In 1141, in Huaixi, the Song army attacked lightly and encountered an ambush of 100,000 Jin soldiers, killing more than 50,000 people. Han Shizhong led his troops north to meet the Jin soldiers, but could not recover the defeat and had to retreat. In the Battle of Huaixi, the commander Zhang Jun was ineffective in command and did not listen to Liu Kun's advice, and the 130,000 Song army was defeated. Zhao Zhuo had no intention of fighting again, and signed the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement" with the Jin State to declare himself a vassal to the Jin State; the succession of the Song Emperor nominally required the Jin State to be crowned.
In 1139, Yue Fei went out of the Northern Expedition and defeated 100,000 Jin soldiers at the Battle of Haocheng and the Battle of Yingchang. The infantry and cavalry of the "Yue Family Army" were mixed, and the "Iron Floating Tu" and "Kidnapped Horse" who had high hopes for Yan Wushu were not opponents, and the Jin soldiers suffered heavy losses. Not surprisingly, Yue Fei would retake the Central Plains and head straight for Liaodong to greet Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong.
Emperor Gaozong of Song and Qin Ju only wanted to sit firmly in Jiangnan, and did not want the military generals to hold heavy troops, let alone fight with the Jin soldiers. After Yue Fei repelled the Jin army's offensive, Zhao Shuo issued 12 sacred orders in a row, asking Yue Fei's class to return to the Dynasty. The "Yue family army" withdrew its troops from the middle road, and After Yan Wushu once again recruited 100,000 soldiers and horses to attack Huaixi, the forward reached the Yangtze River.
The Jin soldiers went south again, and Zhao Zhuo hurriedly dispatched troops and generals, with Zhang Jun leading 130,000 soldiers and horses to meet the battle, and Liu Kun, Yang Cunzhong, Wang De, and other famous generals all followed. Yue Fei and Han Shizhong also set out from their respective defense zones and went to Huaixi to assist Zhang Jun in battle and fight against the Jin soldiers together. Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun, and Liu Guangshi, known as the "Four Generals of Zhongxing", were the top pillars of the Southern Song Dynasty. In this battle, Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, and Zhang Jun attacked at the same time, and the Song army lineup was quite luxurious.
Huaixi, belonging to Zhang Jun's defense zone, Yue Fei and Han Shizhong were assisted and fought away. In early 1141, Han Chang led the Jin army forward across the Huai River, attacked Shouchun, and then drove straight in. Liu Kun led 20,000 soldiers and horses to set out first, and the "Eight-Character Army" under his command of Xiao Yong and good at war also accompanied him. Yang Cunzhong and Wang De followed, while Zhang Jun restrained all the soldiers and horses in the rear and did not reach the battlefield.
Luzhou, or Hefei, located in northern Anhui, was a fortress that resisted the Jin army to the south. Liu Kun inspected Luzhou and found that the troops in the city were weak and lacked the necessary tools, so he decided to abandon Luzhou and retreat to Dongguan. Soon, the Jin soldiers captured Luzhou, and then plundered Hezhou, Hanshan, and drank north of the Ma River. Yang Cunzhong and Wang De counterattacked, and Han Chang was defeated and retreated to the town of Zhaogao, Chaohu.
The Jin army retreated, and Liu Kui, Yang Cunzhong, and Wang De led their troops across the Huai River in pursuit. The terrain of Gargao Town was flat, which was very suitable for cavalry combat, and Han Chang led the main force to line up to meet the Song army. At the same time, the Jin soldiers demolished the pontoon bridge, did not give the Song army a way to retreat, and strove to completely annihilate.
Yang Cunzhong took the lead in attacking, leading 30,000 soldiers and horses to rampage and fight with the Jin soldiers "Iron Floating Tu". Yang Cunzhong held a spear and fought bravely, and the morale of the Song army was high, and at one point it was hanging on the middle of the Jin soldiers. Han Chang saw that the Song army was not in large numbers, so he sent two wings of cavalry to charge and kill, trapping Yang Cunzhong in the position and turning the situation on the battlefield.
While the battle was in full swing, Wang De arrived at the battlefield with his troops and launched an attack at the same time as Liu Kun. Han Chang dispatched soldiers and horses to attack Yang Cunzhong, and Jin Bing's right side defense was relatively weak. Wang De seized the fighter and personally led the cavalry charge, followed by infantry armed with long-handled axes, specializing in slashing the horses of the golden soldiers.
