Chapter 249: Temple Crushes Bandits

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Both sides intended to decide victory in a single battle.

Thus, once all preparations were complete, under Song Jiang's personal command, the Song army launched a direct offensive against Fang La's rebel forces.

At the same time, Fang La's rebel forces also prepared to launch their offensive using the tactics they had planned.

What Fang La's rebels had never anticipated, however, was that as soon as the battle began, Song Jiang ordered Yao Pingzhong to lead his three thousand light cavalry around Fang La's encampment and attack the peasant hamlets where Fang La's followers lived.

After receiving his orders, Yao Pingzhong followed their prearranged battle plan: charging forward while hurling firewood and earth bags, easily filling in the swamp before Fang La's frontline and reaching the rebel left flank in the shortest possible time.

Fang Qifu and the other rebel leaders never imagined the Song army could so easily break through their terrain advantage—and turn it into their own.

This was one of the differences in their underlying strength.

Soon after Song Jiang's forces accepted amnesty, Zhao Yu sent a staff team led by Zhang Suo, Li Yunwen, and Chen Gui to assist Song Jiang in managing his newly reorganized army and in waging war.

Before the battle, Zhang Suo and the others had thoroughly analyzed every possible response Fang La's rebels might make—including their favored mass-tactic warfare, the local terrain advantages, and how to counter them.

The so-called "peasant hamlets" were in fact the encampments where Fang La's rebels' elderly, weak, women, and children lived.

These encampments clustered near the main rebel camp, barricaded with hastily assembled carts and miscellaneous debris, and had extremely weak defenses.

Fang Qifu and the other rebel leaders never expected these peasant hamlets to resist the Song army's advance.

In fact, Fang Qifu and the other rebel leaders intended to use these elderly, weak, women, and children as cannon fodder to exhaust the Song army's elite troops.

But Fang Qifu and the other rebel leaders never imagined the Song army would so easily breach their prepared terrain advantage, strike first, and use their most powerful cavalry to attack their cannon fodder.

In the blink of an eye, Yao Pingzhong's cavalry shattered Fang La's peasant hamlets.

Panic-stricken elderly, weak, women, and children fled instinctively toward the main rebel encampment, easily disrupting the already undisciplined left flank of Fang La's rebel forces.

Yao Pingzhong had serious flaws—he was stubborn, self-willed, and eager for glory.

But one must admit: when the battle turned favorable, the famed junior commander of the Western Army was indeed a fierce general.

Seeing Fang La's rebels thrown into chaos, Yao Pingzhong seized the opportunity, following the fleeing elderly and civilians, successfully crossing the rebel archery zone, then launching a furious assault on the rebel left flank.

Fang Qifu immediately ordered Fang Baihua to lead her elite troops to block Yao Pingzhong; the two sides soon engaged in fierce close-quarters combat.

Though Fang Baihua was a woman and young, when it came to battle, she truly matched most generals.

Soon, Fang Baihua's elite clashed with Yao Pingzhong, who led from the front.

Seeing it was Fang Baihua, Yao Pingzhong's eyes lit up—he craved battle merit. If he could capture her alive for Zhao Yu, perhaps Zhao Yu would finally learn his name, paving a long path toward his future appointment as a true Grand Commander.

Yao Pingzhong immediately spurred his horse to fight Fang Baihua.

But Fang Baihua's martial skill was superb, and her strength astonishingly great; Yao Pingzhong, unwilling and afraid to kill, could not defeat her in the short term.

The elite troops Fang Baihua brought were the cream of Fang La's rebels, many of whom were cavalrymen.

Thus, through the efforts of Fang Baihua and others, the rebel left flank gradually stabilized.

Seeing the left flank stalled, Song Jiang ordered Liu Guangshi to lead his own three thousand light cavalry against the rebel right flank.

After receiving his orders, Liu Guangshi replicated the same tactic to attack the right flank led by Chen Miao Zhen.

