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Just after Shen Shi (3-5 pm), signs of fighting emerged in the mountains west of Lioyang County.

A sharp and piercing signal arrow rose from the forest, shattering the afternoon's tranquility. The vanguard of the Jin troops was advancing along a mountain road several miles away. Their advance paused momentarily as the generals turned their gaze towards the sound's origin. Nearby scouts rapidly approached the area.

For elite troops capable of fighting fiercely on the battlefield, scouts were always crucial in warfare. Soldiers who were sent out, could complete their missions, and return were highly valued in any army. In the early Wu Dynasty forces, scouts were often the generals' personal guards or family retainers. Their numbers were small, their lives comfortable, but they couldn't cover much ground. In the event of a surprise attack, they often lacked the ability to retaliate.

For the Jin people, and even armies of the level of the Tu Shan Guard, scouts were deployed ahead of the main force, leaving no blind spots within a mile or two – a normal state of affairs. Of course, when encountering similarly skilled armies, war often began with the scouts. During the Jin conquest of Liao, there were many instances where scout skirmishes led to larger battles after calling for reinforcements.

Of course, sending out too many scouts sometimes led to false alarms. After the first signal arrow rose, Jin General Pu Cha observed the next movements through his binoculars. Soon after, a second signal arrow flew up, confirming that they had indeed engaged the enemy.

The scouts in the front swiftly gathered and swept towards the area. For the Jurchens, they were on the offensive in this campaign, with superior forces. Once they caught the enemy, they could hold them fast, and the mobile support teams in the rear would continuously reinforce them. With Ba Lisu guarding Jianmen Pass, this would always be their advantage.

Thus, the army's formation on the road shifted, quickly preparing for engagement.

……

Heavy blades clashed in the air, sparks flying from the impact of steel. Both sides had charged without hesitation after the first glance. The soldiers of the Chinese Army were slightly shorter, but already bore traces of blood. The Jurchen scout parried three blows head-on. Seeing that his opponent was advancing relentlessly, about to take him down together, he slightly dodged back. The howling thick-backed blade swung down, severing one of his arms.

Victory and defeat on the battlefield happen in the blink of an eye. The Jurchen scout was a veteran of many battles. The moment his arm was cut off, he tried to roll away. The next moment, his head flew off.

His last thought was of the "rank" on the shoulder of the Chinese Army soldier. This Chinese Army soldier looked to be only in his twenties or thirties, young in appearance, with even his jaw shaved clean, lacking a beard. Yet, judging by the "rank," he was already a "regiment commander" in the Chinese Army, equivalent to a "Meng'an" officer leading a thousand men on the Jurchen side.

If he hadn't seen that rank, the Jurchen scout wouldn't have subconsciously retreated on the fourth strike. In fact, if he had faced a slightly weaker enemy, his arm wouldn't have been cut off, and his head wouldn't have been severed. After all, he was a veteran who had fought on the battlefield for many years.

The thick-backed blade was flicked in the air, scattering blood on the ground, staining the vegetation with red speckles. Chen Hai tightened the red silk tied around his wrist. This skirmish was nearing its end. Other Jurchen scouts were approaching from afar. Nearby comrades, while remaining vigilant of the surroundings, also moved closer.

"Transfer the wounded first," Chen Hai said, looking ahead, "We'll head south. Notify the two companies in the rear, don't rush to approach. Hide yourselves well. There are too many of us. Try to reach the Muddy Flats area and concentrate our forces for a decisive fight."

As he spoke, the observer who had been riding a horse on the high ground of a nearby ridge also came over: "Pu Cha has deployed his formation, looks like he's preparing to attack."

"Just as the staff predicted, the Jurchens have a strong desire to attack. Everyone, string your crossbows, and fight as we retreat."

The scout squad briefly gathered, crossed the mountains, and turned towards the southern slope. The Jin scouts chased after them, shooting strong arrows in their direction - the range of the Jurchen sharpshooters was a headache, but too far to be fatal. But once they entered medium range, the powerful crossbows of the Chinese Army would make them lose some manpower.

Of course, long-range shooting was not the main course for either side. To prevent the pursuing Jurchen scouts from discovering the troops moving to the Muddy Flats, Chen Hai led his comrades in an ambush halfway. After a brief skirmish, they set off again.

The Muddy Flats were not too far for the Jurchen troops. Before long, the scout force chasing from behind had increased to over two hundred men, and their numbers were likely to increase further. On the one hand, they were pursuing; on the other hand, they were searching for the main force of the Chinese Army.

For the Jin soldiers, although they had suffered many losses in the Southwest, and even lost the general Yu Yu who led the scouts, the number and combat effectiveness of their elite scouts should not be underestimated. When two hundred or more scouts swept over and encountered an ambush, they could retreat. They weren't without a chance of winning similar numbers in a head-on conflict.

