Chapter 26: Conquering Yanshan Prefecture (5)
The Song army's officers and men grasped their steel guns, propped up their shields, and gazed intently at the Jin army surging forward like a "tidal wave", with eyes that were bewildered, resentful, and resigned to death.
Everyone understands that this is a last stand, retreating will only lead to a faster death, escaping is death, fighting is also death, so the only option is to fight with all one's might. Nearly a thousand archers from the Jin army and several hundred archers from the Changsheng army had entered effective shooting range, when suddenly the Changsheng army took the initiative to launch an attack. Arrows instantly poured down like rain, bringing with them a piercing sound that shattered the air, pouring towards the Jin army's formation, in an instant dozens of people were shot down, those who were hit fell to the ground struggling and moaning, many of whom had been shot in vital areas soon stopped breathing.
The Jin army was suddenly enraged and immediately assembled archers to counterattack. The Jin army came all the way, sweeping everything before them, and wherever they went, the Song army could not withstand a single blow, also making them relax their vigilance, not thinking that this group of soldiers who seemed to be about to surrender would dare to launch a sneak attack. Thousands of Jin army archers received orders to immediately shoot arrows at the camp of the Song army's Changsheng Army, and suddenly there was a rain of arrows, as if covering the sky and blocking out the sun.
"Hold up your shields!" Huang Chengfu bellowed. The soldiers of the Changsheng Army, who were armed with swords and shields, immediately raised their shields above their heads to protect the gunners and archers. This was a result of their rigorous training in peacetime; otherwise, it would have been impossible for them to perform this seemingly simple action in the chaos of battle. Arrows continued to rain down on the shields, occasionally piercing through the gaps and hitting the soldiers' bodies. The shield wall wavered, barely holding together.
A young soldier was shot in the thigh by an arrow, his shield fell to the ground and he lay there in agony. The rain of arrows from above continued to shoot towards the Song army's formation without stopping. The arrows were about to get closer, and the wounded soldier did not have time to pick up his shield to defend himself. In despair, he closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, he only saw a small school using a shield to block the flying arrows. The small school put down its shield and tried to pull the soldier who was shot in the thigh into the complete shield array. Suddenly, an arrow pierced the small school's hat shirt, and the small school was stunned on the spot. Fresh blood gushed out from his cheek like a spring, his eyes gradually lost focus, and he fell heavily onto the young soldier's body, already dead. At this time, Huang Chengfu had arrived, pushed away the deceased small school, and pulled the frightened Changshengjun soldier into the shield array. The rain of arrows continued to pour down, and the Song army could only helplessly defend themselves, completely suppressed by the Jin country's archers.
The sudden halt of the Jin army's arrow rain was followed by the approach of their cavalry, which had been held back to avoid friendly fire. The thundering warhorses and iron armor shook the earth as a yellow whirlwind swept across the horizon, rapidly closing in from afar, kicking up clouds of dust that obscured the sky, leaving onlookers breathless.
Huang Chengpu gazed at the distant Jin army with a calm expression and suddenly shouted: "Form a gun array."
A thousand gunners stood up. At this time, the Jin army cavalry rushed onto the battlefield, and the front row of Changsheng Army long gunners held their guns at a 45-degree angle, waiting for the cavalry charge. The soldiers' pupils shrank, you can imagine the feeling of tens of thousands of horses rushing towards you, it would make you feel so small, like a small boat in the ocean about to experience a huge wave.
The Jin army cavalry was not moved by the cold breath of the Song army's long guns, and they charged towards the gun array. The long guns pierced the bodies of the horsemen, bringing up a large piece of blood mist, and piercing the knights behind them. Fresh blood poured out from the corpses, dyeing the fallen war horses red. The warrior who held the long gun had his arms broken and fell down powerlessly. He was soon beheaded by a third Jin army cavalryman who rushed up. This gunner smiled before he died, because he had killed two enemies and made a profit.
Soldiers from both sides continued to fall, a bloody mist erupting between them as life slipped away in silence. A cavalryman knocked down a Song army warrior, who desperately clutched the horse's hoof with all his might, his eyes blazing with fury, his body already trampled into a bloody pulp, yet he remained oblivious to it all, clinging tightly to the horse's hoof until his very last breath.
A knight burst through the spear array and rushed in, suddenly a Song army soldier jumped up with force and pushed the Jin army knight off his horse. In that instant, the Jin army cavalry also stabbed their short spears into the bodies of the Song army soldiers. As soon as the cavalry and Song army corpses fell to the ground, there were immediately Song army soldiers who came forward with knives and hacked the knights into "meat" sauce, then left indifferently, preparing to block the next enemy.
The fierce battle lasted for an unknown period of time, and the 1,000 gunners were all killed or wounded. The cavalry relied on its impact force to scatter the Song army, making it impossible for them to form an effective defensive formation again. However, the Ever-Victorious Army had already been enraged and fought separately after being divided.
Jin Jun's dozens of cavalry surrounded a dozen or so Song army shield-bearing soldiers, and after several rounds of encirclement and slaughter, the original dozen or so people were left with only two. This Song army was a big bearded man with a square face, and behind him hid a new recruit with a clear complexion. The big beard panted heavily, gripping tightly the rolled-up steel knife.
Suddenly, a lasso flew out of the hands of the Jin army general and landed on the neck of that young Song army soldier. The soldier only felt his neck tighten, a feeling of suffocation suddenly came over him, and then a strong pulling force dragged him to the ground.
The Jin army cavalry burst into mad laughter and galloped away, the new recruits' eyes filled with a desperate desire to survive. The big-bearded man stared blankly as the knights disappeared into the distance, unable to do anything. At this time, the Jin army cavalry muttered something among themselves, and suddenly several of them dismounted and walked up to the big-bearded man. The leader of the Jin army, with a ferocious expression, stepped forward and provocatively glared at the big-bearded man.
