Jinting Han people

When the Jin army saw the Han army's surprise attack emerge from the woods, panic and chaos ensued, with many soldiers attempting to flee. Fortunately, Wang Kuang's two deputies, Song Zhou and Sima Zuan, remained relatively calm. Song Zhou, formerly the governor of Pingyang, had suffered many defeats and knew how to handle such situations. He first sought permission from Wang Kuang, then loudly proclaimed to the generals, "Anyone who dares to disrupt the morale of the army and retreats will be beheaded!"

As he spoke, he saw an officer riding away in the southeast direction. He immediately ordered his men to chase after him and bring him back, and then ordered his trusted men to behead him in front of everyone. Under the bloody head, many people indeed dared not flee anymore. Those soldiers who had scattered after crossing the river heard the bugle call to form ranks, and only a few fled; most of them ran back.

Among the troops crossing the river, Sima Zuan was the most heavily guarded and had already completed his formation first. General Zhou Quan and Chief Clerk Wang Bin were also hurriedly adjusting their formations to buy time for the troops behind them to cross the river.

Sima Zuan then sent an envoy to Zhou Quan and Wang Bin, saying, “Now is a moment of life and death. Having encountered the enemy here, we must fight and not retreat. If we retreat, we will surely be defeated. At that time, will we all be spared? Not only will the titles left by our ancestors be destroyed, but we will also be slaves! A true man would rather die than surrender! Besides, the terrain here is flat. How many people can they hide? They are certainly far fewer than our army. As long as our army presses forward, it will not be difficult to defeat the enemy. At that time, it will not be a dream to have our names listed alongside Lu Xun and Deng Ai!”

Zhou Quan and Wang Bin both agreed readily. Zhou Quan even said passionately, "Please rest assured, I have been waiting for this day of fighting to the death!"

At this moment, the Han army had already approached. They were somewhat surprised to see that the Jin army's lines were still well-organized. Therefore, they did not launch an attack immediately, but instead lingered around the perimeter of the Jin army's formation, looking for weaknesses, before launching an assault.

Seeing this, Song Zhou quickly said to Wang Kuang, "Marshal, sound the bugle! Our army has not yet fully crossed the river. If the enemy fights with all their might and seizes this bridge first, cutting us off from both ends, then the situation will be hopeless. We can only attack, we cannot hesitate! Otherwise, if morale collapses, it will be beyond repair!"

Wang Kuang naturally understood this principle, and he immediately ordered, "Blow the horns! Beat the advance drums!" Then he shouted to the soldiers, "Gentlemen, fight to the death! The court will not be stingy with money and provisions! For every enemy killed, you will be rewarded with five bolts of silk!"

At the same time, Sima Zuan was also galloping through the army, shouting loudly, "Gentlemen, follow me to kill the enemy! I will be the vanguard!"

Since the marshal had ordered an attack on the enemy, the Jin army's battle drums sounded and shouts of battle shook the heavens. Strangely, apart from Sima Zuan, Zhou Quan and Wang Bin refused to fight. Although they also beat drums and sounded horns, no soldiers came out of the formation, let alone personally charge into battle.

Sima Zuan, who had initially intended to advance, hesitated upon seeing this situation and stopped after a few steps. Although his surname was Sima, he belonged to a very remote branch of the Jin dynasty, lacking even the title of county marquis, and his soldiers were generally mediocre. Wang Bin, on the other hand, was from the Langya Wang clan, commanding the largest number of armored soldiers, including over seven hundred cavalry. Logically, he should have been at the forefront. However, Wang Bin not only remained stationary but also ordered his cavalry and armored soldiers to form ranks around him, both to protect himself and to prevent his elite troops from being scattered by the Han army. Zhou Quan was also a shrewd man. Seeing that even his most elite men under Wang Kuang were not in a hurry, why should he be? Shouting a few more slogans would be more than enough.

Thus, everyone watched as the Han army pressed closer and closer, yet none of the Jin soldiers were willing to fight, and they were all extremely anxious. In this critical moment, the problem was no longer about one or two soldiers, but rather that the entire command had lost its fighting spirit. Was Wang Kuang supposed to personally execute the generals? That was impossible; doing so would inevitably incite a mutiny or cause the army's morale to collapse.

At this point, only Sima Zuan led his men to engage the enemy. However, as soon as his army made contact with the Han cavalry, the army immediately lost its formation and showed signs of fleeing.

It's not fair to call Sima Zuan an incompetent fool. The main reason is that Du Zeng personally led the attack fully armed, and his immense destructive power was undeniable. He carried a long-handled broadsword, rode a rare chestnut-red horse with a long mane and a shoulder height of seven feet, wore the heaviest gleaming armor with chainmail underneath, and wore an iron helmet and mask painted with Asura patterns. His gloves and leggings were covered with thick cowhide, leaving only his eyes exposed. He was fully armed.

