Chapter 1: The Awakening of Shin Wang...

  Zhao Ju arrived just as everyone was discussing the matter. Ma Zheng and Zhao Bangjie, among other generals, saw Zhao Ju and were very polite, standing up to greet him one after another. Compared to before, their attitude towards Zhao Ju had changed a lot. A person with real ability can make a difference wherever they go. If you have real ability, you will be respected by others. Without much effort, Zhao Ju used only one captive to take down Le Ping City, and that's what it means to have real ability - there's no denying it.

  Everyone now respects Zhao Chen, it's really from the bottom of their hearts, not just superficially as before. The current Zhao Chen has already occupied a more and more important position in everyone's heart.

  Among so many people present, each of them has several thousand men under their command, and they all think they are superior. But after the Battle of Huangfeng Mountain, everyone's first thought was to return to their hometown.

  Captured Le Ping city, annihilated 7-8 thousand Jin troops, the results of the righteous army were unprecedented, but the consequences were also very serious.

  When the emperor of Jin knew about it, he would surely retaliate and send more troops to besiege the righteous army. The righteous army was not strong enough, facing the tens of thousands of Jin soldiers guarding Le Ping City, they were helpless. Once they launched a fierce attack on Le Ping, their army would suffer losses again, and the righteous army would be powerless to follow up, with a bleak future ahead. Le Ping City had a mountain of money and grain, but it was just out of reach, no one could take it down.

  Now, Zhao Song easily came up with a way to bring it down, and it was just after he had finished defeating the Golden Army of Huangfeng Mountain. If this weren't the son of an emperor, the majestic Prince Xian, how could he have such extraordinary talent? As for the emperor, the common people of that era all had a kind of reverence and respect. They believed the emperor was the Son of Heaven, a star descended from heaven. In reality, emperors like Huizong, Qinzong, and Gaozong were nothing special, as future Earthlings would know.

  In a short period of time, the righteous army won a battle and seized a large amount of grain and fodder thanks to his strategy. Now they have easily taken down another treasure trove. For the foreseeable future, at least for this year, things are looking up. As a result, many people began to believe that General Xin was a heavenly star descended upon the earth, a divine being reincarnated to save everyone from the waters of fire and bring salvation to the masses. They started believing he had extraordinary abilities. Everyone has some faith now, maybe one day General Xin will lead the righteous army in driving out the Jin soldiers, recovering the rivers and mountains, and establishing a great undertaking.

  As soon as Zhao Zhuo arrived, someone immediately began to flatter Wang Qian's horse. As for their flattering words, Zhao Zhuo was too lazy to listen. These uncultured leaders just repeated the same old clichés over and over again, and hearing them made him feel nauseous.

  Zhao Bangjie briefly mentioned the matter of attacking Dongcheng and preparing to slaughter non-Han prisoners. Zhao Chen heard that they were going to massacre Dongcheng and slaughter prisoners, and his heart was filled with distress.

  You guys are too cruel, killing the true people is one thing, but also want to kill the Bohai people! Kill the Khitan people! The Bohai people and the Khitan people, as well as more Liaodong Han people, are just poor people who were used by the Jin army as soldiers. If they were recruited, they would be a sharp blade against the Jin army. Now you've killed them, who will come to surrender? Zhao thought.

  "They're all dead, it's a pity." Zhao Xun sighed intentionally, with a very regretful look. "The Khitan people have enslaved the Han people for over 200 years, oppressing them deeply. The Balhae people assisted the tyrant and helped the Liao State kill our Han people during their time. Now they're helping the Jin army slaughter us Han people again. They are all extremely guilty, yet you've taken pity on them, like a Bodhisattva, and with one knife, avenged the deep blood feud."

  After listening to Zhao Kun's words, the crowd suddenly felt reasonable. Beheading was too cheap for them, so someone suggested slow slicing, someone shouted to flay and dig out their hearts, and someone said to burn with oil and explode, to light sky lanterns and roll on the top board. They all gritted their teeth and wanted to use cruel torture to torment the barbarians, but these methods took too much time and were obviously unrealistic.

  "What's the wonderful plan for a thousand years?" Some people were too lazy to think, and directly asked Zhao Chen. The wise and resourceful King Xiang of Chu was right here, did they still need them to rack their brains? Everyone then listened to Zhao Chen.

