Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 144: The Armored Cavalry Are Standing Like a Mountain

On the morning of August 14th, there was drizzle.

"The rain is finally coming." Pushandharma sat upright on his warhorse, holding a 10-foot-long steel spear in his hand and looking at the hazy morning sun. This thought inexplicably arose in his mind.

Three hundred... to be exact, the number of armored cavalry, which was less than three hundred due to casualties and some non-combat attrition, had already mounted their horses and was silently looking at their lord in the drizzle.

Wang Xiongyi leaned forward and whispered one last time, "Sir, are we really going to throw everything we have at this?"

This time, after a moment's silence, Pushandarmo finally told his nephew the truth: "Only if I personally lead the army forward will those two old bastards be able to join the battle. And only if they join the battle will we have a chance to defeat Geng the bandit."

After a pause, as if suppressing a great deal of shame, Pushandamo said softly, "If...if we really can't defeat the enemy even if we fight hard, then I will take advantage of the chaotic battle between those two old bastards and the Geng bandits to lead the armored cavalry to retreat all the way back to Fei County."

Wang Xiongyi finally made up his mind.

As long as Pushan Damo doesn't get angry and insist on fighting the Tianping Army to the death here, it will be fine.

It’s good to have a way out.

Pushandamo nodded to Jiagu Shou and Shuhu Ali who were already lined up on the two wings, whistled, and regardless of the drizzle wetting his robe, he raised his spear and pointed it to the north. The armored cavalry started up and suddenly rushed towards the Tianping army camp four miles away.

At this time, the Khitan light cavalry had already discovered the Jin army's intention and reported it to the higher authorities.

Liu Huai and others naturally took it seriously. They sent light cavalry to conduct further reconnaissance, and at the same time ordered the infantry who had finished their meal to start defending the camp.

The level of civil engineering of the Tianping Army has always been poor. Even though Liu Huai gave some guidance to the Xinzi Army using earthwork methods mixed with knowledge from later generations, the improvement was not obvious.

Because not all problems can be solved by morale, a spiritual atomic bomb. High morale can greatly motivate ordinary soldiers, but it cannot quickly enable an ordinary person to learn how to fight, nor can it enable a soldier to learn how to dig trenches, repair deer antlers, or build wooden fences, let alone conjure up ox carts, hemp ropes, shovels and other supplies out of thin air.

Of course, to put it nicely, there is a lot of room for improvement.

After countless trials and tribulations, sooner or later the Xin Army and even the Tianping Army will be reborn and become the strongest army in the world.

At this moment, another hammer came crashing down.

It depends on whether you can hold on.

"Supposedly, our army has a contingency plan, and we explained it clearly during yesterday's military meeting. But I want to emphasize this once again." Liu Huai, holding his long sword, said to Xin Qiji, Yelu Xingge, and other senior officers, "Our camp is poorly built. Even the wooden fences are incomplete, leaving it open to the elements. There are only three trenches around the perimeter, but they can't hold back men; they only serve as traps for horses."

"The advantage is that our camp is located on high ground. If the Jin bandits want to capture the camp, they can only dismount and fight on foot. And if they want to use their cavalry, they can only attack the two wings."

"Yelü Xingge, Li Yizhenjin, you two, one captain and one deputy, will each lead over a hundred light cavalry out of the camp and fight on both flanks. Don't engage the Jin bandits head-on. If they charge you, simply run. Remember, the Khitan light cavalry horses are better at preserving their stamina, and the Jin bandits' armored cavalry won't be able to catch up to you. But if they retreat, you must return."

Yelu Xingge nodded. "When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue. Those sixteen words Liu Dalang said during the military meeting yesterday were truly brilliant. I memorized them instantly. Wow, so brilliant, so apt."

"I didn't say that, a great philosopher said it." Liu Huai waved his hand to interrupt the unnecessary flattery. "If the light cavalry and the Jin cavalry engage in a melee, we must lure the Jin cavalry back to the camp, the closer the better. Then the infantry will come to the rescue. Wulang, do you have anything else to add?"

Xin Qiji thought for a moment and said solemnly, "No, you two must not try to show off your bravery. Today, we should just avoid mistakes, not seek merit. The Jin bandits are already exhausted. As long as we can hold out today, they will collapse on their own."

