Yelu thought about it, then bowed and said, "Your Highness Yi, this is a very good idea. Let's do as Your Highness Yi says. However, my army has been ordered to pursue, and we have no one behind us. Please, Your Highness Yi, take care of us."
"Of course, Brother Ye Lu, please act quickly!" Qiu Yizi agreed readily.
After Yelu rode away, the Bohai cavalry was indeed divided into two teams, led by Prince Wudun and Yelu respectively. According to Qiu Yizi's deployment, they divided into two wings and pursued the enemy in the direction of the Yangtze River.
After a fierce battle, only a little over 10,000 of the 20,000 Bohai cavalry were left. They were so bloodthirsty that they relied on their advantage of being on horseback and wearing armor and had long forgotten Qiu Yizi's warning of "no indiscriminate killing". They chased Zheng Xin's defeated army all the way as if they were hunting antelopes on the grassland.
When Qiu Yizi saw them killing imperial officers and soldiers indiscriminately, he was immediately furious, but now he had to rely on the troops of the Bohai people, so he could only swallow his anger for the time being and deal with them slowly when he had a chance in the future.
Although the Bohai people were a bit bloodthirsty, they were still quite effective in fighting. They chased all the way to the bank of the Yangtze River, where they suddenly saw 20,000 elite soldiers lined up in front of a dozen ships, ready for battle. They looked invincible.
When Prince Ulton, the leader of the army, saw this, he thought that Zheng Xin's reinforcements had arrived, so he quickly reined in his horses and ordered his cavalry to stop advancing and not to act rashly.
Yelu had been in the Central Plains for a long time. Seeing that the army in front of him did not look like Zheng Xin's, he mustered up his courage and rode forward, bowing and saying, "I am Yelu under the command of Dali Khan of Bohai State. Who is the general leading the army in front? Please come out and speak."
As soon as he finished speaking, the formation changed slightly, revealing a flag gate. A man slowly walked out of it and bowed, saying, "I've heard a lot about you. I'm Dai Luanxiang, and I'm here to reinforce Master Qiu Yizhi."
Ye Lu had of course heard of Dai Luanxiang's reputation, and thought: No wonder Zheng Xin suddenly lost his composure when he was about to win. It turned out that not only Li Shengjie's fleet came to support Qiu Yizi, but even Dai Luanxiang had arrived.
Thinking of this, Yelu couldn't help but fall off the saddle and said, "It turned out to be Marshal Dai. I really didn't recognize a great man. But I am here to pursue Zheng Xin on the orders of His Highness the Regent Yi. The Marshal is in the direction of Zheng Xin's retreat. I wonder if he has met him?"
Dai Luanxiang nodded solemnly with a serious face and said, "Your Highness Zheng Xin has been captured by me. You should report to Lord Qiu now and ask Lord Qiu to tell you how to deal with him."
Yelu was stunned for a moment, and quickly agreed to a few words. After discussing it with Prince Ulton, he personally rode his horse to the back of the formation to look for Qiu Yizi.
When Yelu was halfway there, he happened to meet Qiu Yizi, who was surrounded by a large group of personal guards, and reported the matter to him.
Qiu Yizi was overjoyed when he heard this, and he went together with Ye Lu to Dai Luanxiang's army.
Dai Luanxiang was already at the battlefront to greet them. Seeing Qiu Yizi coming, he quickly stepped forward and said, "My lord, I was slow in my actions and almost missed this decisive battle. Fortunately, the battle went quite smoothly. When you were fighting Zheng Xin, I was lucky enough to have an opportunity to capture Zheng Xin."
Dai Luanxiang said this very modestly, but Qiu Yizhi's heart was as clear as a mirror, and he replied: "Marshal Dai is too modest. I made the mistake of underestimating the enemy and almost failed. If it weren't for Marshal Dai coming, I would have become a ghost under the sword."
Dai Luanxiang was a man who knew how to protect himself. He knew that once Zheng Xin was eliminated, Qiu Yizi would be the most powerful person in the Han Dynasty and the court. He must not act arrogantly in front of him, so he said humbly, "No, no, good people will be blessed by heaven. Dai is just doing his best."
Dai Luanxiang's words made Qiu Yizi feel comfortable. The fatigue accumulated from a whole day of bloody battle seemed to have been reduced a lot. While speaking politely, he saw Dai Song standing by his side and said, "Oh, Marshal Dai's son is here too. Seeing that he is covered in dust, I guess he must have made great contributions in this battle, right?"
Dai Song was full of vigor and vitality, and he did not have the cunningness of his father. He patted his chest and said, "Of course, I was the one who captured Zheng Xin's central army flag. Isn't this a great achievement?"
Qiu Yizi laughed loudly and said, "Of course it is a great achievement. The court will definitely reward a meritorious man like Master Dai and ensure that the Dai family will have successors. I think just based on the merit of beheading the enemy's central army flag, he can be appointed as the General of Zhennan."
The Dai family had been generals leading troops in battle for countless generations, and the words "a family of generals" were really true when used to describe their family. Therefore, for the Dai family, being able to give their younger generation a proper military background was more precious than thousands or tens of thousands of taels of gold.