Of course, the issue of scouts for the Chinese Seventh Army was a matter of a different concept.

The number of scouts that the Chinese Seventh Army could deploy, in most cases, was about half of the army.

For Chen Hai and his men, in the years they had survived in Da Yang, they had experienced the most outdoor survival training, long-distance treks, or coordinated or solo wilderness survival. This training was, of course, also divided into several levels. Some who really couldn't endure it would be considered for assignment to ordinary troops, but most of them could endure it.

Because before entering Da Yang, they had experienced the three years of fierce fighting at Xiao Cang River. And before Xiao Cang River, some of the veterans had experienced the great battle against Lou Shi in the Northwest. Tracing back even further, some among them were survivors of Dongzhiyuan.

Chen Hai, the regiment commander, was thirty years old, considered young among his companions, but he had joined the Chinese Army for more than ten years. He was a soldier who had participated in the Battle of Xiacun.

When the team crossed the mountains, grassy slopes, and reached the low-lying area called the Muddy Flats, it was still early in the day, the air was humid and pleasant. Chen Hai drew his knife and went to the side towards the border with the sparse woods: "Prepare for battle." His face looked young, his tone was also young, only his eyes were resolute and harsh like winter. Those who knew him well knew that he never smiled.

The Chinese Seventh Army had been through harsh environments year-round. When training in the wilderness, being unkempt was extremely normal. But before setting off at dawn, Chen Hai still cleaned himself up, shaved his beard, and cut his hair. The soldiers under him glanced at him and even thought that the regiment commander had become a young man, only his eyes didn't look like it.

It was only because in his youth, he had already lost the eyes of a young man.

More than ten years ago, when the Jurchens first went south, Chen Hai was probably one of the most direct witnesses to that great war. Before that, the Wu Dynasty was still enjoying peace and prosperity, and no one had ever thought about what it was like to be invaded. However, the Jurchens broke into their village. Chen Hai's father died, and his mother hid him in a woodpile. After coming out of the woodpile, he saw the naked body of his mother, which was only stained with black mud on half of her body.

Soon after, he was rescued by the army. A hunter surnamed Zheng, in his forties, took him in and spent many days scouting the Jurchen's situation in Mutuogang. The ice surface cracked, and the hunter surnamed Zheng fell into the icy water. There were Jurchens patrolling nearby. The old hunter did not struggle in the water, so he was able to survive.

From that time on, he had cried a few times, but never smiled again.

There was no black mud on the Muddy Flats. The beaches were yellow. There was no ice in Hanzhong in April, and the air was not cold. But Chen Hai remembered that kind of coldness every day. In a corner of his heart, there was only man-eating mud.

——Chen Hai never smiles.

……

At the second quarter of Shen Shi (3:30 pm), southwest of Lioyang County, ahead of the lowland called Muddy Flats, the friction between the scouts of both sides further intensified. The other scout units of the Chinese Army successively joined the battle, gradually expanding the chaotic fighting to a scale of over six hundred people. At the same time, Jurchen scouts discovered that the main force of the First Division of the Chinese Seventh Army, after receiving the report, was advancing towards the Muddy Flats from the banks of the Jialing River to the west.

With the main force revealed, Pu Cha simultaneously commanded the army to rush towards the Muddy Flats. The scouts had quickly transmitted the situation of the engagement to Zong Han's main camp in the rear.

They didn't care about piecemeal tactics, nor did they care about fighting a messy battle. For the attacking side with superior forces, the only thing they worried about was the enemy running away like mudfish. Therefore, as long as they saw them, they had to hold on tight, that was always right.

……

Qi Xinyi sat on his horse, watching a brigade under his command advance forward in the afternoon sunlight. In the direction of the Muddy Flats, smoke had already risen.

"The Jurchens want to achieve results before Jianmen Pass falls. What we fear is Xi Yin's cannon fodder tactics. Fortunately, this time everyone is happy." He spoke to the regiment commander under his command, "There was only one large-scale friction last year. The Jurchens are not very clear about our strength. We must make good use of this opportunity. Perhaps they will become more cautious next time..."

The regiment commander nodded.

"...In addition, if we fight well here, Xin Han will also have an easier time..."

……

The Jurchen vanguard crossed the ridge. The scouts in the Muddy Flats were still fighting in groups, wave after wave. A Qianfu Chief (Battalion Commander) led the Jin soldiers over, and some people from the Chinese Army also came over. Then the large group of Jurchens crossed the ridge, gradually spreading out their formation. The large group of the Chinese Army stopped at the foot of the mountain and formed a formation - they no longer advanced towards the Muddy Flats.

