"Your Majesty, please have a seat."

Wu Jie stopped Zhao Jiu, but he was already standing up, panting, his hands trembling. "Please take another look at the situation, another look..."

Zhao Jiu, sitting sideways beside him, nodded in agreement, but dared not stand up to look at the so-called situation, because if he did stand up, his hands would tremble too.

To be clear, it's not that Wu Jie, Zhao Jiu, and so many others in the Song army hadn't considered Longmen Ferry; they couldn't ignore any direction around the battlefield. But the problem was that Longmen Ferry was too far, a full two hundred li away. Even if they made a rapid march of a hundred li each day, it would still take them three days to arrive, not to mention the complexity of the terrain there.

Therefore, after thinking it over, everyone felt that at that distance, the Jin army could provide support, but it would have to be the obvious kind, taking five or six days to honestly bring sufficient supplies from Longmen Ferry to Danzhou, then to Fangzhou, and finally south along the river to gather at the Jin army camp, before lining up to participate in the battle.

But now, Wanyan Wushu had really arrived… and he had appeared north of Liangshan the day before yesterday, and here today. This speed made even Han Shizhong's timely reminder seem insignificant.

And it was said to be at least ten thousand, maybe even tens of thousands!

"History often records that some armies are strong and well-equipped, but when they encounter a surprise attack, no matter how many enemies there are, they collapse at the first sign of trouble. This must be what it was like,"

Although Zhao Jiu was so shaken by the sudden appearance of Wanyan Wushu that he felt uneasy and dared not even stand, he still managed to maintain a composed demeanor. After the suggestion to raise flags was temporarily suspended, he took the initiative to speak from his seat and joked. "Wushu was still north of Liangshan the day before yesterday, and today he has bypassed Yaoshan to arrive here. As the saying goes, 'Even a strong crossbow cannot pierce silk floss.' In my opinion, although Wushu's army is large, as long as we respond steadily, we may very well be able to withstand him!"

Upon hearing this, everyone quickly echoed Zhao Jiu's words… One person said that it was already past noon, and Wushu had only just arrived, showing that they had also been traveling all day and must be exhausted. Another said that the terrain was complex, and the Jin army had arrived in haste, so many must have fallen behind, and it was unknown how many of the tens of thousands of troops were left at the moment. Still another said that there were still the Qin Feng Road army and the Central Army's two Beiwei Army divisions in the camp that had not moved, so even if Wushu suddenly arrived, he would not be able to decide the outcome with a single blow. Even Wu Jie secretly regretted his loss of composure, which had forced the Emperor to do what he should have done.

However, as everyone spoke, from Zhao Jiu to Wu Jie to everyone else, their eyes never stopped, but were fixed on the Jin cavalry troops pouring out from behind Yaoshan in the southwest, and they were constantly glancing at the Xihe Road army of Liu Xi, which had already completed its formation!

After all, everyone knew very well that if Wanyan Wushu really brought over twenty thousand cavalry with the same combat power as the ten thousand cavalry led by Bali Speed and Yelu Mabu on the plain, the Song army would probably collapse before anyone could come to their aid. And the quality of this wave of Wanyan Wushu's reinforcements would depend on whether Liu Xi could test it out.

Back to the present, the Song army's central army on the hillside was momentarily panicked because it knew that the number of reinforcements might be very large, and Liu Xi, who had completed his formation on the southern side of the right wing of the camp, was equally flustered. And at this time, he was no longer just regretting his decision to pull out the valuable Shenbi crossbowmen to help his younger brother snatch the head of the enemy, but was deeply remorseful!

Because at this moment, those five hundred Shenbi crossbowmen who could not be recovered were very likely the key to the entire army's victory or defeat! In fact, after Liu Xi lined up according to the Western Army's method of defending against cavalry, he looked at the mere hundred or so Shenbi crossbows remaining in the core crossbow formation, and he had no idea how he could resist the Jin cavalry that was constantly pouring out from the foot of Yaoshan.

"What should we do?" After completing his formation, Liu Xi gathered the officers around him, turned his head to look at the central army on the hillside, and then looked around and asked. "Guanzhong is vast, but the Emperor is right behind us…"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the officers around him were silent.

Liu Xi was exasperated: "I have always provided for you, but when the time comes, no one can share my worries?"

The officers looked at each other, and one of them boldly asked an unexpected question: "General, is it true that the Emperor has come here on behalf of Chancellor Yuwen, as the rumors say?"

