"After crossing the river," Zhao Jiu ignored the commotion and looked at Liu Yan and gave him a serious warning. "The frontline of the Jin army must have already engaged in battle. At that time, the entire Red Heart Team does not need to hide too much, but rushes eastward away from the battlefield. If you encounter a small group of Jin troops, you should actively rebuke them and ask them to get out of the way."
The people behind him came to their senses instantly after hearing what he said, but they did not try to persuade him anymore. Instead, they admired Emperor Zhao for being thoughtful in such a hurry. You must know that Liu Yan and the Chixin Team were both from Liaodong, and their accents were exactly the same as those of the cavalry in the Jin Army. This was probably why Yang Yi, who had a higher status and a more reliable identity, went to lure the enemy, but it was Liu Yan who led the Chixin Team to follow him.
In this way, the eight hundred cavalrymen carefully crossed the Baihe River, then mounted their horses, protected Emperor Zhao and several ministers in the center, and rode eastward.
Facts have proved that there is nothing wrong with Zhao Jiu's decision to cross the river before dawn without waiting for the Jin army to pass completely, because all the attention of the Jin army was on the south. Although they encountered a few scattered cavalry units along the way, they were all focused on hurrying on their way and did not notice the Red Heart Team cavalry whose attire was slightly different in the faint morning light.
In the morning, the entire army arrived safely at Qingtai Town, dozens of miles east of Nanyang, and crossed the Bishui River on a stone bridge.
Up to this point, the entire army took a short break, drank water, ate food, took off their armor and fed the horses, and then, without any intention of being stingy with their precious war horses, they set off again in a hurry - this was nothing, because the reason why they treated war horses as treasures on weekdays was for this situation!
But the problem was that Emperor Zhao led the way and actually headed eastward instead of heading south along the Bishui River!
At this time, not to mention the soldiers below, the second-in-command in the team, the Imperial Censor Hu Yin, who followed in a panic, finally realized that Emperor Zhao was not going to Xiangyang! Instead, he was going to the east... Going to the east, it was impossible for him to meet Zhang Jun, nine out of ten times he was going to Yanling!
Of course, at this point, among the few people accompanying him, perhaps only Hu Zhongcheng, who would be an absolute waste once military issues were involved, had just reacted!
But on the other hand, once he no longer has to consider military issues, Hu Mingzhong immediately becomes the extremely smart man who used to control Han Shizhong like a child!
Therefore, once he woke up, Hu Yin, who was holding the horse's neck and following behind Emperor Zhao in a daze, immediately felt happy and worried.
The good news was that the emperor did not give up and did not choose to evade Xiangyang. He was still the emperor Zhao who crossed the Huai River on a snowy night to meet Zhang Jun. The bad news was that, considering his previous disputes with Liu Ziyu, Li Guang and others, Hu Yin began to doubt the reason why the emperor had to take him on this trip... He couldn't be worried that if Hu Mingzhong stayed in Nanyang, it would ruin the military situation, right?
In the eyes of the government, is Hu Mingzhong just someone who will ruin the situation?
Thinking of this, the Chief Censor felt both ashamed and angry, but he could only grit his teeth and remain silent, because there was no point in saying or thinking anything at this time.
In the afternoon, eight hundred cavalrymen arrived at the Zhongyang Mountain area at the easternmost end of the old Tangzhou, now Nanyang Prefecture. The entire army slowed down as they passed through the mountainous area. Then Emperor Zhao ordered a second attempt to divert water and food. After they set off again, he ordered half of the soldiers to abandon their horses and go to Biyang. The remaining four hundred people, each riding two horses, continued to march!
By the time Emperor Zhao was desperately rushing to Yanling, the outcome of the battle in Nanyang had already been decided. And the facts proved that the Song army had basically no ability to fight back against the large group of Jin cavalry in the wild.
Even though Wang De, Yang Yi Zhong, and Zhang Jing had been warned that they could return to the city immediately once they had successfully lured the enemy, they turned back north as soon as they sensed the Jin army's attack at dawn; even though the three generals consciously crossed the river slowly and left the heavy baggage on the inside of the Baihe River so that they could move lightly; even though they had already set up a line of defense against cavalry on the east side of the Baihe River...but facing the flank attack led by Wanyan Balixu who personally led 10,000 cavalry, the Song army still seemed so vulnerable!
After only half an hour of fighting, the entire Song army was in rout mode. The three generals had no choice but to lead the troops they could control and try to guide some of them back north.
But the Song army's bad luck was not over yet. After dawn, in addition to Wanyan Balisu's quick attack on the outside of Baihe River, Wanyan Wushu did not give up blocking and encircling the inside of Baihe River after learning the news. In the morning, Han Chang led an equally large number of cavalry to swarm in and quickly join the battle. It was obvious that he wanted to attack Wanyan Balisu across the river together! Completely defeat this army they had been waiting for for a long time!
At this time, fighting had no meaning for the Song army, and the entire army basically fled as soon as possible.
On the city wall of Nanyang, countless officials who were thrown into chaos and disputes because the emperor suddenly went south to Xiangyang, looked at such a tragic scene and basically lost the desire to argue - this scene was too similar to the defeated troops outside Dongjing City during the Jing Kang period.
It can even be said that the current situation seems to be worse than during the Jing Kang period, because no one knows the safety of Emperor Zhao after such a devastating defeat. Once Emperor Zhao dies, all will be fine.
Fortunately, the two Lu ministers showed great calmness and execution ability at this time. With their lenient and strict approach, a certain order was maintained in the city, the artillery positions were activated in time, and the troops inside the city immediately went out of the city and deployed along the sheep and horse wall, which effectively curbed the actions of the Jin cavalry outside the city and allowed a large number of defeated Song soldiers to escape.
However, this large number was only relative to the tragic scene during the day. When the defeated soldiers were checked at night, it was found that Wang De's troops, Yang Yizhong's troops, and Zhang Jing's troops, totaling 10,000 people, only 4,000 entered the city, and the big stronghold in the east of the city was recaptured by the Jin army. The three generals came back alive, but except for Wang De, the other two were injured.
My dear, there is more to this chapter. Please click on the next page to continue reading. It’s even more exciting later!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
