Chapter 1: The Awakening of Shin Wang...

  The Xianbei generals and Xiao Gan were furious, but what happened next made them even more enraged. Suddenly, many soldiers from the Righteous Army rushed out of their large and small tents. The soldiers were like madmen, shouting and screaming as they pounced on the poor women and dragged them down. Some women were carried away by a dozen or so men, while others were fought over. On the spot, the Righteous Army tore the Xianbei noblewomen's clothes to shreds, embracing them naked and running off. Some even stripped the women bare on the spot, wantonly violating them in broad daylight...

  The camp of the righteous army became somewhat chaotic due to the arrival of these noble Khitan women. However, at this time a cavalry unit of the righteous army galloped out and rushed towards Mount Zuo, apparently discovering that the Jin people were spying on the main camp.

  As soon as the righteous army discovered themselves, Xiao Gan turned around and left. Although others were furious, they also had to leave when they saw the righteous army's cavalry approaching, and this scene was unbearable for them to watch any longer, or they would go crazy.

  In the distance, Zhao Xian held a bamboo tube and looked far away, laughing loudly. It's great, Xiao Gan, this play is set up, and you're not afraid of being deceived.

  Zhao Ke's bamboo tube was not simple, it was the world's first telescope made by Zhao Ke with crystal grinding. Although the magnification was far inferior to that of later generations, things in the distance that could not be seen with the naked eye could be seen clearly. As soon as Xiao Gan left the camp, Zhao Ke discovered him with his telescope and immediately performed a play for him.

  A group of generals followed behind him, each with a different expression. The generals from humble origins couldn't help but admire and laugh heartily. From leaving Wumashan to now, King Xiang's moves have been endless and deadly. It seems that this time's plan to lure the enemy will likely succeed. However, the regular Song army generals like Ma Zheng had a different feeling. After all, they were not from humble origins or bandit backgrounds. They were educated in Confucianism and etiquette. Psychologically, it was difficult for them to accept King Xiang Zhao's methods, which were simply humiliating to their cultural values.

  Luring the enemy out is a good tactic, but it's too difficult to lure them out and attack. So at first, Ma Zheng and Zhao Bangjie didn't consider this plan because there was no way to lure the enemy. The Jie troops on the mountain, even if they were very foolish, wouldn't be foolish to that extent. Moreover, the experienced Jie leader Xiao Gan is not foolish at all.

  However, King Zhao Xun had his own way of luring the enemy. He actually took risks and fought hard with the Jin army on the flank. He also used despicable means to infuriate the Jurchen people and make Xiao Gan lose his mind. It's unbelievable that this was done by Prince Zhao Xun, who received higher ritual education. It seems that after being captured by the Jin army along with his family, King Zhao Xun harbored great resentment towards the Jin army, and in order to defeat them, he didn't care about face or etiquette anymore.

  Zhao Ju's move made the leaders of the righteous army know that Xing Wang Qian Sui, who was vengeful, had many terrible means to deal with the land of the Yi people.

  "General, when we captured Le Ping, I advised you to kill those Xianbei noble captives, but you refused. It turns out you were prescient, knowing that after we arrived at Fuchun Mountain, these Xianbei noble captives would come in handy." Wu Feng said with a smile.

  "So I tell you again, do not kill indiscriminately. Indiscriminate killing will harm the heavens and the enemy's resistance will only grow stronger. Not killing can be useful, they can become our own soldiers, naturally better than killing them." Zhao Xun smiled: "Understood now?"

  Liu Xi, Wu Feng, Liu Sange and others nodded one after another. "I just used my thousand-mile eye to take a look, and among those people earlier, there was an official dressed in the attire of the Xianbei people's king, that must be Xiao Gan." Zhao Chen asked.

  "Wu Feng, bring over a batch of captured Xianbei nobles, the higher-ranking ones. Have them wait in front of my tent for severe punishment. Use any methods you like - burning, frying, dismemberment, sky lanterns, or five-horse dissection. The louder and more chaotic it is, the better."

  Zhao Song turned his head to Zhao Bangjie and Ma Zheng, saying: "You two make specific deployments. Xiao Gan may come to attack at any time." Zhao Song said. "As long as he comes out, I will let him have no return."

  Wanyan Wenzhong gathered his troops and immediately took stock of the numbers, asking his Vanguard General: "How many casualties did your cavalry suffer?" Although his Vanguard General was also a Jurchen and had always been brave in battle, Wanyan Wenzhong still didn't feel at ease, hence the question.

  "We lost over six hundred men." Jin Bingxuan said indignantly, "General, do you know who we ran into?"

