Night falls on the battlefield, a colossal grinding wheel.

Hooves thunder, circling the chaotic and vast battlefield. Squadrons of horses weave and intersect like raging torrents, dissecting the once-dense formations of the Wu Dynasty army. In the flickering firelight, blood and corpses spread. The fields are littered with fleeing soldiers, alongside skirmishes of various sizes. Organized units are scattered piece by piece by the charging Jurchen cavalry, reduced to a large-scale slaughter.

The Wusheng Army, originally stationed to guard Daming Prefecture, was torn in two during the first charge of the Jurchen cavalry. After the elite cavalry shattered the army's frontal resistance, squadrons of thousands of riders attacked from all directions, crushing the resistance of this 60,000-strong army with astonishing speed.

For the Wu Dynasty soldiers, everything before their eyes could only be described as tragic. On the vast battlefield teeming with tens of thousands, the Jurchen's assault was a brutal intrusion. Upon witnessing this scene, the initial reaction was disbelief, followed by an overwhelming and irresistible fear. The wavering morale, immense panic, the frantic and hysterical shouts and screams, and the Jurchen cavalry charging forward, causing people to scatter, jostle, and be crushed by the onrushing warhorses, their bones broken, their bodies cleaved. On this battlefield where there was nothing but people, wherever these riders went, they unleashed shocking mountains of corpses and rivers of blood.

Chen Yanshu, the commander of the Wusheng Army, was desperately fleeing. Just moments ago, a Jurchen cavalry squad had broken through the protection of his personal guards, almost bringing their blades to his face. Two arrows had even struck his armor—this Jurchen squad had specifically targeted him, seeking the head of the army's commander.

When the Jurchen cavalry appeared before the army's formation, Chen Yanshu had intended to fight to the death using the sheer number of men. Even when the teams of several or dozens of mounted warriors charged madly into the front ranks, he had not considered retreat. But everything happened too quickly.

For infantry to fight cavalry in a tough battle, they relied on a dense, impenetrable formation. When thousands upon thousands squeezed together, the front ranks could not escape, and the rear ranks would bravely push forward, forming a massive human wall that even cavalry could not break through. However, theory was one thing. When the threat of death arose, the front ranks would instinctively try to dodge and retreat. If the entire army was seen as a whole, the degree to which bravery exceeded cowardice determined whether the formation would hold.

The Jurchen charging force quickly shattered this human sea. The flying flesh and blood were a shocking sight, even to battle-hardened generals. One squad of two thousand riders tore through the human sea, heading straight for the location of the Wusheng Army's banner. Chen Yanshu attempted to use the army's elite to block this "spent force" of cavalry, but the previously unleashed sea of blood seemed only to have ignited the Jurchens' ferocious bloodlust. They withstood attacks from all directions while frantically hacking and slashing their way into Chen Yanshu's personal guard formation.

Or rather, they were slaughtering everything they could reach while rapidly advancing.

Chen Yanshu's personal guards held out for a moment, but the immense pressure caused them heavy casualties. Chen Yanshu felt a chill in his heart. When someone fired an arrow at him in the chaos, he began to retreat quickly, while also mobilizing other units in the army to come and block the attack for him.

After such a mobilization, the entire army began to fall into disarray. The Jurchens' slaughter was grinding everything beneath the night sky. Control over the entire Wusheng Army was lost, gradually devolving into individual battles. The troops on the fringes had already begun a frenzied rout, and the soldiers in the battle formation, led by mid-level officers, were either fighting fiercely or retreating strategically. However, slaughter had become the main theme of the entire battlefield. With so many people, killing was simply too easy.

More than ten miles away, the Wuwei Army had also been scattered and crushed. The Jin general in charge of the battlefield was Sela. Squadrons of Jurchen cavalry charged back and forth, heading for every Wu Dynasty soldier with clear markings.

On the hills, a large group unable to run fast enough was overtaken by a cavalry squad of about a thousand riders, who proceeded to massacre them. Large numbers of fleeing soldiers rushed into the nearby woods, but the Jurchen cavalry circled around the edges of the woods, then began to set fires in all directions. It was late autumn and early winter, the weather was dry, and soon large fires began to burn fiercely, lighting up the entire forest. Near a river valley, nearly three thousand Wu Dynasty soldiers were slaughtered as they were forced into the river. Soon the Jurchens began to shoot arrows into the river, and blood dyed the entire river surface red.

