Chapter 135: Great Scoundrel Of Dahe, Do You Recognize Li Xiao Of Jin Prefecture?
Among the Seven Rivers Basin, the largest river is the Ili River.
It surges down from the Tianshan Mountains like a silver giant dragon, roaring through the Yili River Valley, then majestically flowing through the Seven Rivers Basin, ultimately merging unhesitatingly into Lake Balkhash.
It is no exaggeration to say that sixty percent of Lake Balkhash’s water volume comes from the Ili River.
It can almost be called the mother river of the Seven Rivers Grassland, nourishing all living beings on this land and witnessing countless rises and falls.
On this day, as the sky was dimly lit and the faint light of dawn just sprinkled over the land, a large number of cavalry troops had already gathered on the north bank of the Ili River.
Black fine horses pawed uneasily at the riverbank, their neighing sounds rising and falling, interweaving with the murmuring flow of the river water.
The cavalry wore leather armor and sheepskin coats over it, slowly advancing toward the south bank of the Ili River in the hazy morning mist.
Upon closer observation, one could see that these cavalry had slightly different attire and their flags bore different totems.
Clearly, these cavalry came from different tribes in the Seven Rivers Basin.
And the army they belonged to was the Left Route Army under Li Xiao.
After the alliance on the Seven Rivers Grassland, the Eastern Capital Army had marched south all the way to the north bank of the Ili River.
At this time, the Royal Court Army had long been poised on the south bank, preparing to use the terrain advantage of the Ili River to consume the Eastern Capital Army’s effective strength.
Thus, Xiao Simo decided that the three-route army would cross the river from three different directions.
As long as one route broke through, the Ili River would no longer be an obstacle for the Eastern Capital Army.
And the crossing point for the Left Route Army was in the upper reaches of the Ili River.
Here, the river water was relatively shallow, and the riverbed was only a few hundred meters wide.
It was sufficient for the entire army to pass through.
However, the Royal Court Army had already deployed scout cavalry on the south bank of the Ili River.
As soon as the Left Route Army on the north bank made a move, it was spotted by the enemy’s scouts, who sounded the warning horn.
“Woooooooo~”
The low ox horn sound echoed across both banks of the Ili River, completely shattering the morning tranquility.
Amid the cavalry army on the north bank, a group of cavalry wearing bloodstained white cotton armor stood silently, forming a stark contrast with the surrounding nomadic tribe cavalry.
On their white cotton armor, dark red bloodstains resembled ferocious patterns, telling of the brutal battles they had experienced.
Although this group of White Armored Soldiers numbered only about a thousand, the powerful sense of oppression they emitted still inspired awe among the surrounding nomadic tribe cavalry.
In the midst of this group of White Armored Soldiers, Li Xiao rode on a tall black fine horse, his posture upright like a towering mountain peak.
His entire body was wrapped in cotton armor, his gaze sharp like a hawk’s, scanning the army before him and the calmly flowing Ili River.
“In another quarter of an hour, the enemy army opposite will be drawn here,” Li Xiao said in a low voice.
Da Hu nodded lightly beside him: “The Ili River is very long; we can choose to cross from any point, but the Royal Court Army cannot defend every single spot.”
“They don’t have that many troops.”
Li Xiao nodded lightly and said: “The Ili River cannot stop us; at most, it can only consume some of our troops.”
“And this is probably the purpose of that Zhen Wuchi General.”
As his words fell, his gaze turned upstream again, and he said gratefully: “Fortunately, it’s still the dry season now.”
“Otherwise, if they built a large dam upstream and suddenly released the water when our army was crossing, our losses would be disastrous.”
Da Hu nodded and said: “This is heaven helping us.”
Li Xiao shook his head; it was mainly because Xiao Simo was decisive enough to dare to attack the Royal Court in spring.
At this time, the snow and ice in the Tianshan Mountains had just begun to melt, the Ili River’s water flow was very low, not qualifying as a natural barrier but merely an ordinary small river.
Therefore, even if a dam was built upstream, it could not produce flood-like power.
Seeing that the north bank army was almost ready, Li Xiao shouted in a deep voice:
“Order the Seven Rivers Tribes.”
“Cross the river and attack!”
“Eliminate the Royal Court Army on the opposite shore.”
“Understood!”
Immediately, several White Armored messengers rushed off in different directions.
Soon, the north bank army’s offensive officially began.
The cavalry of the Helsak Tribe took the lead, urging their horses into the river.
