory... And these things are also layered."
The Han army soldier Meng'an nodded slightly on his horse, but he was still a little confused. He wanted to ask something else, but he didn't dare to ask. And soon, he didn't need to ask, because he was on the left side of Tuhesu, while maintaining a humble attitude, and suddenly noticed the movement on the opposite river bank, and raised his hand slightly to signal.
Tu Hesu turned around in surprise and his face changed immediately... It turned out that the thing he was most worried about had happened.
It was not known whether they could not bear the pressure of the densely packed Song army on the other side of the river, or whether Wanyan Bendu on the high ground made a misjudgment and issued a military order. In short, the Wanhu of the Eastern Route Army on the west side of the high ground facing the river did not abandon the enemy in front of them as originally planned and march west with them. Instead, they sent a large number of troops to the river.
In this case, even if Wan Hu later received support or military orders and quickly turned around and advanced westward, his own front line would inevitably be affected... especially his headquarters, and his flanks would be exposed.
But the matter was done, and although the leader of Wanhu, Pushan Beilu, was a recognized waste, he was also the brother-in-law of Taizu Aguda, and the Pushan tribe itself was a large Jurchen tribe, which was not something he could interfere with. So after watching for a moment, Tuhesu turned around and headed west with his own army.
However, the matter was not over yet. They had only walked two or three miles, and in the drizzle, they had just lost sight of the high ground behind them when they suddenly heard shouts of killing from the front.
Tu Hesu and the accompanying officer hurriedly climbed up a slightly raised ridge, took a look, and then were half surprised and half enlightened.
It turned out that right in front of them, a familiar flag and a familiar army were coming towards them and directly launched an attack on the Jin army. It was none other than the troops of Huyan Tong, the commander of the left army of the imperial camp.
Obviously, after crossing the river, Huyan Tong's troops did not do as the Jin army had imagined, first establishing a defense line to gain a foothold, and then covering the main force crossing the river, and then the main force of the left army of the Imperial Camp set up a formation to continue covering the light cavalry crossing the river... The fact that Huyan Tong's troops could appear here to engage in battle at this time can only mean one thing, that is, Huyan Tong must have been the first to cross the river as the vanguard of Han Shizhong's troops, and he crossed the river directly in a dangerous position far downstream of the main battlefield. And as soon as he crossed the river, he did not stop for a moment and attacked directly in the direction of the so-called main battlefield.
This desire to attack is astonishing, and in terms of cover effect, this method of attacking as defense seems to be no worse than setting up a safe formation.
The originally planned riverside suppression battle quickly turned into a face-to-face encounter. Tu Hesu was shocked and angry. On the one hand, he informed the other two Wan Hu of the military situation and asked them to prepare for the enemy. On the other hand, he immediately ordered the entire army to deploy on the spot, with the infantry in the center and the cavalry on both sides, to meet the enemy in a standard and simple crane wing formation.
This simple and plain formation is none other than the famous Crooked Horse.
That’s right, “拐子马” and “屯队射” of Wu Jie are both tactical names, not descriptions of military units... “铁浮徒” is the term used to describe heavy armored cavalry.
As for the so-called crooked cavalry, specifically speaking, the cavalry on both wings cover the infantry in the middle, cooperate with the infantry, advance layer by layer, launch short-distance charges or short-distance encirclement tactics, which is a typical wave-like cavalry and infantry coordination advancement tactics.
To be honest, this kind of tactics is not as magical as imagined. What is magical is always human resilience and courage. These things, coupled with strict military discipline, excellent armor and weapons, sufficient supplies, and fair rewards and punishments, are enough to make any tactics magical.
In the early days of the Jurchen nation, there was no lack of excellent qualities, so even the most mediocre tactics and the most ordinary administrative and military systems would be deified.
"Although the King of Wei is angry, he has no intention of killing you. It is obvious that he agrees with what Gao Tongshi and I said. He is prepared to let you go back if necessary and use you to convey a message to... Emperor Zhao." Just as the Song and Jin armies were fighting head-on and upstream, the Jin army's camp on the side of the Hutuo River was noisy but calm. In a certain camp, Hong Ya was having a sincere communication with Yu Yunwen.
