Chapter 8: Defeating the Enemy

  Ten thousand cavalry and charioteers launched a ground-shaking charge, breaking through the Allied Army's camp from three directions: east, south, and west. The sentries at the gate only had time to shout "Enemy attack!" before being shot down by incoming crossbow arrows. The last scene he saw was endless cavalry trampling past him.

  The fragile wooden fence could not withstand the Korean army's charge, one ride after another, one car after another. By the time the last Korean soldier passed through the wooden fence, only a pile of powder was left on the ground. The Zhao-Wei coalition was somewhat overconfident, and the fence was built a bit too short. This fatal oversight directly led to the Korean army being able to easily break into the coalition's camp.

  In this era, there is no more destructive force than the chariot troops. Each war chariot is like a tank, and thousands of chariots gathered together are an unstoppable torrent. They rampage through the military camp, knocking over tent after tent. The light cavalry following up behind them set fires everywhere, shooting and slashing down the enemy soldiers who rush out of their tents half asleep without mercy.

  The battle had just begun, and there was no suspense. The unguarded Zhao and Wei armies were suddenly attacked at night and fell into chaos. And chaos is often the beginning of tragedy.

  Perhaps due to a mistake, Zhao Jun's large camp was located on the south side of the Wei army's large camp. Therefore, when Taizi Ran led 800 light cavalry and 3,000 infantrymen in a surprise attack from the south, a big fire directly caused chaos in the stables. This further exacerbated the disaster for the allied forces of Zhao and Wei!

  More than ten thousand fierce war horses broke free from their reins, merged into another torrent, and fled in all directions in the dark night. No force could contend with this power, wherever the horse herd passed, it was a bloody mess, a scene of utter devastation.

  After the cavalry charge ended, the lucky surviving soldiers cautiously looked around and called out to each other in dismay. The company commanders and platoon leaders were busy searching for their superiors and trying to restore order. But then, unexpectedly, countless infantrymen emerged from the fog.

  "They are devils from the dark night!" said Sun Erdou, a captured little soldier.

  They marched in neat formation, taking steady steps forward. Their thick armor hid their expressions, and for a moment, the Zhao soldiers were stunned. The black flag, the black armor, could it be that the Qin army had arrived?

  But apparently, this disciplined army had no intention of explaining anything. The long ge in the hands of the first row of soldiers ruthlessly hooked down the front Zhao Jun, and the soldiers in the back row handed out long spears from the gap in the front row, harvesting lives.

  In the phalanx formation, everyone took a step forward, shouting "Wind" in unison. With each shout of "Wind", Zhao's soldiers fell dead.

  It has to be said that Zhao Jun's resistance was tenacious. Even though he clearly knew the other side was the powerful "Qin Army"!

  The Wu Ling King's Hu dress and horse shooting gave the Zhao people a bloodline. Although the Zhao army soldiers did not know where their superiors were, they only held spears and long swords in their hands, but they still bravely launched a desperate charge.

  Such a disorganized and small-scale charge is so pale and powerless in front of the strict phalanx! The only result is to be pierced by countless long spears like a hedgehog.

  Seeing that a frontal assault would bring no advantage, the low-ranking officers changed to a pincer movement, but were shot by the crossbowmen on both wings of the phalanx formation and became hedgehogs.

  "The wind, the wind, the strong wind", The Qin army's square formation advanced forward in an orderly manner, although the speed seemed to be so slow, but it was like a thick and heavy mountain that pressed the Zhao army to breathe! Because the Zhao army suddenly found that they could not think of an effective way to deal with this hedgehog-like formation.

  No surprise, the last line of defense in Zhao's soldiers' hearts collapsed. This is not their fault, they are also a well-known strong army in the world, it's just that tonight, too much chaos came all at once.

  First, countless cavalry trampled the camp, and the big fire startled his beloved war horse to run wildly and kill Bao Ze. Then, countless long spears and long halberds kept falling on Bao Ze, and falling down meant never getting up again.

  Countless Zhao soldiers were in a state of panic and disorder, gathering together under the rebuke of Bochang and Shuzhang with their broken and incomplete weapons. No one knew how many enemies had arrived in the dark night. They relied solely on their iron-blooded military discipline to gather together, but unexpectedly this led to even more light cavalry shooting arrows at them. At this time, the Zhao army was isolated and helpless.

  In the original history, the Qin army effortlessly defeated 130,000 Wei troops, but in front of 20,000 Zhao troops, they couldn't gain any advantage. In the end, Bai Qi forced the Zhao army to a low-lying area with an army of 100,000, diverted the waters of the Yellow River, and drowned 20,000 Zhao soldiers.

