On the watchtower on the north bank, Ma Zongliang watched helplessly as the vanguard collapsed.

The veins on his hands, gripping the railing, bulged, and his fingernails dug into the wood.

"Cavalry!" he roared, "Cavalry on both flanks cross the river to provide support! We cannot allow the vanguard to be completely annihilated!"

Ten thousand cavalrymen on each of the left and right flanks of the Fengtian Army began crossing the river.

The warhorses were slow in wading, and just as they reached the middle of the river, the Yin army's cannons fired again.

This time, all the cannons were aimed at the river.

Solid shot and shotgun shells were fired alternately.

Solid shot blasted bloody holes into the cavalry ranks, while grapeshot swept across the riders on horseback like the Grim Reaper's scythe.

Warhorses neighed in fright, riders fell into the water, and men and horses tumbled in the river.

Even more deadly, a thousand heavy cavalry suddenly emerged from the woods on the right flank of the Yin army!

These cavalrymen, fully armored and wielding long spears, were the Ferghana Heavy Cavalry Regiment led by Guo Luo.

They attacked the Fengtian Army's river-crossing troops from the flank, scattering the already chaotic cavalry.

On the south bank, the collapse of the Fengtian Army's vanguard was a foregone conclusion.

Li Biao, supported by his personal guards, fought his way out and escaped to the riverbank.

He looked back and saw that more than half of the 30,000 vanguard troops had been killed or wounded, and the rest had completely lost their will to fight, running around on the beach like headless flies, and were divided and surrounded by the Mo Dao Battalion and the Yin Army infantry that followed.

On the river, the cavalry attempting to provide support also suffered heavy losses under the combined attack of artillery and heavy cavalry.

"General, cross the river quickly!" The guards pushed Li Biao onto a stray warhorse.

Li Biao lay prone on horseback, wading through the water to escape north.

The river water had turned dark red, floating corpses blocked the waterway, and horses were struggling to move forward.

Shells occasionally fell around, creating waves of blood.

When he finally set foot on the north bank, he had only seventeen personal guards by his side.

Looking back south, the south bank of the Yi River has become a living hell.

The corpses of the Fengtian Army were piled up like mountains, and the Yin Army was clearing the battlefield and finishing off the wounded who were not yet dead.

Those three thousand Mo Dao warriors stood amidst mountains of corpses and seas of blood, their Mo Dao swords planted firmly on the ground, like Asuras crawling out of hell.

On the high slope to the left, thirty cannons stood silently, wisps of smoke rising from their muzzles.

The battle ended at noon.

On the south bank of the Yi River, the Fengtian Army left behind 23,000 corpses and captured 4,000.

The Yin army suffered only two thousand casualties, of which the Mo Dao Battalion lost less than a hundred men—most of whom were lightly wounded.

Wu Shangzhi inspected the battlefield and arrived at the artillery position.

Liu Yi, the commander of the Shenji Battalion, is directing his soldiers to clean the cannon barrels and count the ammunition.

"General Liu, the power of the artillery today has shaken the entire army," Wu Shangzhi exclaimed.

Liu Yi wiped the soot off his face: "It's all thanks to the General. If he hadn't defied public opinion, invested heavily in developing artillery, and improved the gunpowder formula and casting process, how could we have achieved this victory today?"

He pointed to a cannon: "This cannon weighs 1,800 catties and can fire 12-catty iron balls with a range of 800 paces. When loaded with shrapnel, men and horses within 100 paces will be crushed. The dense formation of the Fengtian Army is the perfect target."

Wu Shangzhi nodded and then asked, "Is there still enough ammunition?"

"Each unit was allocated fifty rounds of solid shot, and most of them were used today; each unit was allocated thirty rounds of shotgun shells, and twenty remain. If we fight again tomorrow, we must urgently transfer more from the rear."

"Rest assured, the Fengtian Army will not dare to fight again tomorrow."

Indeed, the Fengtian Army camp on the north bank was deathly silent.

Inside the central command tent, Ma Zongliang stared at Li Biao, who was covered in wounds, and remained silent for a long time.

The generals in the tent all bowed their heads, and the atmosphere was as heavy as iron.

"What are the casualties of our troops?"

Ma Zongliang finally spoke, his voice hoarse.

