The gods began by supporting Guo Jing to become emperor

Chapter 213: Battle of Xuzhou, Fighting for Central Plains
Wanyan Honglie stared at him quietly, as if trying to see through his true thoughts, "Do you really think so?"

Yang Kang knew that he didn't believe it, but he was unwilling to stay in Jiankang. He had failed in leading the troops before and was taken advantage of by the enemy, which caused his prestige to be greatly damaged. At this time, he could not control the situation.

Among the Wanyan royal family, only the emperor had the prestige to take charge of the overall situation. However, the Jin army had never won a victory in a field battle with the Mongols. But Xuzhou City had to be saved, even if it could increase the chances of victory a little bit at this time.

Yang Kang knelt on the ground with his head touching the ground, his voice full of sincerity, "Father, we all know that this battle is more dangerous than good. If I am in charge of the army, even if we lose, you can still clean up the mess. But if you lose, the consequences are unpredictable. For the sake of our Great Jin Kingdom, it is best for me to be in charge of the army."

After saying this, he froze in place, kneeling down, and waited for a moment. Instead of receiving a response from Wanyan Honglie, he heard a sigh.

"Kang'er, it seems that your trip to the north a few days ago was not completely useless."

"Get up."

"Thank you, father!" Yang Kang stood up and cast his gaze towards Wanyan Honglie, only to find that Wanyan Honglie on the throne seemed to have aged a lot in an instant, and his aura seemed to have fallen to the bottom.

Yang Kang was startled and said hurriedly, "Father, are you okay? I'll go call the imperial physician!"

"No, I'm just tired, I just need to take a rest." Wanyan Honglie waved his hand, his brows full of fatigue, "Xuzhou is too important, it is the gateway to Jiangnan, we must not lose it. If you give me another two years, the chances of winning this battle will be higher."

"If we don't rescue them, Xuzhou will be lost. Once Xuzhou is lost, Jiangnan will be unprotected. During the time of the previous emperor, Changzhou, Huanzhou, and Fuzhou were handed over to us, which led to the defeat in the battle of Yehuling."

"This battle is inevitable, we have no choice but to fight. You are right. Our chances of winning this battle are not high, but we have to fight!" After Wanyan Honglie finished speaking, the wrinkles on his face seemed to deepen.

"Alright, Jiankang is the top priority. You can take my place in the army during the battle of Xuzhou and boost morale."

Upon hearing this, Yang Kang felt his blood boiling, and a surge of blood rushed to his mind, "I will definitely live up to your expectations."

Wanyan Honglie nodded, his eyes swept across his face, "Remember, military affairs must be obeyed by the Grand Marshal, and you must not be reckless. Military affairs are not a joke. Even if we lose this battle, we must lose it with value. Do you understand?"

"My son understands!"

It was not that Wanyan Honglie was unwilling to trust his own soldiers, but the current situation of strength and weakness was too obvious. The Jin Kingdom was to Mongolia what the Song Dynasty was to the Jin Kingdom. The fear of Mongolia was deeply engraved in the minds of the Jin generals. The battle of Yehu Ridge almost destroyed the Jin Kingdom. This was not a force that the Jin army could catch up with in a short period of time, nor was it a fact that could be easily reversed.

……

The winter snow melted after one day, the weather was clear and the north wind was howling.

The bright morning light bloomed among the clouds, and a flock of birds flew by in the sky, as if they had seen something. After a moment, they panicked and changed their flight path, flying away into the distance. Outside the city of Xuzhou, the earth, which had been silent all night, regained its hustle and bustle, and ushered in a battle worthy of being recorded in history.

"Boom!"

In the woods near the road, a mouse crawled out of a cave holding some dried fruit. As the iron hooves whizzed past, it looked dazed and dropped the dried fruit. It was so scared that it quickly dived back in. The iron hooves splashed dust on the ground and ran quickly across the ground.

Soon after, more hoofbeats sounds came pouring in, and amidst several shouts, someone on horseback drew his bow and shot arrows at the fleeing knights in front. The rumbling of the hoofbeats shook the ground, and the fleeing bodies in front fell from the horses. One of the Mongolian cavalrymen who were chasing them leaned over and pulled out the arrow on the back of the corpse, put it back into the quiver behind his waist, and walked away with his companions.

Before the two sides started fighting, the scout war had already begun. Both sides sent out a large number of scouts to investigate the local situation. Even though the Jin Kingdom lacked horses, they still gritted their teeth and persisted, going even though they knew they would die, just to send back some news about the Mongolian army.

As soon as the sky brightened, a large number of Mongolian scouts began to appear on the field, chasing the Jin scouts coming from the lower south of the Yangtze River. Small-scale confrontations like this would occasionally occur within sight of the city walls.