Since someone had started, the other officers also asked questions one after another:

"There has always been a rumor in the army, is it really true?"

"Isn't the Emperor in Chang'an?"

"General, are you afraid that we won't put in the effort, so you are deceiving us? How could the Emperor be here?"

Liu Xi was so anxious that tears were about to fall: "Can I still deceive you now? Leaving aside everything else, if it weren't for the Emperor, how could I have let Wu Da easily secure his position as Marshal?!"

The surrounding officers looked at each other, and then looked at Li Yanqi, the military supervisor of this route, as if they still didn't believe it… Because some things, not to mention that they were originally concealed, even if there were precedents and they were clearly displayed, some people probably still wouldn't believe it.

The Xihe Road army was not the Imperial Guard.

And Li Yanqi glanced back at the foot of the mountain where Jin army troops were still sporadically pouring out, but he gritted his teeth and said, "General, the Emperor is in the central army, they don't know, but how can we not know? At this time, if you want them to be convinced, there is only one thing, and that is for the two of us to first show a fearless attitude… And now, just like you said, the Emperor is in the camp behind us, so what can we do? We can only die here!"

"What do you want to do?" Liu Xi clearly sensed something.

"While Huonv hasn't gained a firm foothold, let's charge back up!" Li Yanqi reined in his horse and faced him, thinking that the person who had come was Huonv. "There are only a hundred or so Shenbi crossbows left, and there are so many Jin cavalry in front of us that it's not enough to support the position. And I see that those Jin cavalry are obviously a little tired, and some of them are even falling off their horses during the formation… Fortunately, we have a lot of cavalry on the Xihe Road…"

Li Yanqi didn't finish his words, but Liu Xi was already stunned: "Cavalry against cavalry?"

"That's right!"

"But those are Jin cavalry!" Liu Xi couldn't accept it for a moment. "Our entire foundation will be wiped out!"

Li Yanqi shook his head repeatedly: "General, are you still worried about your foundation now? If you don't go all out in this battle, I'm afraid your family will be confiscated and exterminated!"

Liu Xi was immediately speechless.

"General, I'm not saying that we should charge recklessly." Li Yanqi knew that the other party was a general from a military family to the core and couldn't be persuaded forcibly, so he gritted his teeth and said again, "But I'm saying that we should separate our cavalry and infantry. I'll lead the cavalry to charge, and you, General, lead the infantry to set up an ambush in the empty space in the formation… When I'm defeated, I'll try my best to lead the Jin army into it, and we'll use the terrain to our advantage to pinch them with our infantry… In any case, in the current situation, is there any way to retreat?"

Liu Xi was at a loss for words. After a long time, he reluctantly nodded under the gaze of many of his subordinates.

Having received his permission, Li Yanqi immediately took a spear from his horse and gave an order, looking around: "All the armies from the various prefectures and fortresses, all the cavalry of the Xihe Road, follow me!"

The middle-ranking officers around him finally completely believed that the Emperor was behind them, and they roared in unison and returned to their respective posts to deploy their troops. Liu Xi watched Li Yanqi and the other cavalry generals go out to gather their troops, and then ordered the remaining officers to split the formation to set up an ambush, and he suddenly felt powerless.

In the end, as the eldest son of Liu Zhongwu, Liu Xi's political level, vision, and knowledge were far stronger than those of the others. How could he not understand the thoughts of Li Yanqi and the others? How could he not understand the current situation?

In fact, Liu Xi knew better than anyone else that compared to him, Li Yanqi and other secondary military leaders had one more way out—to surrender. But because the Emperor was behind them this time, if their family wanted to continue to exist in front of the elders of Guanzhong, they couldn't bear the name of betraying the Emperor. That's why they were forced to fight desperately… As for him, a member of a military family, even if the Emperor hadn't come at all, he couldn't surrender, so he had to fight to the death.

However, even though he knew what was going on, even though he knew what was right and what was wrong, when the time came, the fear and chaos in his heart, the unwillingness to do it, and the inability to do it, were still real.

If we can be lucky in this battle, our family will have to rely on the second son.

Meanwhile, at the foot of the mountain, the Jin army was gathering in formation, following Wanyan Wushu's Sun and Moon Banner and a large Han character banner. Seeing the Song army's formation split apart and the Song cavalry taking the initiative to attack, Wanyan Wushu, who had worked so hard to get to the battlefield and was supposed to be reaping everything, instead changed his expression.

