Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 50: Wind and Smoke Rolling Up the Sky

When Gao Anren heard the scouts report that the front army had been defeated, he was completely stunned.

That’s fifty armored cavalrymen!
The one leading the troops is the veteran general Wu Ye!

How did we lose?!

The Song army has navy, and the entire army has crossed the river?
But that's not right. If the entire Song army crossed the river, Wu Ye is not a fool. Would he use fifty cavalry to fight head-on?

Or maybe, the Song army only had a small number of troops, which made Wu Ye think that he had an opportunity to take advantage of. However, he did not expect that the Song army was so powerful that they could defeat the fifty armored cavalry in a field battle with such a small number of vanguard troops?

Either possibility is terrifying!
At this time, the sky was already bright, and the Jin army was less than five miles away from the Shu River. Receiving such outrageous news at this time and in this place, should Gao Anren advance or retreat?

Fortunately, the Jin army was composed entirely of cavalry, and Wu Ye almost ran back right after the military envoy.

After briefly listening to what had happened - needless to say, Gao Anren had guessed what had happened almost exactly by looking at their shambling appearances - Gao Anren and Wu Ye quickly made up their minds to deploy their troops on the spot, rest for a while, and then line up and march forward.

This is also a common method. After the vanguard determines the position and number of the enemy troops, the central army will naturally begin to form a battle array to meet the enemy. If they all rush to fight an encounter, wouldn't that become a tactic of adding fuel to the fire?
But this also greatly delayed the time.

Without the interference of the Jin army, the Song army quickly built two pontoon bridges on the Shuhe River.

Wei Sheng did not delay and directly led more than a thousand soldiers across the river and planted the flag of the Loyal Army Jiedushi Wei on the north bank of the Shu River.

Unlike Liu Huai and Dong Cheng, Wei Sheng was already familiar with the terrain of Haizhou and other places. He just took a quick glance around and immediately chose the place for the decisive battle.

"Zhang Qing, take your 200 men to the hillock one mile to the north and form a battle array to protect the right flank of our formation."

Zhang Qing bowed in agreement and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Song army lined up facing north, with its right wing next to a large reed marsh, so the defensive pressure would be much smaller.

Unless the Jin army can make a big detour to bypass the left wing of the Song army, Zhang Qing's troops only need to face the enemy head-on.

It seems that Wei Sheng will not use him as a scapegoat.

It's no wonder Zhang Qing thought so. Using guest troops as cannon fodder, preserving strength, and not helping others in need are indeed traditional skills of the Song army. Zhang Qing had heard about it a lot during the years he had been in Liu Guangshi's army - he had even experienced it countless times.

For example, after the Jingkang Incident, in the Battle of Fuping that determined the ownership of Guanzhong, Liu Qi led the Jingyuan Army to fight desperately with Wanyan Wushu, while Liu Xi refused to move his troops in order to preserve his own troops.

You must know that Liu Xi is Liu Qi’s biological brother!

"Dong Cheng, take your troops to the left wing. Plant more spears and large shields. Fifty divine crossbowmen are also at your disposal. When the central army attacks, slowly follow. Remember, if your troops don't seek casualties, as long as the left wing doesn't collapse, you'll have accomplished a great feat!"

Dong Cheng bowed in agreement.

Immediately, the Song army abandoned the newly formed camp and rushed out to the hill a mile away.

It is called a hill, but in fact it is just a gentle slope, with only an arc on the ground. There is a drop of one meter every twenty or thirty steps, but a drop of about one meter is enough to play a significant role.

When the Song army stepped onto the hill and hastily formed a battle formation, the Jin army three miles away also began to move.

First, all the cavalry were sent out to harass and investigate the Song army's formation, and they tried to find and kill the Song army's scouts.

However, after searching for a long time, the Jin army finally confirmed that the Song army had no cavalry.

"Do you have cavalry?" Gao Anren realized as soon as he opened his mouth that his voice had become hoarse from shouting orders all morning. He quickly took a few sips of water and looked at the scout again to ask, "Is it true that the Song army has no cavalry?"

"Indeed! They don't even have cavalry, only a thousand infantrymen in formation."

"Have you tried it?"

"I tried it." The weather had started to get hot, and the sweat on the scout's head flowed down his forehead into his eyes. He wanted to wipe it off, but because of the military order of 'no armor can be removed during war', he did not dare to take off his helmet. He could only keep wiping his eyebrows with his fingers.

"We went east first, but the Song army's right flank was close to the reeds. We tried to go in, but it was all muddy and difficult to pass through, let alone on horseback. The reeds were very tall, and once we got in, we couldn't see each other. I wanted to send a few more people to go around, but I felt that going in would only cause the soldiers to disperse, so I gave up the idea."

Gao Anren nodded in agreement.

There was nothing wrong with the scouts' approach. Since the Jin army could not maintain its organization after entering the reed marsh, the Song army would also be unable to maintain its organization there.

By then, the soldiers won't be able to find their generals, and the generals won't be able to find their soldiers. Let alone a surprise attack, it would be good if they don't collapse. Why bother?

What Gao Anren didn't expect was that a hundred Song cavalrymen had sneaked in last night. What he didn't expect was that there was a dry and flat open space in the reed marsh where troops could be stationed.

Similarly, Gao Anren did not expect that his negligence would bring him such a huge hidden danger.

The scout wiped his sweat off his forehead and pointed westward. "We then circled around to the left flank of the Song army. Just as we were about a hundred paces away, a barrage of crossbows struck. Zhang Dagua's horse was shot dead, and he broke his leg. We dragged him back."

"The Divine Arm Crossbow..." Gao Anren sneered, "Song Dogs are just like that. They're full of clever tricks, but they have no real wisdom. Our hard bows can only fire three rounds in battle, and the Divine Arm Crossbow can only fire one round. What good can it do? But as soon as we engage in battle, Song Dogs will be defeated!"

Gao Anren spoke loudly, not only to the scouts, but also to the captains and team leaders around him.

Seeing the soldiers and generals around him nodding in agreement, Gao Anren gave the order directly: "Gao Chong, later you will lead the troops in the center to lead the charge, shoot a round of arrows and then charge directly.

Gao Ba, Gao Twelve, you will be on the left and right wings, following Gao Chong's lead to push the flag forward.

Wuye, take a Mouke armored cavalry with you and go around to the left wing of Song Gou from the north to see if you can gain some advantage.

I'll bring another Mouke to hold the fort. If the Song dogs become disorganized, I'll personally charge in from the center!"

"Everyone, this battle isn't just about my life and ours, it's also about your wealth and status. If Song Gou reaches Haizhou, can you still live your life of taking whatever you want? Anyone who dares to retreat will not only be my mortal enemy, but also your enemy!"

"Everyone, follow me and crush the Song dogs!"

"Here!"

Amidst the resounding responses, each captain and general returned to their own camp to command the troops. With the central army's large flag with the word "high" pointing forward, the Jin army pressed towards the Song army accompanied by the sound of drums.

Excluding those who had straggled away, the Jin army had a total of more than 1,200 infantrymen, who rolled forward under the pressure of 200 armored cavalry.

Although this number of troops would not even be enough to make a ripple in the upcoming war between Song and Jin, in a place like Haizhou where the military was scarce, it was enough to decide the ownership of a state or a county.

The war began in a hasty but natural manner.

(End of this chapter)