In the Jin army, Yang Kang stepped onto the platform holding a bleeding head. The head was that of the Jin general Wanyan Chenghui. It was only when one was at the critical moment of death that one could behead a general in front of the battle. Since Wanyan Chenghui returned last time, he had been suspected by Wanyan Honglie and had retreated to the second line, rarely commanding the troops.

Most of his former subordinates died in the Battle of Kaifeng, which means that this man is weak and even if he is killed, it will not affect the overall situation.

Yang Kang, wearing Mingguang armor, held the head and scanned the generals present. "Everyone, this man is a general of our army. Not long ago, I was personally guarding Sishui, but the Mongols burned down the granary and had to retreat. Afterwards, Your Majesty was very observant and found out that this man secretly defected to Mongolia and leaked the news."

"Although he is a member of the Jin royal family, he is not immune to blame. Now, we are facing a powerful enemy. Back then, our Great Jin set out from Xuzhou and started the third southern expedition. We defeated the Song Dynasty, seized Jiangnan, and established our capital in Jiankang. That kind of vibrant and flourishing state is still vivid in our minds. Throughout the ages, our Great Jin stopped at the Yangtze River, but under your Majesty's leadership, we have completed the southern expedition."

"Everyone, we must win this battle!"

As soon as the words fell, the Jin soldiers around the reviewing platform echoed one after another, and the sound spread in all directions like waves. The soldiers in the distance did not understand what was going on, but when they heard the sound, they also shouted in unison. The sound pierced through the clouds and split the rocks, and went straight up to the sky.

"set off!"

"Woo..."

A desolate horn sounded in the sky above the plains as the Jin army marched to the battlefield. On the plains, Mongolian scouts reined in their horses. At the end of their sight, a huge square formation like a dark cloud gradually took shape, as if a black line connecting the sky and the earth was spreading over.

"Go, go back!"

The war horses galloped back to the camp like thunder.

In the tent, Guo Jing, who received the report from the scouts, read it and passed it to other generals.

Lu Guanying's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Two hundred thousand. It seems that the Jin Kingdom has put all its wealth into this."

Zhang Rou stroked his beard, his breathing became rapid, his eyes flashing with fighting spirit, "We have never fought such a big battle before. If we can destroy these 200,000 people, the Jin Kingdom, hehe..."

Guo Jing: "The Jin Kingdom has indeed withdrawn its southern expeditionary army. With 200,000 soldiers, their strength is not much less than ours. This is a tough battle. A few years ago, we were able to destroy the Jin Kingdom's 100,000-man army. Now, even if it's only 200,000, what can we do?"

"Everyone, this battle is a decisive one for the Central Plains. If we win, we will advance to the south of the Yangtze River and destroy the Jin Kingdom. If we lose, we will retreat to Henan and be unable to move south. We must win this battle!"

Several generals looked at each other and said in unison, "We are willing to die for you, Lord!"

"Okay, pass the order, the army moves out!"

……

"Slow down on the left and right flanks and protect the formation"

Galloping horses and the high-pitched shouts of knights passed through the battle lines that stretched for miles. The view expanded in front and behind. Banners fluttered in the morning light like a forest covering the sky. The densely packed soldiers marched in unison, heading towards the huge city on the opposite side. Soon, they stopped with a bang amidst the shouting of orders. The knights were galloping in the small formations in the front, and a voice rang out, roaring: "Form a battle line!"

The wind was howling, and on the plain, Mu Huali's 100,000 infantry and cavalry and Guo Jing's 150,000 infantry and cavalry faced the Jin army of 200,000.

A tragic atmosphere permeated the wilderness, and both sides were extremely nervous, with their hearts and minds at their throats.

On the chariot, Guo Jing looked at the flag of the Jin royal family in the distance and smiled. Sure enough, Wanyan Honglie came!

He knew that Wanyan Honglie would lead the army in person to boost morale, but he didn't know that the person coming this time was Yang Kang, a person he had never taken seriously.

On the other side, on a high platform, Yang Kang, wearing golden armor, stood there, looking down at the military formation in the distance. His eyes seemed to see through a distance of hundreds of feet and saw Guo Jing surrounded by soldiers.

Marshal Wanyan Saibu gave the order, "Generals, listen to my command, kill!"

The Jin army dispersed and marched towards the Mongolian army.

Opposite them, further ahead, is the city of Xuzhou. On the city wall that spans more than ten miles, countless figures can be vaguely seen swaying. The approaching war has caused tension and panic on everyone's face. Archers holding bows and arrows quickly run behind large shields at the shouts of their generals. Someone sticks out half of his face, staring at the enemy formation in the distance with bated breath, his hands trembling slightly. Then, extending back, across this section of the city wall, overlooking the neat and criss-crossing streets below the city, the people in the city hear the sound of horns and war drums, and the pedestrians who have stopped on the street run in panic and begin to return home.

