Chapter 402: Decisive as This

"Burn the hot air balloon!"

Watching the Song army's urgent yet orderly maneuvers, Gao Jingshan, who had seen through Yue Fei's intentions and knew Wang Bolong exceptionally well, felt his scalp about to burst. After recovering slightly, he immediately issued a new order.

"What?"

Gao Qingyi also saw the problem, breaking out in cold sweat as well, but couldn't understand Gao Jingshan's command at first.

"Raise the remaining hot air balloon too, then burn it to give a warning!" Gao Jingshan urged. "This is the fastest and most obvious method we have right now."

"Will it work?" Gao Qingyi countered on the spot.

"Whether it works or not, we have to try." Gao Jingshan was frantic. "If it can't warn Wang Bolong, maybe it can still alert Ali, Shaoge, Prince Wei, and Balisu. Burn it now!" At this point, his tone softened slightly as he added, "Wang Bolong's death is no great loss, but if because of him today's general assault fails, we'll truly be trapped like turtles in a jar!"

Gao Qingyi, dazed, hurried off.

However, a hot air balloon—just as Gao Qingyi had lectured the defending city commander about—took time to find, rig up, and raise, let alone hastily modify for quick ignition. How could that be done in a rush?

And just as Gao Qingyi finished relaying the order to fuss with the balloon and returned to the city wall, in the Song army's core camp north of the city, seeing the ambush forces roughly in place, Tian Shizhong did not hesitate. Leading two brigade commanders, eight battalion commanders, and about four thousand infantry, he crossed the eastern line, which had seen no fighting, directly seized the river embankment on the opposite bank, and challenged the Jin army.

Now, from the moment the Song army's banners crossed the other side of the embankment, the Jin scout cavalry spying on the situation from the opposite embankment could hardly believe their eyes. And when the Song army actually crossed the river and began forming ranks on this side's embankment, the Jin troops, who had just received the news from the scouts and witnessed the scene firsthand, turned their astonishment into jeering laughter.

There was no help for it—like commander, like troops.

Wang Bolong, though a standard Han Chinese by ancestry, was from what would later be within Heilongjiang province (a native of Shuangcheng, Harbin, Heilongjiang), and in the present era, from the area around Huining Prefecture and Huanglong Prefecture. So from a cultural standpoint, he was probably even closer to the Jurchens than the Koreans and Bohai people of southern Liao territory.

Moreover, Wang Bolong had exceptional credentials. He was one of the late-Liao bandits, a revolutionary comrade who, like the Jurchens and the Bohai people of that era, had resisted the brutal rule of the Great Liao... Beyond that, as a rare Han Chinese military leader in the very early days of the Jurchen regime, he was rough in temperament but didn't band together and make trouble like the Bohai people. Yet he was a fierce and decisive commander in battle. So despite being Han, he was a standard core follower of Aguda, highly valued and trusted.

This was immediately evident from his later official positions and experiences.

When Aguda died and Wuqimai succeeded him, Wang Bolong was immediately appointed Military Governor. He then distinguished himself as a trusted general under the Second Prince, Wolibu. He was first in merit for suppressing Zhang Jue, served as the left-wing commander at the Battle of Baihe, and was the vanguard of the eastern army during the southern campaign to destroy Song. During the Jingkang Incident, he was also one of the main Wanhu commanders besieging the capital.

After the Second Prince Wolibu died, he followed the Fourth Prince Wushu and Army Supervisor Talan on a campaign in Jingdong. After reducing Jinan, he fought at Qingzhou, decisively breaking tens of thousands of Song troops and Shandong volunteer forces, driving off Liu Hongdao and Zhao Mingcheng. He was again ranked first in merit.

Then, when Wushu marched south to the Huai River, Wang Bolong was ordered to accompany Talan in attacking Great Ming Prefecture, scaring off Du Chong and securing all of Hebei.

Afterwards, he and his Wanhu were stationed in the Hejian area, serving as the main rear-guard force for the region south of Yanjing and for Hebei.

Such a man was, without doubt, one of the Jin army's core generals, and his Wanhu was, without doubt, one of the Jin state's foundational units... This had nothing to do with whether he was Han Chinese or how many Han and Jurchens were in his command.

More importantly, starting from the Huai River region, Wang Bolong had, by chance, avoided several fierce battles between Song and Jin. This meant that while maintaining a war record of near-invincibility, he had never truly clashed with the so-called Imperial Guard units.

To be precise, during this northern expedition, Wang Bolong's force had clearly held the advantage in engagements with the Song Imperial Guard's Right Army, winning at Xiajin and then forcing the Song army to abandon three prefectures and retreat.

With such a record, why should he and his men be cautious?

"What are you laughing at?"

Seeing the Song army hastily forming ranks after crossing the embankment while sending an envoy with a challenge, Wang Bolong, who had laughed first, finished chuckling, stroked his beard while looking around from his horse, and his tone turned stern. "What are you all laughing at? Don't you know their sortie is understandable? Don't you know sending an envoy to challenge us like this is actually a good strategy?"

The surrounding group of Meng'an and Mouke commanders, some Han, some Jurchen, and some Xi and Khitan, all fully armored like Wang Bolong, straightened up at his words, as if they hadn't been laughing along just moments before.

Wang Bolong, nearing fifty, showed slight satisfaction at this. He then pointed at the Song army formation from his horse, belly protruding, and asked with a disdainful look: "Do you know why they took the initiative to attack?"

No one around answered.

Wang Bolong pointed and explained on his own: "The banner says 'Tian,' so that's Tian Shizhong. Tian Shizhong is the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Zhang family army and the son-in-law of Grand Marshal Zhang Jun. Zhang Jun is reportedly ill and didn't come, so he sent Tian to lead the troops. But precisely because of this, Yue Fei of the Yue family army became the marshal, making the Zhang family army the junior partner this time. And that Tian fellow himself has to be bullied by Yue Fei..."

Wang Bolong spoke with certainty, and the generals all nodded, finding it quite plausible.

