Chapter 889: Slaying Gao Mohan in Battle

The Han army in pursuit was still built on the Yongqing Army at its core, though supplemented with some Hebei militia and Yan lands' stout warriors. Its combat effectiveness had not declined—after all, the backbone remained, and through successive battles since heading north, their original training had fully transformed into combat power. An iron-blooded elite force, veterans of a hundred battles—this is how they were forged.

Clad in heavy armor, his entire body covered in lamellar plates, beneath his phoenix-winged helmet, Ma Quanyi's expression was utterly cold, his eyes radiating a chilling light. Reflected in his pupils was the scene of Han army soldiers attacking the Liao army—blazing war cries, splattering blood, composing a picture of brutal cruelty—yet none of it could stir the slightest emotion in Ma Quanyi.

At the spearhead of the Han army's assault column were nearly 170 fully armed, armor-encased heavy infantrymen. Every one of them had been selected from the elite, their quality especially outstanding. Wielding battle sabers, they were reaping machines—every swing brought a harvest.

As for the Liao soldiers striking at them, they could usually only produce sparks. Lacking effective means to counter the Han army's heavy armor, the Liao army simply could not hold their ground. The Han soldiers following behind then pressed on in the wake of the heavy infantry's formidable offensive power, attacking with ease and composure.

In recent years, the Great Han had invested enormous effort in military equipment technology, and the training and arming of heavy infantry had been especially costly. Up to the present, the entire Han army had only around 3,000 of them.

And these heavy infantry could directly withstand a charge from Liao heavy cavalry. In all these years of fighting in the south, they had never been deployed—they were reserved specifically for use against the Liao army. The Yongqing Army had been allocated 200 of them, which showed just how much Liu Chengyou trusted Ma Quanyi.

Beyond the infantry battlefield, the cavalry of both armies were also clashing. It was under the cover of over 1,500 Liao horsemen that Gao Mohan had the confidence to fight while retreating. Several times the Liao cavalry tried to strike at the Han army's flanks, but each time Ma Quanyi led his troops to firmly entangle them.

The Liao cavalry under Gao Mohan were mainly Xi people, their combat strength not particularly strong, chiefly due to weak fighting will. Ten years ago, following the Khitan south to plunder the Central Plains—robbing, killing, eating meat and drinking soup—they had been full of vigor and could erupt with considerable fighting power. But now, being conscripted to fight a bloody war against the Han army, they were hardly willing.

Under Liao's rule, the ethnic composition was complex, and cohesion of the people's hearts was a major problem. All along, the only Liao forces that could maintain strong combat effectiveness were the Pishi Army guarding the imperial tents and the tribal armies of the various Khitan tribes.

By now, even those Han puppet troops had stronger fighting power than those miscellaneous units. And the main force under Gao Mohan resisting the Han army was actually Han people. As for the Balhae infantry and cavalry, he had deliberately ordered them withdrawn back to Luanzhou.

Of course, he had still kept a thousand Balhae soldiers who were his own, and this was also the reason he could hold off the Han army's attacks. The Yongqing Army kept charging forward while the Liao army gradually fell back; along the entire path, blood flowed across the ground, corpses lay strewn across the fields.

Standing amid the battle formation, Ma Quanyi observed the progress of the slaughter, but his expression gradually grew serious. Though the battlefield situation showed the Han army pressing down on the Liao army, they had not achieved a decisive breakthrough. One reason was that their numbers were ultimately at a disadvantage—the heavy infantry's attacks were sharp, but after prolonged fighting, they had already grown weary.

On the Liao side, the old general Gao Mohan was setting an example, leading the Balhae troops in desperate resistance, and in the fierce fighting with the Han army, they had grown accustomed to that rhythm. A cornered rabbit will still bite, let alone a man?

Moreover, as they gradually neared Stone City county seat, morale had somewhat recovered. Gao Mohan kept encouraging his soldiers, saying that once they retreated into the county town, the Han army would have no way against them—something Ma Quanyi could not accept.

In cold-weapon combat, vision was limited and extremely narrow, but through the forest of spears and blades, amid the shifting shadows of figures, Ma Quanyi could still see, among the flying arrows, that aged yet upright figure, hoarsely shouting, boosting morale, raising his head and waving the banner, commanding with calm assurance. The Liao army was not lacking in veteran generals.

Since heading north, they had clashed with the enemy from the east several times. The impression they gave Ma Quanyi was: brave enough, but military discipline was not strict enough, and fighting will was weak. But now, facing the tenacity displayed by this Liao army under Gao Mohan's command, Ma Quanyi was deeply moved.

However, being moved could not completely defeat them. Seeing Stone City county seat drawing closer, Ma Quanyi finally decided it was time to change tactics and issued several military orders in succession: "Pass the order: heavy infantry withdraw to the central camp to rest. The entire army will gradually break contact with the Liao army, reform the battle formation, take the opportunity to rest, and trail behind to pursue the enemy!"

"General, if we let them retreat into the city, all our previous efforts will be wasted!" A battalion commander beside him said to Ma Quanyi.

"That's assuming they can actually retreat in!" Hearing this, Ma Quanyi said directly: "We've fought this long, and this Liao army's fighting spirit has been forged. The reasons they resist so firmly are, first, our excessive pressure, and second, the city walls behind them giving them hope. If we ease off for a moment, their morale will surely collapse. Once they start scrambling to enter the city, I don't believe they can maintain this will to resist!"

