Usurpation of Mongolia: My father-in-law is Genghis Khan

Chapter 237 Oh no! The Song army has surrendered to Zhao Shuo, greatly increasing their fighting strength!

Whoosh whoosh!
When they were a hundred paces apart, a volley of arrows from both sides opened the prelude to this small-scale vanguard battle.

Crack! Crack! Crack!
Both sides were well-trained, and the dense exchange of arrows produced a series of soft clashing sounds as the arrows collided with each other.

Immediately afterwards, a series of "clanging" sounds rang out.

This is the sound of an arrow hitting a soldier's armor or helmet, or being blocked by an enemy soldier's weapon.

Only a few dozen soft groans were heard, indicating that some soldiers had been shot in the face or had arrows pierce their flesh through gaps in their armor.

The wounded soldiers, those who could continue fighting, spurred their horses forward, while those who could not continue fighting used their last bit of strength to hold themselves firmly on their horses and continue the charge.

Because they knew that falling from their horses at that moment meant death.

Of course, knowing it is one thing, but actually being able to do it under such intense pain is quite difficult. For all wounded soldiers to be able to do it is even more difficult.

Only the world's strongest military can achieve this!
And now, both the Song army and the Han army have done it!

"what!"

Upon seeing this, Liu Zheng, who was at the forefront of the Song army, couldn't help but change his expression slightly.

The thousand-man unit he led all belonged to Meng Gong's loyal and obedient army.

When Meng Gong led the Zhongshun Army to participate in the war to destroy the Jin Dynasty, the original 20,000 Zhongshun Army was reduced to just over 12,000.

Although Meng Gong has been working hard to replenish the organization over the years, it is easy to replenish people, but difficult to replenish warhorses.

Due to Zhao Shuo's blockade, the Song state could only rely on Tibetan horses and Dali horses for supplementation, in addition to raising its own warhorses.

To this day, Meng Gong's cavalry number only 15,000, all of whom have been incorporated into the Zhongshun Army.

The soldiers who could join the Chung Shun Army were naturally carefully selected and had undergone rigorous training.

Liu Zheng's greatest advantage in today's battle, apart from Zhang Jin's bad reputation, is that his troops are all loyal and obedient, and can be called the strongest army in the world!

It should be noted that when the Zhongshun Army and the Han Eight Banners fought together, their combat strength was in no way inferior.

What makes these Eight Banners troops, which were just reorganized from the original Song army, comparable to the Zhongshun Army?
However, Liu Zheng was shocked to discover that the two sides were evenly matched in this archery duel!

Of course, Liu Zheng is, after all, Meng Gong's top general and a legendary figure in history. This minor incident will not affect his subsequent actions.

"Perhaps it's because they recently joined Zhao Shuo and think they have a powerful backer, which is why they're so fierce. Back then, when our army had the Mongol army supporting us, didn't our morale soar and we broke through Bianliang? Once the fighting drags on, their morale will drop, and victory will ultimately belong to our Zhongshun Army!"

Liu Zheng thought to himself, lightly tapping the horse's belly with his spur. His black horse immediately reared up and neighed, its speed suddenly increasing to its maximum.

At the same time, Liu Zheng shouted, "Kill!"

"kill!"

"Kill the traitors!"

"Traitors, prepare to die!"

……

The Zhongshun Army was originally the most capable army in the Song Dynasty, and it had a significant psychological advantage over other armies of the Song Dynasty.

A thousand loyal soldiers shouted and charged forward with Liu Zheng.

"kill!"

Zhang Jin, a soldier in the Han army, also shouted, "Kill the Song traitors and report to the Zhao Emperor in the north!"

"Kill! Kill the traitor Song!"

"The Zhao family of the North is the true ruler!"

"Charge for the King!"

……

The soldiers of the 8,000th household of the 20,000th household of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army showed no weakness, spurring their warhorses to meet the Zhongshun Army head-on.