"In other words, the so-called King of Wei, the Fourth Prince, the commander of an army, has lost the confidence in this battle?" Yu Yunwen's eyes were red, and he asked back with an almost grim smile on the couch.
"Who has the confidence?" Hong Ya was not angry at all, but stood there with his sleeves rolled up and sighed for a while. "Who has the confidence between the Jin army and the Song army? The Song army has the advantage in manpower, but the Jin army is defending across the river, and they also have the advantage of a large cavalry brigade on the plain. Once the crooked cavalry came out, they fought back and forth for more than a hundred rounds without collapsing. Is it fake? At this time, no one has the confidence, and the officials on the other side are probably not confident either!"
Both sides fell silent immediately.
But soon, Yu Yunwen calmly asked again: "How many soldiers does the Jin army have? Everyone says that the Jin army has 130,000 or 140,000 or 150,000 soldiers. But is it 130,000, 140,000, or 150,000?"
Hong Ya shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Don't you think it's too late for you to ask about this now? There's a commotion outside. I just asked in person. King Wang De's Yaksha vanguard crossed the bridge. The war has officially started now."
"Since the war has already started, there's no harm in talking about it, right?" Yu Yunwen stared at the other party, unable to ask any more questions.
"It's not that I can't tell you, but I really don't know." Hong Ya shook his head and smiled bitterly. "Yu Tanhua, to be honest, even Balisu may not know how many soldiers the Jin army has. The battle was too hasty, there was no replenishment, no reorganization, and all the troops suffered losses. There were several battles in Daming Prefecture, and there was also a large-scale cavalry battle in Longde Prefecture..."
Yu Yunwen said nothing, just stared at the other person.
"If you ask how many Wanhu there are? Anyone can tell you that there are sixteen Wanhu." Hong Ya was stared at helplessly and could only continue to be honest. "But there are Wanhu who are all cavalry and come as reinforcements, with a full hundred Moukes, Wanhu who are disabled like Yelu Mawu, and a Wanhu named Pu Suyue from Bohai who is just filling in the numbers. At this time, he is providing support on the other side of the Hutuo River and can't even go to the battlefield! The combat effectiveness is also very different. For example, the Wanhu who is all cavalry, half of them are Han people from Yanyun, and the other half are mixed Hu from outside the Great Wall. They are all new troops who have never been on the battlefield. Do you think they are useful or not? But the four Hezha Meng'an who came from Yanyun are led by Wanyan Poshu, who is Wanyan Loushi's deputy general and the son of Wanyan Jiemu, who was left behind in Datong in the past. There are only four Meng'an. Who can despise them? Even if we don't talk about these, what about the Wanhu who have dozens of Moukes and thousands of Han soldiers? Isn't it also very different? Are the two Wanhu of Balisu and Bendu the same as the two Wanhu of Datong? Everything will be decided on the battlefield."
Yu Yunwen finally sneered: "So, the combat power of the Jin army is uneven. The sixteen Wanhu are actually the combat power of thirteen or fourteen Wanhu?"
"Probably about 130,000 or 140,000 soldiers." After sighing, Hong Ya suddenly asked back, "It is said that Emperor Zhao has 170,000, 180,000 or 190,000 soldiers this time. Then, may I ask Yu Tanhua, is the number of soldiers in the imperial camp 170,000, 180,000, or 190,000?"
"Two hundred thousand!" Yu Yunwen replied calmly. "Commander Qu brought more than 20,000."
Hong Ya shook his head repeatedly, too lazy to argue.
The two of them fell silent again in the tent.
But soon, Yu Yunwen suddenly asked again: "How many new troops are there in Yanjing? Why are they fighting so urgently? Why don't they come together? Are they too late?"
Hong Ya narrowed his eyes and was about to speak when suddenly, there was another loud noise outside the tent.
