Seeing the sudden change here, Qu Duan changed his tactical choice for the second time. He reined in his horse, turned around with the Iron Elephant with a silk cover, and personally charged towards the white bull banner, but from the flank, as if trying to completely cover the white bull banner.
There was a chaotic fight between the two sides in three places.
The battlefield here was no different from the surrounding places for a moment, with blood and flesh flying everywhere and lives as precious as paper. But there was no doubt that Qu Duan's 2,000 armored cavalry were not only extremely strong, but also had been conserving their energy, so Qu Duan had a slight advantage at the beginning.
At this point in the battle, both sides were fighting for consumption and waiting. But there was no doubt that the Song army was the stronger side, especially those unarmored and crowded light cavalry and fighting men, who were unknown when they would collapse, and then trigger a chain reaction.
However, as the fierce battle continued for more than a quarter of an hour, an active evacuation finally occurred. But the first to evacuate were not the light cavalry of any Western Xia tribe, but the armored cavalry of Xingqing Prefecture in front of Qu Duan. These noble sons of Xingqing Prefecture who were temporarily recruited were the first to lose their discipline after discovering that they could not withstand the armored cavalry of the Song army.
At first, it was just scattered nobles' sons, then groups, and finally the entire army was shaken and collapsed. These people finally hardened their hearts and turned around to flee, leaving Liang Wang Weiming Anhui and the king's Bai Niu Banner, as well as the infantrymen who were descendants of the tribes at the foot of the Helan Mountains, to be surrounded by the Song cavalry led by Qu Duan.
The benefits of this are obvious. They can escape back to Xingqing Prefecture and assist the king in continuing to defend his homeland.
The price of this was also very obvious. It was all their fault that Bai Niu Banner and Bu Ba Zi were surrounded. It was conceivable that once Bai Niu Banner was submerged, countless tribal light cavalry and Zhuang Linglang on the battlefield would be drained of their strength and would collapse directly. However, due to the extremely tight formation, it would be difficult to turn around for a while and they would fall into the massacre of the Song army.
The afternoon sun is neither too hot nor too soft, and the Yellow River flows neither too fast nor too slow.
The Buba tribes on the periphery were caught up in the massacre, and many of them began to try to jump into the river. Their destruction was almost imminent, but Weiming An Hui, protected by the golden-armored warriors, still sat under the white ox banner, but he did not utter a word... A familiar tribal leader took off his armor and jumped into the river, and tried to persuade him to join in, but he turned a deaf ear to them.
The golden-armored warriors also realized King Liang's intention. Shangfu, who had been guarded against by Li Ganshun for half his life, was determined to hold on until the last moment to buy time for the king and even for the noble children of Xingqing Prefecture who had just betrayed them.
If you cannot win this battle, you can still defend the city. If you cannot defend the city, you can still escape... The Dabai Gao Kingdom has been established for a hundred years. No matter whether it is useful or not, there should always be someone who tries their best.
It has to be said that Weiming An Hui's action was successful. The armored cavalry led by Qu Duan and the soldiers under Zhang Jing all noticed this side and gave up the pursuit. They were determined to capture the golden-crowned Dangxiang nobleman who was being guarded at all costs by the golden-armored warriors under the white ox banner.
And then they succeeded.
The blood-stained white ox banner that still looked extremely beautiful was snatched away by Wang Jing's subordinates at the risk of their lives, and the golden crown with a slightly bent outer beam was snatched away by Qu Duan's subordinates. The surrounding Xixia tribal cavalry also began to gradually disintegrate as the banner fell, but the head with gray hair and beard was angrily thrown into the Yellow River by Qu Duan.
The King of Liang of Western Xia, who made indelible contributions to the archaeology of Western Xia in later generations, was buried in the Yellow River with his head and body separated. The tomb he built at the foot of the Helan Mountains was now empty, and it was impossible for any words to be passed down through it to let his name be passed down to future generations.
There is no way. Even now, the name Weiming Anhui has been forgotten for a long time. After confirming this person's identity, everyone was disappointed... It should be noted that with Xingqing Prefecture in front, the battle is a foregone conclusion. Compared with the great achievement that will be achieved tomorrow, a so-called King Liang is really worthless.
The collapse caused by the fall of Bainiu Banner continued and swept across the entire riverside battlefield. Yue Fei, who took over the command again, did not hesitate at all and directly ordered the entire army to retreat.
After receiving the signal, the cavalrymen woke up from the bloody and pointless pursuit. All the attacking troops, including Qu Duan and Zhang Jing, returned to their ranks, and then the entire army reorganized and continued their march.
In any case, the Xixia people's attempts to stop and delay the Song army in the wild completely failed, and the Song army repelled the Xixia people. They marched until sunset that day and stopped at the river bank about 20 miles south of Xingqing Prefecture.
At this time, although it was almost dark, they could still see the Western Xia Royal Palace, or rather the dark shadow of the Western Xia Royal Palace, located between the city of Xingqing Prefecture and the Yellow River. The building was too conspicuous.
No one asked to launch a night attack or anything like that, so Yue Fei directly ordered the entire army to continue camping properly, then treat the wounded, bury the dead, organize the ordnance, report the shortage of ordnance, and then eat and drink their fill. The Jinshi accompanying the army told some anecdotes, and finally the entire army had a good rest for a whole night... and that night, the Xixia people did not attack after all.
On the second day, which was the early morning of the tenth day of April, the Song army got up early, had a big meal, and then began to adjust the formation of the entire army. This time, it was no longer a complicated emergency formation, but a restoration of the normal structure of the entire army, and a simple standard marching formation with infantry in the center and cavalry on both wings.
The only thing worth mentioning is that the rafts in the river were untied in public and allowed to disperse, the baggage was opened and distributed as much as possible, and everyone received the maximum replenishment of military equipment and supplies. The six thousand civilians also held bows and swords, guarding the wheelbarrows containing rations and military equipment, and lined up behind the formation.
The morning light shone from above the Yellow River behind them. The Xingqing City in the distance was not without movement. The scouts reported clearly, but even without the scouts' reports, the Song army could see clearly that the royal palace in the east of the city and the Buddhist temple in the north of the city had been partially burned down by the Xixia people to ensure the safety of the city's defense.
Although it is known that the defense of the city has always required the cleaning of the houses outside the city, it is still rare for the Xixia people to take the initiative to clean up their own palace. It seems that the Xixia people's determination to defend the city is still unshakable, and it seems that there is still a story to be told about this battle.
However, after yesterday's battle, no one doubted today's success or failure anymore... They were very sure that the Xixia people had been stabbed in the heart by their own people and were so weak that they could not withstand any more blows.
"Jiedu." Perhaps because yesterday was a bit unlucky, Qu Duan couldn't hold back and urged Yue Fei directly. "March!"
The surrounding military officers, including the Vice Minister of War Hu Hongxiu, all looked at Yue Fei. To be honest, they could no longer hold back.
Yue Fei, who had been standing by the river for a long time, narrowed his eyes and looked up along the green smoke rising from the Xixia Palace in front of him. He saw the Helan Mountains, which looked like a galloping horse, facing him. He finally stopped hesitating and raised the spear in his hand high, then smashed it down again:
"The entire army is marching westward. Today we swear to conquer the Helan Mountains and put an end to the century-old cause of our country!"
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