On the vast plain, Li Hongji, the commander-in-chief of the army, and Zhang Bingwu, the deputy commander-in-chief, stood beside him, looking at the tens of thousands of government troops in front of them.
Both of them looked extremely tense.
This was their first time fighting against tens of thousands of government troops.
Moreover, it was a head-to-head battle on a vast plain.
Because they collided head-on, they were unprepared.
They could only send their precious old elite troops.
If it were any other peasant army, they would have been defeated long ago.
But the current situation is also very bad.
Their cherished old army, under pressure from the opposing government forces, was beginning to falter.
Meanwhile, in the opposing government army...
Sitting in the middle of the army, Li Jinglong watched as the peasant army was on the verge of collapse.
He also breathed a sigh of relief.
Great! Those peasant soldiers finally couldn't hold on any longer.
He was initially shocked and frightened when he encountered such a large army.
After all, there are hundreds of thousands of people on the other side.
But once you start doing it, you realize it's not all that great.
Just as he was watching Li Jun across from him, who was about to give up.
Suddenly, a well-armored cavalry force appeared in the distance, charging fiercely towards their main army.
Upon witnessing this scene, Li Jinglong immediately waved the military flag in his hand, intending to prepare the corresponding military formation for defense.
Faced with the overwhelming pressure of tens of thousands of cavalry charging forward, the already poorly trained Huguang army was caught off guard and in disarray.
With a burst of mounted archery as the Jurchen cavalry approached, the already chaotic army formation completely collapsed.
Afterwards, the Jurchen cavalry charged straight into the army of Huguang, and the army was instantly thrown into chaos.
Meanwhile, Li Hongji and Zhang Bingwu, who were on the front lines, saw the chaos in the enemy army.
He immediately shouted:
"The officers and soldiers are in disarray! The officers and soldiers are in disarray! Take advantage of this situation and attack!"
The peasant army, fighting desperately at the front, heard that the government troops on the other side were in disarray.
Seeing the hope of victory, their morale was immediately boosted.
They began to desperately attack forward.
Li Jinglong, among the tens of thousands of troops in the Huguang army, watched the Jurchen army marching towards his banner.
The chaos within the army was unstoppable.
He was terrified, and then he mounted his horse and fled with his personal guards.
The already chaotic army collapsed immediately after losing its commander.
Li Jinglong, protected by his personal guards, ran at breakneck speed ahead.
The Jurchen cavalry behind them were delayed by the fleeing soldiers and were unable to catch up with the fleeing Li Jinglong for a time.
With the advantage of the Jurchen cavalry, most of the tens of thousands of troops in Huguang were surrounded.
Seeing that they could not escape the encirclement of the Jurchen cavalry, and with a large number of peasant troops launching a coordinated attack from behind, they were caught off guard.
Having lost command and in utter chaos, tens of thousands of Hubei troops began to kneel and surrender.
Faced with the surrendered troops from Huguang, countless peasant soldiers who harbored great hatred for the government and soldiers immediately began to massacre them.
Upon witnessing this scene, Li Hongji, who was at a distance, immediately ordered his men to stop the massacre of the surrendered soldiers from Huguang.
He then ordered his men to begin accepting their surrender.
He had just witnessed the fighting prowess of these officers and soldiers.
Although they were still no match for the elite troops under Li Qin's command, they were much stronger than the refugees and displaced people they had.
As Li Hongji strictly forbade the massacre of these surrendered officers and soldiers, all of them were captured by Li Hongji.
Those officers and soldiers who refused to surrender were slaughtered by the combined forces of the peasant army and the Jurchen cavalry.
As night approached, the battle finally came to an end.
Teams of officers and soldiers who had not escaped became their prisoners.
Meanwhile, countless peasant soldiers began cleaning up the battlefield.
After stripping the fallen soldiers naked, they threw them aside.
The weapons and armor that were taken from them ended up on the bodies of the men in Li Hongji and Zhang Bingwu's old camp.
In the main camp, Li Hongji and several other major peasant army leaders raised their cups to Wanyan Gun and Liu Shengwu, saying:
"This time, we owe it all to the two of you; otherwise, we wouldn't have achieved such a great victory."
As they spoke, everyone present raised their glasses and looked at the two of them.
Many people even looked at Wanyan Gun, who was standing in front of them, with fear in their eyes.
Today's battle against the Huguang government forces, and the ferocity displayed by Wanyan Gun and his Jurchen cavalry, deeply shocked many present.
Such a terrifying army in battle was something they had never seen before among the government troops in the heart of the Central Plains.
However, among all those pairs of eyes, there were a few that looked at Wanyan Gun with not fear, but vigilance and apprehension.
They were Qi Anyao behind Li Hongji, Sun Chaozong behind Zhang Bingwu, and Li Ningyu and others. They all looked at Wanyan Gun with apprehension.
Li Hongji raised his wine glass and continued:
"Guys, eat well, drink well, and rest well today. Tell the brothers that tomorrow you're coming with me to Nanyang to rob money, grain, and women."
After he finished speaking, everyone present said:
"Alright, follow General Li, let's rob money, rob grain, and rob women."
Looking at the scene before me, and recalling their performance on the battlefield today.
Sitting at the main table, Liu Shengwu couldn't help but think to himself.
A mob.
Nanyang.
"Open the door! Open the door now!"
A group of defeated soldiers arrived at the city of Nanyang and shouted to the defenders on the city walls.
Who are you?
At this moment, a soldier on the city wall saw the rout below and asked...
After they finished speaking, a general dressed in extremely disheveled armor stepped forward and said:
"I am Li Jinglong, please open the door quickly."
"General Li?"
The soldiers guarding the city wall were also startled when they heard Li Jinglong's name.
Because Li Jinglong had just led a large army on an expedition not long ago, hadn't he?
Why are you back so soon?
And why are you in such a sorry state?
He immediately realized that Li Jinglong was very likely to be defeated.
He then immediately went to Dong Zhonglou's residence to report.
Upon hearing the report, Dong Zhonglou immediately learned that Li Jinglong had been defeated.
This means that the Li family is not far from him.
He then immediately addressed the general before him:
"Quickly, quickly mobilize the army, and bring along the gold, silver and valuables that I told you to prepare long ago."
We hurried towards Huguang.
As he spoke, Dong Zhonglou paced back and forth.
Suddenly remembering something, he said to the general in front of him:
"By the way, we must bring General Li Jinglong with us."
He was a general under Governor-General He of Huguang.
This is a good opportunity for him to help us open the gates of Xiangyang; otherwise, we won't be able to enter Huguang.
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