Chapter 135: The Era of Cavalry Has Passed

While he knelt on the ground, weeping aloud, enemies had already emerged sparsely from the woods on both sides.

When he saw the approximate number of enemies, he could not help but gasp in shock; merely a force of one or two thousand had turned their several thousand cavalry into a mass of flesh and blood.

Just as he fell into deep thought, a young officer suddenly stepped out from the enemy camp; he stood tall, his face resolute, standing there like a statue.

"Lay down your weapons and surrender; the Revolutionary Army treats prisoners of war well."

A sentence devoid of any emotion entered his ears; at this moment, he felt as though he had suffered an unprecedented insult. Surrender? Prisoner? He was a young talent of the Wanyan imperial clan, appointed by the Emperor at a young age as a palace guard.

Later, favored by the Emperor, he was promoted beyond all norms; before reaching thirty, he was enfeoffed as a general guarding a region, protecting the safety of Ducheng, and the entire family took pride in him.

Now, defeated to this extent, he had no face to live on; as for surrender, the Wanyan family had no such word.

He remained silent, yet with a posture that commanded respect, he carefully adjusted his hat so it sat squarely on his head. Immediately, he gripped the saber in his hand, drew it without hesitation, and the blade flashing with cold light reflected his determined gaze. He prepared to launch a final charge, rushing toward those enemies who had once driven him to the brink.

A spirit of unyielding struggle surged within him; he wanted to see what kind of might and power the enemies who had defeated him possessed. He longed in this final battle to challenge those seemingly invincible opponents with his own strength and courage, to lift their mysterious veils, and to explore their true power behind the scenes.

He drew a deep breath, feeling the tension and intensity permeating the air. He knew this charge would be the most important moment of his life, and also the best opportunity to display his courage and determination.

Excellent soldiers always harbor deep respect and sincere admiration for those warriors who face death without fear.

The officer raised his arm slightly; the soldiers behind him raised their rifles in perfect unison, the dark muzzles pointing squarely at that Jin general. At this moment, the entire battlefield seemed to freeze, the air filled with a tense and grim atmosphere.

"Charge!"

"Fire!"

The cavalry charge and the roar of rifles intertwined almost in the same instant, like an epic symphony suddenly played. That valiant knight, clad in shining armor and wielding a sharp saber, rode his warhorse without hesitation, charging into the bullets as dense as rain. Hundreds of gun barrels spat out scorching tongues of flame simultaneously; the gunshots were deafening, and smoke filled the air. Yet this knight seemed unaware; his eyes held only the enemies ahead, only the resolve to swing his saber and strike them down.

In the scene, he seemed to transform into a god of war; his saber flashed with cold light in the sun, and every swing seemed capable of cleaving the air, bringing a biting storm. Under his command, the warhorse displayed astonishing speed and power, carrying its master into the hail of bullets. At this moment, the entire world seemed to stand still, leaving only the knight's charge and those deafening gunshots.

After the deafening gunshots echoed through the air, that valiant knight and his beloved warhorse, fighting side by side, both fell to the ground covered in blood and flesh, like a tragic and cruel painting. The iron armor on their bodies, once so solid it could block blades, spears, and swords, appeared so fragile under the fierce attack of the enemy's firearms that it was like thin paper, easily torn apart.

At the moment when life was about to reach its end, his thoughts surged like a torrential river; countless memories and emotions intertwined in his heart. He recalled the heroic and fearless figure of Taizu Wanyan Aguda, who led the Jurchens rising from the distant lands of white mountains and black waters, sweeping all before them and winning every battle. They destroyed the powerful Liao, overthrew the Northern Song, and created a glorious era belonging to the Jurchens.

At that time, how spirited were the Jurchen cavalry! Riding sturdy warhorses and wielding sharp weapons, they were like Mount Menghuxia descending upon the battlefield, unstoppable by anyone. Their bravery and wisdom made the Jurchens an invincible existence in that era.

However, when he witnessed these people's firearms with his own eyes, a sense of powerlessness surged in his heart. The immense power released by those firearms was enough to make any powerful army tremble with fear. He knew deeply that even if Taizu Wanyan Aguda led the Jurchen cavalry from the very founding of the state, facing such firearms, they could not possibly be their match.

That era when cavalry was invincible throughout the world has completely passed.

"Regiment commander, we've caught a big fish this time; this fellow is not only a high official from the Jin state but also of the Wanyan imperial clan." The soldier responsible for the search, after inspecting the body, held up the Jin general's token and said joyfully.

Looking at the token handed to him by the soldier, the regiment commander was greatly surprised; he never expected that a Wanhu, who held such a high position in the Jin state and commanded numerous troops, would die so easily at the hands of their regiment. How could this not be a cause for sighing?

Even the Jin cavalry guarding the capital was so utterly defeated before their ordinary infantry regiment; let alone other local forces. As for the militia trained by landlords under imperial edicts from the Jin royal family—hah, do you call those troops?

"Let's go. In the time ahead, the General Office of the Jin state will send troops from all armies to rescue Ducheng. Our task in the Mount Taixing Military Region is simple: in Hebei, annihilate as many troops coming to rescue the Jin capital as possible, allowing the Shandong Military Region and the Dabie Mountain Military Region to open up the situation and expand the scope of their base areas."

"What we face next may be almost all the Jin armies. Comrades, are you afraid?" Regiment Commander Wang Yunshan shouted loudly to the soldiers behind him.

"Not afraid!" The entire regiment fell into unprecedented excitement. After engaging the Jin regular army, they discovered that fighting Jin regular troops was actually so easy, even easier than going up the mountains to suppress bandits.

After meeting on the plains, artillery coverage directly led to the stage of hunting pigs across the mountains and fields. Encountering a Battalion Commander, they could easily annihilate him with just a rifle; only when facing cavalry five times their numbers did they use artillery and ambushes.

To this day, besides eliminating this Wanhu, they have already destroyed five Qianhus, so easily that it felt like a dream.

The Jin troops are simply too weak.

Meanwhile, in the temporarily constructed military command room of Mount Taixing, Zhang Chu'an and Zhang Xiaofan pointed at the map and began issuing combat orders.