If the Tang Empire won, it would say to its opponents: "You damn well behave yourself in the future, or be careful that I wipe out your entire clan. Pay tribute obediently every year!"
<...The cruelty of war is self-evident; it is a direct, hand-to-hand combat between two sides.
Flesh and blood crisscrossed amidst a forest of swords and spears, where they could be brutally hacked to death at any moment.
Ten years ago, the Jurchens rose to power, destroyed the Liao Dynasty, and defeated the Song Dynasty's elite troops led by Tong Guan in the Yan-Yun region. They then advanced rapidly, as if entering an uninhabited land, and crushed all resistance.
At that time, the entire Song Dynasty was terrified of this new and mysterious enemy. The lands of Hebei and Hedong were filled with panic. When the Jurchen army passed by, the people were all filled with fear.
The officials of the court all believed that seeking peace and paying tribute would appease the Jurchens, but the Jurchens still crossed the Yellow River to the south and besieged the capital, Tokyo. The century-old foundation of the Song Dynasty was in imminent danger.
Emperor Huizong hastily abdicated, and Emperor Huan was appointed to the throne in a time of crisis, casting a pall of gloom over the entire Central Plains.
Ten years later, the emperor in the court was still the same emperor, but the Jurchens never set foot in the Song Dynasty again.
Moreover, today's Song Dynasty, and today's Chinese men, are all armed and ready to launch a northern expedition.
Beneath Fengcheng, the once formidable army was driven back in defeat by the Song forces.
Head coach Xia Jinwu began to question his life.
The Song army cut through the Jin army's formation and began to push forward at an accelerated pace on both sides.
Xia Jinwu was furious. He had just beheaded a Song soldier with his military axe and was about to turn his horse around when a lithe figure rushed towards him.
He was slightly taken aback, and before he could react, the figure was already in front of him.
This young man wore a bronze ghost mask, and Xia Jinwu would never know his identity in his lifetime.
He knew something was wrong, but it was too late.
The next moment, his vision changed.
He found his vision rising and flipping.
He saw below his own headless corpse, blood spurting from his neck.
The next instant, everything went black before his eyes.
Xia Jinwu's head landed on the ground, his eyes still wide open, staring at Yang Yi.
Upon Xia Jinwu's death, Wanyan Bojin was terrified and panicked, turning his horse around and fleeing in a hurry.
The Jin army's last resistance was crumbling.
The Song army followed closely behind, and the battle situation at Fengcheng became clear.
All the Jin soldiers on the city wall of Fengcheng tensed up, staring wide-eyed at everything that was happening below.
The collapse continues, it spreads.
The Song army grew stronger with each battle.
The Jin army officer on the city wall immediately ordered his bows and arrows to be fired, and a rain of arrows fell from the sky, forming a long band of attack below.
The Song soldiers in front raised their shields, and the arrows bounced off the shields.
Bang……
A muffled sound rang out from the city wall, and the large stone cannon began to operate. Immediately, several stones flew out from the city wall, each stone as large as three adult fists.
The impact slammed into the shields of two Song soldiers. In that instant, the immense force pressed down, splitting their tiger's mouths open and drawing blood.
Another stone hit a Song soldier on the head, denting his helmet. With a crack, his skull split open, and he died instantly.
The bugle call signaling the Song army to retreat came from afar, and the Song army began to withdraw one after another.
The Song army retreated in a very orderly and disciplined formation, and the Jin army finally recovered.
It wasn't until half an hour later, when the Song army had retreated far away, that the Jin army dared to open the gate, and the defeated Jin soldiers filed in.
The Song army won a great victory, and Situ Heng couldn't help but burst into laughter. This victory was just too damn satisfying.
Although they were far apart and could not see the situation at the front, the sound of victory had already stirred the morale of the entire Song army.
"General Yue, I see that the Jin bandits are in complete disarray and look utterly defeated. Why don't our troops take advantage of the victory and pursue them?"
As a member of the emperor's personal guard, Situ Heng was naturally qualified to be among Yue Fei's men.
Zhang Xian said from the side: "Brother Situ, you are unaware that Wanyan Wuzhu has the Iron Pagoda and the Hooked Horsemen lying in ambush in the distance. If our army rashly attacks while the Jin bandits are retreating from the city, the northern part of the vanguard camp will inevitably be attacked by the Jin bandits. At that time, we will be trapped from both the front and the rear, which will be disadvantageous to our army."
Upon hearing Zhang Xian's words, Situ Heng was slightly taken aback, then cursed, "That damned Wanyan Wushu, he's cunning enough!"
At the same time, Situ Heng was also quite surprised. If he were in charge of the troops, he would have already charged forward by now.
The initial victory could very well be overturned immediately.
Thinking of this, Situ Heng suddenly felt a slight unease.
There is a significant difference between military operations and investigating cases.
As a henchman of the emperor, he was known for his swift and decisive actions, preferring to kill the innocent rather than let the guilty go free, and he never hesitated.
However, the logic is completely different when two armies clash.
Situ Heng's gaze swept over Yue Fei, and his admiration for him was as strong as the Yellow River.
These people were the emperor's henchmen, and they were certainly important, but generals like Yue Fei, who guarded the frontier, were the pillars of the nation!
And then there are the soldiers, clad in armor and wielding weapons, charging forward in battle.
This is Situ Heng's truest thought.
After the Song army in front retreated, Liu Qi rode up from the front and said, "Reporting to Commander Yue, this is Xia Jinwu's head, and the one who beheaded him is Yang Yi."
Beside him was a robust young man. Although his face was covered by a bronze mask, his armor revealed him to be a commander.
He stood upright like a pine tree, with a long, precious sword at his waist. The sword was the Washing Moon Sword, a gift from Zhang Jun, the Southwest Military Commissioner.
The Moon-Washing Blade, as its name suggests, is a blade that, once drawn from its sheath, sweeps across the air as if bathed in moonlight.
Blood flowed down his gleaming armor, which was covered in countless knife marks.
Yang Yi removed his bronze mask; it was customary for everyone to remove their mask before meeting the commander-in-chief.
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