Chapter 1: The Awakening of Shin Wang...

  As the enemy cavalry was about to cross the trench covered with corpses, "Light...!" Wang Jin waved his hand and gave a decisive order.

  In front of the battle formation, there was a moat filled with weeds, dry branches, sulfur and oil. Dozens of torches were thrown in at the same time, and a big fire broke out immediately. The fire borrowed the wind, and soon flames shot up to the sky, and a wall of fire appeared between the Jie army and the volunteer army.

  As stones, rockets and oil bombs flew in from all sides, the Khitan army was suddenly engulfed in flames, horses that were set on fire ran wildly everywhere, setting other horses and soldiers ablaze. The Khitan troops panicked, sounding their horns continuously.

  The various deputy commanders of the Jie army, Jin Jun, were still there, and they reacted extremely quickly. They immediately ordered the abandonment of the frontal attack and instead attacked the hills on both sides, attempting to break through the blockade and continue to advance deep into the rebel army.

  At this time, the righteous army's Liu San Ge and his nephew Liu Shan Er, who were ambushing on both wings of the mountain ridge, almost simultaneously gave the order to ignite the firewalls in front of them, continuing to launch fire arrows and oil bombs, blocking and burning the Jin army.

  In the blink of an eye, the hills on both sides of the Xianbei Jin army were also ablaze with fierce flames, and the fire in the valley grassland grew bigger and bigger with the help of the strong wind, forcing the Xianbei Jin army to turn their horses around and prepare to retreat.

  In the midst of dense horn sounds, the Jie people's golden armored soldiers turned their horses' heads one after another and retreated, but soon they saw that huge long spear array, which was an insurmountable roadblock.

  The Xianbei Jin army only then discovered that they were surrounded. Flames rose on all sides, and countless Xianbei Jin soldiers let out mournful cries in the midst of the fierce fire, their voices no longer sounding human, like ghosts wailing and wolves howling.

  "Wu wu......" Ji Ren Jin Jun immediately sounded the horn for help, requesting the large army that followed to come and assist quickly.

  Five thousand Khitan cavalrymen followed behind the ten thousand Khitan cavalrymen, galloping forward with a loud whoosh. They trod on the path of the vanguard's main force, advancing unimpeded and at an extremely fast speed.

  Suddenly, the war drums in front were like thunder, and flames shot up to the sky. It seemed that the main force of the vanguard cavalry and the righteous army had collided head-on and started fighting. The 5,000 Khitan Golden Army was extremely excited, and their running speed instantly reached its limit.

  A winding and tortuous road, with uneven hills on both sides. The righteous army dug dozens of trenches on the road and was installing wooden stakes on top. Liu Xi commanded the Shenshan Army to form an array on both sides of the mountain path, waiting for the Xianbei cavalry's follow-up troops to arrive before attacking them.

  The flames in the rear are soaring into the sky, and the cries of killing are rising one after another. The ground is shaking, and the cavalry of the Xianbei Golden Army is getting closer and closer. The soldiers of the Shenshan Army have drawn their swords and strung their bows, with a fierce aura rising up.

  Five thousand Xi cavalry rushed over, the thundering hooves deafening. Because of the winding road, the speed of the Xi people's golden army gradually slowed down. However, they were not worried that there would be any ambush here, since the large team of golden soldiers had already passed by in front, there wouldn't be any hidden dangers.

  In their view, the Righteous Army was a mob that had already fled. The 5,000 Khitan and Jurchen cavalrymen were to rush over quickly to join forces with the vanguard, complete the impact on the Righteous Army, and defeat the Righteous Army.

  A hidden trench was like a wolf lurking in the dark night, quietly waiting for its prey to take the bait. "Boom, boom, boom..." Suddenly, the war horses galloping at the front almost simultaneously fell into the trench, the horses let out a mournful neigh, and the knights let out a mournful cry. The Khitan-Liao cavalrymen behind were caught off guard and also fell in. The vanguard of the Khitan-Liao army was thrown into great disorder, alarm horns sounded one after another, and the horse troops behind hastily slowed down.

  Liu Xi's gun sling fluttered in the wind, his body straight. When he first met Xing Wang, he looked down on this young boy. He actually hated the royal family, it was because of the emperor's chaotic collection of taxes and incompetence that led to the Jin army's attack on the Great Song.

  It was the emperor's compromise and weakness towards the Jin army that allowed them to invade the Song Dynasty. The people who defended their homes and country were labeled as rebels by the emperor, while a group of flattering officials and traitors became the emperor's trusted ministers. As a result, his own family members were killed by the Jin army. As a result, his home was destroyed and his family scattered. Therefore, he gathered a crowd to resist the Jin. He hated the imperial clan, he hated!

