EBE Chapter 421 Battle of Xiaoshang Bridge
Chapter 421 Battle of Xiaoshang Bridge
"Thus, Yang Zaixing and his men were surrounded by the Jin army. Facing hundreds of Jin soldiers, their arrows rained down on them like a torrential downpour."
"The soldiers showed no fear whatsoever. They charged forward with the determination to die. Even if they were to be wiped out, they would still take a large chunk of flesh from the Jin army!!"
"In the Battle of Xiaoshang Bridge, although the Song army was completely annihilated, the Jin army did not gain any advantage either; more than two thousand Jin soldiers were killed."
"This also included leaders of the Jin army, such as the commander of ten thousand men (Temu Bojin) Saba, the commander of a thousand men (Meng'an Bojin), and so on. There were more than a hundred officers like these."
"The Song army's horrific sacrifices, at the cost of their own lives, inflicted an even more devastating lesson on the Jin army."
"Therefore, this terrified Wanyan Zongbi, or rather the Jin army fighting at that time. They were fighting like madmen."
"The strength of the Song army has been evident to all since the Song and Jin dynasties became involved. They even knew that the Song emperors were weak and incompetent!"
"But now, the Jin people have actually seen the Song army, which is so powerful in combat and even more fearless in spirit. For a time, Wanyan Zongbi did not continue to fight with Zhang Xian's troops. Instead, he left 8,000 Jin soldiers to guard Linying County."
A bystander from the Ming Dynasty commented: Yang Zaixing was truly a formidable figure, but unfortunately, because his forces were outnumbered, the entire army was wiped out!
Cheng Yaojin of the Tang Dynasty: Recalling the battle of the Iron Pagoda, he faced heavily armored cavalry and charged into the Jin army camp alone, showing extraordinary courage!
Zhu Baba of the Ming Dynasty: It's such a pity that he sacrificed himself like that. But like Yue Fei, he died at the hands of his own people. Perhaps the highest fate for a military general is to die on the battlefield!
Emperor Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty: ...That hurts! Old Zhu...
Judy, the General Who Conquers the North: Our father wasn't wrong. Back then, one or two military generals either died at the hands of their own people or were frustrated and unfulfilled!
……
Upon hearing this, the anger in the hearts of the people of the Song Dynasty was instantly ignited. The Song Dynasty had a wealth of generals, but how many of them truly lived without regrets?
Was it Zong Ze's repeated calls to cross the river, or Zhong Shidao's earnest instructions on his deathbed?
Or perhaps it was the likes of Yue Fei, Xin Qiji, and Han Shizhong who longed for a northern expedition to recover the Central Plains?
It is true that people are deeply resentful and filled with regret, and it is also true that those in power are determined to seek peace.
Only then do I realize how much sorrow there is!
......
Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty
Zhu Di had just sent Zhu Gaochi to organize the ship data when he glanced at the Crown Prince's chubby figure and thought to himself, "He's been dieting for months, how come he's still so fat!"
He felt angry just looking at it; what kind of good emperor would die before he was even ten months old?
Damn it, let's ask Miss Lin for some slimming products from later generations!
Zhu Gaochi: He's clearly lost some weight; at least he doesn't need anyone's help now!
……
On the other side of the screen, the live stream continued.
Lin Ke continued, "Around July 13th, Yang Zaixing's three hundred cavalrymen bravely sacrificed their lives."
"At dawn on the 14th, Zhang Xianjun led his troops to the city and successfully captured Lin'ying County."
"The Jin soldiers left behind by Wanyan Zongbi were either afraid of Yue Fei's army's fearless fighting style and didn't even have the courage to fight head-on. They fled towards Yingchang Prefecture or Weishi County in Kaifeng Prefecture."
"Zhang Xian found the remains of Yang Zaixing and others in Lin'ying County. After cremation, they were astonished to discover that the amount of iron arrowheads extracted from the ashes amounted to more than two liters."
"This proves once again that Yang Zaixing fought bravely, constantly being hit by arrows, yet still charging forward; he was truly a fierce man!"
People watching on screen: Holy crap! Doesn't that mean he was riddled with arrows? Such a brave and fearless man might not have been killed if reinforcements had come to support Yue Fei's army!
"On the other hand, after the great victory at Yancheng, Yue Fei was worried about Wanyan Zongbi's movements. After all, although Yue Fei's army was the victor, the Jin army was superior to Yue Fei's army in terms of both manpower and terrain."
"Facts have proven that Yue Fei's conjecture was not unfounded. Wanyan Zongbi did indeed lead the main force to attack Yingchang Prefecture, which was guarded by Wang Gui."
"Therefore, Yue Fei had already sent Yue Yun around July 10th (the day Wang Gang killed the purple-robed general) to personally lead the Beiwei Army cavalry to provide urgent support to Wang Gui in Yingchang Prefecture."