"I regret not listening to General Han's words." Wushu, who had abandoned his mask early on because of the hard journey and the hot weather, turned his head and said. "I should have launched a full-scale assault from the beginning… Now, I have revealed my weakness by gathering troops here!"

"Now, there is no other way. I will attack the formation! Please, Fourth Prince, gather the troops on one side and cover my rear!" Han Chang, whose face was red with sweat and whose beard was spread open, simply didn't wear a helmet, but threw away an empty water bag and made a decisive decision without hesitation. "We must hold on to this momentum and not let it be lost. Once it's lost, we won't be able to recover!"

"Good!" Wanyan Wushu immediately responded.

Han Chang also didn't hesitate. He led several thousand cavalry under his command to meet the enemy head-on.

Zhao Jiu, Wu Jie, and the others on the hillside had no idea what was happening. They only saw Liu Xi complete his formation, and then a large number of Jin troops poured out from the foot of the mountain. They thought it would be like Mount Tai pressing down on them, but unexpectedly, the Jin army stopped to gather their troops first, and then the Song army actually took the initiative to send out cavalry to counter them.

At this time, they, like the attacking cavalry, thought that this was like hitting a stone with an egg. Even Li Yanqi, who came up with the idea, was only thinking about 'luring the enemy in deep'.

However, no matter how uneasy the Song army's high command was, no matter how decisive the Jin army commanders were, and no matter how incompetent the Song army commanders were, after the two armies of cavalry, each with several thousand men, charged at each other with all their might, the cavalry fought in a chaotic battle at the foot of the gentle slope, but they were actually evenly matched for a time!

In any case, anything can deceive people, but the battle line cannot. The central army could see clearly from its high vantage point that the Jin army was actually being blocked by the Song cavalry for a time and was unable to advance. Everyone was pleasantly surprised, and many people almost collapsed to the ground.

Among them, Wu Jie was the first to react, but he quickly looked up at the sky again, first at the clouds, then at the dim sun, calculating the time and guessing the weather in his heart, and he regained a lot of confidence.

After all, if they could withstand the offensive until dark, or until it rained and the Jin army withdrew, it would be a kind of victory for the Song army, which was in a defensive position.

Even from one point of view, it was enough to entangle the left and right wings. The key was the main battlefield… He was already considering whether to send troops to attack the plain in order to gain the upper hand.

Of course, thinking of Lou Shi's main force, which was obscured by the smoke and dust on the plain, Wu Da forcibly put aside this idea.

But just as Wu Jie stopped focusing only on the battle on the right wing and began to think about the overall situation of the entire army, the battle there took a turn again—when the large Han character banner led several thousand Jin cavalry to meet the enemy head-on, but was actually unable to defeat the Song cavalry, the Sun and Moon Banner behind them, which probably represented Wushu, also moved!

The commander of tens of thousands of troops, disregarding everything, without waiting for reinforcements, directly led several thousand cavalry to join the battlefield.

With this move, the Xihe Road cavalry was immediately unable to hold on and began to be pushed back. However, what was interesting was that this retreat was not a rout, nor was it a collapse, but it maintained the engagement, as if it was being slowly pushed over by the opposing cavalry.

Not only that, as the cavalry retreated all the way to the front of the formation, Liu Xi's split formation may not have had the effect of an ambush due to the lack of Shenbi crossbows, but after the infantry joined the battle, the Jin cavalry's rate of advance decreased again.

In a sense, this was almost a stalemate.

Without a doubt, Zhao Jiu was right, the Jin army was indeed at the end of its strength! Even the strongest army would have to pay the price in the face of weather and terrain!

At the central army, everyone was almost celebrating.

But Wu Jie and Zhao Jiu, although they were temporarily relieved, were silent, and were only looking into the distance. The only difference was that Wu Jie was trying to search for related troops near the Eastern Slope Plain and was sending out scouts behind the plain, while Zhao Jiu was looking south, at the foot of the mountain further behind Wushu.

Sure enough, the situation on the battlefield changed rapidly. Just as the Song army was being startled, shocked, and delighted by the battle on the right wing, smoke and dust rose again from the foot of the mountain where Wushu had previously emerged.

Obviously, several thousand more troops had arrived there.

