Chapter 423: Reversal

Before noon, the rain picked up again.

With the predetermined strategic situation achieved, the main Song force of forty thousand men before the high ground and stone bridge hesitated no longer. Immediately, divided into more than a dozen commands, they launched a large-scale river crossing under the overall command of Li Yanxian, Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Central Army.

At the same time, the Jin army on the high ground did not hesitate either. Following the predetermined plan, four Wanhu units, under the command of Wanyan Bendu, Commander-in-Chief of the Jin's Longde Prefecture Marching Army, assembled and formed ranks on the high ground. Then, with a massive formation that covered the entire high ground, they pressed down toward the Taiping River ahead, aiming to achieve the predetermined tactical objective of "inflicting maximum casualties on the crossing Song army."

However, just as the massive troop movements on both sides were getting underway, Wang De, Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Imperial Guard Central Army's Left Wing, who had crossed the river earlier, seized an opportunity and successfully beheaded the veteran Jin general Ali in battle. This directly plunged Ali's unit, which had been only one order away from a full retreat back to the high ground, into command chaos. Furthermore, another Wanhu, Pusuan Beilu, agitated by the loss of his son, violated tactical arrangements and the actual battle situation by forcefully launching a counterattack. This also caused his unit to appear strong on the outside but be shaken within from an early stage.

Consequently, as the Song army crossed the river on all fronts and the encirclement began to take shape, Ali's unit and Pusuan Beilu's unit immediately collapsed in a major rout, and the Jin army's riverbank line directly crumbled.

Of course, this did not prevent Wanyan Bendu on the high ground from driving his troops down according to the original strategy, crashing forcefully into the oncoming heavy infantry formation of the Song army... only their primary task had changed from "inflicting maximum casualties on the crossing Song army" to "doing their best to receive and gather routed troops" and "maintaining the battle line and shielding the high ground."

Yet, within just a quarter of an hour, all the senior officers on the battlefield realized that the so-called tactical objectives were a joke.

This was true for the Jin army, and also for the Song army.

It must be understood that with the collapse of the Jin army's riverbank line, the over ten thousand Song Tangut light cavalry, which had been attempting to block and annihilate the enemy between the two massive troop formations, immediately became intermingled with an equal number of routed Jin soldiers. This formed a long, narrow, complex zone of chaotic fighting, which extended westward and directly connected to the western battlefield, which had been engaged since morning and was becoming increasingly fragmented.

In this situation, when Li Yanxian's and Wanyan Bendu's two heavy troop formations collided fiercely before the high ground, instead of the imagined decisive breakthrough and life-or-death struggle, all order and structure on the battlefield instantly became ineffective.

The front-line troops of both sides were immediately drawn into the central chaotic zone. The organization of these front-line units was also broken up to a certain extent, and the command systems of both sides fell into a state of semi-paralysis. And precisely because the formations on both sides were so massive, an inertia was created, both physically and in the command structure, causing the follow-up troops of both sides to continuously press into the central chaotic zone, which in turn caused this chaotic zone to expand continuously.

Not only that, once this chaotic battle reached a certain scale, it rapidly spread westward, continuously drawing in the western battlefield, which had maintained some order.

To be fair, this situation had been anticipated beforehand.

Before the battle, senior officers on both sides had already realized that no one had ever fought a battle like this. No one had ever thrown so many combat troops into a local battlefield of several dozen li in a single day. No one had this kind of combat experience... command failure and fighting independently were things both sides had publicly emphasized before the battle.

But no one expected this scene to come so quickly, and no one expected this chaos to be so vast and uncontrollable.

Li Yanxian and Wanyan Bendu, as frontline commanders, almost simultaneously fell into a state of bewilderment. Then they quickly realized that the outcome of this battle would, to a considerable extent, slip from their control, to be decided by the Vice Prefect officers and Meng'an commanders, and even further down, by the Battalion Commanders, Company Commanders, Platoon Leaders, and Mouke and Puliyan officers.

The two sides were truly going to decide the outcome of the main battlefield in a fragmented way, divorced from the art of command, but perhaps also in the way that best reflected the actual combat strength of both sides. After all, in this situation, only the side that won more of these small-scale engagements would form an irreversible line suppression, thereby achieving the predetermined tactical objective.

