The prince is more stable

Chapter 652 First Battle, First Merit
The recapture of Yanyun was a top priority for the Song Dynasty, and the emperor and his ministers attached great importance to it. Naturally, the rewards for military achievements were unprecedentedly generous.

Besides being the first to reach the summit, his other merits were also rewarded with several ranks higher than before. The entire court was filled with righteous indignation, betting all of the Song Dynasty's resources, army, and national destiny on this one battle. The fate of the Song Dynasty depended on this one war.

Therefore, Zhang Rong was almost frantic with excitement. He knew how valuable the battle to ambush the reinforcements from Xijin Prefecture was.

In particular, Zhao Xiaoqian's main force had not yet launched an attack on Hejian Prefecture. The first battle of the royal army should have been the 20,000 Liao troops that his 5,000 soldiers were facing at this time.

As long as the first battle is won, the credit will be his, and Zhang Rong will be the first name on Zhao Xiaoqian's list of achievements.

"You little brats, give it your all and beat them hard! Remember, this is the first battle to reclaim Yanyun. If we win the first battle, we'll be the ones who get the most credit, understand? You get promoted and rich, do you understand?" Zhang Rong's eyes were bloodshot as he laughed maniacally.

The area ahead was pitch black, with Liao army arrows flying from time to time. Occasionally, some unlucky soldiers in the Song army camp would be hit by arrows, but their positions would be quickly filled by their comrades, who would then continue firing forward.

But Zhang Rong and his five thousand soldiers were filled with excitement, roaring with anticipation, as if what lay before them was not an enemy, but rather a field of experience points and purple and orange equipment.

"You idle bastards in the rear guard, get me some light so I can see what those Liao dogs on the other side look like!" Zhang Rong roared, turning his head.

In the rear guard of the Song army, powerful bows were strung with torches burning brightly on their strings, and then the bows were drawn taut and the arrows were fired.

Torches traced arcs in the dark sky, landing in the Liao army camp ahead.

Originally, both sides were fighting in the dark, but the appearance of torches brought a brief moment of light to the Liao army's camp.

In that brief moment, the Song army clearly saw the position and formation of the Liao army opposite them. They immediately aimed their guns at the specific targets. At the command of the generals, volleys of fire mercilessly rained down, and countless Liao soldiers fell with screams after being hit by bullets.

The Liao army was thrown into chaos, hastily extinguishing the torches. However, in that brief moment, the Liao army still paid the price of thousands of casualties.

Caught off guard and suffering considerable casualties, the Liao army finally recovered and immediately adjusted its formation. After calming their panic, the Liao cavalry, organized by their generals, began to charge towards the Song army lines.

Within the Song army's ranks, Zhang Rong heard the approaching hoofbeats and immediately became anxious. He roared and ordered his soldiers to fire, and the four-section formation accelerated its rotation.

Night battles are unpredictable; whether you're shooting at a person, a horse, or even just firing into thin air is beyond anyone's control. The soldiers can only rely on their instincts and try to fire volleys in the direction from which the sound of hooves comes.

Zhang Rong stood at the forefront of the army, not only personally commanding the battle, but also constantly paying attention to the sound of the Liao army's hooves, silently calculating the direction and distance of the sound.

A moment later, Zhang Rong's perked-up ears twitched, and he muttered to himself, "Almost there, almost there...almost two hundred paces."

He then turned his head, glared, and shouted: "What the hell? Lay them all out and listen to my orders!"

More than a thousand soldiers unloaded the large black boxes from their backs, then carried them on their shoulders, their numerous bullet holes pointed forward.

Zhang Rong laughed and said, "Tonight is not only our first battle, but also the first battle for the whole horde. Let the Liao dogs taste something new and let them experience a new way of getting beaten up."

The sound of horses' hooves grew closer, and the arrows fired by the Liao army became increasingly dense. Zhang Rong knew that the two armies were now within range of the arrows, meaning they were also within range of a swarm of arrows.

"Swarm them, light the fire! Aim straight ahead!" Zhang Rong suddenly shouted.

With a hiss, the fuse ignited, and suddenly more than a thousand fire dragons shot out of thin air in the pitch-black night, winding along irregular trajectories like long snakes, and rapidly shooting forward.

Wherever the fire dragon passed, it left only streaks of fiery red afterimages. In the blink of an eye, it suddenly exploded in front of them, followed by a chorus of mournful howls from the Liao army and the neighing of warhorses.

Then, a deathly silence fell over the other side.

Zhang Rong couldn't see the results of the volley of fire, but the silence on the other side gave him the answer.

"Wow, they were all that powerful? They're all dead?" Zhang Rong was dumbfounded.

He was stunned by his own weapon; he hadn't expected such a result.

There was no reaction or sound from the Liao army opposite, and the Song army camp was also silent. The soldiers stopped firing and looked at each other with their flintlock muskets in hand.

"Let's get some more light and see what happens to the Liao dogs!" Zhang Rong roared.

Countless torches were hurled out with force, briefly illuminating the night sky.

Where the light flashed, corpses littered the ground; men and horses alike perished.

Further away, squads of Liao soldiers reined in their horses, standing motionless in shock, just outside the range of their flintlock muskets, for a long time.

After the light faded, the earth returned to darkness.

Zhang Rong, however, had already made up his mind and shouted sharply, "Form ranks and advance!"

The heavy, rhythmic footsteps marched forward, each step seeming to pound on the hearts of the Liao soldiers, like a signal that death was approaching.