The sky was not yet fully bright, and the morning river water was very cold, causing some war horses to let out reluctant neighs.
But under the soldiers’ control, these war horses still slowly advanced toward the opposite shore.
Soon, more and more soldiers entered the Ili River; spears stood like a forest in the water, the soldiers advanced steadily, and the war horses’ neighs mixed with the soldiers’ shouts, stirring up ripples on the river surface.
The Royal Court Army on the opposite shore, seeing this surging offensive, immediately fell into chaos.
A Khitan general roared loudly at a messenger: “Go tell the general that the rebels have begun crossing here.”
“This is the rebels’ main attack point; we need more troops for support.”
“Otherwise, we can’t hold this riverbank.”
After the messenger left, the general shouted loudly to his mere four or five hundred soldiers: “Brothers, our families and tribes are right behind us.”
“For their safety, hold the Ili River to the death.”
Zhen Wuchi certainly knew that relying solely on the Ili River in the dry season could not stop the Northern Frontier Army’s advance.
After all, the Northern Frontier Army’s numbers were more than twice that of the Royal Court.
Therefore, the order he gave to each unit was to hold at least for one day.
Within that day, kill as many of the Eastern Capital’s effective forces as possible to lay the foundation for the subsequent decisive battle.
So, when the Eastern Capital Army began its attack, the Royal Court Army on the south bank all concentrated at the shore, lining up in a row, waiting for the north bank army to approach before firing arrows.
But what they did not expect was that when the north bank’s nomadic cavalry were still a hundred meters from the shore, they suddenly stopped.
From the crowd emerged a group of Han soldiers riding war horses and holding Divine Arm Crossbows.
The leader was none other than Jin Prefecture’s Divine Arm Crossbow Centurion, Chen Lao Jiu.
His task was to provide cover for the Seven Rivers Tribes attacking the south bank.
“First team, prepare!”
With Chen Lao Jiu’s loud shout, his fifty Divine Arm Crossbowmen all drew their bowstrings, aiming at the Royal Court soldiers on the south bank.
A distance of a hundred meters was fully within the Divine Arm Crossbow’s range, but the enemy’s bows could hardly reach here.
“Fire!”
With Chen Lao Jiu’s loud shout, forty crossbowmen all triggered their bow triggers.
In an instant, beams of cold light streaked across the morning sky like lightning, sharp crossbow bolts whistling through the air straight toward the Royal Court Army.
The crossbow bolts were extremely fast, piercing the Royal Court soldiers’ leather armor in the blink of an eye with dull “thud thud” sounds.
“Ahhhh~”
“Help~”
“My stomach, my intestines are spilling out.”
“Hertla, my brother, wake up, don’t die.”
……
The Royal Court Army on the south bank instantly fell into chaos, dozens of soldiers struck by arrows and falling to the ground.
Some soldiers were hit in the throat by crossbow bolts and died on the spot; others were struck in the arms or legs and screamed in agony.
The surrounding lucky soldiers, seeing this scene, were also greatly shocked.
“How is that possible?”
“How can their bow and crossbow shoot so far?”
The Khitan general shouted in terror, trying to regroup and calm the soldiers, but under this sudden attack, the soldiers were already panicked and could not obey commands.
Immediately after, the second volley of Divine Arm Crossbows followed, causing dozens more soldier casualties and further shaking morale.
After nine volleys, the crossbowmen had fired three hundred crossbow bolts, inflicting heavy losses on the Royal Court Army.
Taking advantage of the enemy’s chaos, the leaders of the Seven Rivers Tribes all ordered a full-speed advance.
Thousands of Seven Rivers soldiers charged ferociously toward the opposite shore.
Battle erupted, and the two armies engaged in the most primitive hand-to-hand combat.
But as soon as they clashed, the Royal Court Army was beaten back step by step.
Their troop numbers were already inferior to the Eastern Capital Army, only about four or five hundred, and over a hundred had been killed by Divine Arm Crossbows.
In contrast, on the attacking side, thousands of cavalry from the Seven Rivers Tribes continuously landed on the shore.
The situation turned into a one-sided crush.
However, at this critical moment, a burly man led three thousand troops to provide support.
He wore heavy chainmail, held a long saber, rode a tall war horse, and charged with menacing aura, slashing a Seven Rivers soldier with one strike.
He roared loudly in Khitan language across the battlefield: “Pishi Army Eagle Unit Commander, Great General of Eagle’s Might Da He Chu Luo Duo is here.”