"On the same day that Zhang Xian recaptured Linying County, Wanyan Zongbi personally led an army of over 100,000 men and arrayed them south of Wuyang Bridge, west of Yingchang City."
"Among them were six commanders of ten thousand men, thirty thousand cavalry, and one hundred thousand infantry. At this moment, the army stretched for more than ten miles, and the drums and gongs shook the heavens!"
Wanyan Zongbi: Hahaha, I, the Fourth Prince Wanyan, am back again!!!
"However, the situation in Yingchang Prefecture is much more severe, with only five Yue Family Army troops remaining there."
"This includes Su Jian, the commander of the central army stationed in Xijing Henan Prefecture, Li Dao, the commander of the vanguard army who is stationed elsewhere, and the main forces of the Beiwei Army and the Youyi Army who are stationed in Yancheng County and Linying County."
"The remaining people, not including the commander-in-chief Yue Fei, were only a small number stationed in Yingchang, with a strength of no more than 30,000 men. However, the Jin army on the other side had a force many times larger. Everyone knew one fact: the enemy outnumbered us."
Even General Wang Gui was somewhat timid at this moment, but Yue Yun was Yue Fei's son, so how could he be afraid of the Jin army's fierce advance? He immediately reprimanded Wang Gui.
"A major battle was imminent. Before the battle, Wang Guixian ordered Commander Dong Xian and Deputy Commander Hu Qing to lead the Ta Bai Army and the Xuanfeng Army to stay at the camp to defend the city."
"He himself and Yao Zheng led a portion of the central army and the mobile army, following Yue Yun, who personally led eight hundred Beiwei soldiers, out of the city to fight the Jin people."
A spoiled young man from the Song Dynasty: This is more than three times the manpower, meaning each person would have to kill three people. Just thinking about it makes me think it's impossible; the disparity is too great. Why doesn't the imperial court send reinforcements?
Da Ming Lan Yu: What else could it be? Given the Song court's track record, what kind of people could they possibly send?
Emperor Zhao Zhen, the greatest benevolent ruler of all time: ...The numbers are not evenly matched, it's going to be another tough battle!
An official from the Han Dynasty said: "This Wanyan Zongbi is really unwilling to admit defeat. He has suffered several defeats under Yue Fei, but he still won't give up!!"
A romantic scholar from the Tang Dynasty: In this Northern Expedition, Yue Fei was leading a lone army deep into enemy territory, and they were the only ones left fighting!
……
Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty
A fleeting hint of mockery crossed Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes. In the past, during the reign of Emperor Zhezong, the Northern Song Dynasty was incredibly powerful.
Who would have thought that the once-prosperous Bianjing would be shattered in the blink of an eye, and the once-thriving city of Bianjing would be trampled by the iron hooves of the Jurchens!
What infuriated him the most was that during the Southern Song Dynasty, Zhao Gou lived so long and still loved to cause trouble!
If Yue Fei had had military support and Zhao Gou had given his approval, Yang Zaixing and the others would not have been sacrificed!
Thinking of this, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. His Ming Dynasty must never be like the Song Dynasty, which valued literature over military affairs!
……
In another timeline set in the Southern Song Dynasty, they learned that Yue Fei's reinforcements had not arrived, and they were facing an army of many times their size, the Jin army.
The people were in a frenzy, and the streets and alleys were filled with voices calling for the imperial court to launch a northern expedition and to give Yue Fei and other pro-war figures a new lease on life!
However, the debate over this issue continues unabated in the imperial court.
They never expected that for a period of time in the future, they would be surrounded by stinky tofu and rotten vegetable leaves whenever they went out.
The other people: This gang of peacemakers, begging for peace, begging for peace, begging for peace, what the hell!!
……
Back to the live broadcast room.
Lin Ke sighed again: "Before leaving, Yue Yun ordered all the generals not to lead warhorses or capture prisoners during battle, but to act only upon hearing the sound of the clapper."
Yue Yun: (?? _ ?? ?) Hear my command!
"As soon as the two sides met, they immediately entered into a fierce battle. At that time, Yue Yun was already twenty-two years old. He had been fighting against the Jin for ten years since he was twelve years old and started as a soldier under Zhang Xian."
"Perhaps he never thought that he would dedicate everything to the cause of resisting the Jin. For twelve years, he never had the thought of retreating. But the court let him down, and also let down others."
"His life ended at the age of twenty-three. Alas, so young, not because he died on the battlefield, but because the imperial court wanted him dead!!"
"Compared to the neighboring Tang Dynasty, where the An Lushan Rebellion still had an end, here the resistance against the Jin Dynasty turned into resistance against the Yuan Dynasty!"