Chapter 289: The blood-stained warhorse and the bent blade of the steel sword
"what?"

The man on the couch was sleeping soundly. When he heard the noise, he reached out for his dagger and sat up with a start.

He had a broad face, square lips, and bright eyes. Who else could it be but Dai Zong, the Speedy Guardian? He had been traveling to Taiyuan, Zhending, and other places during this period, and had just returned to Wenshui yesterday evening.

He was just saying that he was going to Fenzhou to look for Puluhu today, but unexpectedly he was woken up by Shi Xiu who was looking for breakfast.

Shi Xiu looked around, went into the house and closed the door, then said softly: "The Jin army on the western front was defeated in Fenzhou, and Puluhu has led the defeated army back to Pingyao. The commander-in-chief Wanyan Pucha and the general Wanyan Saili have both died in battle."

"How is that possible? I've only been away for a few days. I thought Buluhu was so powerful, but it turns out he's just a silver-plated spearhead?"

Dai Zong kicked the quilt away, revealing his tall and thin figure, with an expression of disbelief on his face.

Shi Xiu frowned and reminded in a deep voice: "Yang Chang, the opponent is Yang Chang!"

"What? Yang Chang is in Fenzhou?"

"It should be true. The Jin army soldiers on the western front saw it with their own eyes. The young general in golden armor and white horse charged in as if he was in an empty space. Deputy Governor Heifeng just sent someone to give orders to deploy defenses. He said that Puluhu wanted to lure Yang Chang to attack Wenshui to buy time for the other Jin troops."

"Captain Yang was attacked from both sides, yet he dared to take the initiative to attack?"

Dai Zong's expression was first shocked, then turned into confusion, and finally he said with relief: "I forgot that this guy didn't like to act according to common sense during his time in Liangshan. It seems that Puluhu, who wanted to pick on the weak, kicked a hard lump."

"Puluhu has returned with a defeat. There is no point in us staying here. We must leave as soon as possible, preferably today."

"But I haven't seen Puluhu yet."

"We should send the information about Yang Chang in Fenzhou back to Zhending and Weizhou as soon as possible. This is more meaningful than reporting the battle situation to Puluhu. Pucha Shijianu and Yelu Yudu have made no progress. The only way to break the deadlock is through Talan. Erliduo needs to know where Yang Chang is in time."

Shi Xiu had asked about various situations yesterday and immediately analyzed the key to this encirclement and suppression. Dai Zong hesitated and murmured as he put on his clothes:
"That being said, if I don't report this to Puluhu, I'm afraid Erliduo will take the opportunity to cause trouble. After all, Brother Gongming didn't attack Zezhou."

"Brother Gongming has a legitimate reason. Fan Zhixu led a large army to seize Huai and Wei. We can't just help the Jin people break the situation and ignore the consequences, right? Yang Chang has a unique skill of throwing cannonballs with his hands, and even Puluhu may not be able to stop him. In addition, don't forget the flea on the drum."

"hiss"

When Dai Zong heard Shi Qian's name, he immediately took a breath of cold air. "Sanlang is right. Shi Qian went to Wenshui before the battle. It is very likely that he came to plant an internal supporter in advance. Yang Chang was able to plan so far ahead. His scheming is so deep that it is terrifying. Should we leave a message to remind Puluhu?"

"It's better to have less trouble than more. When we get to Zhending, we won't mention Shi Qian. Besides, the continued hostility between Yang Chang and the Jin people is also a situation that Your Majesty would like to see."

Shi Xiu was able to say this at this time, obviously influenced by Shi Qian's ridicule. National justice took over the high ground for a while, and he did not want to get involved in the cause and effect between Yang Chang and Puluhu.

Of course, even if he left a message to remind him, Puluhu wouldn't be able to hear it.

Because at the same time, in Pingyao, more than a hundred miles away, danger had already enveloped Puluhu, but he still didn't take it seriously.

After wearing heavy armor for a whole day, the exhausted Puluhu slept soundly at night and was woken up by someone in the morning.

Deputy Governor Heifeng came to report anxiously that nearly 10,000 cavalry were approaching Xiyao. Puluhu was stunned for a moment, and then asked slowly after a while: "Is Commander Yang chasing us?"

