At two o'clock in the night, Liu Cui led an army of 80,000 people to detour from the east and go north, preparing to go behind the main force of the Jurchen army and form a pincer attack on the Jurchen army. At this time, they were located about fifteen miles northeast of Linhuang City, a distance of
The main force of the Jurchen Army is about thirty miles away, and the main force of the Jurchen Army of 80,000 is located fifteen miles west of Linhuang City.
The 80,000-strong Western Army was moving in a low-key manner. At this time, a scout came to report that a Jurchen cavalry force of about 20,000 people was spotted ten miles away to the east, rushing towards this direction.
Liu Cui immediately realized that this should be the palace guard that His Highness King Yong had asked him to pay attention to. Wanyan Wushu would mobilize them to join the battle, and sure enough they came.
This is an opportunity, but it is also very dangerous. If the enemy's main force comes from the west, you will be attacked from both sides. The only way is to fight quickly and eliminate this support force before the enemy's main force comes.
Liu Cui immediately made a decision and ordered General Xu Liang to form the north wing, General Wang Kai to form the east wing, and General Du Min to form the south wing. The three of them each led 20,000 troops to surround the enemy from three directions.
Liu Cui himself was the due west interceptor army and led 20,000 troops to intercept the enemy on the west bank of Wugu River.
In just a moment, the thunderous sound of horse hooves came from the east, and then the ground began to tremble. Twenty thousand enemy cavalry appeared in the distance. First, there was a black line, and then the black line became thicker and closer.
Above the grassland, this is clearly a big black flag.
At this time, Wanyan Wushu led the 20,000 cavalry who went to the king's tent to bloody suppress the opposition. Wanyan Wushu rushed back to the camp, but the 20,000 cavalry were still left at the king's tent.
But as soon as Wanyan Wushu returned to the camp, he discovered the main force of the Western Army in the south. At this time, the 20,000 cavalry left in the king's tent became extremely important. Wanyan immediately ordered them to rush back to the camp.
The Jurchen army that Liu Cui encountered was the 20,000 cavalry who had returned from the king's tent. It was late at night. The Jurchen cavalry were accustomed to the vastness of the grassland and did not realize that the danger was coming.
In front is the Wugu River. The river is quite wide, about a hundred feet, but not deep. The water level is only as high as a person's chest and abdomen on average. You can cross the river on horseback.
Just when the cavalry was about to go down the river, there was a big chaos in the north. Twenty thousand Western cavalry came from the north. Arrows intertwined in the air like raindrops. The Jurchen cavalry was caught off guard and could not organize a counterattack.
Liang led his troops into the enemy's ranks, and the Jurchen army in the north was in chaos.
The commander-in-chief Xu Liang is Xu Qing, the former general under Yue Fei. To avoid taboos, he changed his name to Liang. Currently, he has accumulated merit and been promoted to deputy commander-in-chief. After this battle, he will also be promoted to commander-in-chief.
The title of Dutong is only a military position. In fact, it also includes official rank and title.
At this time, the deputy capital commander Wang Kai from behind also led 20,000 cavalry to cover up the enemy. General Du Min from the south also led 20,000 cavalry to attack and surrounded them on three sides. The Jurchen cavalry panicked and jumped into the Wugu River one after another, heading east.
flee.
Liu Cui, who was in the east, had been waiting for a long time. He gave an order, and 20,000 cavalrymen fired thousands of arrows. The crossbow bolts were fired like a storm at the dense crowd of enemy troops in the river.
The crowds of people and horses in the river were so dense that it was impossible to resist them. The people and horses were shot down one after another, blocking the river channel, so that the Jurchen cavalry in the rear could not escape down the river. They were killed by 60,000 Western cavalry from three sides, causing heavy casualties.
The high-intensity fierce battle caused Jurchen soldiers to suffer casualties very quickly. In just half an hour, most of the 20,000 Jurchen soldiers were killed or injured, especially in the river. Tens of thousands of people were killed or injured in the short river of a hundred feet wide. Countless soldiers were washed away by the river, even if they had difficulty escaping.
Those who came ashore could not escape the slaughter of the Western troops on the other side.
Of course, it is not that the Jurchen army is too weak, the main reason is that the disparity is too great. If 80,000 elite cavalry encircle and suppress 20,000 Jurchen cavalry, no matter how powerful the army is, the whole army will be destroyed.
Secondly, the Jurchen army is not used to night fighting, and night fighting has always been the weakness of the Jurchen cavalry.
But the more important reason is that this Jurchen cavalry has no actual combat experience. Their average age is in their twenties to early thirties. Almost none of them participated in the battle of the Jin Kingdom to destroy the Song Dynasty. That was their father's generation, and they were just children.
That's all.
When they grew up, their parents had already created glory. They all grew up enjoying the wealth of the Liao and Song dynasties, and were then selected into the Meng'an Army, wearing the best armor and riding the strongest horses.