If it were a veteran Eight Banners army, they would have undergone rigorous training, with hundreds or thousands of men acting as one, led by elite soldiers and fierce generals, filled with a death wish, and fiercely wedged into the enemy's cavalry ranks.

Then, they continuously divide and surround the enemy, swallowing them up piece by piece.

However, Zhang Jin led a newly formed Eight Banners army, which still used the tactics common in that era.

There was no overly dense formation; the warhorses maintained sufficient lateral distance from each other, and there were no direct collisions between riders.

The enemy cavalry always managed to slip through the gaps between them.

As the warhorses galloped, some cavalrymen were stopped and engaged in one-on-one combat. Or it could be one against two, one against three, or even one against many, depending on whose soldiers cooperated well, were well-trained, and were good at seizing opportunities to overwhelm the enemy with numbers.

Some cavalrymen were not stopped, but they had to engage multiple enemy cavalrymen while charging, and even guard against long-range attacks from the enemy. After breaking through the enemy lines, they had to turn back and continue fighting.

No matter the situation, it was fraught with danger, and the soldiers' lives were in constant danger.

Dang Dang Dang!
The sounds of fierce clashes of golden weapons were incessant!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle~~
The scraping sound of weapons striking armor was clearly audible.

Boom boom boom!
Puff puff!
The sounds of caltrops hitting helmets and sharp objects piercing flesh rang out continuously.

The shouts of the soldiers and the cries of the wounded and dying blended together into one.

The two cavalry units clashed, countless swords, spears, maces, and even great axes swirling wildly, flashing white light under the sunlight, and then billowing up a cloud of blood mist.

The roaring sounds and billowing dust seemed to dim even the bright sun high in the sky.

The two sides clashed, and the battle quickly escalated to a fever pitch.

puff!
With a muffled thud, one of Liu Zheng's personal guards was viciously pierced through the abdomen by a spear.

Pfft!
That guard was also brave and fierce. Before he died, he desperately grabbed the spear that had pierced him and fell to the ground.

The warhorse, now without its master, accelerated instantly, neighing and galloping wildly across the battlefield.

"How dare you, thief!"

Liu Zheng was furious. He shouted and spurred his horse forward, thrusting his spear at the Han cavalryman who had killed his personal guard.

The Han cavalryman, having lost his spear, quickly drew his saber to meet the attack.

when!
With a crisp sound, the waist knife was knocked away by Liu Zheng's immense strength with a single thrust of his spear.

"Die!"

Liu Zheng roared and was about to kill the armored soldier.

But at this very moment.

Whoosh!
Suddenly, a fierce wind blew from the side. It turned out that a Han soldier, seeing his comrade in danger, threw his spear and aimed it straight at Liu Zheng's left rib.

He quickly switched the gun to his right hand and dodged to the side, while simultaneously using his left hand like lightning to grab the incoming gun barrel.

Then, he forcefully hurled the spear he had seized at the Han soldiers who had ambushed him.

puff!
The spear struck the Han soldier squarely in the head, and in an instant, his head shattered into pieces like a ripe watermelon, juice splattering everywhere!
However, Liu Zheng was stopped in time and it was too late to kill the Han soldier who had stabbed his personal guard to death.

Because a general in his forties, wielding a long sword, was rushing toward him.

"Liu Zheng, your opponent is me!" "Zhang Jin, you traitor! Die!"

Dang Dang Dang!
No sooner had the words left his mouth than the two men were already engaged in battle, each wielding a sword and spear, while their personal guards also joined the fray.

Liu Zheng joined the army at the age of fifteen and participated in Meng Gong's war to destroy the Jin dynasty. He knew Zhang Jin. Otherwise, he wouldn't have known Zhang Jin's background just by hearing his name.

However, the two are far apart in age, have no personal relationship, and have never competed with each other. They are merely nodding acquaintances, knowing that each other exists.

