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

Chapter 261: Seeing the Han Army's Victory Again

"All the crossbowmen, stay here! The rest of you, go around from the two flanks and pursue forward!"

When Liu Huai saw the Wuxing flag standing in front of the road, he couldn't help but stand in awe.

This Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, is really a man of courage. In such a situation, he dared to stay alone to cover the retreat. He is worthy of being the commander-in-chief of the Jin Dynasty's regular army.

If all the Jin generals were of this kind, then the Northern Expedition would be quite difficult.

Although he sighed in his heart, it did not stop Liu Huai from making the most correct decision. He ordered the cavalry and light soldiers to bypass the small formation of three or four hundred people from both wings, and stopped all the crossbowmen along the way.

Do you think I'm going to attack a strong formation when I'm full? I'll shoot you all to death then!

Although Lu You hadn't been fighting on the front lines, he was feeling a bit tired from the massive adrenaline rush. Seeing the sun setting, he said to Liu Huai, "Da Lang, it's getting dark. To save time, why don't you try to persuade them to surrender?"

Liu Huai complained in his heart that it was precisely because it was getting dark that he had to quickly defeat the bandits blocking the road in front of him and start the pursuit.

If this is about persuading surrender, how long will the bargaining last?

Maybe the enemy is using this method to delay the Loyal Army!

But at this time, the Divine Arm Crossbowmen had only gathered more than a hundred people and did not have the conditions to launch a general attack, so it was not easy to offend Lu Dapan.

"Give it a try." Liu Huai called over the head of his personal guards. "Guan Qilang, you personally lead the troops and go there. Don't take any risks. Tell that traitor Meng Tian that I only have a quarter of an hour to surrender unconditionally and stand trial. After that, even if he wants to surrender, it will be impossible!"

By the end of his speech, Liu Huai's voice had become stern.

Guan Chongyan bowed and rode away with a few armored cavalrymen.

Under Liu Huai's gaze, Guan Chongyan came to the point where an arrow could shoot from his target and shouted a few times.

In less than a moment, another Jin soldier who looked like an officer walked out of the formation and said something loudly.

Guan Chongyan listened patiently, pointed at the other person from a distance and cursed a few words, then turned back.

"Report to the Commander," Guan Chongyan said loudly, "The rebel army said they would surrender, but there are three conditions..."

Liu Huai waved his hand to stop him: "Alright, stop talking. Why are you making three demands with me in this earthen city? Has this fellow, Meng Tian, the guardian of the country, become stupid after reading storybooks? He doesn't even take a piss and look at himself. Is he Guan Yu yet dares to make such demands?"

Lu You shook his head and laughed.

"Guan Qilang, don't go there again." Liu Huai said to Guan Chongyan, a sneer on his face again: "Some people can't be persuaded. Since they won't turn back until they hit the wall, then let's show them the wall! Let them die on it!"

A quarter of an hour later, more than 300 crossbowmen formed a formation and moved forward, starting to shoot at the Jin army gathered under the Wuxing flag. With just one round, they caused huge casualties to these Jin soldiers who were gathered together and did not even have complete armor and shields.

The Jin army did not sit idly by and wait for death, but launched a desperate charge under the guidance of the Wuxing flag.

The long-axe soldiers who had been waiting in formation rushed forward decisively and killed all the Jin soldiers head-on.

"What? This guy isn't Meng Tian, the guardian of the country?" Wang Shilong grabbed a prisoner, pointed at the corpse on the ground, and asked angrily.

The captive was also frightened by the massacre today. Upon hearing this, he hurriedly shook his head and said, "No... No, it was Puchaguang from the Fifth Meng'an."

"Bah!" Wang Shilong spat fiercely, spreading his hands and saying to Shi Qilang, "What a fucking waste of time."

Shi Qilang sighed, feeling his entire body aching and limp. Fatigue surged through his limbs, making it difficult for him to even stand. He simply sat down on the ground. "It wasn't all in vain, after all. He's a marching general, a high-ranking figure in the past. Today, we finally killed him... We actually killed him."

"Yes." Wang Shilong also felt tired, but he sat down on a Jin soldier's corpse, holding his long axe and sighing: "Finally, we won. We defeated the regular army."