The Jin Kingdom Privy Councilor was shocked and left Yu Yunwen behind to go out and investigate, but he heard the news that "the King of Han crossed the river from upstream and launched a large-scale attack."
This King of Han was certainly not Wu Jie, but Han Shizhong. Only Han Shizhong could cause such a sensational effect on the auxiliary troops and signed troops of the Jin army.
Obviously, after the battle between Huyan Tong and Tuhesu, the remaining troops of the left army of the imperial camp chose to advance directly without hesitation after crossing the river. By this time, they must have engaged in a full-scale battle with the left wing heavy troops of the Jin army. At the very least, Han Shizhong's own banner had appeared on the front line, otherwise it would never have caused such a shock.
"Is that a sudden speed?"
On the plain covered with green seedlings, under the unparalleled banner, the tall Han Shizhong, without a visor, stopped his horse in the drizzle which was getting heavier, then stretched out a hand wearing a leather glove and pointed at the Jin army in front of him.
"yes."
As the principal, Wang Shixiong naturally responded.
"No wonder Hu Yan rushed straight up." Han Shizhong sneered. "But I heard that although Tu Hesu was lame, he was much more stable... How could a group of crooked horses stretch the main force so far? Seven or eight thousand people, deployed four miles?"
Wang Shixiong fell silent immediately.
"It should be because the rear troops have not arrived yet, so they have no choice but to do this." Jie Yuan, who had turned around at some point, suddenly appeared not far away. "The scouts said that the two Wanhu in parallel in the south are only four or five miles apart."
"This is the opportunity." Han Shizhong laughed again. "I've said it before, Wang Yasha is a brave man. He must have attacked from the stone bridge and pulled back a Wan Hu who was originally going to come here... This is the opportunity!"
By the end of his speech, his smile had turned into a grim grin, and as soon as he stopped talking, His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin put on his bronze visor.
All the people below the Jie Yuan ranked first put on their armors together, then all remained silent and waited for military orders.
"Nothing to say!" Han Shizhong pointed. "Beiwei troops, follow me. We will fight cavalry with cavalry, charge head-on, and destroy one of their cavalry. The rest of the army will be handed over to Jie Yuan. But there is only one specific request, which is to send troops to hold up the broken flank here, so that he can't expand again!"
"Yes." Jie Yuan answered calmly behind the bronze mask.
"That's right." Just after Han Shizhong reined in his horse and took two steps, he suddenly turned back and reminded him. "The Mongolian light cavalry will cross the river, but I don't trust them... Let them go to the southernmost part, and let Li Shifu's Tangut light cavalry provide backup for me!"
"Don't worry, fifth brother." Jie Yuan remained calm.
A moment later, the Beiwei Army of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp, which had just crossed the river and had not yet fully assembled, launched a surprise attack directly along the river. Their target was the right-wing Crooked Horse Army that Tuhesu had extended excessively in order to control the front line.
As the saying goes, people on the bridge are looking at the scenery, but they don't know that they are also the scenery of others. While Han Shizhong was staring at Tuhesu's formation and quickly established tactics, Tuhesu of course also noticed the big flag.
Moreover, he was a little panicked from the very first moment.
There was no other reason. Be it superstition or military achievements, no one could ignore the banner that said "unparalleled in the world", and no one could ignore Han Shizhong's Imperial Camp Left Army and his Beiwei Army... After the defeat at Qiaoshan, Tuhesu no longer felt that he was stronger than anyone else... But the question was, what else could he do except this?
It was raining, his flank was exposed, and facing Hu Yantong's troops whose numbers were far smaller than his own, what reason was there for him not to deploy his formation just in case?
However, Han Shizhong came so quickly and acted so decisively, what could he do? Should he close the flanks at this time? Leave a gap for Han Shizhong to pass directly?
After all, it was only when the battle broke out that Tuhesu realized that from Wang De to Huyan Tong, and then to Han Shizhong's entire army... In this battle, the Song army was so aggressive and it seemed as if they were determined to win!
"Wan Hu." Just as Han Shizhong's banner began to slowly speed up, the Han army soldier Meng An came over panting. "What should we do?"