"The white horse in front is easy to spot. Who else could it be but him? I have sent the unmounted soldiers to the city walls to defend and delay the time. The rest of the cavalry will gather inside the city. Please put on your armor quickly, Your Highness, and evacuate from the north gate."

"Withdraw directly? No way."

Pu Luhu waved his hand firmly and said sternly: "Yang Chang is a cunning man. We have more troops than him, but he abandoned the city without fighting. Do you think he will follow him to Wenshui?"

"You mean"

"It would be realistic to fight a battle in Pingyao first and then evacuate to Wenshui."

"What if"

Heifeng looked worried at this point, and was hesitant in his response.

Puluhu patted his arm and consoled him with a smile: "As long as you are not targeted by Commander Yang, it will be easy to escape. Remember to wear your armor properly. Don't forget that we were slightly inferior in strength yesterday, but now we are slightly superior."

"But Commander Yang is so powerful that he can make up for the disadvantages by himself. The key is that no one can get close to him. Too many companions have to be lost in order to lure the enemy."

"As the Han people say, you can't catch a wolf without sacrificing a lamb. Yang Chang has killed too many of us. This time, as long as we can cut off his way back, any sacrifice will be worth it. Besides, if we can't get close to him, we can think of a way. Pick a group of warriors who are good at riding and shooting, and use bows and arrows to directly contain him from a distance. In addition, the appearance of Yang Chang and his cavalry at this time means that they didn't rest much last night. We can wait for them to tire out and fight their fatigue with spirit. Maybe we can avenge yesterday's shame and there is no need to retreat to Wenshui at all."

Puluhu's words were convincing, and his reasons were so convincing that Heifeng could not refute them, so he opened the west gate of Pingyao and gathered for battle.

Soon, the earth began to tremble, horses neighed and people became restless.

More than 10,000 Jin cavalrymen lined up at the foot of the city. Yang Chang watched from afar and began to control the speed of his troops, and stopped and lined up about two miles away.

He was not trying to play the Spring and Autumn battlefield etiquette with Buluhu, nor was it because there were a small number of Jin soldiers holding bows ready to shoot on the city wall, but he deliberately left space for the cavalry to fight against each other.

Of course, when the Jin army's strength was greatly reduced, they took the initiative to abandon the city and line up to attack. This "honesty" surprised Yang Chang.

It was originally thought that Puluhu had suffered a loss yesterday and should now hold the city and wait for reinforcements. If there was no rations, he could just kill horses to satisfy his hunger. Yang Changze used Pingyao as a siege point to attack the reinforcements, and then annihilate all the enemy reinforcements.

After all, no matter how damaged the city walls are or how easy the siege is, it is still more troublesome than killing enemies in the wild.

"Brothers, the time for revenge has come. Today the enemy is outnumbered and has been forced to travel all night to exhaustion. We will surely be able to avenge our previous humiliation."

"If you kill a soldier of the first rank, you will be rewarded with two cows and horses; if you kill a general of the first rank, you will be awarded the title of Mouke Bojin (a hundred households) and ten female slaves; if you kill the enemy's main general, you will be awarded the title of Temu Bojin (a thousand households). The more you kill, the more you gain!"

"Warriors, go get your rewards!"

"kill!"

At first Heifeng encouraged them in front of the battle line, but he didn't expect Puluhu to follow up with temptations with rewards. Among them, Temu Bojin was a high-ranking title in the Jin Dynasty, which required extraordinary military merits to be awarded. Even the eldest prince himself did not get it, but when he said it now, the soldiers under his command believed it to be true.

After all, several Temu Bojin died one after another at the hands of Yang Chang, so it would be justified to give a high reward for killing him.

As the Jin army moved, dust filled the sky.

Liu Tang was very excited about his first horse battle, and quickly pointed to the front and reminded: "Brother, the Jin army has begun to attack, let's go too."

"No hurry, wait a moment."

"Oh"

Xuan Zan glanced at Liu Tang and thought to himself, although you don't have any mission to lead troops today and your riding was quite smooth last night, it's your first time riding a horse to the battlefield, so how can you possibly be the first to charge?