  If it weren't for the night raid, if it weren't for the big fire suddenly igniting the stables and causing chaos, with Korea's meager 40,000 troops taking down Zhao's army would also have resulted in heavy casualties.

  However, at least Zhao Jun will win enough time for the Wei army to respond. Unfortunately, tonight, heaven is on the side of the Han army. So, the Zhao army was ambushed and their camp was blown up.

  Countless defeated soldiers fled northward, which is not surprising. Without their war horses and weapons, without the command of their general, they were nothing more than sheep waiting to be slaughtered. If they had regrouped, they would have dared to launch a charge against ten times as many Qin troops, but tonight, escaping with their lives was their subconscious only choice.

  This was also the intention of the Crown Prince. The fog and darkness concealed the disadvantage of their own sparse forces, and the night raid had already caused panic in the Zhao-Wei allied army; the fire would intensify this panic. Panic or fear, both are contagious.

  When the slogan of "Wind" echoed throughout the camp, everyone would subconsciously think that the Qin army had arrived, after all, this was the unique slogan of the Qin army. Especially with black clothes and armor, it further confirmed the ordinary soldiers' thoughts. Korea values wood virtue, so their military uniforms are naturally green. In order to disguise as the Qin army, Prince Yan did bring enough ink, which also led to the current situation.

  Zhao Jun's general Jia Yan rushed into the Wei army headquarters.

  Just as the Hu riders were charging into the camp, Jia Yan was lucky to get up in the middle of the night to relieve himself. Seeing a thousand riders rushing over, Jia Yan knew that things had gone wrong. The cavalry coming face-to-face wore black clothes and black armor, which was the symbol of the Qin army. Their own defense was lax and could not withstand one blow. After arranging for his personal guards to inform the deputy general to resist, Jia Yan first escaped under the pretext of discussing military affairs with the Wei army commander Mang Ya.

  If he had stayed to command, perhaps tonight would have been a different outcome. But history never has ifs.

  The Crown Prince knew that in the original history, Jia Yan was captured. A general who loves his life will not die hard. This is also the reason why the Crown Prince chose to take down the Zhao army first.

  At this moment, Mangya was also flustered. Because everything came too suddenly.

  Outside, the cries of killing continued, and the roar of the word "wind" was getting closer and closer. The school lieutenant and the military marquis were desperately trying to gather their troops as quickly as possible. The soldiers were like headless flies, looking for clothes, looking for weapons, looking for superiors, and all kinds of noisy scolding sounds filled the air.

  "Marquis He, the Qin army is raiding our camp!" Jia Yan hastily rushed into the central military tent and exclaimed.

  "What? The Qin army raided our camp? Where did the Qin army come from? Isn't the Qin army 800 miles away?" Mangmang's face was filled with panic.

  It's too unbelievable! Just two days ago, I was besieging Huayang myself, and the Korean envoy seeking help had only just set out. How could Qin troops have arrived here before reaching Xianyang?!

  "It's true, Chancellor. The enemy outside is all in black armor, shouting with the wind, no mistake." Thinking of his own 20,000 good men being slaughtered at this moment, Jia Yan couldn't help but feel a sharp pain. Losing the battle and losing office was minor, but losing one's life tonight was major.

  "How many are the Qin troops? Who is their commander? General Jia, what about your troops?" Now that it's confirmed to be the Qin army, it's no longer a matter of how they're coming, but rather how to resist.

  Jia Yan's face was tinged with difficulty, and he couldn't very well say that he had been so frightened that he didn't dare to look at the situation clearly and came to seek help.

  "General Jia, the military situation is urgent, please speak quickly!" Mang Ya was already anxious. It was too chaotic outside, and Jia Yan had arrived so quickly, he still hoped to get some information.

  "Chancellor, I'm afraid my 20,000 troops are done for. The Qin army arrived too suddenly, their cavalry surrounded us from all sides, and with the dark sky and fog, it's impossible to see clearly how many there were. However, based on what I saw, at least 40,000 strong troops attacked our camp from the south." Jia Yan casually mentioned a number, first clearing himself of responsibility. After all, who would have expected the Qin army to launch a crazy night raid in the snow, and with the fog, it was impossible to see anyone's shadow within 30 steps. Now we can only rely on the Wei army.

  "Report!" A man burst into the commander's tent.

  "Your Excellency, the enemy cavalry is attacking from three directions - east, west and south. I am unable to cope with the situation, and the hastily formed infantry squares have been dispersed by the enemy cavalry. The enemy is also setting fires everywhere, our troops' morale is low, please make arrangements as soon as possible!" reported Deputy General Li Debi.

  "General Li, you must hold off the Qin army! If they scatter and regroup, I don't believe we can't stop a single exhausted army." Meng Yu said somewhat exasperatedly.