  "The Khitan and Bohai people have been tyrannizing us, slaughtering our people at will. How many innocent lives have been lost? How many families have been torn apart?" Zhao Xun's anger was overflowing. "We must take revenge, using their own methods against them. Whatever evil they have inflicted upon us, we will return it twofold. Their armies are filled with Han people, whom they enslave to fight for them, and in the end, our pitiful Han people are forced to fight each other. Now, we will slaughter the Jurchen people, pile up their corpses into a mountain of dead bodies, and make the Jin army tremble with fear. We will capture the Khitan and Bohai people and force them to fight for us. Let the Khitan and Bohai people kill the Jin dogs; the more they kill, the fewer there will be. This is the best revenge!"

  Everyone was shocked, leaving the lives of Bohai people and Khitan people, what kind of revenge is this? However, King Xining's prestige has gradually established itself, and everyone listened to it as somewhat reasonable, so no one came out to refute.

  "We not only need to recruit barbarian soldiers, but also build a barbarian army! To defeat the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, we must rely on everyone's strength. Relying solely on us Han people, when can we have an army of 10,000 horses? Take a look at the original Liao army and the current Jurchen people - they can easily mobilize tens of thousands of horsemen. Are all their horsemen Khitan or Jurchen? Open your eyes wide and take a closer look - those horsemen are mostly from the eastern barbarian tribes, and many are also Han people. They can use Han people to kill Han people, why can't we use barbarians to kill barbarians? We're letting the barbarians go to waste, killing them off would be a simple solution - must everything rely on us risking our lives? When can we finally wipe out the Jin army and recover the rivers and mountains of our great Han and Tang dynasties?"

  Zhao Jun's words were straightforward, and the leaders of the righteous army could understand even if they were dissatisfied with Zhao Jun's decision. Using Han people to kill Hu barbarians would only lead to fewer Han people, while using Hu barbarians to kill Hu barbarians would only lead to fewer Hu barbarians - this logic was too obvious, and everyone understood it once Zhao Jun explained it.

  At this time, Ma Zheng, Zhao Bangjie, Liu Sange and General Zhang Ying all took the lead in praising him, while others also flattered Zhao Chen's horse. Everyone naturally hoped that the righteous army would have more and more cavalry. In recent years, the Song Army had repeatedly lost battles against the Liao and Jin armies, and the lack of elite cavalry was an important reason for this.

  The most elite cavalry forces in the north were all barbarians and Han people ruled by the northeast, if the righteous army did not make any improvements in this regard, and still took infantry as the main force of the army, then in the face of the Jin army full of cavalry, whether the righteous army could hold on or defeat the besieging Jin army was completely an unknown number.

  Le Ping's eastern city was quickly taken down by the righteous army, and all the Jurchen people in Le Ping City were killed and piled up into a mountain of corpses. The Bohai people, Khitan people, and other barbarians were reorganized and dispersed to various righteous army units as vanguard troops and front-line soldiers.

  After the surrounding army of General Pu knew they had been deceived, he became enraged and shifted all the blame onto Deng Chanyu. He then led his main force of 10,000 elite soldiers to pursue the rebel forces in Xining.

  At this time, Pu Jianu's army stopped fifty miles away from Le Ping because scouts brought news that Xingyang's army had already captured Le Ping City.

  The righteous army captured Le Ping City? Zhao Ke led the righteous army to defeat the Jin army in Le Ping City? How is this possible? Le Ping City has 3,000 Jin soldiers and 5,000 civilians, and those 3,000 Jin soldiers are all seasoned warriors. In recent years, various Jin armies have been fighting on various battlefields of invading Song, and the Jin army in Le Ping City is also a crack troop.

  These past few months, Zhao Jun has rapidly risen to prominence in Wuma Mountain and after leaving Wuma Mountain, he gathered a large number of civilians and robust men who came to join him. In the last few days, Zhao Jun also captured Leiping City, now Xinfeng's righteous army strength has surged, which is also a major threat to the Jin State. After all, the righteous army is in the occupied area of the Jin army, except for Wang Yan's Ba Zi Army, Zhao Jun can be considered one of the greatest scourges of the Jin army.

  Pu Jia Nu's army arrived at a place fifty miles outside Le Ping City, and the scouts of the Righteous Army also discovered them.

  "We will take the initiative to attack." Zhao Ju's words were not surprising, but they caused a stir among the crowd. In the midst of their astonished gazes, Zhao Ju said: "I want to go and defeat the Pu family's slaves. Half an hour later, the main army will set out and prepare to launch an attack."

