Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Wanyan Zonghan personally led his troops to flank the enemy, only to find that it was the same no matter which side they were on.

He had no choice but to lead two squads of Jurchen cavalry and charge into the enemy lines without hesitation.

Halfway there, a bullet struck the warhorse's neck, throwing Wanyan Zonghan off.

Because the cavalry formation was very loose, Wanyan Zonghan was not trampled to death by the galloping horses.

However, he hit his head when he fell from the horse and was dizzy and unable to move for a long time.

When Wanyan Zonghan came to his senses, he found that his personal guards had been almost entirely killed or wounded, and the Ming army had even dispersed their formation to begin clearing the battlefield.

Three spearmen escorted several archers and musketeers as they walked, finishing off any Jurchen soldiers who were still able to move along the way.

Wanyan Zonghan lay on his side, feigning death; his lance was nowhere to be found.

As the Ming army approached, Wanyan Zonghan suddenly sprang up and swung his octagonal iron rod.

The attack was sudden, and the nearest spearman was caught off guard. He could only instinctively raise his arm to block, still holding the back of the spear shaft in his hand.

With a muffled thud, the spearman's right arm was smashed off.

The other two spearmen immediately thrust their spears forward, followed by a barrage of fire from muskets and crossbows.

Wanyan Zonghan was hit by two gunshots, two arrows, and a crossbow bolt. His waist and chest were also held by two long spears. He immediately fell backward with his eyes wide open.

This valiant general's death was not particularly glorious; perhaps it would have been more heroic if he had died on the front lines.

……

Tuhesu, whose hands were stained with the blood of Han people, was entangled by the reinforcements led by Zhai Liang.

These mounted infantrymen were completely inept at mounted combat.

They passed close to the empty camp, blocking the way for some fleeing enemy soldiers, and dismounted in unison to intercept them.

Not only did the musketeers have to fire from the ground, but even the crossbowmen had to be on solid ground.

A barrage of bullets and crossbow bolts rained down, killing nearly a hundred of Tuhesu's troops.

His troops were a hastily reorganized force with a diverse composition, and they were immediately routed and scattered.

Chapter 3470 Foaming at the Mouth

The soldiers fled with their respective generals, galloping in groups of three or five, without any orderly direction.

Only a little over a hundred personal guards remained, closely following Tuhesu.

Hundreds of unarmored steppe cavalrymen were the first to catch up with Tuhesu and began to fire their bows freely.

Before long, Tuhesu was hit by two arrows, and his warhorse was also hit by an arrow in the rump.

Although it did not cause any actual damage, it aroused the ferocity of Tuhesu.

This guy actually stopped running away; after slowing down, he turned around and charged with his personal guards.

The steppe cavalrymen quickly scurried to the sides, not daring to engage Tuhesu in close combat, and fired arrows again after maintaining distance.

Tuhesu led his troops in a pursuit, killing only a few who were slow to run.

His cavalry and warhorses were becoming increasingly exhausted, with some even foaming at the mouth from exhaustion.

After all, they hadn't had a proper rest since midnight yesterday, and their warhorses had only rested for a little over ten minutes during reorganization.

The situation was similar for the Ming cavalry.

Only Shi Ziming's nearly 1,000 cavalry and Wang Gui's several hundred cavalry had a relatively easy time.

The former came from Dading Prefecture, while the latter served as a reserve force during the great battle and did not participate in the attack.

Now, the pursuit of the fleeing enemy is mainly led by the two of them, and even Yue Fei's warhorse can't run anymore.

Shi Ziming had already led his troops to defeat a group of fleeing enemies, but upon learning that there were still Jurchens willing to fight, he immediately dispatched 500 cavalry to attack.

They were a fresh force, charging towards a hundred or so exhausted enemy soldiers; it was a completely one-sided battle.

Tuhesu abandoned all attempt to flee and led his army in a direct charge.

However, his warhorse ran very slowly, and he himself was extremely exhausted.