Once Liu Guangshi and Chen Miao Zhen engaged, Fang Qifu, no longer willing to wait passively, gave the order: "Advance the central army—decide victory in one battle."

Instantly, war drums exploded across Fang La's rebel forces!

Countless rebels, wearing turbans of every color, charged forward with war drums urging them on, brandishing rattan shields and hurling themselves without regard for life.

The first wave of rebel soldiers consisted mostly of elderly, weak, women, and children; they carried no offensive weapons—only rattan shields woven from reeds—and charged fearlessly at the Song army, whose equipment was incomparably superior.

Then, suddenly, Fang La's rebels chanted: "Burn my ruined body in roaring flames. Life brings no joy, death brings no sorrow. To do good and eradicate evil—for the sake of light alone. Joy, sorrow, grief, delight—all return to dust. Pity my people, burdened with suffering. Pity my people, burdened with suffering…"

This scripture was Fang La's rebel battle hymn.

Hearing this "battle hymn," the rebel soldiers were as if hypnotized, disregarding life and death, charging forward relentlessly, one after another.

The rattan shields in the rebels' hands were some kind of strange material—arrows struck them and could not penetrate.

Though the Song army had anticipated this mass-consumption tactic and prepared countermeasures, frankly, they had never imagined people could be this insane.

The result: Song soldiers could only watch helplessly as Fang La's elderly, weak, women, and children rode through their arrow rain and breached their own battle lines.

These first to break into the Song ranks did not fight the soldiers—they simply charged forward without regard for life, until they were slain.

Cannon fodder?!

Death squad?!

Without witnessing this scene, one could hardly believe these elderly, weak, women, and children had become Fang La's sharpest spear—using their flesh and blood to tear open a gap in the Song army's solid defenses. Their eyes held no fear, only resolve and solemnity, as if they were embodying a belief beyond life and death.

Only after these elderly, weak, women, and children had thrown the Song battle line into chaos did Fang La's elite surge forward with the "battle hymn," engaging the Song army in chaotic melee.

This was a battle method passed down for centuries by the Moni Sect—the most effective tactic against imperial troops.

Often, when facing weak imperial armies, the sight of Moni Sect followers using such a mad tactic would shatter morale before even a single blow was struck, leaving the rest of the battle a foregone conclusion.

As a result, Moni Sect followers consistently defeated stronger foes, achieving astonishing victories.

At this decisive battle, Fang Qifu chose again the tactic they knew best.

Soon, the main battlefield became a full-scale melee.

Fang La's rebels' advantage: their soldiers were fearless, willing to fight to the death, and excelled at chaotic warfare—the more chaos, the better for them.

The Song army's advantage: their equipment was superior. Every soldier carried at least one good spear, and every soldier wore armor—even the lowest-ranking troops wore paper armor.

Do not assume paper armor was used because leather and iron were insufficient.

During the Later Zhou's campaign against Huainan, they plundered extensively; the people, crushed under burden, rose in rebellion, wielding farm tools as weapons and padding armor with stacked paper—known then as the "White Armor Army"—and their combat power was extremely fierce.

By the Song dynasty, paper armor had become standard issue for Song troops.

During Emperor Renzong's reign, the Song Chaoting manufactured thirty thousand paper armors at once and issued them to the archers defending Shaanxi's border fortifications.

This paper armor was made by mixing extremely soft paper with silk, pounding it soft, layering it three inches thick, and securing each square inch with four nails; when wet by rain, arrows could not pierce it, and it was extremely lightweight.

In Zhao Yu's reign, due to Ma Xiao Jiao's improvements in papermaking technology, paper production speed and volume surged dramatically—enabling even Song Jiang's newly surrendered forces to be equipped with one set of paper armor per soldier.

At present, the rebels' crude bamboo spears could hardly pierce the Song soldiers' defenses—even their iron spears struggled to inflict fatal wounds on Song troops.

If soldiers clad in paper armor were this resilient, how much more so were the Song officers clad in leather and iron armor? Time and again, rebel soldiers stabbed Song soldiers multiple times without killing them, while Song soldiers easily cut down rebel troops with their sharp blades and spears.