"If I'm not mistaken," Wang Bolong continued with a smile, "the Song army's western flank must be well-fortified with deep moats and high walls, and since the Fourth Prince hasn't launched a full attack yet, they've held for now. This made these people think the Great Jin's troops are nothing special. So Yue Fei's subordinates used the Zhang army's previous defeat by us to needle Tian Shizhong... If Tian Shizhong has any face left and wants to keep his post as Commander-in-Chief, he has to come out and make a fuss with us. Otherwise, he won't be able to hold his head up in the army. And Yue Fei, if he cares at all about the bigger picture, can only let him come out."

Hearing this, the men showed looks of realization, one after another saying the Wanhu's reasoning was sound.

"As for the strategy," Wang Bolong withdrew his finger and continued stroking his beard with a smile, "I know Tian Shizhong's unit. Though far inferior to us, they're not complete cowards. If I'm not mistaken, that Tian fellow charging straight to the embankment and sending someone to challenge us is meant to startle us. Then, either we grow suspicious or we just laugh at him—either way, he wants to confuse us so he can set up his formation, back against the embankment, with long spears and strong crossbows. That way, he can at least hold out for a while. After stalling for a bit, he can carefully withdraw and boast about it in camp."

The other generals suddenly understood, and one asked on the spot: "If that's the case, how should we respond?"

"Simple." Wang Bolong's expression changed again as he gave a stern order. "We simply won't let that Tian fellow have his way. He wants to delay, so we'll smash him before he's firmly set! Xiao Chang!"

"Here." The Xi Meng'an who had asked the question immediately reined in his horse and spoke.

"Take fifteen Mouke and charge along the embankment from the south!"

"Understood."

"Zhao Ba!"

"Here." A Han general promptly rode forward.

"You also take fifteen Mouke and strike from the north."

"Yes."

"Where's Old He?"

"Here..."

"Don't charge forward. You lead the rear Han troops out. When that Tian fellow can't hold on, you cover us from behind. Then follow me as we press in and see if we can take his main camp..."

"Got it."

"The rest of you, once Old Zhao and Old Xiao have them in a pincer, follow me and charge through!" Wang Bolong suddenly raised his hand and then slashed it down fiercely. "Move now, don't just wait... In this battle, I'm still the vanguard of the entire army, right at the front with you all!"

The generals roared their assent.

Immediately, Wang Bolong's force, which had been lingering outside the Song army's main camp east of the river, split into infantry and cavalry. The cavalry then divided into three groups. The two wings spread out first, moving from left and right to pincer Tian Shizhong. Finally, Wang Bolong himself led the remaining iron cavalry directly forward.

Now, as soon as Tian Shizhong came out and crossed the river, he sent a man to deliver a challenge. Wang Bolong, after just a few words of jest with the man, gave the order directly, without waiting at all.

And then he acted on it immediately, abandoning the infantry and moving the cavalry first. What speed was that?

Not only was Gao Jingshan on the city wall, still waiting for the hot air balloon, momentarily stunned, but even Yue Fei on the earthen hill was taken aback... He had been worrying that the baiting strategy might fail!

However, with everyone so far apart, some misjudgment was normal. One person reacted extremely quickly—Tian Shizhong, who was closest.

You see, to lure the enemy, Tian Shizhong had brought out two relatively weak brigade units, and he was already being cautious. What made his blood run cold was that the moment he crossed the river and reached this embankment, he immediately noticed something: every single cavalryman in Wang Bolong's iron cavalry was fully armored!

This meant two things.

First, Wang Bolong had indeed been itching for a fight all along, eager to engage, which was why he hadn't removed his armor all morning.

Second, since they were fully armored, Wang Bolong's troops, especially the main cavalry, could strike at any moment.

So, the instant he crossed the embankment and noticed this, Tian Shizhong keenly realized that what he now had to worry about wasn't whether the baiting would succeed, but whether the two Imperial Guard Right Army brigade units he'd brought to lure the enemy could survive.

In fact, Wang Bolong had guessed correctly: that envoy wasn't sent to anger him, but to buy time.

And with that thought in mind, as soon as the Jin army moved, Tian Shizhong did not hesitate. He ordered the front ranks to become the rear, with the two designated vanguard battalion commanders each leading four to five hundred men as a rearguard to cover the remaining troops as they quickly crossed the river and withdrew to the main camp.

However, even though Tian Shizhong reacted extremely quickly, how could the three thousand fully armored Jin iron cavalry on both flanks be slow? Seeing the Song army retreating, these Jin troops, who had long been impatient for military merit, did not hesitate. Without waiting for their formation to be fully assembled, without waiting for all units to be in position, they charged down the embankment from both flanks on their own accord.

The Jin cavalry had no time to adjust their assault formation, and the Song army units hastily turned around. The two sides clashed in a chaotic state, immediately descending into a melee.

However, the cavalry that crashed into both flanks were precisely the two rear-guard command units that Tian Shizhong had arranged. Therefore, as the main commander, Tian Shizhong did not waver in the slightest, only urging the central troops to quickly return to the stockade.

But it was at this moment that Wang Bolong's command flag also moved. This grand commander, seeing the Song army about to retreat, disregarded his own incomplete formation and hastily led his troops to charge.

Say what you will, but Wang Bolong's charge actually succeeded.

By this time, the main Song force had already turned and climbed the river embankment, moving onto the ice. The two rear-guard command units left behind totaled less than a thousand men. With both flanks pinched and their rear exposed, they were then charged head-on by Wang Bolong. They almost instantly suffered heavy casualties and then collapsed on the spot.

The thousand-man rear guard completely threw away their armor and fled in panic.

At least half of the feigned retreat strategy had turned into a real defeat.

And at this moment, one of the rear-guard commanders keenly noticed another danger—the hooves of Wang Bolong's cavalry were wrapped in ragged hemp cloth.

This certainly wouldn't allow the Jin cavalry to charge on the frozen Yellow River, but it was enough to let these riders stay mounted and directly continue pursuing the routed troops.

