"Dong!" Wu Qunlie slammed his fist on the table and gritted his teeth. "Governor, please understand. Execute the Governor's plan immediately. Inform Liao and Xu to abandon the Hukou defense line and retreat immediately to meet up with our army!"
He, who was still hesitating earlier, finally made his decision.
"Yes!" The messenger received the order and rushed off.
Wu Qunlie waved his hand and summoned his generals to the map. He pointed from the north to the south and said, "According to the Governor's plan, we will abandon the defense line completely. However, we cannot let go of it completely. Once we do, the enemy troops crossing the river will intercept our troops heading south. From the north, we will let go of it one by one. The army will gather towards the south and attack Zhang Hu and Xu Jingyue. If the battle goes well, we will stop. If not, we will follow the Governor's plan and not give the Yan army a chance to resupply. We will exhaust the Yan army to death in our Song Kingdom! "
…
"Hmph!" In the temporary tent, Zhang Hu received Guo Xianfu's successful raid and laughed coldly. He then ordered, "Send a message to Xu Jingyue immediately. We will cross the river and attack without delay!"
…
A golden wing landed in the camp on the other side of the river. Xu Jingyue quickly came out of the tent. With his order, the hundreds of thousands of troops started to move and cross the river immediately!
…
"Sir, Xu Jingyue's troops are crossing the river!"
After receiving an urgent report, Liao Nanqing and Xu Laiping quickly rushed out of the main tent and ran to a high place. Looking into the distance, they saw a dark mass of wooden rafts carrying people rushing down along the river.
Liao Nanqing said, "Brother Xu, you will lead 200,000 troops to defend the rear and prevent Zhang Hu from ambushing us. I will lead the rest to defend against Xu Jingyue's troops! We will support each other. If something goes wrong, we will support each other immediately. "
"Alright!" Xu Laiping agreed. Liao Nanqing then sent his deputy to coordinate with Xu Laiping's troops.
There was no other way. Xu Laiping did not have 200,000 troops under him. Liao Nanqing's troops naturally needed to coordinate with him.
Soon, the 400,000 men were divided into two groups, one in front and one in the back.
Not long after, the shouts of battle shook the heavens from the shore. Xu Jingyue's troops were attacking forcefully. Compared to Zhang Hu's troops attacking forcefully, it could be said that they were in a much better situation. All of the projectiles and projectiles on the shore had been destroyed by Zhang Hu.
On the shore and on the river, both sides fired arrows at each other, and a large number of people from both sides fell.
After the rain of arrows stopped for a moment, the cultivators from both sides rushed out again and fought desperately on the river.
Xu Jingyue's men charged ashore at all costs. Those who charged ashore were killed by the Song army. However, the men on the wooden rafts still charged ashore.
Xu Laiping, who was in charge of defending the rear, looked into the distance. As expected, Zhang Hu and Xu Jingyue were indeed going to launch a pincer attack. Slowly, he could see Zhang Hu's army advancing towards them.
When he saw the formation of Zhang Hu's army, his eyes widened and his face twitched.
Zhang Hu's side had pushed over a large number of throwing facilities. They had all been dismantled from the Hukou defensive line and had been secretly transported away. Now, all of them had been assembled and pulled back.
"Fire!" Xu Laiping drew his sword and roared, not wanting Zhang Hu's army to get close.
Amidst the rapid clanging sounds, Zhang Hu's army used their shields to protect the wooden rafts as they advanced. Although people occasionally fell, it did not stop the army from advancing.
"Do not panic! Advance! Continue advancing!" A commander shouted. He ignored the fallen soldiers and continued to force the army to maintain their formation as they advanced.
Once the army reached a suitable distance, they lit up many fireballs. These were the fireballs that Xu Laiping had used to attack Zhang Hu's men. Previously, Xu Laiping had retreated too hastily and had left all the resources for Zhang Hu. Now, Zhang Hu was giving him a taste of his own medicine.
"Fire!" Following Zhang Hu's order, the throwing wooden arms shot up, and fireballs flew towards the other side.
Sparks flew in all directions from the other side's camp. The jars and oil within the fireballs shattered, sending sparks flying everywhere. The burning kerosene turned into burning men who ran around in all directions. Miserable screams rang out incessantly.
Zhang Hu had already dismantled the defensive facilities on the defensive line in advance. The Song army could not even find a place to hide. Soon, the battlefield turned into a sea of fire.
Large rocks from the catapults fell from the sky and smashed into the Song army's camp. Miserable screams rang out continuously.
The defensive line under Xu Laiping's command immediately fell into chaos. The formation of arrows broke, and now, it was Zhang Hu's side's turn to counterattack.
Trapped in the sea of fire and rocks, the Song army could not use their shields to defend against the arrows falling from the sky. Their men fell in droves.
"Save me!" Someone fell to the ground after being hit by an arrow, unable to move. When he saw the fireballs falling from the sky, he cried out in fear. However, a large rock fell and smashed him, sending blood and flesh flying.
The cultivators who charged forward tried to destroy the enemy's weapons, but they were suppressed by the countless arrows.
Xu Laiping turned his head and looked at the troops charging at the river. Then, he looked back at the front. His face was filled with grief and anger, and tears welled up in his eyes.
He knew that this side had fallen for a trap. He knew that this side was finished. He knew that the defensive line could no longer hold.
He also knew that he could not allow the other side to continue relying on their weapons. He drew his sword and roared, "Charge!"
"Kill!" The Song army immediately charged out of the chaos, raising their shields and attacking.
At Zhang Hu's command, the shield formation at the front quickly retreated, releasing the frontline. The archers at the front immediately changed to shooting horizontally, while the archers at the back continued to shoot horizontally.
