Chapter 92: A Crushing Blow to Wanyan Chang

The Song army radiated unstoppable momentum, whereas the Jin army was already listless and exhausted. After a forced march the day before and a sleepless night, it was remarkable enough that the Jin soldiers could still stand and fight at all; and yet at that moment Wanyan Chang was actually thinking of taking the offensive.

Before long, Song cavalry had already engaged the Jin vanguard. Here the true power of horsemen was laid bare: five thousand riders, like five thousand sharp blades, smashed through the Jin formation from one flank and tore out through the other.

Thus was revealed the immense flexibility of cavalry.

Having pierced the Jin horsemen, Liu Qi wheeled his mount and charged back again.

Cavalry was like a spear, infantry like a shield. When numbers are equal, infantry is no match for cavalry; but the Jin infantry here numbered eighty thousand, while the Song cavalry amounted to only ten thousand or so.

And behind them came another thirty thousand Song foot soldiers.

Thirty-five thousand against eighty thousand should, by rights, have been an easy victory for the Jin. Yet this time Wanyan Chang was defeated, and defeated utterly.

Though the Jin outnumbered their enemy, their fighting strength at this moment was pitifully low. In ancient warfare, formation was everything; once the formation collapsed, defeat was not far behind.

Just so now: despite their numbers being several times greater than the Song army’s, the Jin infantry was quickly shattered by the impact of Song cavalry. Their lines broke apart, their order vanished, and the whole army fell into chaos.

The Jin rout was plain to see.

Wanyan Chang grew frantic and personally led his men in a charge, but a defeat that falls like a mountain cannot be reversed by any single man. Even as he surged forward, it was already too late.

“Wanyan Chang, today is the day you die!” Seeing Wanyan Chang charge in, Liu Qi immediately led his men forward. Though this was the first time Liu Qi had ever seen him, he recognized him at a glance amid the press of bodies.

“If you want to kill me, you’ll have to see whether you have that kind of skill!” Wanyan Chang was equally enraged. The two men met like sworn enemies, and at once closed in to fight.

Wanyan Chang was a famed general hardened by a hundred battles, and not merely a commander who could only talk strategy on paper. On the contrary, his martial prowess was formidable. Since following Wanyan Aguda in his rise, he had won countless great victories. Now, as he fought Liu Qi, Liu Qi was astonished to discover that he was no match for him at all.

Liu Qi was in grave danger.

Every blow Wanyan Chang struck was fueled by wrath. Seeing that Liu Qi was unable to stand against him, he fought even more fiercely, intent on cutting him down at once. Once the Song commander was dead, the fall of Shunchang City would be inevitable.

Liu Qi had underestimated Wanyan Chang’s strength. After a hundred exchanges, he was already hard pressed to hold on.

“General, I am here to help you!”

At that moment a thunderous shout rang out. From afar came a man wielding a long spear, charging all the way in and toppling several Jin soldiers in succession. He was fearsome indeed.

When Liu Qi saw him, he was overjoyed. “Be careful. This man is no ordinary foe.”

“Just watch me, Grand Marshal!” The newcomer was none other than the burly fighter Liu Qi had assigned elsewhere. Though he had ridden into the enemy camp the night before and had not slept all night, he was energetic beyond measure now, exhilarated to the point of almost trembling. He had killed Jin soldiers so pleasurably the night before that it was still not enough for him, so he had simply followed along again—and by chance had saved Liu Qi.

Wanyan Chang was immensely strong, swinging a great axe in his hands. Every strike came with a shrieking rush of wind, terrifying to hear.

Da Fei’s techniques, however, were the exact opposite: cunning and agile. In his hands, the long spear seemed alive, always darting in from the most treacherous angles to strike at Wanyan Chang.

His style was that of a wandering martial hero, and in a duel of this kind it held a clear advantage.

Soon enough, sweat stood on Wanyan Chang’s brow.

He had already exchanged a hundred blows with Liu Qi, and now another hundred with Da Fei. His stamina was being consumed at a terrifying rate. Moreover, his own style was heavy and forceful, which drained strength even faster. At this pace, he could not last much longer.

With a ripping sound, Wanyan Chang, momentarily off guard, had the armor beneath his left ribs pierced by the long spear, and the flesh beneath was sliced open as well.

He drew in a sharp breath. The pain brought him somewhat to his senses. “Wretch, I will kill you!” he roared.

But he could no longer press forward and continue battling Da Fei, for someone had stopped him.

“General, do not cling to battle any longer. Look around you—withdraw at once, or the entire army will be destroyed here.” The man spoke to Wanyan Chang.

Those words jolted Wanyan Chang. He looked about him and saw that it was true: the Jin soldiers were each fighting on their own, completely scattered, already robbed of all combat power under the assault of the Song army’s five separate columns. They were on the verge of total annihilation.

Frowning, Wanyan Chang looked at the man before him. “Who are you? Why are you helping me?”

“General, this is no time for questions. Let us withdraw first; we can speak in detail later.” The man urged him.

Wanyan Chang thought this made sense. Under the protection of those around him, he retreated and at once gave the order to sound the withdrawal.

But at such a moment, how easy was it to pull back? The Jin army had already been cut into many isolated fragments by the Song forces. Once the retreat order was heard, the troops immediately began falling back in frantic disorder, with no trace of organization left.

Of the Jin’s five armies and eighty thousand men, fewer than thirty thousand ultimately escaped with Wanyan Chang. In this battle, the Jin suffered a crushing defeat and retreated to Yanjing Prefecture.

After this defeat, Wanyan Chang fell ill. Though his bodily wounds were not severe, the wounds in his heart were deep, and something even more dangerous took root there: a fear of the Song army. That was the real fatal blow.

And the man who had saved Wanyan Chang was none other than Huang Guangxing, the one Liu Qi had demoted to a common foot soldier. He had originally intended to seek refuge with the Jin so that he could lead troops to attack Shunchang City. He had even planned to make Wei Nan kneel before him and beg for mercy when the city fell.

But then Wanyan Chang fell ill, and that put him in a panic. He ran to Wanyan Chang day after day, hoping to persuade him to launch another campaign. Yet the two immense defeats had robbed Wanyan Chang of the courage to face the Song army again. He decided instead to wait in Yanjing Prefecture for the arrival of the two hundred thousand troops of Western Xia. Once they joined forces, they would attack Shunchang City together. He was unwilling to go after Shunchang himself any longer.

Meanwhile, in Guanzhong, where the Western Xia army had laid siege, Wu Jie’s easy days were drawing to a close.