“Who dares come to die?”
Seemingly worried that these Seven Rivers Tribe soldiers might not understand his prestigious titles, Da He Chu Luo Duo repeated it in Turkic language.
The effect was very obvious.
These Seven Rivers Tribe soldiers were indeed startled.
Although they did not know who Da He Chu Luo Duo was, they were very familiar with the renowned Pishi Army.
Back then, Yelü Abaoji selected a group of brave and skilled soldiers from various Khitan tribes to serve as the Royal Court Imperial Guard.
They were called the Pishi Army.
It was the Liao State’s strongest fighting force, equivalent to Temüjin’s Kheshig or the Turkic people’s Tiger Division.
At the time, the Pishi Army was divided into five units.
Namely the north, south, left, right, and yellow Pishi Army.
By the Western Liao Dynasty period, although the Pishi Army continued, its internal structure changed.
The original five units were reorganized into six, all named after animals.
Namely Dragon Army, Tiger Army, Bear Army, Eagle Army, Iron Pigeon Army, and Swan Army.
Additionally, the Khitan had a long tradition that the Empress held certain military power.
Thus, Western Liao reorganized the Empress’s Shanzi Army into the Phoenix Army.
In this way, the seven Pishi Army units became Western Liao’s most elite forces, always guarding the Royal Court’s safety.
And now, one of the seven Pishi Army units, the Eagle Unit, appeared on the battlefield, indeed inspiring fear in many Seven Rivers soldiers.
After all, in their ingrained impression, the Pishi Army had always been synonymous with power.
Moreover, this Da He Chu Luo Duo held the title of Great General of Eagle’s Might, which sounded even more formidable.
Under the Eagle Unit’s attack, the Seven Rivers Army, which had just landed, was beaten back step by step.
Soon they retreated to the riverbank, and many soldiers, to survive, turned and fled toward the north bank.
But soon, volleys of crossbow bolts met them head-on, instantly shooting dead all those attempting to flee in the Ili River.
It was Chen Lao Jiu’s Divine Arm Crossbow Centurion team; besides covering the Seven Rivers Army’s landing on the south bank, they also served as the discipline team.
Any deserters could be shot dead on sight without reporting.
And nearby, Hutu was still shouting loudly in Turkic to the Seven Rivers soldiers in front: “The Marshal has ordered.”
“Deserters on the battlefield, entire families executed.”
“Anyone disrupting morale, entire families executed.”
The Seven Rivers soldiers naturally had little loyalty to the Eastern Capital, but now the north of the Ili River had become Eastern Capital Army occupied territory.
Their tribal families were all in the hands of the Eastern Capital Army.
So, even if these soldiers were cowardly and wanted to flee or surrender, they had to consider their families’ safety.
Gradually, the situation on the south bank stabilized temporarily.
And Li Xiao on the north bank soon learned of the south bank situation.
At the same time, he heard a name he had been “thinking about day and night.”
“Da He Chu Luo Duo?”
“What a narrow road for enemies,” Li Xiao suddenly laughed, saying coldly in a low voice.
A year ago, this guy was still the powerful Jin Prefecture Governor.
Hexi Fort had to survive under his watch.
But unfortunately, this guy was a fool, or perhaps to sever ties with the Xiao Family, he deliberately lost the Battle of North Mountain.
In any case, the result was that Li Xiao’s father died in battle, and dozens of young and strong men from Hexi Fort perished.
This blood debt must certainly be tallied on the Geluolu People’s heads, but Da He Chu Luo Duo could not escape responsibility.
Li Xiao had always kept him in mind.
Moreover, this guy had previously been betrothed to Xiao Yanyan and nearly married her.
This made Li Xiao even more displeased with him.
“Elder Brother, we absolutely cannot let him go.”
“Right, kill him.”
“Damn Da He Chu Luo Duo, he caused so many deaths in our Hexi Fort, and now he’s some bullshit great general.”
“Such a Royal Court is utterly incompetent.”
“Finish him.”
Behind Li Xiao, Da Hu, Er Hu, and others shouted one after another.
Last year, although they fought many battles.
They won many times, but to them, those were insignificant.
Only the disastrous defeat in the Battle of North Mountain was etched in everyone’s hearts.
It felt like a great humiliation and grievance that must be avenged fiercely.
Looking at the excited crowd, Li Xiao looked up toward the horizon.
Just then, the first ray of morning sunlight fell appropriately on Li Xiao’s face.
