The prince is more stable

Chapter 432 The Origin of the Captives
The sound of horse hooves, stepping on the melting ice and snow of early spring, appeared at the edge of this tragic battlefield.

There were still more than 10,000 Liao troops left on the battlefield. While fighting with the Song army, they were anxiously waiting for the order from their commander Yelu Chun to retreat.

No one knew that their commander Yelu Chun had already escaped.

Moreover, they are destined to be sacrificed.

Far away outside the battlefield, in the center of the Liao army, the general's flag belonging to Yelu Chun was still fluttering in the wind, but there was no one under it.

More than 10,000 Liao troops had already discovered that something was wrong. The flare arrow that exploded in the sky just now clearly represented some kind of signal from the Song army. It was likely that reinforcements from the Song army had arrived.

The Liao army had paid a heavy price for fighting with the more than 10,000 Song troops in front of them. If the Song army had more reinforcements, all the Liao troops would be wiped out without a doubt.

In particular, when the flare arrow exploded, the Song army soldiers who had been struggling to hold on on the battlefield suddenly became excited as if they had been given a shot of cardiac stimulant, and their strength seemed to have been restored, which further proved that their reinforcements had arrived and they were just waiting to reap the final results of the battle.

At this time, the morale of the Liao army officers and soldiers had begun to waver, and they seemed to be less focused on killing the enemy. Instead, they looked back absent-mindedly, gazing at the central army in the distance and at Yelu Chun's flag, waiting for the order to retreat, but it never came.

On the battlefield, if a soldier retreats without the commander-in-chief sounding the horn, he shall be executed.

Therefore, the Liao army soldiers did not dare to retreat and continued to fight with the Song army.

Finally, when the morale of the Liao army was becoming increasingly shaken and a few people had begun to flee, the rumbling sound of horse hooves seemed to come from all directions at the edge of the battlefield.

The Liao army soldiers looked around in horror and found that many flags appeared around the battlefield. Below the flags were densely packed figures, a large black mass, appearing extremely slowly, yet as fast as lightning at the end of the horizon.

The Song army soldiers on the battlefield immediately cheered. Everyone recognized the flags standing in the distance. They were the flags of the Duke of Zhao.

The huge red character "Zhao" on a black background flutters on the flag.

Zhang Rong and Zhe Keshi were so tired that they were about to collapse. They were covered in blood and had to support each other to prevent themselves from falling. Looking at Zhao Xiaoqian's flag in the distance, they looked at each other and smiled. Then the laughter became louder and louder. They looked up to the sky with a sad look, mixed with joy.

Reinforcements finally arrived!

In this unexpected battle, the Song Dynasty actually won!
The flags fluttered in the wind. The Song army's reinforcements numbered about 10,000, which was all the cavalry Zhao Xiaoqian could mobilize.

Tens of thousands of people did not appear in the same place, but appeared in the east, west and south directions. As soon as they appeared in everyone's sight, they had formed a three-sided siege of the battlefield.

On the battlefield, the Liao army was trapped in an encirclement, with only one gap in the north.

On the distant horizon, Zhong Jianzhong reined in his horse and stood under the banner. Looking at the tragic battlefield, a trace of pity flashed in his eyes. He said in a deep voice, "Order all camps and units to surround and close in!"

A long horn suddenly sounded, and the sad sound echoed on the battlefield.

As the command flag was waved, the 10,000 cavalrymen of the Dragon Guard Camp surrounded the center of the battlefield on three sides, while Zhang Rong, Zhe Keshi and the remaining nearly 1,000 wing troops in the center of the battlefield stood up and drew their swords. The more than 10,000 Liao troops were immediately caught in a desperate situation of being attacked from both inside and outside.

The morale of the army completely collapsed. Many Liao soldiers threw down their weapons and fled to the north. Many of them were beheaded on the spot by the furious generals.

There were also those who were unwilling to flee or be killed, and they still raised their swords frantically and launched a dying counterattack against the Song army.

Whether escaping or counterattacking, the Liao army's defeat was inevitable.

The Liao army who were surrounded in the center of the battlefield watched helplessly as the Song cavalry galloped over, surrounded them, and killed them. The last bit of the Liao army's will to resist was completely buried in the dust of history with the fall of swords.

…………

Zhong Jianzhong was commanding the encirclement and suppression of the Liao army in the west, but Zhao Xiaoqian did not go with him. He appeared in the south at this time.

According to him, all tactical deployments on the battlefield were handed over to Zhong Jianzhong. Zhao Xiaoqian was an outsider and was not qualified to lead the experts, otherwise something would go wrong.

So after handing over the command to Zhong Jianzhong, Zhao Xiaoqian led hundreds of imperial guards and masters including Chen Shou and Jia Shi and headed straight to the battlefield from the south.

Only about a mile away from the battlefield, Zhao Xiaoqian could even hear fierce shouts and cries coming faintly from the distance. The Song and Liao armies were still fighting, but at this time the Song army's reinforcements had arrived. It would be better to say that it was the Song army's final harvest of the Liao army than to say it was a battle.

The situation was settled, Zhao Xiaoqian was no longer in a hurry, and he even slowed down his pace unconsciously.

No one had arrived at the battlefield yet, so he didn't know the battle situation, but Zhao Xiaoqian was certain that the Liao army must have suffered a heavy loss this time.

This battle should not have been fought like this at all. I don’t know what was wrong with Yelu Chun. He was obviously an experienced general, but he made such a foolish decision.

Even Zhao Xiaoqian, an outsider, knew that when two armies were fighting, the important thing was the tactical coordination of each unit and camp, making full use of the weather and terrain, and focusing on the regular method and supplementing it with the surprise method.

