Volume 6 Chapter 8 God's Will
"Where are the Tanguts and Mongols? Why haven't they come yet?!"
On the twenty-ninth day of the first lunar month of the tenth year of Jianyan, on a slightly raised slope beside a small river a few miles south of Huolu County, a sturdy Song general wearing armor was waving his sword with one hand and shouting in rage.
Beside him, there were still about two thousand Song army soldiers lined up on the river bank, facing a stone bridge with their backs to the river and defending their positions to the death.
Further out, there were also two thousand Jin soldiers in armor and on foot, surrounding the slope, but they were calm and unhurried, and they continued to attack from three sides, except for an area near the river. It was obvious that they were intentionally trying to lure the Song army, forcing them to abandon their armor and cross the river, or escape from the stone bridge, and then take the opportunity to expand the results of the battle.
Opposite this small riverside slope is a large highland that is very conspicuous on the flat ground. On the green highland, a large Wanhu flag flutters in the wind, and beside the flag, thousands of Jurchen cavalry are still standing still, ready to go... This is the crisis of Huyan Tong's tribe.
"Are you sure it's Hu Yantong?"
The Jin army commander on the high ground was none other than Wan Hu Tu Hesu, who was watching from a distance on horseback, and his tone was unusually relaxed. "The subordinate of the King of Han?"
"It was Hu Yantong." Meng'an, a man who was promoted from Daming Prefecture and was obviously educated, was sitting on his horse and looking at him comfortably. "This man has always been known for his bravery. He was arrogant because he relied on his elite soldiers. That's why he fell into such a simple trap to lure the enemy. He actually rushed to Taiping River alone. He lost the support of the light cavalry and was close to our Shiyi camp. He deserved this disaster!"
Tuhesu looked around and nodded, obviously agreeing with what Haner Meng'an said.
As for the reason, it is also very simple. Looking in all directions from the high ground with a radius of six or seven miles where Tuhesu is located, the surrounding terrain can be clearly observed... The Taiping River originates in the southwest of Jingxing County, runs diagonally through two counties, and flows into the Hutuo River in the northeast of Huolu County... And the southeast and downstream of the Taiping River, that is, the side occupied by the main force of the Jin army, although there is a high ground, it is just a high ground, and it is flat as a whole. It can even be said that the entire southeast side of the Taiping River, except for this high ground and the Shiyi camp in the distance, which appear abrupt, is almost a plain.
This flat terrain extends all the way to Fenglong Mountain, dozens of miles away in the south, making it perfect for cavalry to travel back and forth to provide support.
In sharp contrast, the upper reaches of the Taiping River and the northwest side, although there are some plains, appear to be relatively narrow. Instead, the valleys and hills in the distance are undulating and very obvious... That is the remnant of the Taihang Mountains, and it is also a natural geographical advantage for the Song army's infantry.
At this time, Huyan Tong's lone army crossed the Taiping River and arrived at Shiyi Town, Huolu County, which was only 20 miles away from the Jin army's camp. Of course, he was seeking his own death.
"control!"
A rider crossed the river on the stone bridge that could only accommodate five or six riders abreast, and shouted loudly from afar, looking for Huyan Tong. When he saw him, he fell off his horse and hurriedly confronted him. "We didn't find any Mongolian riders or Tangut riders, but we only found two thousand Khitan riders at the western mountain pass... The leader, Yelu Nuge, promised to come to rescue us, saying that he would be here in a moment, but he was only willing to help us retreat across the river."
"The Khitan dogs are not trustworthy!" Hu Yantong pulled down his mask, veins popping out on his forehead, and spoke vulgarly. "The Golden Dog army is here, but he is only willing to support us across the river. How can this be done? I don't know how many men will die! Go find other reinforcements!"
The exhausted scout didn't say a word, but simply jumped on his horse and went to look for reinforcements again.
However, as soon as the scouts left, several slightly embarrassed officers looked at each other, and even Huyan Tong felt a little helpless.
To put it bluntly, this time it was not that someone just watched him die without helping, but Huyan Tong relied on his elite soldiers and strayed too far away from the front line, and then put himself in danger... Before he came, the central army had verbal orders, asking him to set up camp by the river to advance, but at the same time be careful to guard against the Jin army on the other side of the river. As a result, he was overjoyed and fell into the Jin army's trap. He easily crossed the river to attack, and was directly surrounded by the Jin cavalry who were ambushed behind the high ground.