"We defeated a regular army..." Shi Qilang muttered, but suddenly tears came to his eyes, and his voice became a little distorted: "We defeated a regular army of Jin thieves..."

Wang Shilong patted Shi Qilang's shoulder, wanting to comfort him, but found that he also wanted to cry.

In the past ten years, countless people in Shandong have rebelled against the exploitation of the Jin Dynasty. In the past two years, apart from the Donghai Uprising and the Kaishan Zhao Uprising that affected several counties, there have been countless other large and small civil unrests.

However, these uprisings all failed miserably when faced with the suppression of the Jin army. After experiencing repeated failure, the Shandong Han people gradually became discouraged and disheartened. Some became compliant subjects, while others colluded with the Jin and even became the Jurchens' lackeys.

Everyone needed this big win so badly.

Wang Shilong couldn't count how long he had been looking forward to this great victory. Now that his long-cherished wish had come true, he was so stunned that he couldn't even utter the military orders for a moment. He just held his forehead and sobbed slightly.

In this battle, the Zhongyi Army did take advantage, and the Wuxing Army did make a big mistake, but it was still a head-on victory.

As the last organized Jin army was eliminated, cheers gradually rang out from all directions.

"Victory!"

"Victory!"

"We won!"

The afterglow of the setting sun enveloped Yishui, and the blood-red light spread across the water. The sun set over the river, and the flags fluttered, creating a beautiful scene.

Between the mountains and rivers, there are Shandong men cheering for victory.

Liu Huai commanded the soldiers who still had strength to chase and kill the enemy, gathering waves of cavalry and sending them out again one after another.

He turned around and saw Lu You still holding the big shield, listening to the overwhelming cheers, looking at the blood-stained Yishui River, tears streaming down his face.

When Lu You saw Liu Huai looking at him, he couldn't help but wipe away his tears in embarrassment.

Liu Huai naturally wouldn't let this handsome uncle get embarrassed on the spot, so he immediately asked with a smile: "Mr. Lu is a world-renowned poet. Do you have any poems to compose for such a grand occasion?"

Lu You smiled, recovering from his excitement. "How can I be called a great poet? I only have a small reputation. Don't worry about you laughing at me, Dalang. I'm used to picking out lines from books, but I don't have the ability to write them immediately. Dalang, you are a self-taught person. Don't you have a few good lines after seeing such a great victory?"

Liu Huai knew that Lu You was just being polite, but he was immediately moved.

After traveling through time, wouldn't it be appropriate not to copy some poems?
Moreover, the two greatest poets of this era were on this battlefield. It’s exciting to think about copying their poems in front of them.

Just as Liu Huai lowered his head to think about copying the poem, a burst of singing came from the bank of Yishui River in the west.

It was just vague at first, but the song seemed catchy. After singing it three times, countless people sang along, and it finally resounded throughout the entire battlefield.

It is just like this: "The smoke of war rolls and the heroes sing,

The green mountains on all sides listen attentively,

Listen carefully.

Thunder on a clear sky sounds like golden drums,
The waves of the river make harmonious sounds.

......"

"My dear, this is sung by the Tianping Army." Guan Chongyan hummed a few lines along with the tune, stood on his horse and looked around for a few times, then said to Liu Huai with a smile.

By this time, the song was actually different from Liu Huai's version. Not only was the melody slightly different, but the verses were also interspersed with a "that" or two, somewhat resembling the rhythmic cadence used in fishermen's songs.

But the foundation of this song is so good, the melody is easy to learn and catchy, the lyrics are simple and easy to understand yet memorable, even people who have heard it once can hum along, and people who have heard it three times can sing along.

For some unknown reason, the scattered Jin troops who were still resisting stubbornly lost their fighting spirit in an instant after hearing the song. They were either captured or killed on the spot.

Lu You listened attentively for a moment, then remained stunned for another moment before he said, "Da Lang, there's no need to write any more poems. This song alone is enough to comfort the fallen soldiers, to frighten the Jin army, and to serve as a footnote to this great battle."

Liu Huai smiled, then became somewhat exasperated again.

You are such a good Xin Qiji! Before I even had the chance to plagiarize your poems, you stole mine first!
(End of this chapter)