The light of the sword is like the moon reflecting on Kyushu

Chapter 2114 Great Victory
Yelü Xiezhen led his army to retreat several miles before stopping, because he realized that the Song army did not take advantage of the chaos to launch a counterattack.

He stopped, naturally waiting for an opportunity to launch a counterattack! Not killing that Han general was like a thorn in his side, a constant worry!
Dust still filled the air behind them, and the Song army was nowhere to be seen!
Yelü Xiezhen never expected the thunderbolt to be so terrifying! Fortunately, the Han general's arm strength was limited; otherwise, if the thunderbolt had landed at the feet of his own warhorse, the consequences would have been unimaginable!
Yelü Xiezhen said, "Once the dust settles, those three hundred Song soldiers will re-expose themselves. At that time, we will split into three groups. I will stay in the center to attract their archers, while you will flank them from the sides. First, clear the way with a rain of arrows, and then use your iron cavalry to break through their lines! Leave no survivors, kill them without mercy!"

The lieutenant beside him replied, "Yes!"

The dust lingered, and Lin Yongpeng frowned, his heart heavy. When this dust settled, the Liao army's iron cavalry would return with renewed force! To fight or to retreat? If they stayed to fight to the death, they would surely meet their doom! But if they retreated, the supplies they were about to obtain would likely be lost again! Because the brothers responsible for receiving the supplies had not yet given the signal, meaning they had not yet succeeded!

"Brothers, we can't retreat until we've received the supplies!"

"Understood, General Lin. Since we dared to come, we didn't intend to leave alive!"

"Yes, General Lin, you don't need to worry. As long as our brothers over there don't send a signal, we won't retreat a single step!"

Looking at the soldiers who were ready to die for their cause, Lin Yongpeng felt a mix of emotions!

These are all brave and spirited young men of the Song Dynasty!

He gritted his teeth and said calmly, "Alright! I estimate that our men will receive the supplies in no more than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. If we can hold off the Liao cavalry for that time, we will have won! After that, we will immediately return by the same route! Watchman, start the timer!"

A soldier whose duty was to watch the night immediately responded, "Yes, sir!" He took out a lotus-shaped incense burner from his pocket, placed it in his palm, and immediately lit it to keep time.

Under ideal conditions, when the raw materials for incense are relatively pure, the production process is relatively uniform, and the burning environment does not change significantly, incense sticks of equal length take roughly the same time to burn out from being lit. Furthermore, incense is inexpensive, beautifies the air, and is especially small and easy to carry. Therefore, incense timekeeping devices were commonly used in the military.

The smoke and dust were slowly falling at a visible speed, and the view gradually became clear.

Yelü Xiezhen, who was several miles away, saw Lin Yongpeng, and Lin Yongpeng also saw Yelü Xiezhen at that moment!

The two were several miles apart. Although they couldn't see each other's eyes clearly, they could both sense the killing intent emanating from the other!
Yelü Xiezhen said, "Prepare to charge!"

The Liao army's iron cavalry formation instantly erupted in a wolf-like howl! Nearly 20,000 men shouted in unison, displaying an imposing and overwhelming force!

Lin Yongpeng remained unmoved!
"Anyone can cheer themselves up. Does yelling a couple of times make you invincible?"

The cavalrymen beside him chimed in, "That's right, our voices aren't low either!"

"General, shall we shout a couple of times too?"

Lin Yongpeng said, "No need! Shouting a couple of times can indeed boost morale, but we only have three hundred people. We definitely can't out-shout them. There's no need to compare our weakness with their strength. What we want is the result, not the process."

The veteran Di Yuan asked, "General, if they charge again, I'm afraid they won't go straight ahead like before!"

Lin Yongpeng said, "You're right! You truly are a veteran of countless battles!"

Di Yuan said, "General, you flatter me. I just have a feeling. I have no way of knowing what formation the enemy is using."

Lin Yongpeng said, "They just suffered a great loss, so changing their formation is perfectly reasonable! I guess they will split into three groups. The Liaoning army commander, whose name should be Yelü Xiezhen, will charge at us head-on, with the aim of trapping us, and then the left and right flanks will take the opportunity to encircle us!"

Di Yuan said, "If they really do that, we'll be in real trouble!"

