weaving

Chapter 1397 The King of Rebellion, Erhu Can't Hold On Anymore!

On the battlefield, things change too quickly.

Before the rebel leader could even react, the heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army had already broken through the front line and rushed straight towards the central headquarters where the rebel leader was located.

"The government troops are attacking, Grand Marshal."

The rebel leader glanced at Wu Ruyi and said calmly, "What's the panic?"

"Thump thump thump..." A series of hurried footsteps approached from afar.

"Grand Marshal, the government troops are serious!" Yuan Zongdi's voice reached everyone's ears before he could finish speaking.

He rushed over and, after stopping in front of the rebel leader, clasped his hands and said, "Grand Marshal, we can't wait any longer, let's attack."

Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, looked at Yuan Zongdi, pondered for a while, then turned to look at Song Xianze and Niu Jinxing. Seeing that they were also nodding to him, he finally made up his mind.

"Hanju, Zhang Cheng's sudden and fierce attack has truly taken us by surprise."

The rebel leader turned his gaze back to Yuan Zongdi and continued, "Although the incident was sudden, the government troops are outnumbered. I am certain that they will not have enough strength to sustain themselves. It would be better to let them into our army's formation and then we can 'lock the door and beat the dog'!"

"Closing the door to beat the dog?" Niu Jinxing and Song Xianze repeated this phrase at the same time.

Niu Jinxing looked thoughtful, while Song Xianze also gently waved his feather fan, closed his eyes, and remained silent, appearing completely unfathomable.

Upon seeing their state, Yuan Zongdi spoke first: "Grand Marshal, why this 'closing the door to beat the dog' approach? Please make your arrangements quickly. We can't just wait for the government troops to break through before we take action!"

The rebel leader did not seem to be in a hurry. He smiled slightly and said leisurely, "Hehe, although Zhang Cheng is young, he is much better than Fu and Wang, the two governors of Shaanxi. I think Ding Qirui and Zuo Liangyu are no match for this kid."

After praising Marquis Yongning Zhang Cheng, he abruptly changed the subject, saying, "No matter how capable he is, to think he can break through our defenses with a mere few thousand cavalry is simply a pipe dream!"

Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, paused slightly and remained silent for a moment before continuing, "Send an order to He Jinlong to urge 10,000 starving civilians to leave the camp and delay the government cavalry from the front."

"Hanju, you will lead 5,000 cavalry to form a defensive line behind the starving civilians and intercept the government cavalry. Also, order Shuangxi to lead another 3,000 cavalry to intercept the government cavalry from the left; Bai Minghe will lead 3,000 cavalry to intercept the government cavalry from the right. Furthermore, order Gu Kecheng's 3,000 cavalry to join you at the central command post."

"Yes, Grand Marshal," Yuan Zongdi and Wu Ruyi both answered loudly.

Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, suddenly stood up and shouted at Li You and Wu Ruyi, who had just arrived, "Yi San, quickly muster the five thousand elite cavalrymen of the camp and form a battle formation outside the camp gate."

"Ziyi, prepare the horse for me. Let's go and meet this Zhang Cheng, and see just how many heads and arms he has."

"Yes."

"Oh, right," Li Zicheng seemed to remember something, "Let Luo Hu's child soldiers stay with us!"

"yes." …………

Hu Dayou knew that the key to today's battle lay in quickly defeating the enemy army.

Otherwise, if the battle becomes a stalemate, the enemy forces will outnumber ours by at least five times. At that point, let alone winning, even breaking through and escaping will become a problem.

Therefore, he had already made preparations for mobilization before the war, not only by using military merits and rewards to motivate, but also by many other operations and actions that outsiders might find flashy.

For example, a meeting could be held to recall the bitter past and appreciate the sweet present, so that everyone can talk about the changes in their families in recent years, and then reflect on the war disaster that Henan is suffering now, and what would happen if it happened to their relatives.
If the rebels cannot be eliminated in Henan and are allowed to roam the land of Xuanda, what kind of situation will their relatives face?
Furthermore, they wrote letters in blood to volunteer for battle, which strengthened the soldiers' belief in victory and made their desire to fight come from the bottom of their hearts, so that they would not back down when they actually went to the battlefield.

There was also the matter of writing a will. They needed to account for the military scrip and rewards they had accumulated since going into battle, as well as the family's wealth and affairs. They also needed to leave some words for their parents, wives, and children...

This is equivalent to helping soldiers get rid of their burdens, allowing them to fight lightly, unafraid of the threat of death, and to unleash their full courage and bravery to the point that they themselves are terrified.

All the heavy cavalry soldiers remembered Hu Dayou's last words: "Today we are here to fight. I didn't come to peace; I came to disrupt peace! In this battle, only advance is allowed; retreat is not permitted! Those who retreat in the face of battle will be beheaded! Those who passively avoid the enemy will be beheaded! Those who undermine the morale of the army will be beheaded!"

Then there's that line, "The soldiers of the Brave and Resolute Army are weapons from head to toe. If they don't have a lance, they'll use a pistol; if they don't have a pistol, they'll use their fists; even their teeth are weapons. If they're going to bite, they'll bite a few thieves to death!"

The most important line is this: "Charge to your deaths, you bastards! What's the big deal about dying? I'll go with you to the 'Temple of Loyalty' and receive the offerings of thousands of families!"

As the saying goes, "Since ancient times, no one has ever escaped death. Death is nothing more than a feather compared to Mount Tai. If one can be enshrined in the Temple of Loyalty, even death would be worthwhile!"
This humorous poem has long been a military song recited by everyone in the Brave and Resolute Army, and has also become one of the sources of motivation for the soldiers of the Brave and Resolute Army to fight bravely against the enemy.

…………

Because of the thorough pre-battle mobilization, the heavy knights were well-prepared and, despite penetrating deeper into the bandit camp, remained fearless.

The enemy's light cavalry was no match for them. Even if some dared to charge forward, they would either be deflected by long spears or knocked away by the iron cavalry.

Although the rebel army organized archers to fire a rain of arrows, it was like tickling the heavily armored cavalry armed to the teeth, posing absolutely no threat.

However, the rebel army was, after all, an experienced bandit force, and their reaction was swift, promptly organizing spearmen to respond.

But heavily armored cavalry were not comparable to ordinary cavalry. Their warhorses were all covered in armor, so the bandits' spears had nowhere to strike. Some bandits' spears pierced the chest of their warhorses, but instead of piercing through, they were thrown off their horses.

Liu Tichun also realized that if he wanted to stop the heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army, he had to send in a team of axe or sword soldiers to form a formation and cut the unprotected legs of the horses. Only in this way could he stop the heavy cavalry from continuing their advance.

However, under such circumstances, how could they possibly organize a large number of axemen and swordsmen? Although there were a few axemen and swordsmen in the formation, without organization, they could not inflict much effective damage on the heavy cavalry.

They suffered repeated defeats, having no way to deal with the heavily armored cavalry of the Yongyi Army who had penetrated deep into their own lines. All they could do was continue to use the lives of the enemy soldiers to delay the progress of the government troops.

Looking back towards the direction of the central army headquarters, Liu Tichun roared in his heart: "Chuang King, Erhu can't hold on anymore, please send reinforcements quickly!"