Jinting Han people

Chapter 237 Battle of Breast Peak (Part )

By this time, the sky had grown even paler, and the fog thinned. At least three thousand Tiele cavalrymen had entered the battle formation, all clad in armored horse armor. Their iron spears were lashed with small red crow flags, and iron rings secured their necks beneath their iron helmets. Their bodies were clad in Mingguang armor, reaching all the way to their knees. The armor plates on their chests gleamed faintly, and their raised spears resembled a forest. Beyond the basic armor, their horses also wore veils that revealed their eyes and noses. Many were even covered in tiger and bear skins, giving them a truly monstrous appearance.

This elite cavalry unit, known as the Red Crow Army, was forged over the past six months after Qi Wannian conquered dozens of counties in Yong and Qin provinces and plundered dozens of treasuries. It rivaled the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, which Cao Cao had assembled during his campaigns across the Central Plains. The Red Crow Army had made significant contributions in the Battles of Panlong Bay and Meiyang, effectively becoming Qi Wannian's winning trump card.

During the rest period after the confrontation with the Jin army, Qi Wannian had been letting the Red Crow Army recuperate. Even in the previous Battle of Liumo, when there was a possibility of completely annihilating the Jianwei Army, he still held back and ended up missing the opportunity.

But this is not in vain. Qi Wannian wants to send it into the battlefield at this critical moment to reverse the entire battle situation in one fell swoop!

Leading the Red Crow Army was Chi Nukou of the Tiefu people. He launched a reckless charge against the Jin army, his mighty horse breaking through the fog like a thunderbolt, sprinting towards the Jin army's left flank. The Jin army was caught off guard, and all that stood in their way was utterly routed. Their already fragmented formation was instantly scattered.

The Red Crows cut through the Jin army like a steel knife through paper, slicing through it with incredible ease, creating a massive rift in the Jin army's left flank without encountering any effective resistance. The Jin army practically gave way to these iron beasts, causing collapse wherever they passed. In a matter of moments, they had already reached the central army led by Liang Wang Sima Rong and his men.

Because the rebel attack was launched too suddenly and the front army collapsed too suddenly, the Jin army's center army, exposed to the powerful enemy attack, could not form a complete battle formation, nor even organize a group resistance. Fighting alone, it was impossible to stop the Tiele people's attack.

Sima Rong commanded three guards. Meeting the enemy from the south was Kong Gao, a Jingzhao native. Seeing a Tiele charging from his right, he was too hasty to parry and kicked his horse forward with his left foot. But the Tiele's horse was too fast. While the man narrowly avoided the attack, the horse had no time to evade. The Tiele's long halberd pierced his mount with a single blow, piercing it from one side of the horse's belly to the other.

Under the immense force of the impact, the Tiele man had no time to pull his hand away, and the sudden pause caused his wrist to dislocate. But the man was completely unaffected. While the two horses were already connected, he exerted force with his left hand, and suddenly a ring-handled knife appeared, slashing at Kong Gao.

The blade easily passed over the long spear and struck Kong Gao on the head. Still trembling with fear, Kong Gao felt a sharp pain and his vision went black. It turned out that the back of his head, along with his helmet and neck, had been chopped off.

At this point, even though some Jin knights were able to engage the rebels head-on, engaging in brutal and bloody stabbings, with some being stabbed and thrown from their horses, the majority of Jin knights had no time to adjust their direction. Their panicked horses were only concerned with avoiding danger, and when attacked from the side or rear, they could only instinctively flee.

The disordered war horses jostled against one another, some falling to the ground like waves, toppling the still-resisting riders and horses. The knights who fell, whether Jin or Hu, whether struck by swords, spears, stray arrows, or their horses' legs, had little chance of getting back up in this chaotic situation. Once they hit the ground, they were crushed into a pool of flesh in a single instant by the chaotic horses' hooves.

As the knights of each Yamen fell off their horses or fled, the rebel cavalry was about to approach Sima Rong.

By this time, however, the remaining two guards finally had time to react, surrounding Sima Rong and Lu Bo and desperately defending against the rebels' charge. Dozens of Tiele men, braving a hail of arrows, charged at them, their spears piercing their wounds. Several Jin guards bled profusely, instantly losing their fighting ability. Seeing the rebels only a few dozen steps away from Sima Rong, the knights surrounding him, such as Zhang Fang, Li Ju, Zhi Fu, and Zhang Chun, rushed forward to defend the city, regardless of their own safety.

After suppressing the rebellion in Hedong, Zhang Fang was ostracized and discriminated against by his peers due to his bad habits, and he never found a place to use his skills. But when he got the chance, he was really furious. He ignored the stabbing spears of the rebels and grabbed the Tiele people's spears with a single wave of his hand. The Tiele people on horseback, fearing that they would be pulled off their horses, had to abandon their long spears and ride away.

