Just as Liu Yan hurriedly went to reorganize the auxiliary troops, on the battlefield across the Taiping River, the battle between the 120,000 Song troops and the 100,000 Jin troops had become a mess.

But to say it was confusing was more about the complex situation of the battle. As time went on, on one hand, the soldiers were getting more and more tired and were caught in a difficult fighting situation, with large-scale casualties and generally low morale; on the other hand, the newly deployed reinforcements were still in high spirits, maintaining an intact front while trying to seize the initiative.

In fact, judging from the overall battlefield dynamics, the situation is still clear at a glance.

On the west side of the high ground, the Song army had gained full advantage after defeating two Wanhu of the Jin army on the western front, and was trying hard to tear down the last obstacle and complete the outflanking from behind the high ground... But as mentioned before, the western front was the first to engage in battle, and after a fierce battle in the rain for a whole morning and noon, the troops on both sides were very tired and their morale was very low. The Jin army was certainly holding on, but the offensive of the Song army was simply not comparable to before. In addition, there was the all-cavalry Wanhu brought by Jiagu Wulibu from Yanjing, who relied on the local mobility advantage of the troops to provide layered support and maintenance. No one could tell when they would be able to take it down.

On the front of the high ground, after defeating the Ali tribe, the Song army successfully connected with the troops on the western front, so they were able to maintain their advantage and momentum. But at the same time, the Jin army on the front of the high ground had many veterans, and the four Wanhu were also connected in a line, so they were weak but not broken, so there was no breakthrough situation on the high ground like on the western front.

As for the east side of the high ground, the newly opened eastern battlefield, although the scale of the war was slightly smaller, it was rare that the two sides were evenly matched, and they were all fresh troops. In addition, Wanyan Wolun, Yelu Mawu, Li Qiong, Qiao Zhongfu, Zhang Jing and others were all recognized veterans, so the fight was quite good.

If we have to make a conclusion, it is that there are no miracles and no magical calculations.

The war lasted for so long that both sides had a clear understanding of each other's tactics, personnel deployment, and equipment. Both sides also had a thorough understanding of heavy armor, the most distinctive military technology of the era... As for the estimation of troop strength, perhaps no one can make an accurate statistics, but both sides have a rough idea.

Including the hundreds of camel cannons, they were just icing on the cake and had no actual impact on the main battle situation.

It can only be said that the Song army originally had an overall advantage in morale and manpower, so it naturally had a slight advantage at this moment, but it was not enough to quickly destroy the opponent's heavy forces; and although the Jin army knew that it was at an overall disadvantage before the war, it also tried its best to gain certain tactical advantages by controlling the high ground and setting up camps across the river, but this tactical advantage was not enough to offset their overall disadvantage.

The previous rain and the current spring rain are generally fair to both parties.

And if there are no miracles or brilliant strategies, at this time, the only thing that can influence the development and direction of the war is when to further play the cards in hand.

In fact, after Wu Jie learned that there was only a disabled Wanhu stationed between the Jin army camp and Zhending Prefecture, he once thought of letting Qu Duan lead his troops to launch a surprise attack from behind, but he immediately suppressed the idea and did not even discuss this possibility with Zhao Jiu... At this point in the battle, it is impossible to divide the troops anymore, and the only way to go is to concentrate the troops on the main battlefield as much as possible.

It was based on this reasoning that Lu Yihao lost no time in persuading Emperor Zhao to cross the river at the right time. However, this emperor was still thinking about a more suitable opportunity.

But this opportunity did not last long.

Less than two quarters of an hour after Zhao Jiu said "wait a little longer", Liu Yan had not yet organized the 30,000 auxiliary troops. As the tug-of-war continued, Zhang Qi's troops suddenly advanced in a wave and controlled the top of the east slope of the high ground, which was one of the two obvious high points on the east and west sides of the high ground.

Wu Jie, who had already marched to the stone bridge under the banner of "Command as Sure as a Glory", looked at the large banner with the word Zhang on it and hesitated for a moment. But he soon came to his senses and quickly turned back to give orders to the Red Heart Cavalry that Emperor Zhao had specially allocated to him, requesting Qu Duan to lead the remaining Song cavalry to cross the river decisively and attack from there to make a breakthrough, and at the same time convey this military order to the emperor.

He did not mention what the emperor himself should do, as it was not his turn to give orders on this matter.

The military orders from his former subordinates were first conveyed to the Imperial Cavalry. Without any hesitation, Qu Da immediately ordered Liu Qi, Zhang Xian, Zhang Zhongfu, Zhang Zhongyan and other generals to return to their respective units, and then march out to fight along the pontoon bridge that had been built when Li Qiong's troops crossed the river. He himself rode a new iron elephant and took the lead, leading his personal guards to cross the river first... This is not to say that Qu Duan suddenly became full of confidence in his troops, or that he was happy with this battle after watching the fierce battle for most of the day, but to say that at this point, no matter how stupid he was, he would not hesitate or retreat.

Be it honor and responsibility, political pressure, or the power of military law, he and his more than 10,000 cavalrymen who have lacked rest must move forward at this moment.

Just like the more than 100,000 troops that participated in the battle before.

"Qu Dutong."

Just after crossing the river, a Red Heart Cavalry came over and told Qu Duan a piece of news. "The emperor has ordered that the remaining 1,000 Red Heart Cavalry in the imperial court be at your disposal..."

Qu Duan was stunned for a rare moment, but before he could express his gratitude, he suddenly realized something and subconsciously looked towards the direction of the dragon flag on the other side of the river.

Sure enough, in the slightly calmed drizzle, the dragon flag moved.

This time, the activation of Emperor Zhao and his already old Jinwu banner did not cause any earth-shaking scene, at least not at this moment, and there was no touching separation of life and death, any heart-shaking shock that shook everything... This attack was not the same as the one at Yaoshan.

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