Chapter 454: A Complete and Resounding Victory

Facing the Han army's three-pronged assault, the exhausted Tang army collapsed at the first clash. Things often develop just like this—when crisis looms, one has a sudden awakening. Even a stubborn and foolish man like He Yanxi, watching the Han soldiers tear through his Hao Prefecture troops like tigers among a flock of sheep, finally realized what Guo Tingwei had meant by "something suspicious."

This was the Han army's ruse to lure them in! Realizing this, He Yanxi nearly vomited blood—how could he have failed to see through such a crude trick...

At this critical juncture, He Yanxi completely lost his composure. He had no thought of rallying his troops to resist; he turned his horse and fled, retreating outright. With the commander fleeing, the Tang army's collapse became even more total—defeat cascaded like a mountain falling.

Behind the Tang army, Guo Tingwei led his force, trailing after them. The further he pursued, the deeper his hidden unease grew. Seeing them plunge deep into Tu Mountain, he became even more vigilant and sent men to urge He Yanxi to withdraw—but unfortunately, the man was too stubborn to listen.

Before long, the sounds of slaughter from the foot of Tu Mountain drifted over. Judging by the noise, this was no commotion caused by a few hundred troops.

"Something's gone wrong!" Cursing He Yanxi inwardly for not heeding advice, he hurried his army forward to provide support, hoping to salvage the situation.

Advancing a li, they encountered Tang stragglers fleeing in panic—in scattered groups, no formation, utter chaos, dispersing across the fields. Guo Tingwei immediately seized a junior officer and demanded: "What happened ahead? Where is Army Supervisor He?"

Facing Guo Tingwei, the officer, still shaken, replied: "We followed the Army Supervisor in pursuit of the Han army, straight to the mountain's foot, when suddenly Han soldiers burst out from the woods on both sides. The routed Han troops also turned back to fight. The Han army was ferocious; we were caught off guard and couldn't hold, and were shattered. Army Supervisor He was lost in the melee..."

"How many Han troops are there?" Guo Tingwei asked urgently.

"War banners thick as clouds, stretching without end—at least ten thousand. The Han army has two fierce generals who cut down several of our Commanders..." The officer replied: "Governor, flee quickly! All the armies are in complete rout, and the Han soldiers are in pursuit!"

Guo Tingwei had his own judgment and certainly wouldn't fully believe the words of this terrified low-ranking officer—but that He Yanxi had fallen into an ambush and been defeated was an undeniable fact.

Hearing his talk of retreat, Guo Tingwei drew his long blade. A flash of cold light, and the officer's head hit the ground, a look of terror frozen on his face.

Drawing a deep breath, Guo Tingwei spurred his horse forward and issued a stern order: "Form ranks to meet the enemy! Route the defeated troops to flee past both flanks! Anyone who dares speak of retreat—death without mercy!"

At this moment of crisis, Guo Tingwei made a decisive call, intending to use his own force to stop the Han pursuit and prevent further slaughter of the retreating Tang troops. As far as he knew, the Han army at Wokou numbered only two or three thousand, with part of them being naval forces. The "ten thousand Han soldiers" was merely the panicked officer's wild guess.

Sword in hand, he stood before the formation, watching the endless stream of defeated Tang soldiers, many of them familiar faces. Guo Tingwei's expression was as still as water, his heart filled with hatred for He Yanxi—good for nothing but spoiling everything. When panicked soldiers recklessly charged into his lines, Guo Tingwei ordered them cut down.

Before long, Han troops came pursuing.

Dang Jin was the first to arrive before Guo Tingwei's formation. Seeing the Tang army blocking the road, staring at the crossbowmen in the front ranks, Dang Jin couldn't help licking his nearly cracked lips. Without a moment's hesitation, he hefted a shield, roared "Charge!", and hurled himself at the Tang lines.

Entering bow range, three volleys of arrows inflicted over a hundred casualties on the Han army, and Dang Jin's arm was also grazed. Seeing this, Dang Jin's eyes grew even redder—in the earlier ambush and pursuit, his men hadn't suffered such losses. His ferocity unleashed, his fighting spirit blazing, he led his men crashing into the Tang formation, making straight for Guo Tingwei, who was directing the battle.