Faced with a charging Ming cavalryman, his spear was half a beat too slow, and he was knocked off his horse in a single charge.

He tried to get up, but another Ming soldier rushed over and smashed his head with an iron mace.

Died suddenly on the spot!

The combined number of Song and Liao troops defeated by Tuhesu was approximately 50,000.

The number of soldiers and civilians of various ethnic groups who died directly under his command was at least 30,000 to 80,000, not counting those who died indirectly.

Such a fierce general died at the hands of two Ming Dynasty cavalrymen.

As for Wang Gui, during the battle just now, he led his troops as a reserve force to rest.

He was then sent to meet Li Yanxian's reinforcements, but on the way he received orders to detour ahead and intercept the fleeing enemy.

With the cooperation of the steppe cavalry, Wang Gui's troops, which had recovered their strength, achieved a series of astonishing victories.

During his escape, Sha Lizhi was pursued by Wang Gui, causing his troops to scatter and be surrounded by grassland cavalry.

Wang Gui ignored the routed soldiers and went on to pursue and kill Pucha Huzhan.

Pucha Huzhan had previously charged into Wang Yan's infantry formation, inflicting heavy losses on his troops.

Moreover, a squad of them was executed by Wanyan Zonghan using military law, and their morale plummeted due to their resentment.

Their warhorses ran slower and slower, and at this critical moment, the Jurchen soldiers who had been replenished to Puchahuzhan that morning deserted their troops and fled to both sides.

They believed that the Ming army's target was Pucha Huzhan, and that as long as they stayed away from that guy, they wouldn't be the main target.

The same is true.

Wang Gui completely ignored the scattered soldiers and led his troops in a relentless pursuit of Pucha Huzhan.

After chasing for three or four miles, Pucha Huzhan realized he couldn't escape.

His warhorse was nearing its limit; if it continued to flee, it would die sooner or later. It was better to fight a glorious battle before it died.

"Sound the bugle! Follow me and we'll charge back!"

The bugles sounded loudly, but few obeyed the orders.

These elite troops of the Jin Dynasty were only slightly inferior to Wanyan Zonghan's personal guards.

But they had lost their souls, and even though they knew it would be difficult to escape, they were still unwilling to fight to the death.

Only a few dozen exhausted riders followed Pucha Huzhan as he turned to face the enemy.

Pucha Huzhan was unwilling to die at the hands of a common soldier, so he aimed for Wang Gui's banner and charged forward.

Wang Gui, however, was quite cunning. Seeing Pucha Huzhan charging towards him, he immediately slowed his horse and ordered several of his personal guards to meet the enemy.

The main problem is a guilty conscience.

Even though Luo Ruming was such a skilled cavalryman, he still died at the hands of Pucha Huzhan. Wang Gui felt that there was no need for him to take any risks.

At dawn, Pucha Huzhan fought a fierce battle and killed Luo Ruming, a Ming cavalry general.

He charged into the infantry formation after dawn, and was now exhausted. Before he could even reach Wang Gui, he fell from his horse and died a gruesome death, battered by several of his personal guards' repeated volleys of spears.

"Chase them! Chase them!"

Wang Gui shouted excitedly.

Although Pucha Huzhan is dead, all the Jurchen soldiers who fled from his command must be killed today.

They are the elite of the elite; we must not let them escape!

While Shi Ziming divided his forces to kill Tuhesu, he himself led several hundred cavalrymen to pursue and kill Wanyan Zonghan's personal guards.

Those personal guards did not stay to die with their commander, but instead fled the battlefield together.

There were five or six hundred men, and they had been in reserve until now. The soldiers and horses were in relatively good physical condition, and the steppe cavalry that tried to intercept them were all wiped out.

Shi Ziming led his troops to intercept and kill them, but they were unable to hold out and could only continue to pursue and entangle them.