The reason why Yang Chang endured it was that, on the one hand, he confirmed the direction of the Jin army's attack and would not need to change the formation temporarily. If there were any changes, he would have to adjust in time; on the other hand, he saw that in front of the enemy's formation, there was a group of Jin soldiers whose weapons were not swords, guns, sticks, but bows and arrows as their first weapon.

After observing patiently for a while, Yang Chang saw the archers running towards him, and he suddenly understood.

Use bows and arrows to pull from a distance. Are you guys playing kite tactics here? Do you think I'm the boss?
"Everyone, get ready. Wait for me to use the artillery fire as a signal, and then attack."

"install?"

"Okay." Thinking of the possibility of attacking the city, Yang Chang had people bring more than a dozen artillery shells in advance. He did not expect to use them in the wild battlefield. He ignored the different responses from the people around him, and after he finished speaking, he turned sideways and stretched out his hand to his personal soldier Cheng Wang.

"Take a shell and fire it immediately!"

"Yes!"

King Cheng received the order and signaled his companions to fetch the cannonballs, then he personally lit them with a fire stick and handed them out.

"Army attack!"

Yang Chang held the reins in one hand and rushed out with the cannonball in the other. Although the people behind him were a little slow, they all held their weapons and galloped on their horses, rushing towards the enemy camp like tigers and wolves.

Xuan Zan and Liu Tang were equally ugly, and they felt sorry for each other. He was worried that his companion would show off his strength, so he turned his head to the left involuntarily. He wanted to confirm whether his horse was out of control, but he was stunned by what he saw.

It turned out that Liu Tang was too excited. He let go of the horse early and used his legs to control it, then held the machete in both hands ready for battle.

The scene was like a teenager who had just learned to ride a bike, showing off his skills by waving his hands during a cycling competition.

Ru Niang catching birds, is this really Liu Tang?

boom!
The sound of the exploding shells brought the ugly prince Xuan Zan back to his senses, and he immediately swung his steel knife to engage the enemy in front of him.

Yang Chang fired a cannonball at the beginning, which directly stunned the group of archers targeting him. His kite-flying tactic was actually taken advantage of by the enemy. At the same time, the explosion also frightened the war horses, and the neat formation was instantly thrown into chaos.

Before everyone could react, they saw a flash of white light in the corner of their eyes, and Yang Changju rode his horse towards them with a spear in his hand.

Poor archers who were targeting Yang Chang, if they had used long weapons they would have had a chance to block the damage, but now they were bullied and became lambs to be slaughtered.

Yang Changqing danced wildly with his spear and broke into the enemy's formation as easily as a meat grinder. Wherever he went, blood and flesh flew everywhere, and the nearby Jin soldiers fell down in large numbers.

These people wanted to use his head to exchange for wealth, just like lottery players who wanted to get rich overnight. They knew that the jackpot would never fall on their heads, but the greed and luck in human nature would always comfort themselves with "what if?" After all, they could use two dollars to win five million.

The Wanyan tribe stood out from the Jurchens, unified the Jurchen tribes, annexed the Liao Dynasty and established the Kingdom. However, not all warriors had the surname Wanyan. It can even be said that it was difficult to find Wanyan among ordinary soldiers at that time.

As the tribe expanded rapidly into a huge country, all military and political management levels needed people to be filled, and the Wanyan tribe would naturally be given priority. It took a long time for Aguda to start the rebellion with 2,500 people and increase the number to 10,000, which indirectly confirmed the small number of pure Jurchens.

As for the rapid "explosion of troops" later on, it was because Aguda formally established the Jin Dynasty and issued an edict to gather officials and civilians from the Khitan, Xi, Han Bohai, Liao-born Jurchen, Shiwei, Darugu, and Tieli tribes. Therefore, most of the low-level Jin soldiers were surrendered soldiers or other tribes that came to rely on him.

If ordinary people want to change their fate, perhaps the only way is to risk their lives.

Yang Chang killed the Jin army in the center and forced them to retreat step by step. The panic-stricken morale quickly spread to both wings, and Liu Tang on the right wing also became bloodthirsty.

