Chapter 166 Heed My Command

Let's set aside the relief of Li Su for the moment and focus on the previous moment.

At that time, the Jin army burst forth from three sides, their formations well-ordered and their momentum vast. They were all heavy cavalry, including six units of *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry), known as *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an), and they had been resting and recuperating for almost half a day. Naturally, their morale was high, and they seemed poised to swallow the tens of thousands of Song troops on the high ground and reverse the entire situation.

At the same time, the Song army held the high ground and had a numerical advantage. More importantly, they had already gained a decisive advantage in the overall situation. How could they be easily shaken?

But at this critical moment, an unexpected situation arose: on the southeastern side of the high ground, the main cavalry forces of both sides were suddenly exposed to each other almost without warning. The Song army's imperial guard cavalry, both heavy and light, were here, as were the western part of Boli Su's forces and the eastern part of Wanyan Poushu's command.

Subsequently, due to the factors of terrain, timing, and troop positioning, the large forces of heavy cavalry from both the Song and Jin armies suddenly erupted in a large-scale head-on collision, a rare sight in the world.

It was truly a rare sight… When the Jin army charged the Khitans a dozen years ago, they still needed to deploy hard-armored infantry in the center and flanking *guaizi ma* (outflanking cavalry), advancing in layers in short bursts. How much more so between the Song and Jin, and on such a scale?

But it happened, quickly, fiercely, and bloodily, with heavy casualties and countless soldiers lost in an instant.

Some were knocked off their horses by spears, others were smashed off their saddles by cavalry war hammers. A very few lost control and fell together in head-on collisions. And the most common type was those who lost control and fell from their horses due to the so-called muddy and slippery conditions and the bodies, horses, and obstacles under the immense battlefield pressure… But regardless of the reason, anyone who lost control of their horse in this charge would basically be dead or out of combat.

A large-scale reduction in cavalry strength suddenly occurred.

Of course, to be frank, the victors of this charge were undoubtedly the Jin army… Otherwise, there wouldn't have been the scene of Boli Su sweeping away the troops in front of him and ascending the slope to see the Song army's 'final throw.'

However, back to the present, when the Jin Yuan Shuai (Marshal) Boli Su personally saw the great threat appear in his field of vision and decided to make a desperate gamble, he couldn't help but immediately discover a serious problem – he had clearly won the previous frontal cavalry battle, but he was unable to effectively gather his troops.

"What's the situation?"

Boli Su's tone was calm and serious.

"Although the Song cavalry is weak, they are scattered but not routed, and they are just biting at our rear." A *meng'an* (battalion commander) who had clearly ridden in from the rear replied anxiously. "And there are also Tanguts, light cavalry everywhere, and some Mongols and Khitans, all helping those Song heavy cavalry to harass us."

Another *meng'an* couldn't help but explain in a low voice: "Marshal… that last charge was too fierce. Although we gained the advantage, our western troops and Wanyan Poushu's eastern troops are directly entangled with the Song cavalry and can't break away."

Boli Su instantly understood in his heart, but instead of anger, he smiled.

In all fairness, if that kind of large-scale charge had occurred on an open battlefield, and only cavalry had been involved, then the outcome of the battle might already have been decided at this point – that is, the Jin army would have won and the Song army would have lost. Then the Song army would have collapsed, and the Jin army would have launched a large-scale pursuit, forming a typical major victory.

Boli Su had experienced too many such victories in his life.

But at this moment…

Boli Su didn't need to look closely to know what was happening. The entire battlefield was centered on the high ground, and in fact, it was a huge area roughly bordered by the Taiping River and the Jin army's main camp. This area was certainly large, even excessively so, but it still seemed very crowded as the decisive battlefield for the two great nations of Song and Jin, especially with the hundreds of thousands of troops they had successively deployed.

So, on such a battlefield, with both armies fighting to the death, in the core position of the battlefield, with camps in front, rivers in the rear, a *long duì* (dragon banner) on the high ground, and five-colored sun-worshipping flags on the slopes… With friendly and enemy troops everywhere, what difference did it make even if there was a slight advantage or disadvantage after triggering such a charge?

Even if they wanted to pursue, even if they wanted to escape, where could they pursue to, and where could they escape to?