Only after truly engaging in combat did I realize that the other party was no ordinary person.

"Hiss... This Liu Zheng is definitely a remarkable person! There is absolutely no one like him in the Song army in Bianliang! I am really unlucky. I just surrendered to King Zhao Shuo, and the enemy I encountered is already so formidable!"

Eager to make a name for himself, Zhang Jin was secretly alarmed by Liu Zheng's bravery.

However, Liu Zheng was even more alarmed than him.

It's important to know that among Meng Gong's generals, he was considered the most capable fighter. Even Zhang Jun, Meng Gong's former top general, now admitted he was inferior to him.

However, he wasn't entirely confident of winning against Zhang Jin in front of him.

Most importantly, Liu Zheng's responsibility was not only to defeat Zhang Jin in front of him, but also to lead his thousand cavalrymen to defeat the 20,000th and 8,000th households of the Han army's Bordered Yellow Banner under Zhang Jin's command.

However, Liu Zheng was unable to subdue Zhang Jin for the time being. He observed the battle situation of the two armies out of the corner of his eye and was shocked to find that the Han army's commander of a thousand men was gradually gaining the upper hand, and his thousand-man unit was gradually showing signs of being overwhelmed!

"How is this possible? We are the renowned Zhongshun Army! How could the Eight Banners soldiers, just reorganized from the Song army, possibly be our match? Did Zhao Shuo give them some kind of magic pill?"

Liu Zheng could hardly believe his eyes and had to check repeatedly before he accepted the fact before him.

In fact, nothing is impossible.

Zhang Jin was already the "Duke of Beiping" of the Jin Dynasty more than a decade ago.

Unfortunately, being a Han Chinese, he was not given important positions after being transferred to Henan. He then surrendered to the Song Dynasty, but as a surrendered general, he was even less valued, which is why Liu Zheng looked down on him so much.

However, Zhang Jin maintained his original force of 500 men, training them rigorously as his asset in the chaotic world.

When Zhao Shuo reorganized the Song army, he not only kept all 500 men because Zhang Jin's troops were particularly outstanding, but also appointed Zhang Jin as a commander of a thousand men and gave him 500 elite cavalrymen selected from the Song army.

In terms of individual soldier quality, Zhang Jin, a commander of a thousand men, was no worse than Zhongshun Army.

In addition, the morale of the two armies was vastly different.

What was the status of soldiers in the Song Dynasty? It can be summed up in three words: "bandits convicted of military service".

Oh, and there's that poem about child prodigies: "The emperor values ​​heroes, and literature teaches you all. All other pursuits are inferior, only studying is superior."

It is no exaggeration to say that soldiers were at the bottom of the social hierarchy in the Song Dynasty, only slightly better than bandits.

What good family's daughter would want to marry a thief or convict?

However, the Eight Banners army under Zhao Shuo was composed entirely of "good families." Not only were they "good families," but they were selected from among forty or fifty "good families."

Also, have you heard of Yue Fei's Fengbo Pavilion?
Do you know about Di Qing's tragic death?
The eight banners under Zhao Shuo's command, each with ten thousand households, held a position equivalent to that of the various ministers in the civil service.

What daughter from a good family wouldn't want to marry into the Eight Banners army?

The social status of the Song army and the Eight Banners army was vastly different. Changing from the Song army to the Eight Banners army cannot be described as "a carp leaping over the dragon gate," but it's not that different.

How could these former Song soldiers, now newly incorporated into the Eight Banners, not be in high spirits?
Furthermore, the original Zhongshun Army was so formidable because of its deep-seated hatred for the Jin Dynasty. But what grudge did they hold against the Eight Banners Army? Upon closer examination, it was Zhao Shuo who helped them destroy the Jin Dynasty, thus incurring their debt of gratitude.

For the Zhongshun Army, today's battle is nothing more than two sides fighting for their own masters, and that's about it.

