Liuzhou was on the verge of erupting.
At that time, neither side in Liang Mang realized that this was going to be a battle that would determine the outcome of the war. It would be on par with the Battle of the Western Wall that ended the chaos of the Spring and Autumn Period.
After Northern Mang's Great Commander Huang Songpu achieved a great victory, he rushed downwards in an imposing manner, heading straight for Liu Province's central Green Sky City. At the same time, Northern Mang's emperor who wanted to make the final decision didn't hesitate to empty out Gusai Prefecture's military forces, transferring forty thousand Southern Dynasty's border elite troops to reinforce Huang Songpu's main force. The two main relay routes that connected more than thirty large and small military towns were packed with people. Without stopping to rest, they rushed south.
Both armies gathered on the vast plains to the left of the Old Woman Mountain. This place was less than seventy miles away from Qingcang City. Not long ago, Liuzhou General Kou Jianghuai had given Beimang a huge victory on the northern battlefield, greatly boosting the morale of Beimang's north and south capitals. However, whether it was the Beiliang Governor-General House or the North Jiebei City Manor, they did not demote Kou Jianghuai. Hence, Kou Jianghuai was still the main commander of this battle. He led ten thousand young Liuzhou cavalry, twenty thousand Long Xiang Army, which was a level higher than the Liuzhou cavalry, and sixteen thousand Lantuo Mountain monk soldiers under his command. Probably because they knew that this battle would determine the ownership of the entire Liuzhou territory, Qingcang City also sent out the three thousand cavalry that were under the Provincial Governor's Manor. The four Liuzhou powers had a huge disparity in numbers, and there were close to fifty thousand troops in Liuzhou. It could be said that they were staking everything on one throw, and Kou Jianghuai had full control over them.
Although Liang Mang and Huang Songpu's forces had a smaller advantage compared to their initial numbers, the grassland cavalry still had the upper hand in terms of numbers and morale. This was mainly due to Kou Jianghuai's muddle-headed deployment of troops. The Lantuo Mountain monk soldiers that rushed to assist Liuzhou were separated from the Liuzhou border cavalry, causing the Long Xiang Army to suffer heavy casualties for the first time since it was formed. As a result, the morale of these troops was greatly boosted. After three battles, Huang Songpu's elite cavalry still had twelve thousand cavalry left. If one counted the Qingcaolan troops that were almost completely wiped out, they had lost more than half. From this, one could see that the battle of Liuzhou was undoubtedly a tough one. These ten thousand elite cavalry were undoubtedly the stabilizing force for the next battle.
Wanyan Yinjiang, who was born in Longguan Pass, had lost all face in the second battle. It was precisely because of his mistake that Northern Mang was unable to form a tight encirclement, allowing Kou Jianghuai's main force to break through the encirclement easily. His brother, Wanyan Jinliang, who was the most powerful person in the Southern Dynasty, sent a secret letter to reprimand him before the Beiting Emperor. The wording was extremely strict, and the meaning behind it was to tell Wanyan Yinjiang that if he was unable to redeem his family's face in Liuzhou, then the family would have to close the door to him. Before the third battle of Liuzhou began, Wanyan Yinjiang not only gathered all the generals in the army, but he also called all the centurions to the empty space outside the tent. He made everyone sign a military order that on the battlefield, if no one within ten people was able to kill the enemy, then the squad leader and the centurion would be executed on the spot! A chiliarch would be demoted to a centurion! Therefore, in the third battle, Wanyan Yin Jiang's cavalry soldiers were not afraid of death. After the battle, they indeed had a lot of gains. Their military exploits surpassed that of Huang Song Pu's main force. They even left behind the Yi family's cavalry. When this report, personally written by Old Marshal Huang Song Pu, was sent back to the two capitals of the grassland, the Wanyan army caused a sensation in the Southern Dynasty. The old lady was very happy and bestowed the Wanyan family with a total of eighteen Xianbei belts. This meant that the Wanyan family would have an extra eighteen Qie Xue Guards. More importantly, this battle ensured that the Wanyan family would sit firmly on the throne of the Southern Dynasty.