The quartermaster reported, trembling: "Of the 30,000 vanguard troops, less than 8,000 have returned, more than half of whom are wounded. The left and right flanks each had 10,000 cavalry, with 3,000 lost each. The central army's river-crossing force was hampered by artillery fire, suffering approximately 2,000 casualties. In total... today's losses amount to more than 25,000 men."

With the addition of yesterday's 40,000, one-third of the 200,000-strong army has already left.

The number of casualties in the Yin army is estimated to be less than 20,000.

“Zhao Muyun…” Ma Zongliang closed his eyes, “What a Zhao Muyun.”

When he opened his eyes, they were already bloodshot: "Immediately write a letter and send it to His Majesty by express courier. Report the battle situation and state that the Yin army has thunderous firearms and is invincible in open field battles. Request... request to postpone the attack and hold the position while awaiting reinforcements."

"General, if the Marshal is angry..." Li Bao hesitated before speaking.

"Blame me?" Ma Zongliang laughed bitterly. "If we launch a full-scale attack, our entire army of 200,000 will be wiped out here. That would be a truly heinous crime. Order the entire army: dig deep trenches and build high walls. Fortify the camp walls. No one is to cross the river without my order!"

"yes!"

......

Same day.

Han Zhong stood at the Yellow River ferry, looking at the faint Fengtian Army flags on the opposite bank, a cold smile curling at the corner of his mouth.

Behind him, an army of 30,000 had been assembled—10,000 from Youzhou, 10,000 from Hebei, and 10,000 elite troops from Hedong.

Banners blotted out the sky, and spears and halberds formed a forest.

"Governor, are we really going to cross the river?" the advisor asked in a low voice. "Li Jingang has tens of thousands of imperial guards in the capital region. We may not be able to win."

"Who said we were really going to fight?" Han Zhong stroked his beard. "Order the vanguard to set up camp at the ferry crossing, raise many flags, and send small groups of troops every day to pretend to cross the river!"

The advisor suddenly realized: "This is a feint."

"Truth or falsehood!" Han Zhong's eyes flashed with a sharp light. "Li Jingang is now surrounded on three sides: the General is at the south gate, I am at the north, and Lin Feng will send troops from Longmen Pass."

“If he divides his forces to defend against me, the forces attacking and defending Xijing will be insufficient; if he does not divide his forces, he will have to be on guard day and night against my sudden crossing of the river. We do not need to fight a real battle; we are just here, and we are a sword hanging over his head.”

He turned back to camp, took a few steps and then stopped: "Right, have Xiong Dayong's troops start piling up firewood at the ferry crossing every night from tomorrow, then light it and beat drums and gongs to create the illusion of a night crossing. I want the garrison on the other side to never get a good night's sleep."

On the same day, fifty li west of Shanzhou, in Luoyan Valley.

Lin Feng's 10,000-strong army rested here.

Xu Yunlong returned from reconnaissance: "Commander, the garrison commander of Shanzhou is Guo Chong, a veteran general of the Fengtian Army. He has 10,000 troops, and the city's defenses are very strong. It will be extremely difficult for our 10,000 men to take it down."

“We never intended to conquer it.” Lin Feng spread out the map. “Look, Shanzhou is the western gateway to Xijing. One hundred and twenty li to the east is Hangu Pass. Beyond Hangu Pass is a flat plain that leads directly to the capital region.”

“When Li Jingang attacked Longmen Pass, most of his food and military supplies were transported from Shanzhou.”

He pointed to several locations on the map: "We will divide our forces into four routes, each with 2,500 men, and take turns attacking the city. If Guo Chong comes out of the city to pursue us, we will avoid battle; if he returns to the city, we will continue to attack. In this way, Shanzhou will be in chaos within ten days."

"Brilliant!" Xu Yunlong's eyes lit up. "Shanzhou has been harassed by us, so it will surely seek help from the capital."

“That’s not all.” Lin Feng sneered. “If Guo Chong knew that our army only had 10,000 men, he would definitely underestimate us. We can feign a retreat, lure him away from the city, and then ambush him. If we can annihilate a portion of his forces, the garrison of Shanzhou will not dare to leave the city so easily again.”

He stood up and looked eastward: "The General is fighting a bloody battle at the Yi River. The more soldiers we tie down here, the greater our chance of victory."

"Order the entire army to rest until dusk, then continue the attack on Shanzhou!"

"Understood!"

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