In ancient times, cavalrymen were all elite. Although Nianmur led the thousand cavalrymen and was surrounded by heavy enemies, he was not panicked. The Song army had only two or three hundred people.
Nhamu drew the long sword from his waist and pointed the tip of the sword: "Get through them!"
But before the cavalry could charge, the Song army suddenly gave way.
Nianmur had fought against the Song army several times and knew that their fighting ability was as poor as a piece of cake. He thought that they were afraid of him.
Nianmur smiled and pointed to the road ahead: "Break out of their encirclement and retreat!"
Everyone pulled up the reins and rode their horses, and the war horses neighed as they began to charge.
You have to admire the Jin people's war horses. They are almost all good horses with long and strong legs and smooth coats.
As the cavalry launched their charge, dust flew under their feet. The horses' hooves pounded the ground with such force that if the Song soldiers raised their spears to resist, they would surely be trampled to death by the horses or hacked to death by the mounted Jin soldiers. Therefore, these Song soldiers dared not resist, but simply pretended to hold their spears, making way for the Jin soldiers to gallop through.
Nianmur rushed out of Yilong Town with almost no effort. He looked back at the Song army behind him who were holding spears in a daze, and looked down upon Yue Fei's army even more. The Yue Family Army was nothing special.
If Nianmur's thousand cavalrymen were somewhat afraid of the Song army in the town, they were completely free once they left the town.
It seemed too early to be happy. The Song army did not lack cavalry, it just had fewer.
He saw dozens of Song cavalrymen chasing up from behind. Nianmur was very surprised. Were these dozens of Song cavalrymen coming to die?
What was strange was that the Song soldiers on horseback had no weapons in their hands, and each of them was holding a large bag.
Nianmur was even more puzzled. Could it be that these cavalrymen wanted to surrender?
Suddenly, the horses under the crotch of the Jin soldiers in front neighed loudly, knelt down, and threw the Jin soldiers off their horses. Then the cavalrymen in front pulled the reins to stop their horses.
Only then did Nianmur see clearly that the official road ahead was covered with dense corals and caltrops.
Caltrops are inexpensive and easy to make. They are a type of iron spiked obstacle used by the ancient Chinese military. Also known as caltrops, they have four protruding spikes several inches long, with one pointing upwards when they touch the ground.
When Nianmur looked back, he saw dozens of Song soldiers behind him unpacking their bags and scattering the contents on the road, which turned out to be some caltrops.
Nianmur was shocked. The caltrops were pointed upwards. Even the retreat route was covered with them. These things were easy for humans to deal with; at worst, they could just wade through them. But the horses were different. The caltrops were too numerous to avoid. Many of the horses' hooves were instantly pierced by the caltrops, causing them to kneel in pain and throw the Jin soldiers off their mounts.
The Jin soldiers who were thrown off their horses were stabbed by the caltrops on the ground and all cried out in pain.
"Clang! Clang! Clang!" The Song army, which had retreated just now, now advanced step by step. The footsteps were loud, and only then did Nianmur see clearly that the Song army was wearing iron boots. Naturally, they were not afraid of caltrops.
Seeing a gap in the northeast corner, Nianmur's men rushed in from the northeast corner. At this time, a small group of Song soldiers found the gap and threw a bundle of caltrops over. Several horses that were running slowly fell to their knees.
The Song army advanced steadily, spears raised. Surrounded by caltrops, Nianmur and his men's horses were unable to advance or retreat. Worse still, the cavalrymen were armed only with short weapons like scimitars. Fighting the Song army's spears meant getting in close, or else they would suffer.
"Dismount! Prepare for battle!" Although Nianmur was not panicked, he had been on the battlefield before after all.
So the Jin soldiers drew their swords and dismounted, forming into formations of three or two to resist the enemy.
But the Song army was very insidious. They threw caltrops as they charged, and the circle of the Jin soldiers became smaller and smaller.
By the time the two sides engaged in close combat, the Jin soldiers' feet were already covered with these insidious iron weapons.
The war horses neighed and circled, and one of them accidentally knelt down.
The Jin soldiers were even more unlucky. The longer they were, the stronger they were. Their short swords were not suited to ground combat. Furthermore, the countless caltrops on the ground meant that if they stepped on them carelessly, they would bleed profusely and fall to the ground. Then, they would instantly become sitting ducks for the Song army's spears.
There were only more than 300 Song soldiers. They wore iron boots and held spears, and they rushed and stabbed the Jin soldiers. The Jin soldiers could only defend themselves but had no power to fight back.
Nianmur was furious: "The Song pigs are cunning!" As he said this, he led his horse to retreat. Dozens of Jin soldiers in front of him were using branches to clear the caltrops on the road.
Finally, they cleared a way out, and Nianmur jumped on his horse and galloped north with the remaining cavalry.
In this battle, the Jin soldiers lost more than 300 men and captured nearly 500 war horses. From then on, Jin Wushu dared not send troops out to "hunt for game" again.
…
The Jingxi Army and the Huainan Army occupied Gufang, Nanjing Prefecture, and also occupied Lang County and Gu'an County. The army marched straight to Yanjing, which shocked the Jin Kingdom and shook the government and the public.
The 70,000-strong army from Yanzhou and Xuzhou has arrived at Dezhou to meet up with the emperor, ready to go at any time.
Zhao Huan urgently ordered Zong Ze's troops to take over the defense of Shanxi, while at the same time urgently ordered Yue's army to attack north. Zhao Huan also led his 30,000 imperial guards to the north, his goal being to push forward and recapture the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun.
At this moment, the Huining Prefecture in Shangjing, the capital of the Jin Dynasty, was in an uproar, and the Jin Emperor Wanyan Sheng was frightened out of his wits.
"My dear Lord Zahan, what should we do? My Great Jin has suffered a series of defeats and is almost out of troops. The Song have already occupied Nanjing Prefecture. We are inviting a wolf into our home."
Wanyan Sheng urgently summoned Prime Minister Zahan to the palace to discuss the matter. Zahan said, "Your Majesty, Zonghan, Zongbi, Wanyan Gao, and other generals all advocated war with the Song, but ended up bringing disaster upon themselves. They always thought the Song were weak, but now the Song Emperor is leading the army in person. They all say he was incompetent and a tyrant. In fact, he was biding his time, waiting for the right opportunity to strike."
Wanyan Sheng sighed, "Now that we've lost more than we gained, what's the point of saying all this? The most important thing right now is how to save our Great Jin from this crisis."
Zahan thought for a moment, then said, "Your Majesty, the only option now is to seek peace."
"What!" Wanyan Sheng was shocked. He was asked to sue for peace. The Jin Dynasty had always suppressed the Song Dynasty. Now he was asked to sue for peace with the Song Dynasty. How could he save face?
"No," Wanyan Sheng shook his head after weighing the pros and cons. "If we ask for peace, Xixia will definitely submit to the Song. Mongolia will also make moves, and we will be attacked from all sides."
"How can we fight the Song without seeking peace? Our Great Jin's elite troops were slain by Wanyan Zonghan and Wanyan Gao. It's hard enough to defend ourselves, let alone hold on to the Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun."
Wanyan Sheng trembled and took Zhahan's hand: "I didn't expect the Song people to be like this, I didn't expect the Song people to be like this." It was exactly the same words Zhao Ji said back then, even the tone was the same. The difference was that one was talking about the Great Jin, and the other was talking about the Great Song.
PS: Thanks to @九王爷彡 for the reward.
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