It was certainly a problem. Their quiver was empty; they had only picked up a few armor-piercing arrows from the ground. With such meager supplies, how could they possibly stand up to the Liao army? Most of the giant arrows from the Divine Arm Bow were embedded in the Liao soldiers' corpses and had been carried away!

The disparity in combat strength between the two sides was so great that escaping alive was simply a pipe dream! Therefore, all three hundred Song warriors were prepared to die in battle!

The moment when the smoke and dust filled the sky was the best opportunity to escape, but unfortunately, it's already missed! Since we're going to die anyway, we might as well kill a few more Khitans before we die!
I don't seek to be remembered in history, but at least I won't let myself down!

A popular saying in the military goes like this: Killing one person is enough, killing two is a bonus!
Therefore, the best way to treat yourself well is to kill more enemies!

Therefore, at this moment, the morale of the three hundred Song cavalrymen was no weaker than that of the twenty thousand Khitan cavalrymen! Their killing intent soared to the sky, and they were invincible!

Yelü Xiezhen snorted coldly, completely disregarding the Song army! A murderous aura? Haven't I been through countless battles? Haven't these cavalrymen crawled out of piles of corpses? A mere three hundred Song soldiers, who are you trying to intimidate?
"The whole army attacks!"

The Liao cavalry instantly split into three groups and launched an attack on the Song army!
The first thud of the iron hooves sounded like a muffled drumbeat, and the horses' necks, with their bulging veins, straightened their reins. Within three breaths, the horseshoes scraped the ground, sparks flying, and a hundred riders whirled around like a black whirlwind.

The riders on the saddles leaned forward like arrows, the air blasts from the long spears whistling in their ears. Three squads of Khitan cavalry charged forward in an inverted triangular formation, heading straight for the thicket of cold spears!

The cavalry on the left and right flanks did not launch an offensive; they were indeed aiming to encircle the enemy. As expected, Yelü Xiezhen led the charge in the center!

Di Yuan couldn't help but exclaim in admiration, "General, your strategy is truly brilliant! I am in awe!"

Lin Yongpeng said, "If they split into three groups, then we'll split into five! We'll break into smaller groups and adopt guerrilla tactics! Let's move out!"

The Song cavalry immediately dispersed in all directions according to the pre-arranged instructions, making it look like a defeated army fleeing in disarray!
Yelü Xiezhen frowned. "They've already escaped? No fun! The central army will follow me to hunt down that Han general, while the other two armies will act according to the situation and pursue him on their own!"

"Yes!"

Lin Yongpeng shared a horse with a cavalryman. The horse was showing signs of fatigue after carrying a heavy load for a long time, so Lin Yongpeng immediately switched to another cavalryman's horse and said to the cavalryman, "Run that way. That's a swamp, and cavalrymen dare not go there easily."

The cavalryman immediately replied, "Yes!" He flicked the reins, "Giddy up!" and spurred his horse into a gallop!
When Yelü Xiezhen saw that Lin Yongpeng had run away alone, he immediately grinned maliciously. "Follow me and chase after him!" Hundreds of Khitan cavalrymen pressed forward like a black cloud, their hooves thundering and the earth trembling!
The remaining cavalry pursued the "deserters of the Great Song Dynasty"!
Di Yuan and a dozen Song soldiers formed a small group. Seeing Lin Yongpeng lead Yelü Xiezhen away alone, they sensed something was wrong! Could it be that General Lin wanted to sacrifice himself for the benefit of everyone else?
He immediately shouted, "Those who aren't afraid of death, come with me!"

More than ten Song soldiers shouted, "Coming!"

"kill!"

"kill!"

The group chased after Lin Yongpeng!
Behind them followed hundreds of Khitan cavalrymen, ready to reap their lives at any moment!

Seeing that they were almost at the edge of the swamp, Lin Yongpeng immediately said, "Turn left!"

The Song cavalry immediately turned their horses around and galloped to the left!

