Chapter 286 Relax, Uncle Understands
Hearing Xuan Zan teasing Liu Tang, Yang Chang immediately stood up and walked out of the tent. Everyone saw him and came forward to greet him.

"General."

"elder brother."

"We're all here. Take this time to rest. We'll have to march again later."

"Oh"

Everyone had already learned from Xuan Zan, and were mentally prepared to hear Yang Chang speak.

Liu Tang was silent for a while, then suddenly muttered, "This time the cavalry has more than 10,000 people, and they will follow my brother to attack and crush us like a whirlwind. Our infantry can't even get the last drop of soup or water."

"The main force of the Jin army is still alive, and there will be opportunities for infantry fighting later. The Jin army is coming in a mighty force this time, and they will not be repelled by a surprise attack. I guess they will go to Jiexiu or Xiaoyi, and then come back to seek battle."

"Xiaoyi?" Liu Tang was startled. He had come here with Yang Chang last time and knew that the march was long, so he quickly added, "Xiaoyi is nearly a hundred miles away. Even if we set out now, we will have to walk until late at night. Fortunately, the weather is neither too cold nor too hot. Then I will lead the infantry and go first?"

"Hurry is not enough."

Yang Chang shook his head and said, "We are now in the initiative. We must not lose the advantage we have gained. How can we fight if we run a hundred miles? We must not let the enemy take advantage of us. We must wait for the Night Owl Army to come back and confirm whether the Jin army has stopped at Jiexiu."

"Oh"

"Captain, if the Jin army retreats to Jiexiu or Xiaoyi, will our response strategy be different?"

Seeing Liu Tang nodding with a red face, Xuan Zan immediately took over and asked about the core of the conversation.

Yang Chang smiled with relief and explained, "If the Jin army retreats to Jiexiu, we will advance 30 or 40 miles and set the battlefield outside Jiexiu city tomorrow. Of course, if they dare to raid our camp at night, we will make them pay. If they abandon Jiexiu and head straight for Xiaoyi, it means that the Jin prince has some tricks up his sleeve and deliberately extended the battle line for 40 miles, and then used the cavalry advantage to suppress us."

"Then just like last time, using the navy to frequently move around, yes and no."

Liu Tang spoke without hesitation and with certainty, but at the end he became unconfident and lowered his voice.

"In the beginning, we had few soldiers and horses, so we had to move back and forth repeatedly. Now the forces of both sides are evenly matched, so there is no need to go through so much trouble. We can just push forward without dividing our forces."

"Hehe, that's right."

After hearing Yang Chang's reminder, Liu Tang smiled awkwardly and thought to himself, look at my stupid head, it's easier to be a reckless man.

Yang Chang exchanged a few words with everyone, then mounted his horse again to complete the subsequent corpse picking. There were still many scattered drops in the north of the camp, and he hoped to get a few hidden drops so that he could turn Liu Tang from a foot general into a cavalry general.

As for the [Riding Skill Talisman] just now, after using it, one can obtain the Riding Master, a high-level skill second only to the Grandmaster. The first person Yang Chang thought of was Wu Song. He wanted to save it for his sworn brother.

The Jin soldiers were all skilled in archery and horse riding. Yang Chang thought that the probability of horse riding drops was very high, but he ignored the triggering conditions of [Mountain Peeling]. Low-level horse riding could not be triggered, so he picked up items sporadically for about two hundred times, but no hidden drops popped up once.

The Jurchens value the use of force, and even the descendants of tribal leaders will not be reused if they do not have the ability. Therefore, if you want to strip the skill symbols, you have to achieve it by beheading the generals.

In the early generations of the Jin Dynasty, there were many brave and experienced warriors, so it is not an exaggeration to say that they were a gathering of generals.

If we use the perspective of God, this situation is put in the territory of the Han people. With the vast territory and huge population as the foundation, it is reasonable to breed an astonishing number of brave generals, but how many Jurchens are there in total? It is not an exaggeration to say that someone is secretly cheating.