As he spoke, Ma Quanyi looked at the cavalry duel on the other side—the two forces were locked in a tangle, both men and horses exhausted. Seeing this, Ma Quanyi could not help but shout angrily: "Send someone to ask about General Li's situation, urge him to speed up and coordinate with us to annihilate this Liao army!"

"Yes!"

Just as Gao Mohan had feared, behind the Yongqing Army was also Xin'an Army Commander Li Hanqiong leading several thousand infantry and cavalry. Although the Han army's main attention was still on the main Liao forces to the west and north, they had no intention of letting Gao Mohan's Liao army leave easily either.

The Yongqing and Xin'an armies, because of their different departure points and pursuit times, ended up in a front-and-back formation. However, this also ensured mutual support and avoided risk.

The Han army moved upon orders, relaxing their offensive and gradually breaking off contact. The Liao army's pressure greatly decreased. Though unclear of the intent, Gao Mohan's military quality was indeed not bad—he immediately seized the time to adjust and led his men in retreating toward Stone City county seat at a faster pace.

When they neared the county town, just as Ma Quanyi had predicted, after that fierce edge had dissipated, the Liao army's morale indeed slackened. Seeing soldiers constantly looking back and gazing at the city walls, Gao Mohan also noticed this problem.

Lifting his eyes to look west, the Han army had already re-formed their battle formation, closely trailing behind, looking ready to launch an attack at any moment. Seeing this, Gao Mohan inwardly cursed the Han general for his cunning. He did not dare lead his men directly into the city—that would easily give the Han army an opportunity—so instead he chose to array his forces with his back to the city, continuing to resist the Han army.

However, before Stone City county seat, something happened that crushed morale. The city gates were tightly shut, showing no intention of accepting them. Soon after, several Liao banners on the earthen walls toppled, and what was raised in their place was a Han banner—clearly hastily made, with a white cloth base and a crude "Han" character written on it.

Behind it, over 30 Khitan heads were tossed down, and a big man on the wall shouted loudly: "Wang Lin of Luanzhou is here! I have killed the Hu barbarians, welcoming the imperial army!"

This explosive shout immediately shook the morale of the Liao soldiers below the walls, especially the Han soldiers among them, who looked around restlessly, on the verge of scattering. At this, Gao Mohan's eyes nearly split with rage. All along he had been entangled with the Han army, his confidence resting in this small but sheltering earthen town. Yet now, the situation was: pursuers ahead, retreat cut off behind.

What made him even more despairing was that behind the Yongqing Army, Han banners fluttered, dust and smoke rolled—hurrying as fast as they could, the Xin'an Army had finally arrived. On Ma Quanyi's side, with reinforcements arrived and seeing the strange occurrence on the walls, he decisively ordered the entire army to launch an attack on Gao Mohan. This time, holding nothing back, he personally charged at the front with his saber in hand.

The Xi cavalry entangled with the Han horsemen under Ma Renyu saw this scene and dared not linger any longer. They quickly broke free and fled eastward, showing no intention of caring about Gao Mohan.

Gao Mohan had wanted to use the Han and Xi troops to cover his rear, never imagining he would ultimately meet his end because of it. In fact, even if the Xi cavalry's fighting power was weak, with their numerical advantage they should not have been completely pinned down by Ma Renyu, nor should the pressure they brought the Han army have been so little. But sow the cause, reap the effect—that was all there was to it.

Ma Renyu did not continue pursuing the Xi cavalry. Instead, he turned his forces to besiege Gao Mohan's infantry. Shortly after, once the Xin'an Army joined the battle, under a three-sided assault, the complete collapse of Gao Mohan's army arrived.

However, it was not an exaggeration to call those Balhae soldiers his own men. The puppet troops all collapsed and surrendered, but the remaining three hundred-plus Balhae soldiers protected Gao Mohan with their lives.

The Han army had no intention of urging surrender—attacking and killing was all there was to it. In the end, it was Ma Renyu, that fierce general, who personally led men charging in, killing 5 in succession, reaching Gao Mohan's front. He raised his battle saber, and a fine head fell to the ground.

Ma Renyu's saber had already been blunted from all the cutting; the dull blade only severed half of Gao Mohan's neck. His final awareness was only intense pain.

In the Battle of Stone City, Gao Mohan—chancellor of Liao's Southern Administration, Honorary Director of State Affairs with Equal Rank to the Three Excellencies, Commander-in-Chief of the Southern Front—was slain in battle. This was the highest-ranking Liao general the Han army had killed since the northern expedition, even if he was Balhae.

It took some time to clean up the battlefield, and a rough tally of results quickly came out. Apart from the Xi cavalry that escaped, the remaining 3,000-plus Liao infantry and cavalry were completely annihilated, and over 1,500 puppet troops surrendered and were taken prisoner.

Ma Quanyi was somewhat curious about Gao Mohan's troop disposition, and only after interrogating the prisoners did he figure out the reason. Ma Quanyi could not help but sigh: "This Gao Mohan could be considered a famous general of Liao's generation. To preserve his strength, he used Han and Xi troops to exhaust them as a rearguard, and in the end was abandoned by them. A fine head became our trophy—he reaped what he sowed!"

"A pity that after all this fighting, the dead and wounded were ultimately mostly Han people!" Ma Renyu sighed.

Hearing this, Ma Quanyi also showed some indignation and said: "Pass the order: first, place these 'Han people' under guard, and pick out all their officers!"

"Yes!"

"Come, let's enter the city to rest, and also meet the heroes of Stone City. That we achieved complete success this time is in no small part thanks to them!"