Chapter 157: Chapter Seventy: The Riverbank

After the main battle at Changshe city had lasted a little over an hour, the outcome of the campaign was already completely decided.

At this point, Han Shizhong had broken through successfully, the siege of Changshe was lifted, and the main Jin forces left to hold the area had collapsed across the front. Roughly speaking, there seemed no doubt: it was a great victory for the Song army and a great defeat for the Jin army.

But to be fair, the Song army's performance in this battle was still not good enough—it could only be called passable. It was only because they had done so poorly before that this time seemed exceptionally outstanding.

Relatively speaking, the Jin army had still performed decently, but the arrogance and pride born from their past victories made it hard for them to accept such a natural defeat—and it was certainly natural. Despite the difference between cavalry and infantry, with a fivefold disparity in numbers, wasn't it perfectly normal to lose within an hour?

On the contrary, the fact that in the past a Jin force of ten or twenty thousand could drive seventy or eighty thousand, even over a hundred thousand Song troops before them—that was the abnormal thing.

Back to the present, the stunned Talan still found it hard to accept this reality. He stood rooted in place, caught between fear and hesitation... Experience and Jin military tradition told him that now he should take his last two meng'an and charge straight at the dragon banner without regard for anything. According to Jin military law, once he, as marshal, began to charge, all Jin cavalry on the battlefield would turn back, and it might not be impossible to reverse the situation against all odds. Yet at the same time, the instinct for survival told him he should take those last two meng'an, abandon everything, and flee across the Zhuo Yi River!

In fact, Talan himself probably didn't realize that his hesitation was futile. No matter how hard he struggled, it was useless—because when he accepted Qin Hui's advice and used political maneuvering to rise to the position of Right Vice-Marshal; when he faced the suddenly assembled main Song force and chose to temporize with Du Chong on the opposite side; when Han Shizhong broke out and he failed to send those two meng'an out accordingly... he had long since lost something of what he had when he followed his cousin Wanyan Aguda into battle.

This man had clearly and unmistakably grown old and degenerate. But worse for the Jin people, at this very moment, because of his age and decline, he had become a high-ranking figure at the top of the Jin state and army.

Of course, Talan had grown old, but some had not.

Just as this Jin Right Vice-Marshal stood dazed and confused before the overwhelming tide of Song troops, Hong Ya, who had already mounted his horse, could no longer bear it. Perhaps emboldened by his earlier passage through the battlefield, this man actually stepped forward, took the reins from Talan's hand, and then, leading Talan's warhorse with one hand while urging his own mount with the other, turned and headed back.

No Jin officer or Talan's guards would ever have thought to do such a thing, and the rest of the Han defector officials dared not. But once Adjutant Hong pulled the Right Vice-Marshal's mount around, these men all silently turned and followed.

And as the Song army's sweeping momentum grew behind them, these men ran faster and faster. Eventually, there was no need for Adjutant Hong to hold the reins—everyone spontaneously fled toward the pontoon bridge over the Zhuo Yi River northwest of Changshe.

This action directly triggered the final great collapse of the Jin army—only now was it truly a great Song victory and a great Jin defeat.

In the camp, the Han supplementary troops began surrendering en masse. Jin cavalrymen, panicked and reckless, started imitating the Song troops who had scattered earlier, fleeing into the water, only to be weighed down by their armor and unable to rise. And the last two meng'an under Talan's command—two meng'an that had not fired a single arrow—finally set a new record under the Song pursuit: a fresh force that three months ago could have swept through seven or eight Song counties and forced a Song commander to stay behind his walls, now collapsed without a fight!

The Song army easily took the Jin camp, secured control of the great river island where Changshe stood, and began to freely hunt and slaughter the Jin troops. Hunter and prey had swapped places in an instant, and the facts proved that both sides were just ordinary living men!

Of course, there were still differences between armies. Concerned about the ten meng'an that might arrive at any moment, the fastest to regroup—Yue Fei's and Wang Yan's units—gave up the chase and began to redeploy defensive lines back along the river. Han Shizhong's force also maintained control. As the local garrison of Changshe, they used their familiarity with the terrain to quickly locate the shallows and remaining pontoon bridges within the river island's range, and conducted a large-scale search of the scattered troops, trying to trap and block the Jin stragglers completely within this circle.

In contrast, the troops of the Eastern Capital Pacification Headquarters were somewhat chaotic. To compete for the greatest military merit—Talan's head—at least four or five commanders, seven or eight deputy commanders, and nearly twenty thousand troops crossed the Zhuo Yi River and chased northward.

