Chapter 1: The Awakening of Shin Wang...

  Xiao Gan, although defeated in battle, was the king of all Xianbei people, representing the vast Xianbei tribe. Therefore, his opinions were extremely important. Pu Jiasou heard his words and smiled, stroking his long beard.

  He thought for a moment, then said to Wanyan Zongwang: "You write a letter to Wanyan Zongwang and let him send someone to inform Zhao Gou in Chinese that he should surrender immediately. Be firm in your tone and make Zhao Gou afraid. Of course, Zhao Gou will not surrender, he will continue to ask to be a vassal of the Jin Dynasty as a junior emperor. Then we tell him to let Zhao Xun lead the army southward, then kill Zhao Xun, give us the territories of Hedong and Hebei, and we will agree to his request for peace as a junior emperor."

  Wanyan Agula nodded and signaled for his subordinates to draft a letter.

  Pu Jia Nu and Wan Yan Da immediately issued an order, each place was strictly guarded to prevent the Xing Wang army from continuing to attack the city and pull out the stronghold. The messenger got up in the middle of the night and rushed to various places to convey the order.

  At this time, Zhao Kuang took down Weizhou and immediately ordered the adjustment of troops. He wanted to attack Lingshou and open up the surrounding areas of Taihang Mountain.

  Under Zhao Chen's mobilization, the newly established Liang Xing's Jinpo Army and Zhao Yun's Didi Army both came to support him. On the one hand, it was to temper their troops, on the other hand, Zhao Chen wanted to cultivate them. Both of them were famous anti-Jin generals in history, and they were all good at fighting. Relying on the historical style of the two men, Zhao Chen reused them with great benefits and no harm. The two men were loyal and dedicated, vowed to defend their country and resist Jin to the death, and would never betray him.

  Fu Xuan's Iron Mountain Army, Jiao Wentong's War Tiger Army, Gao Baoshan's two armies Black Dragon Army and Wang Jin's Dragon Wolf Army etc. various department commanders arrived one after another outside Lingshou City.

  Then, Liang Xing led the newly established Broken Gold Army and Zhao Yun led the newly formed Broken Enemy Army to arrive under the city. Zhao Zilong personally welcomed Liang Xing and Zhao Yun. He saw from afar two fully armored majestic generals, seeing the famous "Liang Little Brother" and Zhao Yun, Zhao Zilong was exceptionally delighted.

  He repeatedly praised the two for sending intelligence to strike at the logistics of the Jin army's main force, establishing an immortal merit for the Xining Army's battles in the south and north. Then, he asked the two to continue their efforts, make new achievements, contact various local loyal societies, gather more intelligence, win more battles, drive out the Jin troops, and recover our rivers and mountains.

  The two were also grateful for the kindness of King Zhao Song and expressed their determination to fight against the Jin Dynasty to the death, being loyal to King Zhao.

  Zhao Ju roughly described the terrain of the battlefield. The local villagers were quite familiar with the terrain, and as soon as King Xiang's army arrived, they came to help in droves. Some brought water and food, some transmitted intelligence, and others directly joined the righteous army.

  The garrison of Lingshou City was a Khitan general named Yelü Tuo, who was one of the first Liao generals to defect to the Jin army, and therefore enjoyed the trust of the Jurchen people. Therefore, he was able to independently command the city's troops.

  The Righteous Army had only 35,000 soldiers and 50,000 strong men, but the regular army that actually attacked the Jin army was only 35,000. However, these generals were fearless and full of confidence, as if they thought that as long as they charged forward, Yelü would be greatly defeated and flee.

  They indeed have the capital to be arrogant, and even the Jin army's fierce generals are their defeated subordinates. This Khitan general Yelü Dashi is not a match for them either. In these few months, the Xining Army has been fighting against the Jin, and they have been invincible, sweeping everything before them. So whether it's fighting Yelü Dashi or the Jurchen Jin army, they are extremely confident and certain of victory.

  At this time, the mood of Yelu Duyu in Lingzhou City was very depressed. This morning, he received the news that the Xingyang army had successfully captured Ping Mountain and marched north to Lingzhou City. The news was like a thunderbolt on a clear day, immediately stunning him.

  The elite troops of the Golden Army are no match for the loyal and righteous army, let alone himself. However, once Ling Shou City is lost, he will be severely punished by the Golden Country. His years of hard work, years of scheming and dedication, would all be in vain. Yelü found it difficult to accept this fact.

  Sometimes, in the still of the night, I wonder what would have happened if I and a group of Liao generals had not surrendered to the Jin dynasty and instead fought to the death for Liao. Would Liao still exist today? There is no answer, and there never will be.