Upon realizing this, a complex emotion arose simultaneously in Li Yanxian and Wanyan Bendu... an emotion mixed with relief and release, yet also some chagrin and unease, and even faintly some fear and lingering dread.

The only difference was that the internal proportions of these emotions varied slightly between the two men.

The rain grew denser, and the noise of the battlefield suddenly increased by a notch. This, in turn, caused the command system and scout feedback to fail further.

"Marshal."

Amidst the clamor of the battlefield, Jin Wushu, his face streaming with water, finally climbed down from the watchtower. Then, looking at Bolisu, who was sitting cross-legged in the muddy water below the watchtower, he seemed to want to say something but hesitated.

Clearly, Wushu had learned of the frontline situation from the senior generals. He wanted to do something, yet he knew full well that, in reality, he could do nothing.

By the same token, Bolisu looked up at him but did not respond... some things were unnecessary to say in public.

However, this did not mean the Jin marshal had nothing to do. He looked up at the sky, observed the rain for a while, then directly pulled a dagger from behind his waist. There, in the muddy ground under the incessant rain, he began to dig and turn over the soil.

Wushu understood almost instantly. He couldn't help but step forward two paces to look. "How is it?"

"Two inches of mud, three inches of wet softness, and below that is dry soil." Bolisu put away the dagger, turned his head, and answered calmly. "And if the rain continues as it did this morning, then by evening, it will probably be four or five inches of soft mud. The grassland holds water, so it might be deeper. But as long as it doesn't become a quagmire, it won't easily collapse... However, given the current situation, there should already be accumulated water and quite a bit of mud."

"Will that delay our cavalry's attack?" Wushu asked, somewhat impatiently.

Bolisu shook his head, which briefly relaxed Wushu. But soon, the Great Jin Marshal's unhurried string of words plunged the Prince of Wei back into a certain powerless irritability:

"Prince of Wei, this is simply not a matter of the rain. Not to mention the current situation, even with heavier rain, worse mud, and swifter rivers, many in the army have experienced it before. It just means slower horse speed and more slips and injuries... Haven't we marched out amidst the winter ice and snow of the White Mountains and Black Waters? But today's problem is that there are too many troops, and the battlefield is already out of control. No one knows what the result will be when so many conditions are combined. I'm afraid that when the final twenty-five thousand cavalry charge out, they'll only manage one command before they're all fighting on their own, unable to form a second wave."

Wushu let out a long sigh. Then, he suddenly turned around and led a horse out from under the wooden shelter in the camp. Seeing this, Taishinu and other personal guards dared not be negligent and followed suit.

"What use is it for the Prince of Wei to go to the front now?" Bolisu stood up upon seeing this, but merely sat back down in the rainless wooden shelter with a calm expression. "Even if it's to boost morale, now is not the time... Wait until Ma Wu and Wolun dispatch their troops before going."

"I'm not going to show off my authority, nor am I going to seize Bendu's command. I simply can't sit still any longer. I want to go to the high ground and see the battle situation with my own eyes!" Wushu blurted out as he mounted his horse.

"Then don't bring the banners," Bolisu said, also helpless.

"I know," Wushu blurted out in reply.

"After you go, don't come back here. Go to the left, to the camp of Huonü," Bolisu continued calmly.

Wushu was startled for a moment, but then nodded heavily—he knew what Bolisu meant. Wanyan Huonü had a blood feud with many of the Song generals on the battlefield, and he had always had a grudge against this marshal. In other words, Huonü might disobey orders and attack early, which could have a devastating result on the battle.

After nodding, Wushu said nothing. He directly spurred his horse out of the camp and headed for the high ground. In just a short while, he had already reached the high ground via the safe and unobstructed rear area.

However, in the rain, Wushu did not disturb the commanders. Surrounded by his personal guards, he simply reined in his horse on a certain high slope of the high ground. There, on the somewhat muddy slope trampled by many feet, he looked around, making a brief observation.

But this observation did not bring the Jin Imperial Prince-Regent any relief or relaxation. Because although the entire battlefield was still chaotic, it had already begun to show a slight hint of the battle's trend—without a doubt, the Song army was continuously advancing.

