Chapter 90

At this moment, those who could still muster the courage to charge forward with Wang Yang were the most ferocious warriors. They followed behind Wang Yang, initially jogging slowly, but gradually picking up speed. As they ran, they naturally formed a wedge with Wang Yang at the tip, and finally, with Wang Yang's thunderous roar, the entire group seemed like an enormous iron mace, crashing into the Jin army's formation.

The first to greet them were the arrows of the Jin army. The Jin archers were not numerous, only managing to shoot a few dozen arrows, but Wang Yang and his men were almost entirely unarmored, offering almost no defense against the arrows. Thus, when the arrows fell, they caused significant casualties.

Next came the dense array of long spears. Wang Yang detested this tactic of the Jin army to the extreme. He roared and swung his iron spear, breaking several long spears in front of him, then lunged forward, piercing a Jin soldier through with one thrust. However, he used too much force, and the spear got stuck in the corpse, unable to be pulled out. At this moment, the second and even third rows of Jin soldiers immediately thrust more long spears at him. Wang Yang struggled to swing the spear, throwing the Jin soldier's corpse away, and retreated awkwardly, dodging repeatedly. A long spear grazed his temple, knocking off his helmet and cutting his forehead, causing a large amount of blood to stain his vision red.

Wang Yang let out a loud cry and leaped backward. His sudden movement knocked over several of his own warriors. A Hu warrior immediately filled the gap and continued to fight forward. However, he had no long weapon, only a short axe, which was effective for blocking but could not threaten the Jin soldiers more than a few feet away. In an instant, he was pierced by three or four long spears and died after a few struggles.

More Hu warriors surged forward, and they died at the same rate as their predecessors.

According to the military strategy of Sima Rangju, "In all battles, endurance comes from strength, and victory comes from morale." This means that in general, a well-equipped army can sustain a long fight, and high morale can secure victory. However, at this moment, the Xiongnu lacked both numerical advantage and morale. Just half an hour ago, the Xiongnu had attacked the Jin army's formation with the same ferocity. But the initial enthusiasm had now turned to despair. Their ranks seemed like snow under the scorching sun, melting away with every passing moment.

By the time the sun set, the battle was almost over. Even though the Hu people were fierce and determined to fight to the death under Wang Yang's encouragement, the battle did not last long. Escaping from the fire had already exhausted them, and many had lost their weapons. Facing the well-rested and heavily armed Jin army, the outcome was one-sided. In just half an hour, the Hu army was completely defeated.

The Jin army then split into several groups to eliminate the scattered and stubborn Hu resistance.

Lu Yao patrolled the battlefield and heard the sounds of fighting not far away. He spurred his horse to investigate and found that Wang Yang was still fighting fiercely in the midst of the Jin army, charging left and right.

Wang Yang had suffered numerous injuries and was covered in blood from head to toe, a terrifying sight. He had lost his long spear and now held only a common ring-pommel saber. Xue Tong, leading over twenty soldiers with long spears and halberds, had cornered him, but it seemed they could not subdue him immediately.

Wang Yang's eyes flashed like lightning, and his roars were like thunder. His killing aura was almost tangible. He had cut through several long spears and used the opportunity to close in and fight. Xue Tong, shouting commands, personally led the charge, swinging his saber in a fierce duel with Wang Yang. The two clashed repeatedly, neither gaining the upper hand.

During the earlier battle, Wang Yang had been extremely fierce, causing significant casualties to the Jin army. Therefore, Lu Yao had ordered the valiant Xue Tong to confront him. However, the fight had not concluded, and it seemed that Xue Tong had developed a sense of mutual respect, not ordering his men to fight with all their might, but rather trying to wear Wang Yang down.

Lu Yao sighed softly. He had fought Wang Yang before at Tuoba Valley and knew that Wang Yang's strength was unparalleled, almost comparable to the great general Qiao Xi. On his side, Xue Tong and Shen Jin were no match for him. However, no matter how strong Wang Yang was, he was a rebel who had joined the Hu and killed officials, and could not be recruited into the imperial army. Xue Tong's reluctance to fight to the death was somewhat sentimental.

He frowned and instinctively reached for the long spear on his saddle, but suddenly felt a cramp-like pain in his right arm, unable to lift it. This was not from an enemy's weapon but from overexertion during the battle at Tuoba Valley, causing severe muscle strain. He had not felt it earlier, but now the pain was unbearable.

Lu Yao tried again but still could not raise the spear. He then ordered a subordinate to call Shen Jin, saying, "Help Old Xue, don't delay."

"Understood!" Shen Jin did not hesitate and spurred his horse forward.