On the battlefield with hundreds of thousands of people, the huge Xuzhou became inconspicuous. There were only a few thousand remnants left in the city, and they were not qualified to participate in this war.

The wind blew across the sky, and the sky was filled with clouds.

The morning light rose, and as it approached noon, the sun shone through the gaps in the clouds, caressing the earth, and the temperature became warm. Guo Jing, dressed in a black beast-head armor and a red cape, appeared on the hillside guarded by his personal soldiers. He stared at the king and ministers of the Jin Kingdom in front of him, lost in thought for a long time.

Suddenly, the people on the distant city wall felt that the atmosphere had changed. They only heard the sound of drums of war coming from afar, and the faint sound of trumpets in between.

“The war has begun”

All thoughts and ideas thought of a possibility almost at the same time, and someone suppressed a scream of fear, foreshadowing the coming of war.

Woo woo woo woo

The ox horn sounded, and the solemn and majestic Han Hou slowly raised the golden sword. This sword was given to him by Genghis Khan. After years of fighting in the south and the north, the sword is still as bright as new.

On the other side, under the central army flag, Mu Huali, dressed in black iron armor, raised his sword in the air and chopped down together with the raised scimitar.

"attack."

Two completely different voices issued orders at the same time.

The order to march was conveyed at the fastest speed. Amid the sound of horns, countless footsteps made a terrifying rumbling sound that drowned out all the sounds in the fields and on the city walls. The earth was shaking.

The fighting has begun!

The midday sun disappeared behind the clouds, and black warning smoke rose into the sky from the corners at both ends of the city wall. The generals in the Jin army could see it clearly.

Following the order, the array of 10,000 people in the three directions of left, right and front split from the central army, and marched forward with rumbling footsteps, or moved left and right to make some space. As they moved, the collision of shields and swords made slight banging sounds, and several equally large phalanxes took shape one after another. The surging sound of the war drums was deafening.

When the two sides were within a certain distance, they started shooting at the same time. The sky was filled with a dense rain of arrows. The charging soldiers held up their shields, fearless of death, and continued to charge forward.

In the Han army camp, the catapults that had been prepared for a long time threw stone bombs one after another. The whistling stones fell on the enemy line, smashing the enemy to pieces. Every moment, soldiers on both sides were dying, but no one retreated.

There is no room for retreat on such a battlefield, and you can only keep rushing forward.

In the blink of an eye, the two sides came into close combat.

In the Han army's line, thousands of soldiers shrank into formation, pounded their heavy shields into the ground, and stretched out their spears diagonally upwards to form a forest of spears, firmly blocking the front.

On the flank of the Jin army, Mu Huali led the Mongolian cavalry in a charge, killing their way through the thick layer of human bodies. The Mongolian cavalry spread out like a raging tide and rushed towards the Jin army's phalanx at a rapid speed.

The huge clamor became hoarse and continued on the plain. Figures rushed forward with swords and were pierced by spears. The sounds of swords clashing, shouting, and all kinds of sounds were gathering and buzzing in people's ears.

Lu Guanying, holding a shield and a knife, and his personal soldiers were weaving in and out of the already huge and chaotic formation. The flying arrows bounced off the beast-head shoulder armor. In the mixed crowd opposite, there were Jin soldiers roaring ferociously and rushing towards them with guns in hand.

The generals of both sides led their soldiers to charge into the battle lines, while on the command platform, Guo Jing calmly mobilized the army and ordered the cavalry to gallop through the formation, shouting until his voice was hoarse.

The troops gathered together and charged straight into the chaotic army.

In a head-on fight, there aren't too many fancy moves; it's all about strength and courage. If you get killed, you can survive, but if you run, you will only die faster.

Pools of blood flowed on the ground, and the entire battlefield was filled with the smell of blood. War horses neighed, soldiers roared, and broken limbs and corpses were everywhere.

On the stage, a blood-stained general came forward to report, "General, the enemy cavalry has broken through the right wing, we can't hold on!"

Wanyan Saibu's expression was icy, "Pass the order, the reserve troops move forward, we must hold on!"

"As ordered!"

As the command flag was waved, the cavalry in the rear of the Jin army rushed into the battlefield and fought with the Mongolian cavalry, while the Jin generals on the side tried to divide and encircle the Mongolian cavalry in an attempt to annihilate them.

However, they forgot that the opposite side not only had cavalry, but also infantry. Compared with the past, the infantry under Guo Jing's command were stronger, and the various types of troops cooperated well, constantly strangling and fighting the Jin soldiers.

Even though the Jin soldiers had won victory after victory over the Song in the south over the years, they still could not make any progress against the well-equipped and highly motivated Han infantry.

(End of this chapter)