  At this time, Yelü suddenly heard a messenger report that there was a disturbance at the south gate. Many civilians were attacking the south gate to welcome the King of Xin. After hearing this news, he was shocked and immediately prepared his troops to suppress it.

  At this time, Zhao Jun saw that the south gate was wide open from a distance and became very excited. He immediately added more troops and launched a full-scale attack on the south gate occupied by the civilians.

  Inside the city, the Jin army fought hard to resist, crying out in distress. The two armies were fiercely battling inside Lingzhou City, with the Jin people and the Righteous Army of King Xiang engaged in a bloody battle. In order to capture the city as soon as possible, the Righteous Army also attacked and captured the west gate, reopening the battlefield on the west side of the city, attacking the Jin army from two directions at the same time.

  At this time, bonfires were lit on the battlefield at night, and flames and thick smoke rose into the sky. The soldiers of both sides began to prepare for a night battle.

  Zhao Kui is on a small hill in the northwest of Lingshou City. Judging from the current battlefield situation, most of the Jin army troops inside Lingshou City are definitely Han and Khitan people. They do not have the new equipment provided by the Jurchen-led Jin dynasty, lack siege engines, and suffer heavy losses during fierce battles.

  Yelü Dashi, in order to minimize losses, also brought all the heavy infantry, strong men and all the foot soldiers into the city, bringing the total number of defenders to over 15,000. At the same time, the weapons and supplies sent by the Jin army arrived at the city one after another, strengthening its defensive capabilities. As the number of Jin troops increased and their weapons were strengthened, the fierce battle between the two sides became even more bloody.

  The battle for Lingshou City had been going on for so long, with fierce fighting lasting more than three hours. Even if Yelü Duyu was stubborn, he suffered too much loss. And the reinforcements of the Righteous Army appeared, pouring into the city continuously.

  The Golden Army is now surrounded by the Righteous Army in Tongchang City, launching a fierce attack, beating each and every one of them to a pulp, with wounds all over their bodies.

  Since Jin Jun brought out all the family property, Zhao Xun felt that he didn't need to hide anymore. He immediately dispatched Liang Xiaoge and Zhao Yun to gather ten infantry battalions from various departments and rush to reinforce them at once.

  Jin army fought desperately, the main attacking generals were Khitan people and Han people from Baishan Heishui. Facing the righteous army of the same Han people, they showed no mercy, killing them with blood flying everywhere.

  But after Liang Xiaoge and Zhao Yun's troops rushed up, plus a large number of civilians revolted. The small number of Jin army was immediately beaten back in defeat.

  At this time, Zhao Kuang led the central army to advance and saw the corpses of Jin soldiers and righteous army members who were Han people from outside the pass, and he couldn't help but feel sad.

  The Song Dynasty emphasized literature over military, resulting in generals not being able to exert their full strength in battle, and sometimes even harboring bandits. Meanwhile, the Han people who migrated outside the Great Wall during the Han and Tang Dynasties could not see the imperial army coming to recover the territories of the Han and Tang Dynasties, and even the land of Youyan was not recovered.

  The Han people outside the pass could not see the hope of returning to the Heavenly Dynasty, and were also oppressed by various fan tribes. So after they joined the Jin army, they vented their resentment on the Liao and Song countries, becoming the vanguard of the Jin army. Including those Khitan people, Xianbei people, and Bohai people. They couldn't beat the Jurchen people, were ruled by the Jurchen people, and then vented all their resentment on the head of the Great Song.

  "I want to rebuild the prosperous era of Han and Tang, and establish the Great Song as an empire with vast territories. Let the army of the Great Song reach the North Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and let Li Bai no longer lose his hometown." Zhao Xun secretly vowed in his heart.

  Jin Jun's resistance continued, but the pace slowed down significantly. Perhaps it was because of the heavy losses, perhaps it was because they were physically exhausted, or perhaps it was because they couldn't see any hope and their morale had sunk. The Jin army began to retreat, directly retreating to the North City.

  At this time, Yelü Dashi thought that if he lost the city, he would definitely be severely punished by the Jin Dynasty. For these surrendered Khitans, the Jurchen people had always been clear about rewards and punishments. The crime of defeat was likely to be demoted or even exiled to a distant place by the high officials of the Jin Dynasty, and then they would never have the opportunity to turn over again. The more he thought about it, the more frightened he became, and he was already powerless to bear the failure. This battle must be won at all costs. Otherwise, there would be no chance for him to rise again.

  On the battlefield ahead, the Jin army and Zhao's rebel army fought crazily, with torches and flames burning along the road all the way into the dark alleys, like a dense, winding dragon of fire.