A true pursuit and escape would probably only begin when one side's entire army completely collapsed… That last charge, although earth-shattering, was not enough to determine the outcome.

"It doesn't matter, gather as many as you can." After smiling, Boli Su turned to look north. There, the iron dragon had clearly begun to enter the battlefield, which forced Boli Su to change his strategy. "Then go find Elubu, and tell him to try to join up with me as much as possible. If he can't join up, then advance alongside me… Tell him that although this Song army is strong, its weakness is obvious: its formation is too thin, with only four rows. As long as he can maintain a thick formation, he can easily pierce through this long serpent formation of the Song army, forcing them to stop their advance and then form a defensive formation. And if we can join forces behind the Song army's formation, we will still have a chance to win this battle."

"Yes!"

"And also Yelu Ma Wu and Wanyan Wolun, tell them that I know they are suffering, but now is not the time to haggle over matters. Tell them to try to draw out as much cavalry as possible and follow us, whether it's with Elubu or with me. They must go all out… When Elubu and I collide with the Song army, as long as we break through, no matter which side it is, they must immediately separate all the cavalry, let Yelu Ma Wu lead them to follow and advance, and leave only the infantry to Wolun, so that he can maintain the battle line."

"Yes."

After giving these instructions, the officers received their orders and dispersed. Boli Su no longer cared about the fact that some of his cavalry were being harassed by the imperial guard cavalry behind him. He directly waved his flag north, towards the Song army's iron dragon.

The surrounding Jin cavalry also tried to gather behind that five-colored sun-worshipping flag… Jin cavalry kept arriving, and Jin cavalry on the periphery and in the rear kept stopping due to the Song army's harassment… But in the end, they managed to maintain a core, large-scale, highly motivated, and energetic elite cavalry force.

At the same time, two *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) were on the two flanks, constantly suppressing and driving away Song army formations that tried to block their path, preventing them from encountering large-scale blockades.

Overall, although it was difficult, Boli Su still used his prestige and command ability to mobilize a top-tier Jin elite cavalry formation, and advanced towards the Song army's wall-like *zhajia* (armor-clad) formation as quickly as possible.

Of course, the enemy was also approaching non-stop.

Drizzling rain fell continuously. On the highest point of the battlefield, Zhao Jiu watched this scene with a blank expression.

After seeing the Jin army's cavalry formation protrude, this *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) had once changed color, but soon, before all the Song army's *zhajia* heavy infantry had entered the battle, even after that charge, he had resumed his expressionless sitting posture, and there was no sound. Now, he was just leaning against the northwest in the rain, facing southeast, and slightly tilting his head to watch the two so-called 'final throws' approach each other… He even refused the telescope offered by Liu Yan.

Nothing else was needed at this time.

Anyone who saw these two forces, or even just one of them, would realize that this was the final decisive battle.

The victory or defeat of the entire battle after a hard-fought half-day from this morning until now; or rather, the gains and losses of this 300,000-strong northern expedition after more than four months from late autumn and early winter last year until now; and even the final national destiny of the two countries after ten years of war since the Jingkang Incident, would be determined by the outcome of the battle in the next hour.

In fact, apart from the shouts of killing and rumbling sounds on the surrounding battlefield, it was unusually quiet under the *long duì* (dragon banner). In the drizzling rain, not only was Zhao Jiu silent, but the vast majority of close officials and officers, including Han Shizhong and Li Yanxian, were also silent. Even those who were prepared to offer advice, although they were clearly a little flustered, did not dare to speak, and just watched all this while shivering in the rain.

Only Wu Jie calmly observed the situation, occasionally calling over a general who had gathered behind him in a low voice, ordering him to lead his troops to fill or advance somewhere, or finding the remaining Red Heart Cavalry and directly assigning military orders, instructing them on how to act.

On the gentle slope on the eastern side of the high ground, Boli Su, who had become clear-headed after seeing the Song army's iron dragon, of course knew that the Zhao Song *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) could see him, that Han Shizhong could see him, that Li Yanxian and Wu Jie could see him, and that everyone under the *long duì* (dragon banner) could see him… But he didn't care.

And somewhat unexpectedly, as he led this force, whose specific number could not be counted due to the chaos, slowly towards the Song army's 'iron dragon,' he couldn't help but compare the current situation with Lou Shi's charge in front of Yaoshan that day.