  But this King Xian is really different, he is different from other royal princes. He is approachable and humble! He leads by example! He protects his family and country! He sympathizes with the people! He is wise and resourceful! Heaven has given all the noble qualities that the imperial family does not possess to this King Xian.

  As time passed, Liu Xi knew he was conquered by this letter king. To drive away the golden dog, to defend his home, he had to follow this almost perfect letter king, take out his heart, dedicate his loyalty... even his life.

  "Spark..." At this thought, Liu Xi suddenly stood up and shouted loudly, "Kill, kill for me..." "Boom boom boom..." The war drum sounded, the majestic drumbeat was like a thunderstorm, shaking the night sky in an instant.

  "Boom..." The torch was thrown into the trench, and the fire oil, sulfur, dry grass, and branches all ignited suddenly. A huge fire burst into the air, and the fierce flames instantly illuminated the dark night.

  The Xianbei Jin soldiers were shocked and looked ahead, only to see that the road in front of them had been completely destroyed, leaving only a series of burning gullies stretching forward. When the Xianbei Jin soldiers looked towards the hills on both sides, they saw long arrows whizzing out of the darkness. Countless arrows fell from the sky, and the Xianbei Jin cavalrymen had nowhere to hide.

  "Kill!" General Shen Mountain charged forward, the righteous army soldiers rushed into the enemy formation at their fastest speed, and engaged in a fierce battle with the Khitan golden armor.

  At this time, the Xianbei Jin army was in great chaos, with cries of retreat and screams rising one after another, and various horns sounded through the night sky. At the same time, Wu Feng commanded the Wind and Thunder Army to rush into the mountain path on both sides, pincer-attacking the cavalry of the besieged Xianbei Jin army.

  The two armies had a total of 10,000 soldiers. They began to encircle and kill the Khitan Liao army's cavalry on the narrow winding mountain path.

  Xiao Gan personally led the 20,000 Jie troops in a frantic charge. Their cavalry was at the forefront of the battle, so their infantry had an easy run, and they didn't even need to guard against ambushes by the rebel army.

  At this time, the battle in front broke out, and the flames rose high into the sky. The war drums shook heaven and earth. The horn of the Khitan army's cavalry charge was also rising and falling, and there were fierce fighting sounds carried by the wind. All this is enough to prove that the Khitan army's cavalry has already broken through the righteous army.

  The infantry of the Khitan army knew that no matter how much booty they captured, most of it would be taken by the Khitan cavalry. They could only get a small share of the spoils for themselves. Therefore, if they wanted to make a fortune and gain an advantage, they had to fight bravely on the battlefield, plundering desperately and filling their pockets with as much loot as possible. The money they seized at that moment was theirs to keep; otherwise, it would all be taken by the Khitan cavalrymen.

  So, among the infantry of the Khitan army, whether they were officials or ordinary soldiers, from the moment they charged into the rebel camp, they searched everywhere for things, but what disappointed them was that after being trampled by iron hooves, not only could they not find any money, but they couldn't even see the bodies of the rebels.

  Xiaogan, the King of Xianbei, felt that something was off. Had all the rebels with foresight escaped without a trace? However, Xiaogan knew that the Righteous Army had clashed with the Jin army that came to support Pingding and had even won. Their main force might be in the direction where the Jin army's reinforcements were stationed. And it was possible that there were no troops on the Fushan side at all.

  Xiao Gan's face was cold and he smiled, it seemed that this King Xin was very cunning and had set up an empty city plan. If the main force of the righteous army was in the back, then after the Xi army rushed for more than ten miles, both sides might meet.

  The vanguard of the Khitan army, led by General Jin, was advancing when they suddenly heard a loud rumbling sound of horse hooves coming from ahead. General Jin was taken aback - what's going on? Why were their cavalry turning back? Just as he was wondering, a group of cavalrymen came galloping out.

  The vanguard of the Jie army's infantry, led by General Jin, held torches that lit up the night like daylight. Everyone was shocked and changed color when they saw the righteous army's cavalry in front of them. A large flag of the righteous army fluttered in the wind, and behind it, the righteous army's soldiers galloped wildly, shouting and killing their way out.

  They were caught off guard and ambushed. The Khitan infantry was unprepared, and this volunteer cavalry launched a fierce attack on them head-on, causing the vanguard to collapse immediately. The Khitan golden armor middle army happened to be following closely behind the vanguard camp, seeing that things were not going well, they immediately formed an array as soon as fighting broke out in front.

  The Xianbei Jin army's vanguard collapsed, and the generals of the Xianbei Jin army turned to flee. Although the central and rear armies of the Xianbei Jin army reacted quickly and formed a battle array to meet the enemy, unfortunately, the righteous army cavalry was too fast and soon killed them. In addition, the retreat of the Xianbei Jin army's vanguard disrupted the formation of the central and rear armies. Therefore, the Xianbei Jin army barely held on for a moment before being overwhelmed by their own people and the righteous army cavalry. They could not hold on, and immediately the entire army fled in defeat.