Seeing this, Fang Qifu was heartbroken! He couldn't help thinking that if his own troops were equipped with such fine armor and weapons, they would surely win this war.

At the same time, Fang Qifu understood why Wang Gonglao had ordered them to recruit rebels indiscriminately—even the elderly, weak, and women who wasted food.

Imagine if he had ten times as many elderly, weak, and women, letting them exhaust the Song army's strength, then he could strike with his elite forces—the Song army, no matter how well-equipped, would be doomed to defeat.

Now, they could only fight to the death.

Meanwhile, Wu Yong was speaking to Song Jiang: "The rebels have few weapons but dare to risk their lives. Though our troops are well-equipped, they lack training. If we delay, our casualties will be heavy. Why not abandon total annihilation and immediately use the Sashu Jian?"

Overall, whether in troop numbers or equipment, Song Jiang's rebel army held a clear advantage.

Therefore, before the battle, Song Jiang and his men set their strategic goal as the total annihilation of Fang Qifu's Fang La rebel forces.

But once the fighting began, Song Jiang and his men realized that Fang La's rebel army, under the control of the Moni Sect, was not something they could easily crush—or easily annihilate.

Song Jiang used his long-range glass to observe Fang Qifu's twenty-thousand-strong reserve force, which, though mostly infantry, were all armored, carried fine weapons, and many even wore the armor of the Song imperial guards—he knew this must be Fang Qifu's elite force meant to decide victory.

Yet, from the current situation, Fang Qifu clearly had no intention of deploying this elite force lightly.

Thus, achieving total annihilation of Fang Qifu's Fang La rebel army seemed unlikely.

Though reluctant, Song Jiang made a timely decision to secure victory in this great battle.

"Transmit my order: Jing Sai Army, advance!"

Upon hearing Song Jiang's command, the messenger officer immediately waved the battle flag.

Soon, "Boom—boom—boom—boom—boom…" the rhythmic thunder of mounted troops galloping rose.

Immediately, dust billowed from the rear of the Song army!

The earth trembled beneath them!

No war drums sounded, yet this might was more terrifying than any drum—the booming roar felt like hundreds of thunderclaps exploding at once!

Soon, Huyan Chuo and his deputy Peng Qi led three hundred Jing Sai troops past the main Song force and into the battlefield.

This was the killing blow prepared by the court for Song Jiang's rebel army: three hundred sets of fully armored heavy cavalry equipment.

Huyan Chuo had originally been the commander of the Jing Sai Army, so naturally he was chosen to form this unit.

As for Peng Qi, he had once been a Song general, ordered to be "defeated" by Song Jiang's rebels, then defected to Song Jiang's side.

Though newly formed, this three-hundred-man Jing Sai Army was composed of the finest cavalry selected from Song Jiang's one-hundred-seventy-thousand rebels, and their horses were the best in the rebel army.

Added to this, both Huyan Chuo and Peng Qi were capable generals who deeply understood the Jing Sai Army.

Thus, these three hundred Jing Sai troops moved like the wind, swift as thunder from the heavens; stood still like a forest, patient, accumulating strength before striking; surged like fire, born with the force of a thousand thunderbolts; stood firm like a mountain, their hearts unmoved.

When this force of fully armored soldiers, each wielding a cold, gleaming spear over a zhang long, appeared, it was like three hundred heavy tanks bursting from a military base—a steel flood that slaughtered all who stood in its path, charging straight toward the densest concentrations of Fang La rebels.

In truth, many Song troops were still fighting the Fang La rebels in that very area.

Yet Huyan Chuo and Peng Qi still led the Jing Sai Army forward without distinguishing friend from foe.

The Jing Sai Army swept across the battlefield like autumn wind clearing fallen leaves, mercilessly crushing all before them—whether the fierce resistance of the Fang La rebels or the chaos of Song casualties—all swallowed by this unstoppable force. The Fang La rebels, who had fought fiercely moments before, were instantly shattered.

