Jinting Han people

Chapter 756 The Turning Point of the Battle of Jianye

The turn of events was sudden. The Qi army never anticipated the Han army's audacious tactical design, daring to use the rout of one unit as bait to lure the Qi army into an ambush. The Qi army, confident of victory, unconsciously lowered their guard. In their overconfidence, they failed to notice their unfavorable terrain and the loss of their disciplined ranks. Under these circumstances, the Qi commander, Su Jun, recklessly advanced deep into enemy territory, only to be easily lured and killed by Qian Feng's scheme.

These two disastrous events created excellent conditions for the Han army's counter-offensive. When Qian Feng gave the order, Zhuge Yao and He Kang's forces suddenly launched a pincer attack on the advancing Qi army. The Qi soldiers were astonished to find their formation had crumbled. Although the Han troops in front had fled in disarray, their pursuit had also been thwarted. The Han army, positioned on high ground, remained largely intact except for Qian Feng's previously routed troops. This allowed the Han army to swiftly cut off the advancing Qi forces with a single, decisive strike.

In any battle, formation is life itself. Even though Su Jun's soldiers were more elite than the Han army, they were unable to mount a powerful counterattack against the swords and spears surging from all directions. Moreover, although they had pursued and killed many, they were exhausted from the uphill climb. The Han army soldiers directly in front of them, though equally exhausted, had been driven into a denser formation than the Qi army. Seeing an opportunity for revenge, they were not about to let it slip away.

In an instant, various forces launched successive attacks on the Qi army, pushing Su Jun's remnants down the mountain like a raging torrent. It was only natural for the fleeing soldiers to surge down the mountain. Seeing Su Jun's head hanging high on a long spear, the Qi soldiers grew increasingly terrified, their formation retreating step by step. Soon, the collapse of the encircled front gradually spread to the entire army, causing instability in their lines. Before long, the three Han armies merged and launched a sweeping attack on the Qi army between Qingliang Mountain and Ma'an Mountain.

Xu Fu was leading his troops to reorganize Ran Long's forces and confront the left flank of the Han army again when he suddenly saw a surge of waves behind him, seemingly indicating that Su Jun's forces had been defeated. He immediately felt increased pressure. Meanwhile, the Han army on the left flank seemed to have gained morale upon seeing their own momentum, which made Xu Fu increasingly nervous.

Xu Fu said to Song Zhou, "Something must have happened to the King of Xing. Our army will be attacked from both sides here. How should we defend ourselves?"

Song Zhou said somewhat uncertainly, "As long as our army holds Ma'anshan and Shitoucheng, and with subsequent reinforcements, we shouldn't be too affected, right?"

Xu Fu was still uneasy. He thought to himself, "I am not Ran Long or Su Jun, nor am I a direct subordinate of the Marshal and His Majesty. With the battle situation in this state, would the Marshal dare to send reinforcements? If I am trapped on the lonely mountain, all my subordinates will be doomed."

Thinking this, he paced back and forth, leaning on his ring-pommel sword, looking back at the riverbank he had come from. Seeing that it seemed no more troops would be deployed from the rear, he grew increasingly anxious. Finally, he mounted his horse and said to Song Zhou, "Defending the riverbank is worse than defending the mountain. At least we still have a way to retreat. Otherwise, if the marshal doesn't send reinforcements, won't we be trapped here to die?"

Song Zhou was also somewhat fearful. Although he did not know of Su Jun's death, seeing Ran Long's death in battle, he dared not fight the Han army again. Upon hearing this suggestion, he nodded and said, "We have been fighting for almost three hours and it will soon be dark. If we do not go to the riverbank, I'm afraid we will not be able to retreat."

So he ordered the soldiers on Ma'anshan to pack up and retreat to the riverbank. But this was undoubtedly another blunder. With the vanguard already defeated, panic was contagious. Everyone panicked and grabbed their weapons to retreat, abandoning flags, armor, and other inconvenient items. This made the Qi army in front think that the rear had also suffered a defeat, so they immediately abandoned their last line of defense and retreated.

Qian Feng was overjoyed at the sight. He said to his subordinates, "The bandits want to retreat to the riverbank? It won't be that easy! Their formation is in disarray now. Let's chase after them all! Killing them will be as easy as killing chickens. I don't believe they'll have any way out!"

At the same time, he sent messengers to summon Du Tao's troops to join the attack. Du Tao readily agreed. After a half-day of fierce fighting, they were already furious due to their unfavorable start and constant pressure on the river. Because of the constant rotation of troops in the navy, his soldiers still had plenty of energy. Now that they had a chance to counterattack, and seeing the Qi army's retreat becoming disorganized, they naturally wouldn't let it pass.