Yelü Xiezhen sneered, "Trying to use the same trick again?" He thought Lin Yongpeng was using the sharp turn tactic again, suddenly turning left and then right again! So this time he didn't follow the left turn, but instead cut straight in diagonally!
Lin Yongpeng's original plan was to take advantage of the Khitan cavalry's charging momentum, so that they would rush into the swamp before they could make a sharp turn. He didn't expect to kill half of the cavalry, but killing at least a few dozen would be a victory!
Whether the remaining Liao soldiers were frightened by the sudden accident and stopped the pursuit, or stopped to rescue the cavalry trapped in the swamp, it was a win-win situation for Lin Yongpeng!
But to his surprise, the Liao general didn't turn left with him. Instead, he charged straight ahead at an angle, and almost all of the hundreds of cavalrymen in the army got stuck in the swamp! The reason why almost all of them got stuck was because the speed was too fast and the inertia was too great. By the time the cavalrymen behind realized the danger, it was too late. Only the last dozen or so riders didn't get stuck, but the mud was already up to their knees!
With the commander and most of the soldiers in danger at the same time, what's the point of this pursuit? The cavalrymen who weren't stuck in the swamp immediately prepared to carry out a rescue, throwing out ropes to pull the men up. As for the warhorses, they would try to save them if possible, but there was nothing they could do if they couldn't!

Lin Yongpeng said, "Let's fight our way back!"

This was a golden opportunity to kill the Liao general, and he certainly wouldn't miss it!
At this moment, more than ten Song soldiers rushed over, led by Di Yuan!
Lin Yongpeng shouted, "Block the pursuers behind you for me!"

Di Yuan suddenly turned around and saw hundreds of cavalrymen chasing after him at a distance of about three hundred feet!

The distance wasn't too close, nor too far—just the perfect range for shooting! But he was out of arrows! And the enemy cavalrymen were raising their crossbows!

Di Yuan's mind raced: if he immediately fled from the flank, these Khitan cavalry would surely surround Lin Yongpeng and riddle him with arrows! But if he didn't run, the dozen or so riders around him would become porcupines!

Fortune favors the bold, and those who dare to defy fate will rise to the top! Damn it, I'll risk it all!
"Brothers! Let's use this feint to deceive everyone. If we have arrows, we'll shoot; if we don't, we'll at least practice our moves. Let's charge forward! If we survive this ordeal, good fortune will surely follow!"

The remaining dozen or so Song soldiers had long since forgotten about life and death; all they cared about was "achieving merit and establishing a career"! With the enemy forces overwhelming them, and their chances of survival hanging in the balance, what other option did they have but to risk their lives?
"kill!"

The shouts of the dozen or so riders sounded like the roar of a thousand troops!
Murderous!
A Song soldier roared, "Fuck you! Come on!" He had killed more than twenty Khitan soldiers and had an innate contempt for them! At least five of the scars on his body had nearly cost him his life! Each time, he had miraculously survived!

Therefore, he firmly believed that this time would be no exception, and he would still be able to "survive the ordeal"! Holding a longbow, he charged ahead of the enemy! More than ten riders followed closely behind!
Since the two sides were moving towards each other, the distance between them shortened instantly, becoming a hundred feet!

"Fire!" Di Yuan roared, "Shoot them all!"

The Liao cavalry at the forefront had already raised their bows to shoot, but when they suddenly saw the Song army firing first, they instinctively ducked down, trying to avoid the Song army's armor-piercing arrows!
The Song army's armor-piercing arrows caused the Khitan cavalry considerable suffering! Those things could actually penetrate armor and severely injure the flesh!

But when they realized that the Song army was just feinting, the Song army was already within arm's reach!
The Song army's red-tasseled spears had already thrust forward!
Several Liao soldiers reacted a little too slowly and were actually knocked off their horses by long spears!
More than ten Song soldiers clashed with the Liao army. The Song soldiers charged into the center of the Liao army's formation like a gust of wind and continued to advance. Di Yuan wanted to tear a hole in the Liao army's formation so that he could break out, otherwise he would be swallowed up by the Liao army!
The Liao army would not allow a dozen or so Song soldiers to break through their formation; they all swung their spears and smashed them down on the Song soldiers!

Due to limited space, the Liao army on the periphery could not get close at all, so the Song army actually managed to reach the rear of the formation by relying on the momentum of their charge!

A dozen or so men actually broke through the formation of several hundred Liao soldiers!

However, the price was also terrible. At least seven people were seriously injured and bleeding from all seven orifices. It is probably beyond saving!

Fearing that the Liao soldiers would abandon their pursuit of him and turn their attention to Lin Yongpeng, Di Yuansheng immediately added fuel to the fire: "Hey! Khitan, this one!" He deliberately raised his thumb and then turned it halfway around, so that his thumb was pointing down!

