This man was Yue Fei. His Pingding Army was decimated by the Jin army, and the remnants scattered. Ten generals (low-ranking military officers) of Yue Fei's squad were killed in action. The troops, with Yue Fei at the head, retreated towards Taiyuan, only to be surrounded by Jin troops west of the city. Relying on his exceptional martial arts, Yue Fei forged ahead, breaking through the Jin defenses and reaching the west gate.
The pacification envoy Guo Zixuan was extremely impressed by this brave young general. What the Song Dynasty lacked was such a capable and combat-ready general.
"Yue Fei, you came from outside the city. Do you know the movements of the Jin soldiers?" Guo Zixuan asked.
Yue Fei bowed and said, "Your Excellency, I see the Jin troops' flags moving south. They must have left some troops behind to siege the city, while the generals headed towards Bianjing."
Guo Zixuan was shocked: "Wouldn't Bianjing be even more dangerous? I wonder when the reinforcements from Hedong and Shaanxi will arrive."
Guo Zixuan was too optimistic. Little did he know that 40,000 Song reinforcements from Hedong and Shaanxi were currently fighting the Jin troops on the northern line of the Fen River.
In the Jin camp, Wanyan Zonghan, the deputy marshal of the western route, was drinking and having fun with his two captured concubines in his tent.
Wanyan Zonghan, with a mink cape revealing his muscular figure and broad shoulders, had his hair tied back with a pair of small braids on either side, and in his hand he held a large deer leg.
A messenger rushed in from outside the door: "Deputy Marshal, we have cut off the two reinforcements of the Song army. General Nianmur has personally led his men to split the Song army into two sections. Deputy Marshal, should we launch an attack now?"
Wanyan Zonghan pushed aside the two concubines, threw away the deer leg, and stood up with the wine bowl in his left hand: "Blow the horn and start the attack!"
On the northern line of the Fen River, the Song reinforcements were cut off in the middle by the Jin troops, leaving them unable to support each other. The Song generals desperately ordered their troops to converge in the middle, but they did not realize that this would lead to an ambush by the Jin troops.
"Woo woo woo woo~" the horn blew, which was the signal for the Jin soldiers to attack.
"Wow, wow, wow..."
"Woo-wah, woo-wah, woo-wah..."
The Song army was surrounded by Jin soldiers on all sides.
These Jin soldiers were like native savages, shouting "Woo-la, Woo-la" and rushing towards the panicked Song army.
The Jin were renowned for their bravery in battle. Their soldiers admired brave warriors, who were rewarded with more wealth and women, while those who were timid and cowardly were despised and spurned. Consequently, no one feared death in battle.
The two sides fought in a melee, and the Jin soldiers were like wolves among a flock of sheep, cutting the panicked Song army into pieces like melons and vegetables, forcing them to abandon their armor and weapons.
Wanyan Zonghan led 10,000 elite soldiers, and the rest stayed in Taiyuan to continue the siege. It was these 10,000 elite soldiers that cut off the 40,000 Song reinforcements from the middle and surrounded them on all sides.
Seeing the situation was not good, Song general Yang Guangan led his troops in a desperate attempt to break out. The Song soldiers trampled on each other, and countless people were trampled to death or drowned.
In the battle on the northern line of Fen River, the Song army lost more than 10,000 soldiers, and Taiyuan was in even greater danger from then on.
At this moment, the Jin army led by Wanyan Zongmou, the deputy marshal of the eastern route, had already entered Moutuogang.
Moutuogang was the headquarters of the Bianjing army, housing over 20,000 war horses. However, there were only a mere 2,000 horsemen guarding the camp.
The long sword in the hand of the cavalry commander Duan Delong was shaking slightly, and the Jin soldiers who were all over the mountains on the opposite side were approaching.
Wanyan Zongmou rode his warhorse with a sneer on his face. With so many warhorses, they could equip a cavalry corps of over 20,000 men. He wouldn't trade them for a city.
The two thousand guards of the Imperial Army and the cavalry camp were all in danger, and they had lost all their former arrogance.
Wanyan Zongmou rode his warhorse to a high point. He reined in his horse, turned it in a circle, and then stopped. "You Song soldiers, quickly lay down your weapons and surrender, and I will spare your lives."
The Jin soldiers arrived at Moutuogang without any warning. The Song army in Huazhou was so weak that the Jin soldiers could enter the area as if they were in an empty land.
Duan Delong swallowed nervously. His entire family was in the capital. If he surrendered, his entire clan would be implicated. Although he was terrified, he knew the court would still take care of his family if he died in battle. He gritted his teeth and said, "Soldiers, we are loyal to our emperor! Let's fight them!"
The soldiers knew they had no chance: "Let's fight them!"
Wanyan Zongmou sneered, and they didn't move when the Song soldiers rushed over. When the Song army rushed to the front of the formation fifty steps, the Jin soldiers rushed down with a "wow, wow" sound, like teasing children.
These imperial guards had never been baptized by battle, and they had not even received much training. Compared with these battle-hardened Jin soldiers, they were like child's play.
Wanyan Zongwang didn't even glance at the attacking Song soldiers. He easily jumped off his horse, looked up at the sky and laughed loudly: "Hahahaha..."
In Wanyan Zongwang's eyes, the sounds of fighting, the thud of swords piercing flesh, and the groans of dying soldiers all combined to create a beautiful piece of music. The most beautiful movement from hell.
Wanyan Zongwang was brimming with pride. He hadn't expected the attack on the Song Dynasty to go so smoothly. He kept looking up at the sky and laughing. When he got tired, he would lie down and continue gazing at the clouds and laughing. From beginning to end, he never once glanced at the elite imperial guards charging forward, the ones who had once made the Song Dynasty so proud.
It was unknown how long it took, until all around him was silent. Wanyan Zongmou finally stood up. He saw corpses everywhere, with more than 2,000 bodies of imperial guards lying in disorder.
Wanyan Zongmou finally took his first step. He ignored the corpses, which were no more than ants in his eyes. He finally found something that interested him—a warhorse.
Countless horses, tens of thousands of them, were eating hay in the stables. War horses, ignorant of the slaughter of the human world, continued to chew the hay, waiting for the groom to come and comb their fur.
Wanyan Zongmou pulled over a warhorse and patted its neck with satisfaction: "Song pigs are not good at fighting, but they are good at raising horses. What a good horse! Hahahaha..."
Wanyan Zongwang was full of pride. Moutuogang was very close to Bianjing. Considering the fighting power of the Song Dynasty, it would be a piece of cake to capture Bianjing.
"Oh, oh..." The Jin soldiers occupied Moutuogang and they all raised their weapons to celebrate.
Zhao Huan and Li Gang were inspecting the city walls, but he was still dissatisfied. Many of the trebuchets' logs had rotted, and the hemp ropes holding them in place had turned white from exposure to wind and sun. Worst of all, there weren't enough of them, and there was no time to manufacture them in such a rush.
The eunuch steward behind him ran over in a panic, his feet moving in small steps like an old lady with bound feet.
"Your Majesty, this is bad. This is bad!"
What Zhao Huan feared most now was seeing these eunuchs. Whenever they showed up, it was bound to be bad news. Either the front lines would be defeated, or a city would surrender.
Zhao Huan felt like he was suffering from a phobia of eunuchs. Even before he even arrived, someone was already shouting "Oh no!", which made Zhao Huan even more panicked.
The eunuch ran over in a panic, breathless, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Moutuogang has fallen, and over 20,000 military horses have fallen into the hands of the Jin army."
Zhao Huan swayed and felt unsteady.
"Your Majesty!" Li Gang and Cao Dongsheng hurriedly supported him.
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