Chapter 8

Here is the English translation:

---

Luo Luo presents the third update, everyone, do you still have recommendations? Do you still have favorites?

......

Upon hearing Yiliu Gan's words, Li Xiong did not respond. Yiliu Gan did not understand Chinese, and Li Xiong did not understand Mongolian. So, he just smiled and turned to look at his sworn sister, the third princess of Yidu Province, the beautifully dressed Li Cuixian.

"Marshal Du wants us Red Robe soldiers to take the field," Li Cuixian's eyes flickered as she glanced at the battlefield, then spoke in a clear voice to Li Xiong, "Fourth Brother, let's fight a battle. We don't need to attack the three formations of the Southern Barbarians simultaneously. Let's combine our six thousand soldiers and break through the middle formation of the Southern Barbarians. We can surely break through in one go. The remaining two formations will surely be intimidated and left to be trampled by the Mongol iron cavalry. We might even be able to capture Yangzhou in one battle!"

She and Li Xiong were speaking in Chinese, and there was a scholar from the northern region serving as an interpreter beside Yiliu Gan, translating everything for him.

Yiliu Gan nodded with a smile, "Li Cuixian's plan is good. The Li family's soldiers only need to break through one formation of the Southern Barbarians, and the rest will be trampled by the Mongol iron cavalry!"

Li Cuixian was Li Cuixian's alias. Although she was a woman, she was also skilled in martial arts and military strategy, allowing her to participate in military and political affairs. However, using her female name was inconvenient, so she gave herself a male name and dressed as a man. This bold style was considered immoral by the scholars of the Southern Song, but the northern men did not care about such things. The Li family of Yidu was even more so; in the past, when Li Quan was in charge, he and his wife Yang Miaozhen jointly held great power.

Li Xiong and Li Cuixian exchanged a glance, then bowed to Yiliu Gan to receive the order, and went to arrange the attack.

"Great Song, victory! Great Song, victory!"

At this moment, cheers echoed over the three formations of the Wu Rui Army. The armored soldiers of the Dong family had been driven back by the Wu Rui Army, leaving behind more than ten percent of their lives, and retreating in disorder under the cover of the Mongol iron cavalry.

However, Chen Dexing and Liu Heshang did not join the warriors in their cheers. Instead, they looked gloomily at the Mongol army formation in front of them. If the civilians driven to attack the formation were included, the Wu Rui Army had already fought four battles in a row! Most of the warriors were exhausted, and the recent battle with the Dong family's armored soldiers had been perilous. The casualty rate in the Wu Rui Army's central formation was probably close to thirty percent, and they were on the verge of collapse!

"Ugh..."

The dull sound of military horns came in waves, signaling the Mongol army's movements. With this signal, the entire Mongol army formation stirred and began to move forward slowly.

At this moment, the hearts of tens of thousands of Song soldiers on the battlefield were shaken—everyone knew that the Mongols' general attack was about to begin!

'Control is in the enemy's hands; this battle is frustrating!' Chen Dexing sighed slightly. He naturally knew that this battle was likely to end in disaster. It was uncertain whether the forty thousand Song soldiers on the battlefield would collapse, but the Wu Rui Army under his command would definitely be routed...

"Order from the Chancellor: Advance, no retreat. Whoever retreats even half a step will be executed without mercy!"

"Order from the Chancellor: The left, center, and right formations of the Wu Rui Army have fought three battles and killed countless enemies. Each soldier will be rewarded with two hundred guan in paper money!"

The voice of the messenger echoed from a distance. Jia Sidao seemed to realize the situation was dire and was urgently trying to boost the morale of the troops—two hundred guan in paper money was not a small amount. In Chen Dexing's memory, this paper money, known as "hui zi," was issued by the Southern Song court. However, since the war with the Mongols began in the Duanping era, the value of hui zi had depreciated due to overissuance. Now, two hundred guan in hui zi was equivalent to about ten guan in copper coins, which was still a significant amount. A stone of white rice currently cost about one and a half to two guan in copper coins.

"Great Song, victory! Great Song, victory!"

Under the promise of a substantial reward, the morale of the Wu Rui Army reached a high point, but morale did not equal strength!

"Thud thud thud thud..."

