Chapter 106 In the Midst of Winter

In mid-December, the weather was freezing. It was the coldest time of the year, when major commercial activities and long-distance travel had long ceased. Everyone would stay in towns and villages, preparing for the New Year. Even Bianjing would be no exception.

But this year was different. The total war had changed everything. From east to west, from south to north, the atmosphere of war overshadowed everything.

And for Queshu Valley, which connects the Taiyuan Basin and the Linfen Basin, the situation changed even further right in the middle of mid-December. For more than forty days prior, there had been constant warfare in Queshu Valley. Troops came and went, relieving each other and advancing forward. This was understandable, as the Song and Jin armies were engaged in a long and tedious offensive and defensive battle in Queshu Valley. But starting on the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, as the entire Queshu Valley was cleared, it not only did not become peaceful, but suddenly became bustling with activity.

Far exceeding the previous deployments of a thousand or so men, tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands, of soldiers and civilians poured into the valley.

Queshu Valley was formed by the Fen River, which also divided it in two. Large numbers of combat troops advanced rapidly along the wider eastern bank of the Fen River, while the frozen Fen River itself and the frozen riverbed unexpectedly became a natural road for supply units. The laborers and livestock were all wearing anti-slip straw shoes, and the wheels of the carts were wrapped in tough, dried grass. Some carts and porters simply dragged their loads across the ice.

Under these circumstances, the speed of troop movement was astonishing.

However, what truly ensured the speed of advancement along the Fen River and its eastern bank was actually the slightly narrower western bank of the Fen River within the valley, as well as the mountain hollows and gentle slopes. On the western bank of the Fen River, Zhao Guan Jia had personally issued an edict earlier, during the offensive battles, instructing Jiedushi Ma Kuo to establish a comprehensive supply station for every *li* advanced.

The supply stations were also personally designed by Zhao Guan Jia, with specific requirements for each personnel configuration.

First, the supply stations had to have enough cooking staff and coal reserves to ensure a continuous supply of hot water and to help the troops cook and thaw their dry rations at any time.

Second, each supply station had to have at least three *suijun jinshi* (进士, accompanying scholars who passed the imperial exams): one responsible for managing the daily operations of the supply station, one responsible for mediating disputes and supervising military discipline, and the last responsible for conveying and explaining military orders that might be issued at any time.

Third, the supply stations had to have several extra warm rooms to ensure that soldiers injured in sudden accidents had a place to rest and treat their injuries.

Finally, all imperial edicts, military orders, and the coming and going of military officers, regardless of importance, had to go through the western side of the Fen River, and were not allowed to go through the eastern side, so as not to hinder the advance.

In addition to the supply stations, there were also seven or eight mountain hollows and gentle slopes in Queshu Valley that had been built into established camps. These were larger supply stations, which, in addition to the basic functions of the smaller supply stations, also served to receive casualties on a large scale, repair transportation equipment, store supplies and livestock, and serve as defensive points on the spot.

That said, during the previous offensive battles, while everyone felt that these things were convenient, they also felt that Zhao Guan Jia was going a bit too far. A few camps were acceptable, and were very good things. It was also nothing new for troops to advance in an orderly manner, with divisions going east and west, plus transporting supplies on the river. Bianjing had long been advocating keeping to the right.

But setting up a supply station every *li* was too wasteful of manpower and resources.

There were even rumors that Zhao Guan Jia was deliberately creating work for Ma Kuo, who was high in position but low in power, so that he wouldn't lose his share.

But now, when the imperial edict suddenly came down, requiring the entire army to advance rapidly to Taiyuan, the entire army, including soldiers and laborers, totaling hundreds of thousands, plus countless supplies, needed to pass through the dozens of *li* long Queshu Valley, the forward-most officers and officials hated that these supply stations couldn't be placed every three hundred paces, and they finally realized the truth.

