Yao Pingzhong, who had made a name for himself at a young age, was acquainted with countless heroes in the Guanzhong region. He was seen carrying a long spear and leading the elite troops of the Japanese army through the chaos of battle, killing seven or eight of them. He was covered in blood, but he became more and more courageous as he fought.
The others also kept swinging their longswords, which sank into people's bones with a cracking sound. If they were a step too slow, they might be pierced through the head by the enemy's spear.
From behind came the deafening shouts of the Song army, and the thunderous sound of war drums echoed across the open plain.
Squads of heavily armed infantrymen advanced down the high slope, their steps remarkably synchronized, creating a resonance that could be felt even from miles away.
Finally, the first group of heavy infantry encountered the Jin cavalry.
The captain roared, "Spear!"
The infantry at the front all raised their shields, crouched down, leaned back slightly, and thrust their spears forward with their other hands. The soldiers in the back used one hand to push the soldiers in front of them, and with the other hand, they also gripped their spears and thrust forward.
The soldier in the third row held a long scythe in one hand and used the other hand to push the soldier in front of him.
As soon as the Jin cavalry charged forward, some of the horses in the front row had their bellies pierced, while others had their legs pierced, causing them to fall over and trip the cavalry behind them. Some cavalrymen and their horses were thrown forward, landing on top of the Song soldiers. The sharp armor pressed against or pierced their faces, and the huge impact could seriously injure several Song soldiers, breaking their bones or even snapping their necks and killing them on the spot.
The Jin cavalry in the rear immediately surged forward like a flood, instantly scattering the Song army's infantry formation.
The entire Song army roared, every vein on their foreheads bulging, as they exerted all their strength to push against their comrades in front of them, forming a solid wall!
Seeing the Jin cavalry close at hand, the Song soldiers in the middle hooked their sickles forward, catching the Jin horse's leg and breaking it. Due to the powerful impact, the horse and cavalry lurched forward together, creating a tidal wave that crashed onto the Song soldiers, killing or wounding both sides.
This tactic was far too brutal; the Song army's death rate was much higher than that of the Jin army!
"boom……"
Suddenly, a deafening thunderclap resounded on the battlefield, and a light cavalry force of about two hundred men sped along a long road plowed out by the Japanese army, rapidly approaching the main force of the Jin army.
The fastest cavalryman threw a thunderbolt, which struck a Jin soldier, blasting him to the ground and also affecting four other cavalrymen nearby.
The two captains of the Thunderclap Cavalry roared, "My men, for the Emperor! For the Great Song Dynasty!"
The two cavalrymen charged into the main force of the Jin army. In their last moments before dying, they roared out the words Zhao Huan had said to all his soldiers: "I have no regrets in this life for being born into China, and in the next life I wish to be born in China again!"
With a huge explosion, hundreds of thunderbolts detonated simultaneously, creating a massive shockwave that instantly turned two hundred Song soldiers into a bloody mess and killed a thousand Jin cavalrymen!
These two hundred Song light cavalrymen were the suicide squad for this battle; the youngest among them was only seventeen years old, and the oldest was only twenty-seven!
When the suicide squad was being selected, the emperor promised that each of them would be granted a baronship after their death and that their families would be treated well!
Many soldiers were willing to be suicide squad members, and ultimately these two hundred were selected.
This reminded Zhao Huan of the story of the first batch of Chinese pilots who died for their country in later generations.
On this ancient land of China, there is no shortage of generous people whenever they encounter people from other places!
This suicide squad's target was Wanyan Zonghan! They had only one objective: after the Japanese army had completely torn apart the Jin army's vanguard, they would charge into the Jin army's main force without hesitation and blow Wanyan Zonghan up!
Unfortunately, Wanyan Zonghan was not in the main force, but he killed the Jin general Wanyan Xishi and Wanyan Yinshuke, who had fought for more than ten rounds and rushed back to join Wanyan Xishi!
Both of these men were capable and skilled generals of the Jin Dynasty. With two of them dead at once, the Jin army's main force was thrown into disarray, and Yao Pingzhong's pressure was greatly reduced. The situation suddenly shifted in favor of the Song army, which was now suppressing the Jin army.
As Zhao Huan rode on his warhorse, a scout reported: "Your Majesty, Wanyan Zonghan was not killed in the bombing. A Jin army has broken through Commander Zhang's right flank and is launching a surprise attack on this side!"
Zhao Huan said coldly, "You son of a bitch, Wanyan Zonghan, you're lucky to be alive! I'll personally go and behead you right now, and see just how lucky you really are!"
He snapped out of his daze and roared, "My men, drive the Jurchen invaders out of the territory of our Great Song Dynasty! This is the moment for men to make their mark!"
"Long live the Emperor! Long live the Great Song Dynasty!"
Zhao Huan led a main force of troops, accompanied by Zhong Shidao, Han Shizhong, and others, and charged forward.
Zong Ze frowned deeply. His scout reported, "Lord Zong, the Jin army's rear is currently undefended!"
Zong Ze asked, "Where is Wanyan Zonghan right now?"
"Please forgive me, Your Excellency! Wanyan Zonghan has disappeared without a trace!"
"Order the entire army to immediately attack the Jin army's rear!"
"Where is Yue Fei?!"
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I'm giving you two thousand cavalrymen, and I command you to lead the vanguard and fight the enemy with all your might!"
"Your subordinate obeys!"
Although Zong Ze's army numbered 100,000, he left 50,000 in Cizhou for defense, fearing that the Jin army might take a risk and use cavalry to launch a large-scale flanking attack on the defense line north of the Yellow River.
Of the 50,000 troops that marched north, only 3,000 were cavalry, 2,000 of whom were given to Yue Fei. This shows that Zong Ze valued Yue Fei, a young man he had only known for a short time. This value was not because Wang Kuian had told him that this was someone the emperor had personally requested, but because Zong Ze found Yue Fei to be the most outstanding general he had ever seen!
Seeing that Zong Ze had given all two thousand cavalrymen to Yue Fei, the generals Chen Cui and others were jealous, but they remained silent. They did not think highly of Yue Fei, who had just been promoted to captain. They felt that Zong Ze was showing too much favoritism to Yue Fei. This time, as the vanguard, he would either lose his life or escape!
"Wang Gui, Zhang Xian, each of you will lead a thousand cavalrymen to fight alongside me!"
"yes!"
Meanwhile, the emperor was leading a group of people on a wild run when they soon encountered Wanyan Zonghan. Both armies were already red-eyed with rage from the battlefield atmosphere. With their blood boiling, they grabbed their spears and knives, mounted their warhorses, and started fighting!
Zhao Huan had been practicing a few moves with Han Shizhong these past few days. Although he wasn't very proficient, with the emperor's excellent preparations, he was still capable of fighting Han Shizhong head-on.
This is the legendary story of "paying players taking down free players"!
At a distance of 500 meters, the Song army began to use the Divine Arm Crossbow. A powerful volley of crossbow bolts wiped out the Jin army's front-line cavalry, and the two armies clashed.
"Surround and kill the Emperor of Song with all our might!"
Such an order came from the Jin army.
This time, Zhao Huan was much more skilled than the last time. As soon as he entered the fray, he killed a Jin soldier. The Jin soldier was originally holding a spear. After the Jin army had finally managed to break through the Song army's layers of defenses, he was the closest to the emperor and was about to thrust his spear at him. However, Han Shizhong blocked him. Before the Jin soldier could react, the emperor cut him in half at the waist with a single stroke.
The breach in the defenses surrounding the emperor was quickly repaired.
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