Of course, this was also within expectations.

It must be understood that while Wushu was certainly surprised by the complete collapse of Ali's unit and had mentally prepared for the collapse of Pusuan Beilu's unit, this surprise and understanding were microscopic, targeted psychological activities... So Ali died first? Wasn't Pusuan Beilu always steady? In fact, from a macro perspective, before this battle began, Wushu and many veteran generals and staff officers had reached a consensus. That was, this battle today would certainly result in heavy losses. The Song army, with its numerical and morale advantage, would hold a considerable advantage in the fighting. Their own side would certainly see famous generals die and entire units be lost.

They even had the awareness that the entire army could be completely routed here, losing everything.

Yet, it was precisely this feeling—that no matter how bad it got, upon careful thought, it was all within expectations—that made Wushu feel somewhat dejected and uneasy.

Because he asked himself, he had truly done his utmost in this battle.

From the moment he learned that his elder brother had suddenly fallen ill and died on the Hebei front, he had acted decisively. Entrusting the rear to his eldest brother, Wanyan Woben, he personally came to the front, striving to consolidate army morale, unify the troops, scrape together logistics, mobilize conscripts, and firmly support and encourage Bolisu's strategic and tactical plans.

However, Yue Fei's maneuvers before Great Ming Mansion had greatly damaged his army, making him realize that the army's combat effectiveness was not what it used to be. The complete annihilation of Wang Bolong's force made him feel as if his liver and gallbladder had been lost, making him realize from the bottom of his heart the most serious possible consequences of this Song northern expedition. Finally, the simultaneous fall of Taiyuan City and Yuancheng directly stripped the Jin main force of its last shred of strategic initiative.

Looking back, what Wushu found hardest to accept was that, although both sides were clearly acting hastily, the Song army, which had only gained a ten-day head start, had held all the initiative throughout the entire process, controlling everything about the Jin army... From the dispatch of troops to the current decisive battle, the Song army, from top to bottom, had not given him a single moment to catch his breath.

Every action was pressed right into their faces, constrained by time, geography, and logistics.

This suffocating sense of aggression was too hard to adapt to. That Zhao Song Emperor's method of manipulating the world without moving a muscle was too terrifying.

Wushu looked toward the northeast, in the direction of Huolu City. Intelligence told him the Zhao Emperor's dragon banner was there. Although it was far away and obscured by the rain, making it impossible to see clearly, this Fourth Prince of Jin could still feel a crouching tiger there, its momentum fierce, about to leap and devour.

Again, he had done his utmost. So far, Heaven had not clearly favored anyone. This was a very fair battle. The final decisive factor of the battle had not yet been cast.

But it was too agonizing.

On the opposite bank of the Taiping River, Zhao Jiu had unknowingly downed half a flask of wine, his face slightly flushed... After the fighting on the front slope of the high ground had descended into total chaos, he had unconsciously increased the frequency of pouring drinks for himself.

Clearly, as far as the eye could see, the Song army held the advantage... The Jin army had lost the riverbank line, lost two Wanhu units in their entirety, and could only rely on the advantage of the high ground to resist desperately. The Song army, with one hundred thousand men facing six Wanhu units, especially since it was not yet noon and the morale, spirit, and stamina of both sides were still sustainable, had no reason not to suppress the Jin army.

Yet, Zhao Jiu was still uneasy in his heart, still fearful inside.

Because his shallow military experience told him that as this chaotic battle continued, under the effects of rain, mud, and armor, the stamina of both sides would rapidly deplete. Once a certain threshold was crossed, large-scale casualties would appear quickly, and the rate of their appearance would accelerate. More critically, although there was no definite intelligence yet, Zhao Jiu could still be certain that, just like his own side, the Jin army must still have a large number of fresh troops that had not been committed to the battle.

At that time, every time both sides committed new forces, there would be large-scale, wave-like, unit-level casualties. These casualties would be intense and indiscriminate.

Reason told Zhao Jiu that the Song army had the advantage in the battle. Even if both sides ultimately had to make an all-or-nothing gamble, his probability of winning was greater.