The clash erupted and immediately reached a fever pitch. As the commander, Zhao Kuangyin didn't focus on fighting himself—he stayed behind, directing his men in hunting down the fleeing enemy. By the time he arrived with his troops, Dang Jin's force was locked in fierce combat with Guo Tingwei's army.

A sweep of his tiger-like eyes assessed the situation clearly. Looking at Guo Tingwei's troops holding the road, he saw through their intentions at a glance. He immediately ordered his battalion commanders to charge forward and support Dang Jin, while he himself led his force around to flank them.

With the Han army riding the momentum of victory, fierce generals, and Zhao Kuangyin's on-the-spot maneuvering, even a commander as capable as Guo Tingwei couldn't hold out. He finally ordered a retreat before Zhao Kuangyin could complete his encirclement—and then, under the Han pursuit, the retreat turned into a rout...

Zhao Kuangyin and Dang Jin pursued for several li, and only stopped when they neared the Tang camp, pausing to rest and regroup.

"That Guo fellow really has some skill—held me off this long, cost me nearly three hundred men!" Dang Jin's face was flushed, both from the cold and from agitation, as he cursed.

Zhao Kuangyin's attention was fixed on the Tang camp not far away. It was already in chaos, the disorder even spreading to the naval forces anchored by the shore.

"That Guo Tingwei is indeed not easy to deal with. If he'd been commanding independently, I wouldn't have been confident in pulling off this plan. But a defeat cascades like a mountain falling—no single man can reverse it!" Zhao Kuangyin said.

Letting out a turbid breath, Zhao Kuangyin pointed at the Tang camp and asked: "The Tang infantry is broken; this battle is mostly won, only their stockade remains! Brother Dang, do you dare join me in charging the Tang camp directly, coordinating with the navy to strike their naval base? The Tang land forces are no longer a concern. If we can cripple their navy, then downstream on the Huai River, we needn't fear their threat for some time."

"How could I not dare! Brother Zhao has such bold ambition—how could I refuse? Besides, this fight hasn't satisfied us yet!" Dang Jin spurred his horse forward, rallying morale: "Brothers, do you dare follow me to charge the Tang camp?"

His rousing words had the soldiers surging with cries of "Fight!"—three shouts in succession, thundering across the fields. Seeing Dang Jin raise his arm and ignite the troops' spirit, Zhao Kuangyin felt ever more delighted with such a warrior.

Without further words, together with Dang Jin, he gathered and reorganized the troops. After the long pursuit, they'd only managed to assemble a little over a thousand men. But the Han army's morale was soaring, without a trace of fear. After a brief reorganization, they followed Zhao Kuangyin and Dang Jin in the assault on the Tang camp.

Officers fought with valor, soldiers gave their all—even the thousand-strong fresh troops Guo Tingwei had left guarding the camp couldn't withstand the Han army's ferocious assault.

And after the ambush victory at Tu Mountain, Zhao Kuangyin had long since sent word to the Han naval camp, ordering all warships to set out, sailing downstream to strike the Tang forces directly.

By the time Zhao Kuangyin broke the Tang camp, the Han navy had already clashed with the Hao Prefecture fleet. In terms of pure strength, the Han's few dozen light boats and small vessels were hardly enough to fill the Hao Prefecture navy's teeth. But defeat is contagious...

The failure on land directly affected the Hao Prefecture navy—officers without will to fight, soldiers without heart for battle—and it ended with them retreating downstream.

At the Tang camp, the false Hao Prefecture Militia Commissioner Guo Tingwei had the heart to slay the enemy but lacked the power to turn the tide. In the end, he fled back to Hao Prefecture with fewer than five hundred remnants. As for He Yanxi, he'd broken away from the main force at the Tu Mountain battlefield and taken a roundabout route back to camp. Before he could even drink a cup of hot water, Guo Tingwei returned to camp with the Han army hot on his heels attacking. In that moment of great peril, he fled alongside Guo Tingwei.

Of the Hao Prefecture navy's nearly two hundred vessels, only a little over a hundred managed to retreat in time. The rest were all intercepted and seized by the Han army. Five thousand naval troops, without much of a fight, lost nearly half...