A dozen miles south of here, the battlefield of the Ruiying Camp was equally tragic. Its collapse was slower than that of the Wusheng and Wuwei armies, but the linked horses also shattered the resistance of the infantry, cutting the entire battlefield into several large pieces. Inside and outside the battlefield, morale was also collapsing, and nearly half of the units had already begun to rout and flee.

A Jurchen cavalry squadron of about a thousand men was circling around the edge of the battlefield, sweeping through the routed crowds.

On this immense battlefield, Ning Yi could no longer find Qin Shaoqian's position. Shortly after the battle began, he had led the Ruiying Camp's most precious two thousand cavalrymen to charge towards the Jurchens. But no matter how precious this unit was to the Ruiying Camp, firstly, the Wu Dynasty's warhorses were inferior to the Jurchens' warhorses, and secondly, the quality of the Wu Dynasty's cavalry was also far inferior to the Jurchen cavalry before them. This cavalry clash was extremely tragic, and the casualties were also quite heavy.

Watching the battle situation collapse in front of him, with several Jurchen cavalry squads charging towards him from different directions, frankly, Ning Yi really wanted to leave. The area where he was located was surrounded by fields, with no high ground to occupy, and there were all kinds of troops around. If his convoy wanted to make a large movement, everyone would start to panic and flee.

During his time in Qixian County, Ning Yi had discussed the use of elm cannons with Qin Shaoqian. If there was support from a large army, choosing a narrow area to face the enemy head-on would be effective against the Jurchen cavalry. Even if the terrain was not ideal, with the cannon array set up in front and higher up, it could still have a significant effect, but the cooperation of the army was essential. But now, even if he set up the cannon array on the open ground, he didn't know which direction to aim.

Their original plan was to fight the Jurchens near Mount Mutuo—either Yao Pingzhong's raid would succeed, and the hundred thousand troops would encircle the Jurchen army, sweeping them up in one fell swoop; or Yao Pingzhong would fail, and the hundred thousand troops would gather together, form a formation, and fight the Jurchens head-on. However, before they arrived, the Jurchens came, and even the scouts' information was not much earlier.

Qin Shaoqian had realized this, and also realized that Ning Yi's elm cannons would probably be difficult to use, so he told him to handle it himself, and to escape quickly if things were not feasible. However, Ning Yi didn't want to be the first to collapse.

More than three hundred men under Yue Fei had gathered. Under the training of this young general, the formation of the three hundred men was well-trained, but still tense and uneasy. There was some fear on the faces of all the soldiers. Ning Yi also had a lineup of more than three hundred men, all elites from the Zhuji, including those who had gone to Mount Lvliang with Ning Yi. Although they were not arranged in a dense formation of infantry against cavalry, most of them did not have fear in their eyes.

Of course, some of the technicians were still afraid.

Standing on top of the carriage, watching the front line of slaughter gradually spread and approach, Ning Yi was actually also afraid. The Jurchen linked horses, and even the later heavy cavalry Tiefutu, were said in later legends to have been dealt with by Yue Fei by cutting their horses' legs, but during this period, after Ning Yi had learned a little, he knew that the key was not at all in cutting the horses' legs.

When warhorses charge over, cutting off their legs is common knowledge that everyone who has experienced battle knows. Only in legends does it become a "secret technique." Because the key is not in such a simple matter. The key is in how the soldiers in the front ranks can calmly, efficiently, and accurately deliver knives and spears to the horses' legs when more than ten warhorses sweep in like tanks.

Even if they hit, there is a 90% chance that these soldiers will be killed.

It may take countless, simple, and tedious training, highly strict discipline, and the tempering of war to train such soldiers. And after having them, what they need to do is exchange their lives for those of the warhorses. Only then can infantry truly have a chance to fight against cavalry. But at the moment, the more than three hundred men trained by that young general not far away are far from such quality. As militia-like armed forces, they have only not collapsed and fled.

