weaving

Chapter 1399 Bringing the Heavy Cavalry Home
When Yuan Zongdi, a general of the rebel army, returned to his own camp from the rebel king's headquarters, his knights had already assembled and were waiting to set off.

The knights selected to join the cavalry under a general like Yuan Zongdi were naturally the elite of the rebel army. They were not only outstanding in mounted combat, but also highly loyal to the rebel king. The core leaders among them were all former rebels.

They had already heard the booming cannon fire from the front lines, and they were all eager to go into battle and kill the enemy, thinking about how to kill as many government soldiers as possible to gain merit and be rewarded.

In their view, although the soldiers from Xuanda on the other side were quite capable in combat, they were not much stronger than the border troops from Shaanxi. It would just take more effort and time, and they would eventually defeat them.

In fact, there were many Shaanxi border troops who had surrendered in Yuan Zongdi's camp. Even they looked down on the Xuanda border troops opposite them, not only despising them but also filled with vicious hatred.

It's strange...

Logically speaking, no matter where the government troops came from, they were all government soldiers, so they would naturally feel a sense of kinship. Although these Shaanxi soldiers had defected to the rebels, they had served the government together and shared a bond.

However, these government soldiers who had defected to the rebels felt only fierce hatred when they saw government troops transferred from other places. When it came to fighting, they were even more ferocious than the old rebels in the rebel army, showing no mercy to their former comrades.

Even Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, and Liu Zongmin, among other generals, were puzzled by this!
However, Zhang Cheng, the Earl of Yongning, had a rather independent opinion on this matter...

After surrendering to the rebels, these officers and soldiers, in order to express their gratitude to the rebel king for sparing their lives, naturally wanted to actively demonstrate their loyalty to him.

Furthermore, King Chuang was extremely strict in disciplining his army, and among the many bandit forces, Chuang's army was the one that emphasized military discipline the most. Therefore, they were intimidated by Chuang's army's strict military discipline and did not allow them to slack off on the battlefield.

The most important point is that these officers and soldiers who defected to the enemy have some distorted mentality. In front of their former comrades, they feel inferior to some extent and resentful about their current situation.

It was precisely to vent their resentment that they were so ruthless towards their former comrades, wishing they could kill them all to prove that surrendering to the rebel leader was the right choice.

Even within the rebel army, those who most supported the rebel king's ambition to "conquer the world and become emperor" were precisely the government troops who had defected to the rebels!
They were hoping that the rebel leader could really overthrow the Ming Dynasty and bring down the "Chongzhen Emperor" in the capital. Once the rebel leader became emperor, they would become founding fathers.

At that time, who would dare to call them traitors? Who would dare to speak of their defection to the enemy?
When that time comes, those officers and soldiers who didn't have time to surrender will have to kneel at their feet, begging for mercy and asking them to spare their lives.
Therefore, their ferocity towards their former comrades stemmed entirely from their inferiority complex and their jealousy of those officers and soldiers who did not defect to the enemy, which led to their hatred!

…………

Yuan Zongdi knew that time was of the essence and that the Yongyi Army's cavalry could not be allowed to penetrate deeper into the camp, otherwise it might threaten the safety of the rebel king.

For these followers of Li Zicheng, the rebel leader, perhaps nothing was more important than his safety...

Even if the army is defeated, it doesn't matter, as long as the rebel leader is safe and still alive, there is hope. Even if we fail, we can still make a comeback!

Therefore, Yuan Zongdi dared not delay. He shouted loudly: "Chen Chun leads 500 cavalry on the left, Liu Han leads 1,000 cavalry on the right, I myself lead 2,000 cavalry in the center, and Zhao Chunsheng leads 1,500 cavalry to support from the rear."

"Everyone must stop the government cavalry! We must not allow them to charge the Grand Marshal's camp!"

"General Yuan, I'll lead two thousand cavalry to hold off the government troops in the middle. You can stay behind and cover for us." Zhao Chunsheng didn't accept the order, but instead loudly requested to take Yuan Zongdi's place in the middle.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Yuan Zongdi shouted, yelling, "I'm not a vegetable seller, do you think I'd let you haggle over the price?"

He stopped arguing with the crowd, drew his precious sword from his waist, and roared, "If we can't stop the government troops, we'll all meet in the underworld!"

"shelf……"

Yuan Zongdi spurred his horse and galloped off, his personal guards urging their horses on to follow.

Chen Chun and Liu Han exchanged a glance with Zhao Chunsheng, nodded heavily to each other, and then spurred their horses, each leading their men to charge out...

…………

Hu Dayou led his heavy cavalry in a fierce charge, his eyes fixed on the great banner of the rebel king, afraid of veering off course.

Suddenly, he sensed that his warhorse seemed to be losing strength, and at the same time he saw a cloud of dust rising to his left, knowing that a large contingent of enemy cavalry was coming to intercept him.

"Lu Dagang, lead the five sentries and charge! The rest of you, follow me!"

As he shouted, Hu Dayou turned his horse around and charged toward the large band of bandit cavalry, yelling, "Pistols! Prepare the pistols!"

The heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army immediately split into two groups. Officer Lu Dagang led five squads of 100 cavalrymen to continue charging toward the banner of King Chuang, while the remaining 400 heavy cavalrymen followed Hu Dayou and cut diagonally to the left.

Although they were not fast, their momentum was extremely strong, not inferior to the advance of a thousand-strong band of bandits!
…………

Su Laohu led 500 elite cavalrymen from the Tiger Guard Cavalry, constantly maneuvering to the right of the heavy cavalry to protect their flanks and allow them to focus on charging and breaking through the enemy lines.

A significant portion of the Tiger Guard Cavalry consisted of Mongol cavalrymen, all personally recruited by Qianzong Su Laohu and Bazong Temur. Since their families had also been relocated to Xuanfu Town, their loyalty was guaranteed.

It was precisely because the Tiger Guard Cavalry General Team incorporated more than two hundred Mongol cavalrymen that these guys, who had played on horseback since childhood and honed their skills in horseback archery and combat, deeply influenced the Tiger Guard Cavalry's tactics and strategies.

Although they were equipped with two short pistols each, bows and arrows also became one of the standard weapons of the Tiger Guard Cavalry, a feature that even the elite Imperial Guard Cavalry could not match.

Especially the Mongol cavalry, who moved about fifty to one hundred paces to the right of the heavy cavalry, sometimes close and sometimes far, and often shouted and fired deadly arrows.

At that moment, Su Laohu also saw the dust rising in the distance and the movement of the heavy cavalry splitting up. He immediately shouted to Temur, "Take the three sentries of Tiger Guards and keep charging in."

He then shouted, "First and second sentries, come with me to escort our heavy cavalry home!"

The Tiger Guards let out a whistle and immediately split into two groups, each charging toward their respective targets...