Of course, this is not the time to worry about these things. The key is how to retreat?
Huyan Tong knew very well that in such a situation, even if the Khitan cavalry really wanted to cross the river to rescue, they would probably be trapped by more Jin troops, and eventually suffer greater casualties.
The most crucial point is that this will not prevent our men from becoming the Jin army's meal today on the bank of this small river which is only a few dozen steps wide.
These are more than 2,000 soldiers! The elite troops of the Imperial Camp Left Army!
Moreover, they were elite soldiers who had served as the emperor's personal guards in Huai Shang and helped suppress Liu Guangshi. It would be very troublesome if they were easily killed here!
"Wanhu, congratulations, Wanhu, congratulations, Huyan Tong is now broke."
The sun began to set in the west. On the high slope, thousands of Khitan cavalry were seen galloping towards the other side of the river, but they only lingered on the other side of the river. Haner Meng'an suddenly laughed. "If Wanhu can eat up all of Hu Yantong here, wouldn't it be able to solve the problem of Wang Bolong's Wanhu?"
Tu Hesu looked at each other in confusion, but were speechless for a moment.
Of course he was very happy about the current situation, but how could a Song Army Imperial Camp Command and a Wanhu be equal?
Besides, it’s impossible to wipe them out completely, right?
The only hope, and the most reasonable hope, is to constantly tire out the Song army, forcing them to abandon their positions and flee across the river, and then take the opportunity to kill a large number of them. If they can kill thousands of people by then, it will be a blessing from heaven.
Of course, if you can really win thousands, it is indeed a big victory!
Therefore, although Tuhesu felt itchy for a moment, he did not refute at all.
The spring breeze was blowing, and for some reason, the air in the already green mountains and fields seemed dull, and Huyan Tong quickly found new reinforcements... This was not a difficult task, because there was definitely no shortage of Song troops on the northwest side of the Taiping River, just as there was definitely no shortage of Jin troops on the other side... In fact, when Niu Gao's troops heard the news and led their troops to the riverside and joined forces with the Khitan cavalry under Yelu Nuge, the Jin army also took the opportunity to reinforce their troops , and thousands of cavalry and infantry came and gathered under the banner of Tuhesu.
The situation was still that the Jin army had an absolute advantage, or it could be said that Hu Yantong's troops were still in an embarrassing and desperate situation.
In response to this, Niu Gao sternly rejected the request to lead his troops to cross the river for a large-scale rescue, and instead suggested to Huyan Tong that both sides transport military equipment, supplies and wounded soldiers via the stone bridge. At the same time, he would also send his own soldiers to provide small-scale support rotations to ensure that Huyan Tong's troops could gain a foothold on the other side of the river... In this way, if they could hold out until dark and then cross the river to evacuate, the losses would be reduced to a barely acceptable level.
Hu Yantong certainly knew that this was the most appropriate and wisest solution at the moment, but he still found it difficult to accept. However, this difficulty in accepting was not just anger, but also contained more shame.
After all, facing Niu Gao, a veteran commander who had been present at the Heyin Oath of Brotherhood, he could no longer shirk his responsibility by saying that the Khitans did not help him.
In shame and anger, this fierce general had the mentality of launching a desperate charge and dying on the high ground several times when he was supervising the battle at the front line.
However, just after Niu Gao arrived at the dispatched school and explained the plan, things began to change... Specifically, as time went on and information became clearer, more and more reinforcements came from both sides.
There was no way. The troops on both sides were too many and too close to each other. It was too easy to mobilize and gather them in the relatively cramped area of Huolu-Jingxing.
Finally, with the appearance of Li Yanxian's mainstay banner and at least five commanding cavalry and infantry units in the northwest of Taiping River, quantitative change led to qualitative change.
Obviously, this seems to be another large-scale confrontation.
But this time, it was the Jin army that took the initiative. They had no reason to withdraw their troops. They could not give up the fat piece of meat of Huyan Tong's tribe. Seeing that Li Yanxian personally led tens of thousands of elite troops to come to the rescue, not only did Tuhesu remain motionless, but soon Wanyan Bendu and Shaohe, two thousand households, led more troops to arrive to support.
Three Wanhu and thirty thousand people are a force that far exceeds the tactical requirements.