Yelu Chun had no respect for the military tactics accumulated by China for thousands of years, and just ordered the entire army to charge forward. Tsk!
Of course, Zhao Xiaoqian still felt that this matter was weird, but he didn't know the reason at the moment.

One mile south of the battlefield, there was still a plain, but a low hill rose up on the plain.

Zhao Xiaoqian took a casual glance and was about to pass by when he saw a few people coming out from the shade of the hill.

Chen Shou and Jia Shi also saw these people, their eyes suddenly became sharp, and their right hands unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the knife at their waist. These people ran towards Zhao Xiaoqian, cheering as they ran.

"Duke Zhao, that's right! It's Duke Zhao's flag. I recognize the writing!"

Look at the clothes of these people. They are wearing dark red cloth clothes and round felt hats on their heads. This is the typical uniform of the Song Dynasty's army.

Zhao Xiaoqian smiled and waved his hand to signal Chen Shoufang and the others to come closer.

These people did not dare to overstep the line. They stopped five steps in front of Zhao Xiaoqian's horse and saluted him respectfully.

"Are you the wing troops under Shao Jing and Feng Sheng?" Zhao Xiaoqian asked with a smile.

"Yes, we are General Shao's subordinates."

"The fighting is so intense up ahead, and yet you're here? Don't tell me you're deserters. If you run into me, you'll be in big trouble!"

The leader hurriedly said, "We are definitely not deserters. General Shao ordered us to guard the prisoners here..."

"Who is the criminal?"

The man turned sideways and whistled towards the hill. Soon, a group of figures flashed out from behind the hill.

That’s right, it’s a “string”.

There were about a hundred people, all dressed as Liao soldiers, tied up with a long rope, connected front and back, truly "grasshoppers on the same rope."

Zhao Xiaoqian glanced at them and laughed, "Is Shao Jing crazy? There are so many Liao soldiers on the battlefield, they can be captured and killed at will, but why treat these hundred or so people with such ceremoniousness? They even skewered them and used them as food?"

"...Anything else aside, I'm really curious where you found such a long rope. Go get me a thinner one so I can use it for fishing."

The leader smiled bitterly and said, "I dare not disobey General Shao's military orders. I don't know why General Shao treats these people so solemnly. Before going to the battlefield, the general handed them over to me, saying that these Liao people were dressed a little differently, and the leader was a young man..."

As he spoke, he suddenly slapped the leading young Liao man in the face. The Liao man was a little stunned, and then he became furious. However, when he saw Zhao Xiaoqian's half-smile, the young Liao man immediately lowered his head and dared not say a word, avoiding Zhao Xiaoqian's gaze out of guilt.

Not only did the young Liao people feel guilty, but the Liao people behind him also lowered their heads guiltily.

The soldier continued, "That's the guy. General Shao said he doesn't seem very smart. He probably had a high fever when he was a child and missed treatment. He looks especially silly when he laughs, almost drooling..."

The young Liao man's eyes were red, and he growled through gritted teeth: "...A gentleman can be killed but not humiliated!"

Snapped!
Another merciless slap made his already swollen face even more swollen. And he instantly became obedient.

The Xiang Army officer shook his hands and continued as if nothing had happened: "...General Shao said that this man looks stupid, but the clothes he wears are quite luxurious, so his identity must be extraordinary."

"The war was intense at the time, and General Shao didn't have time to interrogate them thoroughly. He ordered us to guard them here, and also told me to hand them over to the Dragon Guard Battalion if we encountered reinforcements from the Great Song Dynasty."

Zhao Xiaoqian suddenly realized: "No wonder they are strung together with ropes, they really are precious ingredients..."

So Zhao Xiaoqian squinted his eyes and looked carefully at the young Liao man in front of him. He saw that he was wearing a cloak made of bear skin, a jade belt inlaid with various gems around his waist, a pair of deerskin cloud boots on his feet, and two huge gem rings on his fingers.

Zhao Xiaoqian nodded. Yes, this person must be from a prominent family. A Liao person dressed like this must be a wealthy businessman or a powerful official.

Over the past hundred years, influenced by the Central Plains culture, the former nomadic people have learned to enjoy life, but the Central Plains culture obviously did not absorb them, and they only learned the basics.

The virtue of the Liao people is that they want to hang everything that can show their status on their bodies, no matter whether it is valuable or honorary, for fear that others will not know that they are rich or powerful.

Plus the hundred or so people behind him, they are obviously his personal guards. Anyone who can go out with a hundred personal guards must not be a simple character.

"It seems to be a big fish indeed..." Zhao Xiaoqian muttered in a low voice, then looked up at the Liao man.

"Hey, Shao Jing said you look silly when you smile. Now smile for me and let me see how silly you are."

The Liao people glared at him and were about to curse.

However, he suddenly noticed from the corner of his eye that the soldier guarding him was getting ready to move again, and a powerful blow was about to fall on his face.

The Liao man was startled and hurriedly forced out a smile that was uglier than crying.

What is the meaning of "a soldier can be killed but not humiliated"? As long as a soldier can survive, he can be humiliated to his heart's content?

The ugly smile fell into Zhao Xiaoqian's eyes. He subconsciously leaned back tactically and curled his lips in disgust: "Shao Jing has good taste, he is really stupid..."

With his upper body leaning on the saddle, Zhao Xiaoqian looked at him with a smile: "Tell me, who are you? ... Tell the truth, don't fool around, otherwise the consequences will be more than you can bear."

(End of this chapter)