Chapter 569: Must We Really Cross the River?

Nearly a hundred thousand men were routed by a surprise attack — a terrifying thing, and the chaos of the scene far exceeded what most people could imagine.

In particular, the Southern Tang army had camped right by the river, which sent great numbers of soldiers instinctively fleeing toward the water.

Most of the Southern Tang soldiers at this moment had no idea how many Zhou troops had actually come, nor any time to think about whether the Zhou army would take prisoners.

Amid the wailing of their terrified comrades all around, they only kept passing their fear to one another, letting it rapidly pile up to its peak.

The soldiers soon lost all reason. Many threw themselves straight into the river, and most of the boats moored along the bank capsized as people kept surging aboard.

Others ran frantically along the Yangtze shore. Even with no Zhou troops chasing behind them, they were terrified beyond measure and fled for their lives.

Of course, some could run no farther. Many, in their extreme tension and shock, quickly exhausted their strength and collapsed limp in the mud everywhere.

There were also those who shut their eyes and knelt on the ground, resigned to their fate, and those who vomited violently from terror, convulsing until they could no longer walk.

Murong Xinzhang was quite experienced with this sort of situation. In truth, the entire Zhou cavalry was experienced, for they had fought no small number of such routs — and if you added winning against greater numbers, they were even more familiar with it.

So without waiting for Murong Xinzhang's orders, the ten thousand and more cavalrymen dispersed directly according to the tasks assigned before the battle.

They ceaselessly cut back and forth across the battlefield, and whenever they came upon anyone still holding a weapon or still wearing armor, they went straight in to surround and attack.

Those running and blundering about wildly they left alone, but still kept terrorizing them, seeking to make these routed soldiers even more panicked, so that they would exhaust their own strength.

Of course, Li Jinquan and Bian Gao, escorting Li Jingda, had reached the hillock — and unsurprisingly drew the interest of every Zhou cavalryman.

And besides the Zhou cavalry, great numbers of routed Southern Tang soldiers hoping to survive, or simply following the crowd, also began gathering at this hillock.

Gradually, at least five or six thousand Southern Tang stragglers massed here.

Cavalry squads kept being drawn over, launching wave after wave of attacks, peeling away the Southern Tang soldiers on the outer ring like layers of an onion, killing more and more of them.

By the time the Southern Tang soldiers huddled here numbered fewer than two thousand, an officer finally noticed the situation. Gao Huaide received the report and hurried over with fifty cavalry guards.

Taking the false Prince of Yan of the Southern Wu alive would be the greatest merit of this entire battle, and this hillock was the place most likely to be hiding a big fish.

Li Jinquan's back was soaked through with cold sweat, his whole body sticky and clammy. Nearly fifty years old this year, he narrowed his eyes and strained to make things out from the hill.

Commander Li gazed with desperate longing, hoping to spot a few familiar figures.

Unfortunately, the cavalry Zhang Zhao had sent out this time was mainly the six guards of the personal army from Hexi and the seven commands of the imperial army.

The troops Li Jinquan knew — the Left and Right Divine Might Armies and the yabing guards of the various Hebei garrisons — had not come in great numbers.

But fortunately, with Heaven's blessing, just as old Commander Li's eyes were nearly worn out from searching, he finally spotted a familiar figure.

Gao Huaide's father, Gao Xingzhou, had once served the Later Tang Emperor Mingzong, Li Siyuan, and together with the last emperor Li Congke had commanded Li Siyuan's yabing guards as left and right yabing officers.

At that time, Li Jinquan had been Li Siyuan's personal bodyguard, so Li Jinquan and Gao Xingzhou were extremely well acquainted.

Moreover, Gao Xingzhou was from Guizhou — that is, Huailai in Hebei. Huailai later belonged to Zhangjiakou, north of the Yan Mountains, and the Gao family's relatives, old friends, and followers were likewise mostly bold men from north of the Yan Mountains.

Li Jinquan, for his part, was a Tuyuhun, and the Tuyuhun of the Yinshan Area Command also mostly grazed or settled in the Guizhou region, so Li Jinquan and Gao Xingzhou were in fact fellow countrymen.

With this connection, the two families were extremely close. After Li Jinquan fled south to the Southern Tang, his fourth son, as well as his younger brother and nephews, were all sheltered by Gao Xingzhou.

So when Li Jinquan saw Gao Huaide, he immediately grew excited. He turned to look at the guards beside him and at Bian Gao and the others with the Southern Tang imperial troops.