Yelu Xingge and Li Yizhenjin simultaneously bowed to Liu Huai and Xin Qiji, then mounted their horses and led the Khitan light cavalry out of the camp. Using Khitan light cavalry tactics, they split up on either flank, attacking in groups of ten or five, their demeanor clearly signaling a willingness to fight and flee if you come. The atmosphere in the Xinzi Army camp was also slightly tense.

Of Xin Qiji's 500 heavily armored infantry, excluding the dead and wounded and those left behind at the main camp, only 300 men were brought out. In addition, there were 200 crossbowmen gathered from the entire Tianping Army. The remaining 500 men were all unarmored spearmen with large shields.

There are very few sword and shield soldiers in the entire army who are suitable for melee combat.

This is not because the sword and shield soldiers have high equipment requirements, but because the sword and shield soldiers are considered to be a technical branch of soldiers to a certain extent, and it is difficult for recruits without battlefield experience to be competent.

Therefore, although the Xin army was well equipped with spears, axes and powerful crossbows, and looked very intimidating, due to the lack of formation training, they could only fight in formation and defend but had difficulty in attacking.

As for a melee, forget it.

Moreover, the drizzling weather today basically made the bows and crossbows of both sides useless.

If the bowstring is not waterproof, it will become cracked and scrapped when it gets wet and cannot be used anymore.

Of course, the weather is fair to everyone. The Tianping Army cannot use the Shenbi crossbow, but the Jin Army can no longer use the traditional Jurchen hard bow.

Unfortunately, the rain was not that heavy, and the ground was only slightly wet, which did not form a muddy effect at all, and had almost no impact on the cavalry's movement.

So, it is really hard to say who this rain will favor.

Of course, generally speaking, when on the defensive, the Xin army can still have the advantage. As long as their formation is not broken by others in the first place, everything will be fine.

Now is the time to test the results of these days of morale boosting and marching training.

There was a rumbling sound in the distance. Liu Huai thought that there might be thunder in this hazy autumn rain, but he quickly realized that it was the Jin cavalry that had arrived.

Sure enough, Liu Huai soon saw some Khitan light cavalry fleeing back in a panic, and then a flash of silver light pierced the rain curtain. The clattering sound of armor made by nearly three hundred armored cavalry while running actually drowned out the neighing of people and horses and the rumbling of horse hooves at a certain moment.

However, when the Jin army's armored cavalry approached the camp 500 steps away, these sounds suddenly disappeared as the Pushan flag was suddenly waved. Nearly 300 armored cavalry stood still, arrogantly declaring their strength in silence.

It can be said that even though they were extremely exhausted, the official appearance of the Jin Dynasty's elite armored cavalry still deeply shocked the Tianping Army, a motley crowd.

People like Xin Qiji and Yelu Xingge were better off because they were driven back from Jinan Prefecture by the regular army of the Jin Dynasty. They had actually seen the regular army of the Jin Dynasty and how powerful the Jin Dynasty armored cavalry, which was then under the jurisdiction of the Shandong Road Military Command, were.

But Liu Huai was different. He had fought all the way north, and although the fighting was fierce, his opponents were basically local armed forces of the Jin Dynasty. He had no knowledge of the regular field army of the Jin Dynasty.

Even during the night attack a few days ago, these armored cavalry had already gone into battle, but because they were ambushing Geng Jing's Tianwang Army on the west bank of the river, Liu Huai, who was on the east bank of the river, did not confront them.

Faced with such well-trained and powerful armored cavalry, Liu Huai's first thought was: The Jin Kingdom has 32 armies formed on the basis of 250,000 households. If these 250,000 people are all this kind of armored cavalry, then what's the point of fighting?
However, he quickly realized that the 300 armored cavalry in front of him must be considered elite in the Jin Kingdom's battle sequence.

If the Jin Dynasty could gather 250,000 such elite troops, Wanyan Liang would have no problem destroying the Song Dynasty, even breaking through Siberia and drinking water from the Seine River.

In fact, even if the Jin army had an elite army of 100,000, it would be very impressive.

(End of this chapter)