Zhao Guan Jia had definitely been planning this for a long time. He was waiting for the moment when Queshu Valley was cleared, and then suddenly changed from slow to fast, from small to large, launching all his forces to launch a surprise attack on Taiyuan City, catching the Jin garrison in the Taiyuan Basin and the main Jin forces in the Hebei direction completely off guard.

So, regardless of how effective this surprise attack would be, given that Taiyuan City was a natural fortress, everyone felt Zhao Guan Jia's determination.

In fact, the reason why the troops were advancing so quickly and in such an orderly manner was largely because Zhao Guan Jia's imperial carriage was right behind them.

The imperial edict was issued to all departments on the night of the fifteenth day of the twelfth month.

On the sixteenth day of the twelfth month, the elite troops of Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang De, Li Qiong, and others stationed in Queshu Valley and outside Yangliang South Pass, advanced in sequence. At the same time, Zhao Guan Jia's imperial carriage also started without hesitation from Xiangling in the rear. Under the escort of the Imperial Guards, he left behind the Japanese warriors who had just arrived at the temporary palace and headed directly north.

The imperial dragon flag arrived at Hongdong County, a full fifty *li* from Xiangling, in the afternoon, and then continued without stopping for more than ten *li*, until it was dark, before stopping at a vacant Song army camp south of Zhaocheng to set up camp nearby.

It was also under the coercion of this speed and determination of advance that none of Han Shizhong, Li Yanxian, Wang De, or Li Qiong dared to make a sound. The fifty or sixty thousand elite soldiers in front advanced in an orderly manner, without anyone even trying to cut in line, which was truly amazing.

At noon on the seventeenth day of the twelfth month, the imperial carriage, maintaining an astonishing speed, also entered Queshu Valley.

In the afternoon, the sky began to darken, and light snow began to fall.

And in the evening, amidst the light snow, the imperial dragon flag arrived at the foot of Lingshi City, but once again passed by without entering the city, and continued to march until the sky could no longer support it. Only then did the imperial carriage stop at a camp in a mountain hollow on the western side of the valley, and paused briefly.

As soon as the imperial carriage stopped, the Imperial Guards below were naturally happy to rest. In any case, no matter how orderly things were, this kind of marching was a very arduous task. However, because Zhao Guan Jia was also in the marching column, this kind of complaint could not be voiced.

However, while the soldiers went to get hot water to soak their feet and make rice porridge, the close officials who accompanied the carriage were once again busy. A large number of memorials and intelligence reports were sent to the imperial presence, and Zhao Guan Jia didn't have time to say much. After taking a cup of hot tea, he began to deal with them.

"Send a gold plaque to Wang De, telling him not to underestimate the enemy and advance rashly. He must wait for friendly forces to take over the siege positions in Jiexiu before going north to besiege Qixian." Zhao Jiu opened the first memorial and was a little speechless, even a little exasperated. "What snow-night descent on Caizhou?! Who did he hear that allusion from? Does he really think that Yelu Ma Wu and Wanyan Zhehe are useless, and can't snatch food from a tiger's mouth and eat him?! Isn't it just that he waited in Jiexiu for a while, and saw that Han Shizhong and Li Qiong had run ahead of him again? Do as the previous military orders say!"

Fan Zongyin, the chief academician beside him, did not dare to neglect, and immediately hurriedly took up his pen and ink to draft the edict.

Zhao Jiu had already opened the second memorial, but became impatient again: "Send another gold plaque, telling Han Shizhong that Qixian is not the Royal Army's Left Army. His task is to first pacify Pingyao, then Taigu, and then advance with Wang De! He must not be too slow, nor too fast, and even less chaotic!"

Mei Li, the direct academician, also hurriedly took up his pen and ink to draft the edict.