Moreover, Wanyan Bendu, nicknamed the Golden Prince, was the commander-in-chief and had the power to command the other two Wanhu at any time. This meant that both sides had a front-line commander who had the power to declare war at any time.
Everyone noticed the change in the nature of the situation. The Jin army generals on the high ground and the Song army generals on the narrow plain on the other side of the river all became serious. No one in the Jin army, which still held an absolute advantage, could remain comfortable. Huyan Tong, who was in the focus of the two armies and still personally commanding at the front line, felt his scalp tingling.
However, no one cared about Hu Yantong's psychological pressure.
As the sun continued to set, the support of the two armies never stopped. When almost all the troops of Li Yanxian's imperial camp arrived and formally formed up on the side of the Taiping River, the main force of Li Shifu's Dangxiang light cavalry, the main force of Khitan light cavalry led by Yelu Yudu, and the main force of Western Mongolian light cavalry led by Huerzahusi and his son, because of the advantages of light cavalry, also arrived one after another before the infantry.
According to their traditional tactics, these light cavalrymen took the initiative to gather on both sides and behind the infantry formation of Li Yanxian's troops. Moreover, due to lack of discipline, many of them simply tried to approach from the shallows and harass the Song army across the river. This time, the Jin cavalry, which had been let loose, certainly had no intention of indulging the Song army. Small-scale battles between the cavalry of both sides broke out at several shallows.
Of course, the Jin army did not show weakness. As mentioned before, this place is only twenty miles away from their Shiyi camp. For the Jin cavalry, which has the tactical advantage of mobility, they can basically travel back and forth at a glance.
When the sun was setting in the southwest, the Jin army had gathered five Wanhu on the high ground - Olubu and Ali also arrived at the high ground.
The two sides still maintain a fragile and dangerous balance.
The Song army did not dare to cross the river easily as they were not at an advantage in terms of manpower. The Jin army, which had the initiative this time, also began to be timid. Wanyan Bendu wanted to order his troops to forcibly eliminate Huyan Tong's troops several times, but he never said it out loud.
It is understandable that he wanted to order an attack, because this confrontation was different from the last one, and this time the Jin army really had the upper hand.
Although the Taiping River, which is so deep that one can swim across on horseback and so shallow that one can wade across, is just a small river that is not even drawn on the map and cannot be compared with the Mianman River, it unexpectedly provided the Jin army with a powerful tactical boost at this time.
But the Golden Prince also had reason to be afraid, because once a large-scale advance was launched, even without the orders from him and Li Yanxian on the opposite side, the troops of both sides might get out of control and a war would break out directly.
At that time, tactical support is tactical support, but the scale of the war will be completely uncontrollable... The light cavalry of the Song army will swarm across the river, and then the heavy infantry will follow under the cover of the cavalry. The Jin army will also be unable to control the battlefield position. They will also cross the shallows and try to defeat the light cavalry of the Song army from both wings, and then surround the main force of the Song army. But the Song army cannot sit and wait for death. They will have more reinforcements, and the Jin army will also deploy more troops.
A decisive battle in the wilderness that everyone knows about in advance but catches everyone off guard will break out in an instant.
Wanyan Bendu did not have the courage to ignite this decisive battle, so he called Wanyan Wushu.
However, Wuzhu's arrival did not break this fragile balance, because at the same time when the flag of the ruling prince of the Great Jin appeared on the side and rear of the Jin army, Han Shizhong's large banner also appeared in the upper reaches of the Taiping River. His troops had hung up the iconic bronze mask more than ten miles away, as if they had made preparations for war early... Therefore, Wanyan Wuzhu immediately turned around and started a second large-scale confrontation with Han Shizhong on the river.
Not only that, as the two main battle groups were formed, Wuzhu also withdrew Elubu's troops from the high ground and gathered them at the junction of the two major forces on the side of the high ground.
On the other side, the light cavalry of the Song army also made immediate adjustments. The most reliable Li Shifu's troops were arranged at the junction between the two large banners, while Yelu Yudu and Hurzakhusi Khan and his son were deployed to the farther sides respectively.
Messengers were constantly traveling back and forth between the two banners, and more messengers were constantly gathering and dispersing from under the two banners to pass down the military orders of the two governors.