At this moment, the cavalry formation behind him, in terms of troop strength and elite status, seemed to be almost the same as the formation beside Lou Shi that day, and even the two *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) opening the way were the same.

The Song army in front of him also seemed to be about the same as the core troops under Yaoshan that day, and both sides had large armies in a state of stalemate on their flanks.

But as he walked, Boli Su always felt that there was something different from Yaoshan… At first, he thought it was a formation problem, but there was nothing he could do about it. The battlefield was too crowded, and even if he wanted to create Lou Shi's round formation, the objective conditions would not allow it.

Moreover, although the high ground was high and the slope was a slope, this kind of high ground on the plains was still flatter and more open than the *yuan* (plateau) terrain of Yaoshan. It didn't need a round formation, and the charging conditions were still good.

But if it wasn't a formation problem, then what was it?

After thinking for a moment, Boli Su couldn't help but laugh to himself behind his face mask… What else could it be? It was nothing more than the Song army being different from what it used to be, and the heavy infantry formation in front of him, advancing like a wall of trees, being too strong.

Even if he relied on the thickness of the cavalry formation to break through a section, it wouldn't delay the remaining Song army from forming a new formation or continuing to advance.

There was a natural gap in troop strength.

With this thought, Boli Su once again carefully examined the Song army's iron dragon, and then his heart suddenly jumped… Because in the short journey of this quarter of an hour, the Song army's *mianjia qiang fulin* (armor-clad wall of axes) had suddenly become thicker, as if it were a living monster!

At first, Boli Su thought he was seeing things, but as he silently checked on his horse, he was stunned to find that the Song army's formation had really become thicker… Now many places had five rows, and even some local places had six rows!

However, when Boli Su saw that the Song army's iron dragon had inevitably become curved during the march, he was relieved… This should be the superposition caused by the curvature of the formation. No wonder the Song army used such a weak formation. They should have foreseen this scenario and still wanted to ensure that they covered as wide a front as possible.

But soon, when Boli Su saw the Song army's armored wall of axes come into contact with a local battle group that was still fighting, he finally couldn't deceive himself.

Because he personally saw that the Song army in that battle group was absorbed and merged into the iron dragon.

"Hold steady! Hold steady!"

In the rain a few miles away, Yang Yizhong was covered in sweat, constantly shouting. He, who had always been unsmiling, was afraid that he would say more words today than he had in the past month, and every sentence had to be shouted at the top of his lungs, but he was completely unaware of it. "Advance! Advance! Make way! Make way! Join the ranks in the rear!!"

With the roars of Yang Yizhong and hundreds of other officers in this armored wall of axes, this *zhajia* (armor-clad) heavy infantry force of 24,000 men, gathered from the elite of the entire empire, finally displayed a visible battlefield dominance in front of everyone.

Wherever the iron dragon went, the chaotic battlefield was immediately 'swept' away. The Jin army completely collapsed and turned to flee, while the Song army was all cheered up, either desperately pursuing in front of the iron wall, or forming ranks and following behind… What's more, due to the mobilization, there were few heavy armored long ax soldiers to be seen in other parts of the battlefield, but there were countless scattered heavy armored warriors with long spears. These imperial guard soldiers directly joined the ranks from behind under the call of the army officers.

That's right, on the battlefield that had been swept through, the Jin army was completely defeated, and the Song army unhesitatingly joined and merged into this long, wall-like formation, becoming a part of the army formation.

As the Song army swept and advanced, the Song army along the way almost immediately filled and thickened this originally somewhat thin iron dragon. The greatest weakness of this wall-like heavy infantry formation in Boli Su's eyes was rapidly disappearing at a visible speed.

When the two sides were about three miles apart, after sweeping through most of the eastern front battlefield, the Song army's formation had gathered at least half of Li Qiong's troops and two command departments of the imperial guard rear army. The formation was also twice as thick, and it was still absorbing and reorganizing all the eastern front Song army forces at an increasing speed.

At the same time, Boli Su suddenly completely woke up… He had been wrong from the beginning.

The reason why the Song army adopted this seemingly flawed thin formation was because they never expected to use a mere four rows of formations to sweep everything and take on everything. This 'final throw' was just a means, a means to transform the Song army's previous advantages on the overall battlefield into a victory.