But before Fan and Mei had written a few words, Zhao Guan Jia threw the third document on the table, and then pointed to Wang Yan: "Wang Qing, you personally take a fast horse and go to the river mouth forty *li* ahead where the Sheng River flows into the Fen River. Find Li Yanxian and explain it clearly to him for me. The western bank of the Fen River, the line of Xiaoyi, Baibi, Guo Zha, Wenshui, Jiaocheng, and Qingyuan, which is Wanyan Salihe's defense zone, my intention in handing it over to him is not to have him conquer it, but to have him monitor it, to ensure that Salihe's troops cannot cross the Fen River to harass us. And soon Li Shifu will arrive with cavalry from the rear to replace him in monitoring the west of the river, and Wu Jie will cross the Yellow River from Shizhou and Lanzhou to take over the war in the west of the river. Let him stabilize his mentality, not waste troops, and not be greedy for merit. The main task now is to quickly and steadily join the main army under Taiyuan City! After you have finished your business, do not rush back to report. Go and inspect Pingyao, Qixian, and Taigu, and then wait for me there in Taigu!"

Wang Yan, the commander-in-chief of the Royal Army who had previously been stationed with Lu Yihao in Linfen City, did not dare to neglect. He responded and, regardless of the darkness, took a few guards and rode out of the camp.

After Zhao Jiu had given his instructions on the three matters, he could not help but feel helpless. Even though Li Qiong had not submitted any additional plans, he still had people draft an edict, emphasizing the importance of blocking the Taihang Mountains and blocking the passage between Shangdang and Hebei.

In this way, Yu Yunwen had no choice but to spread out his pen and ink and join the ranks of drafting edicts.

Soon, the three of them finished drafting the edicts and presented them for the imperial review. After Zhao Guan Jia nodded, Shao Chengzhang, the officer in charge, took out the imperial seal and stamped it. Then, Liu Yan took out the golden plaque representing the highest military order, and then summoned members of the Loyal Heart Team, ten people in a team, who left in a hurry.

However, after the edicts were issued, although Zhao Guan Jia was so restless that he was too lazy to even drink tea, he did not show it on his face. He just sat motionless in the camp, as if waiting for someone.

And the mystery was soon revealed. After another while, when the sky was completely dark, dozens of riders, holding torches, walked along the western passage of the Fen River, directly to the camp where the imperial dragon flag was located. It was Qu Duan, the commander of the Royal Army's cavalry, who had not been summoned to the north this time.

As soon as he entered the camp, Yang Yizhong led him in, bypassing many of the Imperial Guards, and went straight to the large camp under the imperial dragon flag. Then, in the brightly lit camp, he bowed his head and paid his respects, saying, "Your subject, Qu Duan, commander of the Royal Army's cavalry, greets Your Majesty..."

"I have been waiting for you for a long time." Zhao Jiu responded coldly, not even letting the other party rise. "What exactly do you have to say that you have to tell me in person?"

Qu Duan heard that things were not good, and immediately raised his head to speak.

But before he could say anything, Zhao Guan Jia, who was sitting there, spoke again in a clear and cold voice, asking incessantly: "Do you think that since I have allowed you to come and see me in person, and then explain to me face to face, it means that I have agreed with your idea?"

Qu Duan felt a chill in his heart, and became even more flustered. All the rhetoric he had thought of before had flown to the Western Liao, and he could only nod.

In fact, it wasn't just Qu Duan. The atmosphere in the camp also dropped to the same temperature as the outside. That said, it wasn't that no one had thought that under Zhao Guan Jia's swift and decisive actions this time, someone would inevitably get into trouble, but when the matter came to a head, they couldn't help but be fearful.

This was the emperor who had been in power for nearly ten years, and had the military power in his hands.

"Speak, what exactly do you want to say?" Zhao Jiu finally became impatient.

"Your subject..." Qu Duan was extremely helpless, but could only carefully speak the truth. "Your subject originally thought that the Battle of Taiyuan was of great importance, and the Royal Army's cavalry might be able to participate in the battle."

"Cavalry attacking the city?" Zhao Jiu responded coldly. "Didn't I bring the Po Xi Army? But the Po Xi Army can't attack the city either, can they? They can only pull out the camps."