"Deputy Marshal, Marshal!" Seeing this, Wang Yuan's expression tightened, and he suggested to Zhao Jiu and Wu Jie at the same time. "Although Wanyan Wushu's reinforcements are at the end of their strength and their combat power is weak, they have tens of thousands of troops. If they continue to provide intermittent support like this, the right wing may suddenly collapse at any time… Whether it's to support the right wing or to launch a decisive battle with the central army, now is the time!"

Wu Jie slowly shook his head, and Zhao Jiu was also silent and thoughtful.

Wang Yuan was helpless and could only let go and watch the battle.

Since the weakness of Wanyan Wushu's troops had become apparent, Wu Jie had already begun to consider this matter, but he had not taken action, for only one reason: he did not know where Lou Shi's main force would launch its attack from.

The enemy was cavalry and had the right to choose, while he, Wu Jie, did not and could only respond passively.

Of course, he shouldn't have to wait too long, because the scouts had reported that Lou Shi had left Jinsu Mountain and was heading towards them.

As for Zhao Jiu, he didn't respond to this matter for another reason.

The sun was setting further to the west, and some of the clouds were thickening, which made the sunlight gradually dim. In this situation, in the area around the front of the camp, where the vegetation had been deliberately cut down by the Song army to expose the yellow earth, the yellow dust that hadn't diminished became the main basis for judging the size of the army and its movement trends. The flags that occasionally appeared in the dust and their positions before departure became the main basis for judging the camp of the troops.

A bloody battle was still raging on the Eastern Slope Plain in front of them. For the Song army, it was the left wing, which was the Jin army's right wing. In short, the same bloody battle was raging in the swamp in the north… By the same logic, Wanyan Wushu and Han Chang at the foot of the mountain in the south, on the Song army's right wing and the Jin army's left wing, had to fight fiercely against Liu Xi, Li Yanqi, and the others on the Xihe Road.

The bone-deep fatigue had plunged this army, which was supposed to sweep the battlefield, into a kind of attrition warfare that they found difficult to accept, but without the military advisor following the army to remind them, Wushu and Han Chang also knew that in this large-scale battlefield, everyone had to abandon those local gains and losses and hold on at all costs to create conditions for the real decisive force.

Of course, understanding was understanding, but Wushu and Han Chang were still heartbroken… They had thought that they were the decisive force, but they didn't expect that a three-day raid had cost them the opportunity to become the deciding factor.

There was no way around it, the road was too difficult to travel, and the weather was too hot!

Of the twenty thousand troops, six or seven thousand had already fallen behind during the previous two days of forced march, and today, behind Yaoshan, there was another detachment of troops—another general, Chizhan Hexi, who was Chizhan Hui's clan brother and had led ten thousand households after Chizhan Hui's death, had lost contact with five or six thousand troops behind him, and no one knew where they were now!

In fact, the reason for sending out the sea falcon to find the way earlier wasn't to determine the direction of the battlefield, but to try to find the whereabouts of the other troops. But they really couldn't find them. Instead, because they had arrived on the side of the battlefield, they had to lead the six or seven thousand troops who had barely arrived to fight first. As for why Wushu stopped there earlier to 'reorganize the troops', one reason was that he was tired, and the other was that he really wanted to wait for Chizhan Hexi.

"General Han, General Chizhan should be coming from behind. I think he should have brought three or four thousand men!" Seeing that Han Chang, who was charging in front, had been summoned, Wanyan Wushu, whose face was covered in dust, was overjoyed. He immediately reined in his horse and shouted to Han Chang in the chaotic formation. "You take your troops back to meet him, and I'll hold them back alone for a while!"

"What does the Fourth Prince say?" Han Chang wiped his face, but the sweat couldn't be hidden behind the yellow dust.

"You go back and rest, let Chizhan Hexi come and attack, and then I'll go back, and you come again… We're cavalry, don't fight in such a chaotic battle. If we can charge, we still have to charge. We can also take turns resting the men and horses!" Wushu ordered on the spot.

Han Chang thought that there was reason in what he said, so he didn't hesitate. He had the knights behind him raise the flag again, and he led about three thousand men directly out of the battle line to meet Chizhan Hexi in the south.

But as Han Chang continued to raise the flag southward, the smoke and dust on the other side also continued to meet them calmly along the foot of the mountain. When the two sides were about to collide, General Han became more and more aware that something was wrong!