However, this did not mean Zhao Jiu did not feel agony and fear, especially since he had to sit here, in a position almost like an outsider, observing and waiting for the battle to progress with a blurred field of vision.

Lu Yihao and Liu Yan had also remained silent for a long time.

Time passed bit by bit, noon arrived, and as the large Song army formation before the high ground, aided by more and more reinforcements from the western line, finally occupied a third of the high ground's area through bloody melee and the driving off of large numbers of routed troops, Jin Wushu did not force the issue. Instead, following Boli Su's request, he turned and went to Huonu's camp.

Not long after he left, Wanyan Bendu began executing the predetermined reserve plan. On the one hand, he ordered the troops to contract and form ranks, and on the other, he gathered the western line troops and pulled them back, seeking to continue controlling the high ground and shielding the main camp behind them.

But this action inevitably placed the Tuhesu unit, located at the corner of the battle line, in a dangerous position.

"General Huyan!"

Also at a corner of the battle line, a bedraggled Khitan rider came from the south, finally found Huyan Tong, but did not dismount, only speaking urgently. "I am a messenger from General Yelu, I've come several times before..."

"Just say it directly!" Huyan Tong, bare-chested and wrapping a wound on his arm beneath a banner, did not even lift his head, coldly rebuking him.

"Yes!" The Khitan messenger dared not be negligent. "The battle line of Jiagu Wulibu has become disconnected from Tuhesu's line, clearly intending to withdraw. Most of General Chen Jue's troops have been drawn into it. General Dong Min is clearly afraid that the Battalion Commander Heshilie Taiyu will also withdraw, and has already tried to advance and outflank with Prince Tuoli. My general sent me to ask: should he go in with the others now, or stay and help you finish off Tuhesu's unit first? Also, should he inform General Xu Shian and ask him to come and assist here, to quickly take Tuhesu?"

"How many troops are left on Tuhesu's southern flank?"

"Three or four thousand..." The Khitan messenger replied with difficulty. "Just an estimate. The infantry mostly have long spears, the cavalry mostly war-hammers. Their formation is very steady."

"Let your general go forward with the other units. Leave me three thousand light cavalry to watch Tuhesu's southern flank. Once I personally finish off the northern flank where Tuhesu is, I will sweep the southern flank with those three thousand cavalry..." At this point, Huyan Tong paused slightly, then ground his teeth. "As for Tuhesu's matter, I, Huyan Tong, will settle it with my own hands. The Commandery Prince personally promised me that. What need is there to call Old Xu? I haven't even called Deputy Commander Xie, who is right behind Tuhesu's flank."

The messenger knew the other man was acting out of spite over the events of the past few days, and hearing that Han Shizhong had already given orders, he said no more, merely acknowledged the command, then whipped his horse and returned to report to Yelu Yudu.

As soon as the man left, Huyan Tong, having finished bandaging his wound, could not wait. He demanded his personal guards help him don his armor. Moments later, he was fully armored and mounted again, then personally led his troops in another assault on the northern flank where Tuhesu himself was located.

Seeing Huyan Tong's banner approaching again, beneath the Tuhesu standard, the weary Jurchen veteran general merely sighed softly. He did not rush to command his troops forward, but instead looked around from his horse, observing the situation.

But what was there to observe now?

You see, although the view was restricted and the battlefield chaotic, the general trend of the Jin army's large-scale contraction was still clear. The main force, located at the corner, was about to fall into a state of being surrounded on three sides. Behind the flank was Xie Yuan, ahead was Huyan Tong, to the front-flank were the Khitan cavalry, and further away was Xu Shian, who had been ordered by Han Shizhong to remain still.

To be honest, at this moment, Tuhesu was inclined to withdraw. After all, continuing to hold out at this point had no meaning. Instead, bringing the troops back would be more beneficial to the overall situation.

But... thinking of this, Tuhesu looked directly ahead at Huyan Tong, who had already charged to within a hundred paces of him... With this man harassing him like this, how could he possibly extricate his entire force?