  Li De also felt a sense of helplessness after hearing this. Sometimes things didn't go as planned. The enemy's cavalry and chariots had broken through their phalanx formation repeatedly, causing the soldiers' morale to plummet. Especially at the front line where they bordered Zhao's military camp, the defeated troops of Zhao rushed into their own camp, bringing great panic. At this point, the only option was to rely on their 5,000 cavalrymen to hold off the enemy and buy time for themselves to regroup and boost morale.

  Although the enemy's camp is in a state of chaos, based on my experience, there are no more than 50,000 enemies. No matter how loud their voices or thick the fog, the terrain around Huayang City is treacherous on both east and west sides, with the north gate facing directly towards Wei State territory. Therefore, our side only deployed 10,000 troops at the other three gates. The remaining 120,000 troops were all stationed at the south gate, with the camp stretching for ten miles, exposing the enemy's weakness of having a small army.

  "Report!" Military officer Wei Bao hastily rushed in.

  "Something terrible has happened, Chancellor. The stables have been set on fire and all the war horses have run off."

  "What?" Ma Teng and Li De were shocked. If the cavalry was gone, what could they use to contend with the enemy?

  "Your Excellency, what shall we do now? Please make a quick decision!" said Wei Bao.

  "Chancellor! Now there are enemy troops on all three sides! Why don't we send someone to the North Camp to gather our troops?" Li De suggested.

  "Chancellor!"

  "Chancellor!"

  "Wei Jun Sao, go to the North Camp immediately and gather soldiers to support us. All Imperial Guards, follow me to intercept the enemy army. Along the way, collect scattered troops, those who do not obey orders will be killed!" Li De issued an order decisively, looking at Mang Ya who was disheartened and at a loss.

  "Yes!" With the main framework in place, people inside the big account quickly took action.

  The Korean army found that the closer they got to the Wei army's central camp, the denser the Wei soldiers were. The tiger cavalry and other cavalry slowed down their advance, and gradually suffered casualties. After such a long time of charging, most of the chariots were also damaged. Now only infantry can fight.

  The fearless Wei army delayed the advance of the Han army with their bodies, and on the road less than a mile from the main camp of the Wei army, Li De's phalanx firmly resisted the Han army.

  The battle was extremely fierce, with one side desperately advancing forward in an attempt to kill the commander of the Wei army; the other side fought back to the death, waiting for the reinforcements from the rear to arrive.

  No one is not afraid of death, but on this bloody battlefield, those who are afraid of death will only die faster. Everyone on both sides swung their weapons fiercely at each other, either slashing or stabbing, just to kill the opponent or be killed by them.

  In general, Korea's casualties were fewer, on the one hand wearing armor, and on the other hand, the length of their weapons was significantly better than the opponent. Watching his subordinates fall down one by one, Li De Xin's heart was bleeding. These are all unavoidable things, he can only exhaust the opponent to death, and the reinforcements from the North Camp will arrive in time to turn defeat into victory. Although the enemy's "Qin Army" had high morale, the long battle had greatly consumed their physical strength, as long as they waited for the opponent's physical strength to weaken, they could turn defeat into victory.

  The crown prince naturally understood the other party's plan, and now it was a matter of time. The opponent had already delayed their own attack, and the troops in the rear were definitely gathering. If they could take one step ahead to capture or kill Mangya in the central army account, then they would win; if the opponent took one step ahead to gather their troops, they could only retreat in defeat.

  Upon thinking of this, the Crown Prince suddenly fixed his gaze on Li De. Although he didn't know who the other was, since he stood under the commander's flag and directed, killing this officer would certainly destroy the enemy's morale.

  Li De also had the same idea, although he didn't know the identity of Taizi Ran, but the large number of imperial guards around him revealed his noble status. Killing them would greatly reduce their own casualties.

  Thus, the two men with the same idea simultaneously commanded their soldiers to charge at each other. If one were to look down from high above at this moment, a strange scene would unfold: red and black colliding fiercely, each side trying to engulf the other. The sounds of shouting, screaming, and clashing weapons filled the air. Every moment, someone fell, and those who fell never got back up.

  Life is cheap, a Wei soldier brutally stabbed his knife into the chest of a Han soldier, and the young Han soldier fell down powerlessly. But in the next second, four or five long spears knocked this Wei soldier to the ground, followed by countless long spears piercing his neck and abdomen. This was just an ordinary scene on the battlefield. Even the strongest personal martial arts had no place to be used in this narrow battlefield, the only thing to rely on was the comrades beside you, the only thing to do was to hand over your weapon and kill the enemy, then wait for the enemy's incoming attack. As for life or death, let heaven decide.

