At the beginning of the Si hour (9-11 AM), the Fengtian Army began the most frantic river crossing in its history.
There was no formation, no strategy.
Like a flood bursting its banks, 150,000 people simultaneously waded through a stretch of the Yi River stretching dozens of miles along its north bank!
Infantry and cavalry were mixed together, and generals and soldiers were crammed together.
The river water was stirred up to boil, and the floating corpses were trampled into a pulp.
This is a high-stakes gamble.
It's betting that Zhao Muyun's artillery won't have enough time to cover such a wide river, that the Yin army's Mo Dao battalion won't be able to kill so many people, and that Zhao Muyun's 70,000 men will eventually be overwhelmed by their overwhelming numerical superiority.
The central command post of the Yin Army on the south bank.
Zhao Muyun looked at the Fengtian Army pouring out from the opposite bank with a calm expression.
"General, the Fengtian Army is going all out." Wu Shangzhi gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.
“As expected.” Zhao Muyun put down the telescope. “Ma Zongliang is very smart; this is the only way to defeat us.”
He turned around and looked at the generals behind him.
Wu Shangzhi, Xiao Cheyun, Guo Luo, Murong Chunhua, Huan Wu, Namtso, Mozang Epang, Xi Sheng, Lin Yuan, Liu Yi, Zhong Meng, Zhang Tao, Yang Chao, Han Fang, Li Mao, Liu Qi...
Faces, some young and some weathered, were all gazing at him.
"Gentlemen," Zhao Muyun began, his voice not loud, but clear to everyone, "the Fengtian Army has 150,000 men, while our army has 70,000. The enemy outnumbers us, and the situation is perilous."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the generals: "But today's battle will determine the fate of the world. Victory will lead to the collapse of the Feng Dynasty and the restoration of the Great Yin; defeat will result in the fall of the Western Capital and the sinking of the Central Plains."
"I have no more brilliant plans, no more surprise attacks. Today's battle can only be described as a 'hard fight'."
Zhao Muyun drew his sword, its blade reflecting the morning sun, gleaming coldly: "Mo Dao Camp!"
"Your subordinate is here!" Xi Sheng stepped forward.
"Your unit remains at the forefront of the central army. I want you to be like iron nails driven into wood, firmly nailed to the very front of the position. No matter how many Fengtian troops come, kill them all. As long as the swords don't break, the men won't retreat."
"Yes, sir!"
"The Divine Machine Battalion!"
"Your subordinate is here!" Liu Yi clasped his hands in greeting.
"Your thirty cannons will fire in three stages. The first stage will be solid shot, specifically targeting densely packed groups of people; the second stage will be grapeshot, covering a range of about 100 paces; and the third stage will be intense fire and oil, burning their formation."
"No need to hold back today, unleash all the ammunition! I want to turn the Yishui River into a sea of fire!"
"Understood!"
"Archery Battalion!"
Lin Yuan, the commander of the crossbow battalion, stepped forward: "This subordinate obeys your command!"
"Five thousand archers are divided into three ranks to fire in rotation, and each archer has been replenished with sixty arrows. I want the arrow rain to continue from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Shenshi (3-5 PM)."
"promise!"
Zhao Muyun turned his gaze to the heavy cavalry general: "Guo Luo."
"Your subordinate is here!" Commander Guo Luo of the heavy cavalry shouted in a booming voice.
"Your 1,000 heavy cavalry will be the vanguard of the entire army. When the Fengtian Army's offensive is at its strongest and its formation is most chaotic, you will break through from the center and strike straight at the heart of the enemy."
"I don't care how many people you kill, just tear a hole in the Fengtian Army's formation and completely disable their command."
"This humble general will certainly not fail in his duty!"
"Wu Shangzhi."
"Your subordinate is here!" Wu Shangzhi hurriedly stepped forward.
"You will command 10,000 light cavalry from the four tribes of Murong Chunhua, Huan Wu, Namtso, and Mezang Epang. Once Guo Luo breaks through, you will lead your troops to flank the Fengtian Army from both sides, dividing, cutting, and crushing it."
Wu Shangzhi looked up, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit: "This subordinate obeys!"
Zhao Muyun looked at the entire army one last time, his voice resounding throughout the field:
"Gentlemen, today's battle is not for titles or honors, nor for fame or fortune."
"Only for the sake of the thousands of miles of rivers and mountains behind us, only for the elders and folks in Xijing who are eagerly waiting, only for all the people of this world to be spared from the flames of war and to have peace and tranquility!"
"I, Zhao Muyun, will live and die with you all today!"
"To live and die together! To live and die together! To live and die together!"
The roar of 70,000 soldiers drowned out the clamor of 150,000 people on the opposite bank.
......
The first wave of Fengtian troops collided with the ironclad defenses of Yinzhen troops.
What greeted them first was the thunderous fury of the Divine Machine Battalion.
"First round, solid shot, fire!"
Liu Yi waved the command flag down.
Ten cannons roared simultaneously.
Ten twelve-pound iron bullets whistled out and crashed into the most densely packed area of the people crossing the river.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
Blood mist exploded, and severed limbs flew everywhere.
A bullet cleaved a bloody path thirty feet through the crowd, leaving a trail of man and horse falling and flesh scattered everywhere.
Some people were smashed in half, but their upper bodies were still crawling; others had their heads shattered, but their headless corpses still lunged forward several steps before collapsing.
But there were too many Fengtian troops.
The casualties caused by ten iron bullets are like pebbles thrown into a lake amidst a flood of 150,000 people.
The second wave, the third wave...
Solid bullets continued to fall, and a thick layer of corpses had already floated on the river.
The river water was stained dark red, thick like blood porridge, and the Fengtian soldiers wading through the water had to push aside floating corpses with every step.
When the vanguard finally set foot on the south bank, the Shenji Battalion began its second salvo.
"Prepare the shotguns—fire!"
Twenty cannons unleashed a storm of death.
A barrage of shrapnel, consisting of iron balls, gravel, and scrap iron, covered an area of about a hundred paces from the beach.
"Puff puff puff puff puff—"
That was the dull thud of a bullet piercing flesh.
The Fengtian Army soldiers at the very front fell in droves, as if swept away by an invisible giant scythe.
Shields were useless against the shotgun shells, and armor was like paper.
Some people were hit by seven or eight iron balls at the same time, their entire chests exploding open; others were shot in the face, their features turning into a blurry mass of flesh and blood.
A volley of shrapnel felled nearly two thousand people on the beach.
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