"Your subject is not saying to attack the city. In the Battle of Taiyuan, we must also guard against the Jin army's troops stationed in various cities from coming out of the city to harass our army's rear. If the Royal Army's cavalry is here, your subject can sweep away the surrounding cities for Your Majesty, and Your Majesty can rest assured behind you and attack the city calmly." Qu Duan's voice became smaller and smaller as he spoke.

"But didn't I let Li Shifu lead ten thousand of the Royal Army's cavalry's Tangut light cavalry to do this?" As soon as the other party finished speaking, Zhao Jiu continued to ask, without stopping for even a moment. "Isn't Li Shifu and his troops affiliated with the Royal Army's cavalry? Isn't light cavalry better at doing this?"

Qu Duan did not dare to speak again.

"Isn't leaving you in the south to guard against the Jin army jumping over the wall and trying to attack my rear?" Zhao Jiu continued to ask. "Qu Qing, why do you have to personally lead your direct subordinates north..."

Qu Duan still did not say anything.

"Speak!" Zhao Jiu finally became completely impatient.

Qu Duan could no longer hold on, and finally raised his head and told the truth: "Your Majesty... your subject is not trying to seize merit. Your subject thinks that the Battle of Taiyuan is no small matter. Once things go wrong, it will turn into a decisive battle. And beside Your Majesty, Han Junwang is arrogant and self-important, Li Yanxian can defend but not attack, and Ma Kuo can only build walls and fortifications..."

"You only know how to make wild claims!" Zhao Jiu directly interrupted the other party. "Therefore, I have already notified Wu Jie to cross the river quickly and come from Shizhou and Lanzhou to preside over the central army for me... do you understand?"

Qu Duan was speechless for a moment, but was obviously unwilling.

"The Prince of Yan'an is not here..." Seeing this, Zhao Jiu did not hesitate any longer, and directly turned his head to look at one person, speaking in a clear and cold voice. "Yang Yizhong, you go and whip him for me! Throw him out!"

No one in the semi-permanent earth and wood camp said anything, and since the emperor's decree had been issued, no one dared to refute it. The armored soldiers and Imperial Guards on both sides swarmed up, dragged Qu Duan out, and dragged him directly to the gate. Yang Yizhong picked up the horse whip and followed, publicly whipping him once inside the gate, and then discarded the whip and stood solemnly.

Qu Duan was extremely embarrassed and ashamed, but knew that his request for battle this time had violated Zhao Guan Jia's great taboo, and could only awkwardly take the reins and prepare to leave.

"Commander Qu, please wait." Yang Yizhong, having discarded the whip, took the initiative to stop the other party.

"Commander Yang, what do you mean by this?" Qu Duan just wanted to leave quickly.

"Before, when Your Majesty heard that Commander Qu was coming, he had already issued an edict, saying that he had heard that Commander's steed, Iron Elephant, had died of old age in Jiezhou, and could no longer gallop on the battlefield with Commander. Therefore, he has ordered Commander to take this horse back with you when you return, as a steed." As he said this, Yang Yizhong stepped aside, and the Imperial Guards had already led a strong horse. "This is a tribute horse sent by Yelu Dashi, the ruler of the Western Liao, last year..."

When Qu Duan saw the horse, how could he not recognize it as the steed that Zhao Guan Jia had been riding for several months? And after taking the reins from the hands of the Imperial Guards, he was also awkwardly sighed: "Is Your Majesty still worried that I will surrender to the Jin people for today's matter? Even if I really surrender, the commanders in the army will have to cut off my head..."

Yang Yizhong did not say a word.

Seeing this, Qu Duan could only laugh awkwardly and shake his head, change to the imperial horse, and return south in the snow with a slightly embarrassed expression.