As a commander, this man could not possibly know the Song army's grand plan, but he immediately became terrified.

"Wang Bolong!"

After a moment of daze and hesitation, this Song army commander, who had already fled to the highest point of the embankment, turned his head back, removed his faceguard, raised his iron mace, and shouted down at the riverbank. "Do you still remember Zhang Kui of Anzhou?!"

Wang Bolong, wearing his mask, looked toward the sound. Recognizing an old acquaintance from Liaodong, he immediately pulled off his mask and laughed heartily.

But he laughed for only a moment before suddenly stopping. Then he turned to his men and said, "That man is an old friend of mine from Liaodong! He wants to delay us all by himself... Shoot him dead!"

The many iron cavalry behind him, upon hearing this, did not hesitate. They swarmed to the foot of the embankment, drew their heavy bows, and fired a dense volley at the Song general on the embankment who held the mace. In the space of a whistle, Zhang Kui was pierced through his armor by numerous heavy arrows and fell without a sound.

Seeing this, Wang Bolong's speech grew more urgent: "This old friend of mine was a bastard in his day too. I never thought he'd show some backbone today... And the fact that he wanted to delay us like this shows the Song really are broken. Don't hesitate, follow me in pursuit!"

With that, he personally spurred his horse and rode westward from the foot of the embankment. Though his pace was not fast, it was marked by absolute decisiveness and not a single moment's pause.

Behind and around him, the several thousand Liaodong iron cavalry who had been sweeping along the embankment, killing Song troops, now saw this. No one dared to continue the chaotic battle, no one dared to vie for loot. They gathered together, clustering around Wang Bolong's great banner and Wang Bolong himself, pressing forward against the fleeing Song troops at a steady, unhurried pace.

By the time they climbed the embankment, most of his cavalry had already assembled. By the time they slowly descended to the river, almost no one was still pursuing in scattered groups. By the time Wang Bolong's great banner followed the Song routed troops across the ice path, the several thousand cavalry had already formed up and gathered on the frozen river, moving as one.

Seen from afar, their momentum was truly magnificent and extraordinary.

The entire process took no more than a quarter of an hour.

On the earthen mound, Yue Fei, who had turned his chair around, saw this scene without changing his expression. He simply turned to Huang Zong and said, "Wang Bolong came too fast. This is a good thing, but we can't let a good thing turn bad... Order Zhang Xian to deploy troops immediately. Don't wait for Wang Gang either. Send flag signals at once, and have both sides attack immediately!"

Huang Zong understood and left.

At almost the same time, on the city gate tower north of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan and Gao Qingyi fell into a strange, silent atmosphere.

The two stared fixedly at Wang Bolong's fierce, wolf-like momentum, saying not a word. Only when Wang Bolong's great banner crossed the eastern river channel and surged onto the embankment by the Song army's stockade did Gao Qingyi seem to come to his senses and ask:

"Commander, should we still burn the hot air balloon?"

"Burn it. Why wouldn't we?" Gao Jingshan turned back to answer, his tone terrifyingly calm. "Burning that thing will at least let the world know that we did our best, won't it?"

Gao Qingyi, who had been terrified at the sight of Wang Bolong's banner reappearing at the highest point of the embankment and had been harboring thoughts of escape, had asked precisely because of this. Now receiving the order, he ignored the fact that he had already finished relaying commands and hurriedly turned to descend the city wall again.

"Call Pusuyue up here." Gao Jingshan turned and gave the other man a deep look before adding another order. "I want to assess the situation and send him out... Come back quickly after you burn the balloon!"

Gao Qingyi did not turn his head, only nodding repeatedly as he hurried down.

Just as Gao Qingyi descended the city wall, on the other side, Wang Bolong also reached the highest point of the embankment and finally caught sight of the dense, massive Song army stockade.

He certainly could not, like Gao Jingshan on Yuancheng, have glimpsed the Song army's previous deployment direction and guessed at any obvious ambush. But this did not prevent him from realizing that the Song army's camp was far more orderly than he had imagined.

Therefore, he hesitated noticeably.

But only for a moment. This veteran Jin grand commander then laughed heartily for the third time, turned to his generals, and said:

"The Song camp is orderly and not easy to trample. But ahead of us are routed Song troops, and four or five li further ahead on that earthen mound is the Song commander-in-chief's standard, with that ball hanging there too... We should be the first army to cross the outer defense line, but that's nothing. If we can chase the routed troops all the way to that earthen mound, then that sky-high merit will truly be ours!"

The generals already understood Wang Bolong's meaning, but by now, some officers had developed a fear of the Song camp and took the initiative to advise: "Grand Commander, should we wait for General He? He can be here in at most a quarter of an hour. With this kind of camp, having five thousand Han infantry as support would more than double our chances of victory."

Wang Bolong thought it over for a rare moment.

But just then, a sudden clamor arose among the surrounding troops, drawing the attention of all the generals on the ground. They looked up to see a hot air balloon, identical in design to the Song army's, rising into the sky above Yuancheng to the north.

After staring at it for a while, this Han grand commander let out a cold laugh on the spot:

"Gao Jingshan is thinking of having me go south to save him, not wanting me to storm the camp... Always putting on such a show, but when it comes down to it, doesn't he still have to beg me for help?"

All the generals remained silent.

"Old Xiao is overthinking things. We can't let the routed troops get a firm foothold." After laughing, Wang Bolong immediately shook his head sternly and made his decision again. "If the routed troops recover in the camp and defend from it, it'll be truly hard for us to break through... There's no time to lose. Press forward immediately!"

By the end of his speech, his demeanor was clearly stern, and what prompted him to make this decision so quickly was, ironically, Gao Jingshan's warning.

The generals did not hesitate either. Each led their troops, chasing the routed Song soldiers down the embankment and advancing toward the earthen mound due west. This forced Tian Shizhong's banner to continue leading the routed troops westward without stopping, heading straight for the central earthen mound.