The big beard guessed that this was a duel, and he also knew that he had no way out and might as well stake his life on it. These grassland warriors were all strong and respected, and today they saw the Song army fall alone, so naturally they came to challenge them. Anyway, in the end, the prisoners of war would be killed, and the Jin country did not have the habit of taking prisoners.
Two men circled each other, their footsteps light and agile, their eyes fixed intently on each other. The golden-haired man lost his patience first, swinging the horse knife in a wide arc with great force, but leaving room for variation. The big-bearded man saw at a glance that this golden soldier was a veteran, only veterans would do it this way, if it were a new recruit, they would definitely use all their strength and give the enemy an opportunity to counterattack. The big-bearded man used his steel knife to slightly block the attack, then retreated backwards, avoiding the opponent's knife momentum. The golden soldier immediately raised his horse knife and swung it towards the big-bearded man's abdomen, the blade of the knife had already touched the skin of the big-bearded man. The golden soldier's eyes were filled with a desire to reap life. Suddenly, a dagger pierced through the golden soldier's body.
Jin Jun's eyes were filled with incredulity, as the big-bearded man had swiftly turned around when the blade touched him, taking away a large piece of flesh and blood, with bones barely visible. However, Jin Jun took advantage of the opportunity to thrust the dagger at his waist into the opponent's body. All this happened in the blink of an eye, and Jin Jun, who was initially cheering on the sidelines, was stunned. The big-bearded man threw the corpse at the remaining Jin soldiers, turned around, jumped onto a nearby warhorse, and galloped away.
Several Jin soldiers were knocked down by the corpse, and the Jin soldiers carefully lifted up the corpse with a look of extreme fear. It seemed that the deceased was an important person. The rest of the Jin cavalry immediately mounted their horses to chase after the big bearded man. If they let the murderer escape again, it's likely that not only would they die, but their tribe would also be implicated.
On the other side, Huang Chengpu's army was left with only a few hundred men, surrounded on a hillside. Huang Chengpu showed no fear, he had already completed his mission of blocking the Jin army cavalry. At this time, the Jin army infantry also arrived and surrounded them.
A scholar dressed man was sent by the Golden Army to persuade him to surrender. The scholar said: "You have already been sold out, let alone our army's other main force has surrounded the Yan Mountain Prefecture, and the city will be broken soon. As the ancients said, a good bird chooses a tree to perch on, why not leave your body behind and live well? You will only leave a record of defeated soldiers in history if you die, no one will remember you, I hope you consider this carefully."
"Huang Chengpu sneered: 'A man's death is either heavier than Mount Tai or lighter than a swan feather. We die for our country, for our family, and for our comrades-in-arms. To be wrapped in horsehide after death is the long-cherished wish of my Invincible Army. One day, there will be people like me who will break into your homes, to repay blood with blood, and tooth with tooth. How ridiculous that a Han Chinese would voluntarily serve as a puppet for the Jin! You are indeed shameless. Get out, you're polluting our eyes.'"
The scholar was about to launch a verbal attack when an arrow suddenly shot into the ground near him, courtesy of Huang Chengfu. The scholar didn't dare say another word and gave Huang a venomous look before retreating back to the Jin army camp. The general offensive began, and hundreds of soldiers were quickly killed or wounded. Huang was severely injured, with multiple arrows lodged in his leg, but he used his steel knife to prop himself up, refusing to fall. He knew the Jin army wanted him alive, otherwise he would have been shot full of holes by now. With a loud cry, Huang declared, "The Great Song will prevail, the Jin dogs will perish!" and angrily slit his own throat.
In 1125 AD, the Jin State invaded the Northern Song Dynasty's Yan Mountain Prefecture. The vanguard of the Ever-Victorious Army, consisting of 5,000 soldiers, covered the retreat of the remaining troops and fought a fierce battle against the Jin army, which was several times larger. All the soldiers died heroically without a single survivor, and this event is known as the Battle of White River.
Kuo 'medicine' master escaped back to the military camp, saw Cai Jing voice tears down said: "Our army is fighting with Jin Jun, did not expect Zhang, Liu two 'bastards' have defected to Jin Jun, causing our army to be defeated, defeated general willing to listen to adults disposal." After finishing kneeling on the ground.
Cai Jing almost fainted when he heard the news of the complete defeat of the Changsheng Army, but he still managed to prop himself up and said to Guo "Yao" Shi in a gentle tone: "The fault of this battle does not lie with you, General. I hope you will lead the remaining imperial guards to defend the city, and I will rush to the court for reinforcements." Cai Jing had already lost his composure, and since he still needed Guo "Yao" Shi to lead the troops in defending the city, he naturally wouldn't make things difficult for him. After Cai Jing left, Guo "Yao" Shi looked at his back and sneered coldly.
The big bearded man, who was galloping at full speed, was already dizzy and felt that his blood was about to flow out. The war horse was galloping rapidly, leaving a trail of blood on the road. The Jin army behind was chasing closely, and it seemed that they were about to catch up with the big bearded man. Suddenly, a shower of arrows shot down at the Jin cavalry, instantly eliminating the pursuers. The big bearded man only felt a darkness in front of him before falling off his horse.
Zhao Song hastily ran over to help Big Beard up, and Big Beard struggled to open his eyes. Seeing the surrounding army dressed in Song attire, he suddenly grabbed Zhao Song's clothes and roared: "Front line, quickly save General Huang, quickly..." Big Beard's palm relaxed and lost its vitality. Zhao Song gently laid Big Beard flat on the ground, took off his own cloak and covered Big Beard with it. Zhao Song stood up, clenched his fists tightly, and shouted angrily: "The whole army sets out."
