The main engagement beneath Changshe City lasted for a little over an hour, after which the outcome of the battle was completely decided.

By this point, Han Shizhong had successfully broken through the encirclement, Changshe City was relieved, and the main force of the Jin army stationed there had completely collapsed. Broadly speaking, it seemed without a doubt a major victory for the Song and a major defeat for the Jin.

But frankly, the Song army's performance in this battle was merely adequate. It only seemed outstanding because their previous performances had been so abysmal.

Relatively speaking, the Jin army was still performing well, but the arrogance and hubris born of past victories made it difficult for them to accept such a natural defeat – which it certainly was. Despite the difference between cavalry and infantry, the five-to-one troop disparity was there. Wasn't it normal to be defeated in an hour?

On the contrary, it was abnormal that in the past, the Jin army, with ten or twenty thousand soldiers, could chase seventy, eighty, or even hundreds of thousands of Song troops all over the place.

Returning to the present, the dumbfounded Talán still couldn't accept this fact. He stood in place, caught in fear and hesitation... Experience and Jin military tradition told him that now he should take these last two Moukes and charge directly, regardless of everything, towards the location of the dragon banner. According to Jin military law, when he, the marshal, charged, all the Jin cavalry on the battlefield would turn around, and perhaps then a desperate reversal could be achieved. However, at the same time, the desire for survival told him that he should take these last two Moukes, abandon everything, and flee back from the Zhuo Yi River!

Perhaps Talán himself didn't realize that his hesitation was futile. No matter how hard he struggled, it was useless, because when he accepted Qin Hui's suggestion and used political struggle to become the Right Deputy Marshal; when he faced the suddenly assembled main force of the Song army and chose to compromise with Du Chong on the opposite side; when Han Shizhong broke out, and he didn't send out the two Moukes accordingly... he had long lost some of the things he had when he followed his cousin Wanyan Aguda to charge into battle.

This person was unmistakably old and decadent. But for the Jin people, what was worse was that at this time, he had become a great figure in the highest echelons of the Jin state and the Jin army because of his age and decadence.

Of course, Talán was old, but someone wasn't.

Just as this Jin Right Deputy Marshal was bewildered in the face of the overwhelming Song army, Hong Ya, who had already mounted his horse, could no longer endure it. Perhaps emboldened by his previous traversal of the battlefield, this man actually took the initiative to step forward, seize the reins of Talán's horse, and then, with one hand leading Talán's warhorse and the other spurring his own, turned and went behind.

Such an action was something that Jin military officers and Talán's guards would never have thought to do, and the rest of the Han Chinese defectors dared not do. However, after Military Advisor Hong dragged the Right Deputy Marshal's mount around, these people all silently turned and followed.

Moreover, as the momentum of the Song army's sweep behind them grew, these people ran faster and faster. Later on, there was no need for Military Advisor Hong to pull the rope. Everyone spontaneously fled towards the pontoon bridge over the Zhuo Yi River northwest of Changshe City.

This action directly led to the final great collapse of the Jin army—only at this point was it a major victory for the Song army and a major defeat for the Jin army.

The Han Chinese auxiliary soldiers in the camp began to surrender on a large scale. Jin knights, in a panic and without choosing a path, began to imitate the previously scattered Song army, fleeing into the water, and then were weighed down by their armor, making it difficult to rise again. And the last two Moukes in Talán's hands, two Moukes who hadn't fired a single arrow, finally broke a new record under the pursuit of the Song army - a force that three months ago was enough to sweep seven or eight counties of the Song army, enough to force a Song commander not to dare to leave the city, actually collapsed without a fight!

The Song army easily removed the Jin army's camp, ensuring control of Dahe Island, where Changshe City was located, and began to wantonly pursue and hunt the Jin army. The hunter and the hunted had changed positions in one morning, proving that both sides were just ordinary living people!

Of course, there were still differences between armies, because of concerns about the ten Moukes of the Jin army that might arrive at any time, the fastest to regroup, Yue Fei's and Wang Yan's troops, gave up the pursuit, and began to re-establish defenses along the river in the opposite direction. Han Shizhong's troops also maintained control. As the local garrison of Changshe, they began to use their familiarity with the terrain to quickly locate shoals and the remaining pontoon bridges within the scope of Dahe Island, and to search for remnants on a large scale, trying to completely trap and block the fleeing Jin troops in this circle.

Correspondingly, the troops of the Tokyo Garrison Command were inevitably somewhat chaotic. In order to compete for the greatest military merit of capturing Talán, at least four or five Commanders and seven or eight Colonels, with nearly 20,000 or more troops, crossed the Zhuo Yi River and pursued northward.

