Northern Hegemony

The second year of the new era name Shaoxing of the Great Qian Imperial Court was destined to be a turbulent year. Just as Gao Yuan was crushing Toungoo, annexing Lan Xang, and step-by-step seizing control of the Indochina Peninsula, the four regional warlords in the north also began to war against one another.

Originally, their common target had been the Great Qian Imperial Court, but now that the Great Qian Imperial Court had moved south, it had ceded most of the land in the north.

Such a large piece of fat meat could not be ignored by Northern Liang, nor by Li Zonghan, Lu Kuan, and Chang Xingrong.

After the Qian Army retreated, Li Zonghan occupied Xinzhou, Yizhou, Jinzhou, and other places, establishing the Northern Jin regime with its capital in Taiyuan.

After consolidating his regime, Li Zonghan began his march south, with his first target being the Hedong Region, which sat across the river from Luoyang.

Northern Liang naturally could not abandon this wealthy land, and the Jin Army had the assistance of formidable Xiongnu Cavalry.

The Northern Liang Army likewise possessed the powerful Xiliang Iron Cavalry, and both sides, with nearly one hundred thousand troops, formed a standoff outside Puxian County.

After failing twice in his attempts to cross the Huai River to the south, Chang Xingrong shifted his strategy to move west.

This coincided perfectly with Lu Kuan, and their westward advances met in Weizhou.

Neither side would yield, ultimately resulting in a massive battle involving over one hundred thousand troops.

At this moment, inside the imperial palace in the Capital City, The Emperor waved the intelligence report in his hand and laughed unrestrainedly.

"Look, everyone, just look! My move south has caused these rebels to fight like dogs biting dogs, hahaha!"

"I reckon that within five years, they will have fought each other to mutual destruction, and that will be the time for us to counterattack the Central Plains."

Everyone hurriedly began to flatter him, throwing out compliments like "Your Majesty is wise" and "Your Majesty is far-sighted" as if they were free of charge.

The Emperor did not feel the slightest bit of shame and accepted every single piece of flattery.

At this moment, Jiang Huaizhen stood up.

"Your Majesty, I believe that since Chang Xingrong's main force is in Weizhou and cannot return to reinforce in time, the imperial court should immediately send troops to cross the Huai River and recover lost territory."

General Ma Zhiyuan and Mao Biao also stood up.

"I second that."

However, the Right Vice Director of the Department of State Affairs, Cui Bo, immediately raised an objection.

"Your Majesty, the government treasury is currently empty and cannot support a large-scale northern expedition."

The Emperor cast his gaze to the side, and the newly appointed Minister of Revenue, Gu Tong, braced himself and stepped out.

"Your Majesty, the chaos in various regions has just subsided, and everything is waiting to be rebuilt. Coupled with the construction of Linan Palace, the Ministry of Revenue is already operating at a deficit. If Your Majesty wishes to launch a northern expedition, then the construction of Linan Palace must be suspended..."

"Enough! Say no more!"

Gu Tong's words were interrupted before he could finish, and The Emperor directly rejected this "terrible" idea.

"Linan Palace is the face of the imperial family and must never stop construction. The matter of the northern expedition is shelved for now. Wait until next year when the regions have recovered, and then we will consider the northern expedition once we have the money and grain."

The Emperor flicked his sleeves and left, but before doing so, he shot a fierce glare at Jiang Huaizhen from the corner of his eye.

He felt that his good mood had been completely ruined by this guy.

"Father is right; there really aren't many good things that come from that Gao Family lineage."

Seeing this, a group of military generals could only sigh helplessly, shake their heads, and leave Linan Palace.

Cui Bo came to Gu Tong's side.

"Minister Gu truly understands His Majesty's mind; a single sentence dispelled His Majesty's thoughts of a northern expedition."

"You flatter me, Director Cui. I simply do not wish for the good life we have worked so hard to secure to be ruined."

"Hahaha, come, come! My residence has some new dancers from the Western Regions. Would Minister Gu like to join me and appreciate them?"

"Director Cui certainly knows how to enjoy life. Let's go!"

As the leading figure of the Cui Clan of Boling, one of the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, and Gu Tong, the leader of the Gu family, one of the four great families of Jiangnan.

They were the ones who least wanted war. Only with stability could they live a secure and good life.