And as soon as Qu Duan left, there was silence that night. Early the next morning, on the eighteenth day of the twelfth month, the light snow stopped early, and Zhao Guan Jia set off again. The imperial dragon flag headed north, urging the army in front and driving the troops in the rear. The main forces of He Dong also continued to advance rapidly north.

At noon that day, they left Yangliang North Pass and entered the open terrain of the Taiyuan Basin.

At this time, Zhao Jiu once again looked back at Queshu Valley, and could not help but sigh at the timing of fate. Because according to the explanation of the local officers, the truly dangerous time for Queshu Valley was in the summer. In the summer, the Fen River often flooded, and mudslides often washed away the roads. Not to mention, the river water would also swell, causing the passable and foothold places in the valley to become extremely narrow, and the army would have to repeatedly cross the river to advance.

If that were the case, and the Jin army was still setting up defenses layer by layer, the Song army would either have to rely on Wu Jie to fight, or would have to turn around and attack Shangdang. How could it be like this now, where it could freeze into a road, and in turn promote the army's passage and speed?

But regardless of this small sigh, let's just say that after Zhao Guan Jia's imperial dragon flag left Queshu Valley, it paused slightly and then headed north again. That evening, it arrived at the foot of Jiexiu City, which had already been surrounded by Niu Gao's troops under Li Yanxian.

Here, Zhao Jiu summoned Niu Gao, comforted him slightly, and pointed to his merits in breaking through Yangliang North Pass and rewarded him slightly. That day, he camped behind Niu Gao's camp.

The next day, the nineteenth day of the twelfth month, the imperial carriage traveled sixty *li* and arrived at the foot of Pingyao City.

The garrison in Pingyao City was already shaken by the Song army's sudden and rapid advance north to surround the city, and when they saw countless troops passing under the city and heading north, their hearts gradually wavered. As a result, they soon saw the imperial dragon flag arriving, which was completely shocking. As a result, on the second day, which was the twentieth day of the twelfth month, when Zhao Guan Jia was about to leave the siege troops here and continue north, there was a rebellion by the Han army in the city, who opened the east gate of the city and took the initiative to surrender.

Of course, Zhao Jiu did not give up when he encountered such a battle opportunity. He handed over the Imperial Guards to Qiao Zhongfu, the commander of the Royal Army's Central Army, who was responsible for locking down Pingyao. The latter immediately sent troops into the city, and after a fierce battle, he captured this important stronghold in the Taiyuan Basin before noon.

But although the city was broken, Zhao Guan Jia still did not mean to stop. He left part of the Imperial Guards behind, gathered his troops, and immediately set off with Wang Sheng's troops who had caught up later. That evening, he arrived at the foot of Qixian City and joined Wang De.

Another day, which was the twenty-first day of the twelfth month, Zhao Jiu arrived at the foot of Taigu City at noon, gathered with Han Shizhong and Wang Yan, and then, without stopping for a moment, arrived at Xugou Town that evening.

On the twenty-second day of the twelfth month, after learning that Yuci, the important town east of Yangqu City, the capital of Taiyuan, had been surrounded by Li Qiong leading his troops in person, Zhao Guan Jia did not hesitate and led the increasingly numerous main battle troops beside him to Yangqu, the capital of Taiyuan.

That evening, they arrived at Yonglijian, less than twenty *li* from Taiyuan City, and set up a large camp there.

On the twenty-third day of the twelfth month, in the morning, leaving aside the fact that the vanguard troops had only three hundred *li* to travel, let's just say that Zhao Guan Jia and his Imperial Guards, after experiencing eight days of rapid marching and traversing the narrow Queshu Valley, traveled a total of nearly five hundred *li*. In the end, at a speed that was absolutely beyond imagination, they erected the iconic imperial dragon flag under Taiyuan City. This speed, from any point of view, was undoubtedly half a military miracle. Not to mention that during this marching process, the important towns on the eastern bank of the Fen River were also quickly divided and surrounded by the Song army, and even the important town of Pingyao was captured.