As the sun set, a large number of Jin army infantry arrived and lined up at the original position of Erlubu's troops. After Erlubu led his cavalry away, he disappeared behind the high ground... Over there, Marshal Wanyan Balisu had already been sitting and waiting with more than 10,000 pure iron cavalry, each man with three horses. The flags of Wanyan Huonu, Wanyan Posu, Wulinda Taiyu and others were all there. Erlubu's retreat meant that the number of the trump card in Balisu's hand reached 20,000.
However, the Jin army still did not order a general attack on Huyan Tong.
This time, the reason was not that no one dared to make the decision, but that after communicating with Wuzhu, Balisu and Wuzhu noticed the position of the sun together... It was getting darker and darker... Compared with Huyan Tong's small force, they had to ensure that the troops did not get out of control because of darkness.
No one wants to fight a night battle in a muddle.
However, no one could control the situation. Just when Balisu and Wuzhu came up with a plan that the main force could retreat slightly, but must use the local superior force to launch a surprise attack before dark to wipe out Huyan Tong's troops and gain victory... things suddenly got out of control.
What triggered all this was another Song army reinforcement from the northwest.
The weather was growing increasingly gloomy. When Emperor Zhao's dragon banner and a reinforcement force no less numerous than the main forces under the two large banners appeared in the northwest, there was neither a good view of them fluttering in the wind nor the spectacular sight of armor shining with golden scales facing the sun... That was a special experience when Li Yanxian's troops arrived.
However, as the dragon banner appeared in the field of vision of both sides, the situation went out of control - each tribe instinctively prepared themselves for war, but the Mongolian cavalry, who had the worst discipline, went too far, and one of them launched a surprise attack directly from a poorly defended shallow ford towards the other side.
Immediately, a scene that made everyone nervous but was expected appeared. The two armies, which had been caught in a tense confrontation due to their hasty gathering, went out of control. The two sides attacked each other from the shallows and bridges on the front line, and then the battle group expanded rapidly, stirring up a battle line that was more than ten miles long.
Military orders and tactics were all ineffective.
Zhao Jiu himself probably didn't expect that his arrival would have such an effect.
Even Wu Da, who arrived with the dragon banner, was lost for a moment.
That’s not all. As Emperor Zhao’s dragon flag stood behind Li Shifu’s troops, muffled thunder suddenly sounded… Like a conditioned reflex, everyone thought that a large group of cavalry was attacking, and the Jin army had already sent people to sneak across from upstream or downstream.
However, Zhao Guanjia, who had just boarded an elevated vehicle, looked around and did not see any obvious smoke or dust on the plains on both sides.
In fact, after hearing the thunder, Balisu, who had been lurking behind the high ground, was stunned. He thought that a large group of cavalry were ambushed somewhere... Maybe Qu Duan's cavalry were coming from the side and rear?
Soon, both families realized that this time there was real thunder - before dusk, the clouds were mottled and gradually became thicker, followed by rumbling spring thunder, the sky was dark, and rain fell heavily.
No one wants to fight a bad battle, but the sudden thunderstorm turned this battle into a bad one!
Thunder, lightning, rain and dusk easily wiped out the last possibility of conveying military orders and controlling troops, and at the same time awakened the various units that had already been fighting each other from the frenzy of war from top to bottom.
Before hearing the thunder, Han Shizhong was about to order the entire army to cross the river and engage in a full-scale battle with Wuzhu in front of them, and Huyan Tong was also preparing to attack the high ground directly.
But as soon as the rain fell, accompanied by the sound of thunder and rain, it was impossible to tell whose army's horn sounded, and the fighting troops on both sides began to retreat consciously.
The only difference was that during the retreat, the routes of both sides and the enemy and our own situation became completely blurred, and encounters were everywhere.
And one obvious thing is that since the Song army was the first to initiate the battle and had troops cross the river, it was destined to suffer greater losses in this battle.
Spring thunder rumbled, the fields were vast, Zhao Jiu stood in the car, letting the rain wash his face, and fell into a state of confusion.
He had no choice. Anyone who encountered this situation would be confused. In this situation, there seemed to be nothing he could do except being confused. Once the rain fell, he had to rely on the flash of lightning to see the battle situation clearly.
The battlefield is too big and there are too many troops!
"Officials. "
Wu Jie supported Emperor Zhao from one side. "Come down quickly... It's easy to attract lightning at high places. Put up golden needles to avoid lightning. It was the Emperor who said that in the palace bulletin."