The Liao army on the other side was almost in despair. Many of them had fought against the Song army before and had experienced that feeling of despair. Now, the Song army seemed like an insurmountable mountain, which was impossible for manpower to resist. Their sharp firearms were something that the swords, spears, and halberds of this era could not defeat.

The Liao generals were terrified and dared not order an attack anymore. Instead, they retreated step by step, and their only way of resisting was to shoot arrows and throw spears from a distance.

Under Zhang Rong's command, the Song army marched forward, step by step, over the corpses of the Liao soldiers scattered on the ground. Then Zhang Rong heard his soldiers report that the Liao army opposite them had fled towards Xijin Prefecture.

Unable to bear the immense psychological despair any longer, the Liao generals were unable to salvage the collapsing morale of their troops and fled with their soldiers.

Zhang Rong had no choice but to order the entire army to halt and send out scouts to track down the Liao army.

“There’s no need to pursue the fleeing enemy; we might fall into their trap.” Zhang Rong pounded the ground with resentment: “Damn it, if it weren’t for the fact that it was so dark and we couldn’t see clearly, and that we were really short of ammunition, I would have wiped out all 20,000 Liao soldiers. It would have been good to show off in front of His Highness.”

Seeing the entire army standing motionless, Zhang Rong became furious and roared, "What are you standing there for? Set up the guard, clean up the battlefield, tally the results, and send someone to report the victory to His Highness. Do I have to teach you that?"

…………

At dawn, the first rays of sunlight pierced through the clouds and poured onto the earth.

One hundred thousand soldiers buried pots and cooked meals, and smoke rose from every corner of the camp.

Zhao Xiaoqian, unusually, got up very early. He stretched and walked out of the command tent, looking around sleepily.

Zhong Jianzhong stood outside the command tent, seemingly having waited for a long time. When he saw that Zhao Xiaoqian finally woke up before Chenshi (7-9 AM), Zhong Jianzhong breathed a sigh of relief.

This young head coach has a bad temper and many faults. He is lazy and grumpy when he wakes up. He usually doesn't get up until he's calmed down. After being taught a lesson a few times, Zhong Jianzhong doesn't dare to disturb his sleep and can only wait for him to wake up naturally.

“Your Highness, last night at the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), Zong Ze and Di Zi each led 10,000 troops out of the camp,” Zhong Jianzhong reported.

Zhao Xiaoqian hummed in agreement and said, "Today, I'm handing over all command of the attack on Hejian Prefecture to you. I won't cause you any trouble. Are you confident in taking Hejian Prefecture?"

Zhong Jianzhong laughed and said, "This is the first time our army has attacked a city since we were equipped with firearms. However, I think the method Your Highness mentioned yesterday makes a lot of sense. Let's give it a try today."

Zhao Xiaoqian patted him on the shoulder and said, "The advantage is on our side. There's no reason we can't take it. I don't care about the specific command. I'll just listen to the results from the rear."

"This humble general will certainly not disappoint Your Highness."

"After the soldiers have finished their meal, let's prepare to set off. I'm going to find a place to have some fun..."

Zhong Jianzhong was taken aback: "Isn't Your Highness going to oversee the rear army?"

"What am I supposed to do here? It's your job now. If I'm in the rear, I'll inevitably interfere with your commands, and that would cause chaos. Just plant my flag in the rear and pretend I'm there."

Just as Zhao Xiaoqian finished speaking and was about to wash up, he saw Chen Shou hurrying over.

"Your Highness, Zhang Rong has led his troops back to camp. They fought a major battle last night."

Zhao Xiaoqian's face immediately lit up with joy: "Who did Zhang Rong fight with?"

"It is said that the Liao army, numbering about 20,000, rushed to the aid of Hejian Prefecture from Xijin Prefecture. In last night's battle, Zhang Rong's 5,000 troops annihilated most of the Liao army, and the rest fled back to Xijin Prefecture."

Zhao Xiaoqian laughed and said, "That's right, the first battle and the first merit, it will be Zhang Rong if nothing unexpected happens. This guy is pretty good. Come on, I'll go praise him."

Zhong Jianzhong followed behind, and upon hearing that Zhang Rong had taken the credit for the first battle, he felt a pang of disappointment. He then gritted his teeth and cursed, "That bastard, how come I never noticed before that he was so good at stealing credit?"

Zhong Jianzhong was secretly planning that if he could capture Hejian Prefecture today, the credit for the first battle and the first to scale the walls would undoubtedly fall on his head. When he reported this to the court, Zhong Jianzhong's baronial rank would be promoted by one level.

Before the army even set out, Zhang Rong stole the credit for the first battle.

At 1:15 AM, after the entire army had eaten, Zhao Xiaoqian also handed over command.

Zhong Jianzhong solemnly ordered the entire army to set off, their destination: Hejian Prefecture.

Unlike previous campaigns, today, as the army set off, an inspiring slogan circulated among the troops.

"We will make sure that His Highness's title truly deserves it!"

After the Song army captured Hejian Prefecture, Zhao Xiaoqian became the rightful Prince of Hejian.

This slogan inexplicably boosted the morale of the soldiers. When Zhong Jianzhong gave the order to set off, the soldiers practically roared as they rushed out of the camp and headed straight for Hejian Prefecture.

Zhao Xiaoqian stood in front of the command tent, watching the soldiers leave the camp, and let out a soft breath.

The battle to recapture Yan and Yun officially begins today.

Looking up at the sky, I noticed that it had been covered with dark, gloomy clouds.

Having done what needed to be done, he, who should have been tense, suddenly felt no pressure.

"Chen Shou, take the Imperial Guards and flintlock pistols, let's go hunting!" Zhao Xiaoqian ordered.

(End of this chapter)