However, at the same time, in order to maintain the speed of advance, the many towns on the western bank of the Fen River were almost completely abandoned by the Song army and left unattended. Wanyan Salihe, who was responsible for the defense zone on the western bank of the Fen River, did not know whether he was frightened by the speed of the Song army's advance, but he had been shrinking back under the Song army's monitoring troops.

Thanks to this, along with Zhao Guan Jia's imperial dragon flag, no less than 30,000 elites from various parts of the Royal Army arrived under Taiyuan City. At the same time, countless troops and laborers were constantly gathering from the rear.

It could be imagined that by the evening of today, there would probably be 40,000 to 50,000 people arriving, and the number would only increase in the future. Finally, if Wu Jie could arrive as promised, it would not be strange for 100,000 people to appear here.

And putting aside the things that will happen in the future, let's just say that right now, Zhao Jiu can finally stop his horse on the bank of the Fen River and then carefully examine Taiyuan City in this era.

That said, Taiyuan City in the Song Dynasty was not the same as Taiyuan City in the Han and Tang Dynasties.

The main body of the previous Taiyuan City was on the western side of the Fen River, which was the traditional Jin Yang area, and the city was large. The Taiyuan City of the Song Dynasty was a new city that Pan Mei rebuilt after Emperor Taizong Zhao Guangyi of the Song Dynasty destroyed the old city. It was located in Yangqu County on the eastern side of the Fen River, rather than in the traditional sense of the Taiyuan area, and it was also much smaller.

However, this does not mean that this city would be inferior to any Taiyuan city in history in terms of defense. Otherwise, there would not have been the experience of Nianhan being forced to lock down the city and go south, only to turn around and find that Taiyuan was still in the hands of the Song army, so he had to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements. He attacked the reinforcements and collapsed hundreds of thousands of Song troops, but it still didn't work. In the end, he relied on two hundred and fifty days to forcibly wait until the city was broken, and he also had to massacre the city to vent his anger.

"Your Majesty, please take a look."

Han Shizhong led his own Beiwei Army to the north of the city to act as a defense, and Li Yanxian went to preside over the establishment of a large camp under the city. And unexpectedly, but understandably, it was Yang Yizhong, who had always been silent and taciturn on the outside, who took the initiative to point out the defenses of Taiyuan City to Zhao Guan Jia. He was originally from Daizhou in the north. "Taiyuan City is more than ten *li* in circumference, which is not a large city, and it is not entirely made of bricks and stones, but mostly of rammed earth. But the west side of the city faces the Fen River, and then the Fen River is drawn around the city as a moat. There are only four gates. The east, north, and south gates all have separate protruding gate towers. The gate towers and the city gates behind them are connected by drawbridges, but they are proper brick and stone city walls. Not only that, but there is also a separate inner city inside the city. The inner city is more than five *li* in circumference and occupies almost half of the city. And no one lives in the inner city. They are all warehouses, government offices, and barracks..."

"In other words, this Taiyuan City, although small, is actually a dedicated flat ground fortress?" Zhao Jiu, standing by the Fen River, looked at the Jin army flags shaking on the south gate tower of Taiyuan and suddenly realized. "A place that is specifically for military use?"

"Yes." Yang Yizhong nodded in response. "It can only be said that it is fortunate that it is winter and the ice has frozen. Otherwise, with the Fen River surrounding the city, and the three gate towers standing side by side, we can only use cannons to smash them hard. And the city can use cannons to counter... Then we can only endure."

Yang Yizhong's words became slower and slower, and Zhao Jiu and the rest of the close officials were also gradually attracted to other things. It turned out that while Han Shizhong went to the northern passage of Taiyuan, Li Yanxian took command of the main force to start setting up camps, and Zhao Guan Jia was listening to the introduction under the imperial dragon flag, as the flags on the south gate tower shook, suddenly, a group of Jin army cavalry came out from the east.

