Chapter 3

As Liu the Monk shot the first arrow, several Song army formations nearby also released arrows symbolizing the arrival of death—those entrusted with the task of shooting on the battlefield were mostly seasoned veterans. Such scenes as today's, they had all experienced repeatedly, long cultivating a heart of iron.

"Release!"

With a series of cold, emotionless military commands, dense rain-like arrows and crossbow bolts flew from the ranks of the Song army, drawing a semi-circular arc in the air. After passing the apex, they accelerated and fell, instantly covering the Song civilians ahead. This scene would reappear in Chen Dexing's nightmares for years to come. Within 120 steps, all the civilians, regardless of gender or age, were indiscriminately shot! The fallen bodies quickly covered the front of the Song army, and then blood flowed from the dying bodies, staining large areas of the earth red.

Witnessing the Song army's resolve, the civilians who had not yet approached the Song army formations immediately cried out in despair, refusing to advance. Some, in their final moments, mustered all their courage to fight the Mongol soldiers who were driving them, but how could these unarmed civilians contend with the heavily armored, sword-wielding beasts? The center of the battlefield instantly turned into a slaughterhouse! The civilians, driven by the Mongols to approach the Song army formations again, were mowed down by volleys of arrows, emitting cries of their impending death!

"We are Song civilians..."

"Save me, I don't want to die!"

"Brother, run, run..."

"Mother, I'm in pain..."

"O heavens, open your eyes!"

Seeing this scene and hearing these voices, countless valiant men in the Song army gritted their teeth, wanting to rush forward to save the civilians. But at this moment, the loud voice of the messenger officer echoed behind the formations.

"By the order of the Chief Military Commissioner: All formations remain stationary. Any who advance without orders will be executed without mercy!"

The Song army's battle formation was a single entity, relying not on individual bravery but on collective strength. Rashly advancing would disrupt the integrity of the Song army's formation, which was exactly what the Mongols desired!

Chen Dexing had already raised his crossbow, skillfully drawing the bow and aiming at a Mongol soldier who was wielding a saber to slaughter Song civilians. Although he had never learned archery in his previous life, for his current body, archery had long become an instinct—Chen Dexing, born into a military family, chose to be accompanied by swords and bows from the moment he learned to crawl, just like the men of the grasslands who started riding before they could walk and began drawing bows before they could use a spoon. Nearly twenty years of rigorous training had turned him into a killing machine!

With a light "snap," the sharp arrow shot out like a bolt of lightning, instantly becoming a small black dot. The face of the Mongol warrior, nearly 130 steps away, was instantly pierced by half an arrow, and he fell to the ground, trembling as if electrocuted!

Chen Dexing had not expected his archery skills to be so formidable, hitting a target nearly 200 meters away! He was slightly stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought: 'That person is dead? I killed someone, I killed someone! But... it feels so satisfying!'

Perhaps because he was far away and did not see the bloody scene, or perhaps because his body had already turned killing into an instinct, Chen Dexing did not feel any discomfort at this moment. Instead, he felt a strange sense of pleasure and excitement. He casually picked up another arrow to shoot, but was stopped by Liu the Monk.

"Second Brother, don't rush. The Tartars are still far away, making it hard to hit them, and it consumes too much energy! The Tartars are driving the civilians to wear us down!"

'Too much energy?' Chen Dexing immediately recalled a common battlefield knowledge—energy must be conserved, as the Song army's formation tactics were extremely energy-consuming. Due to the lack of warhorses, they could not form powerful cavalry units to protect the infantry. Once the Song army's infantry formations were deployed on the battlefield, it was difficult to rest or rotate, often maintaining a combat-ready state under the watchful eyes of the enemy cavalry from dawn to dusk, and only retreating under the cover of night.

Moreover, shooting arrows, especially with hard bows of eight or nine dou (or even a stone), was definitely a physically demanding task. Even Chen Dexing, who was over six feet tall and broad-shouldered, needed to rest and massage after drawing a hard bow twenty times, otherwise he would suffer from muscle strain. To kill the civilians driven by the Mongols, the bowmen of the Wu Rui Army would need to fire at least four to five volleys...

"Second Brother, it seems the Tartars are about to launch a fierce attack on our Wu Rui Army. We will have a tough battle today," Liu the Monk said, looking at the battlefield with a heavy expression.

Chen Dexing raised his head, gazing at the vast battlefield, and saw the dense crowds of civilians surging towards his formation and the two nearby formations.