Zhang Fang, armed with the seized lance in his left hand and his own long sword in his right, charged into the Tiele cavalry, slashing with fury. His attack, seemingly reckless, was ingenious, darting left and right through the crowd, always avoiding the most concentrated areas of attack. He struck down those who were least prepared. In just a quarter of an hour, he had already stabbed three horses and severed a knight in half, drawing more rebels to his siege.

A Tiefu knight came charging up from behind, attempting a surprise attack. Zhang Fang was prepared. He dove sideways and thrust his spear into the enemy's waist. Then, he lifted the man's helmet, grabbed his hair, and pinned him to the horse's neck. With flowing motion, he chopped the man's neck with his broadsword, decapitating him. Blood gushed from the neck, covering Zhang Fang's body.

Zhang Fang only felt his vision blurred and bloodshot. He was afraid of being ambushed, so he shouted loudly to intimidate the Tiele people around him.

To the Tiele people, Zhang Fang, covered in blood, towering like a tower, and riding a horse, looked like a demon. They dared not fight this monster anymore, but instead avoided him and attacked others.

After a fierce fight, the Tiele people were soon killed or wounded. However, this attracted more Tiele people to gather and they became more and more suspicious of their desperate resistance.

Someone shouted, "There are so many elite soldiers and generals here. Could it be that the enemy commander is here?"

So they ignored the rain of arrows, regrouped, and fought back and forth, gradually forming a tight siege.

In fact, it was not just the central army of the Jin army that encountered difficulties.

After the Red Crow Army was dispatched, Qi Wannian said to all his generals:

"After receiving this order, you no longer need to worry about flags and drums, military orders, or anything else happening around you. Push forward!"

"In the fog, there are no tactics, no skills! Only faith! Fight with faith!"

"Those who believe they are blessed by destiny will win, while those who do not will be defeated! And I have already won! Do you know why?"

"Because I am Qi Wannian! I am a red crow. As long as I am still alive, death will be left behind me!"

With that, he took the horn himself and blew a long, leisurely blast toward the heavens. In the sunlight, everyone heard this call to attack, the only military order issued by the rebels during the entire battle.

In an instant, the Qiang and Hu cavalry in front of them charged forward like surging waves, and the large force behind them followed closely behind, shouting and roaring in the fog.

The sound seemed to surge like the ocean, breaking through the fog. Under the red sun and the glow of the sunset, people seemed to be in a brilliant fairyland. The thunderous sound of horse hooves and footsteps mixed with each other, and tens of thousands of horses rose and fell in the light dust of sunlight and fog. And the sound of iron hooves hitting the ground and the collision of armored soldiers, after the shouting faded, immediately filled the sky and the ground, surging directly towards the Jin army. The right wing of the Jin army was afraid of this. They were unprepared for this battle in the first place, and now the actions of the rebels far exceeded their imagination. As a result, they could not exert their normal strength at all, and could only think wildly in the fog:
How many men are there on the other side? Can we hold them off? What's the situation on the left wing and the center? Can I survive this battle?

As a result, while they were hesitating, the rebel army had arrived in advance. With just the first wave of attack, they had opened many gaps in the right wing of the Jin army. People could only see a man and a horse galloping in through the fog, and suddenly they collided with them. In a very short moment, they were forced to fight for their lives. This psychological pressure greatly destroyed the combat effectiveness of the Jin army soldiers, causing them to retreat as soon as they engaged in the battle.

If this continues, the defeat of the right wing of the Jin army will be a foregone conclusion.

But this is not the cruelest place. The cruelest place is on the left wing of the Jin army.

After being penetrated by the Red Crow Army, the Jin army's left wing had completely lost contact with the central army. General Xiahou Jun of Anxi and Commander-in-Chief of the Anxi Army, Zhi, who were in command of this area, attempted to organize the scattered troops, but their efficiency was extremely low.

This is normal. In the fog, the soldiers could not see the flags and drums clearly. They could only judge the situation based on the situation around them and the sounds of fighting and shouting between the two armies in the air.

In this situation, the spread of chaos was disastrous. Even if a soldier took the opportunity to desert, they would remain undetected, and no one would know where the line was in danger. Even if an officer captured one or two deserters, it would not serve as a warning to others. Even if some Jin troops repelled the rebels in a certain area, or even launched a counterattack, it would not inspire others.

The result was a complete collapse. People lost the will to fight forward and instead turned and ran eastward. In their panic, they didn't even bother to distinguish between friend and foe, and they also forgot that they still had bows and arrows in their hands and could fight back.