However, the repercussions were that after going through that brutal battle, the Wanyan Tribe's elite cavalry had been reduced to 14,000 men. In addition, the head of the Wanyan Tribe, Wanyan Jinliang, had to stay on the second front outside of Liangzhou Pass. Similarly, with the impending battle, the Wanyan Tribe's descendants had all left the nest. Among the troops that were sent to reinforce Liangzhou Pass, there wasn't a cavalry troop that belonged to the Wanyan Family. Currently, in the southern border of Beimang, Gusai Prefecture and Longyao Prefecture, other than the troops and horses that were sent south to attack Liangzhou Pass, the rest of the troops that were stationed there had been influenced by the remnants of Hong Jia's people who had fled to the north. They had long known that this was a rare commodity that was worth hoarding. This was especially so when the importance of Gusai Prefecture was slightly lower than Longyao Prefecture, where the central army of Beimang was located. Coincidentally, it was a critical moment for the troops that were sent south to reinforce Liangzhou Pass. Almost all of the troops guarding Liangzhou Pass and Maolong Pass had privately offered a price. After all, going south to Laolong Pass was the general trend, and no one could refuse the Emperor's order. However, there were a lot of things that needed to be done under the table. For example, the Wanyan Family was afraid that Wanyan Yinjiang would make a mistake in the next battle due to the lack of troops, so they secretly offered a price to Ligu and Maolong Towns, which were second only to Tile-Building Gentleman's Pavilion, in an attempt to persuade the two cavalry troops to take care of the Imperial Army during the battle of Laolong Mountain. Unexpectedly, the two generals of the two towns firmly refused. It turned out that the 'Yi' Families that were also on the frontlines of Liuzhou Pass had already taken the initiative to spend a large amount of money to form a temporary alliance with them. Furthermore, the price they offered was much more sincere than the reserved Wanyan Family. For example, the 'Yi' Family that 'bought' Maolong Town's 5,000 cavalry troops not only promised that the daughter of the family would be married to the eldest son of the cavalry general, but they also offered chests of gold and silver that amounted to 400,000 taels of silver to Maolong Town!
Logically speaking, after three fierce battles in a row, the Second Cavalry, which had the weakest combat power and the largest number of soldiers, should have suffered the heaviest losses. However, the result was unimaginable. Before the southern expedition, there were more than forty thousand cavalrymen of mixed brands. Of the forty thousand cavalrymen who survived to advance to the battlefield of Crone Mountain with their commander-in-chief, Huang Songpu, there were still thirty-four thousand cavalrymen who survived! In addition to the military forces of Gusai Province, which were advancing south at full speed, the forty thousand cavalrymen of the Southern Dynasty who had been recuperating in the rear from the beginning to the end were all "kept" by the Second Noble Families with a large sum of money. Apart from the twenty thousand cavalrymen who were the old King of the Southern Courtyard, Huang Songpu's old subordinates who would obviously follow the old commander-in-chief's lead, the remaining twenty thousand cavalrymen were all divided up by the Second Noble Families. Huang Songpu, who had already lost his position as the King of the Southern Courtyard, could do nothing about it. The old lady sitting on the dragon throne, who was concerned about the Central Plains, turned a blind eye to it.
Huang Songpu, who had a large number of reinforcements, did not act rashly. Otherwise, in this grand battle that was about to begin, the main battlefield would be under Qingcang City, and not on Crone Mountain, which was like a small island floating alone in the sea.
The area to the right of Crone Mountain was dozens of li, with strong winds and strong sand. The large expanse of rugged terrain was naturally extremely difficult for cavalry to gallop through. In the first battle between Liang Mang and Liu Gui, the cavalry under Crone Mountain had successfully advanced south from the plains on the left flank of Crone Mountain. However, at that time, the border army of Liuzhou was only defending the city to the death. Their military strength was also relatively weak. The refugees had not yet joined the army on a large scale, and the Long Xiang Army was alone. The main force in the field was not enough to support a large scale cavalry battle far away from Qingcang City. As a result, they did not choose to take the initiative to intercept. However, it was clear that today was different from the past. After Kou Jianghuai obtained the complete military power of a province, coupled with the fact that the Beiliang Governor-General and the young vassal king attached great importance to Liuzhou, Kou Jianghuai not only fought three soul-stirring interception battles, he also resolutely chose the flat and vast Crone Mountain as the final battlefield. If they won, the Beimang cavalry would never be able to see the walls of Qingcang City. If they lost, then not only would Qingcang City fall into the hands of the Beimang cavalry, Liuzhou would probably become a new province of the Southern Dynasty of Beimang.
Crone Mountain was not tall and steep. Instead, it was like a large mound of dirt. The north and south slopes were enough for a small group of cavalry to ride their horses up to the top.
Even the most muddle-headed general would feel that occupying Crone Mountain to look down on the battlefield was beneficial for him to assess the situation and mobilize his troops. Kou Jianghuai was one of the two jade annulus of Da Chu, and Huang Songpu had once used his military exploits to become a meritorious general of the Southern Courtyard. Hence, the battle for the high ground of Crone Mountain had already begun before the two armies officially engaged in battle. Huang Songpu did not have the selfish intention of wasting the elites of the other divisions. He decisively sent out the remaining 400 Green Grass Bars to climb up the mountain with shields and blades. The Green Grass Bars had always been on the same level as the Crow Bars under Dong Zhuo and the Black Fox Bars under General Liu Gui. They were ranked in the top three. Although they were dismounted to fight, their bodies were strong and their strength was shocking. They were good at close combat.
As expected, the Liuzhou side sent out 600 White Horse Crossbowmen, similarly armed with blades and shields. They climbed up the mountain at almost the same time.
Both sides entered the battlefield of Crone Mountain at almost the same time and started to fight for Crone Mountain at almost the same time. This was probably the so-called coincidence of fate.
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