After the decisive battle near Tuanshan began, the Huaxia army had already repelled two waves of attacks commanded by Wanyan Xiyin in the position south of the ancient city of Hanzhong. Black smoke drifted in the wind, and the heat waves from the explosions scorched the air and soil on the battlefield until it was dry. Corpses of men and horses piled up on the position.
Wanyan Xiyin had already sensed that something was wrong.
Between Tuanshan and Hanzhong, all sorts of small-scale chaos and killings were taking place. The scouts that had set out from Zonghan to Hanzhong had been intercepted and killed on the way. Near the west gate of Hanzhong, two companies of the Huaxia army had once again launched a sneak attack on the city gate, causing a wave of chaos not long ago in the morning. This also made it difficult for the messenger soldiers from the west to enter the city easily.
But at this moment, the hot air balloons that rose from the city walls could already vaguely see the flames of war and chaos more than ten li away.
At a quarter to nine, Wanyan Yuchi came out of Hanzhong and arrived at the Jurchen camp in the southeast. When he reported the news from the west to Wanyan Xiyin, the battlefield was in the midst of a break between two waves of attacks. Wanyan Xiyin rode on his warhorse and listened to Wanyan Yuchi's report, which confirmed the suspicions in his heart. Then the old man closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"We've set the decisive battle here, and the other side has set the decisive battle at Tuanshan …" he murmured, then opened his eyes and looked forward. "Assemble three thousand battle-ready soldiers in the city and have them leave the city to the west to support the commander-in-chief. Tell the defending generals in the city that Hanzhong can be given up and half of it."
Wanyan Yuchi was stunned, then he bowed to accept the order and turned to leave.
The old man put his hand on the sword at his waist. At this moment, he completely understood that in the two waves of fierce attacks he had launched since the morning, the Huaxia soldiers on the opposite side had been pushed back by a lack of troops.
On a battlefield like this, it wasn't strange for the opponent to use a small number of troops to repel several waves of attacks when they were stubbornly resisting. But what really struck Wanyan Xiyin's mind was that the Huaxia army had continuously launched attacks from last night to this morning. It was their actions of leaving only a small number of troops here while retaining their rationality.
Even if the entire Huaxia Seventh Army was sent to attack Tuanshan from the west, it would only have a little more than ten thousand men.
Something was hammering at him in his mind.
This was a clue that he had noticed many years ago. It was something that had sprouted when he first cast his gaze towards the Little Cang River in the northwest. The rebel army of the Wu dynasty killed the emperor and then defeated the Xixia people in Dong Zhiyuan. He vaguely sensed that this was a potential threat and a bad seed. Although this seed was too small compared to the huge size of the Jin Kingdom, he still sent people to persuade them to surrender. Later, they were eliminated.
Little Cang He's tenacity was beyond his expectations. Although he had never gone to the Northwest personally, he had gathered information from there. In his lifetime of battle experience, the many things that Little Cang River had shown him made him feel suspicious.
That army should have collapsed long ago.
The Female Zhenren was also a team that had fought its way out of extreme adversity. But even if it was replaced by the team led by Aguda, Little Cang He was still confusing. Moreover, the two armies had completely different appearances.
Since the end of the three-year battle of Little Cang He, the sacrifice of Lou Shi and Ci Buxie had awakened Zong Han and many others. Together with Xi Yin, they had focused their attention on the Southwest. That was why this expedition to the South came about. At this time, they were all experienced generals. Some of them had accumulated experience on the battlefield, while others were familiar with history books and studied the art of war. But the appearance that the Huaxia army had shown in the Southwest did not exist in any history book or the art of war.
The crushing defeat in the Southwest had broadened their understanding every time. When the decisive battle with the Seventh Army of Huaxia began, he could vaguely feel that the complete state of some things had already been revealed to him.
These days, this feeling had been beating him harder and harder in his mind, reminding him that the situation he and Zong Han were facing was different from any other situation in the past. From the first time they knocked on the door of the Wu dynasty, the people of the Wu dynasty might have faced similar surprises. But the Northerners who were good at fighting had been recorded in many history books. Only this time, he and Zong Han were facing something that had never been recorded in the history books.
Such a subconscious and contradictory appearance was beating his head with a "dong dong dong" sound. The other side should have collapsed long ago, but they hadn't. They should not have fought like this. But the situation had appeared. He could not predict the consequences of his battle.
But there was nothing else he could think of other than a decisive battle.
He was already old.