Faced with this steel flood, impossible to stop by human strength, the Fang La rebels began to waver as never before.

Then, the Jing Sai Army charged wildly, smashing through—Fang La's already loose battle lines collapsed instantly…

Seizing this momentum, Song Jiang, commanding from high ground, swiftly ordered war drums beaten and launched a general assault on the Fang La rebels.

As the war drums sounded, the ten-thousand-strong light cavalry Song Jiang had held in reserve surged into the fray, slashing at any Fang La soldier they saw…

The situation of the Fang La rebels turned dire at once.

There was no help for it—in the age of cold weapons, cavalry versus infantry was a battle of overwhelming disparity.

Take this battle: ten thousand light cavalry poured onto the battlefield like a dam breaking, their impact instantly laid bare.

A well-trained Song cavalryman, riding at high speed into the Fang La infantry lines, could cleave through a rebel soldier's neck—or even his body—with every swing of his blade.

Roughly estimated, a single light cavalryman could kill three to five defenseless infantrymen in a single charge, within mere seconds.

Moreover, cavalry held a decisive advantage in mobility—their speed was three to four times that of infantry, allowing them to execute flanking and encirclement maneuvers in moments.

The Song's ten-thousand light cavalry, spread out, could swiftly maneuver across a battlefield spanning several li. In ten minutes, they could launch repeated charges against scattered Fang La infantry units, leaving the foot soldiers no time to form effective defensive formations.

In contrast, once infantry lines were broken, reassembling was nearly impossible. Cavalry, however, used their speed to continually harass and split the infantry ranks.

Statistics show that when cavalry outnumber infantry five to one, with proper tactics, cavalry could still shatter infantry formations entirely, plunging them into chaos and panic.

In this battle, the Fang La infantry faced Song light cavalry like lambs awaiting slaughter, utterly defenseless.

Fang Qifu stood on high ground, watching his own rebels slaughtered at will by Song cavalry, his heart pierced like a knife. He helplessly saw Song cavalry charge repeatedly from all directions, each assault claiming countless rebel lives.

Under the assault of Song cavalry, in less than half an hour, the Fang La rebels lost over ten thousand men—and were now split into dozens of isolated pockets, unable to support one another, forced to fight alone, waiting to be picked off one by one.

Seeing this, Fang Qifu had only two choices: commit his entire reserve force and fight once more—or flee.

Fang Qifu wanted to fight again, but when he saw at least fifty to sixty thousand well-equipped Song troops still untouched, his courage to gamble everything vanished.

"Song Jiang, I did not lose to you—I lost to the Great Song behind you!"

It was no wonder Fang Qifu could not accept defeat.

Had Song Jiang's rebels not been rearmed, the outcome of this battle might have been uncertain.

Indeed, had Fang Qifu known earlier that Song Jiang's rebels had been rearmed and that the court had reinforced them with two elite cavalry units, he likely would never have engaged Song Jiang in this battle.

Now, with no other option, Fang Qifu gave the order to retreat.

As Fang Qifu fled first, the already crumbling Fang La rebels collapsed entirely.

Seizing this chance, Yao Pingzhong, whose martial skill ranked among the best in the Western Army, speared Fang Baihua from her horse as she tried to flee.

At the same time, Liu Guangshi blocked Chen Miao Zhen, whose spear was long lost, and said politely: "Little miss, do not fear—His Majesty wishes to see you."

Just as Yao Pingzhong captured Fang Baihua and Liu Guangshi "persuaded" Chen Miao Zhen to meet Zhao Yu, Song Jiang issued the order for a full-scale pursuit.

Seeing this, Yao Pingzhong and Liu Guangshi simultaneously handed Fang Baihua and Chen Miao Zhen to their most reliable subordinates, instructing them to deliver the captives to Song Jiang, then led their own troops forward with the main force to slaughter the fleeing Fang La rebels…

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(End of Chapter)