The prince is more stable

Chapter 431: South Rises and North Declines
A flare arrow soared into the sky, its sharp whistling sound echoed across the wilderness, and then it exploded in the sky.

On the battlefield five miles away, the Dragon Guard Battalion and the Wing Army were struggling to hold on.

The shortcomings of the flintlock rifle were exposed in this battle. Once the enemy broke through the formation, the flintlock rifle basically lost its effectiveness. It was just an iron stick and was not as useful as a knife.

Of course, this shortcoming also requires conditions. If the enemy does not have more than two or three times the number of troops, coupled with a desperate charge and a huge price in casualties, it will be impossible to break the formation.

Even so, the results of using firearms were much greater than those of the cold weapon battles of the past.

Until this moment, the war was not over yet, and both sides were still fighting bloody battles. Most of the Liao army had suffered casualties, a total of 40,000 Liao soldiers. Under the situation that Yelu Chun forced the entire army to charge, after rounds of volleys from the Song army and hand-to-hand combat with the Song army, only more than 10,000 Liao soldiers were left.

Yelu Chun was still standing in the center of the Liao army, watching the battle from afar. At this moment, his heart was bleeding.

In today's battle, they lost more than 20,000 soldiers. In addition to the 10,000 Liao soldiers killed by the Song army a few days ago, in just half a month, the Liao army has lost more than 30,000 elite soldiers.

The Liao army, which dominated the world, had never suffered such heavy casualties. Even if they won this battle, Yelu Chun would not be ashamed to see Yelu Hongji when he returned to Shangjing.

What's more, Yelu Yanxi has not been rescued yet.

"Personal guards, send 500 men up, bypass the battlefield, and go one mile behind the Song army. The crown prince should be imprisoned there. Rescue him quickly." Yelu Chun gave the order.

The commander of the personal guards beside him was stunned for a moment, then bowed and accepted the order.

It was a huge battle, and in the end they had to use the coach's personal guards to fight, which shows how brutal the battle was.

The guard commander was about to turn around when Yelu Chun stopped him again, his eyes dark and gloomy, saying, "Keep your mouth shut about the Crown Prince's capture. If a single word gets out, your entire clan will be exterminated!"

The guards were startled and quickly swore to the sky that they would keep the secret.

Yelu Chun nodded and waved his hand lightly.

If swearing is useful, there will be no such thing as "killing to silence" in the world.

After rescuing Yelu Yanxi, all those who knew about it, including his personal guards, must be killed.

The Crown Prince is not allowed to have any stain, and this secret must be kept strictly.

Now we can only pray that after being captured, Yelu Yanxi did not reveal his identity to the Song army, otherwise even the gods could not save him.

Yelu Chun still had some hope. He calculated the time from the time Yelu Yanxi was captured to the time when the Liao army left the camp to pursue him, and finally triggered this war. One event followed another, and the Song army was busy fighting, so they should not have had time to interrogate Yelu Yanxi.

Even if the Song army knew Yelu Yanxi's identity, if he could be rescued today, the Liao Kingdom would deny it to death. The two countries would argue for several years and the case would become an eternal unsolved case, which would not delay Yelu Yanxi's ascension to the throne in the future.

In short, as long as Yelu Yanxi can be rescued today, everything will be easy in the future.

Yelu Chun looked at the fierce battlefield ahead with a cold look in his eyes.

Those Liao army soldiers who fought one after another would never have thought that the war that cost them tens of thousands of lives today was just launched for the noble crown prince, and everyone died for him.

…………

Zhang Rong could hardly hold on any longer. His body was covered with knife wounds, one after another. He had lost a lot of blood, and his lips and face were extremely pale. But he still gritted his teeth and swung his knife again and again.

I felt dizzy, had tinnitus, and blurred vision. The hand holding the knife became weaker and weaker, and every time I lifted it, it felt like a thousand pounds.

Zhang Rong knew that he might be nearing the end of his life.

How many people had I just killed? I couldn't remember, maybe a dozen, maybe twenty. Numbers weren't important to a dying person.

He just wanted to laugh.

After serving in the Dragon Guard Camp for many years, he finally became the commander. To be able to sit in this position, he actually did not make much contribution. He spent a lot of money and made connections in the officialdom, and then he was promoted slowly.

In fact, he is afraid of death. Usually, his first reaction when encountering danger is to run away, not to fight.

I seem to be a little drunk today.

Why did he get so excited at that moment and decide to fight to the death? Zhang Rong himself didn't quite understand what he was thinking at that time.

Perhaps, in this Dragon Guard Battalion, which has changed its appearance, he saw hope for his country and society.

What does a small commander have to do with his country? But that's what he really thinks.

Just as Zhong Jianzhong commented on him, he was not particularly brave, but he had a slick personality and was good at coping with emergencies.

He is cunning because he has seen too much humiliation of the country and cannot see any hope for the country. In this case, he can only work harder on his personal future and life.

If everyone around him is cowardly, Zhang Rong will definitely run faster than anyone else.

If everyone around him drew his sword without hesitation, the slippery Zhang Rong would not have to be slippery.

The Song army has been weak for a hundred years. Have the heroic souls who died under the enemy's sword ever seen the bloodiness of the Song army today?
Looking at the fallen comrades and enemies around him, Zhang Rong smiled contemptuously.

It turns out that the so-called invincible Liao army was also made of flesh and blood, and a single stab would still leave two holes in them.

Do you still dare to boast of being "invincible" in the future? Look at the results of today's battle. More than 20,000 Liao soldiers were killed.