  Wanyan Wenzhong looked at his deputy commander with a puzzled expression, unsure of what he meant. "We've encountered the Khitan general Xiao Deli and the Kievan Rus' general Gan Guduo."

  Jin Bing Xuan's expression turned grave as he said, "That dog, King Zhao Chen, actually had Xianbei troops in his hands. This was beyond our expectations. Faced with the Khitan and Xi people's cavalry charge, we were caught off guard and suffered a crushing defeat, resulting in significant losses."

  "Barbarian troops? Khitan and Jie tribes?" Wanyan Wen's expression was one of extreme surprise as he said, "That Prince Zhao Chen actually has barbarian troops? What's going on? Isn't he supposed to be killing the barbarians to reclaim the rivers and mountains? How could he possibly have surrendered barbarian troops?"

  Wanyan Wen's commander was unbelievable, but also had to admire Xing Wang Zhao Chen. This escaped king of Xing was indeed capable of escaping from the heavily guarded Jin army escort team. He was an extraordinary person, his brain and heart were not ordinary, and he could even change his strategy and start surrendering to the barbarian soldiers.

  In this way, Xiang Wang had a batch of powerful barbarian soldiers under his command, and other barbarian soldiers would not put up desperate resistance when they encountered the army of Xiang Wang. Not only could Xiang Wang get a large number of barbarian soldiers to assist him in battle, but he could also reduce the resistance in combat, it seems that they need to reevaluate the strength of Xiang Wang's righteous army.

  At this time, Zhao Kuang ordered Zhao Bangjie to lead the two battalions of cavalry, led by Xie De Li and Gan Gu Duo, as well as the battalion of Tiger Troops led by Zhao Songyong, to begin a new battle with the Jin army under the command of Wanyan Wen.

  At this time, the Xianbei army began to gradually become chaotic. The Xianbei officers and men of various armies strongly demanded to go out to battle. They could not tolerate the humiliation and contempt of the Zhao Junyi army towards them. Some leaders of the larger Xianbei tribes even explicitly stated that if they did not send troops, they would privately send troops to attack the Xinwang Junyi army.

  The Xianbei king, Xiao Gan, knew he could no longer hesitate. If he hesitated any further, the leaders of the Xianbei tribe might, in their anger, immediately send troops to avenge the shame brought upon them by the Song Dynasty's Emperor Taizong.

  In fact, for the Xianbei people, Xiao Gan's feelings are still very deep. The reason why he surrendered to the Jin army was that Xiao Gan did not want to bury the Xianbei people with his own hands. He also thought about establishing a Xianbei kingdom in the future. If he were to be destroyed, what would become of the Xianbei kingdom?

  At the time of the destruction of the Liao State, Xiao Gan had repeatedly wanted to establish an independent Khitan kingdom, but was unable to achieve this wish due to a lack of strength. After surrendering to the Jin State, if there were no great military achievements, it would be impossible to establish a vassal state. With a determined mind, Xiao Gan immediately summoned the main commanders of the various Khitan armies to his tent for a military council, where he laid out plans to attack the army of Xining's Prince Yi.

  The Xianbei people basically looked down on the King of Faith, although the King of Faith Zhao Chen won several victories, but that was mainly because he used cunning tactics, and had little to do with the actual strength of the Righteous Army.

  Xiao Gan said at the military meeting, "The leaders of various Xianbei tribes must be careful and cautious. This battle with the rebel army is related to everyone's future, so only victory is allowed, not defeat."

  The floating mountain is stationed with about 15,000 cavalry and nearly 20,000 infantry of the Xianbei army. Xiao Gan planned to use 10,000 cavalry to attack first to test the strength of King Yi's army. The 10,000 cavalry were divided into two routes, attacking King Yi's army from both left and right mountain directions at the same time. Once the attack succeeded, the remaining 5,000 cavalry would be sent out to implement encirclement and surround King Yi's army.

  Xiao Gan thought to himself that after the Xiang army was thrown into chaos by its own Jie troops, he would personally lead 20,000 infantrymen to launch a surprise attack and slaughter the Xiang army. By then, he could defeat the main force of the Xiang army in one move, capture Xiang Wang Zhao Yan alive, and Xiao Gan thought with satisfaction.

  The earth is shaking, the fine horses are galloping. Five thousand Xianbei cavalry suddenly rushed down from the right mountain, with a swift and fierce momentum, directly attacking the main camp of King Xin's righteous army. At the same time, another five thousand Xianbei cavalry rushed out from the left mountain, shouting and forming a pincer movement with the Xianbei army on the right mountain.