"The Song army crossed the river too quickly. We can no longer expect to advance. I will go to the junction of cavalry and infantry on the right, and you go to the junction of cavalry and infantry on the left." Tu Hesu came to his senses and tried to remain calm. "Everyone should do their job. It is best to keep the position..."
"Will this be able to stop the King of Han from breaking through our right wing cavalry?" Meng'an of the Han army was still completely uneasy.
"The right wing was to clean up the mess for that bastard Pushan Beilu..." Tuhesu felt his feet itching badly. "He will stop Han Shizhong from behind, and we will defend our position and not retreat, which will be worthy of everyone!"
The Han army's Meng'an said nothing at this, and hurried to the junction of the cavalry and infantry on the left wing.
A moment later, Tuhesu had just arrived at the junction of cavalry and infantry on the right wing when he saw the big banner leading thousands of bronze-faced cavalry charging directly from his right side, almost near the river.
Compared with the small group of Crooked Horses on one wing, this cavalry is obviously more numerous, has more complete armor, higher morale, and stronger combat power.
When the two armies met, Tu Hesu almost forced himself to look at the battle area along the river.
But there was no doubt that the big banner was as sharp as a knife as always, tearing through the crowd in front of it and breaking through directly... All I can say is that as an enemy, you should never doubt Han Shizhong.
Of course, this feeling of evasion immediately disappeared, because another subordinate unit of the left army of the Imperial Camp immediately rushed up, almost following the Beiwei Army to the gap on his right wing. Huyan Tong also turned here like some lingering ghost, following the deflection of his general flag.
This made Tuhesu realize that it was time for everyone to do their own job.
However, leaving aside the fact that Han Shizhong successfully crossed the river and launched an all-out attack thanks to Wang De's remote cover, let's just say that at the stone bridge, Wang De was already caught in a completely bitter battle.
There was no other way . Wang De led only 4,000 soldiers to cross the river. Although he had taken the lead at the beginning, once his troops crossed the river as a whole and lost their support, they naturally became weak. At the same time, the Jin army in front of them could get continuous support.
Even without those supports, the Ali tribe itself had more than 8,000 cavalry and infantry, twice as many as Wang De's tribe.
Through the slightly denser drizzle, from afar, although Wang De's flags were still flying back and forth, they were obviously much slower and sluggish. The initial indomitable momentum of his troops was gradually difficult to show due to the suppression of military strength.
"Wang Zihua (Wang De's name) is a great general of the country. We must not lose him lightly." In front of the main camp of Huolu City, next to the dragon flag, on a man-made "observation platform" hastily built with sundries, wood, and mud, Lu Yihao, who was supported by someone, turned his head and spoke to Emperor Zhao who was sitting behind him, ignoring the fact that it was he who sternly declared in the military meeting in the morning that no one should expect reinforcements, and any unit could be annihilated. "If possible, the emperor should try to save them."
On the narrow and messy artificial observation deck, there was a solitary table. On the table was the pot of Lanqiao Fengyue and the solitary cup. There was still half a cup of water left in the cup, but it was unclear whether it was rainwater or wine. Zhao Jiu, who had already put on armor, was sitting cross-legged behind the table. He frowned slightly when he heard this.
Of course, he also wanted to save Wang De to prevent damage to morale, but the problem was, what could he use to save him?
It is impossible to send troops in advance before the 60,000 troops upstream have crossed the river and launched an attack. This will directly disrupt the advance plan of the main force in front, and the strict demands made during the previous military meeting will become a joke.
But if the war was allowed to continue like this, perhaps Wang De's subordinates could wait for the scheduled large-scale advance as originally planned... After all, on a battlefield full of heavy armor, it would be difficult to have large-scale casualties as long as there was no collapse and chaos... And it was enough to rely on the initial advance in exchange for the enemy's casualties. But in this way, Wang De and his two sons would be in great danger, because it was obvious from the movement trajectory of the general's flag that they had been rushing back and forth at the forefront.