When the Jurchens began to charge the formation just now, Ning Yi stood on top of the carriage and watched. The Jurchens' thousands of cavalry charging the formation was a magnificent and astonishing sight. The front ranks of the Ruiying Camp also put up a tenacious resistance. However, among these thousands of cavalry, probably only a hundred or two hundred were actually lost. Qin Shaoqian's arrangement of three simultaneous shouts boosted morale, but only morale could make people in the front ranks wave their knives frantically. They didn't even know what they were cutting. When the Jurchens' charge first broke through the formation, their casualties dropped sharply.

The shouts of battle spread over, and the Jurchens' wave of slaughter extended in all directions in the field of vision. Orders requiring nearby units to advance were also being issued quickly. Most of the people near Ning Yi were scattered Xiang soldiers and volunteer soldiers who had come from all directions. Some of them still had blood and courage, and began to kill towards the front under the leadership of their officers. Others began to flee. A Jurchen cavalry unit had already killed over here, and the number seemed to be several hundred or a thousand. Panic and commotion became even more obvious around them. Then, more fleeing soldiers spread around like a tide, and many people began to flee.

In front, Yue Fei held a steel spear and watched all this indifferently.

Zhu Biao, who had already returned, came to the back of the carriage and also looked around: "Should we help enforce military law?"

Among the Zhuji guards, many people were also frowning at all this. Most martial arts practitioners are bloody and courageous. When they see such a big battle, they are not reluctant to step forward and fight desperately, and they also can't stand those who flee before the battle. But Ning Yi still shook his head: "We have to leave later too. We're losing too quickly. It's meaningless for us to block them with just a few hundred people."

Zhu Biao was silent for a moment: "Our cannon array can't be deployed."

In such a crowded and chaotic place, even if it was really deployed, a round of volley fire would only kill their own people.

The night sky was noisy, and the firelight spread in spots. Cavalry swept across the battlefield, stirring up a wave of blood. Scenes of death and serious injury appeared in large areas before their eyes. It was an indescribable scene. Ning Yi stood on the carriage and clenched his hands. This was the first time he had experienced such a large war since coming to the Wu Dynasty, and also such a large defeat. He had experienced many things in his life, but witnessing such a scene firsthand was another matter. At this moment, he really wanted to lead people to rush up, and also wanted to set up the elm cannon array to give the Jurchens a head-on blow, but even if he mobilized all his mental power to calculate, it was meaningless. In front, Qin Shaoqian and the others were still fighting bravely, because they had to fight bravely. If they didn't fight bravely at this time, they would lose even the last chance to escape.

Another cavalry squad of about a thousand men came around from the side, reaching the vicinity of the battlefield.

The Jurchen general leading this cavalry was named Sukena. As the cavalry slowed down slightly, he was also observing the situation on the battlefield.

"It's time to go," Ning Yi said, then raised his hand towards the Zhuji people nearby, "I know you really want to rush up, but while there's still a chance, we have to... escape back to Qixian County. Go to the side first, not too fast..."

Even the slow movement of the carriage caused crowding, but fortunately Ning Yi had chosen a route that was not for fleeing at this time, and had not caused everyone to collapse and scatter. Not far away, the Jurchen general Sukena stretched out his finger: "There, the Wu Dynasty's convoy, there must be all kinds of baggage and equipment. All follow me! That's ours!"

"Wow—" A wave of shouts rose in the Jurchen cavalry, and then the cavalry surged forward, directly plunging into the panicked crowd.

The cavalry charged into the battle formation, stirring up a wave of blood, and then there was another rout and scattering. Two hundred meters away, through the thick crowd, Ning Yi looked over there.

"They're coming for us," Zhu Biao reined in his horse and gestured around.

"Trouble..." Ning Yi frowned and murmured, "Continue to move, prepare for battle."

Not far away, Yue Fei, who had also noticed the situation, began to move his team. Here, the convoy was still moving to the side, and all the good fighters in the Zhuji had gathered. In the more distant battlefield, a tragic battle was taking place. The Jurchen cavalry surged like a flood. Soon after the entire wilderness fell into a Shura field, Ning Yi and the others fell into this vast battle, becoming a part of it.

In the capital, a solemn and strange atmosphere was fermenting. The news of the Yao family army's disastrous defeat had already been transmitted first...