In the drizzle, the Song Dynasty official and Lu Yihao nodded to each other. Lu Yihao turned back to Huolu City, and Zhao Jiu stood up and headed west. There were only a few close ministers by his side, including Liu Yan and seven or eight hundred imperial guards. Even among them, there were Yuan Weiyi and a hundred or eighty Japanese samurai who were just filling the numbers.
Zhao Jiu even asked Shao Chengzhang to take the remaining half pot of wine.
In addition, Emperor Zhao's route was somewhat detached from the masses. After entrusting the Chixin Team in the Imperial Guard to Qu Duan, who had always been worried about the heavy casualties of his subordinates, he stood up straight, then mounted his horse and headed west, obviously intending to take the extremely safe and secure stone bridge to cross the Taiping River.
Of course, even so, Qu Duan did not think much about it, or he did not have time to think much about it. He just hurriedly urged the troops to cross the river and support the front-line troops in an attempt to completely control the high ground... and by the way, clear the place for the official and his dragon flag to stay.
The last main battle cavalry of the Song army crossed the river at a high speed, while Emperor Zhao, wearing dark gold armor, went straight west and stopped behind the stone bridge, that is, behind Wu Jie's big banner... Under Wu Jie's gaze, the emperor waited for a huge and strange "reinforcement"... Although it was a bit hasty, Liu Yan still tried his best to distribute the 20,000 Dangxiang auxiliary troops and the 10,000 Taihang Yijun auxiliary troops who were not added to the imperial camp in the Hedong area.
These people did not have iron armor, and most of them only wore leather armor and carried spears and swords. The soft bows were useless at this time and were simply abandoned.
However, it is worth mentioning that when they set out from the camp, in accordance with Emperor Zhao's order, they almost removed all the barricades in front of the Song army camp, and then carried them behind Emperor Zhao's dragon banner in groups of several people.
Auxiliary troops are auxiliary troops after all. Although there is an officer system, it still took a long time to gather and advance these 30,000 auxiliary troops. During this time, the various units of Qu Duan had already been engaged in a battle with the chaotic troops in various parts of the highlands... Qu Duan also had his difficulties. It was not that he did not want to concentrate his troops, but that the battlefield was too cramped. He had neither the command experience and ability to concentrate tens of thousands of cavalry, nor the tactical space.
But even so, the sudden deployment of 13,000 to 14,000 cavalrymen into the battlefield immediately changed the situation on the battlefield. The originally active Yelu Mawu and Wanyan Wolun tribes immediately lost the initiative and could no longer support the friendly forces on the high ground. The morale of the troops on the high ground was greatly reduced for a time, so that more than half of the entire high ground was controlled by the Song army.
It can be said that this attack caused the Jin army to shrink across the board.
At this time, Emperor Zhao finally set out again. Behind him were not only 30,000 Tangut-Han auxiliary soldiers who were carrying thousands of simple barricades and marching in different directions, but also dozens of people whose faces kept changing between pale and red for consultation... These people were driven out of the city by Lu Yihao to accompany him.
Without further ado, the 30,000 auxiliary troops deployed across the line, dividing into dozens of groups to cross the river according to the pontoon bridge previously built by Li Yanxian's troops. Emperor Zhao, with his eunuchs, close ministers, and advisors, led his imperial guards, and marched towards the stone bridge in the middle, holding the dragon banner.
When they reached the stone bridge, Wu Jie, who had been prepared, knelt down on the ground.
Zhao Jiu sat on his horse without saying a word, and after the other party completed the ceremony, he just nodded slightly. Then Wu Jie's "commanding" large banner automatically moved to the side of the Jinwu banner, and Wu Jie himself stepped forward without hesitation to personally lead the official's horse and lead him onto the stone bridge.
At this time, the noise caused by the auxiliary soldiers had already alarmed the Song army soldiers along the river on the other side of the Taiping River... The battle lasted for so long, and coupled with the Song army's death order of "anyone who turns around to cross the river without being seriously injured will be beheaded", the area along the south bank of the Taiping River had long become a place for the lightly wounded, defeated, and exhausted soldiers of the Song army to gather and rest. Countless soldiers were gasping for breath, lying stiffly, hiding, and waiting in the mud.
But after hearing such a commotion and seeing the dragon flag crossing the bridge, countless wounded and defeated Song soldiers could not help but look forward to it. Among them, the defeated soldiers unconsciously gathered towards the direction of the stone bridge with a certain hesitation.
Of course Zhao Jiu saw this scene, and he watched it very carefully… He saw a large group of wounded soldiers lying on a clean slope that could not retain water. The rain flowed down the slope, sweeping the blood into the river, so that the muddy yellow river water was faintly dark; he saw exhausted soldiers sitting in puddles with spears in their arms, their hands and feet were all soaked white, but the mud on their cheeks had hardened into lumps because they had avoided the rain for a long time. At this time, they stared at him, the official, as if they had lost their souls, turning their necks, so that mud and water dripped from their beards; he also saw familiar-looking officers running towards him from a distance when he was crossing the river, but he stopped for a while every few steps, and then started again, but his speed slowed down, and he seemed to be a little timid.
However, Zhao Jiu, who watched the whole scene, neither dismounted to comfort or praise the wounded, nor reprimanded the defeated troops, nor did he let the squad leaders blow the horns to allow the officers to take advantage of the situation to reorganize the troops.
Because there is no need.
The official said nothing, but asked Wu Jie to lead him to the small slope in front of the stone bridge, and then he stayed there for a while with the Jinwu flag.
But just a moment later, like ripples caused by a stone thrown into a lake, the Song army on the riverside that had been stuck in a solidified state was continuously reactivated... More and more Song army's defeated soldiers and lightly wounded soldiers rushed over, immediately surrounding the small slope, while the troops and soldiers from the outer periphery were still rushing over.
Zhao Jiu stood right on the hill, looking around, seeing countless pairs of eyes staring at him. He wanted to say something, but was still as speechless as before... He was usually known for his sharp words and was usually best at playing the role of a wise ruler, but at this moment, he seemed as if someone had strangled him.
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