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

Chapter 730 Armor Shines in the Sun, Golden Scales Spread
The battle itself was unremarkable.

The Jin army was already terrified by the rout, and the flight of their commander only added to their fear.

After the Han soldiers used their eighteen-foot-long spears to pierce down the Jin army's vanguard, the Jin army's great collapse began.

Xin Qiji threw Zhao San's head aside, not bothering to identify whether it was Liu E or not. He then snatched a large axe from his guard and, with just two strokes, chopped down the thick flagpole.

The banner bearing the character "Liu" crashed to the ground, like a pebble falling into calm water, the resulting ripples spreading in all directions.

The first to feel the tremor was Luo Shenyan, who was at the northernmost end of the infantry formation.

Although his position was relatively far back, he was part of the fresh troops advancing later, so he was the target of a concentrated attack by 5,000 Jin infantrymen. If you include Wanyan Zhang's few hundred cavalry, it can be said that Luo Shenyan was facing an enemy twice the size of his own forces at the first moment.

Although Li Xiu led his defeated army to provide support, Luo Shenyan's initial predicament was unavoidable.

Liu Qing and Zhang An, who fought against Luo Shenyan, were both of Han origin from Youyan, so naturally they had to acknowledge Liu E as their general.

Liu E and Wanyan Zhang were at odds, and therefore, both of them were somewhat hostile towards Wanyan Zhang.

Of course, this kind of rejection doesn't mean forcefully resisting orders, but it's inevitable that some will outwardly comply while inwardly resisting or failing to fully implement them.

This resulted in the Jin army, despite having a combined infantry and cavalry force, being unable to defeat the Han army on this battlefield.

At this moment, the Han Chinese soldiers of the Jin Kingdom were terrified when they saw Liu E's banner fall. However, Wanyan Zhang saw that the armored cavalry under Wuyan Chala on the left wing of the Jin army had already assembled and launched an attack. Knowing that everyone was going to fight to the death, he repeatedly urged the Han Chinese soldiers to launch a fierce attack, leaving Liu Qing at a loss.

What's even more frustrating is that although Wanyan Zhang was greedy and despicable, he still had ability and ambition. After forcing the Han army to fight, he immediately led his armored cavalry to launch an attack on the flank of the Han army.

Li Xiu, with his personal guards, engaged Wanyan Zhang in a battle of attrition, while Luo Shenyan led over four thousand troops in a counterattack against the Jin infantry.

"Second brother, the Shandong bandits are attacking again, what should we do?"

Zhang An rode up to Liu Qing and asked loudly.

Liu Qing did not answer, but stared blankly in the direction where the Liu-character banner had fallen, until he was awakened by Zhang An's urging. Then he shook his head and said, "This banner has been down for a quarter of an hour and has not yet been put back up. Something must have happened."

Zhang An was speechless for a moment.

Something happened to Liu E, how could I not know? Otherwise, why would I be in such a panic? Otherwise, why would we be struggling to defend despite having superior forces?

Zhang An said anxiously, "Second Brother, you are the son of the military governor and also the deputy chief steward. You should make a decision at this time!"

After a moment of stunned silence, Liu Qing shook his head and smiled bitterly: "It has come to this point. It is obvious that the Han army in the Central Plains and Shandong is strong, while my Han people in Youyan are weak. What can I do?"

Zhang An grew even more anxious and was about to say something when he heard Liu Qing remove his helmet and continue, "Has that fellow Wanyan Zhang already entered the formation?"

Zhang An: "That's true."

Liu Qing nodded slowly and said, "In that case, Lao Zhang, you should lead your troops back now and rejoin the main force of the central army before searching for Liu Jiedu... If Liu Jiedu is already dead... then you should return to Youyan. Our Youyan Han people have already lost many of their sons to the Great Jin, they can't all die here."

Zhang An was indeed somewhat pessimistic and did want to retreat, but he didn't intend to go to such lengths. Upon hearing this, he exclaimed in astonishment, "This... how can this be possible?"

Liu Qing smiled bitterly again: "Now that things have come to this, if those marshals, commanders, and military governors can't understand it, how can you and I, who are fighting on the front lines, not understand it? The Shandong bandits... have become a force to be reckoned with, and even with a mighty army, we can't take them down."

Since we can't take it, there will be consequences. Even if this battle ends in a draw, the land of Hebei will be teeming with righteous armies, bearing the banner of the Han dynasty and accepting the seal of Liu Dalang. The next time the Shandong rebels come, it will be Youyan (present-day Hebei and Yan). Why not make some preparations in advance?

No sooner had Liu Qing finished his defeatist remarks than another commotion erupted at the southern end of the infantry formation.

Looking out, even though it was just a shadow, the two could see layers upon layers of armored soldiers on the battlefield, surging from east to west like black waves.

The Han army advanced the battle line once again.

"Sigh." Liu Qing waved his hand and sighed, "Old Zhang, let's go quickly. While Wanyan Zhang is distracted in the battle, let's preserve some bloodlines for the Han people of Youyan."

In his panic, Zhang An could only nod repeatedly, then asked, "Second Brother, what about you?"

Liu Qing stroked his hair and said with a smile, "Since we've sold Wanyan Zhang out, we, the Han people of Youyan, need to leave someone behind to shut up the Jin court. My position as deputy chief steward is just right. Let's go, don't hesitate."

Urged repeatedly by Liu Qing, Zhang An was in a state of confusion and his mind was like mush. He left in a daze and when he came to his senses, he found that he had already led his troops to slowly retreat.

