Jinting Han people

From the moment Shi Hu's troops abruptly charged into battle to the collapse of the entire Han army's right wing, and the subsequent general offensive launched by Shi Le's army, less than half an hour had passed.

Half an hour ago, the right flank of the Han army was still filled with bowed heads and a forest of halberds, a magnificent sight, and the soldiers were determined to win. But half an hour later, the right flank of the Han army was deserted. The snowfield was covered with messy hoofprints and footprints, as well as filthy corpses. Apart from that, there were hardly any Han soldiers to be seen.

Faced with such a rapid change, Li Ju had no time to adjust or command the chaotic right flank. This was not only because the dark weather made it inconvenient to issue orders, but also because the main force of Shi Le's army still stood like a fortress, posing the greatest threat. If he rashly mobilized the central and left armies to rescue the right flank, the entire formation would fall apart, which would be tantamount to voluntarily exposing his heart to the enemy. Li Ju would never make such a foolish move.

He was an extremely calm man; even in such a critical situation, he was still trying to calculate the optimal solution at hand. This is the biggest difference between a good general and a mediocre one. Faced with losses and defeats, if one despairs and covers one's eyes like Ma Su at Jieting, it will only make the situation worse, or even lead to complete collapse. A capable and skilled general, on the other hand, will calmly acknowledge the situation and then look for opportunities to stop the bleeding in time, or even turn defeat into victory.

After Guo Mo's cavalry was dispersed by Shi Hu's army, Li Ju realized that the collapse of the right wing was probably inevitable. But collapse does not necessarily mean huge losses.

Because the 20,000 men on the right flank consisted mainly of cavalry, with halberdiers as secondary forces. If the cavalry were caught off guard by the enemy's surprise attack, they could take advantage of the chaos to escape the battlefield. Meanwhile, their own central army remained unmoved, and the enemy was unlikely to abandon their central army and blindly pursue the cavalry. This meant that the Han army's cavalry losses should not be significant. The biggest problem was that their organization would be disrupted, and it would take time to regroup and restore their fighting strength.

The halberdiers under Meng Tao's command were inevitably affected, and their losses were certainly greater than those of the cavalry. However, Li Ju judged that with the cavalry in front acting as a buffer, the impact they suffered in the chaos had been weakened. Moreover, since the halberdiers were already positioned at the rear of the battlefield, it wouldn't be difficult for Meng Tao to retreat and leave the battlefield.

Therefore, it seems that the most dangerous part is not the right wing itself, but what happens after the right wing collapses. Once the right wing withdraws from the battlefield, Li Ju's main force, as the central army, will be completely exposed on its flanks and rear, and will be besieged by an enemy force far exceeding the size of the main force. Li Ju must find a way to deal with this. At the same time, the withdrawal of the right wing does not mean the loss of its fighting capacity; it is necessary to find a way to reorganize it and put it back into the battlefield.

Li Ju made these judgments in less than a quarter of an hour. Facing the slightly panicked soldiers, he smoothly and naturally gave the order to the soldiers: "Don't panic. Notify Duan Xiu and have him move all the wagons of Cheshi to the south and line them up in one line. Then we will respond as we did in training."

"Order Mao Bao to lead the crossbowmen to our rear and deploy them in formation to prepare for an enemy attack."

"And inform Commander Zhang of the Left Army, telling him not to act rashly, to maintain formation, and that our army has no plans to withdraw for the time being. Although the barbarian bandits have won a round, the overall situation is not yet settled!"

After issuing three orders, Li Ju seized the opportunity to summon his brother-in-law Guo Fang and said to him, "Although the Right Army is about to collapse, its strength has not been damaged. Brother, you should immediately take a dozen or so riders, carrying my banner, to reunite those defeated soldiers. As long as you return early enough, our army will still have a chance to win against the arrogant barbarian army."

Faced with Li Ju's order, Guo Fang hesitated slightly, for he could also see that the situation was deteriorating. He was shocked by the astonishing fighting power of Shi Le's army, and at the same time worried about Li Ju's current predicament. He asked, "If I leave, Shi Hui, can you really hold this place? Should we withdraw our troops now?"

Li Ju cracked his whip and shouted sternly, "What are you saying?! We've raised an army for a thousand days to use it for one. How can we just retreat like this? I sent my brother to gather the defeated troops so that they would know that I, Li Ju, am still here, and we have not been defeated! Have you forgotten what I told everyone before we set off? To risk our lives for the country and our families, and to say no more!"