In this situation, once they become tired and are not careful, they will be killed by the Jin army as they are the primary targets.
This is also the fundamental reason why the first to climb the enemy lines and the first to break into the enemy lines have been respected in the army since ancient times - the courage of being the first to climb the enemy lines is indeed heroic, but behind it is a huge and bloody risk of death.
In doubt, Zhao Jiu could only turn to Liu Yan who was standing beside him and ask: "Pingfu, can Li Yanxian gather some archers to suppress the enemy across the river and create a safe zone?"
The latter hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head: "Let the officials know that the rain is getting heavier, and the biggest impact of rain on bows and crossbows is that the bowstrings become damp and soft. Once the bowstrings become soft, the range will be greatly reduced. Shooting across the river like this, with the crossbow exposed, will probably get wet after only three arrows. Not only will it not be enough to cover our troops, but it will also be easy to cause accidental injuries due to the shortened range and loss of accuracy."
"Why not send some elite troops to support from Shiqiao?" Chief scholar Fan Zongyin suddenly interrupted.
"If there are too few, it will not be enough to suppress the Jin army, and it will not be of much significance; if there are too many, it will probably attract the main force of the Jin army on the high ground in front, and backfire." Liu Yan responded calmly.
Zhao Jiu finally fell silent, and Lu Yihao also said nothing.
"Your Majesty..." At this moment, Mei Li, who was standing by, suddenly spoke up. "Can we try using the Poxi Army? The small crossbows used by the Poxi Army can be operated under a tarpaulin and wooden frame, and the range is a little longer than that of a crossbow. Moreover, the fist-sized stones are enough to kill heavy armor and suppress the Jin army."
Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment and looked at Liu Yan again.
Liu Yan thought for a moment and nodded immediately: "We can give it a try. Besides, the camels of the Poxi Army are high, so we don't need to suppress them across the river. We can cross the river from the stone bridge to provide support to the army on the other side!"
Zhao Jiu nodded without hesitation: "Let Brother Wei Mingyun fight!"
It is said that Weiming Yunge had been following the emperor since the beginning of the Northern Expedition and had made some contributions in the attack on Queshu Valley. However, the special organization of his troops, that is, the design of camels and small torque crossbows, made it difficult to replenish quickly through rest and recuperation. Therefore, although the troops did not suffer a defeat, they were reduced from 500 horses per person at the start to less than 300 horses per person. When they were ordered to cross the river to fight, they were also surprised and confused.
But once the order was given, there was no time for hesitation. He immediately led his 200-odd camels with torsion crossbows to the stone bridge. At the same time, more than 100 mules and horses, driven by the Tangut auxiliary soldiers, followed with fist-sized stones that had been polished and used as ammunition.
About quarter of an hour later, the Poxi Army, which had invented a weapon specifically to deal with the heavily armored infantry of the Song Army, crossed the river and took position relying on the powerful mobility of camels, and immediately produced miraculous results.
Fists and stones rained down like rain, and the densely-packed Jin army soldiers, both infantry and cavalry, were beaten so hard that they could not even raise their heads.
The pressure on Wang De's troops was greatly reduced in an instant, and Wang De and his son at the front seemed to be able to take a break.
Even Brother Wei Mingyun did not expect such a miraculous effect. You know, his unconventional and difficult-to-replenish military force had long been rejected. If he had not written a letter last year saying that the Poxi Army could fire gunpowder bags, it would have been disbanded long ago.
Wang De was able to catch his breath for a while. The Ali tribe suffered a temporary setback and there was a temporary reversal trend on the small slope battlefield in front of the stone bridge.
But on the high ground, Wanyan Bendu, who commanded four thousand households, said nothing and did not even look at the battlefield in front of the high ground. At the same time, in the camp behind the high ground, Balisu, whose whole body was wet, just stared at the five-colored sun flag above his head. Of course, he did not react at all.
Beside Balisu, there was a wooden observation tower. Regardless of his status, King Wushu of Wei was climbing up the observation tower to look at the situation. However, he was not looking at the front of the high ground, but was looking towards the west of the high ground, the so-called upper reaches of the Taiping River... He did not care that he could not see anything clearly in the rain.