You must understand, the battle had been going on for half a day. As the two units that had first engaged, both sides' troops were already very exhausted, without strength. What use was armor in such a situation? Under these circumstances, once he, Tuhesu, chose to withdraw, the cavalry might still be able to survive thanks to their mobility, but if the infantry lost their footing, they would be drowned in the Song army's tide of battle. And if he abandoned the troops to cover the rear and fled with only the cavalry, he might have a slight chance of survival amidst the chaos, but not to mention how great that chance was, what about his own troops?

He had been through so many battles. For the past few decades, he had always led from the front. Even after being wounded and having to hold back, how could he possibly abandon his troops and run away on his own?

With this thought, Tuhesu suddenly looked to his southern side, then called over a trusted personal guard and spoke in a low voice: "Tell that noisy Han Chinese that while Huyan Tong is attacking me, he should lead his troops to withdraw first. Take as many men as he can back. Consider it me covering his retreat!"

The guard looked somewhat bewildered, but under Tuhesu's piercing gaze, he turned and left.

Only then did Tuhesu turn back, concentrating his attention on deploying his troops to meet Huyan Tong's assault... And this time, the battle further confirmed Tuhesu's conjecture. Both sides' troops were growing increasingly exhausted, but because they had long since been bloodthirsty, their morale was very high. This made casualties mount faster and the fighting more brutal.

Huyan Tong, however, was stubbornly persistent, refusing to let him go. It was clear he still bore a grudge over the previous incident.

On the other side, taking this opportunity, Tuhesu's trusted guard successfully reached the position held by the Han Chinese meng'an on the southern flank... Because Huyan Tong's main attack was elsewhere, this area had maintained a low-intensity battle, and the troops were much more orderly.

"Is that what the Battalion Commander said?"

The Han Chinese meng'an, who was always fond of flattery, was startled at first, then frowned.

"That's right."

The guard, showing slight impatience, acknowledged and then hurriedly rode away, paying no further attention to the other man.

As soon as he left, the surrounding low-ranking officers gathered, waiting for the meng'an's decision.

The Han Chinese meng'an thought for a moment, then gave a bitter smile: "At a time like this, whether to leave first or cover the rear is just leaving it to fate. It's better to stay and hold the position, and see how things develop."

The men exchanged glances, but looking at the situation all around, they had no choice but to pretend nothing had happened and continue their mutual attrition with the Khitan light cavalry in front.

And so, the guard returned to Tuhesu's side and reported the result of his message to his Battalion Commander. But until Huyan Tong was repelled once again, the troops on the southern flank never stirred... They neither took the opportunity to retreat and flee, nor were they moved by the situation to come to the rescue.

"I underestimated that noisy Han Chinese." Tuhesu's foot, which had been shot through, had long since stopped itching and was now gradually becoming numb and painful. Seeing this, he was momentarily helpless, but simply shook his head and smiled bitterly on his horse. "And I overestimated him."

"Battalion Commander?"

The surrounding Jurchen confidants clearly did not understand.

"He must think that I was ostensibly covering his retreat, but in reality, I wanted to use his larger force to attract the Song army's attention, and then take the opportunity to flee with my own cavalry." Tuhesu replied calmly. "So he didn't move."

"This man is truly judging a general's heart by his own petty measure!" One confidant said indignantly. "Huyan Tong clearly only has eyes for the Battalion Commander. If he had fled this time, he would have had a good chance. But instead, he grew suspicious and abandoned his own chance to live."

"Don't mock him like that. I did have a bit of that intention myself." Tuhesu laughed wryly. "After all, if we keep grinding away like this, his unit might be able to hold out, but we'll be bitten to death by Huyan Tong first... So I was hoping he would move first, to see if there was an opportunity... Of course, if he escaped and we were still pinned down by Huyan Tong, I wouldn't have any complaints... Haven't you all seen it in this battle today? In the eyes of Heaven, whether Jurchen or Han Chinese, we've long been equal."

The Jurchen warriors around him had varied expressions, but most were gloomy.

And just then, a few hundred paces ahead, the bugle sounded again from Huyan Tong's unit, clearly indicating they were regrouping, causing the tension on this side of the position to rise again.