Where there is demand, there is motivation, just like a wild animal that is said to be a tonic can be eaten directly and become an endangered species.

When Yang Chang thought of this, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise slightly.

I hope to meet more powerful generals of the Jin army in the future. I will also borrow your strength and then build my own team of powerful generals.

At three quarters past noon, the battlefield was cleared.

Yang Chang left behind a thousand men to deal with the spoils, and then set off with ten thousand cavalry and twenty thousand infantry, preparing to wait for news from the Night Owl Army while marching.

After confirming that the Jin army had withdrawn into Jiexiu and had not continued to retreat towards Xiaoyi, Yang Chang ordered his troops to set up camp and spend the night on the riverbank beside the Fen River, ten miles southwest of Jiexiu.

It was the end of the afternoon, the sun had not yet set in the west, and there was still an hour and a half before dark, so it was still possible to reach Jiexiu Xiazhai in time.

Yang Chang arranged to set up camp in advance. Liu Tang, Xuan Zan and others followed the order without asking. Only Han Tao approached with confusion.

"Captain, it's still early and the soldiers have enough energy to spare. Why don't we continue forward?"

"Continue to advance to the city? Let the Jin army take advantage of the situation?"

"I don't know what this means. I thought that we have to march tomorrow anyway, and most of our army is infantry, so we might as well move forward a little further. Moreover, if the Jin army defends the city, we have to wait for the subsequent siege equipment to be delivered, and the army still has to move forward."

Han Tao wanted to save energy for the infantry and even prepare for a reverse siege, but he was interrupted by Yang Chang before he could finish his words.

"No, no, no, it's impossible to attack the city, and the Jin army can't defend the city. Fenzhou has been deserted for more than a year, and the city wall must have been damaged. The Jin army can't defend it even if they want to. Moreover, they left in a hurry this morning and don't have much food and grass. Actively defending the city is a dead end."

"Yes, that's what I mean. The Jin army's morale is low after their recent defeat. They are short of food and have fled to Jiexiu. If we directly besiege the city, we can easily win. But now we are ten miles away from the city. If the Jin army suddenly escapes, we will not be able to respond in time."

"hehe."

Yang Chang smiled without commenting, and asked meaningfully: "Although our forces are equal to the Jin army, won't we be passively dispersed when we besiege the city? What should we do if the Jin army concentrates on one point to break out? Don't forget that the enemy is mostly cavalry, and most of us are infantry."

“I didn’t expect that.”

"Don't worry. If the Jin army wanted to leave, they would have retreated to Xiaoyi today. It would be beneficial to continue fighting or retreat. But now they are retreating to Jiexiu, which means they have not been defeated yet. They are trying to defeat us head-on and take back the lost baggage and food. I deliberately left this ten-mile road, which will be the site of the decisive battle tomorrow."

"turn out to be."

Han Tao suddenly realized what was going on and hurriedly clasped his fists in compliment: "The commander-in-chief has anticipated the enemy's advance, and the Jin army is bound to be defeated."

"In the face of absolute strength, all conspiracies and rules are useless. I asserted last night that this trip will go all the way to Taiyuan, and the opponent is still hoping for the best. He will die without knowing how."

"Yes Yes Yes"

Not long after Yang Chang set up camp, the Jin army scouts also sent intelligence back to Jiexiu. The scouts were not shot from a long distance because Yang Chang did it on purpose.

The two places were only ten miles apart, and the cavalry came and went like the wind.

Yang Chang dug a trap for the Jin people, hoping that they would take the risk to raid the camp tonight.

The forces of both sides are now evenly matched, but the individual quality of the Jin army is stronger, and the coverage area of ​​[Po Jun] is very limited. Only by continuously weakening the strength of the Jin army can we reduce our own casualties.

Yang Chang also planned to send this 30,000-man army to Taiyuan, as they were unable and unwilling to engage in a static battle with the Jin army.

Of course, he also wanted to use his night vision and farsightedness to collect a few more talismans at night. Some people within the Jin army also thought so, but their plan aborted because Wanyan Pucha refused.