  The Xianbei army, with tens of thousands of horses, launched a surprise attack. The sound of hooves was like thunder, and in the dark of night it sounded as if mountains were crumbling and the earth was splitting apart. The momentum was shocking. Before the Xianbei army approached, the Shunyang Army had already discovered them. The Shunyang Army's camp suddenly erupted into chaos, with soldiers wailing and fleeing for their lives. In the darkness, all that could be seen was a sea of people surging forward, disappearing instantly into the blackness.

  The righteous army did not dig trenches in front of the big camp, nor did they set up abatis or wooden fences. They simply relied on the slope in front of the camp as a defensive formation. Tens of thousands of Xianbei cavalrymen smoothly crossed the plain, charged up the slope and killed their way into the righteous army's camp.

  "Wooo......!" "Wooo......!" The horn of the Xian people's charge suddenly sounded, and the stirring horn pierced through the sky, instantly crossing over the mountains.

  The Xianyu army's golden armor and horses trampled the righteous army's camp, swift as wind and lightning. The rapid advance was accompanied by a deafening "rumble rumble" of hooves that merged into waves of intense sound, shaking one's ears. Ten thousand warhorses charged into the righteous army's camp, sweeping away everything in their path, leaving no resistance unbroken.

  In the darkness ahead, only the terrified cries of the righteous army could be heard, one after another, as they fled in a crowded chaos. In the black night, there were occasional mournful wails, as if the slaughter knives of the Xianbei Golden Army had already fallen on their heads.

  The Xianbei cavalrymen galloped wildly, their roars like thunder. Their mission was to break through the rebel army, charge all the way to the vicinity of the rebel headquarters, then turn around and encircle them, capturing the entire 600,000-strong rebel force and their grain supplies.

  The Xianbei general Jin Jun charged through the first camp of the Righteous Army, and trampled the second camp. By the time they had charged into the seventeenth camp, their weapons were still unstained with blood, because there was no one to kill; all the Righteous Army soldiers had fled.

  The warhorse of the Xianbei general Jin was very fast, but for some reason, the two legs of the righteous army seemed to be even faster. They were galloping wildly just within sight of General Jin, but no matter how hard he chased them, he couldn't catch up. This gave the Xianbei people a feeling of utter bewilderment.

  "Wooo......!" Along with the simultaneous blowing of more than a dozen bugles of the Xianbei cavalry, a dragon-shaped torch appeared on the floating mountain, slowly moving like a winding fire dragon.

  Following the 10,000 cavalrymen, another 5,000 Khitan and Jurchen soldiers' cavalry charged into the rebel army's camp. Then the 20,000 infantrymen also rushed down from Mount Fu, following behind the cavalrymen, shouting and killing as they ran wildly. The shouts of killing shook heaven and earth, with all the Khitan and Jurchen soldiers mobilized.

  The surrounding mountains are densely forested, the road is undulating and winding. Moreover, the righteous army's camp is all over the place, and the speed of the war horse is greatly restricted.

  At this time, the Khitan cavalry discovered that in front of them was a vast and open mountain valley, with many dense tents of the rebel army on the plain.

  The cavalry of the Khitan army, led by General Yelü Bei, were excited and finally arrived at the central formation of the Sheng Wang's army. There were no horses in sight, apparently all infantry. If their cavalry charged forward, the enemy would definitely be defeated immediately, and then the victory would be theirs.

  "Woooo..." The charging horn sounded, the Xianbei Jin army's cavalry fanned out and launched a fierce attack on the valley. The people in the valley were in a state of panic, the righteous army was terrified to the extreme, and they fled in all directions like a tide.

  The digital commander Jin Jun led the charge, commanding his cavalry to advance rapidly. Amidst the thundering hooves, tens of thousands of riders charged into the rows of tents, and tent after tent disappeared under the iron hooves.

  The Xianbei general Jin Bing's cavalry sped up, their battle formation spread out wider and wider, and the entire valley was soon filled with their warhorses.

  Suddenly, the cavalry in front of Jin Bing's army found that further back was a steep mountain ridge, with people packed like sardines on the mountain ridge, row upon row of righteous army soldiers drawing their bows and arrows, waiting in formation.

  "Kill...!" The Jie people, Jin soldiers raised their weapons and shouted loudly, riding horses like flying. "Boom...! Boom...!" One by one, the war horses quickly stepped into the air and fell into the deep trenches below...

  The cavalrymen of the Jin army, who were charging in the front row, suddenly shouted in horror. They only then realized that they had fallen into a trap. In front of them was not the ground, but a wide and deep ditch, with sharp wooden stakes inserted all over it.

  The Xianbei Jin soldiers could only open their mouths and scream, then they fell into the moat along with their horses, being pierced by sharp wooden stakes. The Xianbei Jin soldiers behind them were momentarily stunned, and those who charged forward on horseback had no reaction at all, and followed suit, falling in one after another.