  In the direction of Dongcheng and Xicheng, the resistance of the Jin army was getting weaker and weaker. It was clear that their will and morale had reached the limit, which was the best time to launch a fatal blow.

  "Light the signal fire, tell Gao Bao Shan to launch an attack from the flank immediately, and let him lead the troops to attack at once." Zhao Chen stood on the south city gate, pointing forward and saying to the messenger.

  A huge flame shot up into the sky, followed by a fierce blaze. The fire grew more and more intense, with an awe-inspiring momentum. War drums thundered, shaking heaven and earth, as bugles blared long and loud. The sound reverberated through the night sky, and the intense killing sounds suddenly exploded, shaking the entire battlefield.

  The righteous army began to commit its last forces, and the Jin army started a full-scale fierce attack. The generals of the Black Dragon Army had been waiting for the moment of attack. In the letter king's righteous army, those who made merits by killing enemies were rewarded. Those who killed fewer enemies got meat to eat, while those who killed more enemies were given silver money. Moreover, the promise was never empty.

  Seeing the carnage in front of them without their own share, all the barbarian soldiers were furious. Now with a single command, all the barbarian soldiers charged forward, hacking and slashing wildly, arrows flying like raindrops. The Jin army was already weakening from the fight, but now they were suddenly attacked even more fiercely, caught off guard, and immediately became disoriented, suffering heavy casualties. They hastily turned to flee, and those who couldn't escape surrendered in droves.

  The Khitan general Xiao De-li led 5,000 cavalrymen galloping through the streets, responsible for splitting and surrounding the resisting Jin army. The 5,000 cavalrymen rushed all the way, like a long arrow, fierce and accurate, cutting off all the resistance of the Jin army in the city.

  Seeing the large army being surrounded in front, Yelü Dashi immediately dispatched troops to rush to the rescue, but the intercepting Righteous Army grew more and more numerous, all of them cavalry. The Golden Army not only could not charge forward, but were instead trampled to death by the galloping warhorses.

  Yelü Dashi fought for his own position, leading the army to fight to the death. The two sides immediately launched a more intense battle. Yelü Dashi's flag remained, and the Jin army also regained some morale. The armies of both sides engaged in close combat, killing each other with blood flying everywhere.

  Immediately following, the Jin army's Liang Xing and Zhao Jun, who had annihilated the Eastern and Western Cities, led their respective troops to shift positions, charging northwards with a loud whistle, surging towards the Jin army like a tidal wave.

  The Jin army faced the overwhelming righteous army and could only fight to the death. They were no longer able to form a formation, and for a time, the Jin army's formation was in chaos.

  Seeing the defeat was already set, Yelü Dashi was shocked and frightened. He saw the banner of the righteous army, which made him suddenly realize that the strength of the righteous army far exceeded his own imagination.

  At this time, Wang Jing, who had been preparing for a long time, raised his right hand high and swung it with all his might, followed by clenching his five fingers into a fist and pointing forward in mid-air.

  "The Dragon Wolf Army launches an attack......" "Wooooo......" The loud and clear sound of the horn suddenly rang out, shaking the entire city. Five thousand dragon wolf iron knights immediately set off. As they galloped on horseback, the earth trembled, and the rumbling sound shook the sky.

  Five thousand cavalrymen held torches in their hands and rode horses at full gallop, they crossed the main streets, passed through alleys, and charged forward...

  The sound of the charging horn, the neighing of war horses, and the shouting of soldiers merged together like a thunderclap, shaking the entire city of Lingshou. "Go..." Wang Jin kicked his horse's belly, and the horse let out a pained whinny, its four hooves exerting force as it leapt into the air and galloped forward along the street. Wang Jin's personal guards followed close behind on horseback. The flag-bearing soldiers and messengers also followed closely, quickly merging into the surging tide of cavalry in front.

  Gao Bao Shan sat on horseback, stroking his mustache and straightening his waist, with a fierce aura. He shouted loudly: "Young men, kill the enemy! Kill Jin Gou!"

  "Boom, boom, boom..." Many war drums sounded at the same time, like thunderclaps, shaking the earth. "Hoo, hoo, hoo..." Countless horns blew simultaneously, their sound piercing the sky and reaching far away.

  The drumbeat is the attack, the bugle call is the advance. The Black Dragon Army surged forward in a frenzy of slaughter and bloodshed. The Golden Army began to retreat and surrender along the way, while the various righteous armies charged forward like a broken bamboo, cutting down everything in their path.

  Jin Jun retreated like a tide, and Yelü Doul opened the north gate of the city. He wanted to escape. If he lost his official position, it was gone; if he lost his life, everything would be gone.