People always learned in their youth, experienced in their youth, and by middle age, the wise had seen everything in the world. Even those who had never personally experienced it could draw inferences about other things. Just like the study of things that had arisen in the hands of Ning Yi in the southwest. Even though many new things were appearing, he still understood the basic principles. They were not things that he could not understand.
But at this moment, a dark silhouette seemed to rise from the bottom of the sea.
Dong dong dong —
He could faintly hear this sound.
But other than a decisive battle, he had no other choice.
If he could break through the Huaxia position at the southern gate of Hanzhong as quickly as possible, he could decisively interfere with the battle at Tuanshan.
He had Wanyan Yuchi lead the elite soldiers of Hanzhong away in order to give the Black Flag Army a path of retreat outside the southern gate. They did not have many people. When the position on this side could no longer hold, they could kill their way into Hanzhong while Xi Yin could head straight for Tuanshan.
In terms of the art of war and planning, he had already done everything he could do.
Not long after, another wave of attacks began outside the southern gate of Hanzhong. The fiercest charge came, toppling mountains and overturning seas. Cannonballs flew and smoke obscured the sun.
Chen Hai went up to meet them.
Dong dong dong —
The outline of a new era was knocking on the door in people's minds.
Wanyan Xi Yin attacked with all his might.
…
On Tuanshan, Wanyan Zonghan, who was in the battle formation, also saw clearly what the Seventh Army of Huaxia looked like when they really launched their attack.
The massive attack was like quicksilver flowing on the ground, peeling off the outer perimeter of the Jurchen army. The killing spread, and a large number of Jin soldiers scattered all over the mountains and plains. Zong Han observed all this in silence. Although he had guessed many things before, this was the first time he had witnessed such a large-scale charge of a disorganized army.
In front of the charge of the Huaxia army, battle formations had completely lost their effect. Faced with dozens of people charging at a battle formation of more than a thousand people, the power of the arrows was reduced to the minimum. Moreover, when the other side rushed close, they could only organize their troops and charge forward. If they wanted to stand still and wait for the enemy to attack, the other side would turn around and run after dozens of people threw Fire Grenades, and they would suffer great losses.
They could only charge to meet the attack.
But if they met the attack with a formation of a hundred people, the team might lose command after one battle. The soldiers who were not swept away by the formation would try to find a place to hide or choose to escape after the formation broke down. The soldiers who were unwilling to escape would often gather together and become targets of the Fire Thunder. They were often unable to deal with the counterattack of the Huaxia army. The Jurchen troops who had lost their formation couldn't even retreat. Without a formation, retreat would lead to a large-scale rout.
This situation wouldn't happen to the Huaxia army. This was the most basic difference. In the early stages of the battle, the 100-man teams on their side were thrown out one after another. Some were killed head-on by a mere twenty people, while others were attacked from both sides when they met the Huaxia army charging at them. The 100-man teams quickly collapsed.
The Jurchen Zhenren was not unprepared for a scattered battle. They had already encountered a similar situation in the southwest. But now, faced with the swift and efficient small-scale charge of the Huaxia army, their side was already several levels behind.
Dozens or even hundreds of charges converged into a vast and mighty wave, but Zong Han could tell that the other side had only sent out a few thousand troops. His side could throw out several times the number of troops, but they weren't as nimble as the other side in every aspect.
Of course, he didn't just sit and wait for death. It was quarter past nine, and as the battle situation on the periphery began to become chaotic, Gao Qingyi led two thousand cavalry out from the north in an attempt to sweep through the entire battlefield. Meanwhile, the Huaxia army sent one thousand reserve troops from the north, northeast, and southwest to invade the Jurchen army's main formation.
Gao Qingyi's two thousand cavalry dealt a serious blow to the Huaxia army's attack. Even though a large number of Huaxia troops nearby quickly gathered and retaliated with fire, thunder, and spears, several troops were still drowned by the cavalry. The exchange rate on the battlefield was close to one for one.
In the past, this would have been a laughable number. If they were facing the Wu dynasty or even the Liao people on the battlefield, the two thousand Jurchen cavalry could often decide the outcome of a battle. They would often choose to avoid large-scale infantry formations, but as long as the infantry formation was in disarray, their charge would be enough to destroy tens of thousands of soldiers. But at this moment, when faced with the Huaxia army's scattered numbers, the exchange rate of one for one became their only trump card.
