Niuzhu Crag, Dantu County, Xia Piling Prefecture
Niuzhu Crag, as legend has it, derived its name from an ancient tale of a golden ox emerging from the islet.
Niuzhu Crag, along with Chenglin Crag and Y anzi Crag, were collectively known as the "Three Great River Crags." Among them, Niuzhu Crag, with its steep terrain, picturesque scenery, and numerous historical sites, held the foremost position, earning the moniker "Eternal Beauty."
At this moment, Niuzhu Crag bore no resemblance to beauty. The reason was the convergence of nearly a million troops from the Yan and Xia kingdoms for a decisive battle.
Murong Wang, the Right Worthy King of Yan and commander of the left flank, joined forces with Murong Boli, the Left Worthy King of Yan and commander of the right flank. Together, their armies numbered around six hundred thousand, determined to defeat the ten thousand Xia troops led by Zhang Huchen, the Grand Commander of the Xia Expedition and General Protector of the State, who commanded forces on the opposite bank.
Zhang Huchen, the Grand Commander of the Xia Expedition, General Protector of the State, an old general, personally led the remaining ten thousand elite Xia soldiers and thirty thousand naval forces, facing the Yan army across the river.
If Xia suffered another defeat in this battle, the nation faced imminent peril of annihilation. Emperor Yang Liang of Xia had already fled to the sea in panic.
With over eighty thousand troops from both sides confronting each other along the banks of the Great River, the skies above Niuzhu Crag were overcast, and war was on the verge of breaking out.
With a clang, the old Xia general Zhang Huchen removed the tiger-head helmet from his head and threw it forcefully onto the ground, revealing his head full of silver hair.
Zhang Huchen was a renowned general of Xia!
The veteran general Zhang Huchen, courtesy name Wumeng, was sixty-six years old. He hailed from a military family in Xia. His grandfather, Zhang Yu, was a founding hero of Xia. By Zhang Huchen's generation, the family had served as generals for six consecutive generations, rendering countless meritorious services to Xia.
Unfortunately, Zhang Huchen had been ostracized from the Xia court's central power due to the slanderous words of sycophants, preventing him from holding military command. It was only after Xia suffered successive defeats and faced the threat of national extinction that Zhang Huchen was reinstated.
Zhang Huchen, loyal and unwavering, bore no grudges. He took command of the remnant Xia army, bravely fought the Yan forces, and gradually stabilized the front lines along both sides of the Great River.
Zhang Huchen was valiant and cared for his soldiers, possessed patience in the face of hardship, and was truly a formidable enemy to the Yan army.
At this moment, the old general Zhang Huchen personally led eight thousand Xia cavalry across the Niuzhu Crag ferry crossing to the north bank of the Great River.
Earlier, Zhang Huchen had devised a stratagem. He sent an envoy to the Yan camp, requesting the Yan army to retreat three *she* (ancient Chinese units of distance), so that the Xia army could engage the Yan army in a decisive battle on the north bank of the Great River.
The Yan army, naturally overjoyed, believed Zhang Huchen to be senile and foolish and readily agreed.
The Xia navy was formidable, and the Yan navy's repeated attempts to attack had all ended in failure. Therefore, it was extremely difficult for the Yan army to cross the river and attack the Xia army. Now that Zhang Huchen had delivered himself to their doorstep, why would the Yan army refuse?
The Yan army immediately ordered a temporary retreat, planning to attack the Xia army when their main force was halfway across the river, thus defeating them in one fell swoop.
Zhang Huchen discarded his helmet and, after slowly tying a white silk scarf around his head, gripped a spear over ten feet long, and with his warhorse beneath him, shouted, "Is Lian Po old and still capable of eating? These are the treacherous officials who ruin the country! Lian Po, over eighty, could still fight on the battlefield. Fu Bo of Han, in his sixties, returned home in a shroud of horse hide! I am sixty-six this year and am willing to emulate Lian Po and Fu Bo, to stain the battlefield with my blood and return in a shroud of horse hide! Today, there is only death!"
"Today, there is only death!"
