Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 698 "Game Era 2" (Part 2)
"kill!"

On the battlefield, the hysterical shouts of the soldiers on both sides gradually subsided, but that did not mean that the battle had stopped due to exhaustion.

On the contrary, after initially using shouts of battle to bolster their courage, the surviving soldiers were completely immersed in the fighting and killing, casting aside their fear.

So on the battlefield, all that remained were the clanging of weapons clashing and the dull thud of blades piercing flesh.

Whether they were the ones doing the chopping or the ones being chopped, they all appeared indifferent at this moment, at most letting out a scream before dying, which fully illustrates the cruelty of the battlefield.

At this time, the warm winter sun gradually rose, the fog on the river became thinner, and the soldiers who had fought for several hours were finally exhausted.

On the battlefield, the soldiers on both sides were undoubtedly fighting mechanically, and the entire battle became a stalemate.

This situation relieved Yu Yunwen, who had been looking down from the cliff.

He was familiar with the situation of the Song army, so he did not expect that the Song soldiers would be so resilient this time, and that their fighting spirit would not be extinguished despite such heavy casualties.

Although the Song soldiers managed to withstand the Jin army's charge, they were unable to prevent the enemy's warships from docking and dropping off more soldiers.

Judging from this situation, the balance of power in the battle seems to be tilting towards the Jin army. If the Song army does not have any other means, it will be difficult to withstand the enemy's offensive once more Jin soldiers land.

"Silence!"

Yu Yunwen gave the order decisively. Upon hearing this, the drummers behind him went limp. It turned out that the high-intensity drumming had almost exhausted their strength.

As the drumbeats ceased, the gray-haired Song and Jin armies on the battlefield below separated from their intense fighting. Both sides slowly retreated, regrouped their troops, and rearranged themselves for the next battle.

At that moment, Yu Yunwen gave another order.

"ignition!"

At his command, soldiers immediately lit the prepared firecrackers, and a burst of flames shot into the sky and exploded, visible even from a great distance.

The Song army fleet, which was hiding in the thin mist upstream, also saw it. Soon, accompanied by a cannon blast, dozens or even hundreds of newly built sea-hulled ships sailed downstream and launched an attack on the Jin army's large warships that were preparing to anchor at the shore.

boom! boom! boom!
The cannons on the nearby sea goby boats opened fire, and flames soared into the sky over the river.

From a distance, the sea-eel boats in the firelight truly looked like loaches, nimbly weaving across the river. Several sea-eel boats were dealing with a Jin army warship, but they did not board it, but instead kept their distance and bombarded the enemy ship with thunder cannons.

Under this offensive, the sails of the Jin army's enemy ships were immediately burned. The already clumsy warships lost their sails and became even slower. They were tightly entangled by the sea-eel ships and could not get away. Many warships were swept far away by the river and still could not reach the shore.

The only pity is that, apart from dealing with flammable sails, this kind of thunder cannon was not very effective at setting fires due to the quality of the gunpowder. The Jin soldiers' warships would extinguish the fire as soon as it caught fire.

However, this still disrupted their landing schedule.

Just then, the sound of drums from the Song army's side rang out again, and this time it was even louder.

However, if you listen carefully, you can hear that the rumbling sound is mostly coming from the valley below the cliff.

No, that wasn't actually the sound of drums, but rather the sound of horses' hooves falling like raindrops mixed in with the drumbeats.

Countless warhorses surged out from their ambush, their hooves thundering as they pounded the ground, like a raging torrent rushing for miles, their momentum earth-shattering.

Song army cavalry!
It is said that southerners are good at boating and northerners are good at riding horses. The Southern Song Dynasty was always short of horses, so it was naturally short of cavalry.

Now that Yu Yunwen has released this cavalry unit, he is truly using his elite troops.

The leader of this group of Song cavalry, dressed in white robes and silver armor, with sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, holding a long spear upside down, was none other than Han Yanzhi, the son of General Han Shizhong and a good friend of Yu Yunwen.

This man, worthy of being from a military family, commanded his cavalry with great skill. Under his leadership, the eight hundred cavalrymen, though few in number, were full of energy and had an unstoppable momentum, and in an instant, they surged to the front of the Jin army's position.

Although the Jin soldiers were numerous, they had exhausted a lot of energy during the crossing of the river and landing. After landing, they abandoned their warhorses and fought fiercely with the Song infantry for a long time. At this moment, their fighting strength had not recovered, and the positions were filled with a mix of infantry and cavalry, and they were not in formation.

With one side rested and well-prepared, and the other side caught off guard, even the renowned Jurchen cavalry was bogged down by their own people and unable to mount an effective resistance.

With the tides turning and the enemy gaining ground, Han Yanzhi led eight hundred Song cavalrymen like a sharp sword piercing deep into the Jin army's formation, easily breaking through the enemy lines as if cutting through tofu.