"This really won't do... really won't do." Tuhesu muttered to himself, while looking around again. This time, he no longer looked at the larger battle situation, but roughly counted the troops of his own unit within his field of vision.

To elaborate, Tuhesu's main force had started with nine thousand infantry and cavalry. But because Pusan Beilu's advance had gone wrong, he was forced to stretch his battle line too long and too thin, resulting in Han Shizhong breaking through a quarter of it head-on. Since then, his unit had been caught in the awkward position of fighting on two fronts. Especially on this northern flank, they were constantly being whittled down. Then, in a previous assault, Huyan Tong had successfully cut through the middle, splitting the force in two. One part, in the south, had about three to four thousand cavalry and infantry holding the position. The other part, around Tuhesu's own banner, had just over a thousand cavalry and infantry.

The remaining troops were, of course, not annihilated. If they had been, the unit would have collapsed long ago. Instead, like the Guaizi Ma that Han Shizhong had faced at the beginning, they had been broken through, retreated, scattered, and then disappeared or moved away from this battlefield, which might have covered an area of a hundred square kilometers, making it difficult to regroup.

It was time to make a decision.

"We can't count on the southern flank anymore. Right now, we have about four or five hundred cavalry and a thousand infantry." Tuhesu suddenly spoke again, his tone much more serious. "Let's move ourselves!"

The surrounding officers and guards were momentarily awed.

"The cavalry will follow me in an attack. The infantry will take the opportunity to move towards the southern flank." Tuhesu ordered calmly. "Once the infantry has successfully joined up, we will also withdraw to the southern flank and continue to hold out, trying to preserve our strength as much as possible."

Having said this, the Battalion Commander, without waiting for those around him to fully understand, spurred his horse forward. The surrounding guards, with no time to think, followed suit. The few officers, after a moment's thought, had no objections either. Thus, several hundred cavalry quickly gathered behind his banner and slowly began to advance towards Huyan Tong's standard.

The remaining infantry hesitated for a moment, then also began to take advantage of the situation to break away from their position and slowly move south.

It could only be said that Tuhesu's plan this time seemed to have no problems. When he, with great fanfare, personally led the remaining cavalry forward, Huyan Tong on the opposite side was not angered but delighted. He immediately changed his orders, having his own remaining troops, now less than two thousand, form up to meet the attack, paying no attention to the hasty transfer of the thousand or so infantry.

However, as the cavalry gradually picked up speed, Tuhesu suddenly, under the gaze of both sides' troops, turned mid-charge, brushing past Huyan Tong's unit, and led these few hundred cavalry along the river course, galloping swiftly towards the west, beyond the battlefield.

This scene stunned everyone. No one had any time to react.

Moments later, the few hundred cavalry behind Tuhesu also split instantly. Some hesitated and turned back, some lowered their heads and followed without stopping. Among the cavalry who had plunged headlong into Huyan Tong's formation, there were also two types: those who couldn't change course in time, and those who, in their indignation, chose to charge and fight... The latter group notably included Tuhesu's standard-bearer.

This guard, holding the Battalion Commander's banner, after blankly following his Battalion Commander's turn, quickly realized what had happened. Without a word, he turned around, raised the banner, and charged into the Song army's formation.

For a moment, only a hundred or so cavalry remained behind Tuhesu, and they were still scattering southward towards Shiyi.

But this still could not stop Huyan Tong's fury. He was likely the angriest person on this battlefield at Tuhesu's avoidance of battle and flight. He immediately mounted his horse and, leading only a few dozen riders, gave chase.

And just as the main battlefield was in chaos, an even more bizarre thing happened—after galloping only a few hundred paces, Tuhesu, who had already largely escaped, suddenly turned left and circled around... That was nothing special, because the south after the turn was where Shiyi was located... But after turning south, Tuhesu did not stop. Instead, he continued turning until he had completely reversed direction, and then collided head-on with Huyan Tong's pursuers.

Under the gaze of the crowd, this Jurchen veteran general, once famous for his bravery, seemed to have truly returned to ten years ago. He took the lead, brandishing his war-hammer, personally charging and fighting at the front.

The two generals met head-on. Huyan Tong was clearly caught off guard by this tactical about-face from his opponent. Tuhesu raised his hammer and struck him on the arm that was already wounded.