Guo Fang rarely saw Li Ju with such a stern expression, and was momentarily stunned. He quickly and hesitantly left. Li Ju, however, remained in the formation, constantly issuing orders to the various units of the central army and supervising them to expedite the formation change.

If the right-wing army had not collapsed, according to the original battle plan, after the battle began, Li Ju intended to have the right-wing cavalry engage in a fierce battle with Shi Le's army first, and then have the left and central armies use Cheshi to defend against the enemy's offensive. After that, he would quietly transfer troops to the right wing, gradually strengthen its power, and finally crush the enemy.

Although the right wing has been defeated, making the plan impossible, the central army's chariots are still intact and have not suffered any losses. This means that Li Ju can still try to defend against the cavalry attacking from both sides.

Amidst the chaos on the right flank, the soldiers of the wagon battalion moved swiftly like ants. They drove the packhorses in front and pushed the wagons from behind, pulling the side wagons to their designated positions. Then they untied the ropes, drove the packhorses into the formation, and secured the wheels of the side wedges with special wedges. Finally, they took several wooden stakes from inside the wagons and drove them into the mud between the wagons.

The so-called sidecar wagon consisted of a simple two-wheeled handcart, thirteen feet long, nine feet wide, and four feet high. A four-foot-high thick wooden plank was then used to enclose the front and right side of the wagon, forming an open sidecar. Normally, the wagon could store necessary supplies and military provisions. In case of war, the sidecar wagons could be lined up, with the plank side facing the enemy, thus forming a relatively simple anti-horse fortification.

However, the simplicity of these side wagons was relative to a properly constructed fortification. Compared to the trenches, palisades, and barricades hastily dug by soldiers in the field, these side wagons were far more sturdy. Because of the urgency and the overall situation, Li Ju unusually became ruthless. He issued a military order stating that anyone who failed to arrive at the designated location and set up camp on time would be beheaded on the spot. The squad leaders naturally dared not delay, desperately urging their subordinates to transport the wagons and form ranks. They hurried as fast as they could, finally managing to get the formation in place before Shi Le's army launched their general offensive. Afterwards, they all sat down to rest, utterly exhausted.

By now, dawn was breaking, and a cold wind blew, quickly chilling their sweat-soaked clothes and making them shiver uncontrollably. The soldiers in the wagon corps peered out through the holes and gaps in the side wagons and saw that the Jinyang cavalry, who had routed the Han army's right flank, were also resting on their horses. It seemed that for them, accomplishing such a feat as defeating the entire Han right flank was no easy task either.

But this did not mean a ceasefire or a rest. It was at this moment that the sound of horns and drums rang out in Shi Le's army, and the general offensive of the Jinyang army began.

Believing victory was assured, Shi Le employed a strategy of simultaneous attack from all three armies: the left, center, and right wings. As this human wall, stretching for miles, charged forward, it resembled a giant roc spreading its wings overhead, the shadows of the army on the ground obscuring the sky. It was also like a sudden avalanche, where a single snowflake propelled the snow down like a tidal wave sweeping across the mountains and plains.

At this point, Shi Le's army had an overwhelming numerical advantage and no longer needed overly complex tactics. Therefore, Shi Le ordered Liu Zhongdao's troops to contain the Han army's left flank, while the majority of his soldiers were deployed to besiege the central army. This made it appear from above that Shi Le's army was crashing towards Li Ju's central army like a raging torrent against reefs.

The first to be hit was naturally the central army's front line, where Wen Shuo's troops were deployed to defend against the enemy. They were facing tens of thousands of Xianbei cavalry from the Daibei Plateau!
As the dominant force on the grasslands for nearly two hundred years since the Xiongnu, the Xianbei people grew up in harsh and desolate places. The north wind of the desert forced them to plunder and fight. In addition, the Xianbei were in a state of fragmentation, with constant warfare between the various tribes, making almost every adult Xianbei a battle-hardened warrior.

The biggest difference between the Xianbei and their predecessors, the Xiongnu, lay in the fact that after a century of learning from the Han people on the border, they mastered advanced iron-forging techniques. Coupled with their large horse fleet, they developed mature armored cavalry technology ahead of the Han. Furthermore, the Xianbei's superior combat skills allowed them to completely suppress all their competitors in the surrounding area. Even the armies of the Central Plains during the Wei and Jin dynasties became mere imitators, unable to compete with them on the plains.

