Chapter 6

Fu Xuan came to Chen Qing's side and sneered, "You didn't expect to be the one who tied yourself up, did you?"

Chen Qing took out the lot he had drawn, which turned out to be a live lot. Fu Xuan was stunned, "Then why did you stay?"

Chen Qing broke the lot and calmly looked at Fu Xuan, "At a life-or-death moment, not everyone will seek profit and avoid harm. Protecting the main force's retreat is the duty of a scout. If I die for my country, it will be my honor!"

After saying this, Chen Qing turned and spurred his horse away without another glance at Fu Xuan.

Fu Xuan stood there, staring at the broken lot on the ground. After a long while, he sighed deeply and spurred his horse southward.

......

The soldiers drew lots while running, and those who drew the death lots stayed behind.

There were no farewells or encouragements; life and death were decided in an instant by the lots.

The five thousand main forces ran away, leaving the one thousand soldiers alone in the open field.

Chen Qing suddenly noticed that Li Jiang had also stayed behind, "Commander, why did you stay?"

Li Jiang smiled faintly, "I drew the death lot, so I have to stay. Besides, we need a commander to lead the one thousand brothers!"

"Damn Fu Moshan, he clearly drew the death lot but refused to stay!"

This was said by Liu Wu. Zhao Xiaoyi had drawn the death lot, but he chose to stay without drawing a lot. They had already crawled out of a pile of corpses and were indifferent to life and death.

Li Jiang shook his head, "At a life-or-death moment, everyone makes their own choice. We just need to be true to our conscience. Headman Chen, gather the brothers!"

......

The one thousand soldiers quickly assembled.

"We all know what our fate will be. Death is not to be feared. In times of national crisis, everyone will die, but there is a difference in how we die. Will we die like ants being trampled, or will we die like men, fighting gloriously?"

Li Jiang's voice grew louder, "We are soldiers. It is a great honor for a soldier to die on the battlefield. Brothers, future generations will remember us. Today, let the Jurchen Tartars taste our might!"

Li Jiang raised his spear and shouted, "Kill the Jurchen Tartars!"

The one thousand soldiers raised their spears and shouted together, "Kill the Jurchen Tartars!!"

At this moment, Chen Qing's blood boiled. He couldn't wait to rush into battle and fight the enemy to the death!

Li Jiang raised Chen Qing's hand high and shouted, "Brothers, this is Headman Chen. From now on, he is my deputy. If I fall, he will be the commander. March out!"

Li Jiang and Chen Qing led the troops eastward. They had not gone ten miles when the earth began to tremble. In the distance, a black line appeared, and above it was a cloud of red and yellow dust.

Wanyan Zongbi's ten thousand cavalry had finally arrived.

"Form the spear formation!"

The one thousand Song soldiers quickly formed a thirty-by-thirty spear formation, the best tactic for infantry against cavalry, using collective strength to resist the enemy's cavalry.

Li Jiang and Chen Qing stood in the middle of the formation, watching the approaching Jurchen cavalry, the air thick with the smell of death.

Li Jiang smiled faintly, "Headman Chen, you drew a live lot, didn't you?"

Chen Qing nodded, "This was my plan. Of course, I have to stay!"

Li Jiang took out his lot, which was also a live lot.

Chen Qing was taken aback, "Why, General?"

"You are my subordinate. If you stay, how can I run alone?"

The two men laughed heartily.

Chen Qing suddenly felt something. He turned around and saw that not only Liu Wu and Zhao Xiaoyi were there, but none of his dozen scouts had left. They all silently followed him.

Chen Qing's nose stung, and tears welled up in his eyes.

......

Ten thousand cavalry charged in, overwhelming the Song soldiers. They slowed down upon seeing the Song soldiers and finally stopped a mile away. The Jurchen cavalry, wearing leather hats and iron armor, holding bows and spears, formed a solid black wall, their banners fluttering, the air thick with the smell of death.

The one thousand Song soldiers were like ants facing a giant beetle.

Wanyan Zongbi sneered, "A mantis trying to stop a chariot?"

"General, these Song soldiers must be sent by Wang Yan to delay us."

"I know this trick, but how long do they think they can delay us?"

Wanyan Zongbi raised his saber and shouted, "Charge! Crush these ants."

The ten thousand Jurchen cavalry charged again, like an unstoppable black tide, sweeping towards the one thousand Song infantry.

The first to arrive were the arrows, raining down on them.

The moment of life and death had arrived. Li Jiang raised his spear and shouted, "Brothers, fight for our country, die without regret!"

"Fight for our country, die without regret!"

The one thousand Song soldiers shouted in unison, raising their shields to block the dense arrows. Their spears quickly formed a formation, pointing at a forty-five-degree angle to the sky, their bodies half-crouched, using the sharp spear tips to resist the powerful charge of the cavalry.

The horses charged like a storm, crashing into the Song soldiers' spear formation.

"Ah!" Dozens of the front two rows of Song soldiers screamed as they were thrown into the air, their bodies torn apart, blood misting the air. But many horses were also impaled by the spears, and the Jurchen soldiers fell off, trampled to death by the horses behind them.