Wearing such heavy armor, even without doing anything, would leave an ordinary person exhausted. Yet Du Zeng wielded his broadsword with incredible agility, like a ferocious beast, wreaking havoc on the battlefield. Almost every Jin soldier he encountered was felled in a single blow, blood and brains mingling, none lasting a second. The Jin soldiers present were troops stationed in Huainan, never having fought on the battlefield of Yi'an. They were utterly terrified by such a valiant general and retreated hastily.

Even Liu Lang, who was overseeing the next attack from behind, was deeply impressed. In the Battle of Yiling, Du Zeng had narrowly defeated Wen Shuo, but he hadn't displayed such prowess. He hadn't expected that today, simply by changing his armor and riding a better horse, his fighting strength would become even more unstoppable.

In particular, Sima Hui, Sima Zuan's younger brother, charged forward with his long spear, attempting to use the momentum of the horse to wound Du Zeng's armor. Du Zeng didn't even try to block, letting the spear tip pierce through his defenses. Then, he gripped the enemy's spear shaft with one hand, and Sima Hui felt as if he were embedded in cast iron, unable to pull his hand away. He watched helplessly as his opponent swung his sword with one hand, cleanly severing his neck, his head rolling to the ground like a ball.

Sima Zuan suffered a crushing defeat. Seeing Sima Zuan's retreat, Zhou Quan's troops, without offering support or regard for his fate, led their forces in a hasty retreat southwest. Wang Bin, seeing Zhou Quan leave, naturally followed suit. Sima Zuan, who had initially intended to regroup and re-establish his army, now, seeing Zhou Quan and Wang Bin gone, guessed they were fleeing to the Six Counties and led his remaining troops in pursuit. As the saying goes, a defeated army collapses like a house of cards; all three Jin armies that crossed the river fled, and the battle completely crumbled.

Liu Lang, on horseback, saw that the Jin army had split into two parts: one part, which had crossed the river, was fleeing southwest, and included many cavalrymen; the other part, which had not crossed the river, was still in formation on the other side of the river, ready to fire at the Han army.

Du Zeng, leading his vanguard, had already pursued the routed army, completely ignoring the Jin troops on the other side of the river. Although Du Zeng hadn't communicated with Liu Lang, his intention was clear: he wanted Liu Lang to cover his rear. However, he had pursued too quickly, leaving Liu Lang with few men. Of his four thousand men, only a little over a thousand remained, facing an army of nearly ten thousand, which was a considerable strain. In a very short time, Liu Lang made a decision. He didn't choose to seize the canal bridge, but instead whistled south, leading his men to follow Du Zeng, rushing southwest like the wind, completely emptying the Chenmin Canal and allowing Wang Kuang's remaining troops to cross the bridge at will.

Wang Kuang, Song Zhou, and the others had prepared to engage in battle on the bridge, but they were caught off guard when the enemy abandoned it and fled. This unexpected turn of events left them somewhat bewildered. However, this bewilderment didn't last long. They quickly realized they too had to make a swift choice: abandon the fleeing troops and go to Shouchun's aid, pursue and rescue the routed soldiers, or preserve themselves and simply retreat back to Hefei, pretending nothing had happened.

Song Zhou said to Wang Kuang, "Marshal, the enemy clearly thinks that fighting us at the bridge might result in too many casualties. They'd rather pursue the fleeing troops relentlessly, eliminate Sima Zuan and his men first, and then come and eliminate us. We're all in this together, Marshal. We should cross the river quickly and pursue these bandits."

Having suffered repeated setbacks, Wang Kuang had lost all hope of victory. His first instinct was to retreat, so he hesitated and seemed unconcerned about Song Zhou's advice. This greatly worried Song Zhou, who reiterated, "Marshal, if we don't rescue Sima Zuan, how many more days can we live? Do you think the enemy will let us go and allow us to return? That's impossible. It's just a matter of dying today or dying a few days later. Let's pursue! Even if we die, we'll be martyrs, remembered by future generations!"

These words finally swayed Wang Kuang. He was, after all, a man of some honor. The Battle of Yi'an had shattered his arrogance, leaving him to live a life of despair. But the thought of living on, forever branded as a cowardly deserter, filled him with shame. What was the point of living then? Even in death, at least he would have proven himself a martyr who faced death without fear! With this in mind, Wang Kuang found some courage and agreed, "Alright, let's go after them! As General Song said, there is honor in dying, not shame in living!"

So the army began to cross the bridge and the river. After crossing, they followed the direction of the horses' hooves on the ground and chased after the Han army in the direction they had retreated.

