Jinting Han people

At the turn of the year, the situation on the battlefield was extremely favorable for the Jin army.

With meticulous preparation, the Jin army indeed unleashed astonishing fighting power, breaching the southern section of the palisade at a speed that exceeded the Han army's expectations. Li Feng's troops had originally planned a feigned defeat, so they had instructed the laborers beforehand that once the Jin army breached the palisade, they could flee directly west to Youshui, where he had arranged boats for the laborers to sail away, with the Han army providing piecemeal resistance. However, it now appeared that the Jin army had breached the palisade too quickly, causing the laborers to scatter in disarray, while the Han army did not have time to form a battle line, risking turning the feigned defeat into a real one.

Li Feng, of course, had a backup plan. He positioned his elite archers on the west side and constructed some makeshift earthen ramparts at night. This allowed the Han archers to use the westerly wind to fire arrows, while also providing a simple way to halt the Jin army's charge. Meanwhile, Meng He led the reserves forward to intercept and slow the Jin army's advance as much as possible. He also ordered hundreds of horses to drag their banners behind them, raising dust. This dust, carried by the wind, blew towards the advancing Jin army, obscuring the sky and inevitably slowing their progress.

Before long, 10,000 Jin soldiers had broken into the palisade. They could see that the Han army in front was in a state of collapse, with only some Han soldiers resisting on the west side. They had two choices: one was to crush these remnants of the army to the west, and the other was to go directly east and completely destroy the Han army's palisade from the inside.

Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of heading west is that it can completely clear the flanks and eliminate this part without any worries about the rear, but the disadvantage is that the gains will be less. The advantage of heading east is that it can join forces with the Jin army in the southeast very early, but there is a risk of being attacked from the flanks, and the attack may not be successful.

However, for the well-equipped Jin army, there was no room for hesitation; they could choose to attack simultaneously. The battlefield situation was constantly changing. Zhu Si, who attacked first, sent a cavalry messenger to contact Zhu Gui's troops who followed, and they quickly assigned tasks with just a few words.

Zhu Si's meaning was simple: he instructed the messenger to say, "I will go east, and you will go west. If we each meet the enemy, we can achieve a great victory."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Gui was naturally somewhat displeased, since the merit of going east was greater than that of going west. However, Zhu Si, as the vanguard who broke through the encirclement, did indeed have the initiative on the battlefield, and he could not disobey him, so he said, "I understand. You report back to Zhongwen Gong that I will go west."

The cavalryman ordered his men to return and report to Zhu Si. Thus, the two armies set off separately, one heading east and the other west. It was as if an invisible reef had divided the Jin army into two torrents, each rushing toward different parts of the palisade.

The movements of the Jin army were clearly visible to Liu Xian, who was observing from the city wall. The weather was somewhat gloomy, and dust obscured his vision, but from his elevated position, he could still roughly discern the battlefield's movements. Seeing the Jin army break through the palisade with unstoppable momentum, his heart sank, wondering if Li Feng could hold out. However, seeing that the Jin army wasn't pursuing westward aggressively and that Li Feng's forces were gradually slowing their pace, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He realized he had somewhat underestimated the strength of the Jin army. They did indeed have many capable men, no less skilled than his own, which led to unexpected events from the outset and the collapse of the front lines. Fortunately, the Jin were too greedy and didn't rout Li Feng in one fell swoop, keeping the overall situation under his control. Otherwise, if they had swept through the west in one fell swoop, his counterattack would have lacked support, and its effectiveness would have been greatly diminished.

Xi An, who was accompanying Liu Xian, was a little impatient. Seeing that the enemy had already sent a large army into the palisade, he immediately asked Liu Xian, "Your Highness, the enemy has arrived. We must seize this opportunity. Should our army send out troops as soon as possible?"

Liu Xian shook his head, remaining calm and observing the situation with narrowed eyes.

Currently, the Jin army's western route is small and sluggish, posing little threat for the time being, while the eastern route is large and its offensive is rapid. Liu Xian is closely monitoring the movements of the eastern route. The Han army's performance here will determine the ultimate success of this ambush.

When the Jin army advanced eastward to the flank of the easternmost palisade, they were surprised to find that the Han army had set up a simple earthen rampart and trench behind them. This was completely illogical. Could it be that the Han army had anticipated that the Jin army would break through the palisade and outflank them from this point? But they had no time to think about these things, because the Jin army behind them was still rushing in. The surging crowd made it impossible for them to retreat, and they didn't have time to retrieve the weapons that had been thrown in front of the palisade.

The Jin army here could only continue forward, and whether Li Ju's Han army could withstand the Jin army's offensive here would be the key to victory for both armies.