However, in Zhao Jiu's slightly tense and excited inquiry, the three high-ranking generals—Han, Yue, and Wang—who had regrouped all believed there was no need to restrain them. Because once they fled north from the Zhuo Yi River, they would reach the west bank of the Yi River, where clear and muddy waters merged. The wide Yi River was enough to block any attempt by those ten meng'an to cross in force. Under these circumstances, hunting down Jin stragglers as much as possible was certainly no problem.

Moreover, and more importantly, the value of Talan's head alone was worth five meng'an! Getting it would certainly be a good thing!

In fact, once he was certain, the Zhao Emperor even sent his trusted Liu Yan out specifically to lead the Red Heart Company, using their cavalry advantage to pursue Talan.

Back to the present, Pucha Hubulu did not keep the Song army waiting long between the clear and muddy branches of the Yi River, nor did the restraint of the three generals Han, Yue, and Wang allow Hubulu to gain any advantage... In the later afternoon, before evening, this Jin Battalion Commander and his ten meng'an, having nearly run their horses' legs off rushing back from the northeast, could only gaze at the river and the battle lines in frustration.

And no matter how hard it was to accept, this Jin general in his prime had to quickly realize the cruel reality before him—the Jin army had suffered a great defeat, and the victorious Song army had left no opening to exploit.

Not only that, but after scouts returned and reported that a considerable number of Jin troops were fleeing along the west bank of the Yi River, Pucha Hubulu, realizing what was happening, had no reason to stay here in futile confrontation... Nightfall was not far off. Staying here would be useless for the Jin army, which had no foothold. Meanwhile, his patron, his father-in-law, his commander-in-chief, might still be in flight.

And so, Hubulu came quickly and withdrew just as quickly. After only a quarter of an hour, he led his troops north along the Yi River.

This decisiveness naturally drew exuberant cheers from the Song army.

"Your Majesty, please be wary of this man."

On the command platform that had been Wanyan Talan's, beneath the re-erected dragon banner, Yue Fei squinted as he watched the ten thousand cavalry on the opposite bank turn back decisively. He followed the dust trail heading north, then turned and addressed the emperor with a bow, his tone serious. "This general is so resolute—he is by no means comparable to Wanyan Talan or Da... "

The Zhao Emperor knew the other was reminding him not to become arrogant from this great victory and rashly seek another battle in the short term. Having learned from his past arrogance after the Huai River campaign, and now here, Zhao Jiu himself had gained some life experience—especially since Yue Fei himself was offering the reminder.

He immediately nodded without hesitation.

However, the Zhao Emperor, richer in human experience, did not forget to take the opportunity to 'consult' the other two generals as he nodded: "What do Minister Han and Minister Wang think?"

Han Shizhong was in high spirits at the moment, so naturally whatever the emperor said was fine.

Wang Yan beside him frowned slightly but did not refute: "Your servant believes that Pucha Hubulu is indeed decisive and should be treated with caution."

Zhao Jiu nodded, lost in thought, and said no more.

Leaving aside how Pucha Hubulu's decisiveness sobered the Zhao Emperor from his boiling blood, on the other side, Wanyan Talan fled north in panic. His troops had mostly scattered while crossing the pontoon bridge due to congestion and the relentless Song pursuit, and later were chased in large numbers along the main road. He was already in a miserable state.

After running seven or eight li, they finally spotted a shallow crossing. But they ran over first, then had to turn back because of the Red Heart Company's cavalry appearing on the main road. Finally, they decided to attempt crossing here, hoping to take the few dozen remaining riders across to the other side to find his son-in-law.

However, just as several Jin cavalrymen cautiously tested the shallow water, still covered with thin ice, and Talan and the others had finished removing their armor, preparing to cross with their horses floating, suddenly, from the reeds—yellow tinged with green in early spring—a group of poorly equipped men burst out. The man at the front could not suppress the joy in his heart and shouted directly: "Talan, you bastard, stripped naked—are you looking for your grandpa to oblige you?!"

Leaving aside the crudeness of his speech, when Talan and the others looked up, their hearts turned cold. This man was none other than Li Kui, whom they had searched for long and hard before the battle!

It must be said that Li Kui was indeed a meticulous man. Not only had he anticipated the danger to himself and slipped into the laborer camp early, but after the fighting began, he had also fled early across the pontoon bridge over the Zhuo Yi River, hoping to save his life in the chaos.

Not only that, after crossing the river, he did not simply flee to avoid battle. Instead, he observed the battle from the Zhuo Yi River side for a while. When he saw the Song army's momentum was overwhelming, he stopped a group of over a hundred laborers who had stolen Jin weapons and were fleeing, announcing his official rank and background... The Jin had been searching extensively for this man all day, and everyone in the laborer camp knew of his existence—how could they not believe him? Under Li Kui's half-bluffing, half-coercing, they willingly followed this army commander to this shallow crossing, hoping to 'atone for their crimes by merit.'