Throughout this process, Wang Kuang had absolutely no thoughts of battle in his mind. He simply sat astride his horse, lost in thought. They had traveled only a few miles south when they came upon a vast forest stripped bare of leaves. The bright moon hung high in the sky, forming a faint halo of light in the starry expanse, through which one could seemingly glimpse the distant Dabie Mountains. Occasionally, a patch of black dots would flicker in the forest, like leaves drifting in the wind. But after hearing a hoarse cry or two, he realized it was the cawing of crows.

Crows are considered an ominous sign, and their cawing intensified Wang Kuang's thoughts of impending death. He couldn't help but think of his wife and children. Long before Wang Yan took control of Xuchang, he had believed that the Central Plains were in chaos and that a southward migration was inevitable. Therefore, he had moved his family to Wuyi Lane in Jianye long ago. Wuyi Lane also had many crows, and on late autumn nights, their cries sounded like the soft patter of falling snow, continuous and incessant.

I remember three years ago when we parted. He was appointed governor of Jiangzhou to quell Zhang Fang's rebellion, and he too set out late at night, amidst many crows. At that time, his second son, Wang Xizhi, was not yet five years old. He was taciturn and, when his mother and elder brother came to see him off, he could barely speak. Unexpectedly, when Wang Kuang parted from him, he suddenly asked his father, "When will you return, sir?" Wang Kuang was overjoyed. He looked at his son with affection, picked out a wolf-hair brush from his luggage, and jokingly said to him, "Your father will return when you can write the flying white script with your aunt."

Nearly three years have passed, and the situation in the world has deteriorated to this extent! His lofty ambitions of yesteryear are gone forever. And now, are his wife and children all well? What does seven-year-old Wang Xizhi look like now, and has he mastered the flying white script? Thinking of this, Wang Kuang sighed deeply and silently murmured in his heart: "What I once rejoiced in has become a thing of the past in the blink of an eye."

Decades ago, the remnants of Cao Wei, seeking self-preservation, launched three rebellions in Huainan. The Sima clan mobilized hundreds of thousands of people, suffering over ten thousand casualties, to quell these rebellions before finally securing their rule. Ironically, less than fifty years after the end of the three Huainan rebellions, this region would become the last territory of the Jin dynasty, perhaps even its final resting place.

Therefore, when Liu Lang led his army in a circle and suddenly emerged from the woods to attack the Jin army's flank, Wang Kuang was not surprised. He had no will to resist, simply letting the Han army charge through the Jin army's formation. Most of the Jin soldiers were bewildered, for they had intended to rescue the routed troops, not realizing that the Han army had actually feigned an opening, intending to launch a second ambush, which intercepted the reinforcements from the rear and routed them.

Amidst the flashing swords and clashing blades, the Jin army's formation quickly crumbled like mud, followed by utter defeat. Everywhere, routed soldiers charged and clashed, scattering the officers accompanying Wang Kuang. But Wang Kuang, seemingly enlightened, stood motionless amidst the chaos of battle, a statue unmoved by the commotion. This surprised the charging Han cavalry, who mistook him for a high-ranking official about to surrender. One of them said to him, "Surrender! Dismount and announce your surrender! We might spare your life!"

Unexpectedly, Wang Kuang neither gave his name nor dismounted to surrender. Instead, he recited to himself, as if talking to himself: "Walking on foot through the land of Western Chu, my imperial axe lies abandoned in the dust. A thousand years later, the south wind will blow, and all will long for my return."

His voice was very soft, but the surrounding Han soldiers couldn't understand it. Seeing that he refused to dismount and surrender, they thought they had encountered a tough nut to crack, so they slashed Wang Kuang in the back, severing his spine, and blood gushed out. Wang Kuang groaned and then collapsed on his horse. Someone else struck him in the chest with a spear, and Wang Kuang died instantly.

With their commander-in-chief dead, the remaining Jin soldiers lost all will to fight. Large numbers of soldiers began to surrender, and some officers who refused to surrender were even killed by their own soldiers and presented to the enemy. The battle quickly came to an end. Liu Lang led his men to tally the results of the battle. In just one hour, the Han army had beheaded more than 700 people and captured more than 6,000, while suffering only about 20 casualties. It was a complete victory.

At dawn the next day, just as Liu Lang was preparing food, news arrived from the south from Du Zeng. He had relentlessly pursued the fleeing Jin army, chasing them for over forty li to Lianting. The remaining Jin troops, having lost their will to fight, surrendered to Du Zeng. A tally revealed that Du Zeng's achievements were even more remarkable: he had killed over four thousand and captured over three thousand. A comparison with Liu Lang's results showed that Wang Kuang's forces had been almost completely annihilated. (End of Chapter)