This group of cavalry was not large. It looked like it was only seven or eight *mouke*, about seven or eight hundred riders. From the looks of it, they had obviously come out from the east gate tower.

Under the gaze of Zhao Guan Jia and many close officials, they first attacked the southeast corner of Taiyuan City, startling some of the laborers and soldiers who were setting up camps there and causing a small chaos. That was all. The city's defenders took advantage of the fact that the foreign enemies had not yet established a firm foothold and launched a cavalry raid to blunt the enemy's sharpness. This was a conventional tactic. However, after a successful strike, this small unit not only did not take advantage of the situation to turn back, or rather, had signs of turning back, but actually relied on the cover of the south gate tower to turn around and head straight for the imperial dragon flag.

"Does Wanyan Zhehe think of me as Sun Quan?" Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, and then smiled. "But I don't know how he will cut off the Xiao Shi Bridge now that the Fen River is frozen."

"Your Majesty, you might as well avoid it temporarily!" Although they were more than a *li* away, Yang Yizhong had no choice but to change the subject. "Your subjects will welcome the enemy for Your Majesty..."

"I will stay here and watch you defeat the enemy!" Zhao Jiu reined in his horse and shook his head directly.

Yang Yizhong looked at Wang Yan and saw that the other party nodded in understanding. Only then did he and Liu Yan hurriedly put on their helmets, and then, one commanding the infantry and the other commanding the cavalry, they hurried forward to form a formation.

However, because the enemy had come so suddenly, and although the Imperial Guards had put on their main armor at the beginning, they still could not be considered fully armored. Therefore, at this time, the speed of putting on armor and forming a formation was inevitably a little slow.

In fact, this should be the reason why this Jurchen iron cavalry thought there was a bargain to be had.

But the only thing that had to be said was, at this time, how could Zhao Jiu retreat?

However, just as the two armies were about to meet in a hurry, a group of soldiers suddenly poured out from the gap between the Song army's main formation and the Imperial Guard's formation, and collided head-on with the Jurchen iron cavalry.

Zhao Jiu was stunned for a moment, because he could see clearly that it was actually the Japanese warriors who had been left behind when he set off and had just arrived from the rear. Hundreds of Japanese warriors, either holding shockingly long bows or holding *tachi* (太刀, Japanese swords) that were as tall as them, riding unarmored horses that were probably supplied by the logistics for rushing, were awe-inspiring as they rushed straight into the Jurchen iron cavalry formation.

Of course, Japanese warriors fighting on horseback was not new, because Ping Qingsheng had been skilled in riding since he came to the Loyal Heart Team. At that time, Zhao Jiu had asked out of curiosity. As a result, Ping Qingsheng told Zhao Guan Jia that the northern warriors of Japan at this time mostly fought on horseback, only bringing walking foot soldiers to assist them. And their weapons, from the *tachi* to the longbow, especially the *tachi*, whose blade was almost as long as a person, were dedicated weapons for fighting on horseback.

And now, the most critical point was that, perhaps frightened by the Japanese warriors' exaggerated weapons, the Jurchen iron cavalry actually stalled. Not only that, because the blade was too long and the bow was too large, and the visual effect was too strong, even Zhao Jiu could not help but have a few hopes.

But that was only hope. In the next moment, as these exaggerated *tachi* scraped across the Jurchen iron cavalry's heavy armor, which weighed at least fifty pounds, both sides of the battle and the many people below Zhao Guan Jia who were watching all woke up from their dreams.

For a time, the iron cavalry wreaked havoc, and the Japanese warriors suffered heavy casualties.

Fortunately, they bought time for the Imperial Guards and the main force of the Song army, which could be considered commendable for their loyalty and bravery.

ps: Thanks to book friend 20181022160634682 for the additional *meng* (盟主, alliance leader)! Thanks to Broken Feather Cat for the *meng*! Thanks to An Zong for another *meng*!

Then sacrifice a new book "Virtual Realm Investigator"...