The reason for this is very simple. The scouts in the front reported one after another that first, Han Shizhong's Beiwei Army broke through the corner of Linhe Guaizi Ma and officially engaged in battle with Pushan Beilu's Wanhu. Then, an astonishing number of light cavalry crossed the river and rushed up.
At this time, the upper reaches of the Taiping River on the west side of the high ground was the real battlefield. The number of troops fighting between the two sides there might have reached seven or eight thousand, and the scale of the battle was approaching one hundred thousand without limit... In this case, who would care about the Xiaopo battlefield in front, especially at this time, it seemed that Wang De's surprise attack was more like a cover for Han Shizhong.
Turning upstream, on the battlefield where fighting had already begun on all fronts, Hurzakhus Khan, wearing a golden crown, led some of the Western Mongolian tribesmen to cross the river first. They originally wanted to march directly along the river and follow Han Shizhong's troops, but they received an order from the King of Qin that was passed down from the Yuan Dynasty, requiring them to bypass the Song army and prepare to attack the flank and rear of the highlands, try to insert themselves into the gap between the southernmost end of the Jin army's front line and the camp, and then complete the encirclement of the highlands from the depression behind the highlands.
Of course, to say that they were surrounded was to overestimate these more than 10,000 Mongolian light cavalry. In essence, they were still intended to play a role of containment and harassment.
In fact, after bypassing the Song army, Huer Zhahusi was shocked to find that the Jin army's cavalry and infantry had already been deployed in front of him. They still used the typical "crooked horse" tactics with infantry in the middle and cavalry and infantry on both wings. They had also successfully connected to the trench outside the southern camp, blocking the road.
Seeing this, Huerzahusi, who had known the power for a long time, took a deep breath, but thinking of the spoils promised by the Zhao Song officials this morning, he still gritted his teeth, turned around and shouted in the grassland language to encourage:
"My brothers and sisters! My brave hawks and dogs! The promise of the Chinese emperor has been made very clear! This is a fair reward! Now it is time for us to exchange our courage for the promise!"
"Don't be afraid of the enemy, and don't be afraid of the rain. I know that the rain will soon soften our bowstrings and wet our arrows! But just listen to my command, Huerzahusi, and shoot arrows wherever I point, without stopping for a moment. Before the arrows get wet and the bowstrings become soft, shoot all the arrows in both tubes. The Jurchens will flee like rabbits, and victory will be ours!"
"Now, take all the bows in your hands, put the arrows on the bows, and follow me!"
After saying this, Huerzahusi, who was wearing heavy armor and a golden crown, turned his horse around, took the lead, bent his bow and shot an arrow at the Jin army's position. Dozens of Kerait nobles, who were fully equipped with standard Han army heavy armor, followed closely behind him, holding bows and catching up, shooting arrows at the Jurchen army.
Seeing the Khan leading by example, the morale of the Western Mongolian army was greatly boosted. They immediately obeyed the order and followed suit, deploying their formations with typical light cavalry tactics. Then they tried to harass and suppress the Jin army with bows and arrows on the vast battlefield... For a moment, arrows rained down from behind the Western Mongolian Khan.
However, he only shot two arrows himself. Huerzahus Khan, who had just been waving his bow in front of the formation to boost morale, fell off his horse without saying a word and was unable to get up again.
The Western Mongolian tribes were confused and in chaos, and the morale that had just been boosted fell to the bottom.
Tuoli, who was seven or eight steps behind his father, was also stunned. To be honest, he was prepared to hand over his father to Emperor Zhao after the war, but this time it was not him.
In fact, it couldn't be him in front of so many people.
Several of Hurzakhus Khan's brothers and several chieftains of small Western Mongolian tribes dismounted from their horses and picked up Hurzakhus Khan, who had died, from the ground. At this time, Toli hurriedly dismounted to see what had happened, and only then did he realize through his mask what had happened... It was not a conspiracy, it was really not a conspiracy, it was just an accident. A traditional Mongolian feather arrow hit the back of the Khan's neck because he was wearing a crown but not a helmet.