The dull drumbeats rolled in like waves, gradually drowning out the cheers of the Song soldiers, and the atmosphere on the battlefield became tense.

A sea of red appeared before Chen Dexing's eyes. The Mongol Han soldiers advancing this time were all dressed in red armor and red robes, countless in number. The front-row soldiers each held a red shield and a gleaming war saber. On several red banners, the large character "Li" was embroidered in prominent black lines!

"It's the Red Robe Army! The elite of the Li family of Yidu!" Liu Heshang exclaimed, "They're all heading towards us, this is bad..."

Before his words had even finished, the sound of dense footsteps came from behind, followed by a loud shout: "Soldiers, can you still fight?"

"We can fight!" they all replied in unison.

Chen Dexing turned to look back, and a banner with the character "Lu" had already been raised. Beneath the banner stood a general with a spear, his beard gray and his face dark. It was none other than the commander of the Wu Rui Army, Lu Zhaolin. Accompanying Lu Zhaolin were several hundred armored soldiers holding ring-headed great swords, all of whom were his personal guards.

"Soldiers, form the formation... the Strong Crossbow Formation to Break the Enemy!" Lu Zhaolin roared.

The Strong Crossbow Formation was a Song army formation where archers were in the front and heavily armored soldiers in the back. When the enemy was 120 steps away, the archers would fire four volleys, then retreat, and the armored soldiers would advance to engage in close combat with their swords and spears. Previously, the Wu Rui Army had used the Heavy Armor Formation to Defend Against the Enemy, where the heavily armored soldiers were in the front and the archers in the back, the opposite of the Strong Crossbow Formation.

Chen Dexing, being in charge of the front-line archers, naturally had to move with the archers. He put away his great sword, took up his crossbow, and stood at the front of the six rows of archers with Liu Heshang. Before his eyes was a sea of red!

'This can't be held!' Chen Dexing already knew something was wrong. His hands were sweating from gripping the crossbow, and the enemy was too numerous, about five to six thousand, all fresh troops! On his side, how many still had the strength to fight? He was an anomaly, so he was fine, but what about the others? Most of the Wu Rui Army's soldiers were farmers and fishermen from around Yangzhou before they joined the army...

He glanced at the soldiers beside him. Their faces, filled with determination, were covered in sweat, and their breathing was rapid. Many were using their crossbows as crutches to support themselves.

'They are already exhausted!' Chen Dexing sighed inwardly and turned his gaze to the approaching Red Robe soldiers, looking for a target to shoot!

'After fighting so much, I haven't killed a single Mongol...' Chen Dexing sighed again, raised his crossbow, drew an arrow, and pulled the string to its full moon shape.

With a light "snap," the arrow flew out, and a tall Red Robe soldier fell to the ground.

"Snap snap snap snap..." Continuous bowstring sounds echoed. Arrows rained down on the Red Robe formation, and dozens of bodies fell—though the power of the volleys was much weaker than in previous battles. Chen Dexing clearly saw many arrows bounce off the enemy, not because the Red Robe soldiers' leather armor was strong, but because the bow strength was exhausted. Only the powerful crossbows remained effective. However, drawing the string of a powerful crossbow required great strength. The powerful crossbow was a type of foot-pulled crossbow, where the user first stepped on the iron stirrup at the front of the crossbow with their foot, then pulled the string with both hands, using all their strength to draw the crossbow. Only the elite, who had undergone strict training, could draw the powerful crossbow. In the Northern Song, there were even records of powerful crossbowmen being unable to draw their crossbows in battle. Although the powerful crossbowmen of the Wu Rui Army, formed during the war, were not as weak, after several battles, their speed in drawing the crossbows had significantly slowed. The distance that should have allowed four volleys from the powerful crossbows only allowed two, and the Red Robe soldiers with silver sabers were already within twenty steps.

"Archers, retreat!"

The order to retreat came, and Chen Dexing hurriedly put away his crossbow and pulled the exhausted Liu Heshang back. At this moment, a square formation of shield bearers, spear bearers, and axe bearers was already in position. As soon as the Song archers retreated, this formation advanced to the sound of drums and clashed with the large formation of Red Robe soldiers!

---

End of the translation.