Under the intense pain, Hu Yantong rolled off his horse, but Tuhesu, who had landed the blow, fared no better. It was clear that the man had lost strength in his foot from the injury; after the strike, he lost his balance on the horse and was immediately pushed off by Hu Yantong's Personal Guard charging at him with a mace.

The two of them tumbled into a muddy depression almost simultaneously.

Calling it a depression was generous; it was merely a slightly sunken spot on the plain, with water no deeper than a man's calf. Hu Yantong fell first and stood up first, and having apparently lost his heavy weapon in the fall, he chose to pull a dagger from behind his waist, then, dragging a limp arm, stumbled awkwardly toward Tuhesu.

On the other side, Tuhesu struggled to stand in the mire but couldn't get upright at all. He rose repeatedly, only to slip and fall each time.

His comical posture made Hu Yantong, who had reached him, burst into loud laughter.

But just then, the crippled Battalion Commander, sitting in the muddy water, suddenly lunged with all his might, pinning the other man firmly beneath him.

Hu Yantong struggled hard, trying to wound his enemy with the dagger, but with one arm pitted against two hands, he couldn't find a gap in the armor. He could only let the dagger scrape uselessly across the armor on the other's lower back. Instead, he himself was pressed into the muddy water by his opponent, choking down several mouthfuls, gradually losing his strength.

However, around the mire, knights from both the Song and Jin armies had already gone mad, rolling off their horses to attempt a rescue. The first to arrive was a Song soldier.

Tuhesu dared not delay. After viciously smashing the other's helmet into the muddy water a few times, he let go of the already weakened Hu Yantong and crawled desperately toward a Jin knight on the other side. But before he could move two steps, his one usable foot suddenly flared with pain. Turning back, he saw that Hu Yantong had stabbed his dagger through his calf.

And that wasn't all. Having landed the blow, Hu Yantong lunged forward again, wrapping his single arm around the other from behind. No matter how the man pounded him, he refused to let go.

"Kill this bastard... cough!" Seeing the Song knight arriving first, Hu Yantong, lying on the other's back, shouted out, but then coughed repeatedly.

The Song knight, weapon in hand, didn't hesitate. Stepping past his own commander, he swung his hammer with all his might at Tuhesu's shoulder.

Tuhesu screamed on the spot.

Just then, the Jin cavalryman who had arrived from the opposite side also reached them. Without hesitation, he swung his hammer fiercely at the back of the Song knight, then, in a backhanded motion, smashed it onto the arm Hu Yantong had wrapped around Tuhesu... But Hu Yantong didn't budge at all. Before the arm could be smashed open, another Song knight, still some distance away, hurled his hammer directly, knocking the Jin soldier to the ground.

Then, as if gone mad, the Personal Guards of both Song and Jin armies, who had been trailing their respective generals, dismounted one after another. Several dozen riders on each side, all in heavy armor and wielding iron hammers, immediately clashed into a melee in the mire.

Red, white, yellow, and black—all mixed together in the rain.

The visors made it impossible for the combatants in the melee to quickly tell which man was their own general, or which body held him. Only the copper masks of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp offered some way to distinguish friend from foe, ensuring this bloody hand-to-hand combat continued unabated.

It truly continued without pause.

Because, ever since witnessing both generals fall from their horses together, this already chaotic battlefield on the northwestern fringe of the overall engagement had descended into total melee.

The Jurchen cavalry that had turned back now reversed course again. Even the infantry on the northern wing of Tuhesu's force, which had begun moving south, split in two—some lowered their heads and hurried to rejoin the main force on the southern wing, while others simply turned and counter-charged into the Song ranks.

The Song army was no less frenzied. The entire formation fell into a rage. Those with enemies beside them immediately engaged; those without enemies beside them surged toward the spot where the two generals had fallen.

The two units quickly plunged into the most brutal life-or-death hand-to-hand combat. It wasn't something that could be described as "bloodshot eyes"... because they had already been fighting with bloodshot eyes throughout the morning's engagement. This madness was far, far worse.