It was around noon. Wang Bolong's army formally stepped into the vast Song army camp.

At almost the same moment, at the northeasternmost and western central points of the Song camp, the stockade gates opened simultaneously. Two Song army units, having received flag signal orders, left the camp at the same time... From the northeast came four thousand Beiwei cavalry led by Zhang Xian, the Controller of the Imperial Guard Forward Army. They led their hemp-wrapped horses, carefully filing out in single file, bent low, using the camp and fortifications for cover, hoping not to attract the attention of Wang Bolong's troops. From the due west, though only a thousand heavy infantry wearing straw sandals, they emerged with great fanfare, shouting battle cries as they charged out. Led by the former Controller Wang Gang, who was seeking to redeem himself, they surged toward the already chaotic western river channel. The moment they made contact, they immediately plunged into fierce hand-to-hand combat.

At the same time, the Jin commanders on the western front, namely Bolisu and Wushu, were not actually thinking too much. Because although the battle up to this moment seemed grand and fierce, it had not yet reached the point of deciding victory or defeat... The Jin army hadn't even assembled its flanking forces yet, the Song army wasn't exhausted, and the reserve troops in the rear camps hadn't yet committed to a desperate fight.

Under these circumstances, what did you expect the two Jin commanders to think about?

In fact, at this critical moment, all Jin officers were attracted by the hot air balloon over Yuancheng.

From Bolisu and Wushu on down, all staff officers and commanders were discussing what this hot air balloon meant. But after all their talk, it boiled down to nothing more than a request for reinforcements or a warning.

Completely baffled, the Jin high command's reaction was straightforward: they ordered scouts to fan out and investigate the situation... But they certainly couldn't launch a balloon themselves, because according to the original plan, the hot air balloon was to be the signal for the afternoon general offensive.

While they were still pondering, the hot air balloon over Yuancheng suddenly emitted thick smoke, then clearly broke free of control, flying up like a real, out-of-control Kongming lantern in the dead of winter.

This left the Jin high command even more speechless. Even the soldiers fighting in the western river channel paused for a moment.

Then, news immediately arrived that a Song army unit of over a thousand heavy infantry, a death-defying force, had entered the river channel along the Yongji Canal and begun sweeping southward.

At this, no one hesitated any longer.

"Marshal, Fourth Prince, Commander Gao must have been trying to warn us about this." Grand Commander Tuhesu looked at the large ball spewing black smoke and sighed from his horse. "The Song army has also detected that the southern section of the western front is a weak point, so they've sent troops in time to sweep the river channel and relieve the pressure..."

"That's right." Wushu felt that Tuhesu was stating the obvious, but he could only nod. Then he shook his head with a sigh. "Although it's a large Kongming lantern, the Song army's hot air balloons clearly have fireproofing measures. For every three of our balloons we launch, two burn up... Look at Commander Gao's—it was just a warning, and it's already burning... So we can only use ours as a signal for the general offensive."

"The urgent task now is to send an elite force to block that Song heavy infantry unit, to prevent it from gaining a foothold and giving the Song army a real chance to catch its breath." Bolisu had no interest in discussing hot air balloons. "Tuhesu, your unit is skilled in infantry combat. Dispatch twenty mouke to intercept them immediately."

Tuhesu accepted the order on the spot, selected a few meng'an, set the sequence, formed a force, and sent them out at once.

This matter could be considered concluded for now, and on the western front, the attention of all the high-ranking Jin Jun officers was focused on when that hot-air balloon would burn out, when it would fall, or where it might land.

Of course, the battlefield was so vast; men like Jin Wushu and Bolisu didn't understand the meaning of the hot-air balloon, but others, combining it with intelligence, sensed something keenly.

Due north of Yuancheng, further north of the Song Jun camp, Ali and Shaohe, who were assembling in a safe zone, both noticed the burning hot-air balloon, and they were the first Jin Jun unit to detect some unusual movement from Wang Bolong's forces.

Gao Jingshan might be warning Wang Bolong not to launch an unauthorized attack! This possibility was immediately confirmed as the two generals hastily met. So the two temporarily changed their battle plan; Ali's unit on the eastern side immediately gathered cavalry, crossed the Yellow River channel, and went east to support Wang Bolong.

To be fair, based on this alone, Gao Jingshan's warning had already succeeded.

But to prevent encountering an ambush on the river channel, Ali's unit, which originally had no river-crossing plan, needed to temporarily add anti-slip measures for their warhorses.

And everyone—from Song Jun to Jin Jun, from Yue Fei to Tian Shizhong, from Gao Jingshan to Ali and Shaohe—was helpless about one thing: Wang Bolong was too fast!

Everyone was proceeding step by step, but Wang Bolong alone, from start to finish, was decisive like this!

Tian Shizhong came out to lure the enemy, and as soon as he emerged, Wang Bolong immediately launched an assault; Gao Jingshan tried to send a warning, but before the hot-air balloon could rise, Wang Bolong directly crossed the eastern Yellow River channel; the hot-air balloon had just risen and wasn't even lit yet, before Ali and Shaohe realized the danger, Wang Bolong's unit had already burst into the Song Jun camp.

And so, just as the hot-air balloon billowed with thick smoke, and Ali and Shaohe realized the danger and temporarily decided to change their battle plan to make necessary preparations for rescue, Wang Bolong and his Wanhu were still one step ahead, even falling into a stalemate and danger with the same decisiveness.

There was no way around it.

On the city wall, Gao Jingshan coldly watched scene after scene. He saw Wang Bolong, greedy for merit, scatter his iron cavalry into the Song Jun's thick and complex camp; he saw these battle-hardened elites, normally unstoppable in field battles, naturally get split up due to the camp and terrain, plus the pursuit of fleeing Song Jun soldiers; he saw these cavalrymen, to fight effectively and avoid dense arrows, had to dismount and fight on foot.

Now, he also saw that Song Jun cavalry unit that had left a deep impression on him.