"We are willing to follow Old General Zhang and fight the enemy to the death!"
" For country and people, we fear no death!"
The eight thousand Xia cavalry, also with white silk scarves wrapped around their heads, shouted in unison, brandishing their weapons.
Amidst the eight thousand Xia cavalry, a large banner was raised, inscribed with a massive character "Death." Similar to Guangling Prefecture, it signified their readiness to face death and fight the Yan army to the last man, to the death.
"Bring forth the prisoners! Let us kill the traitors and consecrate the banner!" Zhang Huchen then loudly ordered.
Two Xia soldiers brought forth a man and beheaded him beneath the banner.
This man was an subordinate of Lü Qiyue, the Grand Marshal of the Xia court. He had been ordered to supervise the army but had issued reckless commands and obstructed the front-line generals, leading to the failure of three armies reinforcing Guangling Prefecture. This had caused extreme resentment and dissatisfaction within the Xia army.
Zhang Huchen executed this man as a public spectacle to boost the morale of the troops, but it also sowed the seeds of future trouble for himself.
Of course, this is a matter for later discussion and will not be elaborated upon for now.
"My men!" Zhang Huchen then looked at the eight thousand young faces and said loudly, "The Western Capital has fallen. His Majesty and others have fallen into the hands of the enemy. The barbarians are plundering our wealth, defiling our women, burning our houses, destroying our fertile fields, and desecrating our ancestral shrines across the lands of Xia. Their looting, killing, and burning are atrocities beyond description, beyond enumeration. My soldiers, the mountains and rivers of our Xia are indeed shattered. But today, I want to say that our Xia will not fall. The empire and its lineage still exist, the people of Xia still exist, and the sons and daughters of Xia will never submit to the tyranny of the barbarians. I will not be a slave to the barbarians. Today, I will fight the barbarians to the death, without end!"
"Fight to the death!"
"Never surrender!"
"No end to this fight!"
"We are willing to follow Old General Zhang and fight the barbarians to the end!"
"Victory! Victory! Victory!"
The eight thousand warriors roared in unison.
"Hiss, hiss!" Zhang Huchen tightened the reins, his warhorse rearing its forelegs, letting out two whinnies.
"Charge!"
Zhang Huchen leaped onto his horse, brandishing his spear, and led the charge against the Yan army.
"Charge! Charge! Charge!"
Each of the eight thousand Xia warriors, with a resolve to die, facing death as their destiny, filled with courage, charged fearlessly behind Zhang Huchen towards the Yan army.
Ten thousand horses galloped, kicking up a dust storm that obscured the sky, making it impossible to discern the true number of troops from afar.
At this moment, the Yan army was in retreat. The Xia army's cavalry suddenly attacked, catching them completely off guard and in disarray.
The Yan generals hastily tried to halt their troops and ordered a counterattack, but with hundreds of thousands of soldiers retreating, how could they be stopped in such a short time? Some Yan soldiers continued to retreat as ordered, while others attempted to resist. Some, seeing the rapidly approaching Xia cavalry, were so terrified that they stood frozen, further increasing the chaos.
With a resounding "Bang!", the eight thousand elite Xia cavalry units slammed into the rear of the Yan army.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians!"
Zhang Huchen personally killed two Yan generals from their horses, greatly boosting the morale of the eight thousand Xia cavalry. Wielding their weapons, they launched into a frenzied slaughter of the now chaotic Yan army.
Zhang Huchen and the eight thousand cavalry created a massive breach in the Yan formation. Within the breach, Yan soldiers lay fallen and dead in heaps. Many Yan soldiers on either side were still bewildered by what had happened; some stood observing, while others continued to retreat.
"Those who retreat half a step will be executed!"
"The old rogue is cunning!" Murong Wang, commander of the Yan left flank and Right Worthy King of Yan, suddenly realized he had fallen for Zhang Huchen's ruse. He had planned to attack as the Xia main force crossed the river, but unexpectedly, Zhang Huchen had taken advantage of the Yan army's retreat to launch an attack with light cavalry, catching the Yan army unprepared.