Get the most generous salary, enjoy good food and women.
They just look powerful on the outside, much more powerful than their hard-working fathers. Unfortunately, when it comes to the battlefield, they have no experience, and they fall into disarray before a fierce battle.
The battle ended in less than an hour. More than two thousand cavalry broke through the siege and fled in panic towards the camp. Eighteen thousand other people died on the shore and in the water. The corpses piled up like mountains and the river was blocked.
When Wanyan Wushu received the news, it was already the third watch. Wanyan Wushu immediately led 30,000 cavalrymen to support him. However, after the 30,000 cavalrymen had just rushed less than ten miles, they encountered more than 3,000 remnant soldiers who were fleeing.
From the description of the remaining soldiers, Wanyan Wushu judged that the opponent had 70,000 to 80,000 troops and that the fierce battle was almost over.
Wanyan Wushu didn't dare to act rashly. If he were to kill him at this time, his 30,000 troops would probably be surrounded and annihilated by the opponent again.
Wanyan Wushu immediately ordered 30,000 reinforcements to withdraw to the camp.
From a high place in front of the camp, Wanyan Wushu looked eastward and saw thick smoke billowing in the distance and blazing fire. It was the Western Army burning corpses and burying them deep.
Although Wanyan Wushu, who had just experienced the epidemic, believed that it should be handled in this way to prevent the disease from reappearing.
But those who were burned were the corpses of Jurchen soldiers! Thinking of this, Wanyan Wushu felt panicked and depressed.
Sori Yishi stepped forward and whispered: "If this matter spreads, it will definitely seriously affect morale. I suggest that we fight the Western Army as soon as possible."
Wanyan Wushu nodded, and after a while he sighed: "Didn't you notice? The number of the Western Army is far more than 200,000!"
Suoli Yishi also realized that they had spies watching the main camp of the Western Army, but there was no movement in the main camp of the Western Army. So where did the 70,000 to 80,000 Western troops who ambushed the Jurchen Army come from?
The Western Army has an ambush!
"Your Majesty, this group of Western troops should not be able to ambush our troops. They are going north and are preparing to attack us from behind. They want to attack us from the north and the south!"
Wanyan Wushu nodded, "I've thought of this too, but the question is, what other options do we have? Should we withdraw our troops and escape in the middle of the night, or surrender to the other side?"
Wanyan Wushu turned back to look at Suoli Yishi, his eyes became sharp.
Suo Liyi was speechless for a long time. It would be impossible to escape in the middle of the night. The opponent was also a cavalry and would chase him from behind. The soldiers had no fighting spirit and would only run for their lives in a panic.
What's more important is that without supplies, the vast grassland will not meet anyone for days and nights. Tens of thousands of people without any supplies will kill each other and eat their companions to survive.
Thinking of this, Sori Yishi sighed and said: "Your Majesty is right, we have no other choice but to fight to the death!"
Wanyan Wushu's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and he said slowly: "We can concentrate our forces to deal with Chen Qing's formation, and maybe we still have a chance!"
The next morning, the two sides formed a large formation on the grassland. The two sides were two miles apart. To the north was the Jurchen Army's 80,000 cavalry, and to the south was the Western Army's 190,000-strong army.
Banners were flying in the clouds, swords and spears were like a forest, and the formations of both sides were nearly twenty miles away, and it was impossible to see the end at a glance.
The 50,000-strong army in the middle is the Wang Banner Army of King Yong Chen Qing, with a two-foot-tall royal flag and a red-bottomed black dragon flag with gold edges.
Chen Qing was wearing a golden helmet and golden armor, which shone brilliantly in the sun, attracting the attention of hundreds of thousands of troops.
He drew his sword and ran in front of the team. The sword hit the spears of the soldiers and shouted loudly: "The shame of Jingkang will be washed away today, for our slaughtered parents and children, for our insulted sisters, for thousands of
Avenge the tens of thousands of compatriots who were massacred by the gold thieves. Brothers, if you do not accept surrender, kill the Tartars!"
"Kill the Tartars!"
Two hundred thousand soldiers of the Western Army raised their arms and shouted, and everyone's blood was boiling. The shouts were earth-shattering, and the momentum soared into the sky. Chen Qing galloped on horseback, raised his sword again and shouted: "Victory!"
"victory!"
A cry made the Western Army start to cheer up, their spears were raised, their swords were unsheathed, and their morale began to rise.
At this time, the nine letters behind the Western Army's formation flew into the sky three times in a row, sending a signal to Linhuang City twenty miles away. At the same time, Niu Gao arranged 10,000 defenders in Linhuang City, led by General Wang
Duo, the commander, personally led 40,000 troops out of the city from the east gate, crossed the Wugu River, and attacked the Jin Kingdom's royal account headquarters with an overwhelming force.