As soon as the intelligence was passed back to Jiexiu, the eldest prince Puluhu heard that the Pingbei Army had set up camp ten miles away and mistakenly thought that Yang Chang was afraid to move forward. He could not sit still.

He left in too much of a hurry that morning and forgot to take Saili's body with him in his panic. Now he was determined to perform a great deed so that he could report to Wu Qimai when he returned home.

Although they lost the battle and camp in the morning, the Jin army was still mysteriously confident after calming down. They all secretly made excuses that they failed due to the sneak attack and could not lose in a head-on battle. Everyone was holding back their energy to fight back. "Uncle Pucha, the Pingbei Army is stationed ten miles away, which is clearly a sign of guilty conscience."

"I just looked at the map of Fenzhou. The terrain near the camp is wide in the north and narrow in the south. On the surface, it blocks the official road, but if it fails, it will be too late to retreat, and it may even trample on each other."

"Why not send troops to rob the camp tonight while they are still struggling to gain a firm foothold?"

"Uncle Pucha?"

After Puluhu had been talking for a while, Wanyan Pucha shook his head and said, "It's too risky to use cavalry to raid the camp at night when the visibility is unclear. Besides, the soldiers needed time to rest after the defeat in the morning and the journey was rushed."

"Why are you still resting? I was just patrolling the camps and everyone is eager to take revenge. As the saying goes, revenge should be taken as soon as possible. Why not pick tonight?"

"Don't say anything, my prince. I won't agree to raid the camp. Let's fight as usual tomorrow!"

"no."

Seeing Wanyan Pucha's firm tone, Puluhu couldn't help but raise his voice and asked incredulously: "Uncle Pucha, what are you afraid of? Our Jurchen warriors are invincible in the world."

"And this morning?"

“It was an accident.”

"Yin Shuke and Lou Shi both died here. Was it an accident every time?"

Puluhu was stunned for a while, and then he organized his words to refute: "That's because Yang Chang is leading the army. I admit that this guy is brave and invincible, but he is trapped in Fengyue Pass at this time. Our opponent is Zhu Tong."

"Today, Agu was killed in one blow. The general who killed him wore an embroidered robe and golden armor. I heard that Yang Chang also likes to wear golden armor."

"You said that was Yang Chang?"

"I'm not sure, but he must be a fierce general. The enemy's camp is not small, and the total number of troops is estimated to be not small. I am not completely sure of robbing the camp. I originally planned to retreat to Xiaoyi, stretch the supply line of the Pingbei Army, and then use cavalry to attack the weak points, but the eldest prince insisted on resting in Jiexiu. Of course, now there is only enough food and grass for three days. The farther we retreat, the greater the consumption. Your idea is not wrong."

Wanyan Pucha tried to persuade him earnestly, but Puluhu became distracted by worrying about Yang Chang and didn't listen to the second half.

"There are many generals who like to wear golden armor. The man today must not be Yang Chang. Didn't Pucha see it with his own eyes? Otherwise, who is the man at Fengyue Pass? Talan's information cannot be wrong."

"Ah"

Seeing that Puluhu was so nervous, Wanyan Pucha smiled and replied, "It is said that Yang Changyuan has a special skill of locking the throat. If I appear in his field of vision, how can I have a chance to survive? Agu was beheaded because of a report."

"Yes, Yang Changhui can lock the throat with a long shot. It's really not him!"

Wanyan Pucha saw that Puluhu was happy, and immediately added: "Anyway, no one knows him, and we should have brought Shi Xiu with us."

"Don't mention this person. I don't trust him."

After Puluhu finished speaking, his expression became solemn. He attributed the failure this morning to Shi Xiu and Dai Zong's false intelligence.

Most of the Jin soldiers who had seen Yang Chang's true face had died in the previous battlefield. The few who had a vivid memory, such as Gao Qingyi, were not in Wanyan Pucha's camp at this time.