In Hanzhong in April, the sun sets relatively late. Around You Shi (5-7 pm), the Jin soldiers' vanguard main force launched an attack on the Han army at the foot of the mountain. They had sufficient transport capacity, so they brought iron cannons, but the iron cannons were slowly unfolding in the mountains.

Chen Hai, on the side of the Muddy Flats battlefield, had already clearly captured the Jin's command post across the way. At this time, there were about 1,400 Jin soldiers gathered in the Muddy Flats. A regiment under Chen Hai's command, over 900 people, had also gathered. They had completed the task of luring the enemy into the battlefield for the main force.

"We're done here. Close the net, and issue the order to charge." He gave the order.

Three signal arrows with fireworks soared into the sky in a very short time, the fireworks were blood red.

Chen Hai drew his knife.

"Kill——"

"Kill——"

"Kill——"

The shouting that suddenly erupted on the battlefield was like spring thunder

Blooming, the shouts of nine hundred people converged into one. On the entire battlefield, Chen Hai's soldiers automatically gathered into six groups, rushing towards the four core points previously observed.

The Jurchen Qianfu Chief (Battalion Commander) who came down from the mountain was wearing armor, standing under a large flag. Suddenly, he saw three forces rushing towards him from different directions. At that moment, his scalp began to tingle, but what followed was the pride and boiling blood of a Jurchen general.

"Release the arrows——Follow me to kill the enemy——"

He waved his long knife. Under the white sunset, he stood on his horse, brandishing his sword.

The Chinese Army threw out the first round of hand grenades. Afterwards, the skirmish lines converged. The Chinese Army soldiers who rushed over were first targeting the generals in the Jurchen army formation.

Chen Hai wielded his thick, heavy blade, charging towards the burly Jurchen general on the warhorse. The soldiers beside him were like two opposing tides, devouring each other in roaring sounds. The Jurchen general's eyes were twisted and bloodthirsty, intimidating, but Chen Hai never cared. In his eyes, there were only howling ice and snow and man-eating abysses.

The Jurchen general led his personal guards to kill!

……

At the second quarter of You Shi (5:30 pm), Pu Cha led his army and pierced through the center of the Chinese Army's main force in a fierce charge. This made him feel a little confused. But he immediately reacted. In the previous battle, the Chinese Army had taken the initiative to spread out on both flanks, putting them into the rear - the rear was close to the Jialing River.

After only a little thought, Pu Cha understood that in this battle, both sides had chosen the same combat intent. He led his army to kill towards the rear of the Chinese Army in order to trap this Chinese Army, and when reinforcements arrived, they would naturally be able to secure victory. But the Chinese Army had also made the same choice. They wanted to put themselves into the angle between him and the Jialing River and fight a battle of annihilation?

After the Chinese Army's victory in the Southwest, they had become so arrogant.

Anger surged in his heart.

At this moment, the support team led by Sa Ba should already be on their way, at the latest, they should be able to arrive here before dark.

Pu Cha had a total of ten thousand men under his command. At this time, 1,500 men were in the Muddy Flats, 2,500 men formed a rear position on the opposite ridge, and he led nearly 6,000 men to kill towards this side. The troops opposite, bearing the serial number of the First Division of the Chinese Seventh Army, added up to only about 6,000.

This was the first battle. Although the other side was arrogant, they needed to remember the lessons of Wangyuan Bridge, the next battle could be as conservative as possible, ordering the mountain troops on the other side to slowly advance, with iron cannon support. Fight until dark, then kill all these Han dogs.

He already had a plan in his mind. At the same time, a scout covered in blood rushed over, the Muddy Flats battlefield had been defeated, Meng'an (Battalion Commander) Pu Lu had been beheaded by the Han people, and in almost no time, three Mouke (Company Commander) had been killed in battle, and the morale of over a thousand soldiers had been lost, and they were scattered and fleeing.

……

With a "poof" sound, a Chinese Army soldier cut off the head of the already dead Jurchen general under the collapsed flag.

"Regiment commander, is this head still useful?"

"Throw it away and feed it to the dogs."

Chen Hai, covered in blood, walked through the corpses of the Jin people, holding binoculars in his hand, looking at the Jin people's position on the opposite ridge. The cannon array was facing the main force of the Chinese Army at the foot of the mountain and was slowly taking shape.

"The main force of the Jin soldiers has been separated, gather the troops, and before dark, we will take down the cannon array... It's convenient to call for the next one."

Chen Hai spoke like this.

Chen Hai never smiles.

……

Before dark, Wanyan Saba's troops approached the Jialing River.

He heard the piercing sound of the charge horn...

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