A little over a quarter of an hour later, with the hasty arrival of the Khitan cavalry and Xie Yuan's unit, the battle was quickly decided, and the madness came to an abrupt halt.

For a moment, the air was filled with groans and sobs.

The corpses of Hu Yantong and Tuhesu were found again, quickly washed clean by the rain. But the two were tangled together, having taken many indiscriminate hammer blows, and could not be easily separated.

No one had ever imagined that this local battlefield would end in such a way.

So fast, so bloody.

Xie Yuan stood silently before Hu Yantong's corpse, saying nothing for a time.

The Khitan general Yelu Nuge rode over, dared not interrupt, and turned to head toward the front of Tuhesu's southern wing, which was still in a standoff. As soon as he arrived, a Jin Meng'an who had lost his weapon walked over, holding up his silver tablet.

Clearly, this Han'er army Meng'an, after witnessing what had just happened, had lost his last shred of will to resist. Moreover, his unit was effectively cut off from the main battle line, so he chose to surrender en masse.

And this unit became the first organized Jin force in this battle to voluntarily surrender.

"Don't kill me!"

When Yelu Nuge drove this man to Xie Yuan's side, the Han'er Meng'an knelt down right beside the corpses of Hu Yantong and Tuhesu, and blurted out to Xie Yuan without pause. "I have vital military intelligence to report!"

"Among the Jin's sixteen Battalion Commanders, Eluguan is Aguda's own son, so he leads his Battalion Commander unit garrisoning Zhending City!"

"On the western line here, there are four Battalion Commanders: Heshilie Taiyu, Jiagu Wulibu, Wanyan Tuhesu, and Pusubei Beilu!"

"On the high ground, there are Wanyan Bendu leading Shaoke, Wulin Da Taiyu, and Pucha Huzhan—four Battalion Commanders in total!"

"Ali is alone, advancing as the vanguard at Shiqiao! If he retreats, he should withdraw to the east of the high ground, to prevent the two Battalion Commanders, Wanyan Wolun and Yelu Ma Wu, on the high ground's flank and rear from being exposed."

"Also, there's Marshal Bailsu. He's still in the main camp. Huonü, Elubu, are also behind. There are two Hezha Meng'an from the Taiyuan Prefecture Marching Command, and a man called Wanyan Poushu brought four Hezha Meng'an from Yanjing!"

The man spoke while shivering violently, but he didn't dare look at the two corpses beside him.

"Are you finished?" Xie Yuan asked coldly.

"I'm finished... no, there's one more... there's a Bohai Battalion Commander called Pusuyue. His unit doesn't even have half a Battalion Commander's strength, and he's stationed between the pontoon bridge on the Hutuo River and the main camp, to provide support if necessary..." The Han'er Meng'an's voice still trembled. "That's all the intelligence. If the Commander has any other questions, this guilty officer will tell everything he knows."

Xie Yuan turned to his Personal Guard beside him: "Send this man's words out in all directions, in batches. Make sure His Majesty, the Chancellor, the Commandery Prince, and all the Military Governors know."

The guards reviewed the intelligence once, then turned and left.

Xie Yuan turned back, and without a word, moved behind the surrendered general. This startled the man, who tried to stand, but was pressed down again by the Song armored soldiers on both sides.

Under Yelu Nuge's watchful eye, Xie Yuan did indeed reach for the war hammer at his waist at one point. But for some reason, as a gust of heavy rain was swept up by the wind and slanted into his face, the Deputy Commander of the Left Army of the Imperial Camp finally spoke coldly: "Disarm immediately. Have the auxiliary troops on the opposite bank take over... Have the whole army make a brief preparation. Call Xu Shian. We'll go together to besiege Heshilie Taiyu!"

Having said this, Xie Yuan hesitated, then softened his tone: "Don't forget to send that bastard Hu Yan's achievements to His Majesty."

Ps: Thanks to classmate Tell Xiao Guo for the fifth Meng, and also thanks to big shot Shiri for becoming the 207th Meng of this book! At the same time, I want to thank everyone for their support of the Shaosong event. The emoji pack is now unlocked and can be set in my outfit.

I'm in bad shape. I struggled to squeeze out a chapter on the last day of the month. I hope you'll forgive me.