As Zhang An gathered his scattered troops, he looked towards the battlefield.

After the main force of the Han army retreated, the Han army gained an absolute advantage in troop strength and within a quarter of an hour, it had completely surrounded more than a thousand Jin soldiers.

The first to be hit and killed was Wanyan Zhang. His armored cavalry was too conspicuous. After losing speed in the battle, they were quickly divided and surrounded by the Han soldiers and slaughtered. Wanyan Zhang tried to break out, but was pulled off his horse and captured alive by the Han soldiers and brought before Luo Shenyan.

Are you willing to surrender?

Faced with Luo Shenyan's question, Wanyan Zhang, though disheveled, spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva: "Han slaves! Don't think you've won! You're dreaming if you think I'll surrender."

Luo Shenyan nodded, then said to Li Xiu, "Commander Li, although the Commander-in-Chief has given us the authority to make decisions on the spot, a general of this rank is still more useful alive than dead."

Li Xiu wiped the sweat from his face and nodded emphatically: "In that case, break his legs, tie him up tightly, and bring him to the central army!"

Luo Shenyan nodded, then looked at Liu Qing, who was forming a defensive formation ahead. He personally held Wanyan Zhang's banner upside down and stepped forward. After getting close, he threw the banner to the ground and said, "Jin traitors! Wanyan Zhang has been captured alive! You have no chance of escape. Why don't you surrender now?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qing threw off his helmet, removed his sword, took off his armor, stepped out of the Jin army formation, knelt down, and then prostrated himself on the ground: "This humble general, Liu Qing, deputy commander of the Youyan Han'er Army, surrenders!"

Since the Han army is strong and the Jin state has no future, why bother returning to Youyan to suffer a second round of hardship?
Surrendering at this point, while risky, would yield enormous rewards.

Even if Liu Huai dislikes it, he still has to treat Liu Qing well, even if it means spending a fortune to buy a horse's bones.

Faced with such a clean and decisive surrender, Luo Shenyan was somewhat stunned, but he quickly came to his senses.

This was the first general-level commander to surrender in the face of battle.

Luo Shenyan and Li Xiu exchanged a glance, then Luo said, "Have all your troops disarm and throw away their weapons! You know how our army treats prisoners; those who rise up in battle will never be humiliated or killed."

Liu Qing nodded repeatedly, and soon, all three hundred or so armored soldiers under his command had thrown down their weapons, removed their armor, and formally surrendered.

Luo Shenyan had just breathed a sigh of relief and was about to take some further action when he heard a thunderous roar from the north.

Everyone turned to look and saw that after a difficult reorganization, the Jin army's left-wing cavalry finally launched a full-scale attack.

Not to be outdone, Zhang Baiyu also led two thousand armored cavalry to meet them.

However, Wuyan Chala's strategic objective at this point was no longer to annihilate this Han cavalry force.

Wu Yanchala sent his deputy general with two Meng'an to deal with Zhang Baiyu, while he led three Meng'an cavalry units across the two-mile-wide junction of the Han army's armored cavalry and infantry, rushing towards Liu Huai's central army.

As three thousand armored cavalrymen brushed past the edge of their own army formation, Luo Shenyan and Li Xiu looked at each other again, both seeing fear and panic on each other's faces.

Li Xiu was the first to calm himself down and said to Luo Shenyan seriously, "Commander Luo, I will lead the defeated troops back to reinforce. You will send some troops to watch over the prisoners. The rest of the main force will follow General Xin to attack the Jin bandit's central army. Is that alright?"

Li Xiu's plan had taken all aspects into account, so Luo Shenyan nodded repeatedly.

But before the two could separate their forces, a huge red flag was seen rising beside the large banner with the character "Han" in the center of the army.

Luo Shenyan and Li Xiu... or rather, the generals of the 30,000 Han infantrymen already arrayed at the forefront, all understood Liu Huai's intentions.

Because this flag was the pre-arranged signal to launch the general offensive.

The central army does not need the vanguard to come back to reinforce. The vanguard's duty is to use the infantry and armored soldiers to sweep across the entire battlefield and crush the Jin army's central army into dust!

Military orders are like mountains.

Despite some panic and fear, and despite their worries, the habits they had developed over the years still made officers at all levels strictly carry out military orders.

Nearly 30,000 Han soldiers were in formation, with fifty men forming a small square, ten forming a battalion in a square formation, and six to ten battalions forming an army in a horizontal formation.

Nearly ten horizontal formations were connected from left to right, forming a large horizontal formation that stretched across the battlefield. Armored soldiers stood in rows, armed with long spears and powerful crossbows, and various colorful flags dotted the formation, like waves surging up from a black sea.

The Han army favored black; their armor and robes were all black. The entire formation stood silently, like a giant black dragon stretching across the battlefield.

Heshilie Zhining and Wanyan Mouyan had just finished organizing their troops when they saw this scene, and the hairs on their bodies practically stood on end.

The Jin army was terrified. Not only the Han soldiers from Youyan, but even the elite armored cavalry who had been through countless battles were filled with trepidation and panic.

There are way too many armored soldiers!
Xin Qiji did not wait for the Jin army to calm down, but personally beat the war drums and pointed the banner forward.

The military commanders, who had been paying close attention to the situation, were all excited and began to beat their war drums.

The Han army's armored soldiers' formation roared into action, surging like black waves, pressing down on the Jin army with overwhelming force.

(End of this chapter)