  Under the night sky, the Xianbei cavalry was galloping at a frantic pace, their war horses having reached top speed, and no one could control the momentum of their advance.

  The Khitan soldiers behind were deafened by the rumbling of horse hooves and their eyes were blocked by the knights in front, so they didn't know what was happening ahead. Even when they heard the screams, they thought it had already started fighting in front, so they rushed up even faster.

  Under the successive charges of the Xianbei cavalry, countless Xianbei cavalrymen fell into the deep trenches. Some were pierced to death by wooden stakes, some were thrown to death, and others were crushed to death by the war horses behind them. As long as they fell into the deep trenches, there was no possibility of survival.

  In the darkness, visibility was very low, and the Xianbei Jin army dispersed and charged forward at full speed. Everyone was busy fighting, and in a short period of time, this deep trench became like an entrance to hell, instantly swallowing hundreds of lives.

  The righteous army on the mountain began to shoot indiscriminately, with long arrows falling like rain and covering the sky. The Xī soldiers and Jīn soldiers fell one after another, and the Xī people and Jīn people who reacted quickly raised their hand shields to block the long arrows while riding horses in a frenzy. No one noticed the situation ahead and could only watch as they were trampled into the gates of hell by the galloping warhorses behind them.

  The trench was filled at an incredible speed, and the huge trench of about 500-600 meters was soon filled with the corpses of the Khitan army and the remains of war horses. If they continued to charge forward, the Khitan soldiers would be able to trample over the corpses and rush up the mountain ridge.

  At the same time, the alarm horn of the Xianbei Jinbing also sounded one after another. So many people were fighting in front, but no one could be seen climbing up the mountain ridge, and there must be a problem. Several main generals of the Xianbei Jinbing cavalry rushed forward and fell into the trenches first, even the big flag of the Xianbei Jinbing had fallen into the deep valley. Now no one responded, nor did anyone give orders, the entire Xianbei Jinbing cavalry could only continue to charge forward.

  At this time, General Xin Zhao stood on the mountain ridge, expressionless, watching as the Jie troops fell into the trap one by one like dumplings. The bodyguards and personal soldiers of General Xin surrounded him, exuding a fierce aura, ready to charge forward and engage in battle at any moment.

  When the alarm horn of the Xī Rén Jīn Bīng cavalry sounded, the charging speed of the Xī Rén Jīn Bīng began to slow down. Although the Xī Rén Jīn Bīng had lost its commander, the various generals also found something was amiss and immediately waved their large flags and blew their horns, starting to decelerate.

  At this time, Zhao Kuang finally moved. He swung the whip in his hand at the small knife beside him. The small knife urged the horse to rush out of the battle array, lit the torch, and then held it high.

  A burst of flames suddenly ignited in the dark night, like a myriad of stars twinkling in the night sky. In an instant, the sound of drums thundered down like raindrops, followed by waves of flames shooting up into the sky, and the night sky was suddenly set ablaze. The black night sky was instantly illuminated by countless fiery red lights, and the heavens turned red!

  Countless rockets and fire oil cans flew swiftly into the dense cavalry of the Jin army, and on the surrounding hills, teams of righteous army soldiers rushed out, with flags fluttering and morale soaring.

  Behind the cavalry of the Xi people, Deputy Commander Ma Ying commanded the soldiers to push down the mountain ridge one by one with huge sleds. Each sled's gun head was facing the direction of the Xi people's golden armored cavalry, layered and bound with iron chains.

  In the blink of an eye, a temporary roadblock was built, and the Xianbei Jin army could only gallop over the mountain ridge to escape, but crossing the mountain ridge would inevitably be met with fierce resistance from the righteous army, and the Xianbei Jin soldiers were unable to escape.

  The Xianbei general Jin Jun did not stop attacking, and continued to charge forward. The Xianbei king Xiao Gan was commanding the main force to follow up and attack from behind, they thought that the counterattack of the mob-like righteous army would soon fail. And the vanguard of the Xianbei army only needed to break through this obstacle in front of them, and they could immediately defeat the righteous army. By now, all the Xianbei cavalry thought they had already won.

  The vanguard that was blocking the Khitan army's advance was Wang Jin, who commanded 5,000 soldiers of the Dragon and Wolf Army, who had already formed an attacking formation. At this moment, Zhao Songyong was commanding the archers of the Golden Tiger Army to shoot rapidly, but the Khitan army was launching a fierce attack without stopping, and it seemed that they would soon be able to trample over the corpses and cross the moat to kill their way in.