  Xiao Gan looked back and saw the army collapsing in front, immediately ordered his personal troops to execute the fleeing soldiers, and ordered the generals to reorganize their formations. At this moment, horns sounded on both sides of the mountain, followed by flashing flames, and red torches filled the mountains and fields. Then war horses neighed, killing cries rose, and team after team of righteous army cavalry charged down.

  As they looked around, the rebel army's cavalry was everywhere, and the Khitan soldiers were suddenly frightened out of their wits. They had never imagined that the rebel army would have so many cavalrymen. The Khitan king, Xiao Dagan, took one look and immediately led his personal bodyguards in a frantic retreat. A contingent of rebel cavalry was hot on their heels, hacking away at them with all their might.

  In the blink of an eye, the 20,000-strong infantry of the Khitan army was crushed by the cavalry of the Righteous Army. Many Khitan soldiers fought back desperately, trying to break through the encirclement of the Righteous Army's cavalry and cut a bloody path. The Righteous Army attacked from all sides, with each route of cavalry deploying in a sharp formation, splitting the Liao army and annihilating them.

  The desperate Xianbei general Jin Bing launched a frenzied attack on the righteous army on the mountain ridge. At this moment, they were already completely surrounded by the righteous army and could only fight to break through. However, the morale of the Xianbei generals had been dampened, and they first encountered the trenches, then were fiercely attacked by the righteous army's fierce fire and arrow arrays. Especially in the midst of the fierce fire, the Xianbei army suffered heavy casualties. The righteous army's long arrows were like a dense storm, the flames rolled and burned, under the flames and arrows, the Xianbei soldiers collided and trampled each other, suffering another severe defeat.

  The battle was extremely fierce. The righteous army occupied the geographical advantage, gathered in groups, and surrounded the Xianbei people to fight to the death. The Xianbei people knew they had no way out and could only fight back desperately. General Ma Ying led a team of bodyguards to block the enemy head-on, and the Xianbei golden soldiers were extremely fierce, exchanging lives for lives, vowing to kill their way out of a bloody path. Ma Ying led by example, his war knife shining like a rainbow, cutting down more than a dozen Xianbei golden soldiers in succession, but his bodyguards also fell one after another.

  In the heat of battle, a bloody wolf-toothed club suddenly swung down from the darkness and struck Ma Ying's chest. A bodyguard flew up and blocked the fatal blow with his own body. The wolf tooth pierced the bodyguard's body, the iron rod broke his waist, and the bodyguard's blood spurted out. In the midst of the shocking scream, this bodyguard suddenly burst out with incredible strength, took a step forward, and stabbed the gun straight in. The gun handle fell along with the bodyguard's body, and the bodyguard fell down. At the same time, the fallen bodyguard stared at the blood hole on his chest, opened his mouth and screamed wildly.

  "Xiao Liu Zi!" Ma Ying's eyes were about to split, shouting the name of his personal soldier. His battle knife instantly chopped down. The head of Xi Bing flew up into the air, Xi Bing's mouth was still wide open, but there was no sound. Ma Ying was extremely grief-stricken and indignant, his battle knife rose again, aiming at another Xi person, Jin Bing, chopping him continuously. For a moment, blood splattered everywhere, severed limbs flying horizontally.

  The battle cry shook the sky, the Xianbei army formed a phalanx to attack and kill, with knives chopping and guns stabbing, those who blocked were defeated. The righteous army soldiers' eyes were bloodshot, fighting bravely to block the enemy.

  Both sides fought to the death, and the righteous army's soldiers were killed or wounded. More than a dozen Khitan soldiers broke through this gap, but soon saw corpses all over the ground, all of which were Khitan corpses. Among the corpses stood a burly man, his long hair dancing wildly in the wind, and the scars on his face looked exceptionally ferocious in the dim firelight.

  "Kill..." The Xi soldiers rushed forward, swarming up. Wang Jin dragged his war knife, "Kill..." shouting loudly, his body suddenly flashing, the war knife like a long rainbow across the sky, cutting through the air. A cold light flashed, in an instant, only to see blood splashing, severed limbs flying everywhere. In the blink of an eye, like withering leaves and branches, all the Xi people fell down, not a single one left alive.

  Wang Jin was covered in blood at this time, his personal soldiers had been killed, but he still killed all the Xi people's soldiers. He stood on the mountain ridge, like a mountain, making it difficult for the Xi people's golden soldiers to shake him. The surrounding righteous army looked at the tall figure with admiration, King Shiwei Chang, is a true hero! What a good man!