At noon, the cavalry's charge was stopped, and Gao Qingyi led his troops back. Part of the Huaxia army tore through the outer layer of the Jurchen army like peeling an onion, and closed in on the core of the Jin army's formation of eight thousand. The fighting became more intense, and some of the Huaxia army stopped temporarily or began to support their comrades on the flanks.
There was a wave of explosions, and the smell of death wafted in the wind. On the right side of the field of vision, the Huaxia army was fighting over a Jurchen artillery position on a hill. A team of bodyguards received orders to go to support them. In front of them, black flags were gradually gathering into a surging river. On the left side of the mountain, the figures of the defeated soldiers were surging towards the mountain ridge. Zong Han stood under his flag, motionless, and only occasionally spoke to Han Qixian beside him.
"Dozens of people can form a formation, and adapt to the situation after dispersing … How did they do it …"
"I heard that they even taught every soldier to read and write …"
"The art of war and battle formations are mostly useless now …"
Since thousands of years ago, the various characteristics of the army had given birth to all kinds of military tactics. It was difficult to coordinate the movement of tens of thousands of people on the battlefield, so they needed to plan their steps with the beat of drums. When countless soldiers formed a formation, one person squeezed the other, even if some people were timid and wanted to escape, they couldn't move at all. A few people could accept an order and try their best to carry it out, and they could become officers. Most of the soldiers were just dragged along by the army. If thousands of people could move in one direction without disorder, it was often the key to the art of war.
If thousands of people moved clumsily, they could move a little more smoothly, and then they could circle to the side of the army, so that they couldn't react in time and create disorder. Only the soldiers and bodyguards with the most sense of belonging could leave the battle formation without disorder, escape, or slack off. They could become scouts. Many times, scouts were also the key to victory or defeat on the battlefield.
And the Huaxia army had thrown tens of thousands of people all over the mountains and plains.
They didn't need the beat of drums, they didn't need to form a formation, they didn't need to be dragged along … From now on, the art of war of the past was useless. Zong Han knew that everything he had accumulated over the past decades had been lost here.
This wasn't the victory or defeat in the art of war.
This was just a head-on crushing of an elite force.
Even the Mountain Slaughtering Guards, who used to be the best in the world, couldn't compare to the Seventh Army of Huaxia.
He knew what Ning Yi, Qin Shaoqian, and the others had done, but he couldn't understand how they had done it.
"Qixian …"
At a certain moment, his throat was somewhat dry, and then he paused for a long time because the sound of the battlefield could be heard in the wind. Han Qixian cupped his hands and waited. After a while, he said, "Commander-in-chief, perhaps it's time to break out." What he could see clearly, how could the many Jurchen generals not see clearly in the past few days?
Zong Han shook his head. The shouts of the Huaxia army could be heard in the wind around him. The shouts vaguely said, "Kill the Han —"
Scenes from more than ten years ago rang out in his mind. That was the first time the Jin Kingdom had marched south. They had knocked on the gates of Yanmen Pass and marched south as if they were crushing dry weeds and smashing rotten wood. The Han people had put up weak resistance, and some of the more tenacious ones had been killed and their corpses hung on the city walls. When the army had advanced to Xinzhou, there was once a group of assassins who had thrust their spear right in front of him for the first time.
It was in a Daoist temple in Xin Prefecture, and the leader was a white-haired old Han man. He brandished his spear and led dozens of Han swordsmen to kill their way in. Surrounded by the army, they slaughtered until blood flowed everywhere. The old man's spear had once thrust right in front of him, and the assassination had almost succeeded. But in the end, these people had been drowned in the encirclement of the army.
"Kill the Han —" That was what the Han people had shouted at that time.
In the many years that followed, perhaps many people had shouted the same thing, but Zong Han hadn't heard any of them. At this moment, the voice came from afar again, as if it had been more than ten years since then, and it had once again charged right in front of him. Zong Han raised his head, his eyes burning with flames.
"Qixian … look …"
He pointed to the east.
"That's Qin Shaoqian."
At this moment, the Jurchen army still had the advantage in numbers. For decades, the old man had never been a weak sheep. Most of the time, he was used to being a lion. But even when he was at a disadvantage, he would not let go of any opportunity.
It was almost noon when the behemoth moved.
…
"Good boy! Charge with me — "
In the Jin army, Wanyan Saba and the old man drew their swords and roared.
…
From the front, middle, and back, the Huaxia troops surged forward one after another.
The company commander, Niu Chengshu, brandished his long saber, and charged forward.
"Kill the Han —"
…
Their shouts converged into a raging tide, and with an indomitable momentum, they crashed into each other.
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