This made them the prey, and the rebels the hunters, chasing closely behind, constantly drawing their bows and shooting. Many of the Hu people carried four quivers, enough to hold 200 arrows, but in the end, they were empty-handed because their quivers had been shot.

The overall situation was set, and the failure of the Jin army could no longer be reversed.

Back to the central army, after Kong Gao and others were killed, Li Ju realized that the war was over.

The thought of yet another defeat filled him with rage. In this foggy weather, the exquisite archery skills he had honed since childhood were completely useless. He could only engage in close combat with swords, but even with hundreds of men, he couldn't influence the situation. All of this stemmed from the unchangeable disparity in leadership between the two armies.

How deplorable it is for a soldier to be doomed to fail in victory! But now that things have come to this, Li Ju must acknowledge this before preparing for the next battle. Otherwise, if Sima Rong were to die here, I'm afraid the entire Guanzhong region would truly no longer belong to the imperial court!

Thinking of this, Li Ju spurred his horse to look for Sima Rong in the crowd. He was shocked to find that Sima Rong was pale and trembling all over. He sat on his horse and dared not move. It was obvious that he was frightened by such a sudden change and had no idea what to do next.

Li Ju quickly approached and said to Sima Rong, "Your Highness, this war is hopeless. We should find a way to withdraw!"

Sima Rong's face was like the dead bark of a tree in autumn, completely frozen. It took him a while to react. He only moved his eyes to look at Li Ju. After a moment's gaze, he revealed a look of sudden enlightenment and murmured, "Yes! It's time to withdraw!"

As he said this, he was about to turn his horse and leave alone. But Li Ju quickly stopped him and reminded him:
"Your Highness, there are so many people watching this place now. You can't leave alone!"

Sima Rong finally realized what was happening and said repeatedly:
"Yes! Yes! Yes! What can Shihui do?"

Li Ju thought about the experience of the Battle of Hedong and said, "These barbarians are just ignorant poor people. The reason they are fighting so hard is nothing more than seeking wealth and glory. I wonder if Your Highness has any treasures. If so, you can scatter them on the ground and let them take them! Then we can escape safely."

When saying this, Li Ju was actually not very sure in his heart, because Sima Rong had always been known for his integrity, and he probably didn't have as much money as Sun Xiu. If he couldn't attract the rebels, it would be too embarrassing.

But Sima Rong did not hesitate at all. He said to Lu Bo who was standing beside him: "Chief, didn't you hear me? Quickly spread out all the money in my cavalry! Money is not as important as life!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Bo quickly agreed and directly led a dozen horses from the cavalry. The horses' backs were carrying bulging leather bags, which probably contained gold, silver and treasures.

After lining up the dozen or so horses, Lu Bo drew his sword and, holding a whip in one hand, stabbed the leather bag with the sword, then struck the horse's rump with the whip. The horses, in pain, immediately ran toward the rebels. Pearls, gold nuggets, silver ingots, and jadeite clattered out of the leather bag, instantly attracting the attention of everyone on the roadside. Then another horse, two horses, three horses...

The fog had become thinner at this time, and the jewels reflected a rainbow-like glow in the sunlight. When the fighting people saw this scene, they couldn't help but stop, and then couldn't help but chase after them, which caused quite a commotion among the rebels in the rear.

At this point, some might have wondered why a jewel-covered horse had suddenly appeared out of nowhere. But as the saying goes, "Ten birds in the bush are worth a bird in the hand," why risk your life when you can obtain wealth without fighting? Driven by this thought, the attack on the Jin army's center was slightly reduced.

While they were fighting for the jewels, Li Ju, Zhang Fang, and hundreds of others, accompanied by Sima Rong, were rapidly leaving the battlefield. Their next step was to return to Chang'an, but this also meant that the remaining Jin soldiers on the battlefield would have to rely on their own abilities to survive.

As a result, the rebels won a great victory on all fronts and chased the Jin army for nearly twenty miles until the horses of the Red Crow Army were too tired to run anymore. Except for a few light cavalry who were still pursuing, most of the rebels finally stopped to rest.

By this time, the fog had finally dissipated completely. Over a twenty-mile stretch of road, corpses of both men and horses lay piled high and low, strewn across the landscape. Stagnant blood swirls across the ground, seeping into the yellow soil and watering the newly emerged grass shoots. Although the sun cast its light through the gradually gathering clouds, the pervasive, bloody odor of the ground instead evokes a chilling chill.

Before noon, the main force of the Jin army, which was preparing to launch a final attack on the rebels, suffered tens of thousands of casualties on the east side of Rufeng, while the rebels' losses were less than a thousand.

(End of this chapter)