“It’s dawn.”
Visibility on the river surface became clear, making it possible to clearly see the situation on the south bank.
Even Li Xiao could vaguely spot a burly figure amid the chaos.
“That’s Da He Chu Luo Duo?”
“He’s really ugly,” Li Xiao muttered to himself.
Although he also wanted to finish off this guy, Li Xiao did not act rashly.
He was waiting for the opportunity.
The opportunity to severely damage this Royal Court elite force opposite.
This wait was not long.
Soon, Da Hu beside him suddenly pointed to the eastern horizon.
He said excitedly: “Elder Brother, look, it’s beacon smoke.”
“It’s beacon smoke.”
“Jiu Meng’an He the Governor succeeded.”
“Hahaha, excellent.”
“Now, that dog bastard opposite can’t escape.”
Seeing this, a slight smile appeared on Li Xiao’s face, and he slowly breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally, success.
In this river crossing battle, Li Xiao had prepared two contingencies.
The Seven Rivers Army before him was just a feint attack; the real trump card was the Northern Sea Army.
They had secretly bypassed upstream last night.
Li Xiao made a feint attack from the front, drawing all the upstream Royal Court Army over.
In this way, the Northern Sea Army could cross the Ili River at minimal cost.
Then, they would advance west along the river, rendezvous with Li Xiao’s main force, and attack the Royal Court Army from the flank.
And the beacon smoke was the signal of their successful crossing.
“Good.” Li Xiao laughed loudly.
“Order the Jin Prefecture units to cross the river.”
He was now the commander of the Left Route Army, with greater power in hand.
Naturally, within his capabilities, he would favor the Jin Prefecture Army more.
Just like in this river crossing battle, the Seven Rivers Army, as the last to join, had the lowest status, so Li Xiao assigned them the frontal assault task.
It was somewhat like sending them to die as cannon fodder.
The Northern Sea Army, as a brother army with second-highest status, was given a relatively easier task by Li Xiao.
With the Seven Rivers Army bearing the brunt of the Royal Court main force’s attack, the Northern Sea Army could reduce casualties.
And Li Xiao’s true direct lineage, the Jin Prefecture Army, had the easiest task.
Following behind to pick up military merit.
It somewhat resembled the style of Xiao Simo’s Sixth Courtyard Department army during last year’s Battle of Naiman.
“Wooo woo woo~”
Accompanied by the low horn sound, the Jin Prefecture Army began crossing the river.
Heading directly downstream, toward the left flank of the Royal Court Army.
At the same time, Da He Chu Luo Duo on the battlefield received a report from scouts.
“Great General, a cavalry force of three to four thousand has appeared on our flank, with flags reading ‘Jiu Meng’an’.”
Hearing this, Da He Chu Luo Duo’s face changed drastically.
“Jiu Meng’an He?”
“How could the Northern Sea Army appear upstream?”
He then said angrily: “Damn it, we were tricked.”
“The Eastern Capital Army’s true crossing point is upstream; we were all fooled by them.”
He then looked at the frontal Seven Rivers Army, still stubbornly holding the riverbank, entangling the Royal Court Army with a back-to-the-wall momentum.
On the left flank, the Jin Prefecture Army’s vanguard had already landed.
It was a group of soldiers fully clad in white armor.
Bloodstains still visible on the armor, each gripping a spear, exuding murderous aura, their eyes revealing ferocity.
White Armored Soldiers.
Also known as white devils.
While Xiao Simo was scouting Royal Court movements, the Royal Court was similarly learning about the Eastern Capital.
Da He Chu Luo Duo knew the origins of this army: it was from Jin Prefecture, where he had once been governor.
“A bunch of lowly Han people.”
Da He Chu Luo Duo said angrily.
In his impression, Jin Prefecture Han people were always honest, low-key, and non-troublesome.
But he never imagined that in just one year after his departure, the Jin Prefecture Han Tribe had transformed dramatically.
They achieved repeated military merits on the Naiman battlefield, invincible wherever they went, and even massacred two tribes on the Seven Rivers Grassland, becoming white devils that terrified the Seven Rivers herdsmen.
All these achievements made Da He Chu Luo Duo feel a rising anger.
A mere group of Han lowly people, how could they be so formidable?
Every military merit won by the Jin Prefecture Army seemed like mockery in Da He Chu Luo Duo’s eyes.
“Great General, the Eastern Capital Army has landed; we can’t hold them, hurry and withdraw.”