"Lord Xu!" a cultivator exclaimed, and a few other cultivators exclaimed together with him.
Xu Laiping snatched a shield and held it in his hand. As the commander, he swung his sword and charged forward with the other soldiers.
Arrows rained down from the sky. Xu Laiping raised his shield to block them. Amid the clanging sounds, the soldiers at the front suddenly fell. A few arrows shot horizontally at Xu Laiping. Xu Laiping rolled on the ground and dodged them. However, just as he stood up, an arrow struck him in the chest.
Following that, more than ten arrows shot at him, causing his body to tremble. One of the arrows struck him squarely in the eye socket.
Xu Laiping, who was bleeding from his nose and mouth, fell backward. A few cultivators rushed over to grab him and quickly dragged him back.
The Song army charged forward without any regard for their lives. The archers at the front of the Yan army quickly retreated, and the shield-bearers stepped forward again. They constructed their shields to block the Song army's attacks. The spears behind the shields pierced through the gaps between the shields, killing one group of Song soldiers after another.
Amidst the rumbling sounds, the Song Kingdom cultivators used their sword Qi to destroy the shields.
The cultivators on Yan's side immediately flew out and engaged in a bloody battle with the Song Kingdom cultivators.
"Charge!" Zhang Hu waved his sword and roared.
"Kill!" The Yan army immediately launched an all-out counterattack. Both sides engaged in a bloody battle …
At the front of the river's defenses, a general in blood-stained armor ran to Liao Nanqing's side and said sorrowfully, "Lord, Lord Xu died in battle!"
"What?" Liao Nanqing turned his head and exclaimed. It could be said that he instantly remembered the scene of Xu Laiping entrusting his family in the capital before his death. "Ah!" With a roar, he kicked the deputy general he sent to cooperate with Xu Laiping to the ground and roared, "Then how do you still have the face to come back alive?"
The deputy general burst into tears and said, "Lord, leave quickly. The enemy's attacks are too fierce. We can't defend the rear anymore! I'm useless and can't follow you anymore. I'll leave first! "He got up and slashed his sword across his neck.
His action was swift and without hesitation. Blood sprayed all over Liao Nanqing's face.
Liao Nanqing was stunned. Blood still dripped from his blinking eyelids. The deputy general fell in front of him just like that …
Liao Nanqing himself did not know how he managed to escape from the battlefield filled with the sounds of killing. He only knew that he was constantly fighting.
When it was quiet again, there were only a few thousand soldiers around him who were covered in blood. Some of them couldn't hold on any longer and sat on the ground, panting heavily.
He was rescued by a group of cultivators who risked their lives to save him.
"General Liao, you're injured." A cultivator wanted to help him take off his blood-stained armor and treat the wound on his back.
Liao Nanqing pushed him away and looked at the thousands of soldiers who were looking at him silently.
There were more than 400,000 soldiers! These were the only ones left? These were the brothers who had followed him for so many years?
"Ah …" Liao Nanqing suddenly waved his sword and roared angrily at the sky. Then, he waved his sword and slashed at the grass and trees around him as if he had gone mad.
A group of people who were already numb and battered watched quietly.
…
Of the hundreds of thousands of Song soldiers, there were more than a few thousand who escaped. They didn't escape in one direction either. About twenty to thirty thousand people escaped in all directions. There were too many of them, and they couldn't chase after them. The Yan army couldn't possibly split up to chase after them.
What was a field of corpses? This was a field of corpses. Gong Lince and the others stood on a pile of rubble and looked around.
There were hundreds of thousands of corpses in front of them. The cultivators' fighting was nothing compared to this. Gong Lince was very quiet. This was the first time he saw so many people dying in battle.
The smell of blood in the air was so thick that it was pungent. The blood that flowed down had already dyed the river red.
In the dyed river, a wooden raft reached the shore. Xu Jingyue had arrived. The group went ashore and looked at the tragic battlefield.
The Yan soldiers who were cleaning up the battlefield were searching for the rations on the Song soldiers' corpses. Some of the soldiers carried baskets and helped. There was a huge shortage of rations here. As long as there was food, they wouldn't let it go.
The corpses that were cleaned up were thrown into the river. If they didn't throw them into the river, they wouldn't be able to deal with them. Throwing them into the river was the most convenient method. They couldn't just watch the corpses rot.
Zhang Hu appeared to welcome Xu Jingyue.
"Where is Meng Shuai? Let me go and greet him, "Xu Jingyue said.
Zhang Hu said, "Meng Shuai is too tired. I have sealed his acupoints and forced him to sleep. Let him sleep for a while longer."
Xu Jingyue nodded. "There aren't enough wooden rafts. There are still close to two hundred thousand people on the other side who haven't crossed the river. I need to use the wooden rafts here to receive them."
Zhang Hu understood. There weren't enough wooden rafts to send back after crossing the river. He waved his hand and summoned someone to help Xu Jingyue.
After that, the two generals walked among the piles of corpses to inspect the battlefield.
Seeing so many corpses, Xu Jingyue asked, "How many surrendered soldiers are there?"
"About twenty or thirty thousand escaped. There are no surrendered soldiers."
"Did you kill all the surrendered soldiers?"
"No, no one surrendered. Those who didn't escape fought to the death. These people are very strong. Even under such circumstances, we still lost a hundred thousand people."
"Not a single surrendered soldier?" Xu Jingyue was shocked. "What kind of people are Liao Nanqing and Xu Laiping?"
Zhang Hu said, "Who cares? I have to kill them even if they surrendered. I don't have enough rations to feed them."
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