These Southern Song cavalry charged through tens of thousands of Jin soldiers, slashing with long swords and thrusting with long spears, leaving a trail of severed limbs and remains.

After breaking through the entire Jin army camp, before the enemy could readjust their formation, the Song cavalry immediately turned back and charged into the enemy ranks from another direction, once again ravaging the already exhausted Jin soldiers.

This time, the Southern Song cavalry achieved even greater success, with even more Jin soldiers losing their lives under the iron hooves of the Southern Song cavalry.

"Surrender without killing!"

The Song cavalry, charging into battle, shouted slogans to demoralize the Jin soldiers. At the same time, the infantry, who had recovered some of their strength, also spread out on the outer perimeter of the enemy formation, forming a wild goose formation to surround the Jin soldiers, shouting loudly.

With this two-pronged approach, the Jin army's formation finally collapsed completely under the repeated attacks of Han Yanzhi's cavalry and the encirclement of the Song soldiers.

With a boom, like a school of fish scattering, these Jin soldiers lost unified command and could only fight in small groups.

Even so, most of the Jin soldiers still fought desperately with their inherent bravery, and no one fled or surrendered.

How many people are still in the camp?

Yu Yunwen suddenly turned to the messenger beside him and asked. The soldier was taken aback, then quickly replied:

"There are only three hundred cooks and laborers left."

Yu Yunwen frowned even more deeply. At this moment, the battle situation was just one push away from changing. If the Song army could not quickly defeat the Jin soldiers, even if they won, it would be a Pyrrhic victory.

Just then, Xia Feng, who had been standing next to him, stepped forward.

"My lord, I am willing to lead these men into battle!"

Yu Yunwen gave Xia Feng a deep look. Seeing his resolute gaze, he did not hesitate for long and directly appointed him as the commander of the soldiers composed of cooks and laborers.

Xia Feng accepted the order and gathered the few hundred cooks and laborers remaining in the Song army camp. He did not ask them to join the battle, but only ordered each of them to carry a large flag and then rush to the battlefield to provide support.

Before long, more than three hundred military flags appeared on the edge of the battlefield.

Upon seeing their own military flag bearing the character "Song" in the distance, the Song soldiers suddenly cheered excitedly in unison:

"Reinforcements are here! Reinforcements are here!"

These reinforcements weren't just there to provide show of force from the outside. Their leader, Xia Feng, wielding a large sword, charged into the Jin army's ranks, unleashing a bloodbath with his superior skills. At this point, Xia Feng's "reinforcements" became the final straw that broke the camel's back.

The Jin soldiers, who were still putting up a stubborn resistance, finally could not withstand the pressure. Some of them, led by their commander, turned around and ran back to the riverbank, fleeing to their warships to prepare for their return voyage.

However, those warships also faced attacks from sea monsters on the river, so the situation was not much better.

As for the many Jin soldiers, they threw down their weapons and knelt down to surrender.

Thus, the outcome of the Song army's river-crossing ambush against the Jin army was finally decided.

The Song army was then mostly busy cleaning up the battlefield and gathering the surrendered Jin soldiers.

By the time I finished all that, it was almost dusk.

During this process, Xia Feng, who understood some of the Jin language, was also on site helping to gather the fleeing soldiers.

The final count showed that the number of Jin soldiers who surrendered exceeded three thousand.

As for the Song army, they also suffered more than two thousand casualties, but they achieved an impressive record of killing four thousand Jin soldiers, capturing three thousand, burning more than forty warships, and drowning countless Jin soldiers.

Compared to the past, the Battle of Caishiji can be considered a great victory.

Even after achieving a great victory, neither Han Yanzhi nor Yu Yunwen showed any smugness on their faces at the celebration banquet.

Because Yu Yunwen's Jianghuai army could win countless times, but could not afford to lose even once, while the Jin army could lose countless times, but only needed to win once.

Moreover, according to Yu Yunwen, they would not be able to wait for reinforcements; the Caishiji ferry crossing would only be guarded by their Jianghuai Army.

Because the Song state not only had to defend the hundreds of miles of defense line along the Yangtze River, but also the east coast, in order to prevent the Jin state from launching a surprise attack from the sea.

Such terrible news brought all the Song soldiers to their senses, and the pride they felt after winning the battle vanished.

Before they could even discuss how to resolve the impasse, a messenger burst into the central command tent to report.

It turns out that Wanyan Liang's army had quietly withdrawn from Hezhou last night, sailing downstream along the riverbank, and no one knew where they had gone.

After some discussion, the group guessed that Wanyan Liang was using a feint attack, and that the enemy must have secretly built a batch of ferries in a tributary on the north bank of the Yangtze River in preparation for launching an attack on other places.