A general shouted loudly; the Eastern Capital Army was about to encircle them on three sides, leaving only the rear path.
If they didn’t leave soon, it would be too late.
But Da He Chu Luo Duo stubbornly shook his head, his eyes wide like he wanted to devour someone, his ferocious face roaring: “No.”
“We can’t withdraw; we haven’t lost yet.”
“Order the whole army to attack the left flank and eliminate the Jin Prefecture Army.”
In Da He Chu Luo Duo’s view, the frontal Seven Rivers Army was no threat; a small force could hold them.
The main Eagle Unit Pishi Army would fully assault the Jin Prefecture Army on the left flank.
Once defeated, the Eastern Capital Army’s three-sided encirclement would be broken, and he could freely engage the Northern Sea Army on the right.
Tackle the hard first, then the easy.
“Kill for me~”
Under Da He Chu Luo Duo’s command, the Eagle Unit Pishi Army launched a full assault on the Jin Prefecture Army.
When the morning mist cleared, the two iron armored torrents finally collided with a boom.
Suddenly, dozens of gaps opened in the Jin Prefecture Army’s front line, and a hundred heavily armored cavalry charged out like arrows from strings, spear tips gleaming coldly in the sunlight.
Da He Chu Luo Duo’s pupils contracted sharply.
“Armored Cavalry?”
This scene reminded him of last year’s Battle of North Mountain.
The Geluolu Rebels had relied on a hundred sets of armored cavalry obtained from the Naiman People to rout his Jin Prefecture Army.
And during last year’s Battle of North Mountain, the Jin Prefecture Han people could barely scrape together ten decent sets of armor.
Now, amid the dust raised by iron hooves, an entire iron armored torrent was charging head-on.
This enraged Da He Chu Luo Duo greatly.
Why did Jin Prefecture suddenly have everything after he left?
“But don’t underestimate my Pishi Army.” Da He Chu Luo Duo roared angrily.
The Pishi Army was the Royal Court’s most elite force.
Its true strength lay in the extremely high armor-wearing rate.
Nearly forty percent of Pishi Army soldiers wore iron armor.
Though not fully encased like armored cavalry, iron armor covered key areas.
In this era, such a Pishi Army could crush most nomadic cavalry.
And clearly, Da He Chu Luo Duo believed that a hundred sets of armored cavalry were the limit of the Jin Prefecture Army.
As for those so-called White Armored Soldiers, they were just putting on a show and could not match his Eagle Unit Pishi Army.
“Follow me to kill~”
The Pishi Army’s iron cavalry clashed with the Jin Prefecture Army’s armored cavalry.
And Da He Chu Luo Duo led men to surround and annihilate the rest.
Once the light cavalry retreated, a mere hundred heavy cavalry would be lambs to the slaughter.
“Die~”
Da He Chu Luo Duo roared, his long saber chopping heavily onto a White Armored Soldier.
Under this immense force, the White Armored Soldier was sent flying.
But what shocked Da He Chu Luo Duo was.
He had failed to penetrate the armor; he only tore the outer cotton cloth, the blade unable to cut deeper.
“Armor plates?”
Da He Chu Luo Duo widened his eyes in shock.
It turned out this armor looked soft and just a layer of cloth.
But inside was a layer of iron shards.
No wonder the Seven Rivers Tribes spread such terrifying tales.
“Damn it.”
“Trouble.”
Da He Chu Luo Duo switched to iron bone multi and continued fighting, but a sense of inexplicable gloom settled in his heart.
The Pishi Army’s superiority over other nomadic tribes lay in its armor-wearing rate.
But now, the White Armored Army also wore iron armor, their defense no weaker than the Pishi Army’s half-iron armor.
This gave Da He Chu Luo Duo an ominous premonition about the battle.
If they could not quickly crush the frontal Jin Prefecture Army, once the Northern Sea Army closed in from behind, the Pishi Army would be in danger.
And at that moment, Da He Chu Luo Duo suddenly heard a loud roar from afar.
“Da He scoundrel, do you recognize me, Li Xiao of Jin Prefecture?”
Da He Chu Luo Duo looked up to see a unit of White Armored cavalry tearing through the Pishi Army’s line like a sharp spear, charging straight toward him.
The leader was a general fully clad in white armor, only his young face exposed.
Those cold eyes were like sharp swords, brimming with intense killing intent directed straight at Da He Chu Luo Duo.