This cavalry unit cautiously tried to sneak across the river, but as soon as they set foot on the eastern channel, they attracted the attention and alarm of Wang Bolong's remaining troops.

Wang Bolong, receiving the warning, turned his horse in surprise and peered down from the river embankment. With just one look, this experienced Wanhu suddenly realized the truth, and his expression changed drastically:

"Wave the flags!"

The surrounding officers were caught off guard for a moment.

"Wave the flags!" Wang Bolong turned back, his face more serious than ever. "Wave the flags immediately, have the vanguard withdraw! This is a trap!"

His personal adjutants, dazed, quickly waved several flags together and sounded the military horn.

Inside the Song Jun camp, the Jin Jun dismounted heavy cavalry, who were advancing with some difficulty, turned back in shock. The sound and flags clearly signaled a retreat, but why retreat?

They were down below with no field of vision and had no idea what was happening.

Many immediately began to panic.

"Launch immediately!" On the earthen mound, Yue Fei, looking down from a height, issued another military order without hesitation.

In an instant, on the earthen mound serving as the Song Jun command post, seven or eight red flags waved together. The Imperial Camp Right Army's Beiwei Army, the long-axe heavy infantry that had long been itching for action, hidden in a camp on one side, immediately, led by Zhang Zigai, followed the familiar camp paths and urgently attacked the Jin Jun who had poured into the camp from the flank.

At the same time, several reserve units at the foot of the earthen mound surged forward. Tian Shizhong, who had been suppressed to the extreme on the front line, directly turned around, planted his own banner, and ordered a counterattack.

Even some bold civilian laborers began to use their familiarity with the terrain to surge out from small stockades, trying to seize those precious warhorses.

The actions of both sides had no interval, as if Wang Bolong's decisive retreat had summoned the Song Jun's ambush.

At this moment, some Jin Jun cavalrymen who had sensed the surrounding commotion came to their senses and turned their heads, but the dense ditches, camps, and passageways remained cold and unchanging. Just as they had previously hindered their effective advance, they now conversely became obstacles to their retreat.

In their panic, even these battle-hardened elites fell into a kind of disarray.

And on the river embankment, Wang Bolong saw more clearly than these soldiers... that obviously elite heavy infantry advanced extremely fast, and moreover, they intentionally or unintentionally shifted towards the outer eastern embankment, clearly intending to surround his troops within the camp and swallow them all.

At the same time, his own troops' retreat speed was far too slow.

At this rate, it seemed only a matter of time before the troops he had thrown into the Song Jun camp were completely surrounded and annihilated. As the commanding general, he had to make a quick decision: lead his personal guards and the infantry behind him down to support, or cut off the limb to save the body and withdraw immediately?

Wang Bolong stood on the river embankment. His warhorse carried him in a few restless circles, and his gaze swept repeatedly over his ambushed troops ahead, the vast Yuancheng to the south, the increasing number of Song Jun cavalry on the northern river channel, and his own infantry formation on the eastern bank behind him.

Finally, Wang Bolong, decisive as ever, became decisive once more. He pulled down his faceguard, turned his horse, spurred it eastward, and led his last cavalry unit and personal guards to seek out his infantry formation.

No fewer than forty Mouke were left behind by him in the Song Jun camp!

And these forty Mouke, within the vast camp, were like an insignificant ink stain being rapidly wiped clean by a huge cloth.

Wang Bolong's retreat on horseback disappointed everyone.

The Jin Jun, down low, witnessing their own general abandon them, were naturally dejected and angry. Generals like Yue Fei, seeing Wang Bolong so quickly cut off a limb to escape, were also disappointed... This was a Wanhu, a veteran general equivalent to a founding Wanhu, known as the bravest in the Eastern Route Army.

What a pity.

Even Tian Shizhong felt some resentment. He had sacrificed several hundred lives, and might ultimately end up with over a thousand casualties, just to hook this big fish. Now, not only had Wang Bolong escaped, but even the Jin Jun infantry hadn't followed, which he found hard to accept.

"Big Ladle, how many men have crossed over?"

On the eastern bank of the Yellow River, the heavily armored deputy general Yang Zaixing turned his head on his horse to look.

"A little over three hundred..." the commander officer Guo Jin informed him seriously. "Three Du, but one is the Young Master's."

"That makes it two hundred, two Du, one for each of us." Yang Zaixing spoke while swinging his iron spear back and forth. "Old Guo, that Wang fellow is a Wanhu. How can we let him run off like this? If I don't charge, I definitely won't be able to sleep tonight... I haven't fought a battle since crossing the river!"

Guo Jin thought for a moment, then turned to look at the 'Young Master'—Yue Yun, the young marshal who, by precedent, held the title of Jixuan Wenzi but actually served as a Dutou in the Beiwei Army—who was reorganizing his troops under the river embankment in the distance. Then he nodded: "I think it's a good idea... Let's charge before the Young Master reacts!"

With that said, Yang Zaixing reined his horse, turned it in a circle, whistled from his saddle, pulled down his faceguard, and without flags or words, took the lead, charging straight towards the Jin Jun infantry formation, which still numbered at least five thousand.

Or rather, towards the banner bearing the character 'Wang' that had just entered the infantry formation.

Guo Jin followed closely. The two Du of Beiwei troops, all accustomed to following their leaders, did not hesitate and immediately gave chase. Only the Du being reorganized under the embankment was visibly stunned, but after glancing at the young Dutou, who was only fifteen or sixteen, they chose to stay put with slight agitation.

That young Dutou, Yue Yun, who was only sixteen or seventeen, was also clearly bewildered... Having just entered his first battle, how could he know what to do?

If he didn't go, would it be considered cowardice in battle?

But if he did go, would it be considered an unauthorized attack?

Which one would earn him a beating with the military baton?

However, soon, as a general led several hundred cavalrymen, no longer concealing themselves, swarming onto the river embankment, this doubt was immediately dispelled.