  At this time, Xiao Deri led the five thousand cavalry to charge out. This was an army composed of various ethnic groups such as Khitan, Bohai, enemy Liao, Tieyun, Shiwei, Mohe, and Xianbei. The soldiers were all fierce warriors on horseback, extremely ferocious. "Blow the horn, form a wedge-shaped array..." Xiao Deri shouted loudly: "Attack, attack..."

  Bugles sounded like clouds, iron cavalry rushed, team after team of knights lined up in the streets, a huge triangular formation was formed, under Xiao De's command, they charged forward like giant arrows, sweeping away everything, and killed towards the Jin army.

  Bugles sounded across the sky, knights began to accelerate, war horses started to gallop with all four hooves off the ground, rushing forward, rushing forward...

  Yelü Dashi rode his horse in a frantic gallop, with a group of Jin soldiers either being slaughtered or fleeing behind him. Behind them were tens of thousands of cavalrymen from the Black Dragon and Dragon Wolf armies in hot pursuit.

  Yelü saw the righteous army getting closer and closer, gradually catching up. "I surrender, I surrender, isn't that enough?" He had just said this when a sharp arrow shot into his back. Afterwards, countless arrows pierced his body, and he fell off his horse with a sense of injustice.

  The night had passed, and the sky was a swirling mass of golden white. The entire world was engulfed in endless sunlight! The rolling black smoke and the corpses scattered all over the ground indicated that this place had once been a hellish battlefield. Regiments of militia began to round up prisoners and reorganize their troops.

  At this time, Commander-in-Chief Zhao Chen and a group of generals who were discussing matters in the commander's tent received news from scouts that the Jin army reinforcements had arrived at Zhending Prefecture.

  Lingshou City is too close to Zhending, and even if the troops are in short supply, they must send some support. However, they came late, unaware that the high walls of Lingshou City could not stop the civilians from launching a surprise attack from inside. They also did not know that the righteous army could defeat Yelü Dashi and his strong fighting force in just one night.

  A row of people knelt in front of Wanyan Zhen. The dead Yelü Duyu's personal soldiers, some Jin army generals who survived the Lingshou city, and some fast-running Jin soldiers. Although the number is not large, they all knelt together in a dense row. A group of defeated Jin soldiers knelt in front of Wanyan Zhen.

  "Hahaha, Ye Lü has a good group of subordinates indeed," Wanyan Zhen's laughter was filled with resentment. Zhao Chen had strong soldiers and horses, and according to intelligence, he himself was also extremely formidable. Now that they had lost Ling Shou City, his 20,000 Golden Soldiers were no match for the Righteous Army of Xing Wang.

  Wanyan Zhen said: "You are not good at fighting, but you are very good at running away... If the enemy is strong and powerful, then there's nothing to say... But with only a little over 30,000 people, you dare to attack the city like this. The problem is... With high walls and deep moats! And having nearly 20,000 soldiers, you were defeated overnight?"

  "General, forgive us...... General, forgive us......""We were wrong...... Please, General, spare our lives......"The Golden Army soldiers who had escaped back kept saying this, one by one, kowtowing non-stop.

  Wanyan Zhen let out a long sigh and calmed down. He looked at these people. Since they were able to return instinctively after their defeat, they must still be loyal to the Jin State, so he couldn't blame them too much!

  "Alright, alright! Who made me love soldiers like my own sons? You owe your guilt for now. Later when we fight against the Southern Dynasty's Xīn Wáng's army, you must charge forward bravely and make merits to redeem your sins! Do you understand?" "Understood, understood, General! We will definitely fight valiantly!"

  Wanyan Zhen led his troops to Lingshou City, but he didn't come here to fight against the Righteous Army. He had a plan to defeat the Righteous Army, which was to kill Zhao Chen. The mainstay of the Righteous Army was King Xiang, and as long as King Xiang died, the Righteous Army would disperse like sand, and it would be nothing to worry about.

  Regarding the bravery and martial prowess of General Zhao Chen, Wanyan Zheng had received intelligence from all sides. He knew that General Zhao was formidable, but it was also impossible for him to really engage in single combat with anyone. However, if there was a bait that the righteous army urgently needed, then General Zhao would definitely take action.

  King Xin of Zhao is a man who loves his people like his own children, and his wisdom has been known to the people of both He Dong and He Bei. If you want King Xin to come out and fight alone, you can only use his reputation for benevolence to your advantage.

  The Jin army led by Wanyan Zhen had a total of 25,000 soldiers, which was the majority of the troops in Zhending City. In addition to the army, he also plundered more than 50,000 Song civilians along the way. Moreover, he brought with him more than 10,000 young women who were abducted by the Jin army near Zhending. Using these civilians and women, Wanyan Zhen did not believe that Zhao Kuangyi would fall for it.