You have truly caused me great suffering!

Wuqing, Xianghe, Yuyang, and Jizhou.
One by one, familiar cities were occupied by the Dingnan Army.

The Jurchens were defeated and retreated beyond the Great Wall.

Wanyan Zhamu, who was stationed in Pinggu to receive the retreating troops, stared blankly at the remnants of the army before her.

These Jurchen warriors were truly in a miserable state.

Whether they were Meng'an, Puliyan, or ordinary soldiers, all of them had removed their armor, and their clothes were tattered and could no longer cover their bodies.

Everyone was covered in blood, and some were wrapped in strips of cloth stained with black blood.

The heroic spirit they had displayed when they left the pass was gone from their faces; it was as if the morale they had built up over a decade had been completely deflated in one fell swoop.

"Open the fence!"

With the defensive line breached, the Jurchen warriors didn't say much and rode straight past.

Their orders were absolute: retreat to Gubeikou. Anyone who didn't need to stay behind to cover the retreat and managed to get back would be considered to have accomplished a great feat.

As for who receives the order to cover the rear, they should stay put and be prepared to die in battle.

Moreover, those who remained even surrendered their horses, and in strategic locations such as valleys, river valleys, and fortresses, they used the infantry phalanxes, which the Jurchens were most skilled at, to block the pursuing troops.

This is a true race against death.

After everyone had passed, Wanyan Zhamu ordered the road to be blocked again, preparing for a desperate battle.

When he failed to defeat Zhang Jue, Zong Wang helped him out.

Now that things have come to this, it's not that he feels any gratitude towards Zongwang, but thinking about the rise of the Jurchens in recent years, he is truly unwilling.

Wanyan Hubalu stood beside him, looking dejected, and said, "Two armies, hundreds of thousands of men, how could they be defeated so quickly?"

"Zongwang and Zonghan, aren't they the ever-victorious marshals!"

"Are we really all incapable of anything without the old Khan?"

Wanyan Zhamu remained silent, recalling how the old Khan had forbidden everyone from invading the Song Dynasty in the south, a decision that no one had approved of at the time.

He felt that given the size of the Jurchens, it was already extremely difficult for them to control the Khitan territory.

If we hadn't moved south and had retained the territory of the Khitan, we might have been able to prosper for two hundred years, just like the Khitan.

However, everyone felt that southerners were incompetent and it would be a pity if they didn't move south.

The result is that the once heavily armored and well-equipped armies of the East and West routes, with their gleaming banners, have fallen to their current state.

The Jurchen elite troops, who once overthrew the Liao Dynasty, swallowed the Bohai Sea in the north, controlled the grasslands in the west, and suppressed the various barbarian tribes in the north, are now like wandering souls who have escaped from hell!

Two entire armies were wiped out just like that!
When Zonghan suffered heavy losses, everyone felt it was his fault, so they stripped him of his command of the western army and put Zongwang in charge.

But the result remained the same.

Wanyan Zhamu planted her weapon in the ground, gritted her teeth, and spat out a mouthful of saliva. "Even if I die, I'll hold them back!"

He was prepared to die, so he didn't need to worry about his men. According to Jurchen military law, if Wanyan Zhamu died, none of his men would survive.

In the earliest days, they would probably have killed all the soldiers, and done so in a brutal manner.

The number of Jurchen soldiers has been drastically reduced, but Meng'an Mouke Puliyan, these centurions and chiliarchs, can forget about surviving.

From Baigou River to Gubeikou, the cavalry could actually retreat in two days.

However, the Dingnan army is now relentlessly pursuing them.

As the Jurchens retreated, they had to continuously sacrifice people to resist them.

Many of our generals have already been lost.

Wanyan Zhamu watched the remnants of the army leave. Although they had few horses left, and the condition of the horses was extremely poor, many of them, even if they managed to escape to Gubeikou, would probably find it difficult to fight again in the future.

These defeated soldiers, after passing through the village, still managed to squeeze out nearly a hundred warhorses in slightly better condition, leaving them for Wanyan Zhamu.

This would prevent him from being too passive when fighting against the Dingnan Army.

When Wanyan Ang left, he patted Wanyan Zhamu on the shoulder without saying a word.

He hoped that Wanyan Zhamu could escape back, but that was already very difficult.

Wanyan Zhamu, however, was optimistic and shouted loudly for them to leave quickly, saying that they would be safe once they reached the north.

Gubeikou is a fortress that cannot be easily captured. Although that scoundrel Xiyin escaped, he preserved a considerable number of troops for them.

