New Song Dynasty: My Wife is an Imperial Princess

In a dense forest outside the north gate of Guangling City.

The entire troop that had just been dispatched returned unscathed, more than two hundred men, without a single scratch or bruise. This brought a pleasant surprise to Commander Yue Fei.

Although the Jin army suffered heavy losses in the battle just outside the city, even a weakened camel is bigger than a horse. For the guerrilla squad he led, the Jin camp with 20,000 men still existed as a den of dragons and tigers.

"When the enemy advances, we retreat; when the enemy camps, we harass; when the enemy tires, we attack; when the enemy retreats, we pursue—this is indeed a wise saying."

As it turned out, the sixteen-character strategy brought by Tang Qian and Tang Xiaoqi was indeed effective. With the added boost of the explosive iron ball, Yue Fei concluded that Wanyan Xie could not hold out for more than two days and would definitely choose to withdraw his troops first.

Seeing that the setting sun was beginning to sink, Yue Fei pondered for a moment, then suddenly exchanged a smile with Tang Xiaoqi: "Let the Jin army lower their guard first, and after it gets completely dark, then call them to get up and go to the toilet."

After a brief period of chaos, the Jin army camp finally returned to normal order. In order to prevent the Song army from launching another surprise attack, Wanyan Xie also ordered the camp to shrink and patrols and vigilance to be strengthened so that they could react quickly and annihilate the enemy if they came to harass them.

Unfortunately, all his efforts were in vain in Yue Fei's eyes.

On the contrary, while concentrating forces can indeed enable rapid command of actions, it also makes one a sitting duck.

Although the Jin army's outer perimeter was blocked by trenches and simple fences, which might hinder people from entering and leaving, they were now using weapons capable of long-range attacks. Whether it was arrows or small throwing equipment, they could bring the Jin army stationed in the camp into their combat radius.

The most disgusting thing is that the Jin army had no idea which direction the enemy would throw firearms at them from, so even if they wanted to hide, they didn't know where to go.

The night was deep, but the central command tent was brightly lit. The weapons used by the Song army were too powerful, and he had no way to deal with them. Now, his less than 20,000 soldiers were completely like fish on the chopping block, just waiting for Tang Qian to sharpen his knife.

On the battlefield, the law of the jungle prevails, and the hatred between the two sides runs deep, making reconciliation impossible. If he were Tang Qian, he would certainly not let go of this good opportunity to defeat himself. Therefore, tonight is destined to be no peaceful night.

As Wanyan Xieye had predicted, at the quarter past midnight, a firecracker in the distance, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, pierced the curtain of night, leaving a bright spot in the air. The once silent Jin army camp immediately erupted into chaos, like a pot of boiling water.

All the soldiers ran out of their tents and gathered in the square in the center of the camp, their eyes filled with a deep sense of fear as they looked around.

To guard against a midnight raid by the Song army, they all slept fully clothed. Although they were supposed to be resting, their nerves were constantly on edge, so how could they possibly fall asleep peacefully?

The Grand Marshal was indeed a prophet, guessing that the Song army would pull this stunt. At this moment, the Jin army was secretly rejoicing, as if they had been spared another life.

After waiting for a long time, gazing at the dark night sky, all that could be heard was the croaking of frogs. There was no sign of an enemy attack, and not even a single person was in sight outside the camp.

It was a false alarm, but Wanyan Xie did not let his guard down. He ordered his generals to dismiss the soldiers. He knew that it was either a relapse of his old illness or that Tang Qian had injured his vital energy. His face was unusually pale.

Calculating the time, there are still two hours before dawn. Although it seems short, the Song army has a lot of room to maneuver.

They could easily launch such a raid every half hour, with some attacks being real and some feints, making it impossible for us to defend against. Before dawn, they would surely launch a general offensive when the army was most exhausted.

If the opponent were to launch a routine attack, Wanyan Xieye would not be afraid. However, the thought of that terrifying weapon made his body go numb.

The enemy is brave and resourceful, and they also have such powerful weapons. How can we possibly win this battle?

When two armies clash, it's not surprising that their commanders, whose abilities are roughly equal, can predict each other's battle plans. As Wanyan Xie had predicted, Yue Fei continued to harass the Jin army camp for the next two hours. By the time of Yin (3-5 AM), a faint light began to appear in the dark night sky. The Jin soldiers, who had been harassed all night, could no longer hold on. Most of them were in a half-asleep state. Even those who forced themselves to stay alert and guard their posts had bloodshot eyes. When the final attack occurred, many refused to leave their tents and remained sitting motionless.

The repeated failures in the siege had already greatly dampened the morale of the Jin army. The relentless harassment further exhausted them, both physically and mentally. Many Jin soldiers with weak willpower began to plan how to find an opportunity to defect after dawn.

Just when the men and horses were most exhausted that day, the area outside the Jin army camp once again became lively as expected. Wanyan Xie narrowed his eyes, drew his long sword, and shouted, "Prepare to meet the enemy!"

Wanyan Xie had no choice but to be so serious. After a night of harassment, now was the best opportunity for the enemy to launch a sneak attack. The enemy's general was definitely not a fool, so how could he possibly let go of this opportunity that had been created with great difficulty?

It was at this moment that Wanyan Xie also regretted that he had underestimated the enemy. When he led his army to Guangling, he thought that capturing Yangzhou would be a matter of moments and that there was no need to be too cautious. In order to break camp and cross the Yangtze River as soon as possible, he did not set up any defenses in his camp.

He simply hadn't expected that the garrison of Guangling would still have the ability to launch an enemy attack.

Even though a trench had been hastily dug earlier, it couldn't withstand the leap of the Song cavalry who were truly planning to storm the camp.

With countless exploding iron balls clearing the way, and under the cover of layers of smoke, a troop of Song cavalry brazenly charged in.

The momentum generated by the horses' galloping hooves was enough to terrify the infantry. Yue Fei led only a hundred men in a single charge, tearing a gap in the retreating Jin army and charging straight toward the central command tent.

This group of men was heading straight for Wanyan Xieye. Their purpose was to draw the Jin army's attention and provide cover for the soldiers behind them.

The other hundreds of Song soldiers followed closely behind set their sights on the horse pen on the right side of the main camp, and then quickly rushed to the rear camp to burn the grain and fodder.

Directly in front of him was the central command tent. Yue Fei's eyes gleamed with a bloodshot red light: "Wanyan Xieye, prepare to die!"