"Yue Yun!" Zhang Xian glared angrily from the embankment. "The enemy is about to flee, what are you dazed about? All the cavalry here are yours. Take them quickly to Big Ladle! Remember, if there's any mistake, you'll get twenty strokes of the military baton!"

Yue Yun received the order and hesitated no longer. He immediately mounted his horse, leading the two to three hundred cavalry who had just crossed the river, plus his own Du, to chase after Guo and Yang.

Zhang Xian stayed behind, urging the troops behind him to cross faster... Having crossed the river without fighting a battle, while the Imperial Camp Right Army's Beiwei Army repeatedly delivered the decisive blow, from Tian Shizhong's perspective, he was certainly being manipulated. But from the perspective of the two armies under Zhang Xian and Zhang Zigai, Zhang Zigai's unit was increasingly praised within the camp, while the Imperial Camp Vanguard Army's Beiwei cavalry had become the target of silent mockery by many.

Some even said that Marshal Yue's true Beiwei Army was actually Zhang Jiedu's troops. How could Zhang Xian tolerate this?

And so, Zhang Xian organized his troops on this side, sending out one Du as soon as it was ready. On the other side, the small cavalry unit accelerated—how fast that was! In just a few li, Wang Bolong had barely led his infantry east, a few hundred paces away from the embankment, when the two sides clashed directly!

Wang Bolong, of course, saw this small cavalry unit and panicked as well... but what panicked him was not the might of these mere two hundred cavalry, but the fear that if he was pinned down, the Song Jun cavalry would keep coming and tear him apart here.

Therefore, he immediately pointed out two Mouke and ordered them to lead the remaining two hundred cavalry to meet the charge head-on.

But at this moment, the Jin army was already in a state of panic. The cavalry of the two Battalions, seeing Wang Bolong abandon the main force, were already disheartened. Now, receiving orders to meet the Song cavalry was one thing, but the key was that behind these cavalry, even more dust was billowing, clearly indicating continuous reinforcements. How could they be willing to go die?

Once their hearts were churning, even if they dared not openly defy orders, their speed of action inevitably slowed somewhat.

At the same time, the two generals Guo and Yang were by no means charging recklessly. Seeing that there were still many cavalry protecting the Wang banner, and that reinforcements were continuously arriving behind them, they simply turned slightly and together charged toward the eastern flank of the marching Jin infantry formation, intending to block the Jin army's escape.

The two cooperated smoothly. Their two hundred horsemen were like two enormous iron spears, and the two generals themselves were like spear tips that would never rust or dull. While avoiding the somewhat sluggish Jin cavalry, they continuously sought out loose sections on the flanks of the Jin infantry formation, gouging out flesh piece by piece.

And after only two or three successful strikes, the Jin infantry formation began to fall into chaos.

By the time Yue Yun arrived with several hundred horsemen and collided with the Jin blocking force, this chaos intensified further, and the speed of the army's retreat was clearly obstructed.

The situation Wang Bolong had most feared had arrived.

Then, this famous Jin general, acclaimed as the bravest and most resourceful in the Eastern Route Army, hesitated once more, and once again made a swift decision—he did not know how many times he had pulled down his faceguard, ordering the remaining few hundred horsemen to break away from the infantry formation and drive off the two small cavalry units blocking the infantry's retreat.

This time, he truly was not fleeing, and indeed he did not leave the infantry formation, because he had realized that if he abandoned the infantry again, he would inevitably become prey to be hunted in the open field.

He genuinely wanted to save this infantry unit, and also to save himself.

However, seeing the cavalry under Wang Bolong's command banner scatter and surge toward him, Yang Zaixing was filled with indescribable excitement, because this move by the enemy also revealed a flaw, opening up the infantry's tightly guarded gate.

Without waiting to whistle to Guo Jin, Yang Zaixing brandished his iron spear and led the few dozen horsemen behind him, charging upstream against the current of Jin cavalry. Seeing this from afar, Guo Jin was furious but had no choice but to abandon his original tactic, leading his men forward to desperately provide cover for Yang Zaixing.

Wang Bolong stood beneath his great banner, watching this scene through the eyeholes of his faceguard.

He saw the leading horseman wielding a huge iron spear as easily as if it were some small toy, charging all the way upstream, continuously killing his own cavalrymen. In just a moment, he had killed over a dozen men, and was steadily advancing toward him. In a daze, Wang Bolong was reminded of his own appearance in battle over a decade ago.

He still remembered a time when an assault on a city was going poorly, and he had even lost his helmet. But instead of retreating, disregarding that he was already a senior general, he simply donned heavy armor, used a large pot as a helmet, then grabbed an iron spear, climbed the scaling ladder, and personally killed over twenty men on the city wall, finally being the first to breach the city.

From then on, even Elubu dared not claim bravery in his presence.

This man today was no less brave than he had been back then!

His own order just now had not been wrong; it was just that this man's bravery was truly remarkable.

With this thought, Wang Bolong instead mustered his remaining courage, took up his great spear from his horse, and advanced to meet the enemy.

Seeing a general in extraordinary armor approaching from beneath the banner, how could Yang Zaixing not know it was Wang Bolong? He was even more delighted, directly killing a few more horsemen to get close, then thrusting his spear. Wang Bolong merely raised his hand to parry, but felt his arms go numb, and then suddenly sobered up... This was not a question of whether he still had his old bravery; it was that this opponent was far stronger than he had been even in his prime!

This time, this founding Myriad Household of the Jin Kingdom hesitated no longer. He directly bent down to hug his horse's neck with one hand, dragging his spear with the other, and tried to break out together with his scattered cavalry... At this point, he no longer considered the battle, only sought to save his own life.

And since Wang Bolong had fled, his personal guards, who were somewhat loyal, swarmed forward, recklessly risking their lives to block Yang Zaixing. No matter how fierce Yang Zaixing was, killing people had to be done one by one.

Instead, it was like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind. Guo Jin, who was providing cover for Yang Zaixing from the rear, saw this scene and knew the critical moment had arrived. He struggled forward to block this general head-on.