However, in response to Zhao Jiu's slightly nervous and excited inquiries, the three reassembled high-ranking generals, Han, Yue, and Wang, all believed that there was no need to restrain them, because escaping from the Zhuo Yi River and going north would lead to the west side of the Yi River, where the clear and muddy waters merged, and the wide Yi River was enough to prevent the ten Moukes from attempting any large-scale river-crossing operations. In this case, there was no problem with trying to hunt down the fleeing Jin soldiers as much as possible.

Moreover, more importantly, the significance of Talán's head was worth five Moukes! It would be a good thing to obtain it!

In fact, after confirming that it was safe, Emperor Zhao even released his confidant Liu Yan, letting him specifically lead the Red Heart Team to use their cavalry advantage to pursue Talán.

Returning to the present, Puchá Húbá Lǔ did not keep the Song army on the clear and muddy Yi River waiting for long, and the restraint of the three generals Han, Yue, and Wang did not allow Húbá Lǔ to gain any advantage... In the late afternoon, before dusk, this Jin army commander and his ten Moukes almost ran their horses to death, returning again from the northeast, only to sigh at the river and the array.

No matter how difficult it was to accept, this Jin general, who was in the prime of his life, had to realize the cruel reality before him in a short period of time - the Jin army had been greatly defeated, and the victorious Song army had not left any opportunity to exploit.

Not only that, but as the scouts returned, learning that a considerable number of Jin troops were fleeing on the west bank of the Yi River, Puchá Húbá Lǔ, realizing what was happening, had no reason to stay here and confront fruitlessly... It was not far from dark, and staying here would be futile for the Jin army, which had no foothold. At the same time, his backer, his father-in-law, his marshal, might still be in flight.

Therefore, Húbá Lǔ came quickly and retreated quickly, leading his army north along the Yi River after only staying for a quarter of an hour.

This decision naturally led to wild cheers from the Song army.

"Your Majesty, please be careful of this person."

Above the command platform originally occupied by Wanyan Talán, under the re-established dragon banner, Yue Fei narrowed his eyes, watching the ten thousand cavalry that had decisively turned back on the opposite bank of the river, watching this plume of dust move north, but he turned around, cupped his hands, and spoke solemnly. "This general is so decisive that he cannot be compared with the previous Wanyan Talán and Da 㚖..."

Emperor Zhao knew that the other party was reminding him not to become arrogant because of this great victory, and not to rashly harbor thoughts of fighting again in the short term. Having learned a lesson from the arrogance after the Huai River battle, and having come to this place, Zhao Jiu himself had gained some life experience. Moreover, Yue Fei was reminding him in person.

He immediately nodded.

However, Emperor Zhao, who had more personnel experience, did not forget to take advantage of the situation to "inquire" the opinions of the other two generals: "What do you think, Han Qing and Wang Qing?"

Han Shizhong was in high spirits at this time, so whatever the emperor said was fine.

Wang Yan frowned slightly to the side, but did not refute. "This minister believes that Puchá Húbá Lǔ is indeed decisive and should be treated with caution."

Zhao Jiu nodded thoughtfully and said nothing more.

Leaving aside the fact that Puchá Húbá Lǔ's decisiveness slightly sobered Emperor Zhao from his boiling blood, let's just say that on the other side, Wanyan Talán fled north in a panic. The troops behind him first became scattered while crossing the pontoon bridge due to the crowded passage and the Song army's relentless pursuit, and later were pursued on a large scale by the Song army along the road, and were already in a very disheveled state.

After running for seven or eight miles, he finally saw a shoal with great difficulty, but he ran past it first, and then had to turn back because of the appearance of the Red Heart Team cavalry on the road. Finally, he decided to try to cross the river from here, hoping to cross the river with the surviving dozens of cavalry to find his son-in-law.

However, when several Jin knights carefully tested the shoal, which still had thin ice, Wanyan Talán and others also quickly removed their armor and were preparing to float their horses and cross the river from here. Suddenly, a wave of poorly equipped people surged out of the reeds beside them, which were yellowing and green with the approach of spring. The leader could not suppress the joy in his heart and shouted in his face: "Talán, you bird-brained fool, you took off your clothes, are you trying to get Grandpa's favor?!"

Leaving aside the coarse language of this person, let's just say that when Talán and others looked up, their hearts immediately turned cold. It turned out that this person was none other than Li Kui, whom they had been searching for a long time before the battle!

It must be said that Li Kui was indeed a meticulous person. Not only did he anticipate that he might be in danger and mixed into the civilian labor camp early on, but he also fled from the Zhuo Yi River pontoon bridge early after the battle broke out, in order to save his life in the chaotic battle.