The first time he rode into the battlefield, he realized the beauty of fighting on horseback. He could use all his limited physical strength to kill the enemy. He didn't know how many people he killed that day. In short, the white warhorse was stained red and the blade of the machete in his hand was bent.

The battle had just begun, and Puluhu, who was watching from the tower, noticed something was wrong. He wondered why they were at a disadvantage right after the battle. Didn't Commander Yang's soldiers need to rest?
He had just left the city, mounted his horse and walked out of the west gate when he met Heifeng who was commanding in the front.

"My Lord, the situation is very bad."

"I just saw that Commander Yang's destructive power was too strong and the formation in the middle was quickly disrupted."

"That may not be Yang Chang. There is also a man on a white horse on the right wing, charging forward recklessly and extremely fiercely."

"Are there two Yangs?"

Puluhu blurted out, then swallowed his saliva and said to himself: "It seems that we have to evacuate in advance. You command the soldiers to hold on for a while. I will lead a team to Fenshui and deploy troops beside the pontoon bridge in advance to ensure that the army can cross the river smoothly."

"Alright, thank you, Your Highness."

Heifeng gritted his teeth and returned to the front line, while Puluhu led two hundred elite cavalrymen to flee northward, heading towards the retreat route they had chosen in advance.

But when this guy hurried to the south bank of Fen River, Puluhu, who was wearing armor, was dumbfounded.

The familiar floating bridge where he had led his army to cross to the south bank had disappeared. Now only the wooden stakes embedded in the riverbed remained.

"No, where is my bridge?"

"My Lord, the bridge piers on the shore are still there. They must have been destroyed by someone."

"I'm not fucking blind! Remember Yang Chang has his own navy, it must have been his navy that did it!"

"My Lord, if Yang Chang's army comes here, it may not be safe to cross the river. Why don't we turn around and head to Qi County?"

After listening to the suggestions of his subordinates, Puluhu was hesitating when a guard suddenly pointed to a place not far upstream and reminded loudly: "Look, my prince, there seem to be quite a few boats on the shore."

"Hmm? Why is there a boat here?"

"It must be left behind by Yang Chang's army. Maybe they destroyed the floating bridge this morning and went to the shore to do other things?"

"maybe"

Buluhu did not make any comment, nor did he dare to board the boat to cross the river. He was preparing to move upstream along the south bank, looking for an opportunity to cross to the north bank.

"Walk"

Before he could even shout out the order, he was interrupted by the rapid sound of horse hooves from the south. Turning around, he saw his own cavalry approaching rapidly, and soon the men stopped beside him.

It turned out that not long after he left, Heifeng could no longer withstand the pressure and began to evacuate to the south bank of Fenshui River. Now they sent people to inform Puluhu in advance and confirm whether the pontoon bridge was intact.

Puluhu pointed at the remains of the pontoon bridge and signaled Heifeng to lead his men upstream to find a way to cross the river. He also led his guards upstream.

Just after running about a mile, the scout in front suddenly turned back and shouted: "Prince, we have spotted enemy cavalry ahead. There seem to be several hundred of them. Look..."

"Captain Yang also has cavalry here?"

"Who else could it be if they are not Commander Yang's soldiers? Should we charge at them head-on?"

"Chong? Are you a tiger?"

Puluhu stared blankly and shook his head, thinking that the fighting power of Yang Chang's team was exaggerated, how could I, with only 200 guards, rush through?
"Quick, turn back to the pontoon bridge, grab the empty boat and row across the river yourself!"

"Yes."

It was only one mile away and we arrived in a flash, and the empty boat was still there.

The smoke and dust rising in the distance in the south indicated that the defeated army had already arrived at the Fen River.

Actually, Puluhu was a very good swimmer. The reason he was so cautious today was because General Lou Shi died in Fen River. If the situation had not been so urgent, he would never have boarded the ship so rashly.

After repeatedly confirming that there was no ambush and no other boats approaching on the river, Puluhu gave the order in a deep voice: "Everyone board the boats, people first, then horses. If there are horses that cannot be taken away, people will go over and come back to get horses!"

(End of this chapter)