Shen Jin circled around the battle from the side. His horse maintained a steady pace, gradually approaching Wang Yang in a circular path. At about a hundred paces, he took a heavy armor-piercing arrow from his quiver and drew his three-stone hard bow to full draw.

He maintained the bow's position and continued to approach. At about eighty paces, he finally got a clear shot and released the arrow, which flew like a streak of light, piercing Wang Yang's chest. The arrow's force was immense, instantly breaking through Wang Yang's leather armor, piercing his organs, and severing his spine, the arrowhead protruding from his back.

Wang Yang staggered backward, leaning on his saber to support himself. He tried to look back but failed, only managing to let out a few groans. He then slowly sat down and stopped moving.

Lu Yao did not linger and turned his horse toward the dense forest.

He had already sent men to search every corner of the battlefield, identify every Xiongnu corpse, and interrogate every prisoner. But so far, there was no sign of Shi Le. Perhaps this alert Jie person was not in the charging ranks but hiding in the burning forest.

The forest fire had not yet died down, and with the fading light, the roaring flames seemed even more intense. Approaching slightly, one could feel the heat waves. Lu Yao bent down to touch the stream water, which felt warm.

Such a fire was extremely dangerous, even if one followed the stream. The flames, smoke, and oxygen depletion were all fatal.

Lu Yao hoped that Shi Le had perished in the fire. Killing someone like Shi Le would be far more significant than killing hundreds of common soldiers, possibly even changing the course of history.

In Lu Yao's memory, among the countless rulers of the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms, there were many tyrants and several warlords, but perhaps only Shi Le could be called a hero.

This low-born Jie person had risen from nothing, using extraordinary courage and wisdom to destroy all the Han regimes north of the Yellow River in just twelve years. He then defeated the rival Xiongnu Former Zhao, expelled the Xianbei Dai state, and ultimately became the emperor of the Later Zhao, ruling over Hebei, Central Plains, and Guanzhong.

The Jie, a small tribe that had entered the Central Plains as vassals of the Xiongnu, had been unknown before Shi Le and was soon extinguished in the wars after his death.

One person's rise brought prosperity to his people, and one person's fall brought their destruction. Such a person could truly be called a hero. But Lu Yao sincerely hoped that this hero had died in the forest fire. Without Shi Le, the Jie among the Five Barbarians would have no power to cause trouble. What could be more joyful and exciting than this?

Lu Yao felt sweat seeping through his palms as he gripped the reins.

"General! General!" Chu Kun ran over from a distance.

The battle was over, and the cleanup and tallying of the results were underway. This was the time for rewards, and as the commander, Lu Yao had to be present. Unfortunately, he could not confirm whether Shi Le was dead, and he felt a bit regretful as he turned his horse back.

A rough estimate of the battle's results showed that about four hundred Hu warriors had been killed, with casualties and injuries almost equal to their own total number, and nearly two thousand were captured. This was just the number on the battlefield; the number of enemies burned in the fire was countless. This was a rare and significant victory, even comparable to the Battle of Banqiao led by Yu Shi Gong.

The pass at Tuoba Valley had been retaken by the Jin army. The small number of Xiongnu troops trapped south of Tuoba Valley were in a difficult position, surrounded by Lu Yao and Huang Su's forces, and their defeat was imminent.

After this battle, the Xiongnu's forces east of Zhaoyu Qi were completely wiped out, and they would not have the ability to launch an offensive in the short term. The situation in the entire Taiyuan region would change in favor of the Jin Yang army.

Lu Yao had been under high tension for several days and was only now gradually relaxing.

Several intense battles had left him with multiple injuries to his ribs, back, arms, and legs, and he had lost a lot of blood. When he was in high spirits, he did not feel it, but now, as he relaxed, he immediately felt discomfort all over. He forced himself to patrol the battlefield, watching the surviving soldiers cheerfully gather the remaining supplies, feeling a sense of melancholy.

This battle was a victory for the Jin Yang army, there was no doubt about that. But the losses to their own side were also severe. Since reorganizing the army in Jicheng, they had undergone months of hard training, and in just a few days, more than half had been killed or injured, which made Lu Yao's heart bleed.

Just leading a few thousand irregular troops, Shi Le was so difficult to deal with. How much more difficult would it be to face the Xiongnu Great Chanyu Liu Yuan, known for his military genius?

How could Yu Shi Gong, who had led the creation of the Jin Yang base, survive this crisis?

Even if they won this battle, how many such major battles could a small place like Jin Yang withstand?

Lu Yao thought about these questions, many of which had no answers. He wandered the battlefield, suddenly feeling dizzy and disoriented.

********

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