"Shout! All of you, shout! Call out: Gao Dalang, your uncle is here — come quickly to the rescue!"

And so, across the blood-reeking battlefield, shouts in Hedong accents mixed with Jianghuai accents rang out. All at once, cries of "Gao Dalang! Gao Dalang!" rose from every direction.

The moment Gao Huaide heard the words "your uncle," he felt an instant headache, and immediately knew who was surrounded on the hill — and he could not simply ignore it.

Because that was the rule of this age: even when each served his own lord, once the other side openly declared themselves, you had to go to the rescue.

If you did not, your reputation would be ruined on the spot. No one would consider you a man of honor anymore, and no one would follow you.

Indeed, the warriors of the Five Dynasties had their own code. Though they were shameless, brutal, and thick-skinned, that was toward outsiders; among their own, they placed great emphasis on loyalty and solidarity.

Take the Silver Lance Effective Service Unit, for example: they overthrew their commanders and overthrew emperors, yet the lowest soldiers and junior officers were extraordinarily united — so united that the rulers chose to slaughter them all, just to eliminate the threat.

But Gao Xingzhou was in a difficult spot too! In the past this would have been no problem, but who knew whether the strict-disciplined Emperor Shaoming would accept such a practice?

And the Gao family were not among Emperor Shaoming's original followers. They themselves had only just gained a firm footing, and although his sister E'niang was destined to be sent into the palace, and the Sage seemed quite fond of her, it had not yet actually been settled.

But seeing the comrades and subordinates around him all turn to look at him, Gao Huaide knew he absolutely could not show hesitation at this moment.

Just as he was about to answer, Yao Yuanfu, having captured and killed the commander of the Southern Tang Jiankang Army, came swaggering past the left side of the hill, a severed head impaled on his long spear — right before Li Jinquan's eyes.

Ahem!

This was practically a gift delivered to his door.

Li Jinquan leaped three feet into the air and, from atop the hill, yelled wildly at Yao Yuanfu: "Yao Chuzi! Yao Yeye! Save me, save me!"

Yao Yuanfu's face went green. The Gaos, father and son, at least had a daughter (a sister) to offer up, and had never betrayed Zhang Zhao.

But he, Yao Yuanfu — his sisters and nieces were all built like oxen, and he had the black mark of once taking Sage Zhang's money without doing the job. The moment he heard Li Jinquan's shouting, he shuddered.

Fortunately, he immediately spotted Gao Huaide as well. "Gao Dalang, we still have to save him. And Li Jinquan is the craftiest of men — the false king of the Southern Wu may well be with him."

Very well! There was no avoiding it either way, so Gao Huaide could only step forward, sending men to find Murong Xinzhang while arranging others to prepare an attack.

Though it was called an attack, what it actually did was separate the Zhou iron cavalry from the Southern Tang troops still gripped by panic.

Seeing a chance, Li Jinquan dashed down from the hillock in a puff of smoke, raised both hands high, stripped himself down to only his underclothes, and said to Gao Huaide and Yao Yuanfu before the lines:

"The man you're looking for is on the hill. Once you've won this great merit, don't forget me."

Gao Huaide and Yao Yuanfu's spirits surged at once. So Li Jingda really was here — excellent!

Seeing the joy on their faces, Li Jinquan asked in a trembling voice, "Is Fourth Brother well?"

"Fourth Brother" was the fourth son Li Jinquan had left in the Central Plains. Though he ranked fourth, he was in fact his eldest son, and at the time was serving as an official in the Eastern Capital, so he had remained in the Central Plains.

Gao Huaide nodded. "He is well. He has been serving as a personal guard at my father's side."

Only then did Li Jinquan's eyes grow somewhat moist. He nodded slowly, wanting to say something, but in the end said nothing.

Murong Xinzhang happened to be nearby, so he came over at once.

The moment he arrived, Li Jinquan recognized him.

In all the world, the only man who dared to wear white helmet and white armor on the battlefield was Murong Xinzhang.

This was deliberate on the part of that fine son of his. The Left Feathered Forest Guard basically all wore red cloth-faced iron armor, yet he insisted on white helmet and white armor.

Before Murong Xinzhang could speak, Li Jinquan suddenly dropped to his knees, still jabbering away. Gao Xingzhou and Yao Yuanfu could not understand him, but Murong Xinzhang could.

This Li Jinquan was reporting to him in the Tuyuhun tongue, saying that on the hilltop were both the Southern Tang Prince of Yan, Li Jingda, and the Left Deployment Commissioner, Bian Hao.