This is blatant insult! Blatant provocation!
The mighty Khitan heavy cavalry formation was actually broken through by a dozen or so Song light cavalrymen—it was an utter disgrace!
A Khitan soldier raised his spear high and shouted hoarsely, "Brothers! Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill them!"

The Khitan cavalry charged towards Di Yuan like a pack of wolves!

Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Di Yuan said to his brothers, "Brothers, break through!" Seven of his brothers were already seriously injured and covered in blood. They were barely breathing and swaying precariously, but upon hearing Di Yuan's words, their eyes lit up, they squeezed their legs together, "Giddy up!" and then tightly hugged the horse's neck with their arms crossed!
The remaining five or six cavalrymen, all with tragic expressions, shouted in unison, "Giddy up!"

Di Yuan felt a surge of emotion welling up inside him, and fighting back tears, he shouted, "Giddy up!"

More than ten riders galloped wildly into the distance!

The cavalry were hot on their heels!

Seeing that Di Yuan had led the Khitan cavalry away, Lin Yongpeng breathed a sigh of relief, jumped off his horse, picked up a few armor-piercing arrows, remounted, and shouted, "Charge!"

Yelü Xiezhen was clad in heavy armor, as was his mount. The unity of man and horse became a fatal flaw at this moment, as the horse sank rapidly into the swamp, much faster than a normal person. In an instant, the entire body of the warhorse was covered in mud, with only its head visible as it neighed in agony!
The Khitan soldier threw a long rope to him, which he immediately grabbed and wrapped around his hand twice to prevent it from slipping out. Just then, he saw the Han general sitting behind a Song cavalryman charging toward him with a murderous look on his face and a bow in his hand. He immediately sensed danger!
"Stop him! Stop him!"

However, there were not many Khitan soldiers on the shore to begin with, and they were all busy rescuing the soldiers who had fallen into the swamp. When they heard their commander shout in terror, they panicked and hastily picked up their weapons to mount their horses. As a result, they were killed by the Song soldiers who rushed over and stabbed them to death with several spears!

Offense and defense change!

The Song cavalry swept past like lightning, then charged back. The Khitan soldiers who had just tried to climb ashore had no choice but to retreat back into the swamp; otherwise, they would die! The Song soldiers' spear skills were sharp and fierce, while the Khitan cavalry, clad in heavy armor, struggled to even walk on the ground and were unable to maneuver nimbly! The advantage of cavalry lay in charging on horseback, not in engaging infantry in ground combat!

The moment the Song cavalry swept across the shore for the second time, Lin Yongpeng had already shot Yelü Xiezhen three arrows!

Yelü Xiezhen was trapped in the swamp, like a sitting duck, unable to move, and could only watch helplessly as all three arrows hit him!

puff!puff!puff!
All three arrows pierced his chest!

Yelü Xiezhen's eyes were bloodshot as he glared at Lin Yongpeng like a trapped beast, his face contorted with rage, and roared, "Who are you!"

Lin Yongpeng shouted loudly, "Lin Yongpeng of the Great Song Dynasty!" Before he finished speaking, he was already dozens of feet away, riding off in a cloud of dust!

Lin Yongpeng had run out of arrows, and even if he stayed, he couldn't do anything to the remaining Khitan soldiers. Many of these soldiers had already mounted their horses, and if he stayed any longer, he would be in danger! Now that Yelü Xiezhen was dead, the Khitan cavalry could not launch a large-scale charge for a while, which was a good opportunity to pick up supplies!

Suddenly, a firework exploded in the distant sky, dazzlingly beautiful!

The Song cavalry, who had been running in circles, cheered! The supplies had been taken!

Although the Khitan cavalry did not know what had happened, they knew that something unfavorable had occurred to them. Just as they were hesitating, someone shouted, "General Yelü is dead! General Yelü is dead!"

The morale of the Song army plummeted, and they ceased their attacks on the Song troops! The Song cavalrymen fled in panic! The brilliant firework in the sky was the signal for them to retreat!

Lin Yongpeng shouted, "Follow me!"

"General Lin is over there, let's go!"

"General Lin, we've arrived!"

In this battle, the Song army suffered 100 casualties, while the Liao army suffered 300 casualties. The Song army successfully retrieved its supplies, and the Liao army's commander-in-chief, Yelü Xiezhen, was killed in battle. Overall, the Song army won a great victory!

▲Above: Khitan heavy cavalry wielding lances
▲Above: Lightly armored Song Dynasty cavalrymen wielding long spears