It could only be said that Li Kui was truly meticulous... He knew that if he and his few dozen laborers stayed at the pontoon bridge, they would have no chance of blocking anyone. And the chase on the main road had nothing to do with him. So he had found this shallow crossing early, and when he saw Talan and his party arrive, he forced himself to wait. Only when they had removed their armor and were about to cross did he lead his men out.

Talan's group had already lost their nerve. Now, nearly stripped bare, when they saw Li Kui appear like a divine soldier descending from heaven, the others might have managed, but Talan himself was instantly terrified again, sinking into that state of waiting for death.

Only Hong Ya, who had also removed his armor, tried to direct the remaining dozen or so exhausted, armorless Jin soldiers to fight back in the icy shallows, while he and some civilian officials clustered around Talan, urging him to cross the river on horseback.

However, the gap in morale between the two sides was so great, and without the advantage of armor, fighting in water with ice shards, the dozen or so Jin soldiers, though brave, were quickly suppressed by the several times more numerous laborers, who had stolen weapons and were waiting at ease. Not to mention that Li Kui himself was a hero from Jingdong, second only to Li Zhang, the 'Heaven-Piercing Eagle,' in his hometown of Yishui. How else could he have carved out a territory in Mizhou and taken a seat of power? How else could he have been accepted by Zhang Rong of Mount Shuipo Liang when he arrived at Dongping Prefecture?

And so, this Commander Li, bare-chested, revealing his white, sinewy muscles and gaudy tattoos, charged into battle with a sword in one hand and a large wooden shield in the other, fighting the similarly naked Jin soldiers.

As the two sides clashed, before Talan could take more than a few steps into the river, Li Kui had already cut down three or four men in an instant, broke through the resistance, and went straight for the completely exposed Talan.

With a few swings of his blade, two of the defector civilian officials escorting Talan were also killed. The rest scattered like birds and beasts. By then, Talan was already resigned to his fate.

But heaven would not let this wretched old man die. Just then, an arrow, full of force, flew across the river and struck Li Kui squarely in the shoulder. Li Kui hastily dropped his sword and raised his shield to observe. Only then did he see that a large Jin force had gathered on the opposite bank at some point, and he was instantly helpless.

However, Pucha Hubulu, who had rushed over hastily and had to wade into the river to shoot and rescue, was even more panicked than Li Kui. Because when Li Kui's group burst out, they had scattered most of Talan's guards, and the warhorses had bolted out of control... At this moment, only a trembling Adjutant Hong remained by Talan's side.

Pray tell, how could a wretched old man and a southern civilian official, stripped naked, without horses to rely on, cross this shallow stretch with thin floating ice above and swift, hidden currents below? In fact, the two, supporting each other, stumbled a few steps before losing their balance.

And worse, the river upstream was wide, and the Jin army's range couldn't reach the opposite bank. Only Pucha Hubulu himself, wading into the waist-deep, ice-filled river, raising his powerful composite bow high and shooting blindly, could barely reach the other side. And even then, he had only gritted his teeth and shot at the last desperate moment... It was fortunate he hit. But if the Song army noticed the commotion and came after them, raining arrows down from that side, what would happen to the wretched old man then?

To be honest, at this point Hubulu wanted to abandon the wretched old man on the opposite bank. But he truly could not... As a direct subordinate Battalion Commander, how could he face ten thousand troops and abandon his own marshal? Where would military law be? If he didn't rescue him today, the lord of the state would personally strangle him when he returned!

And besides, that was his father-in-law, his political patron.

So, this Jin Battalion Commander, with no other choice, ordered his personal guards on the bank to set up large crossbows, then wade into the river, holding them high to cover Li Kui and his men on the opposite bank. He then stripped off most of his armor, took a tall warhorse that had been stripped of its barding, and crossed the river to rescue them.

The few cavalry guards behind him could only do the same, each steeling themselves to follow.

In the end, relying on his sheer ferocity, this man led seven or eight men across, and even gave his warhorse to Talan. Then, with Talan mounted, clutching the horse's neck, and Hong Ya holding the horse's tail, under Pucha Hubulu's personal rearguard action, they slowly crossed the river surrounded by a few guards.

Seeing this, Li Kui, hiding behind his shield, was utterly disappointed, feeling that he had taken this arrow for nothing today.

But then, Hubulu, seeing his father-in-law reach the middle of the river, was about to withdraw to the east bank. He took a few steps, then caught sight of the shield standing in the shallows. Rage surged within him. Deciding to go all the way, he turned back and led his bare-chested guards westward, intent on cutting this man down!