Liu Kun, Yang Cunzhong, and Wang De fought side by side, and the Song army cooperated with tacit understanding, and the Jin soldiers could not resist. After a battle, Han Chang ordered the withdrawal of troops, and the Song army took advantage of the victory to pursue, three battles and three victories, and retake Luzhou. In the Battle of Gargao, the Jin soldiers were defeated. When He learned that the forwards were defeated, he did not dare to continue south.
Before Yue Fei and Han Shizhong arrived on the battlefield, the Jin soldiers were defeated and fled, and the Song army lost the opportunity to attack in two ways and annihilate the main force of the Jin soldiers. The Battle of Gargao was won, and the morale of the Song army was very high, but it was a pity that Zhao Zhuo, Qin Ju and others had no intention of recovering the Central Plains. After recovering the Central Plains and welcoming Emperor Huizong and Emperor Qinzong back to the dynasty, Zhao Shuo had no interest in this; Zhao Shuo's goal was simple, that is, to defend the southeastern half of the country.
Zhao Shuo and Qin Ju's thoughts, Yan Wushu naturally knew. Because Zhao Zhuo, Qin Ju, and others had already sent people to discuss peace many times. As soon as the Jin soldiers retreated from Luzhou, emissaries from the Southern Song Dynasty came to negotiate, hoping that the two countries could maintain friendly relations, and they dismissed the troops. In order to show his sincerity, Zhao Zhuo ordered Yue Fei, Han Shizhong, Zhang Jun and other divisions, and the main force of the Song army in Huaixi to retreat.
After the Song army retreated, Yan Wushu once again sent troops south to attack Fengyang and take the opportunity to plunder. Zhang Jun hurriedly let Yang Cunzhong, Liu Kun, Wang De, and others return, and Yue Fei and Han Shizhong also suspended the withdrawal of troops and prepared for the battle. Who knows, after finishing Yan Wushu quickly withdrew his troops, Jin Bing had no intention of continuing the conquest.
When Yan Wushu ordered the withdrawal of troops, he left the main force in Fengyang to ambush the Song army, and only led a small number of troops north. Liu Kun believed that the Jin soldiers had an ambush, and should not easily enter Fengyang, but should first find out the enemy's situation. Liu Kun was cautious and did not want to take risks easily, so Zhang Jun sent Yang Cunzhong and Wang De to attack and enter Fengyang. The "History of Song" records: "Jun did not follow, and the generals Ofe Yizhong and De bravely rode 60,000 people and went straight to Haozhou, but they were defeated and defeated." ”
Yang Cunzhong and Wang De entered the ambush circle and were ambushed by Jin soldiers. The Jin soldiers fired a volley of arrows, the Song army was in chaos, and they fled one after another, and the Jin soldiers took advantage of the situation to pursue, and the Song army killed more than 50,000 people before and after. The situation was chaotic, Han Shizhong rushed north to reinforce, Jin Bing cut off his way back, and Han Shizhong had no choice but to withdraw his troops.
Knowing that the front was defeated, Yue Fei marched north from Anqing and led the "Yue Family Army" to meet the Jin soldiers. Knowing that it was Yue Fei who led the troops, Han Chang and others did not dare to cross the Huai River, and the Jin soldiers crossed the Huai River back to Kaifeng, and the Battle of Huaixi ended.
In the Battle of Huaixi, Song Gaozong, Qin Ju and others were bent on negotiating peace, and the determination of the Northern Expedition was not strong, so they were counterattacked by the Jin soldiers, and the Song army lost more than 50,000 people. After returning to the dynasty, Zhang Jun put the responsibility for the defeat on Liu Jun, and Emperor Gaozong of Song and Qin Ju favored Zhang Jun, so they relieved Liu Jun of his military power. Soon, the "Shaoxing Peace Agreement" was signed, and the Southern Song Dynasty declared itself a vassal to the Jin Dynasty.
Yue Fei strongly objected, and he was upset with Liu Kun, so he formed a bond with Zhang Jun. In order to show Jin Guo's sincerity in negotiating peace, Qin Ju and Zhang Jun joined forces with the generals Wang Gui and Wang Jun of the "Yue Family Army" to say that Yue Fei had different intentions. At the beginning of 1142, Yue Fei was killed, and the blood spilled on the pavilion, which was a "strange injustice through the ages", and Emperor Gaozong of Song destroyed the Great Wall.
Bibliography: History of the Song Dynasty