Chapter 3471 All Gone

He recalled the cavalry he had sent out and continued the pursuit. After a while, he saw Wang Gui chasing and killing the fleeing enemy ahead, so he quickly blew his horn to call for Wang Gui to come and reinforce him.

Shi Ziming and Wang Gui, leading over a thousand Ming cavalry, paid the price of more than two hundred casualties before finally wiping out Wanyan Zonghan's personal guard.

Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu, however, managed to escape the battlefield.

The elite troops that Wanyan Mouyan inherited from his father were all wiped out by Pucha Huzhan.

He shared a room with Wanyan, and was surrounded by a group of Jurchen slave soldiers who had been liberated in the early days, as well as remnants of soldiers gathered along the way.

In the end, many warhorses collapsed.

They chose to stop and rest, and once their horses had recovered somewhat, they immediately trotted off to continue their escape.

Jurchen soldiers who lost their horses were ruthlessly abandoned. If a general or officer's horse died, they would even steal the soldiers' horses.

If they got hungry along the way, they would kill their nearly worn-out warhorses to feed them.

They first fled to Huihe County, where they replenished their food supplies and packhorses.

After resting for half the night, they continued their escape north.

The officials and ragtag troops in the county town vaguely guessed that the front line had suffered a major defeat, so they also packed up their valuables and fled.

The news quickly reached Jinyuan County in the southeast, and the officials and garrison of Jinyuan County also fled in haste.

Li Bao traversed mountains and valleys, rushing to the outskirts of Jinyuan County. He rested in the mountains until nightfall, planning to launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness to seize the city.

Carrying makeshift siege ladders, they rushed up the city wall only to find that the defending troops had all fled.

Li Bao was completely bewildered and ordered people to be brought in from the city for questioning.

The people had differing accounts; some said Wanyan Zonghan suffered a crushing defeat and was killed in battle.

Some say that Wanyan Zonghan fled to the north.

Some people even say that the Ming emperor will soon arrive with a million-strong army.

Regardless, there's no doubt that Wanyan Zonghan suffered a crushing defeat.

Li Bao was extremely frustrated. He had gone to great lengths to outflank and launch a surprise attack, only to find that the battle was already over.

"Rest for a day, leave a few hundred soldiers to guard the city, and the rest of the troops will return by the same route."

Li Bao licked his dry, chapped lips and said,

"Xingzhong Prefecture still has silver magic, so we can take it over!"

Meanwhile, Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu led their remaining troops on a northward escape.

Most of the able-bodied men of the grassland tribes along the way were conscripted by Wanyan Zonghan.

They extorted money from the elderly, women, and children left behind, and continued their journey with their livestock, finally arriving in the Mongol territory before the snow fell.

Instead of marching south to attack the Jin dynasty, Khabul Khan used the banner of resistance against the Jin to conquer and annex surrounding tribes.

He and his sons had almost reached Jin territory when they encountered the remnants of Jin troops fleeing north.

Wanyan Mouyan and Wanyan Hezhu were taken over, and the two knelt down upon meeting, calling out the name of Khabul Khan.

Khabul Khan was overjoyed, his vanity greatly satisfied.

Upon learning that they had brought hundreds of armored cavalrymen to surrender, he immediately ordered cattle and sheep to be slaughtered in their honor.

Both sides were overjoyed and drank themselves into a stupor.

Those several hundred Jurchen cavalrymen, exhausted from days of travel, were treated with hospitality by the Mongols today. They all lowered their guard, drank and ate meat, and then fell into a deep sleep.

At night, the second son, Ba'ertanba A'tu'er (Yesugei's biological father), and the fourth son, Hutula, went together into the tent to see Khabul Khan.

Baertanba Atuer asked, "Does the Great Khan really intend to take in these people?"

Khabul Khan, his eyes glazed with drunkenness, said, "They've come from afar, why not take them in?"

"Hundreds of Jurchen armored cavalry can be used by me."

Hutula asked, "If the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty finds out that we have taken in the remnants of the Jurchen tribe, what should we do?"