  Inside the big account, it was first as silent as death, then chaotic. The crowd rushed to stop him, and even Zhao Bangjie couldn't help but persuade him a few words. Facing the main force of the Jin army, Zhao Bangjie naturally did not want to fight. It's not that he didn't dare to fight or fear the Jin army, but because he believed that after owning the city, the righteous army had no need to engage in a field battle with the mostly cavalry-based Jin army.

  After two bloody battles, the righteous army also suffered significant losses. Now, with Zhao Songyong's troops added to the remaining soldiers who could still take the battlefield, they had only 25,000 men. Given that the combat effectiveness of the righteous army was far inferior to that of the Jin army, it seemed that there was no better outcome than being defeated and collapsing when facing 10,000 elite Jin soldiers on the battlefield.

  "Do you know how many cavalry Pu Jia Nu brought? Only 2,000. Apart from the 10,000 Jin soldiers, there are also 20,000 Han strong men who are specifically used to attack cities and be cannon fodder. If we wait for the Jin army to come, we will face 30,000 enemies. If we take the initiative to attack, as long as we fight a guerrilla war, those Han strong men will collapse and flee. Moreover, Le Ping is a small city, and now we have hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians, which cannot be accommodated at all. Many people are being accommodated outside the city, what will they do when the Jin army comes?"

  Saying that, Zhao Kui shook his head repeatedly and continued: "The Pu family slaves have been running for over 400 miles to chase us, and now they are starving and exhausted. If they suddenly encounter the siege of our 8,000 cavalry and more than 10,000 infantry, will they still have a way out? As long as the ambush location is suitable, with the river blocking the front and our pursuit from behind, what can the Jin army do? They can only be killed by us."

  Zhao Yun said with confidence: "The Jin people must think that we dare not take the initiative to attack, so let's give them a surprise and defeat them in a landslide."

  Zhao Xun and Ma Zheng consulted with Zhao Bangjie, asking him to select 100,000 people from the hundreds of thousands of civilians, pretending to be the main force following the righteous army's infantry on an expedition. In addition, he was also responsible for transporting all grain, fodder, and heavy equipment into the city.

  One hundred thousand civilians will print all departmental flags to confuse the Jin army and strike at their morale. Zhao Bangjie understood this task, he came to do it, and he would definitely do a good job.

  Thus, Zhao Kun, Ma Zheng and the 25,000-strong insurgent army took a shortcut to head for the route that the Jin troops must take, preparing to launch a surprise attack on them.

  Before long, the army arrived at the southeastern bank of Leiping's great river and lay in ambush behind the dense forests and mountains. At this time, scouts reported that the Jin army would soon arrive at the predetermined ambush site on the riverbank.

  The Jin army was advancing to the riverbank, preparing to cross the river, when suddenly countless righteous troops came from all sides. Eight thousand cavalry suddenly rushed out of the forest, and the unguarded Jin army was immediately pierced and divided by the righteous cavalry.

  The Righteous Army cavalry separated the 20,000 Han strong men from the main force of the Jin army. Those 20,000 Han strong men were all civilians captured by the Jin army from Hexi Road and Hedong Road. As soon as they saw the Righteous Army coming, more than half of them ran away, and many homeless strong men surrendered directly. The Jin army guards were also killed by the suddenly escaping or surrendering Han strong men, and the remaining ones were all killed by the flying Righteous Army cavalry.

  The main force of the Jin army, which was divided at this time, did not even have the ability to pursue and attack the Han people's strong soldiers who were fleeing in defeat, because they were surrounded by the suddenly appearing righteous army cavalry and a large number of righteous army infantry on the banks of the river.

  Jin army of ten thousand people, back against the great river, set up a triangular battle formation, with thick wings and a prominent front array, it is an offensive and defensive formation.

  Xin Wang's personal guards, cavalry camp of over 3,000 people, were commanded by Zhao Qing'er, and infantry camp of over 3,000 people were commanded by Wang Jin. Liu Xi, Wu Feng, Liu Sange and other leaders led more than 8,000 soldiers, and there were also Zhao Bangjie, Zhao Songyong, Ma Zheng and others leading tens of thousands of people, this is the capital of Zhao Chen today.

  Behind the troops led by Zhao Jun, there were dozens of large formations with flags fluttering, covering the sky and sun, and the momentum was very impressive. However, those were all civilians who made up the numbers. The flags fluttered as far as the eye could see, and at first glance, it seemed like an army of 100,000 soldiers lined up in a row. When the Jin soldiers saw this scene, they were all wondering where so many righteous troops came from, and they were all getting goosebumps.