  Zhao Ju turned his head to look at the distant battlefield and ordered Xiao Dao with a wave of his hand: "Hurry up and inform all the generals, tell the Xianbei people to surrender. Those who surrender will not be killed. Let everyone end the battle as soon as possible and don't waste time here." "Yes sir."

  Under the dispatch of the little knife, several messengers flew away.

  "Will there be news from the rear army?" Zhao asked Gao Yunfei.

  "It's all normal for now. Deputy Commander Zhao said that the scouts monitoring the Jin army have not sent back any news yet." Gao Yunfei walked over and said, "The big battle has just begun, and the Jin army reinforcements will definitely observe for a while longer. They might misunderstand and think we're launching a night attack on Fushan. The Jin army reinforcements don't seem to have good intentions either, they want to wait until we've fought the Xi people to exhaustion before taking advantage of the situation. It seems that the Xi people are not very trustworthy in the eyes of the Jin people either, and the Jin people don't trust them much."

  Zhao Zhen furrowed his brow and remained silent, feeling very uneasy in his heart. He wasn't afraid of the Jurchen people, but was worried that the war would drag on for too long. The longer it dragged on, the more unfavorable it would be for the Righteous Army. If the Righteous Army couldn't take advantage of the situation to capture Fushan, this victory wouldn't have much significance. And if the Righteous Army suffered too many casualties, once the main force of the Jin army from Shouyang arrived, his own troops might not be a match for them.

  The loss of this battle cannot be too great, and Fushan must also be occupied quickly. Zhao Xun knew it was very difficult.

  At this time, Xiao Gan, who had retreated to the waist of the left mountain, remained silent. He didn't blame his subordinates, no matter what their purpose was for going into battle, they actually had no responsibility. This battle was one he wanted to fight himself, originally intending to capture Xinfeng alive and accumulate merit for his future nation-building endeavors. But heaven did not favor him, and currently it seemed that this battle would definitely end in defeat.

  The righteous army can intercept the Jie people and the Jin army at the same time in three places, obviously they had already dug traps. What makes Xiao Gan extremely uneasy is that tonight's battle, the enemy's intention is not to intercept the surprise attack of the Jie people and the Jin army, but to surround and kill the Jie people and the Jin army, wanting to devour their own troops.

  Once his own army is destroyed, the righteous army can smoothly attack Mount Fushan. The ones fighting at the foot of the mountain are all elite soldiers of the Xianbei and Jin armies, and they may not necessarily lose in a battle against the righteous army. Xiao Gan held onto a glimmer of hope, patiently waiting and observing, and also sent out scouts to gather information.

  Soon, his heart could no longer remain calm, and an intense feeling of fear emerged in his mind. A strong sense of frustration violently struck the self-esteem he thought had already triumphed, leaving him both disheartened and infuriated.

  Three detachments of the main force of Jurchen and Khitan troops suddenly lost contact, including the infantry vanguard who were just a stone's throw away, with no news or messages sent back. At this point, their messengers could not be seen either, which meant that they had all been surrounded.

  Three armies were surrounded at the same time, they lost their support, and it was obviously difficult to break through with their own strength. If they were all annihilated, it would be a great defeat for themselves, which would become a lifelong shame for themselves, a shame for the entire Xianbei people, and a joke for the Jin people.

  Now three places are still burning, thousands of torches are still flashing, the army is still fighting, still insisting, and the Xianbei Jinbing's army has not lost hope of reversing the battle.

  If they rescue, their own troops are too few. If they don't rescue, those Jie and Xiongnu soldiers will probably be killed. After some consideration, Xiao Gan no longer hesitated and decided to send troops to rescue them.

  No matter for himself or for the more than 30,000 soldiers, nor for his family's property or the great fortune of the Jin State, he had to send troops to rescue them. However, Xiang Dan now only has more than 4,000 people left in his hands, all of whom are used to defend Fuchun Mountain. If a part of them is drawn out to rescue others, the defense of Fuchun Mountain will be very weak. At this time, if the enemy uses a surprise attack, the consequences would be unbearable.

  Xiao Gan's relatives were mostly surrounded, how could he not rescue them? The scouts had explored clearly, and now the Jin army led by Wanyan Wen was less than ten miles away from the righteous army, and he had a good chance to attack the righteous army and increase their pressure.

  A Xianbei general said to the Xianbei king Xiao Gan: "Your Majesty, please send reinforcements quickly. I will personally lead the cavalry of the two tribes of Bo De and Chu Li to go and rescue."

  There are many people in the Khitan palace, everyone is talking at once, and they all advise the Khitan king to save people. However, the Jurchen people are more concerned about the safety of Fushan and the surrounding areas of Taiyuan. In fact, it's just that they're afraid of death, afraid of failing and suffering a disaster.

  A large crowd of people around Xiao Gan shouted and yelled, their faces red with excitement. Xiao Gan's head was buzzing from the noise, he was completely dizzy.