Including the Zhao Song *Guan Jia's* (official, the Emperor) advance route before, starting from the stone bridge, gathering the troops in front of them and surging onto the high ground, the essence of this was probably the same – in the eyes of the Song army commanders, the ones who determined the victory were always all the Song troops on the entire battlefield! They wanted to gather the strength of everyone to crush the Jin army!

Only by gathering the strength of all the Song army could they crush the fourteen Jin army *wanhu* (ten thousand households) and six *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) on the battlefield.

In stark contrast to this was him, Boli Su. He had actually placed all his hopes on the desperate charge of a mere 20,000-plus cavalry!

This was a national war. What was he thinking?

Why didn't he help Yelu Ma Wu and Wanyan Wolun first? Why didn't he join up with Elubu?

Why did he only realize this now?

The surrounding Jin cavalry had also vaguely realized something, but it was too late. As a *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) in front, directly defeated a small Song army infantry formation of only a few hundred men, a passage leading directly to the armored wall of axes suddenly appeared in front of Boli Su, who was still in shame and anger.

This was an opportunity, and it might also be a road of no return.

Boli Su slowly moved forward, his heart starting to beat again, and he became nervous. He couldn't help but look at the high ground to the west. There, the two high points were still in the hands of the Song army. Especially on the highest point further west, the *long duì* (dragon banner) was still swaying slightly in the rain, which meant that Wanyan Poushu and Huo Nu had not reached the front at all.

Of course, this was normal. How long had it been? It would be strange if they had rushed up. Moreover, wanting to crush that *long duì* (dragon banner) was tantamount to crushing the 100,000-plus Song troops on the high ground and western front.

At this moment, even if Lou Shi came, he wouldn't be able to charge through! Unless the entire Jin army rallied and charged together.

Could they rally together?

Turning around at this time would only make the eastern front collapse faster, right?

"The entire army, follow me forward! Meet them! Meet them!"

Under the five-colored sun-worshipping flag, Boli Su, whose mind was racing, turned his eyes away from the *long duì* (dragon banner), looked back, and had no more hesitation… Or rather, things had come to this point, and he had no other choice but to defeat the enemy in front of him before discussing anything else. "The enemy is right in front of us!"

After saying this, Boli Su directly jumped on his horse and led the five-colored sun-worshipping flag to accelerate north.

Once this flag, which represented the Jin army commander, was activated and took the lead, all the Jin cavalry on the eastern front had no other thoughts.

At the same time, the surrounding Song army showed a completely different attitude.

On the due north side, the Song army's long ax heavy infantry formation quickly stopped and formed ranks. The Song army formations following behind began to quickly gather towards the gaps that had been exposed, in order to prepare for the impact.

On the eastern front, Li Qiong's troops suddenly stopped their movement of merging into the formation behind them, and instead tried to maintain their formation. The area where they were fighting against Yelu Ma Wu and Wanyan Wolun also instantly became fierce, and both sides gritted their teeth at the same time. And Elubu, who was almost sticking to the camp on the far east, also didn't hesitate, and regardless of the thick Song army formation beside him, directly accelerated and applied pressure, clearly wanting to echo Boli Su.

Looking west, that is, the area around the two high points on the eastern side of the high ground, the Zhang Qi and Niu Gao's troops of the imperial guard center army, who were exposed, maintained a serious silence, clearly preparing their forces. And behind these two army formations, in the middle position between the two high points, the imperial guard left army, the *Beiwei* (crack troops), who had been resting for half an hour, also began to deploy their formations on the high ground again, apparently preparing to come to support when necessary.

As for the south, the heavy and light cavalry who had previously been part of the cavalry formation also suddenly accelerated, almost following non-stop under the orders of Liu Qi, Zhang Xian, and Li Shifu.

Accelerating and approaching, the *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) in front, driven by the five-colored sun-worshipping flag in the rear, suddenly launched at full speed, one heading straight ahead to become the vanguard of the charge, and the other turning around and upwards to become a barrier, trying to resist the flanking attacks from the high ground.

However, the Zhang Qi and Niu Gao's troops on the high ground did not move at all. They gave up their positions together and charged down from above, rushing towards the flanks of the Jin army cavalry with infantry formations.