In addition, Yang Chang once used an ordinary horse and a spear to defeat and kill Lou Shi in Fenzhou. The defeated soldiers who escaped back remembered this image, which conflicted with the golden armor and white horse. Therefore, when the Jin army saw the golden armor and white horse today, they did not immediately associate him with it.

After the uncle and nephew finished their discussion, they decided to march out of the city the next morning and have a formal fight in the wild. They wanted to use the mobility of the Jin cavalry to break up the formation of the Pingbei Army, and then divide and destroy them.

The next morning, scouts in front reported again that the Pingbei Army had broken camp and was heading towards Jiexiu.

The Jin army in Jiexiu suffered a loss yesterday and completed its pre-war preparations early today, waiting for Wanyan Pucha to give orders.

At this time there were a total of 27,000 people, almost all of whom were cavalry.

Wanyan Pucha divided the army into four armies, with the left and right armies maneuvering to harass the two wings of the Pingbei Army. He personally led the central army to confront the main force of the Pingbei Army head-on, while Puluhu was the commander of the rear army and was responsible for the support.

On that day, Puluhu was fully armed and deliberately dressed like an Iron Pagoda. His entire body was tightly wrapped in armor, with only gaps left for the eyes on his head.

Before the army set out, Wanyan Pucha patted Puluhu on the shoulder and said earnestly: "Relax, our opponent today is not Yang Chang. We will win in a head-on battle, and your rear troops may not even be needed."

"Ah? I didn't."

"Uncle understands, let's go."

"I really didn't"

Before Puluhu could explain, Wanyan Pucha had already mounted his horse and rode away without even turning his head.

What's wrong with wearing more clothes? If you can't defend against Yang Chang, you can defend against cold arrows. The Han people are weak and not good at close combat. They like to use bows and crossbows the most. This is common sense.

Puluhu had a lot of explanations to offer but he didn't say them out loud. However, Wanyan Pucha would not believe them at all. The Jurchens respected and admired the strong.

Yang Chang is extremely strong. He can kill a general at close range and shoot him in the neck from a distance. It is understandable that anyone would be afraid of such a strong man.

Wanyan Pucha was actually afraid of Yang Chang, but he didn't believe that his opponent was really Yang Chang, otherwise who would be stuck in Fengyue Pass? The Jin army commander over there was his brother.

The two armies marched towards each other. The Jin army was composed entirely of cavalry and had fast speed, while Yang Chang deployed his cavalry on both wings and moved forward slowly following the rhythm of the infantry.

The scene was just like the common distance problem in elementary school mathematics. In the end, the Pingbei Army had just walked three miles when the arriving Jin Army surrounded them from both sides.

A regular battle began in an orderly manner.

Wanyan Pucha's main force was in the central army, with only 4,000 men on the left and right armies respectively, while Yang Chang's two wings had 5,000 cavalry each, led by Han Tao and Xuan Zan respectively.

The cavalry on both wings had just won a victory yesterday. Their strong momentum and equal strength made it impossible for the Jin army to gain an advantage. Instead, they were stuck in a quagmire and unable to escape.

Fortunately, Wanyan Pucha led the central army to follow closely. When he saw that the left and right armies were unable to penetrate the two wings and there were only one or two hundred cavalrymen in front of the enemy's infantry formation, he decisively ordered an attack on the infantry phalanx where Yang Chang was.

Yang Chang stood in front of the infantry phalanx in order to provide the [Po Jun] aura and use the [Gun and Stick Transformation] special effect. The result can be imagined.

The Jin cavalry attacked like a sandstorm, but it was like hitting a thick wall.

The cavalry was approached by the infantry. Liu Tang and others took out their resentment for missing the battle yesterday and combined it with the benefit brought by Yang Chang's [Po Jun] to attack the enemy in front of them.

After a fierce battle, Puluhu led the rear army to the battlefield. He stood on a mound and looked out, his expression changing from relaxed at first to heavy.

"No, this is not right."

"Am I dazzled? Why do I feel at a disadvantage? Are they really Han Chinese?"

(End of this chapter)