After crossing another small slope, when the two sides were five or six hundred paces apart, Han Chang simply stopped on his own initiative. It turned out that he had finally realized that something was wrong—the trajectory of this troop's march was a little far from the foot of the mountain. It didn't seem to have come from the Yaoshan Pass, but rather to have come all the way from the south.

Not only that, but the formation was also too tight, as if they weren't very tired, and the number of cavalry seemed to be too small.

Therefore, General Han immediately ordered his troops to stop, hoping that the many Jin knights who had fallen behind in the middle of the two troops would be his eyes.

But soon, General Han's doubts were stopped, because when the other side was still four or five hundred paces away from him, a group of forty or fifty fully armored cavalry took the initiative to rush out, shouting from afar in a Liaodong accent for the Jin knights who had fallen behind between the two armies to gather under the Han character banner in front of them.

Seeing this situation, Han Chang completely relaxed.

But after a moment, when this cavalry, which had been issuing orders along the way in a Liaodong accent, advanced to only two or three hundred paces away from him, it suddenly accelerated and launched a charge directly at the Han character banner on the opposite hill. At the same time, the 'smoke and dust' that had been slightly behind also suddenly accelerated and pounced forward!

Han Chang was both shocked and angry. He immediately ordered the entire army to meet them, but no sooner said than done. Just as Han Chang's troops had not yet had time to rush forward, someone in the smoke and dust rolled up by the dozens of cavalry shouted from afar:

"Han Chang!"

Han Chang heard the voice and suddenly realized who it was, but before he could react, dozens of arrows shot out together from the smoke and dust, heading straight for him under the flag. The warhorse neighed as it was hit by an arrow and raised its front hooves high, while Han Chang himself was like a hedgehog that had been pricked all over. One of the arrows even hit him directly in the face, which was not wearing a helmet!

In front of everyone's eyes, the master of an army fell from his horse with an arrow inserted into his face.

Han Chang's entire army was terrified. Even the troops who had been ordered to rush down the hill earlier ignored the enemy troops in front of them, reined in their horses, and didn't chase after the Liaodong cavalry that had already turned around and returned.

But in the next moment, no one expected that Han Chang on the ground would actually turn over and get up, push down a personal guard, and grab a mount… Everyone was immediately excited, but soon, as they saw clearly, they realized that General Han had been shot in the center of his eye socket, and they were disheartened again.

However, in the next moment, Han Chang, with one hand holding the arrow in his eye socket and the other pointing at the Chixin Team cavalry that had already turned back, shouted loudly:

"Liu Yan! You're still so incompetent, your arrows are so weak!"

After saying that, he actually imitated Xiahou Dun's actions in the past and directly pulled out the arrow from his eye socket on the spot, pulling out his entire eyeball in public! And he slammed it heavily on the ground! This wasn't all, he then leaned down nimbly on his horse, grabbed a handful of yellow earth from the ground, turned back over, stuffed it into his eye socket, and then covered his face with one hand, reined in his horse with the other, looked around, and shouted sternly:

"Can't you hear the military orders? Are you afraid of these mere former Rebel Army troops? Advance immediately!"

The commander was like a ghost or god, and his subordinates were terrified. They then charged forward with all their might, launching a counterattack against the sudden Song army that had launched an attack down the hill.

The two sides fought, and Han Chang's act of pulling out the arrow and stuffing in the earth was indeed shocking and inspiring for the entire army, but after his troops had passed the initial surge of bloodlust, they quickly fell into a disadvantage, because the equipment and quality of this troop were far beyond their imagination! There were Shenbi crossbows everywhere, long-handled axes everywhere, and almost everyone was armored!

Without a doubt, this troop that had come with Liu Yan, a former member of the Rebel Army, was the so-called 'trump card' that Zhao Jiu had been hiding before, an elite force that had been formed by gathering the elites from various troops and integrating them.

Of course, more importantly, the Jin troops that had come with Han Chang were already extremely exhausted at this time, while the opposite side was obviously moving after hearing the news and was in good condition.

Therefore, after the two armies fought for a moment, and their momentum was lost, the Jin army fell into a disadvantage. They were only temporarily holding on by relying on the advantage of their cavalry and their fear of Han Chang behind them.

But at this time, another troop arrived. Chizhan Hexi had finally arrived!