The fierce general leading the Jin army's vanguard was Chen Sheng, originally a notorious river bandit from Jiangzhou, skilled in wielding two-handed swords. He terrorized the Leichi area, once commanding a band of over two thousand men and enjoying considerable fame. After Wang Kuang took office in Jiangzhou, he admired Chen Sheng's bravery and recruited him as the commander of the naval forces. At this time, Chen Sheng was both highly skilled and daring. For the sake of ease of movement, he wore neither a helmet nor a leather lining, only the most basic two-piece armor, an apron, and a pair of deerskin riding boots, before leaping onto the earthen ramparts to engage the Han soldiers in battle.

Chen Sheng's agility was truly unmatched. He wielded his twin swords, weaving left and right on the earthen ramparts. Wherever the Han soldiers were most formidable, he would charge forward and hack and slash. After achieving some success, he would quickly retreat, disappearing into the crowd to attack another Han army position. He was like a ghost, causing considerable trouble for the defending Han soldiers. The Han soldiers guarding the ramparts noticed him and became more wary. Some chased after him, firing shots, but he dodged left and right, each arrow grazing his body like a butterfly flitting among flowers. This gave the Jin soldiers great confidence; every time Chen Sheng killed someone, they would shout with joy.

Li Ju stood atop the watchtower, observing the battle behind him. Seeing Chen Sheng's troops moving swiftly and quickly breaking through the earthen ramparts, he said to Guo Song, the Southern General, "This traitor has some strength. Guo Song, go and find a way to kill him and dampen the Jin people's morale. Then things will be much easier for us."

Guo Song nodded. As Li Ju's nephew, he commanded five hundred of Li Ju's most elite warriors, clad in full iron armor. They had distinguished themselves in the Battle of Mangkou in their early years and later defended against Li Xiong's attack in the decisive battle of Chengdu, holding out for two hours without retreating. His troops were thus known as the Iron Battalion. Now, as he led his troops to reinforce the earthen ramparts, the surrounding Han soldiers were all excited, shouting in unison, "General Guo is here!" and making way for him.

Guo Song was not a skilled warrior, but his courage and bravery were renowned, primarily due to his strategic acumen. After receiving his orders, he did not immediately attack Chen Sheng. Instead, he first observed the Jin army's formation, then suddenly broke through the earthen ramparts and charged towards a large red banner. Capturing a flag is always the most effective way to demoralize the enemy, but the Jin army had not anticipated that the Han troops inside the ramparts would dare to abandon their defenses and launch a major attack.

The Iron Battalion soldiers, each armed with a powerful crossbow, suddenly unleashed their arrows upon emerging from the earthen ramparts, like an iron curtain descending from the sky. Dozens of Jin soldiers before them were instantly pinned to the ground, their deaths so gruesome they resembled hedgehogs, chilling the surrounding Jin soldiers to the bone. Then, the Iron Battalion abandoned their crossbows, wielding longswords, advancing step by step. Wherever their swords passed, limbs and fragments fell in unison, blood gushing forth, staining even the soldiers' boots red. They quickly dug a small semicircle around the earthen ramparts, intending to cut off the Jin army's retreat and sever their reinforcements. Chen Sheng, who had charged into the ramparts, knew he had to eliminate this Han army unit, or he would be left fighting alone. So he immediately led his troops to counterattack, but as he approached, he saw that the Iron Camp's killing intent was so strong that he seemed unlikely to win in a direct confrontation. So he had a plan. He stood on the earthen rampart and challenged someone to a duel, saying, "Let the strongest of you come out and see if you dare to fight me!"

Having achieved his goal, Guo Song didn't bother with any more delays. Ignoring him completely, he suddenly changed formation, and the five hundred warriors accelerated, charging directly towards Chen Sheng's forces. Even in heavy armor, these warriors' speed was undiminished; their footsteps shook the ground like an earthquake. During the advance, almost without orders, the dozens at the front drew their bows and simultaneously fired at Chen Sheng. Their coordination was excellent; they didn't fire at a single point, but rather swept the arrows around, sealing off any space for him to dodge. No matter how agile Chen Sheng was, he couldn't escape unscathed.

Chen Sheng had never encountered such an enemy before, and only then did he realize that he had been too complacent. After a volley of arrows, although he protected his upper body with his two swords, his left leg was inevitably hit by an arrow, causing him to fall off the earthen mound. His movements were already difficult, and he fell off the mound in an instant. Seeing the Iron Camp charging at this moment, he had nowhere to hide and did not want to be torn apart, so he gave up resisting and simply plunged his short sword into his chest, thus committing suicide.

With Chen Sheng dead, the morale of the remaining Jin troops who had entered the fortified camp plummeted. Without their leader, they lost all will to fight and rushed back to the main Jin army from the earthen fortifications. The Han troops inside the fortified camps seized the opportunity to launch a counterattack, temporarily halting the first wave of Jin army offensive.