Wang Bolong was not without discernment. He had already noticed that this man, like the previous one, was the tip of a hundred-horseman spearhead. His arms were still numb; how could he dare to face him? So he immediately turned his horse again on the spot, and in a panic, crashed into another cavalry melee.

On the chaotic battlefield, Yue Yun, holding the paired maces his father had given him, watched with his own eyes as that extraordinary-armored general turned several times, finally charging toward him. He was momentarily stunned and slightly worried... If this man escaped from him, would he have to suffer the army's rod?

But Commander Zhang's order was to hand over the troops to Commander Guo. If he didn't do that, would he also have to suffer twenty strokes of the rod?

Yet no matter how his thoughts urged him on, as that finely armored, exquisitely cloaked Jin general burst before him, Yue Yun, new to the battlefield, was startled for a moment, then immediately advanced to meet him, swinging his paired maces to smash this man himself.

Wang Bolong, seeing only a somewhat short, ordinary Company Commander, naturally was not afraid. He raised his spear to block, but as soon as he did, his already numb arm went into sharp pain and lost control, dropping his great spear on the spot.

And that wasn't all. This short Company Commander did not dare to be careless. One mace knocked down the opponent's weapon, and the other mace followed immediately, striking the opponent's shoulder. Then mace after mace, as seriously as if training to smash wooden posts, without a moment's pause.

He smashed Wang Bolong so hard that he shuddered violently on the spot, unable to utter a single sound, losing control from the pain, and then tumbled off his horse.

And Yue Yun, not daring to be the slightest bit negligent, fearing the man was feigning death, dismounted under the cover of his own cavalry, and on the ground, seriously smashed him more than a dozen times with his paired maces, until the man's entire suit of armor was deformed. Only then did he abandon the man, remount his horse to continue fighting, trying to complete the task Zhang Xian had given him—to hand over these few hundred horsemen to Guo Jin.

Setting aside Yue Yun for the moment, let us only speak of Wang Bolong, a famous general of one side, who ultimately failed to die peacefully in his bed as a Commandery Prince as he had in another timeline. Instead, he was smashed to the ground by a raw recruit with random hammer blows, without even having his head taken.

Yang Zaixing, chasing all the way from afar, witnessed this scene and was already dumbfounded. When he turned his head again, he heard a burst of exclamations. Guo Jin, seizing an opening, had struggled to seize Wang Bolong's great banner and broken it on the ground.

This time, Yang Zaixing was completely speechless. He could only turn his horse's head and start killing and charging wildly.

This whole scene, though complicated to describe, actually took only about two quarters of an hour. And if counting from when Tian Shizhong had come to lure the enemy, the entire affair took less than two hours... In fact, at this moment, Ali's troops had just finished organizing and were preparing to cross the ice path, not yet having set out.

It could only be said that Wang Bolong's decisiveness and speed surpassed everyone's imagination.

On the city wall of Yuancheng, Gao Jingshan watched with his own eyes as Wang Bolong's formation was scattered by the Song army's small elite cavalry, watched with his own eyes as Wang Bolong's banner was engulfed in the chaotic battle, and then watched with his own eyes as those few dozen Battalions trapped within the Song army camp were completely surrounded. Yet he fell into a strange silence, not knowing when it had begun.

Behind him, Gao Qingyi and Pusuyue also had nothing to say.

There was no help for it; Wang Bolong had simply been too fast.

"Pusuyue!" Suddenly, Gao Jingshan turned his head to look at him. "Deploy the troops!"

"Commander-in-Chief, what use is deploying troops at a time like this?" Pusuyue smiled bitterly, clearly puzzled.

"The flanking force sent by the Fourth Prince should arrive soon. You go out from the southeast water gate, lead the horses across the river, and go to meet them!" Gao Jingshan ordered expressionlessly. "See if you can join up with them and try to save as many people as possible."

Pusuyue was still confused: "Commander-in-Chief! I roughly understand your meaning. The Song army is busy encircling and annihilating Wang Bolong's troops right now, so we might be able to get out. But even so, we will inevitably be attacked by Wang Gui from Great Ming City and Tang Huai's unit on the southern line, and there will be casualties... Besides, even if we get out, how can we come back?"

Gao Jingshan sized up the other man with a strange look, then suddenly said something irrelevant: "Pusuyue, back then, the one who informed against your father for harboring resentment was none other than me... That's how I was able to retain my post in Great Ming Prefecture, and later took advantage of the repeated shifts in the court to become Commander-in-Chief... In other words, that your father's body was never found, dead or alive, at Xiaowusao—I had a hand in that... Did you know?"

Pusuyue was stunned on the spot, then his face flushed red, his breathing gradually became heavy, causing the guards on the city wall to become alert. But in the end, this man said nothing, only stood there with his hand on his saber.

"This is a military order. Go and execute it immediately." Gao Jingshan urged him thus, and then said no more.

Pusuyue stood there stiffly for a while, then suddenly walked down the city tower. Gao Jingshan's guards, at their commander-in-chief's signal, followed him down as if escorting some criminal.

"Commander-in-Chief!" As soon as Pusuyue left, Gao Qingyi, who had been feigning death, immediately stepped forward. "Why go this far?"

"You go with him too!" Facing Gao Qingyi, Gao Jingshan naturally did not need to put on such a posture. He leaned on the railing and sighed.

"I already said, why go this far?" Gao Qingyi continued to stamp his foot.

"How could it not be this far?" Gao Jingshan's tone was somewhat dejected. "Building the camp in one night, I knew Yuancheng had only a forty percent chance of survival. And today, Wang Bolong's death is not worth regretting, but he lost almost an entire Myriad Household, and lost it so quickly that today's offensive is practically abandoned. The hard work of the past few days has been washed away in an instant, leaving Yuancheng with only a ten percent chance of survival..."

"Commander-in-Chief." Gao Qingyi grew even more uneasy. "It's not as low as ten percent."