Moreover, the defenses at Gubeikou were very robust.

Although it was already a certain death situation, just to buy time, Wanyan Zhamu still led out a cavalry force to cover the two flanks of the army's march, with scouts sent out in front and rear guards to provide support from behind.

Having done everything in perfect order, he rode on his horse, and for some reason, he thought of the battles of the previous years.

At that time, they had won too many battles, and when it came to deploying troops, they were quite casual and lax.

I found it extremely boring.

Looking back now, those good days are truly something to miss.

No matter how you arrange things, you can win. Crush the enemy on the battlefield, watch them kneel and surrender, occupy their homes, abuse their wives and daughters, and wantonly slaughter their parents.

Like dogs and sheep, they let these Jurchen warriors have their fun.

The Jurchen cavalrymen on patrol took out some dry rations from their waists and fed them to their mounts, vigilantly monitoring all movements of the warhorses in all directions.

Although their own people had only recently arrived, they dared not be negligent, because the Dingnan Army was pursuing them too closely.

It often follows closely behind.

And the number is staggering.

While covering the rear of the main army in Pinggu, the Jurchen soldiers under Wanyan Zhamu were actually quite heavy-hearted.

Because they had all witnessed firsthand the tragic state of their kin during their retreat.

Even without having been on the battlefield, one can sense the devastating defeat ahead—not a defeat caused by a surprise attack, but a defeat resulting from a genuine, unwinnable struggle.

It's because my skills are inferior.
An army that had been victorious for over a decade was suddenly forced to admit that they simply couldn't defeat the Dingnan Army.

We can't beat them no matter what.

This is truly malicious.

The psychological burden on these Jurchen soldiers who did not go to the front line of Baigou River was greater than that on those who retreated from the battlefield.

As time went on, those who arrived later fared the worst.

Each of them had to go through countless bloody battles amidst the pursuit and interception of tens of thousands of cavalry before miraculously breaking free and making their way here!

What about yourself?

With tens of thousands of Jurchen soldiers reduced to such a state, and with an army about to arrive, the fate of us is self-evident.

All the armored soldiers looked fearful and their faces were grim. Even the few who used to be talkative became silent.

Over the past ten years, they have killed and enjoyed themselves, but when faced with danger, they are even more afraid of death than when they first started the uprising.

I really don't want to die!
Even if it means traversing ravines and fighting several fierce battles.

Is this situation truly beyond redemption?
We, the armored soldiers, are willing to fight to the death. What are those generals and marshals doing? Why have they led the invincible Jurchen armored soldiers to this inevitable end?

Suddenly, a rapid sound of hooves rang out, followed by a loud warning from the scouts.

All the Tatar soldiers tensed up, gripping their weapons tightly and waiting for the battle to begin.

More than ten spears and lances flew towards them, and a row of Jurchen armored cavalry raised their horse shields to block them.

However, the weapon was so powerful that it caused a commotion, with several riders falling from their horses and the rest scrambling to dodge and parry.

The warhorse neighed loudly and stopped moving forward, slowing down for just a moment!

Almost instantly, deafening shouts of battle erupted from the valley.

Inside Pinggu Village, the Jurchen warriors looked at their commander, Wanyan Zhamu, only to see his face filled with a resolute determination to fight to the death.

The battle reached a fever pitch almost instantly. A Dingnan Army cavalryman, his spear thrusting out but missing its mark, was then struck down from his horse by a Jurchen Tartar with a hammer.

A Jurchen soldier, whose spear broke, still drew his longsword and fought to the death. Another soldier, Dingnan, fell from his horse and was then stabbed in the body by two horse spears at the same time.

A young military officer from the Dingnan Army lost his footing and fell off his horse during the collision. He then rolled on the ground and grabbed the reins of the Tartar horse with his bare hands, trying to pull the opponent's horse down as well.

The Tartars immediately swung their swords and slashed, but the Dingnan Army officer was incredibly agile. He pounced on the Tartar, pulled him off his horse, and the two fell to the ground at the same time, instantly trampled by countless hooves.

Wanyan Zhamu looked at the front of the village and was pleasantly surprised to find that the battle had reached a stalemate.

The Dingnan Army is already at its last gasp. After pursuing them for so long, they must be showing signs of weakness!
Or perhaps they knew that beyond this point lay a vast wilderness from which they could head directly to Gubeikou, and therefore they were too lazy to pursue them.

After all, there were continuous fortresses and military outposts set up by the Jurchens near Gubeikou.