The vegetation in the valley was thick and dense, and the yellow earth was difficult to raise, so it was much clearer than the previous puffs of smoke. And Han Chang, standing on the small hill with one eye, saw Chizhan Hexi's flag appear, and then thousands of men rushed straight here to support him, and he was slightly relieved.

But soon, as Chizhan Hexi rode his horse to see Han Chang, he reported a military situation that Han Chang couldn't feel surprised by but was still angry about.

"What do you mean you didn't come on your own?" Han Chang asked coldly, covering his eye.

Chizhan Hexi was clearly a Jurchen commander, but looking at the other party's appearance, he couldn't help but feel afraid in his heart and could only barely say, "General Han, the reason why I was cut off from the others behind me was because at noon, four or five thousand Song troops bit me from behind beside Yaoshan! We've been entangled for the entire afternoon! Looking at the flags and the appearance of the troops, they should be Li Yongqi's Fan soldiers, and Qu Duan has also come in person!"

Han Chang glanced at the Dangxiang cavalry that had emerged from behind the Jin army, endured the pain, took a long breath, and then scolded with all his might, "Then why didn't you divide some of your troops to block them in the pass? Instead, you let their entire army come over here?!"

"How did I know that it would be so chaotic here? I thought that when I came here, I could have the Fourth Prince and you as reinforcements to eat them all!" Chizhan Hexi also felt wronged. "But I didn't expect that when I came out, I would become the reinforcement."

Han Chang had a splitting headache, but he tried his best to cover the yellow earth on his eye socket and gave an order: "Don't reinforce me. Quickly go and meet Qu Duan and Li Yongqi. Also, tell the Fourth Prince behind us… Today, we've been tricked by Lou Shi. Let's leave it to fate!"

The sun was setting further to the west, and the ambush that Zhao Jiu had arranged in the south had a miraculous effect. He had Liu Yan bring the trump card-like troops that Jing Yao had been hiding, but he didn't expect that they would clamp down on Wanyan Wushu's troops from the rear. Not only that, but he still didn't know at this time that Qu Duan and Li Yongqi, who had combined with the cavalry from Fangzhou to come to their aid, had vaguely blocked Wanyan Wushu's troops on three sides.

If things continued like this, the more than 10,000 Jin troops who had come to raid would probably be completely surrounded under Yaoshan.

Of course, Zhao Jiu didn't know about Qu Duan's arrival at this time. He, like everyone else, felt confused about the situation. The only thing he could be sure of was that the battle line showed that the situation on the right wing was chaotic, and the probability of the Jin army breaking through from there had been greatly reduced.

"Launch a general offensive!" Wang Yuan had lost count of how many times he had made this suggestion to Wu Jie.

In fact, there were already many generals who were speaking with Wang Yuan at this time. Even Qiao Ze and Fu Qing, who had launched a probing attack earlier and been defeated, were already asking to fight.

After all, the sun had already set a lot to the west, and the battle line on the Eastern Slope Plain had swung back and forth no less than four times. And now, the opportunity seemed to have been revealed. Even Lou Shi's troops had been confirmed to have marched to not far from the east of the plain and seemed to be about to launch their final assault… At this time, sending the remaining troops to smash onto the Eastern Slope Plain seemed to be just the right time.

"Wait a little longer!" Wu Jie bit his lip and resisted this suggestion with all his might once again. "Wait until one hour before sunset. If Lou Shi doesn't take the initiative to attack, we'll smash onto the plain!"

The generals looked at Emperor Zhao again, but Zhao Jiu closed his eyes before the generals could look at him. He could understand Wu Jie's pressure at this time. Waiting was the most rational way to deal with Lou Shi, but the Jin army was good at fighting hard battles, and no one knew when the plain would suddenly be unable to hold on! And if they waited for Lou Shi to break through before sending reinforcements, would the Eastern Slope Plain directly collapse and everything be lost?

There was no right or wrong in this kind of thing, only choices.

"The Fourth Prince's 20,000 troops were also brought here by you to be used as cannon fodder. If he's gone, even if you win, Huonv and Muyan will be hacked to pieces." On the Eastern Slope Plain, under Wanyan Bali Speed's banner, Bali Speed, the owner of the flag, was standing shoulder to shoulder with Lou Shi, and he sneered and mocked.

Beneath the two of them, below the Eastern Slope, 7,000 cavalry were arrayed in an orderly and awe-inspiring manner, two or three li away.