As for where the actual attack will take place?

Xia Feng, relying on his combat intuition, gave the answer: Zhenjiang.

Next, Xia Feng and the others immediately prepared to go to Zhenjiang to provide reinforcements. However, when they arrived in Zhenjiang, they found that Wanyan Liang's army was stationed on the riverbank but had not launched an attack.

At first, Xia Feng and the others thought that the Jin Kingdom was up to something, until the other party sent an envoy. Xia Feng saw a familiar face in the envoy, Huang Ji, played by Huang Xuan.

He was originally a servant in the caravan of the saintess Daisy traveling eastward, and then he and the saintess were captured by the Western Xia Kingdom and transferred to the Jin Kingdom.

Later, through some unknown means, he became a minor official in the Jin Dynasty. Because he understood the official language of the Song Dynasty, he was assigned to the Jin delegation as a translator.

Through Huang Ji, Xia Feng and the others finally learned why the Jin army had stopped its attack and sought peace.

It turned out that Wanyan Liang, the ruler of the Jin Dynasty, was assassinated in the army. Although the assassination did not endanger his life, it left Wanyan Liang seriously injured and unable to get up.

Under these circumstances, launching another attack on the Southern Song Dynasty would undoubtedly be an extremely risky move.

Although the person who assassinated Wanyan Liang had no distinguishing features when he was captured, he was very likely from within the Jin state. Therefore, Wanyan Liang was already wary of his own army.

"In that case, the war will not be fought."

After hearing Huang Ji's account, Xia Feng felt relieved and also had an idea. He volunteered to escort the Jin delegation to Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty.

He hadn't forgotten his promise to Tony and the saintess to go to Lin'an to meet them.

Thus, the Jin and Song armies achieved a new balance and stalemate on both sides of the Yangtze River.

Yu Yunwen received unprecedented praise and high regard from the imperial court for his outstanding military achievements and was put in charge of overall defense affairs.

As for Xia Feng, thanks to Yu Yunwen's strong recommendation, he rose from a commoner without any military rank to a high position, being granted the title of Assistant General by Emperor Gaozong. He was then able to join the escort team for the Jin delegation and travel together to Lin'an.

When they finally arrived safely in Lin'an, the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, to meet Emperor Gaozong and receive their rewards, it was already the end of December in the eleventh year of the Shaoxing era.

At this time, Zhao Gou, the first emperor of the Southern Song Dynasty who had reigned for decades, finally abdicated, and his adopted son, Emperor Xiaozong Zhao Shen, succeeded him.

The young Emperor Xiaozong was a proponent of war. Not long after ascending the throne, he issued an edict to posthumously restore the official titles and ranks of Yue Fei and Yue Yun, and to rebury them according to official rites.

This greatly boosted morale throughout the Southern Song Dynasty. At the same time, Xia Feng and others were treated with great respect upon their return to the capital, with banquets held for them every day to celebrate their victory.

In addition, civil and military officials vied to host banquets for the Jianghuai Army soldiers led by Han Yanzhi in order to win the favor of the new emperor.

However, Xia Feng didn't care much about any of that. He was only concerned with how to find Tony and Daisy in Lin'an City and to see the original Taoist version of the "I Ching".

So he stopped attending those parties and banquets, and instead wandered around the city, looking for any possible contact marks that Tony and he had agreed to leave beforehand.

During this search, the audience also followed Xia Feng's footsteps and vision, strolling together through the brightly lit streets of Lin'an City.

It is said that "the richness and splendor of Tokyo are dazzling," and Lin'an, as the capital of the Southern Song Dynasty, which was located in a remote corner of the country, has become as prosperous as it once was after so many years of development. In fact, it has far surpassed Xingqing Prefecture of Western Xia and Zhongdu City of Jin Dynasty. It truly lives up to the poem "The warm breeze makes the tourists drunk, and they mistake Hangzhou for Bianzhou."

The visuals in "Game Era 2" perfectly capture this, making viewers feel as if they have traveled through time and space, experiencing a dreamlike sensation.

Even though it was late at night in the movie, Hangzhou was still filled with singing and dancing, and the air was filled with the fragrance of beautiful women.

Along both sides of the avenue, there were not only singers, street performers, and acrobats during the day, but also many others who sold laughter and sought pleasure, lived a life of debauchery, and engaged in gambling and violent fights.

The sounds of string and wind instruments, laughter, anger, and cursing could be heard everywhere, truly a scene of peace and prosperity.

However, none of this mattered to Xia Feng. The reason he was walking through the streets of Hangzhou at night was mainly to find clues about Tony and the others in a different way.

As for what method?
Xia Feng glanced around casually, then chose the gambling den with the brightest sign and the most people and went inside.

(End of this chapter)