Just as he was lost in thought, a sudden sound of drums and horns rang out.

Countless iron cavalry galloped and roared in!

They were covered in dust, blood, and water, but also possessed an iron-like resilience forged through countless battles.

And so they suddenly appeared before the Jurchen Tartars.

It appeared just when they thought they had escaped.

Wanyan Zhamu closed her eyes in agony, letting out a helpless roar to the sky. Her life was extinguished.

The shouts of battle from the other side became clearer.

Wanyan Zhamu couldn't understand their language, but she could sense their fighting spirit. The group opposite her seemed endless, and they were there to kill.

Just like the Jurchens did in the past.

The difference is that in the past, it was these Jurchen warriors who went to slaughter others.

Now it is they who are coming to kill the Jurchens.

Although their numbers increased, they did not charge blindly, but instead approached from both flanks, launching a pincer attack on the Jurchen cavalry.

One by one, Jurchen armored riders fell from their horses under such an onslaught, and were immediately engulfed by the frenzy.

From the very beginning of their uprising in the Changbai Mountains and Heilongjiang River region, the Jurchen cavalry, who had always prided themselves on their resilience, tenacity, ferocity, and courage in battle, finally felt that they could no longer hold on and could no longer persevere amidst this raging tide!
Watching the flanks' cavalry forced back and scattered by the sweeping rain of arrows, and seeing the iron torrent of cavalry pressing in wave after wave before them!

How can we fight this war? How can we fight this war?
One of the Jurchens, Puliyan, could no longer bear it. He roared, turned his horse around, and rode away.

As soon as anyone made a move, the remaining Jurchen troops would be unable to hold out any longer.

They shouted incoherently, uttering incomprehensible words, and everyone turned and left.

The farther away from this group of Dingnan soldiers the better!
They have already chased us here, and the Jurchen soldiers behind them have probably been killed long ago.

Why do we still have to stay here?

The Dingnan army, however, were bloodthirsty, and their cavalrymen relentlessly pursued them.

Regardless of which direction these Jurchen Tartars fled, all I wanted was to kill them with my sword.

If someone had told these Jurchen soldiers a few years ago that they would be driven to the brink of collapse by the enemy, they would have been defeated.

No Jurchen Tartar would believe it.

At this moment, a group of Dingnan soldiers who were at the forefront surrounded the village.

"Don't let a single one escape!"

Hu Yantong, the commander of the cavalry and the vanguard general who arrived at the scene, was furious. It was because of these Tartars blocking the road that Wanyan Ang's troops, whom he had been chasing for a long time, had escaped.

The three commanders simultaneously issued a strict order: once the pursuit reaches this point, no further progress is permitted.

Because the area in front is the defense zone of Gubeikou.

The Tartars still have troops lying in ambush there.

Moreover, given Zongwang's style, he would definitely set up an ambush.

Huyan Tong's mount was a magnificent steed from Hequ, with high shoulders, long legs, well-developed muscles, and an exceptionally powerful steed, its entire body a fiery red like charcoal.

The armor he wore was quite old-fashioned; it was a gift from the Prince of Dai, given to him by the Prince for his meritorious surrender when the city of Youzhou was captured.

He stopped his warhorse on high ground and calmly directed his men to set fire to the camp. Since they couldn't pursue them, they would fight one last battle.

A day later, Huyan Tong looked at Wanyan Zhamu, who had been captured, and didn't bother to persuade her to surrender.

Unlike ordinary hostile relations, the two sides were mortal enemies. No matter who captured the other's general, they would not consider persuading him to surrender.

Even the Dingnan Army and the Jurchen Jin Dynasty had a large number of surrendered troops.

They could persuade the Khitans to surrender, they could persuade the Tatars to surrender, but they would not persuade each other to surrender.

The war has escalated to this point; the two sides are now irreconcilable enemies.

Wanyan Zhamu was captured after exhausting his strength and was determined to die, but Huyan Tong ordered that his hands and feet be locked and his teeth be bound, forbidding him from harming himself or committing suicide.

Wanyan Zhamu no longer had the strength to curse, nor did she bother to struggle.

The Dingnan Army, looking at the Jurchen prisoners, found that only about a hundred remained, and their hatred was beyond words.

The war has progressed to this point, and we should begin to recapture the cities and lands of Yan, rather than continuing to pursue and kill the Tartars.

Because of their obstruction, his achievements were squandered!

This grudge is just too great.

"Catch a Tartar and ask him what official this bastard is and how much reward he can get!"