The Battle of Wokou was a complete and resounding victory for the Han army.

The wine and meat in the Tang camp became the Han army's post-battle reward. The entire army rejoiced. Troops from all units gradually returned, and the tallies of spoils and casualties were slowly compiled.

By the shore, facing the somewhat battered but spirited Tang camp, Zhao Kuangyin, Dang Jin, and the naval Commander boarded the largest captured Hao Prefecture warship.

Dang Jin had suffered several wounds, already bandaged, but his spirits were high—the injuries were light. All three wore joyful expressions, especially the naval Commander surnamed Zhang, who was grinning ear to ear. He'd contributed little effort yet reaped a great bounty of military merit, and he looked at Zhao Kuangyin with the utmost goodwill.

As dusk fell, the three sat cross-legged sharing a mat, enjoying the captured wine and meat. A staff officer from Su Prefecture, face beaming with joy and voice brimming with excitement, reported to Zhao Kuangyin: "Governor, according to preliminary tallies, in the Battle of Wokou, our army killed over two thousand Tang infantry, captured one thousand, with the rest uncountable. From the Hao Prefecture navy, we captured over fifteen hundred men and seized eighty vessels of various sizes—among them ten supply ships fully loaded with grain, weapons, and military provisions. Additionally, swords, armor, banners, and the like beyond counting. The Tang camp still holds over ten thousand dan of rice, several carts of wine and meat..."

"Excellent! Excellent! Excellent!" Before Zhao Kuangyin could react, Dang Jin was already slapping his thighs, shouting "excellent" three times. He raised his wine bowl and toasted Zhao Kuangyin and the naval Commander Zhang: "Brother Zhao, Brother Zhang, let's drink a bowl of celebration!"

"Cheers!"

Zhao Kuangyin had always been fond of drink. He drained the bowl in one gulp, wiped his mouth, and asked: "What are our casualties?"

"Not heavy!" The staff officer said lightly: "All troops have returned to their units, not counting those who wandered off. Counting last night's raid, throughout this battle our army lost three hundred sixty-seven dead, and four hundred fifty-one wounded, light and severe!"

"Nearly half our strength lost!" Zhao Kuangyin set down his wine bowl and sighed.

"Compared to the results, these casualties are nothing!" The naval Commander Zhang laughed: "And congratulations to Governor Zhao—you've shattered the Hao Prefecture land and naval forces, achieved great merit. Promotion is imminent!"

But Zhao Kuangyin wore a mournful expression: "It's only a pity so many brothers died or were wounded!"

With that, he said to the staff officer: "Record every officer and soldier killed or wounded in the register, without a single omission. When the war ends, I will report to the court for compensation and relief, to comfort these warriors who fought for the nation!"

"Yes!"

"Pass the order to all units: rest briefly, load the prisoners and spoils onto the ships, burn the Tang camp, and return to Jingshan Stockade to prepare for any contingency!" After a moment's thought, Zhao Kuangyin commanded. Then he looked at the naval Commander: "Commander Zhang, I'll trouble the naval brothers to give us a ride!"

"A trivial matter!"

After spending another hour or so, Zhao Kuangyin returned to Wokou, brought out the captured wine and meat, and rewarded his troops.

On his end, Zhao Kuangyin personally wrote up the battle situation and results, reporting to the Huainan forward command tent, petitioning for merit for all his officers.

That night, Zhao Kuangyin drank and celebrated with his men, not sleeping until midnight.

The next morning, still suffering the effects of his hangover, and reflecting on last night's overindulgence, he summoned his officers and issued a stern order: from himself on down, anyone who drinks again before this battle is over—executed!

As soon as the Battle of Wokou concluded, Zhao Kuangyin sent men to scout the situation at Hao Prefecture while also keeping an eye on the south—on the battle between Wang Jun and Liu Yanzhen.

That was the pivotal battle for Huainan.

And judging by the reports from these past two days, Zhao Kuangyin felt that Liu Yanzhen had already walked into Commander Wang's trap.

Liu Yanzhen had defeated the blocking force of Li Chongjin west of Anyuan and was now pressing toward Shouchun. To Zhao Kuangyin, this looked exactly like his own strategy in the Battle of Wokou...