A flash of snow caught his eye, and Zhang Rong instinctively dodged it, swinging his sword with all his might. A Liao soldier screamed and fell to the ground. Zhang Rong stumbled, quickly using his sword as a fulcrum to prop himself up against the ground, maintaining his stubborn stance.

"Liao people, from now on, lower your heads and talk to us Song people!" Zhang Rong shouted with all his might.

Not far away, Zhe Keshi's situation was not much better. He had already exhausted all his strength. It was several comrades around him who helped him block the attack of the Liao army. He was covered in blood, and there were several arrows stuck in his chest and back, but fortunately they were blocked by his fish scale armor.

Shao Jing, Feng Sheng and other wing troops who were a little further away suffered even heavier casualties.

The training, food, and equipment of the wing troops were not as good as those of the imperial guards. Five thousand soldiers were deployed to the battlefield and were wiped out almost in an instant.

Shao Jing and Feng Sheng were both at the end of their strength at the moment. Their minds were blank and they didn't even have the energy to think.

Looking back at the battlefield, the Song army's Longwei Camp and the Xiang Army had a total of 15,000 soldiers and horses, but now there were only about 5,000 left.

Casualties have reached tens of thousands.

However, the Liao army suffered even greater losses, with more than 20,000 casualties. The greatest victory was achieved when the Liao army was charging and was killed by flintlock rifles.

After the close combat, the Song army was actually at a disadvantage, and its physical strength and fighting skills were indeed inferior to those of the Liao army.

The four generals of the Song army seemed to have reached the end of their lives at this moment.

At this moment, a shrill scream was heard, and then a thunder suddenly exploded in the sky.

Both the enemy and our side in the fierce battle could not help but look up at the sky.

Zhang Rong and Zhe Keshi supported their shaky bodies, their murderous eyes gradually regained clarity, and then they fell into ecstasy.

"It's the Dragon Guard Camp! It's the message from Duke Zhao! Reinforcements are coming, haha, reinforcements are coming!" Zhang Rong laughed like crazy.

Zhe Keshi also tried to cheer himself up, turned around and shouted, "Brothers, hold on a little longer, reinforcements are coming! The Duke of Zhao is here! Let's grit our teeth and show the Duke of Zhao the heroic spirit of our Song army!"

There was cheering all around, and the exhausted Song army soldiers, whether from the Dragon Guard Camp or the Wing Army, were cheered up in just a short moment.

The atmosphere on the battlefield suddenly changed. The Song army, which had been in despair and ready to die bravely, seemed to have a murderous intent bursting out of everyone's body. They stared at the Liao army close at hand with cold eyes, and then swung their swords mercilessly.

Not far from the battlefield, in the center of the Liao army, Yelu Chun also heard the thunder-like sound of the arrows. His heart suddenly sank, and he looked towards the center of the battlefield with a sinister look.

The Song army's reinforcements arrived so quickly! It was beyond his expectations.

According to Yelu Chun's prediction, the Song army was ten miles away and it would take at least an hour to arrive.

I didn't expect the Song army to be so fast. The army of this country is indeed very different from previous years.

The Song army arrived, and the operation to rescue Yelu Yanxi was in jeopardy. Yelu Chun couldn't help but become anxious, and his calm face finally showed a look of anxiety and uneasiness.

In this battle, the Liao army was doomed to fail. Yelu Chun knew very well that this was not how a battle was fought, and the defeat of the 40,000 Liao army by the Song army was also within his expectations.

But if he couldn't even save the crown prince, Yelu Chun didn't dare to imagine what kind of punishment he would receive after returning to the Liao Kingdom.

"How many personal guards are left?" Yelu Chun turned his head and asked.

The guard beside him was stunned and replied, "There are more than 500 left."

Yelu Chun said decisively: "Send them all out, go around to the rear of the Song army, and rescue the Crown Prince!"

"But Your Highness, around you..."

Yelu Chun stared at him with eyes like a venomous snake: "Follow orders, no questioning allowed."

The guards had no choice but to bow and accept the order.

After a while, all the guards around Yelu Chun disappeared, and only one personal guard holding the commander's flag was left behind him.

Looking at the more than 10,000 Liao soldiers still fighting hard on the battlefield, Yelu Chun's eyes were indifferent.

Although he knew that the Song army reinforcements had arrived, he still did not intend to call off his troops.

He needed these more than 10,000 Liao troops to attract the attention of the Song army and free up time and space for his personal guards to secretly rescue the crown prince.

The gap between classes is not about superiors and inferiors, nor about etiquette, law and rights, but about the fact that millions of insignificant people can be sacrificed at any time in exchange for the survival of a noble person.

This is the cruel reality that has not changed for thousands of years.

"The morale of the army must not be broken. The commander's flag remains here. I will withdraw to the Feihu Military Headquarters first." Yelu Chun turned around and left without a trace of guilt or nostalgia.

This battle was doomed to fail, and Yelu Chun had to save himself and not stay on the battlefield foolishly, waiting to be captured by the Song army.

At the same time, he had to return to Feihu Bingmasi to think about how to word the memorial on the results of the battle and how to come up with various excuses to shirk or reduce his responsibility for the defeat.

After taking a few steps, Yelu Chun turned around and looked deeply at the battlefield.

The Song army reinforcements have arrived, and the legendary Duke of Zhao must have come in person as well, right?
I really want to meet this young hero. With the emergence of such a figure in the Song Dynasty, the rise and fall of the south and the surrender of the north has become a foregone conclusion. From then on, the Liao Dynasty was no longer prosperous.

(End of this chapter)