At this moment, Tuoba Liuxiu launched an attack, immediately putting immense pressure on the Han army on the front lines. Knowing the Han army was at a significant disadvantage, the Xianbei did not rush into a direct charge, but instead engaged in a volley of arrows within range. The Xianbei's superior horsemanship and archery skills truly astonished the Han army, who were encountering them for the first time. These Xianbei charged towards the Han army like arrows, then abruptly stopped within range. In the blink of an eye, their arrows were already flying, including some capable of firing a rapid-fire barrage. Many Han archers hadn't even had time to aim before the Xianbei had already ridden away without looking back.

The repeated changes of horses and firing in this manner were truly like a torrential downpour, with arrows raining down from the sky. The Han army's front was suppressed, unable to raise their heads, and they could only raise their shields to withstand the attack. In less than a quarter of an hour, the arrow shafts on the shields were as thin as weeds. The Han army had never seen such frenzied firing before. If Liu Xian were here, he might recall the night he clashed with the Qi King's faction, when both sides exchanged fire recklessly, and at the height of the battle, the sun and moon were obscured.

Unlike the Jin army of yesteryear, the Han army of today has seen much swordplay over the years. They are not only fighting for their lives, but many of them are also brave refugees who yearn to return home. Even when they are at a disadvantage on the battlefield, with arrows flying like locusts and causing people to fall one after another, under Li Ju's supervision, the bodies are quickly dragged away and new soldiers fill in, maintaining the complete formation without any signs of wavering.

This situation lasted for about an hour. At first, Tuoba Liuxiu was pleased with his superior position. He looked around and proudly laughed at his cousin Tuoba Yulu, saying, "Everyone says that the Han people in the south are good at fighting, but they are nothing special. My lord talks about Sinicization all day long, but what are we trying to Sinicize? It's like a tiger trying to meow like a cat. I think we've gone astray!"

He spoke in this way because the Sinicization of the Great Chanyu Tuoba Yilu had entered a new stage. In recent years, the Great Chanyu had built palaces and established a court in Shengle, establishing the Northern Capital. Later, he established the Southern Capital in Pingcheng, and then built a new Pingcheng a hundred miles south of Pingcheng, which the Han people called Xiaopingcheng. He then ordered the various tribes to settle and divide land around the three capitals, and to register and pay taxes to the court like the Han people. This made the various tribes extremely dissatisfied, and there were many complaints within them. Tuoba Liuxiu was one of them.

As time passed, Tuoba Liuxiu's smile gradually faded. He watched as the Han army's formation showed no signs of collapse despite their fierce attacks. Their offensive began to wane, the arrows thinned, and the enemy gradually increased the intensity of their counterattacks. Looking into the eyes of these Han soldiers, their fighting spirit was as firm as iron, completely different from the refugees he had previously fought against in Hebei and the Central Plains. They possessed an air of unwavering resolve, unmoved by any storm.

An hour later, the Xianbei's quiver was empty, while the Han army maintained its original formation. This sight caused Tuoba Liuxiu's expression to change; his frivolous demeanor turned serious. Although he didn't show it aloud, he muttered to himself, "Are these Han soldiers made of iron? They won't retreat even like this?"

What puzzled Tuoba Liuxiu even more was the performance of Shi Le's left wing at this time.

Logically, the Han army's right flank had completely collapsed, and Shi Le's left flank had amassed a large number of elite cavalry. Using them to attack the south of the Han army's center should have been like a hot knife through cheese, easily cutting through the Han army's central formation and throwing them into chaos. The reason Tuoba Liuxiu ordered the Xianbei cavalry to keep firing arrows instead of charging was precisely to wait for this moment, then launch a powerful counterattack from the front. Only by simultaneously and forcefully attacking from two different directions could the entire Han army formation be torn apart swiftly, like autumn leaves swept away by the wind.

As a result, Tuoba Liuxiu waited at the front for almost an hour, but still received no such movement. What was going on? Among the Tuoba Xianbei of this generation, Tuoba Liuxiu was considered a seasoned general, capable of quickly seizing any opportunity on the battlefield. Yet, in this battle before Daxing City, he was unusually perplexed. First, Shi Hu's completely unexpected raid succeeded, seizing an unplanned opportunity. And despite the favorable situation, their own offensive had stalled.

However, this wasteful spending could not continue. As a Xianbei, Tuoba Liuxiu, though unfamiliar with the Han proverb about striking while the iron is hot, knew the principle that a bowstring cannot be stretched for too long, or it will break. Therefore, he ordered his soldiers to put away their arrows, pick up their long spears, and prepare for a formal assault on the Han army. (End of Chapter)