So they immediately started running, the officers waved their flags, and the soldiers shouted as they launched a counterattack. The offensive advanced like waves, and soon it became a mighty torrent.

This scene was very similar to Ran Long's previous charge against the Han army, but the difference was that the Qi army did not have enough ships to transport the defeated soldiers in Xuanwu Lake. Moreover, the number of defeated soldiers in the Qi army here was much greater than that of Du Hong's troops. Each ship could only transport about two thousand people at a time, while the Qi army that had been amassed around Ma'anshan had reached nearly 20,000 people. This was undoubtedly a drop in the ocean.

Under the impact of the flood caused by the Han army, many soldiers rushed to the riverbank, scrambling to get on the boats, which caused chaos. With fewer boats than people, many even drew their swords and fought each other in order to seize a boat and escape.

Those who managed to seize the boats didn't even have time to fill them up before fleeing eastwards. The sailors who had kindly waited for their comrades on the boats found themselves unable to row due to the overcrowding. The boats spun endlessly on the lake, and some even capsized, sending groups of people tumbling into the icy water like dough balls, constantly bobbing and calling for help.

In this terrifying situation, to avoid being driven directly into the water by the Han army, the Qi people could only continue their retreat northward towards Siwang Mountain and Lulong Mountain. However, this place was already a dead end surrounded by water on all sides, and there was no other way to escape. The vast roar of the waves drowned out all hope. By this time, the sky was already quite dark, and the moon and stars had not yet risen. Despair enveloped the hearts of the Qi soldiers here.

It's unclear who started it, but soldiers began to kneel and surrender to the Han army one after another. Then it happened in large numbers. In the end, since Xu Fu himself was unable to escape by boat, he had to send messengers to order all the troops to remove their armor, lay down their weapons, and surrender to the Han army there.

The scene of nearly 20,000 Qi soldiers surrendering was truly magnificent, enough to make all the Han soldiers cheer in unison. This cheering needed no announcement; it was enough to speak volumes, greatly pleasing the generals in the central army. Although the exact results were unclear in the short time, judging from the current situation, the Qi soldiers had not broken through their defenses by nightfall, while the flanking force had been almost completely annihilated. This could be considered a victory in this battle.

Wang Dun was so happy he almost burst out laughing, but he forced himself to hold it in. He gripped the hilt of his sword tightly with one hand, turned to face his generals, and said with a hint of pride, "How does today's battle compare to Yang Nan's victory in Longxi?" The generals naturally congratulated him in unison.

Wang Dun then hurriedly sent men to receive the prisoners and informed the Qi troops on the front lines of the battle, hoping to demoralize them and force them to retreat. The method of notification was simple: the soldiers would shout out their victory in unison.

"The traitorous king Su Jun has been beheaded!"

"The traitorous Prefect of Donglai, Liu Ba, has been beheaded!"

"The traitorous Prefect of Jinan, Xu Fu, has surrendered!" "..."

With each report, Wei Yi's Han troops would shout in unison, then throw out the corpses and remains of the slain Qi soldiers. Before long, a small mountain of bones had formed on the Qi army's front line. Coupled with the earlier setbacks of Xu Miao's Qi forces in their assault on the main line, the area around Qingliang Mountain was littered with blood-stained water and mutilated bodies. This silenced the Qi soldiers on the front lines; fear gripped them, and their fighting slowed, unsure if the battle could continue.

Meanwhile, Wang Mi, at the Zhongshan camp, was also enduring such doubts. Although it was dark and they were several miles apart, people could not help but feel the hesitation of the soldiers at the front and the jubilation of the enemy soldiers. As the specific losses were reported, Wang Mi's face turned ashen. He had considered that he might suffer setbacks and losses, because this was a necessary price to pay, but he never expected that he would end up in such a predicament.

Gao Liang had already sent a messenger to Wang Mi to inquire whether it was possible to wait until tomorrow to continue the battle, given that it was already dark and the soldiers were exhausted. Wang Mi's close advisors, such as Duan Kui and Liu Feng, also offered similar advice. In particular, Wang Mi's old general, Prince Zhang Song of Zhu, whose rank under Wang Mi was second only to Cao Yi and Xu Miao, advised Wang Mi: "General, the soldiers are utterly exhausted. Continuing the battle will only lead to further defeat!"

But Wang Mi remained unmoved. He pointed to the distant battlefield and said to Zhang Song, "If I were to cease fighting now, the morale of the entire army would plummet. How could we possibly fight again in the future?"