Thus, Murong Wang, mounted on his horse, shouted his orders. His hundreds of personal guards brandished their sabers, cutting down retreating Yan soldiers.
After killing several hundred panicked Yan soldiers, Murong Wang finally managed to stabilize his formation slightly and prepared to counterattack Zhang Huchen.
"Kill! Kill! Kill!"
"Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians! Kill the barbarians!"
"Fight to the death, live no more!"
Just as Murong Wang had barely stabilized his position, a force suddenly broke through from the flank, like a sharp blade piercing directly into Murong Wang's central command.
A valiant Xia general, mounted on a white horse, wielding an iron halberd, with a striking crimson cape, appeared exceptionally conspicuous. He leaped his horse, charging with immense bravery. Wherever he went, he was unstoppable.
Although this force was not large, it sliced through the Xia army like a wave, with the crimson-robed general leading the charge, breaking into the Yan formation with immense ferocity, unstoppable. Those who stood in his path fell with every blow.
"Stop him, stop him!" Murong Wang, seeing the crimson-robed general leading his troops directly towards the central command, shouted in alarm.
However, before Murong Wang could finish his words, the crimson-robed general drew his bow and shot an arrow at Murong Wang.
The arrow flew like a meteor. Murong Wang had no time to dodge and was hit in the right shoulder. He cried out, and his stout body tumbled from his horse, with those around him rushing to his aid.
The crimson-robed general shot another arrow, felling Murong Wang's command banner.
"The Yan army is defeated! The Yan army is defeated!"
"Murong Wang is dead! Murong Wang is dead!"
"What? The Right Worthy King has fallen in battle?"
"Yes, I saw it with my own eyes."
"Run, quickly run!"
News of the death of Murong Wang, the Yan Right Worthy King, and the defeat of the Yan army spread like a plague. From one to ten, ten to a hundred, a hundred to a thousand, a thousand to ten thousand. The hundreds of thousands of troops under Murong Wang retreated like a mountain collapsing, people trampling on each other in their desperate flight. The Yan formation descended into utter chaos. The retreating soldiers of Murong Wang even disrupted the formation of Murong Boli's flank, forcing his troops to retreat backward.
The old Xia general Zhang Huchen, leading eight thousand elite cavalry and Xia troops from an unknown source, had disrupted the Yan formation. The Yan army suffered a crushing defeat. At this point, the main Xia force of one hundred thousand had crossed the river and launched a concerted attack, which, like a collapsing mountain, further plunged the Yan army into utter disarray.
As the saying goes, a defeated army crumbles like a mountain. At this point, the Yan army's rear guard had become utterly useless. No matter how strict the execution orders, if the danger of standing still clearly outweighed the danger of "retreaters will be executed!", then the order of "retreaters will be executed!" was nothing but a fart! So what if "retreaters will be executed!"? If you anger me, I'll kill your rear guard first! You have a killing knife? I have one too! My killing knife may not be effective against the enemy, but it can certainly be used against your rear guard.
The Yan army had suffered a terrible defeat. At this moment, even if the King of Heaven descended or Zhuge Liang were resurrected, it would be impossible to salvage the declining fortunes of the Yan army.
"Who is it?" Old General Zhang Huchen, leading his troops in the charge, seeing how brave the crimson-robed general was and how much he had helped him, asked.
"Red battle robe, iron halberd, white horse, it must be Little Fengxian, Min Wuyan!"
"Min Wuyan who defeated the Baibo Army? It must be him!"
Someone beside him replied.
"Little Fengxian Min Wuyan? What a valiant and skilled general!" Zhang Huchen exclaimed in praise.
...
"Father King, quickly, let us break through the encirclement!"
Murong Wang, having been shot and fallen from his horse, was helped onto his horse by his bewildered and wounded attendants. His troops had already fallen into disarray, and many of the supervising personal guards had been killed or trampled to death. In this critical moment, Murong Kang arrived with five thousand Baibo troops and rescued Murong Wang.
At this point, the overall situation for the Yan army was lost. Murong Kang could no longer turn the tide and could only escort Murong Wang out of the encirclement.