Before Dai Luanxiang could thank him, he heard a hearty greeting from behind: "Brother, how are you?" The person who spoke was the young captain Li Shengjie.
Qiu Yizi also smiled and said, "As soon as the cannon sounded just now, I knew it was you. Why do you need to greet me here again?"
Li Shengjie scratched his head and said with a silly smile, "Zheng Xin is amazing. He actually transported all the troops across the river in one day, causing me to almost be late. Fortunately, Marshal Dai was there to help with the planning, so nothing went wrong."
Qiu Yizi exchanged a few words with Li Shengjie, and then saw a man running up behind him, kneeling down in front of him and saying, "Sir, I haven't seen you for so many days, you really made me..." As he spoke, his voice began to become tearful.
Qiu Yizhi took a closer look and saw that it was Wang Laowu, whom he had sent to contact Li Shengjie. He was relieved and helped him up, encouraging him: "Good Wang Laowu, you really did not disappoint me. You did a good job, so I will naturally reward you. I have made the Iron Head Jiao and the others generals, and your contribution is not inferior to theirs at all, so you will definitely be promoted!"
Wang Laowu was still a farmer who plowed the fields a few years ago. Today he was finally going to set up a government office and build a mansion to live in. His eyes lit up and he knelt down again, saying countless words of gratitude.
Qiu Yizi helped him up again, gave him a few words of encouragement, then turned to Dai Luanxiang and asked, "Marshal Dai, just now you said that you have captured Zheng Xin. Can you bring him up so that I can talk to him?"
Dai Luanxiang frowned and said, "You can't say that he was captured by me. After all, Zheng Xin is still a descendant of the Zheng family and the eldest son of the late emperor. I dare not use force. I just surrounded him and the dozen or so guards who protected him, so that they could not move around freely. How to deal with him will have to wait for Lord Qiu to come in person."
Qiu Yizi understood Dai Luanxiang's thoughts, nodded and replied: "Let's go, Marshal Dai, please lead the way, I just want to go see Zheng Xin."
So Qiu Yizi ordered Zhao Chengxiao to continue to sweep and pursue the enemy, while he himself walked towards Zheng Xin under the protection of everyone.
Just as Dai Luanxiang said, after passing through countless fully armed soldiers, they saw Zheng Xin sitting dejectedly on an open space of ten feet square. Beside him were guards with swords drawn, with alert and tired faces, guarding Zheng Xin closely.
Qiu Yizi had met with Zheng Xin on the battlefield early this morning.
At that time, Zheng Xin had a strong army, more than twice his own, and he looked righteous and proud, but now he was almost a prisoner in this tiny place. This made Qiu Yizi feel indescribably satisfied, and he suddenly shouted: "Zheng Xin, do you recognize me?"
Zheng Xin seemed startled by the sudden shout. He raised his head quickly, but saw Qiu Yizhi's smug expression. He immediately stood up and cursed, "I recognize you, you thief. Of course I recognize you. I'll recognize you even if you turn into ashes!"
In this world, there is nothing more powerless than the loser's contempt for the winner.
Qiu Yizhi didn't get angry at all after hearing this. He smiled and said, "It's good that you recognized me. It also saves you from being unable to answer the question of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva in the 18th level of hell, and becoming a confused ghost in the end."
Hearing the sarcasm and ridicule in Qiu Yi's words, Zheng Xing became even more angry and said, "You are so arrogant now that you have succeeded. Don't forget that I have the orthodox blood of the Zheng family. I am many times stronger than you, a bastard whose parents died!"
Qiu Yizhi had never seen his father since he was born, and his mother died when he was just old enough to understand things. Of course, he could not tolerate Zheng Xin talking like this. The muscles on his face twitched involuntarily, and he said coldly: "Zheng Xin, I think it is you who is arrogant, not me. You are a defeated general and a traitor, and you dare to brag here that you are of royal blood? Do you want me to tell you about the things you have done that violated etiquette and the law in public?"
Zheng Xin's hands were stained with the blood of his father, master, brothers, and uncles. He was speechless after hearing Qiu Yizi's question. He gritted his teeth, not knowing what to say.
But Qiu Yizhi said again: "Stop pretending to be a prince here. Why don't you lay down your weapons and surrender right here?"
Zheng Xin then remembered that he was holding a sword in his hand. He subconsciously held it across his chest in a defensive posture and said, "I am originally a prince. My demeanor is born with this. You want me to surrender? Dream on!"
Before Qiu Yizi could answer, he heard Yuchi Jiming beside him say, "Uncle, Zheng Xin only has a few guards around him. How about I kill them and then capture Zheng Xin alive?"
Qiu Yizhi smiled and shook his head, saying, "Why use a butcher knife to kill a chicken?"
After saying that, he turned around and asked, "Where is Meng Hong?"
Meng Hong was a militiaman recruited by Qiu Yizi in Shanyin County. He was famous for his skills in bows and crossbows and sniping. He was a well-known sharpshooter in the army and had been awarded the title of General of the Central Army before going on the expedition.
When he heard Qiu Yi's call, he hurriedly stepped forward and saluted, saying, "I am here, sir. What instructions do you have?"