Moreover, the Eight Banners army had a promising future following Zhao Shuo.
Zhao Shuo expanded the territory by more than ten thousand miles, conquering all before him and winning every battle. His achievements are probably unmatched even by Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han.

As for the Song Dynasty, having suffered the disastrous defeat of the donkey cart and the humiliation of the Jingkang Incident, its demise is now imminent.

They've finally managed to stand on the side with a bright future, shouldn't they hurry up and prove their ability and loyalty?

There's something even more crucial.

The 20,000th and 8,000th households of the Bordered Yellow Banner of the Han Army were originally composed of Song soldiers, but Zhao Shuo re-equipped them.

One man and three horses, with the main warhorse being a tall and magnificent Arabian horse.

Meng Gong had already expended tremendous effort to acquire even one horse for each of these loyal cavalrymen. Three horses per person? A pipe dream! Not to mention the magnificent Arabian warhorses. Those Tibetan and Yunnan horses were like donkeys compared to the Arabian horses.

To be fair, the armor and weapons of the State of Song were quite good.

However, it is somewhat inferior to the weapon Zhao Shuo used, which had a Damascus steel blade.

With all these factors combined, how could Zhongshun's thousand-man unit be a match for Zhang Jin's thousand-man commander?
How to do?
How to do?
Liu Zhengzhen was slightly stronger than Zhang Jin in combat, but he was distracted by the current battle situation, and his moves gradually became scattered, slowly putting him at a disadvantage.

Unfortunately, his personal guards also began to falter at this point.

"Liu Zheng, die!"

After killing a Song soldier in front of him, Zhang Rongshi immediately brandished his long sword and joined the battle, with the father and son fighting Liu Zheng together.

Although Zhang Rongshi was only fifteen years old, he was no ordinary person.

Historical records state that after Zhang Jin surrendered to the Mongols, he was eager to make merit and died on the battlefield. Zhang Rongshi succeeded Zhang Jin in his official position. He was brave and fierce in battle, repeatedly taking the lead in the charge and making numerous merits. He eventually rose to the position of Pacification Commissioner of Hubei Circuit and Commander of Ten Thousand Naval Forces.

"go!"

After another dozen or so moves, Liu Zheng could no longer hold on and turned his horse to leave.

"Where to go?"

Whoosh whoosh!
Whoosh whoosh!
Zhang Jin and his son Zhang Rongshi simultaneously drew their bows and fired three arrows each, unleashing a barrage of six arrows at Liu Zheng.

puff!
Liu Zheng dodged five arrows, but one arrow struck his left arm!

"Hey!"

Liu Zheng let out a muffled groan in agony, but his warhorse did not slow down at all and fled in disarray.

"Oh no! Commander Liu has escaped!"

"We've lost! We've lost!"

"Hurry! The Eight Banners Army is formidable!"

……

The Song army was already on the verge of collapse, and Liu Zheng's escape became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

Amidst cries of panic, the entire army scattered and fled.

However, Liu Zheng's mount was a fine steed, so if he could escape, how could his men possibly escape?
How can one horse escape three horses?
The Han army pursued the enemy for over fifty li, capturing 607 loyal soldiers. In addition to the 224 killed, only a little over 100 Song soldiers escaped with their lives.

Of course, Liu Zheng did not have that many Song soldiers with him at this time; he only had thirteen riders following him.

"Hurry up!"

Despite the excruciating pain in his left arm, Liu Zheng urged the thirteen riders to speed up.

He needed to hurry to Xiangyang and tell Meng Gong, the ambassador of Jinghu: the original Song army in Bianliang had become incredibly powerful after surrendering to Zhao Shuo! Xiangyang was much harder to defend than he had imagined!

However, what Liu Zheng did not expect was that Wei Liaoweng, the Grand Chancellor of the Song Dynasty who was concurrently the Vice Chancellor of the Privy Council, was also rushing to Xiangyang.

(End of this chapter)