Hearing this, Lou Shi withdrew his gaze from the chaotic southern side of the battlefield, which was the foot of Yaoshan, and actually laughed. "You're wronging me. I brought the Fourth Prince here because I sincerely wanted him to establish a great achievement. But it's also true that I underestimated the terrain and weather. I didn't expect the road to be so difficult to travel, and only a little over 10,000 of the 20,000 troops arrived, and they were so exhausted…"

"Then why are you still laughing?" Bali Speed also sneered. "Why don't you quickly have your troops and those two Hezhamengan come up and break through from here, and end this battle early! The scouts just reported that smoke and dust is rolling in from our southeast. It seems that Han Shizhong is about to arrive, right? Which one can you afford to wait for, Han Shizhong or the Fourth Prince?"

Lou Shi nodded with a smile, but then shook his head.

"What do you mean?" Bali Speed suddenly restrained his expression and said coldly.

"The plain is too crowded…" Lou Shi smiled calmly, then turned his horse and walked down the slope. "I won't break through from here."

"Then where will you break through from?" Bali Speed turned his head and stared at the other party's back, continuing to ask coldly.

"Bypass the slope, line up on the side of this plain, and then, from the gap between this plain and the battlefield in the south, stick close to the Fourth Prince and break through towards the Song army's central camp. Whoever dares to block me, I'll run them over!" Lou Shi smiled back. "You're right to remind me. I can't afford to lose the Fourth Prince."

Bali Speed's expression became even more gloomy. "So, the bloody battle on the plain, where the two sides, 60,000 strong, fought hard and sacrificed countless lives, was just to create a diversion for your final breakthrough?"

"If the plain can be won, then naturally it will be a great victory right in front of us. Why would I need to come and make this final breakthrough?" Lou Shi's smile remained undiminished. "Bali Speed, I gave you 10,000 cavalry and 10,000 infantry. If you're useless, who can you blame? If you say these words to your brother, it's also because you're incompetent."

Bali Speed's lips turned green, and he was speechless.

"By the way, if I die, you're the deputy commander. You can handle the overall situation yourself." Lou Shi walked down the last slope and added casually.

"I don't need you to teach me about this!" Bali Speed rebuked angrily.

But no matter what the two commanders thought, a quarter of an hour later, Lou Shi and the last 7,000 cavalry completely moved.

The Song army was extremely nervous, and the scouts kept reporting. Two quarters of an hour later, there was no need to report anymore—because Wanyan Lou Shi and his Five-Colored Sun-Bearing Banner, along with 7,000 cavalry, had bypassed the south side of the Eastern Slope Plain and were calmly forming a formation within sight of the Song army's central camp.

At this time, Qu Duan and Li Yongqi had joined forces with Liu Yan to suppress Chizhan Hexi and Han Chang until they were back-to-back with Wushu. Han Shizhong's 3,000 cavalry and 4,000 infantry had all appeared within Bali Speed's view of the southeast.

Of course, Wu Jie didn't dare to be negligent either. He was waiting for this moment. The Qin Feng Road troops had been sent directly out of the camp to meet the enemy and form a formation, and the two Beiwei Army divisions of the central army had finally gotten up and prepared for battle.

"Your Majesty!"

Wu Jie took a deep breath, directly fell to his knees, and then cupped his hands on the ground. "Now that things have come to this, I will follow the two Beiwei Army divisions to the front lines. Please raise the Dragon Banner for our support!"

Zhao Jiu nodded, got up without saying a word, and sat down on Wu Jie's previous seat. The slightly worn Dragon Banner was raised under the personal supervision of Yang Yizhong and hung high at the Song army's central camp.

In the next moment, Wu Jie turned around without hesitation and led the two Beiwei Army divisions with Zhang Xian and Tian Shizhong to advance towards the forward camp below.

At the same time, Lou Shi, who was in the formation, looked at the sky, looked at the two Hezhamengan on the left and right wings, and then looked at Wanyan Pushu, his trusted general who was not far from him and was leading 2,000 men alone. Then, without looking at the smoke and dust in the southeast behind him, he only glanced at the Dragon Banner that had just been raised and casually raised his hand before heavily waving it down amidst the earth-shattering shouts that suddenly arose from the Song army.

The 7,000 cavalry, who were possibly the strongest in the Jin kingdom at the moment, were finally launched after resting and recuperating for most of the day.

At this time, it had not rained, there was still a long time before dark, and the heavens had not favored either side.