Once war broke out, military generals and nobles would inevitably dominate from top to bottom.

Civil Jiang Huaizhens like them would only be able to honestly play a supporting role and stand on the sidelines.

All tax revenues and resource allocations would tilt toward the military, and naturally, less would end up in their hands.

Therefore, even if it meant being relegated to the south, it was enough for them.

Since the Great Qian Imperial Court would not send troops, the four powers in the north could naturally roll up their sleeves and have a real go at it.

Outside Puxian City, after passing the hot summer, the weather gradually became cool.

Both sides finally stepped out of their comfort zones, arrayed their formations outside the city, and prepared for a decisive battle.

In this great battle, the infantry, who were the most numerous, were actually just supporting roles; the real protagonists were the Cavalry.

The Northern Jin Cavalry, plus the Cavalry borrowed from the Turks, totaled more than twenty-three thousand men.

On the other side, the Xiliang Iron Cavalry, a mix of Han and Qiang, were no less impressive, with over twenty thousand cavalrymen.

Although their equipment was not as refined as the Da Qian Valiant Cavalry Guard, their ferocity far exceeded that of the Qian Army Cavalry.

The rising morning sun illuminated the vast plains.

"Woo woo woo..."

The dull sound of horns echoed across the heaven and earth. The soldiers of both sides did not say a word, silently watching each other.

Only the snorting of warhorses from time to time let everyone know that this was not a static scene.

If Gao Yuan were here at this moment, he would surely be surprised to discover that the main general of the Northern Liang Army was an old acquaintance of his.

The Gao Family Army's former Twelve Protectors ranked second, Gao Bing, that's right, the very same Gao Bing who suddenly disappeared while defending Chang'an.

On the Northern Jin Army side, the main general was Li Zonghan's trusted favorite general, the Shuofang general Hou Fang.

The two main generals appeared almost simultaneously; they began to patrol the front of their troops, roaring to boost morale.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Both sides erupted with earth-shattering battle cries almost simultaneously, seemingly wanting to overwhelm the other with their momentum.

The contest between both sides began from this moment.

Morale was stirred to a climax, all preparations were complete, and on the cold earth of the northern autumn, blood was boiling hot at this moment.

"Woo woo woo..."

"Dong dong dong..."

The sound of horns mixed with the sound of war drums, and the Cavalry of both sides began to slowly accelerate.

Soon, the earth began to tremble, and the rumbling sound of hooves trampled on everyone's hearts.

"Shu shu shu..."

In a Cavalry battle, the first step was mounted archery; both sides were experts in mounted archery.

The first round of arrow rain resulted in casualties for both sides, but it was just casualties.

After two rounds of arrow rain, the distance between the two sides was already less than twenty paces; for Cavalry, this distance would be covered in the blink of an eye.

The Cavalry's long spears were already leveled, waiting for the unlucky ones on the other side to crash into them.

"Thud..."

"Rip..."

"Ah..."

In an instant, the battlefield was filled with the sounds of flesh colliding, long spears piercing through clothing and flesh, and incessant screams.

Soon, the sprayed blood mist almost dyed the air red, and the thick smell of blood permeated the heaven and earth, stirring the brutality in the bones of everyone present.

Gao Bing, with a long spear in hand, was like a silver dragon, constantly reaping the lives of those who approached him.

The Cavalry charge of both sides lasted only a moment, and when they turned their horses around, they saw corpses lying everywhere in the middle of the battlefield.

The cruelest part of Cavalry combat was that once you fell from your horse, whether you were lightly or heavily injured, there was no possibility of survival, because you would soon be trampled into meat paste by the galloping hooves, and might even drag others down.

Gao Bing shook his long spear forcefully to shake off the bloodstains, took a heavy breath, and shouted loudly:

"Reform the formation!"

The Xiliang Cavalry displayed their well-trained side; everyone began to move quickly, and soon they re-formed into a sharp arrow.

Hou Fang was not to be outdone. The Turks Cavalry were not as good as the Xiliang Cavalry in maintaining formation, but they were more ferocious, shouting slogans and moving closer to each other.

"Dong long, dong long, dong long..."

The warhorses panted heavily and began to advance again, and another round of charging began.

On both sides of the battlefield, the infantry also climbed up from the ground and began to advance slowly.