Huyan Tong sat on a section of the saddle, had his men wrap bandages around his arm, and kicked Wanyan Zhamu in the thigh wound to vent his anger.

A short while later, a Han servant of the Jurchens was brought over and pointed at Wanyan Zhamu, saying, "Reporting to you, sirs, this is Wanyan Zhamu, the Nanjing Road Commander of the Jin Dynasty."

Hu Yantong's eyes lit up, widened, and he stood up abruptly.

"This Tartar also has the surname Wanyan?"

Huyan Tong, after all, had been a military general of the Song Dynasty and had served in the Song army. He felt that if someone were a member of the royal family, it was unlikely that they would be left to cover the rear.

However, the Jurchens and the Song Dynasty were in different situations. In fact, for many tough battles, they only sent members of the royal family to fight.

Sure enough, the man nodded and said, "That's right, he is the eleventh brother of Wanyan Aguda, the false Jin emperor."

"it is good!"

"Okay!"

The Dingnan Army soldiers around Huyan Tong were overjoyed and cheered loudly.

Unexpectedly, just before closing the net, they caught one big fish after another.

"Tie them up and take them into Pinggu City!"

The Dingnan Army gradually figured out a good method, because they nominally belonged to the Song Dynasty, while the local people had a very bad impression of the Song army.

Fortunately, they were even more resentful of the Jurchens.

Therefore, when the Dingnan Army escorted Jurchen prisoners to attack cities in various places, they often received the support of the local people.

A group of soldiers from the Dingnan Army, familiar with the process, tied these things to the back of their horses and pulled them along.

Several people stepped forward and carefully lifted the mother's body, binding her hands and feet to two wooden stakes tied horizontally and vertically.

The shape resembled a cross, and then his hands and feet were bound with hemp rope.

Then someone used what was available and took some wooden wedges from the fence.

When the mother saw someone holding a wooden wedge and placing it in her palm, she struggled to resist.

With a few loud bangs, the other soldiers started smashing, quickly pinning his two hands to the wooden stake.

They placed the 'cross' on the carriage and pulled him towards Pinggu town.

The horses were not moving fast, and the Dingnan cavalry, right behind the Jurchen Tartars, waved their weapons to urge them forward.

Some Tartars were tripped and dragged along by the horses, their flesh soon becoming raw and bloody, their bones exposed, and they let out heart-wrenching screams.

As they passed by, the people of Yan, who had survived countless calamities, secretly watched this scene as if in a dream.

Have the Jurchen Tartars, who are as ferocious as demons, finally met someone who can subdue them?
The soldiers of Dingnan Army truly hated the Jurchen Tartars; they hated them almost more than the people of Yan.

They blocked everyone's path to achieving great things!
This is truly a feud spanning two worlds and three rivers and five seas.

The actions of the Dingnan Army in venting their anger were seen by the people of Yan as nothing less than gods descending to earth to punish evil spirits.

People slowly emerged from their hiding places—cellars, forests, and even reed beds.

At first, there was some restraint, but as someone couldn't help but cry out, all sorts of sounds rang out.

More and more people gathered to watch from both sides of the road.

Because they needed to stop the Dingnan army, all the Jurchen Tartars in Pinggu City came out and formed a fortified camp to defend it.

At this time, the gates of Pinggu City had been opened, and more and more people poured out to watch.

At first glance, these people all appeared numb and emaciated.

The men had greasy, grimy hair that hung down, and all of them had bushy beards and deep-set eyes.

They had lost all their Han Chinese charm; they were all like savages, just like those stinking Tatars.

And women.
There were no women at all.

Finally, someone rushed up, pinned down the Tartars, and beat them, even biting them with their teeth.

Even a fierce warrior like Huyan Tong felt his scalp tingle watching it.

Are those people with mouths full of blood and flesh really men?
We've suffered terribly at the hands of the Tartars for over a year.

In fact, Hu Yantong and the other Song people did not consider the Han people of Yan to be their own people. They had been under the control of the Khitan for two hundred years and had paid tribute to the Khitan and sent troops to fight for them.

When they marched south, they fought quite fiercely.

But seeing them like this, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for them; after all, they were in such a miserable state.

The Tangut people were known for their ferocity, but all the people of Western Xia surrendered when the Song army attacked.

After driving away the Song people, they began to massacre them.

However ruthless the Tanguts were, they only punished those who surrendered to the Song Dynasty, unlike the Jurchen Tartars who indiscriminately inflicted violence and cruelty, even for their own amusement. (End of Chapter)