However, the first to engage were still in the north. Before the Song army infantry on the flanks arrived, the Jin army cavalry had all accelerated. Then came the waves crashing against the shore, stirring up thousands of piles of snow.

The *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) in the lead, ten *mouke* (company), about seven or eight hundred *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry), had no conventional cavalry tactics to choose from. They could only take a desperate resolve, and with a sudden burst of shouts, they simply plunged into the Song army's 'wall' like a drill.

They easily broke through the first row of axes. The long ax heavy armored warriors in front of them were almost completely wiped out, becoming trampled objects under the horses' hooves. A commander was also killed directly. A considerable number continued to break through the second row of spears. At this time, the casualties of the Jin army *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) were very obvious. The long spears diagonally inserted into the wet mud had a strong hindering effect on the warhorses. A few broke through the third row of axes, and even fewer troops crossed the fourth row, even the fifth row. But only a handful of people crossed the sixth row… And at this time, the Song army had placed a full ten rows of spears in this place.

Having failed in one charge, this *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) naturally had to try to pull their troops out, but the Song army on both sides had already separated two rows and flanked from both sides under the leadership of two commanders. With the Song army's retaliatory shouts of killing, the long spears easily restrained the *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) that had no speed, and the long axes were raised high, chopping people on horseback and cutting legs under the horses… The *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry), who had been invincible at all times, had caused massive casualties with their initial charge, but once they lost their mobility, they immediately became the target of slaughter by the long axes, long spears, and heavy infantry.

Long ax heavy infantry cooperated with long spears were originally the nemesis of heavy armored cavalry.

Seeing this scene from afar, Boli Su, who was still advancing at high speed, trembled slightly in his heart, but he had no intention of slowing down. Instead, he exerted all his strength, shouted and killed, and led the main force behind him to charge towards the Song army who were slaughtering the *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry), causing massive casualties again.

But because of the *tie futu's* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) stagnation in front, they could not break through the Song army's iron wall. Moreover, as the flags waved on the battle line, more long axes and long spears, personally led by Yang Yizhong and Zhang Zigai, folded over again from the wider two wings, trying to wrap more Jin army cavalry, including Boli Su, again.

Boli Su's warhorses were ordinary armored cavalry, not fully armored cavalry. Long spears could restrain the warhorses more easily, and large axes could cut off the horses' legs more easily.

Once they were surrounded, it would be a complete massacre.

Of course, the Jin army would not sit idly by and watch this happen. The Jin army cavalry forces further behind tried to advance and rescue. The *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) who was responsible for obstructing the flanking forces on the high ground also directly turned his horse's head, apparently loyal to Boli Su, but this directly triggered an even more terrible thing… Losing their restraints, Zhang Qi and Niu Gao recklessly urged their army formations to charge down, almost tailing that *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) to withstand the flanks of the Jin army cavalry formation. At the same time, the imperial guard cavalry, whether heavy or light cavalry, all swarmed from the rear, cooperating with Li Qiong's troops, who were already on the other side. The four sides actually locked the entire Jin army cavalry formation firmly.

At the same time, more long ax heavy infantry and long spear heavy infantry folded over again from both sides.

Boli Su and his elite cavalry were completely plunged into the Song army's steel forest.

At this time, no one on the eastern front battlefield cared about Elubu and Yelu Ma Wu anymore. Even Yelu Ma Wu and Elubu were trying to establish contact with Boli Su, but Li Qiong was not very happy about this.

There were no miracles or accidents. The Song army, who was closer to the water, got the moon first. Countless Song troops, under the command of Wang Yan, Yang Yizhong, Zhang Zigai, Li Qiong, Liu Qi, Zhang Xian, Li Shifu, and even Yelu Yudu, poured in madly from all directions, layer upon layer, like wrapping *zongzi* (rice dumplings), clamping down on Boli Su's troops.

This kind of wrapping, of course, could not be a complete encirclement, but it was enough to make it impossible for Boli Su's troops to move in large formations.

As expected, about two quarters of an hour later, Boli Su's troops lost a lot of room for maneuver and speed, just like prey that had lost its life after falling into a spider web.

In fact, this was indeed the case… That last charge had already proved that cavalry who had lost their mobility were the prey of the Song army's armored wall of axes. Waiting for them were only two options: being slaughtered and completely collapsing and fleeing.