  The crown prince was surrounded by his loyal guards, the Tiger Riders, who had been fighting for so long that some of them were collapsing from exhaustion. The armor on their bodies, while protecting them, also greatly consumed their physical strength. The crown prince had personally witnessed a fierce warrior being unable to dodge an opponent's fatal blow due to exhaustion, despite having the martial skills to avoid it. Alas, his body's reaction had slowed down due to the depletion of his energy, and he fell to the ground in despair.

  Undeniably, the arrival of Prince Yan greatly boosted the morale of the soldiers. However, as a result, the Tiger Riders also had to divert their attention to protect Prince Yan. Looking at some of the panting Tiger Riders beside him, Prince Yan's palms began to sweat. The expected reinforcements - the Macedonian phalanx infantry - were long overdue, while their own physical strength was being depleted too severely; it was time for a decisive move.

  Li De's heart couldn't help but feel a surge of joy, the opposing "Qin army" was clearly exhausted. In less than an incense stick's worth of time, the Northern Camp's troops would be able to gather and at that moment he would become the hero who turned the tide, even becoming one of Wei's most renowned generals in the world. The opposing side was the ferocious Qin state! Let alone the Qin state which had repeatedly defeated Wei for decades!

  Just as Li De was fantasizing about defeating the "Qin Army" and making a name for himself, bad news pulled him back to reality. Suddenly, killing shouts were heard from the north of the camp. Before long, the messenger soldier from the North Camp informed Li De that the defenders of Huayang had come out of the city, and the North Camp was currently doing its best to resist the solid formation. As for Commander Mang Ya, he learned the news even earlier, but ordered Li De to take charge of resisting the Qin Army in front of him, and went ahead to reorganize the defeated army to come and support.

  Li De was also shocked when he first heard the bad news, but as a veteran of the battlefield, he knew that worrying was useless. The only thing to do now was to kill the important person in front of him and regain the morale of the army. Just as he was about to order his personal soldiers to hold their ground at the North Camp, an arrow suddenly shot towards him.

  In the last moment, Li De saw a rapidly enlarging arrow, and then his forehead turned black, and he fell to the ground unconscious.

  A young "Qin Jun Tun Chang" put down the crossbow in his hand and excitedly clenched his fist. At the same time, Prince Yan, who had been paying attention to the Wei army, also discovered that the opponent's "main general" had fallen at the first moment. Although he didn't know what happened on the other side, Prince Yan knew it was a rare opportunity in a thousand years. So he shouted loudly: "Mang Ya is dead, those who surrender will not be killed!"

  Immediately afterwards, the imperial guards of Taizi Ran also shouted "Mangya is dead, those who surrender will not be killed". The Wei army looked at the place where "Mangya" was standing under the commander's flag in horror, and now there was no commander to command everyone.

  Li De never dreamed that his impersonation of the commander to boost morale would become the fuse for the Wei army's defeat at this moment. Li De's personal soldiers naturally knew that the real commander Meng Huo had long since disappeared, and in just a moment of confusion, the entire battlefield was filled with the slogan "Meng Huo is dead, those who surrender will not be killed".

  Soon, the first Wei soldier dropped his weapon and turned to run. When people are in a state of panic, they have an absolute tendency to follow blindly, with the first one followed by the second, and countless Wei soldiers who were fighting to the death just a moment before suddenly dropped their weapons and fled for their lives.

  The Wei army is defeated, the situation is already decided. The Wei army, the momentum has already gone.

  The remaining things are simple, the Korean army is pursuing and killing the Wei army from behind. The terrified Wei soldiers were crowded together, trampling each other. The comrades who were fighting side by side just now have become opponents on the road to escape, in order to survive, everyone ruthlessly swung their weapons at each other. Some people had nowhere to go and were forced to jump into the icy Yellow River, some people wanted to kneel down and beg for mercy but were trampled into mud by the crowd behind them.

  Dawn has finally arrived, and the fog has also dispersed.

  Meng Ao and Jia Yan were captured at a river not far from the battlefield, and the main generals of the Zhao-Wei allied army were all caught. Half of the high-ranking generals such as Zhong Jun Su died in the chaos, and half were captured.

  150,000 troops of Zhao and Wei were killed in battle, 70,000 died, and 80,000 were captured. Downstream of the Yellow River, the states of Wei and Qi would occasionally see corpses floating in the river after it thawed.

  Later historical records state that "In the 23rd year of King Hui of Zhou, Zhao and Wei attacked our Huayang. The Grand Ancestor led a force of 40,000 in a surprise attack on Huayang, greatly defeating the combined forces of Zhao and Wei, annihilating 70,000 enemies and capturing 80,000 prisoners. The feudal lords were shocked, and from this the name of Jin was once again renowned throughout the world."