Zhao Jiu came to his senses and got out of the car in a hurry, but he was speechless when he saw that everyone around him, including himself, was wearing metal armor.
"Your Majesty." When Emperor Zhao came to the ground, Wu Jie's tone was slightly lowered. "I am ashamed."
"What is there for Jin Qing to be ashamed of?" Zhao Jiu shook his head quickly. "It's going to rain, and my mother is going to get married. Who can stop it from raining? Besides, even if we suffer more losses because of this river, it's impossible to cause a real loss of combat power... But no matter what, we have to do something now, not just to gather the troops... Gathering the troops is the responsibility of Prince Yan'an and Li Shaoyan... We also have to do something to ensure that morale is not discouraged."
"Your Majesty," Wu Jie replied, his tone becoming more cautious, yet resolute. "We have been pushing forward these past two days, and today's incident shows that both sides have reached their limits, with no room for maneuver. Even if it rained today, it would only be able to maintain the situation by relying on the Taiping River... In such a situation, the more tense it is, the more we cannot retreat. Therefore, we must first set up a camp on this side of the river to facilitate the dispatch of troops, and at the same time ensure that there are no Jin army strongholds on this side of the Taiping River!"
Zhao Jiu thought for a while in the rain, and suddenly said, "I remember that before the news was delivered today, you wanted Li Yanxian to lead his troops to capture Huolu County? Is Huolu County on this side?"
"yes."
"How far?"
"It's about ten miles from here, but not due northwest. It's slightly east of here, and only five or six miles away from the Taiping River."
"How many defenders are there?"
"A Meng An..."
"Sure?"
"I am sure."
"Take it down! Take it down immediately in the rain and darkness. We will spend the night in Huolu County and set up a stronghold with this city as the center... Let Liu Yan personally supervise the four commanders to climb the city from all sides and capture it in one fell swoop!"
"yes!"
The military order was hastily passed down, but the front line was still in chaos. In the rain, Zhao Jiufu couldn't help but ask again. "Jin Qing, why did the Jin army abandon Huolu County and instead set up a camp around Shiyi Town?"
"Before today, I thought they were attracted by the flatness of the area around Shiyi, or they were worried that our army would blow up the city with gunpowder and destroy their morale... But today, when I arrived at the battlefront, I suddenly realized it." As he spoke, Wu Jie pointed to the southeast bank of the river. "Your Majesty, have you noticed the high ground on the other side of the river?"
Zhao Jiu, pay no attention to me!
He is completely confused now.
However, this did not prevent him from immediately noticing the high ground when a flash of lightning came.
"Sir, that should be the only high ground on the other side of the river, two or three miles from the river, and ten miles away from Shiyi Camp." Wu Jie answered seriously. "Six or seven miles in radius."
"I understand." Zhao Jiu suddenly realized. "They didn't set their sights on Shiyi, but on this high ground. The other side of the river is a flat road, and only this high ground remains. If they can occupy the high ground like they do now, they can be high above, grasp the situation on all sides, and send cavalry to sweep and support at any time... This is the battlefield they chose."
"Your Excellency's decision is wise." Wu Jie nodded in agreement, but he expanded on it a little. "But it's not just that... In a war like this, it's impossible to pursue fixed tactics. It's possible that they used the high ground to suppress our troops crossing the river and attack calmly, just like today... But it's also possible that they used that high ground as bait to deliberately lure our troops to attack, and our army had to attack even though they knew it was bait in order to gain a view and spoils of war. At that time, when our reinforcements behind us are unable to advance because of the river, they will concentrate their troops to sweep, eat up our troops on the high ground, and recapture the high ground."
"I really understand it this time. Anyway, the high ground is here, and the Taiping River is here. We attack and they defend. The initiative is in their hands. There is always a trick in tactics... Is that right or not?"
"Your Majesty is wise and decisive." Wu Jie repeated the words again.
Lightning flashed again, and the surroundings became blurred, even the high ground on the other side of the river became blurry.
Zhao Jiu, who was already soaked, looked at the other side of the river and shook his head in the rain: "No matter what, wait until the rain stops and Qu Duan gathers... He should be here in the next two days... It won't be too late to make plans then."
Amid the rumbling thunder, Wu Jie seemed to want to say something but stopped himself.