  The Jin army had a strength of about 10,000 men, but only 2,000 cavalrymen, and even if they tried to flee, they couldn't run fast. The Jin soldiers saw that the righteous army was numerous, and judging from the battle flags, the total strength was around 120,000 to 130,000 men. With so many troops, even if their military strength was insufficient, they could make up for it with numbers. Therefore, in Pu Jia Nu's view, this battle had almost no chance of winning.

  "Hmm, the package is very good, very good......" Zhao Xun smiled and nodded his head like a little chicken pecking at rice, "At least 8,000 of the 20,000 strong troops surrendered, and we also obtained a large number of siege weapons and food. This time we made a profit."

  Liu Xi, Wu Feng and others saw that Zhao Chen was calm and composed, as if nothing had happened, and they couldn't help but feel a sense of psychological stability. They now firmly believed in Zhao Chen's abilities. Some who believed in ghosts and gods thought that Zhao Chen was indeed the son of a dragon, his magical powers were high, he could accomplish anything with just a few words, and defeating the Jin army was like child's play. But they didn't think about how, if the Zhao royal family knew magic, they would have been wiped out by the Jin army?

  Zhao Kui led the soldiers of the three thousand strong infantry battalion, along with Wang Jin and one hundred thousand civilians, to the left wing of the Jin army. Meanwhile, on the right wing battlefield, twenty-two thousand militia clashed with five thousand Jin soldiers. The entire right wing battlefield was filled with the sound of clashing steel and blaring horns.

  On the left wing, the two armies faced off, and apart from shouting and cursing at each other, nothing else happened. The Jin army on the left didn't dare to launch a reckless attack, while the rebel army on the left seemed numerous, although they were just pretending to be strong. Neither side dared to make the first move, and they could only stare at each other with wide eyes.

  At this time, Zhao Bangjie hurried over with thirty horse-drawn carriages. Zhao Jing praised him greatly, saying he did a good job, that those lazy young men were no good at fighting, but shouting slogans was quite impressive. Alright, next look at my flag, I'll call out and you shout, can't let those lazy ones idle around.

  At this time, Zhao Bangjie was hesitant and wanted to say something. "What do you want to say?" Zhao Chen smiled and patted his shoulder, saying: "After we win this battle, we can rely on the Taihang Mountains, attack the city and capture the stronghold, and establish our foundation. At that time, you will be the first to achieve success."

  Zhao Bangjie hesitated for a moment and said in a low voice: "Qian Sui, it seems that Gao Yunfei is gone..."

  "Are you suspecting that he has escaped?" Zhao Xun burst out laughing: "I know where he is, you can rest assured and do your thing well. After this battle is over, you will know what he did." Although Zhao Bangjie was puzzled and didn't understand, he trusted Wang and couldn't ask any further questions, so he turned around with a head full of doubts and left.

  Xiao Dao led several trusted guards to lift the felt curtains on the horse-drawn carriages, and suddenly everyone's eyes lit up. Thirty carriages were filled to the brim with gold, silver, jewels, silk, satin, and fine fabrics.

  These treasures, are they to be taken out by King Qian to reward? The guards can't help but feel a little jealous, wondering who will be the lucky one to get these things later. It's still better to follow King Qian, with real rewards for meritorious service, all tangible and immediate. King Qian doesn't need to deceive people, like His Excellency, such a generous leader, there is only him in the entire righteous army. The other leaders of the righteous army are all stingy, keeping the good things they plundered for themselves, no different from bandit chiefs.

  A small knife flew on horseback, as fast as lightning. After receiving the commander's order, he jumped onto his horse and ran, wielding his whip to lash out, again and again, beating the warhorse until it let out a series of painful whinnies, its four hooves lifted off the ground.

  At this time, under the order of Xiaodao, a thousand soldiers escorted three thousand Bohai and Khitan captives to come out. The leader of the three thousand Bohai and Khitan people was Gao Baoshan who surrendered, but because they were afraid that these Bohai and Khitan people would rebel, although these prisoners were not tied up, they temporarily had no weapons.

  Because the Jin soldiers who surrendered to the righteous army were only killed by the Jurchen people, the Balhae people, the Khitan people and other ethnic groups were not killed, and there was still food to eat, so the masses of barbarians also felt grateful. However, now that the two armies are facing each other, they obviously also know that they will be sent out to fight and kill each other, and one by one, their expressions have become tense.

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