Moreover, Li Jinquan addressed him as Khagan and was paying him homage using the ceremonial rites by which the Tuyuhun greet their Khagan.

Murong Xinzhang did not know whether to laugh or cry. People said Li Jinquan had petty cleverness but was muddle-headed as a ruler, and it seemed that was truly no lie.

Although his family, this Guazhou branch of the Murong clan, were indeed descendants of Murong Fu, the last Tuyuhun Wudi Yeba Qinli Khagan, Military Governor of Changle Prefecture, and Prince of Qinghai Commandery.

But what time was this? He himself no longer dared bring that up, precisely for fear that schemers would say he was another Li Siyuan or Li Congke.

And this Li Jinquan, of all things, in front of so many people, actually used the Tuyuhun tongue and came to pay him homage.

Murong Xinzhang, left with no choice, could only put on a black face and have Li Jinquan order the remaining two thousand Southern Tang troops to lay down their weapons, then have him bring Li Jingda and Bian Hao down under escort.

Before long, the Southern Tang troops, having received Murong Xinzhang's promise that they would not be killed, all knelt on the ground. Bian Hao raised a white flag high, and Li Jingda stripped off his outer robe, bared the left side of his body, and came down to surrender to Murong Xinzhang.

In this battle, Murong Xinzhang used the opportunity created by the Brocade Guard personal troops destroying the beacon towers, and led seven thousand cavalry with two horses per man, covering over a hundred li in only four double-hours.

Of course, that speed was utterly nothing compared to the terrifying mobility of the Long Live Army marching seventy-two and a half kilometers in fourteen hours on foot.

It would not even rank in the top ten among feudal armies, and could hardly be called famous, but it was still not bad.

One must remember that these seven thousand cavalry had not traveled light the whole way, but had brought their armor with them.

And upon arriving, they needed no rest. Each man ate only a single flatbread, and the warhorses were given a handful of salt-water boiled black beans, and then they immediately threw themselves into battle.

And in an extremely short time, they drove straight into the Southern Tang central army's main camp and ended the war.

In this engagement, Murong Xinzhang captured alive, from the Southern Tang Prince of Yan Li Jingda on down, more than twenty Military Governors, army commanders, and Chief Commanders, and over a hundred mid-ranking officers of the Chief Supervisor rank.

More than ten thousand Southern Tang troops were killed, those who threw themselves into the river and drowned were beyond count, and over thirty thousand were taken prisoner.

The Southern Tang had claimed one hundred fifty thousand, but in reality close to one hundred thousand of their imperial guards, prefectural and county troops, local militia, and able-bodied conscripts were wiped out, leaving them utterly incapable of launching any further war, unable even to defend the river.

And just as Murong Xinzhang was sending the captured great banner of Li Jingda of the Southern Tang, the yamen gate flags, and the rest to Chuzhou, Bai Congxin, stationed at Tianchang, also led five thousand rear-army troops and arrived at Yangzhou.

With this, not only did Yangzhou, the Eastern Capital that the Southern Tang had just recovered, fall once more, but a large batch of Southern Tang officials who had followed Li Jingda back to the north bank were also caught.

After Bai Congxin arrived, Murong Xinzhang promptly handed over command of the army.

The good eldest son still knew how to keep things clear. He would not put on airs in front of an old-timer of the Founding Followers faction like Bai Congxin.

He also knew that the reason he could gain more closeness from the Founding Followers than people like Li Cunhui was that, although he was not a member of the Founding Followers, his mother, Lady Cao Sanniang, née Yan Nai, was a member of the Founding Followers.

Not only that, Murong Xinzhang also personally wrote to Zhang Zhao, explaining the matter of Li Jinquan having paid him homage with the Tuyuhun Khagan rites.

And after Bai Congxin took over command, he immediately arranged for Li Cunhui to advance east and take Taizhou, bringing the entire Yang Wu royal clan into his grasp.

He then sent Gao Huaide with three thousand cavalry to open up the line of communication from Yangzhou to Chuzhou along the Hangou Canal.

Because Zhang Zhao had already sent word that he was preparing to come to Yangzhou in person.

Having done all this, Bai Congxin immediately began selecting sailors from among the Southern Tang prisoners, repairing the captured warships, and also picking elite men from the fishermen of the Han, Chen, and other families who had already come over, to form his own trusted navy.

This was not meant to frighten the Southern Tang court across the river. This was genuine preparation for the next move. If Li Jing had no ability to respond, Bai Congxin would not mind crossing the river right now.

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