"Even if it's not, the path to survival is not inside, but outside! What use is there for you to stay here?" Gao Jingshan pulled himself together and replied calmly. "If you have the heart, try your best to save me from outside! I can't very well let you all leave together, can I? If I abandon the city and flee, the Prince of Wei will surely kill me to uphold military law."

Gao Qingyi was also dejected, then replied with difficulty: "Commander-in-Chief, actually, if you want to live..."

"Don't say anymore." Gao Jingshan quickly shook his head. "I cannot surrender... After all, the Wanyan clan's favor and patronage are there. For nearly twenty years, I rose to Commander-in-Chief, commanding tens of thousands of troops, sitting in a famous city. What meaning would there be in surrendering? Do you think I am one of the Two Emperors of the Song Kingdom? After you go out, tell the Prince of Wei, ask him to rest assured. Say that if the worst should happen, I will certainly not bring shame to the nation."

Gao Qingyi was completely speechless. He could only grit his teeth and reply: "If that is the case! I will do my utmost before the Prince of Wei to mediate on your behalf, to seek a chance of victory!"

Gao Jingshan nodded repeatedly, his manner clearly perfunctory.

And Gao Qingyi did not stay any longer. He went straight down the tower.

Setting aside for now how these few Bohai people lamented the situation, let us only speak of Wang Bolong's death. His main cavalry force was still surrounded in the camp, and the infantry left on the opposite bank of the river were also being heavily attacked. Both sides collapsed almost simultaneously. But after only a quarter or two of an hour, Ali's troops, having seen the routed soldiers and realized the situation was bad, hastily appeared to the north.

The Song army's Beiwei cavalry immediately split in two. One part engaged in a melee with Ali's troops to block them, while the other part continued to charge and kill, in order to annihilate as many fleeing Jin soldiers as possible.

However, as more and more of Ali's cavalry crossed the river, and especially as the remaining cavalry in Yuancheng, braving heavy casualties, forced their way out through the frozen water gate and gradually emerged on the southern flank, the Beiwei Army ultimately abandoned their intention to annihilate Wang Bolong's last remnants and began a cautious withdrawal.

Half an hour later, as the Song Army fully pulled back into their camp, the eastern front of the battlefield fell silent once more. Laborers even began large-scale repairs to the defensive line at the far eastern end. Meanwhile, on the southern side of the eastern front, the banners of Elubu and Wanyan Bendu finally arrived belatedly, appearing behind Great Ming City.

These two generals had already been alarmed when they encountered routed troops on the road. After rendezvousing with Ali, learning the specific battle situation, and finding Wang Bolong's corpse—already as limp as cotton wadding—they were utterly terrified, as if their very livers and gallbladders had been ripped out.

This was not merely a matter of defeat or setback, nor simply the death of a high-ranking general. This was a question of an entire Wanhu being wiped out of existence, and wiped out so quickly!

Considering that such a thing had happened at this critical juncture, it was not even as simple as just losing one Wanhu.

Some principles these generals might not be able to articulate clearly, but that did not prevent them from having an intuitive and sharp understanding in their hearts.

By the afternoon, the scheduled time for the general offensive arrived. Wanyan Bendu, Elubu, Ali, and the generals who had escaped the city—Gao Qingyi, Pusuyue, and others—stood frozen, utterly at a loss for how to respond, and uncertain whether to launch the general offensive as originally planned.

Ali simply did not know where to go.

It was not just this side. Even Shaohe's force to the north, upon hearing the news, did not know whether they should throw their lives away against the Song Army's most solid northern defensive line.

However, the transmission of information had a delay. The main force of the Jin Army on the western front, unaware of these developments, still organized and deployed their troops, and at the scheduled time, braved great danger to launch their hot air balloons.

But once the balloons were aloft, the Jin high command also sensed that something was wrong with the battle. At the very least, Shaohe had not launched the diversionary operation as planned, and the activity of the three Wanhu on the eastern front was far too subdued for no reason.

Amidst their hesitation and confusion, a rider arrived from the north. Shaohe, before Balisu and Wushu could question him, handed over the precise intelligence he had just obtained.

Balisu looked first, stunned on the spot, and then his hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Wushu could not restrain himself. He stepped forward, snatched the dispatch away, and this time, as another surge of dizziness hit the back of his head, he no longer possessed his previous forbearance.

"Wang Bolong! Give me back my Wanhu!" By the banks of the Yellow River, a roar burst instinctively from Wushu's throat, and then darkness swam before his eyes. He nearly toppled from his horse.

Fortunately, Taishinu was at his side, supporting this Prince of Wei.

Just as Wushu was paralyzed by the shock of the intelligence, inside the Song Army's camp, the last vestiges of battle were also completely concluded. They had plucked a tooth from the tiger's mouth. Though there had been twists and turns, they had ultimately achieved a miraculous feat. On the earthen mound serving as the command post, the mood was naturally one of exhilaration.

Like the Jin armies on both flanks, they might not be able to articulate the reasons, but they all understood that at such a critical juncture, annihilating a significant force of the Jin Army so swiftly and smoothly had an impact that far exceeded the victory itself.

Tian Shizhong, in particular, keenly realized that the overall situation, which had seemed so difficult, had already begun to shift.

And it was at this moment that Yue Fei, who had hardly left his seat throughout the entire process, noticed a messenger. He then turned to Huang Zong, whose expression had clearly changed upon hearing the news. "What is it?"

"Controller-in-Chief Wang Gang's wounds were severe. He died shortly after returning," Huang Zong replied helplessly.

Yue Fei was silent for a moment, then nodded slightly to indicate he understood. Without another word, he looked towards the west.

There, the roar of battle still shook the heavens. Hundreds of thousands of troops were still locked in desperate struggle up and down the river channel, as if nothing at all had happened.

But men had acted, and deeds were done. How could there possibly be no change?

PS: Thanks to the new alliance leader, I Don't Want Tragedy. This is the 191st alliance leader of this book.