"Is that flag the flag of the Jin Kingdom's Grand Marshal?!"

A team of Song army cavalry approached from the rear, but instead of blocking the retreat route honestly, they galloped past from the slope, inserted into the Jin army cavalry formation from the flank behind Niu Gao's troops. The general in the lead was tall and burly, holding a huge iron spear, and pointed remotely at the five-colored sun-worshipping flag, which was still in local motion, with excitement in his tone, but he didn't know who he was asking.

"You, what are you doing, caring about whether he's a Marshal or not?!" Niu Gao, covered in sweat, was not far away and was almost exasperated when he heard this. "In this state, what's the use of a Marshal? What's useful is that flag. If you cut down that flag, this cavalry will collapse, and that will be the first contribution of the entire army of 200,000 today!"

That cavalry general, who looked like a lummox, was Yang Zaixing. Hearing this, he became even more excited, and immediately waved the big iron spear in his hand and led his troops to move forward bravely… His iron spear was long and heavy, and wherever it swept, it not only had the advantage of a long-handled weapon, but it was also like a blunt weapon hitting horizontally. Although the Jin army cavalry were all heavy armor, no one could withstand it. What's more, the iron cavalry could occasionally pick up Jin cavalry, and even the sharp points on it could occasionally cut open the flesh and blood of warhorses… A mere hundred men, following behind him, really cut a bloody path through the dense Jin army cavalry, straight towards the five-colored sun-worshipping flag a thousand steps away.

Speaking of which, according to the current situation, the Song army on the eastern front should have desperately blocked the three sides of the Jin army, waiting for more and more long ax heavy infantry to gather, eat up this Jin army, and then reorganize their troops and sweep the entire eastern front.

But now, since Niu Gao saw such a brave general, how could he waste the opportunity in vain?

He was slightly stunned, and then immediately waved his iron mace, ordering his troops to quickly advance after Yang Zaixing's troops towards that marshal flag:

"Follow him! Follow that bird, who uses the big iron spear!"

On the highest point of the battlefield, Zhao Jiu of course didn't know that Yang Zaixing and Niu Gao had joined together and were about to display their great power. Even if he knew, it didn't matter, because he had already seen Boli Su's charge and being trapped. From a distance, that charge was not so dangerous at all. It was just like a fish hitting a net… The net didn't break, but the fish was exhausted.

So, this *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) just had a normal look on his face.

The surrounding marshals, generals, close officials, and consultants wanted to shout for victory, but because the Zhao *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) was in such a posture, no one dared to be excited… Of course, many people had already been relieved, and the atmosphere under the *long duì* (dragon banner) had eased slightly.

Only after a moment did this *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) withdraw his gaze from the east side and turn to the south side. The atmosphere became tense again.

The reason was simple. Following the Zhao *Guan Jia's* (official, the Emperor) gaze, at this time, on a considerable part of the south side slope, the Song army was in a fierce battle, and even a general of the *jiedushi* (military governor) level was deeply involved in it.

The reason for this situation was still that previous charge.

At that time, the Jin army armored cavalry came out from three sides, and the imperial guard cavalry on the southeast side of the high ground charged down to meet them. In addition, the Jin army's large army itself had a certain interval in its deployment, so after one charge, the Jin army cavalry was clearly divided into two major groups.

One group was in the central and western parts of the south side of the high ground, with the flags showing it was Wanyan Huo Nu and Wanyan Poushu, and a considerable number of *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an). The target was clearly this highest point, this Zhao *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) who was watching the battle and the *long duì* (dragon banner) behind him, and they were the reason for the fierce battles of many Song army on the south side front. The other group was on the east side of the high ground. It was Boli Su and Elubu's troops who were now trapped in the Song army formation. And Boli Su's target was now beyond discussion. He clearly wanted to break through the Song army's last elite long ax heavy infantry, control this 'final throw,' and buy time for Wanyan Huo Nu and Wanyan Poushu.

So, the question now was, whether the Song army's iron dragon on the eastern front would sweep the eastern front battlefield first, and then turn to the south side, creating overall suppression, or whether the Jin army's 'final throw' could kill its way to this highest point before the Song army's reinforcements could arrive, and complete some kind of magical reversal.