These three formations were all part of the Wu Rui Army, a new army recruited by Li Tingzhi, the deputy commissioner of the安抚司 (Anfu Si) after Jia Sidao was transferred to the Huai region. The composition of the Song army had changed significantly from the Northern Song. The Imperial Guards, once the backbone of the Northern Song, had fallen to the status of the厢军 (Xiang Jun) after the Southern migration, and were now merely nominal titles for officials, with no actual soldiers. The main force of the Song army in its early years was the semi-warlord-like Imperial Front Armies, originally raised by generals like Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Wu Lin, and later controlled by the Southern Song court and given the title of Imperial Front Armies (also known as the Imperial Front Garrison Armies).

However, these Imperial Front Armies suffered from a continuous decline in combat effectiveness. When newly established, they were united in purpose, and their combat effectiveness was the strongest. But over time, the various ills of feudal armies became apparent, and their combat effectiveness plummeted. During the Kai Xi Northern Expedition launched by the powerful minister Han Tuozhou, the Imperial Front Armies performed poorly.

Therefore, after the failure of the Kai Xi Northern Expedition, the Song frontier officials began to recruit new armies to replace the original Imperial Front Armies, much like the late Qing local militias. Of course, these newly recruited armies were also semi-warlord forces, and they suffered from the same problem of declining combat effectiveness over time. Thus, when the front lines were in crisis, recruiting new armies to meet the emergency became a common practice in Song military affairs. After a period of training, these new armies often became the main force on the anti-Mongol battlefield. Once the generals and officers of the new armies were well-fed and corrupt, the combat effectiveness of the units declined, making them less effective. The Wu Rui Army was such a force.

The sound of the horn broke through the cries and wails on the battlefield, charging straight towards the Wu Rui Army's formation. This horn sound signified the beginning of the attack by the Mongol Han infantry!

Chen Dexing raised his head and saw a huge white banner with nine streamers erected in the center of the Mongol army, about a thousand steps away, fluttering in the north wind—this was the Nine-Tailed White Banner, a symbol of the Mongol Empire's military might, known to the Mongols as "Chagan Suld." Chen Dexing had seen such a banner during a trip to Ordos in his later life, where a Mongolian tour guide explained that only the Mongol Khan could use it.

Could the Mongol Khan Möngke have arrived at Yangzhou?

"This is Yiliu Gan's banner!" Liu the Monk frowned, "Right in front of us, the Tartars are about to launch a fierce attack here!"

It turned out that the Nine-Tailed White Banner was not exclusive to the Mongol Khan. Genghis Khan had granted it to the Grand Marshal and King of the Central Plains, Mu Hua Li, for his campaign against the Jin. When Yiliu Gan was ordered to lead the army to conquer the Song, he also received a Nine-Tailed White Banner from Möngke to boost morale.

With the sound of the horn, three large infantry formations advanced from the left wing of the Mongol line into the center of the battlefield. Their equipment was roughly equivalent to that of the Song army, wearing helmets and heavy leather armor, and carrying either long spears or round shields and three-foot-long ring-handled swords. Meanwhile, about two thousand Mongol armored soldiers had dismounted and formed a four-row horizontal formation, apparently preparing to use their bows to cover the advance of the Mongol heavy infantry.

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The sound of the horn tore through the cries and wails on the battlefield, charging straight towards the Wu Rui Army's formation. This horn sound signified the beginning of the attack by the Mongol Han infantry!

Chen Dexing raised his head and saw a huge white banner with nine streamers erected in the center of the Mongol army, about a thousand steps away, fluttering in the north wind—this was the Nine-Tailed White Banner, a symbol of the Mongol Empire's military might, known to the Mongols as "Chagan Suld." Chen Dexing had seen such a banner during a trip to Ordos in his later life, where a Mongolian tour guide explained that only the Mongol Khan could use it.

Could the Mongol Khan Möngke have arrived at Yangzhou?

"This is Yiliu Gan's banner!" Liu the Monk frowned, "Right in front of us, the Tartars are about to launch a fierce attack here!"

It turned out that the Nine-Tailed White Banner was not exclusive to the Mongol Khan. Genghis Khan had granted it to the Grand Marshal and King of the Central Plains, Mu Hua Li, for his campaign against the Jin. When Yiliu Gan was ordered to lead the army to conquer the Song, he also received a Nine-Tailed White Banner from Möngke to boost morale.

With the sound of the horn, three large infantry formations advanced from the left wing of the Mongol line into the center of the battlefield. Their equipment was roughly equivalent to that of the Song army, wearing helmets and heavy leather armor, and carrying either long spears or round shields and three-foot-long ring-handled swords. Meanwhile, about two thousand Mongol armored soldiers had dismounted and formed a four-row horizontal formation, apparently preparing to use their bows to cover the advance of the Mongol heavy infantry.