Not only that, but after crossing the river, he did not purely flee and avoid battle, but instead observed the battle situation slightly on the Zhuo Yi River side. After discovering that the Song army's momentum was like a rainbow, he simply stopped a group of hundreds of civilian laborers who had stolen Jin army weapons and were fleeing, and reported his official position and background... The Jin people had been searching for this person on a large scale today, and everyone in the civilian labor camp knew about this person, so how could they not believe him? Under Li Kui's half-coaxing and half-threatening, they took the initiative to lead this official army commander to this shoal, in order to "atone for their crimes."

It can only be said that Li Kui was really meticulous... He knew that it was impossible for his dozens of civilian laborers to block the pontoon bridge, and the pursuit on the road had nothing to do with him, so he found this shoal early on, but he forcibly endured it after seeing Talán and others arrive, and only led the crowd to jump out when these people took off their armor and were about to cross the river.

Talán and his party were already terrified, and now they were almost completely naked. When they saw Li Kui, the divine soldier descending from heaven, others were fine, but Talán himself was almost instantly shocked into a state of waiting for death again.

It was Hong Ya, who had also taken off his armor, who tried to command the remaining dozen or so exhausted Jin soldiers who had taken off their armor to fight in the cold shallow water, and then escorted Talán and some literati to float their horses across the river as quickly as possible.

However, the difference in morale between the two sides was so great, and they had no armor advantage, and they were still in water with ice shavings. Although the dozen or so Jin soldiers were brave, they were temporarily suppressed by several times the number of civilian laborers who had stolen weapons and were waiting for work. Not to mention that Li Kui himself was also a good man from Shandong, and had always been second only to Pūtīndiāo Li Zhang in his hometown of Yi River. Otherwise, how could he have occupied Mizhou, sat on a chair, and how could he have been accepted by Zhang Rong of Liangshanbo when he arrived in Dongping Prefecture?

Therefore, it was seen that this Commander Li, bare-chested, revealing his snow-white muscular flesh and fancy tattoos, held a knife in one hand and a large wooden shield in the other, and fought the equally bare-chested Jin soldiers naked.

And as the two sides engaged, before Talán had taken a few steps into the river, Li Kui had almost instantly cut down three or four people, and then broke through the blockade, and went straight for the undefended Talán.

With a few strikes of the knife, two of the defector literati who were escorting Talán also died, and scattered like birds and beasts. Talán was already resigned to his fate at this time.

But heaven did not abandon this old codger. Just at this moment, an arrow with great force shot from across the river, actually hitting Li Kui's shoulder. Li Kui hastily abandoned his knife, supported himself with his shield, and observed again, only to discover that a large Jin army had gathered on the opposite bank at some unknown time, and he instantly felt helpless.

However, Puchá Húbá Lǔ, who had rushed over hastily and had to shoot arrows from the river to rescue, was even more panicked than Li Kui, because Li Kui's group had rushed out, scattering Talán's guards to pieces, and all the warhorses had lost control and fled... At this time, there was only Military Advisor Hong, who was trembling beside Talán.

May I ask, how could an old codger, a southern literati, completely naked, and without horses to rely on, cross this shoal with thin floating ice above and turbulent undercurrents below? In fact, the two of them supported each other, stumbled a few steps, and then lost control.

What was worse was that the river was wide upstream of the Yi River, and the Jin army's range could not reach the opposite bank at all. Only Puchá Húbá Lǔ himself came to the river, which was waist-deep and contained ice shavings, and raised his hard bow, which he carried with him, and fired blindly, could barely reach the opposite bank, and he had only gritted his teeth and shot an arrow until the last moment when he was helpless... It could only be said that it was fortunate that he hit... And at this time, what if the Song army discovered the commotion and chased after them, and a hail of arrows fell from there, what would happen if the old codger died?

To be honest, at this time, Húbá Lǔ wanted to abandon the old codger on the opposite side, but he really couldn't abandon him... As a direct subordinate Commander, how could he openly abandon his own marshal in front of thousands of troops? Where was the military law? If he didn't save him today, the monarch would definitely strangle him personally when he went back!

What's more, that was his father-in-law, his political backer?

Therefore, this Jin army Commander had no choice but to order his guards to prepare large crossbows on the shore, and then enter the river, raising them high to block Li Kui and others on the opposite side, and then personally take off his approximate armor, help a tall warhorse without horse armor to cross the river to rescue him.

Several close guard cavalry had no choice but to follow suit, bracing themselves.

And in the end, this person really relied on his bravery to bring seven or eight people over, and also gave the warhorse to Talán. Then, Talán got on the horse and hugged its neck, Hong Ya grabbed the horse's tail, and under Puchá Húbá Lǔ's personal rearguard, they slowly crossed the river surrounded by several guards.

Seeing this situation, Li Kui, hiding behind the shield, was completely disappointed, feeling that he had been shot in vain today.