Zhu Si, seeing this, was displeased. After a brief rest, he quickly ordered Li Yun's troops to lead the charge again. During the Battle of Shenzizhou, Li Yun had fought Mao Bao to a standstill, thus earning him a good reputation among the Han army. His entry into the fray at this moment indeed put considerable pressure on the Han army inside the earthen fortification. Liu Xian, watching from the city wall, saw Li Yun's troops enter and exit the fortification twice, inflicting considerable casualties on the Han army inside.

Seeing this, Li Sheng, who was watching the battle, became somewhat impatient. He asked Liu Xian, "Your Highness, the success or failure of this battle depends entirely on the earthen fortifications. They cannot be lost! Shouldn't we send troops to support them?"

Liu Xian steadied himself and shook his head again, saying, "It's not time yet, let's wait a little longer."

He could see that Li Ju's troops were still holding on. The attacking Jin army moved in and out along the edge of the line, their offensive seemingly fierce, but this was merely a facade. In essence, they were unsure of breaking through the enemy's lines and could only disrupt the rhythm of the battle in this way. Therefore, although Li Ju's troops had suffered considerable casualties, they were far from reaching their breaking point.

The saying goes, "A merciful ruler cannot command an army, and a righteous ruler cannot manage finances." Although Liu Xian was known for his benevolence and righteousness, in matters of warfare, victory was the greatest virtue. When soldiers were required to fight to the death, there could be no mercy. Otherwise, losing this battle would only result in more casualties.

To achieve victory in this battle, defeating the Jin army that stormed into the palisade was merely a prelude. To truly instill fear in the Jin army, it was necessary to wait until their vanguard was completely exhausted and lax, then crush them like leaves in the wind. Afterward, they would break out of the palisade and engage the main Jin force in a decisive battle, winning consecutive victories. This was by no means an easy task; therefore, Liu Xian needed patience. Victory was impossible without it.

Nearly two hours had passed since the battle began, and morning was almost over. The area outside Yi'an City was filled with the sounds of battle; fierce fighting raged everywhere except for the surging river to the northwest. A faint light appeared in the sky, making visibility clearer, but the battle lines remained largely obscured. The Han army awaited the King of Han's decision, while Liu Xian waited for the Jin army's assessment.

After the Jin army stormed into the palisade, Wang Kuang initially thought victory would be swift, but the battle dragged on without any sign of a complete victory, inevitably causing him anxiety. Unlike Liu Xian, who was in the midst of a large army, Wang Kuang could not see the situation inside the palisade firsthand and could only learn about it from the orders of his soldiers and cavalry.

Hearing that the Han army had erected an earthen rampart behind their lines, halting the Jin army's advance, Wang Kuang was somewhat puzzled. He sensed something amiss and pondered: Why wasn't the Han army holding firm at the palisade, instead fortifying their rear? Was this a contingency plan prepared in advance by the Han army, or was it part of Liu Xian's scheme? Should he play it safe and retreat immediately after clearing the palisade?
However, if they did that, the Han army would most likely retreat back into the city, and it would take a considerable amount of time to launch an attack and clear them out. Continuing the attack now would undoubtedly be a great opportunity to defeat the Han army in one battle. After a brief discussion, Wang Kuang, Wang Dun, and others decided to try attacking first and then change their plans if anything unexpected happened.

But as time went on, the Han army continued their arduous struggle, which gradually dispelled Wang Kuang's doubts. After all, in his view, if the Han army truly had a plan, they should have used it by now after fighting for so long. On the contrary, the messengers from the front lines said that Zhu Si and his men seemed to be just one step away from completely breaking through the Han army's defenses, which made Wang Kuang very unwilling to accept this.

By now, Wang Kuang was quite impatient. He said to Wang Cheng, "Has Zhu Si and the others lost their fighting spirit and can no longer advance?"

Wang Cheng shared the same idea as Wang Kuang. He said, "That's probably it. The marshals can be rotated, and Li Huan and the others can attack again. It might have a surprising effect."

Wang Kuang nodded in agreement. The biggest problem with battlefield rotation was the potential for gaps in the attack and a loosening of the formation. If the enemy launched a counterattack during the rotation, things would be dire. However, after fighting for so long, the defending Han army should theoretically be exhausted and unable to launch another counterattack. Therefore, he had no doubts and said to the order soldier beside him, "Signal with flags to have Zhu Si and the others withdraw and replace Wang You."

Once the military order was given, Zhu Si's troops at the front line relaxed their guard. Before the officers could organize their formation, the soldiers began to retreat on their own, while the Jin army in the rear began to push forward. As the two armies clashed, the soldiers made a commotion, which indeed caused quite a bit of chaos.

Liu Xian had been waiting for this moment. A subtle smile played on his lips, but when he turned to look at his subordinates, he appeared extremely composed. In a slow, calm tone, he said, "The time has come. We can send out the troops. Beat the drums!" (End of Chapter)