This time, it was Li Kui's turn to despair. With the enemy officer coming for hand-to-hand combat, he no longer had to worry about the inaccurate crossbow bolts from the opposite bank. But he had a wounded arm, and only a few laborers on the bank who hadn't yet fled—how could they resist?

Sure enough, after a few exchanges, the few remaining laborers on the bank who hadn't fled were scattered by the fresh Jin soldiers and fled in panic. Li Kui himself was in a miserable state, nearly losing his life on the riverbank at Hubulu's hands!

But as they say, fortune turns, with twists and turns—battlefield events are always so volatile... Perhaps it was not Li Kui's day to die. In the chaos, another Song force suddenly surged in. The commotion here had attracted a unit of the Great Song army searching for merit along the river. With a large Song force arriving, it was easy to use arrows to finish off the few remaining Jin soldiers on the bank.

Not only that, but the leading general actually recognized Li Kui, and after charging out, he was directly clad in heavy armor, wearing an iron helmet and iron mask, and came to the riverbank to rescue him, calling out from afar to try to frighten the Jin Jun officers:

"Brother Li, do not worry—Niu Gao of Ruzhou is here!"

Upon hearing this and catching a glimpse that the man was burly and no ordinary person, and that the personal guards who had crossed the river with him had been killed to a man, Pucha Hubulu naturally dared not linger in battle and immediately abandoned Li Kui to withdraw and flee.

And just then, Li Kui looked up and felt a stir in his heart... because he noticed that after Dalai on the opposite bank had come ashore, he did not take the chance to escape, but instead stared anxiously at this Jin Jun officer who had come to cut him down—clearly this general was no ordinary figure.

At this, Commander Li almost instantly realized the man's identity, yet he gritted his teeth, snapped the arrow in his shoulder, and then, disregarding everything, charged forward with his shield braced on his shoulder. With a single fierce lunge, he tackled the man down onto the riverbank, and did not forget to turn back and shout to Niu Gao: "Commander Niu, come quickly, come quickly—I'm giving you a sky-high merit!"

How could Hubulu not know that his identity had been exposed? He struggled to rise in the shallow water, but how could Li Kui let him get up? He pressed down on the man from behind with his shield! At this scene, the Jin Jun crossbowmen on the opposite side dared not shoot recklessly, and could only watch in stunned silence as the general under the banner with the character Niu, clad in heavy armor, rushed at great speed into the icy, slushy shallows and calmly joined the melee!

And what happened next left everyone dumbfounded—Habulu struggled fiercely in the water, trying to get up, while Niu Gao, whose burly frame made his weapons hard to wield, simply abandoned his long weapon, imitated Li Kui, and relying on his heavy armor, pressed down hard on the Jin Jun general's waist, then reached out and pinned one of his arms. Meanwhile, Li Kui, now free, raised his shield and slammed it down onto the neck of the man beneath him.

Only Li Kui was injured, but even after that blow, he still could not finish off the Jin Jun Battalion Commander beneath him. With no other choice, this bare-armed Song Jun commander simply set the shield upright on the man's neck and then pressed his whole body down on top of it...

The Jin Jun were thrown into chaos. Countless Jin soldiers, ignoring the water's conditions, tried to cross the river to rescue him, but how could a hasty crossing be easy? After a few steps, some slipped and sank beneath the icy slush, unable to rise again. A few crossbowmen forced shots, but they had no accuracy.

As it happened, Pucha Hubulu was truly fierce and brave. Pinned down by two Song generals, he still struggled incessantly, occasionally forcing his head up from the icy water. But every time he raised his head, the two generals behind him would press down again... This farce lasted a full quarter of an hour before all movement finally ceased.

By this time, countless Jin Jun and Song Jun had already gathered on both banks of the Yishui River, practically watching the entire spectacle of how this Jin Jun Battalion Commander was drowned alive by two Song generals in water barely a foot deep.

As for others, on the opposite bank, Wanyan Dalai had fled over naked, surrounded by his ten thousand cavalry, and knowing he was safe, had already come to his senses. But now, standing by the river and watching his son-in-law suffer this fate from afar, utterly powerless, he completely lost his voice, trembling all over, feeling as if he had lost his heart and guts, as if his very liver and gall had been torn away!

In this battle, he had lost too much!

PS: Thank you to reader Lanyun Xiangfeng for the new alliance, this is the sixty-fifth alliance!

And then continue to offer up the new book, "Summoning the Great Age of Strategy"—traveling through a chaotic world, fortunately with a summoning system by one's side. Civil officials and military generals all bow before you; with a hundred thousand armored men, why not seize the passes and mountains?