However, when Húbá Lǔ saw that his father-in-law had crossed the river and reached the river, he was about to retreat to the east bank, but after walking a few steps, he caught sight of the shield standing in the shoal, and anger rose from his heart again. He simply did it once and for all, turned around and came west with a few bare-chested guards, preparing to chop up this person!

This time, it was Li Kui's turn to despair. The other party's officers had come to fight in close combat. Although he didn't have to worry about the inaccurate crossbow arrows on the opposite bank, he had injured an arm after all, and how could the few civilian laborers on the shore who had the courage not to flee resist?

Sure enough, after a few rounds, the few remaining civilian laborers on the shore were scattered by the several fresh Jin soldiers and fled. Li Kui himself was even more embarrassed, and was almost about to be killed by Húbá Lǔ on the beach!

But, as the saying goes, when fortune comes, everything goes smoothly. Things on the battlefield are always so dramatic and unpredictable... Perhaps today was not the day Li Kui was destined to die. In the chaos, another Song army surged in, which was a Song army unit that had been attracted by the commotion here and was searching for military merits along the river. The Song army arrived here in large numbers, and almost easily solved the remaining Jin soldiers on the shore with bows and arrows.

Not only that, but the leading general even recognized Li Kui. After rushing out, he directly wore heavy armor, a helmet and iron mask, and came to the beach to save him, and shouted remotely, in order to frighten the Jin army officers:

"Brother Li, don't worry, Niu Gao of Ruzhou is here!"

Hearing these words, and only glanced at the other party and realized that he was tall and burly, unlike ordinary people, and the guards who had crossed the river with him had been killed, Puchá Húbá Lǔ naturally did not dare to fight and immediately gave up Li Kui and retreated.

And just at this time, Li Kui looked up and his heart moved again... Because he found that Talán on the opposite bank did not take the opportunity to escape after landing, but looked at the Jin army officer who had come to kill him anxiously, obviously this general was not an ordinary person.

At this point, Commander Li almost instantly realized the identity of this person, but gritted his teeth, broke the arrow on his shoulder, and then rushed forward regardless of everything, with his shoulder against the shield. He just pounced hard and knocked this person down on the beach, not forgetting to turn his head and call to Niu Gao: "Commander Niu, come quickly, come quickly, I'll send you an amazing reward!"

How could Húbá Lǔ not know that his identity had been exposed? He tried to get up in the shallow water, but how could Li Kui let him get up? He held the shield tightly from behind and pressed down on this person! In this scene, the Jin army crossbowmen on the opposite side did not dare to shoot recklessly, but could only watch in stunned silence as the general with the Niu character flag ran into the icy beach in heavy armor at great speed, and then calmly joined the melee!

And what happened next made everyone stunned - Húbá Lǔ struggled hard in the water, trying to get up, but Niu Gao, who was tall and burly but could not use his weapons, simply abandoned the long weapon in his hand, learned from Li Kui, and relied on his heavy armor to press down on the Jin army general's waist, and then reached out and pressed down on one of the other's arms. As for Li Kui, who had freed up his hand, took the opportunity to raise his shield and smash it hard on the neck of the person under him.

Because Li Kui was injured, he still couldn't kill the Jin army commander under him after smashing him once. Helplessly, this bare-chested Song army commander simply stood the shield on the other's neck, and then pressed his whole body on it...

The Jin army panicked, and countless Jin soldiers tried to cross the river directly to rescue him, but how could they easily cross the river in a hurry? After walking a few steps, some people slipped directly and sank under the ice shavings in the water, unable to rise again. A few crossbowmen shot reluctantly, but they were indeed inaccurate.

Speaking of which, Puchá Húbá Lǔ was indeed brave. He was held down by two Song generals, but he still struggled non-stop, and from time to time he would force his head out of the icy water, but as soon as he raised his head, the two generals behind him would exert force again and press him down again... This farce lasted for almost a quarter of an hour before it completely stopped moving.

At this time, countless Jin and Song troops had gathered on both sides of the Yi River, almost watching the scene of how this Jin army commander was drowned alive in a shallow water of no more than a foot deep by two Song generals.

Leaving aside others, Wanyan Talán on the opposite bank fled over naked, surrounded by his own ten thousand cavalry, knowing that he was safe, he had long since come back to his senses. But at this time, he looked far across the river and saw his son-in-law suffer this misfortune, but he was powerless, and he completely lost his voice, his whole body trembling, and his heart was like a missing limb, like losing his liver and gallbladder!

In this battle, he lost too much!

ps: Thanks to book friend Blue Cloud Xiangfeng for the Meng, this is the sixty-fifth Meng!

Then continue to offer the new book, "Summoning the Great Vertical and Horizontal Era" Transcending the troubled times, fortunately there is a summoning system. Civil and military officials all bow their heads in front of them, with 100,000 armored soldiers, why not take Guan Shan?