Chapter 131: Heavy Losses

Fei Wen, Commander of the Southern Garrison of the Yongzhou Xiang Army, led his troops in a standoff against the barbarian forces commanded by Li Daocheng. During the initial engagement, Huang Wenlong faced Balatian and used a feint to slash through his armor. Terrified, Balatian retreated to his camp.

Seeing Huang Wenlong’s victory, Fei Wen brandished his spear and commanded, "Hear my order: the entire army, charge!"

In an instant, the Xiang Army swarmed forward like a hive of hornets toward the barbarian lines. Li Daocheng countered with an order for his own forces to engage. The two armies clashed twenty miles north of Dingbian City. The battlefield erupted with the thunder of war drums, the snapping of banners, the neighing of horses, and battle cries that reached the heavens.

Both sides were driven by bloodlust; to slacken was to face death. It was a brutal, chaotic slaughter where soldiers vented every ounce of their pent-up hatred. The Xiang Army, fresh to the front, possessed a raw, reckless courage, while the barbarian troops—though they had suffered previous defeats—were seasoned, fierce riders whose formidable martial prowess remained intact.

Commanders from both sides plunged into the fray. Li Daocheng, riding and brandishing his spear, led Balatian, Han Qianhu, the Yeli brothers, the Zhang uncles and nephews, and Chibugou into the heart of the battle, cutting through the ranks as if there were no one to oppose them. Blood sprayed wherever their weapons struck.

Unlike Li Daocheng, Fei Wen remained far behind the front lines, directing the battle from a distance. As the barbarian generals tore through his ranks, the only skilled warrior on the Xiang side, Huang Wenlong, was surrounded by the Yeli brothers and found himself struggling to survive.

With over fifty thousand men on each side, the clash of one hundred thousand soldiers was a grand and terrifying spectacle. However, on open ground, infantry were at a severe disadvantage. The Xiang formation was shattered by the barbarian cavalry’s relentless charge. Within a single hour, the Xiang Army had suffered heavy casualties, including the loss of several high-ranking officers to the blades of Balatian and his peers.

Balatian, having repaired his armor with cord, grew emboldened by the slaughter. Spotting Fei Wen in the rear, he recognized him as the enemy commander and spurred his horse toward him. Seeing the barbarian champion charging, Fei Wen lost his nerve and turned to flee. Knowing he lacked Huang Wenlong’s martial skill, he dared not face such a fierce warrior.

A commander is the soul of an army. When Fei Wen broke and ran, his troops panicked and followed suit. Li Daocheng seized the moment, ordering a pursuit. The rout left over a thousand more Xiang soldiers dead on the field. Huang Wenlong, barely escaping with his life, was forced to retreat as well.

Fei Wen galloped toward Dingbian City, with Balatian in hot pursuit. Glancing back, Fei Wen was paralyzed with terror. As Balatian drew his bow and aimed for his back, Fei Wen, hearing the bowstring, ducked low over his horse's neck. The arrow missed his heart but struck the plume of his helmet. Because the chin strap was loose, the helmet was knocked off and rolled to the ground. Feeling the sudden lightness on his head, Fei Wen shrieked, convinced he had been shot, and clung to his horse’s neck in a state of blind panic.

He reached the gates of Dingbian, where Magistrate Yang allowed him inside. Balatian abandoned the chase as the remnants of the Xiang Army flooded into the city, leaving the barbarian forces outside. Li Daocheng did not order an assault, as the walls were lined with archers and the city’s garrison remained fresh, unlike his own exhausted troops.

Upon regrouping, the Xiang Army discovered that of their fifty thousand men, fewer than twenty-five thousand remained—a devastating loss. Magistrate Yang glared at the shivering Fei Wen with resentment, cursing the fool who had ignored warnings against engaging the enemy in the open field.

Li Daocheng returned to his camp to tally the losses; his own side had suffered over ten thousand casualties. With only forty thousand men left, taking the three small cities would be impossible without reinforcements. He wrote to the Emperor of the Great Xia, requesting more troops, and convened his generals to discuss strategy. When the topic of siege warfare arose, the generals remained silent; they had learned that the Song defenses were as solid as stone, impervious to brute force.

"I suggest we wait for reinforcements," said the strategist Mao Yanshun, stroking his beard calmly. Li Daocheng agreed, but before he could speak, a soldier reported that a messenger from the Song had arrived.

The messenger was brought in and presented a letter from Fei Wen. After recovering from his terror—which had left him trembling until the army physician administered sedatives—Fei Wen had realized the gravity of his defeat. Remembering his close friend, the Yu Hou Bian Hongtai, who had been captured, Fei Wen proposed a prisoner exchange: Kang Le for Bian Hongtai, and the hundred barbarian captives taken previously for the Xiang soldiers captured that day.

Li Daocheng, seeing the benefit of the trade, consulted Mao Yanshun. Considering the barbarian warriors to be more valuable than the common Song soldiers, they agreed. Li Daocheng wrote a letter of acceptance, set a time and place for the exchange, and sent the messenger back to Dingbian City.