One side of the arrow had been wet by the rain and the feathers were scattered. In this situation, no one could control the direction of the arrow.
This was a common accidental injury on the battlefield, except that this time the person killed by accidental injury was the Khan of Western Mongolia, and he died suddenly just when the war was about to become intense and comprehensive.
Toli, wearing a lamellar armor, stood behind his father, dumbfounded and panicked. The troops behind him were even more scattered. You know, the Western Mongolian army had just started the battle, and even the troops behind them had not yet gathered properly. The Jin army, which had been in a state of tension due to the arrival of a large number of Mongolian cavalry, seemed to realize what was happening, and a small number of cavalry began to stand out and try to investigate.
At this critical moment, as if possessed by a ghost, Toli, who was being watched by the surrounding Kerait nobles, actually focused his gaze on the crown on his father's head... That little thing, which had just killed a Khan, seemed to have some magical power... Toli almost wanted to take off his helmet and put on this thing immediately.
However, as the rain seeped into his face from his helmet, Tuoli, who had seen a lot following Emperor Zhao, quickly came to his senses, and then realized in a trance that in this place and under this situation, the crown would not count just because he wore it - it would only count if Emperor Zhao, the core noble warriors of the Kerait tribe beside him, and the tribesmen behind him all agreed.
He had to do something to prove to the official who was manipulating the world on the other side of the river, to the nobles and tribesmen of the Kerait tribe in front and behind him, and to the scattered tribes of Western Mongolia who had not yet gathered on the battlefield that he was worthy of wearing the crown.
This is an unprecedented danger, but also an opportunity.
The next moment, under the attention of the core figures of the Kerait tribe around him, the eldest son of Hurzahusi suddenly stepped forward, and regardless of anything, he took the crown from his father, but then jumped on his horse, cut his bowstring with a dagger, and used the bowstring to tie his father's crown to his spear.
A younger noble of the Kerait tribe realized something and quickly broke the arrow in Hurzahus neck. Then the other nobles also reacted and immediately carried Hurzahus Khan's body onto a warhorse. Then they just drove the warhorse to the rear of the army and turned back to their own horses.
"The Jurchens killed my father!"
Toli took the lead, turned around with his spear in hand and galloped towards the obviously shaken Western Mongolian army, shouting with all his might. Behind him was the warhorse carrying his father's body and dozens of Kerait nobles. The eye-catching crown kept shaking in the drizzle, making a sound with the spear. The sound seemed to be no different from the sound of the bells under Toli's warhorse's neck when he was riding with his bare hands.
"The Jurchens killed my father, your Khan!"
Surrounded by dozens of Kereyid nobles, Toli, wearing full armor and holding a spear, kept moving between his father's body in front of the Western Mongolian army, screaming in the ancient language of the Mongolian Plateau. "Do you still remember my father's kindness? Do you still remember the oath you made to my father? Do you still remember the military order my father just issued?"
"Now, those who are still willing to consider themselves Mongolians, come with me, Toli! I will still promise you what my father once promised, but you must fight for me and my father Khan, and avenge me and my father Khan! You must obey the military order just now, and you must use your arrows to spray all of them on the heads of the Jurchens, and prove our glory for me and my father Khan in front of the Emperor of the Song Dynasty! Otherwise, Changshengtian will not forgive you!"
After saying this, Toli turned his horse around again, then raised his spear high, shook his crown, and pointed it at the Jin army.
The surrounding tribes, starting with the nobles of the Kerait tribe, suddenly exploded, and then the entire army array, just like before, threw a rain of arrows at the Jin army! And it was even faster and more intense than before.
There were even many armored nobles who, with blood rushing, tried to lead the crowd to charge.
You must know that rain, snow, frost, fog, springs, streams and ditches are all different, but once they converge into rivers and then rush forward, it will be impossible to distinguish the source of each drop of water.