Even without the armored wall of axes sweeping over from the eastern front, Wanyan Huo Nu and Wanyan Poushu wouldn't be able to get up here!

Wu Jie swept the south side battle line with his eyes, sneered in his heart, and then stepped forward directly, asking Zhao Jiu in a low voice beside him:

"Your Majesty, the overall situation on the eastern front has been achieved, and it will be completed soon. Should we provide some support to the southern front?"

Zhao Jiu turned his head and looked at the other party, without saying a word, the meaning was obvious… Just issue the order for this kind of thing, would he deny support to Qu Da?

Wu Jie understood, and immediately looked at Han Shizhong. Han Shizhong, who was standing upright with his hand on his waist, was stunned for a moment, and finally understood why Wu Jie had to ask the *Guan Jia* (official, the Emperor) first. But at this time, he didn't bother to care about these small things. He just turned his head and pointed to Wang Shixiong, who was standing in the rear. After the latter paid attention, he pointed again to the *Beiwei* (crack troops) of his headquarters, who were waiting for orders on the slope of the high ground, and finally pointed to the area of cavalry melee on the southeast side.

Wang Shixiong did not dare to neglect, and after slightly cupping his hands, he immediately turned around, leading a few copper-faced knights to Cheng Min to pass on the order, preparing to use this *Beiwei* (crack troops), who had rested for a while, to support Qu Duan.

In the drizzling rain, Qu Da, who had regained his clarity of mind, didn't know that the eastern front had achieved a great victory, and he didn't know that Wu Da and Han Shizhong had sent him powerful reinforcements in advance because of the Zhao *Guan Jia's* (official, the Emperor) glance. In fact, he shook his head, shook off the rain, and then tried to look around, but he only saw the rain blurred, and the troops of both sides were mixed together, like a tide, fluctuating on the slope, and he couldn't see the overall situation.

And he himself, and the soldiers beside him, were only a small part of this tide.

As said before, after the imperial guard cavalry charged, it undoubtedly achieved great success from a strategic point of view. They divided the Jin army cavalry into two parts, making it difficult to gather. It was because of this that the Jin army's trump card fell into the awkward situation of fighting on two fronts, and neither side could do anything… From this point of view, Qu Duan and the imperial guard cavalry had made great contributions.

But for this, the imperial guard cavalry had to pay heavy casualties, and still fell into a difficult situation where you were in me and I was in you… Then, Boli Su went north, and the imperial guard cavalry in the melee also split into two parts. One part followed Zhang Xian, Liu Qi, and Li Shifu's five-colored sun-worshipping flag to pursue, while the other part turned to the west, biting down on those *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an).

Qu Duan himself was among them.

"Commander."

Although he was wearing a mask, because of the flag and the new *Tie Xiang* (iron elephant) under his crotch, how could the surrounding imperial guard cavalry soldiers not know where Qu Duan was? And Qin Xiao (personal guard) Xiahou Yuan, leading dozens of cavalry, urged his horses from the rear, and would not mistake him.

Qu Duan did not respond, but looked around. As expected, soon two or three more teams of cavalry gathered like Xiahou Yuan, and the force behind him also briefly gathered to four or five hundred men.

"Can we only gather these people?" Qu Duan couldn't help but take a long breath. "Where's that Red Heart team just now? Did they get together with Zhang Zhongfu?"

"They shouldn't have. They were just cut off in the middle by that *tie futu* (iron pagoda, heavily armored cavalry) (*hezha meng'an*)." Xiahou Yuan struggled to point to a unit of three or four hundred fully armored Jin army not far away. "On the other side!"

"Then charge back and bring them back." Qu Da was unwilling to think too much, and didn't have time to think too much, because like the Song army cavalry who were gathering in a hurry at this moment, the *hezha meng'an* (sworn Meng'an) who were acting as opponents also quickly noticed the flags and situation on this side, and immediately began to gather and adjust.

Everyone was of course speechless. On this kind of battlefield, no one dared to stop, and they couldn't stop. The only right thing to do was to constantly join friendly troops and break up enemy troops… Even if they wanted to protect Qu Duan to a safe area, they had to transfer him in this way.

So, after only a slight respite, four or five hundred Song army heavy cavalry belonging to the imperial guard cavalry hurriedly launched another round of head-on collision with the three or four hundred *tie futu