Zhang Song dared not answer.

Wang Mi then answered himself: "I'm afraid the entire army will be completely routed and will never dare to fight the enemy again! Today, whoever stops fighting and leaves first will be utterly defeated!"

At this moment, Wang Gu, Wang Yan's general, also arrived and reported to Wang Mi on the situation at the front, which was the casualty situation of the Qi army officers and soldiers that the Han army had previously mentioned. Upon hearing that Su Jun, Ran Long, and others had all died in battle, the generals fell silent for a moment. Wang Mi's expression remained unchanged; he simply asked, "In your opinion, how much strength does the enemy army still have?"

After pondering for a moment, Wang Gu said, "The enemy's left and right armies have been fighting fiercely for nearly four hours. The left army is capturing our prisoners and should be unable to attend to anything else. The right army occupies the mountain terrain, but cannot leave in time and should also be exhausted soon."

"Where is the rebel army's central force?"

"The rebel army's central force was stationed at Xinting, constantly rotating with the left flank. It did not suffer any major losses and could serve as a backup for the rebel army."

Wang Mi stroked his beard and pondered for a moment, thinking to himself, "In that case, after fighting for a whole day, the only thing we need to consider is the enemy's central army. Moreover, they are rotating with the left army and cannot be considered a newly formed force. The original plan should be used now!"

He then addressed his generals in an extremely calm tone: "Although the enemy has won a single battle, they have been fighting all day, and their troops must be exhausted. Although our army has suffered heavy losses, we still have forty to fifty thousand soldiers who are ready to fight. As long as our army regroups and engages the enemy in another battle, their exhausted army will be unable to retaliate. Victory hinges on this battle, so please exert yourselves! Only after this battle is over can we rest!"

When he said these words, almost everyone around thought the marshal had gone mad. As Wang Gu had already said, the two armies had been fighting for a whole day, yet the former still held a firm grip on advantageous terrain and had reinforcements ready to follow. How could our army possibly win after just one more night battle?

Before anyone could offer any advice, Wang Mi decisively waved his hand, interrupting them, and then pointed to the sandbar to the north, saying, "I have already received word that Liu Xian is currently bedridden on Caizhou Island to the north. His entire army has pressed on to Shitou Mountain, with only a few hundred guards around him. If our army can seize this opportunity and behead him in one fell swoop, how can we not make the rebels panic?"

"The reason I fought this battle today was precisely because of this plan. Winning here would be ideal, but even if things don't go smoothly, I want to tire the enemy out so they won't dare to act rashly. Didn't you notice that the King of Song isn't here? I intend to use him as a surprise attack, to strike a fatal blow at the most crucial moment!"

Even now, Wang Mi had kept the news of Du Zeng's defection top secret, not informing anyone except Cao Yi. He was waiting for an opportunity: when the Han army at the front was exhausted and unable to attend to its own troops. Although the losses were already heavy, the Han army was so close to the enemy lines that if they could find a way to disrupt the central army, no one could stop Cao Yi from attacking Liu Xian.

At this point, the others suddenly understood. They had been wondering why Cao Yi, the deputy commander, was nowhere to be seen during such a major battle, and why the commander-in-chief had insisted on sending troops to attack the enemy forces who held the advantageous terrain. Now, these questions were answered. However, a new problem arose: to attack Caizhou, the Han navy currently blocking the Zhuque River was a major obstacle. How could they intercept them and prevent them from focusing on Caizhou?

The answer was already obvious. Wang Mi said decisively to Zhang Song, "Prince of Zhu, you should lead your navy out of the Zhuque River now and engage the enemy in battle! I have arranged dozens of fire ships to clear the way for you. As long as you can hold off these enemy troops, after we win this battle, I will petition His Majesty to vouch for you and grant you Jiangzhou! What do you say?"

As they were talking, the light of day had completely faded, and the soldiers of both armies began to light torches. The scattered torches, like fire dragons, illuminated the tragic battlefield that had been swallowed by darkness, as well as the eyes of the corpses that had been forever deprived of sight.

The Qi troops at the front began to withdraw one after another, and the Han army did not pursue them. The reason was simple: they thought it was over. After nearly a day of fierce fighting, they believed they had won and cheered again. But what they did not expect was that this ease and tranquility was extremely short-lived. Just a quarter of an hour later, new Qi troops appeared in front and surged towards Qingliang Mountain again.

The war drums sounded again, and unlike before, a sizable naval force suddenly lit up the Zhuque River under the cover of night. The brightly lit ships began to move slowly along the river, heading straight for the naval force anchored at Xinting. (End of Chapter)