Chapter 318: Firepower Crushes the Jin Army, One Battle Decides Heaven and Earth

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Just as the Song army fiercely clashed with the western Jin forces, the eastern Jin army, with superior numbers and stronger generals, launched a fierce assault on the Liao army—Generals Wanyan Zongjun, Wanyan Zonggan, Wanyan Zongwang, Wanyan Zongfu, Jin Wuyu, Wanyan Loushi, Wanyan Yinshuke, and Yelu Yudu all charged forward bravely.

Soon, the Liao army's command post under Yelu Zhen was breached, and Yelu Zhen and his troops abandoned their position and fled.

Xiao Gan rushed over and beheaded Yelu Zhen on the spot to halt the rout.

Yelu Dashi also arrived with his troops, organized a counterattack, and reclaimed Yelu Zhen's camp.

Yelu Dashi shouted loudly to the Liao soldiers: "The Jin have sent out their entire force—this is our chance to kill the enemy and serve our country!"

Yelu Dashi drew his sword, slashed a line in the ground at his feet, and pointed the blade at it: "Die here, before this line! Whoever dares retreat—beheaded!"

The Liao army fought desperately and stabilized their lines.

The eastern Jin army launched another assault, committing over thirty thousand reserves under Wanyan Loushi's personal command, striking hard at the left flank of Xiao Gan's main camp.

Xiao Gan immediately redirected troops to reinforce and repelled the Jin assault.

Moments later, the enraged eastern Jin army attacked again. Ignoring casualties, they charged into the Liao formation in dense ranks, engaging in bloody hand-to-hand combat.

The eastern Jin army launched a frenzied assault on the Liao, fully exploiting their cavalry's mobility, abandoning frontal assaults, and splitting into eastern and western wings—Wanyan Zongjun commanded the eastern wing, Wanyan Zongwang commanded the western wing—using rapid cavalry maneuvers to constantly shift troop concentrations: sometimes concentrating force on the east, sometimes on the west, sometimes attacking both simultaneously.

The shifting tactical rhythm forced the Liao army, with far fewer cavalry, to run back and forth—reinforcing the east, then the west—exhausting them utterly.

Finally, at great cost, the eastern Jin army completely tore open the Liao defense, and their heavy armored infantry rode forward on horseback.

If the eastern Jin's heavy armored infantry reached the Liao front lines, the Liao army might be defeated.

Yet even with the eastern Jin's momentum so strong, the Liao army did not abandon their position, nor did the eastern Jin feel any joy.

Because, at the same time, the battle between the Song army and the western Jin forces was nearing its conclusion.

The western Jin army relied primarily on massed cavalry charges, attempting to break the Song formation through sheer horsepower and split their lines.

But as the western Jin cavalry approached, the Song infantry, having rested for days, swiftly formed ranks—front row kneeling, rear row standing—alternating volleys to ensure continuous firepower;

The square formations coordinated with each other, covering each other's flanks to avoid being encircled and split by the western Jin cavalry;

Artillery was deployed behind or between the squares, bombarding the charging western Jin cavalry clusters to weaken their momentum, then finishing them off with coordinated volleys of Li Lin muskets and Shenbi bows from within the squares.

This tactic caused every western Jin cavalry charge to smash against a "wall of firepower"—even if a few western Jin cavalry broke through near the squares, they were repelled by crossfire from the circular formation or spears.

The stability and sustained firepower of the hollow square formation rendered the western Jin cavalry utterly unable to advance, fully demonstrating the dimensional suppression of modern military tactics over traditional cavalry tactics.

When western Jin warhorses were hit—or even just heard the cannon fire—they panicked and collided, suffering heavy casualties.

Despite this, the western Jin's elite officers refused to give up; they repeatedly organized cavalry charges, even sending some cavalry close enough to the Song lines, but they were repelled by spear squares, and their arrows were mostly blocked by Song shield-bearers.

Once the Song central command fully halted the western Jin's massive arrowhead formation, under Li Lin's command, the Song continued using the "firepower tiered coverage" tactic, driving the western Jin back in retreat, too terrified to advance.

At that moment, the two wings of the Song crane-wing formation—the Jing Sui Army—charged toward the left and right flanks of the western Jin.

Seeing the might displayed by the Jing Sui Army, Wanyan Wulu knew these fully armored cavalry were formidable.

Yet despite knowing this, Wanyan Wulu still sent twenty thousand Liao light cavalry to meet them, attempting to block these two Jing Sui units.

But how could light cavalry possibly stand against fully armored cavalry, especially when the Song's two wings also had massive numbers of heavy cavalry?

After mere moments of engagement, the Liao light cavalry—who had little desire to fight for the Jin—were routed.

In short, after routing the Liao light cavalry, the Jing Sui Army shattered the western Jin's left and right flanks, and the Song infantry and cavalry behind them began encircling the western Jin's main force.

Once encircled, the Jing Sui Army and Song cavalry began pursuing western Jin troops outside the encirclement, preventing them from striking the Song infantry's encircling lines.

As for the western Jin's main force trapped inside the encirclement, they were attacked from all sides by Song infantry.

Zhao Jian received his unit commander's order: "Drop your shields, and within ten breaths, throw all your Hongtian Lei into the enemy ranks—aim for the thickest clusters, and don't forget to pull the lanyard!"

Zhao Jian obeyed, immediately discarding his large shield, still pierced with several arrows, and, as his drillmaster taught, hurled all his Hongtian Lei into the encircled Jin troops in the shortest time possible.

Tens of thousands of infantry did the same as Zhao Jian, so that within the encircled Jin formation, it was suddenly as if struck by a meteor shower—except these meteors exploded.

Hongtian Lei detonated in succession, flames roaring skyward, thick smoke billowing, mingled with the screams of Jin soldiers and the neighing of warhorses—the scene was horrific beyond words.

The western Jin's main force inside the encirclement, stunned by this sudden, ferocious assault, were already compressed together—and now they collapsed into utter chaos.

Fully armored cavalry, heavy cavalry, heavy infantry—all became useless once crammed together.

Especially the Jin cavalry, unable to charge, could only be slaughtered by Song infantry.

Moreover, the shockwaves from Hongtian Lei explosions could not be stopped by iron armor.

Most crucially, under Li Lin's command, all Li Lin cannons were turned to continuously bombard the western Jin's trapped main force.

Simultaneously, Li Lin muskets and Shenbi bows also fired into the encircled western Jin main force.

Thus, the western Jin's trapped main force was utterly trapped.

The dense barrage of cannon fire and Hongtian Lei explosions wove a symphony of death—each detonation accompanied by countless screams of western Jin soldiers and the mournful cries of warhorses.

The western Jin's heavy infantry, with at least two layers of armor, crumbled like paper under the shockwaves of Hongtian Lei explosions, especially under Li Lin cannon fire, offering no more protection than any other Jin soldier.

Song infantry swiftly slaughtered the western Jin's main force without the slightest hesitation.

Wanyan Wulu watched this horrific scene, filled with despair and resentment—he had never imagined that the once-mighty, unconquerable Jin army would, on this day, be utterly crushed by the Song army's novel tactics and overwhelming firepower.

Wanyan Wulu attempted to rally the remaining Liao light cavalry for a counterattack, but on this battlefield of chaos and terror, any order sounded hollow and powerless.

The western Jin's trapped main force scattered in all directions, trampling each other, utterly devoid of discipline and order.