The Song soldiers were constantly thrown by the charging horses, but the pile of corpses in front of the formation grew. After nearly two hundred Song soldiers fell, the powerful charge of the Jurchen cavalry finally stopped.

Li Jiang shouted, "Charge towards the commander's flag!"

Eight hundred Song soldiers rose, stepping over the bodies, and charged towards the enemy commander's flag.

"No!"

Chen Qing shouted, "Charge towards the northeast!"

Li Jiang was taken aback. Chen Qing had keen eyes. He noticed that there were at least three thousand iron-armored cavalry around the commander's flag. Going there would be suicide.

On the contrary, the cavalry in the northeast direction wore leather armor and were likely not Jurchen cavalry.

"The northeast is not Jurchen cavalry, there's a chance to break through!"

Li Jiang smiled bitterly. Could they still have a chance to live?

But he changed the order, "Charge towards the northeast!"

Eight hundred Song soldiers changed direction and followed their commander towards the northeast. Wanyan Zongbi coldly ordered, "Surround them, kill them all!"

"Ugh—"

The low sound of the deer horn echoed across the land, and layer after layer of cavalry surrounded them.

In a moment, the eight hundred Song soldiers were completely engulfed by the ten thousand cavalry.

......

The Song soldiers were surrounded and fought, their numbers dwindling. They fought to the death, not a single one fearing or retreating. They were incredibly brave, and many died alongside their enemies. The enemy's casualties were not fewer than theirs.

Wanyan Zongbi sighed inwardly, "If all Song soldiers were this fearless, how could the Song Dynasty fall?"

Despite his sigh, Wanyan Zongbi still took out his strong bow, nocked a wolf-tooth arrow, and aimed at the Song commander.

"Whoosh!" An arrow shot out.

Li Jiang, who was fighting dozens of enemies, couldn't dodge in time and was hit in the forehead by Wanyan Zongbi's arrow. He screamed and fell off his horse, instantly pierced by dozens of spears.

"General—"

Chen Qing shouted hoarsely, watching as the enemy chopped off Li Jiang's head. At that moment, Chen Qing's eyes were bloodshot.

He turned around and saw that only about two hundred of his men were left.

"Follow me, break through!"

Chen Qing, suppressing his grief, shouted and killed several enemies, opening a bloody path. He led the Song soldiers to fight their way out towards the northeast.

The northeast direction was not Jurchen cavalry but surrendered Khitan cavalry, about two thousand strong, led by a thousand-man commander, Wanyan Buluhuo.

Chen Qing led his troops into the Khitan army and immediately felt the pressure lessen.

It was a subtle feeling. Although the Khitans were as fierce as the Jurchen cavalry, they were not willing to fight to the death.

Facing the Song soldiers who were determined to die with their enemies, the Khitans retreated after a brief fight, mostly shooting arrows from a distance. The Song soldiers suffered casualties, but they would not be completely annihilated as before.

After killing the enemy commander, Wanyan Zongbi no longer cared about the remaining two hundred soldiers. He entrusted the task of completely annihilating the Song remnants to the Khitan troops.

But Wanyan Zongbi, watching from a distance, was furious at the Khitan soldiers' lack of effort.

"Go tell Buluhuo that if the Song soldiers break through, he will answer with his head!"

Wanyan Buluhuo was terrified and led several hundred cavalry to charge. He swung his copper hammer and charged at Chen Qing. Wanyan Buluhuo roared and swung his hammer down.

Chen Qing, having put his life on the line, did not dodge. He thrust his spear fiercely at the enemy's chest, determined to die with him.

Wanyan Buluhuo felt the determination of his opponent and hesitated for a moment. Should he avoid the desperate attack?

In that moment, his hammer paused slightly in the air, but Chen Qing's iron spear did not hesitate and pierced his chest.

"Thud!" The spear tip pierced his heart, and Wanyan Buluhuo screamed and fell dead.

"Thousand-man commander is dead!"

The Khitan cavalry was thrown into chaos, and Chen Qing saw the last chance.

He shouted and killed a dozen enemies. The Song soldiers' morale soared, and they followed Chen Qing, breaking through the enemy's encirclement. Chen Qing led over a hundred men and charged northward.

At this moment, Wanyan Zongbi no longer wanted to delay. If he delayed any longer, Wang Yan might escape.

"Rally the entire army, pursue the enemy's main force to the Wei River!"

"Ugh—" The horn sounded.

The Jurchen cavalry quickly reassembled.

But this did not mean that Wanyan Zongbi would let the escaping remnants go, especially the enemy commander who had killed Wanyan Buluhuo. He wanted to tear him to pieces.

"Where is Wanyan Alu?"

The thousand-man commander Wanyan Alu stepped forward and saluted, "I am here, my lord!"

"You lead three hundred scouts to pursue the remnants. Make sure to kill them all and bring me the head of the enemy commander!"

"Understood!"

Wanyan Alu led three hundred scouts northward in pursuit.

Wanyan Zongbi, leading the remaining nine thousand cavalry, galloped towards the Wei River.

But Wanyan Zongbi's army was ultimately too late. The five thousand main forces of the Eighth Army had just crossed the Wei River. The Song soldiers cut the chains, poured oil, and set the floating bridge on fire.