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Chapter 1400 is a truly horrific sight.

The bandit generals Ren Jirong and Xin Sizhong were originally ordered to lead their infantry to flank the Yongyi Army's musketeers from both sides, but they were blocked by the infantry who had retreated to the flanks and formed ranks.

Just as the two sides were locked in a stalemate, the musketeers withdrew to assist in the battle, which caused the already disadvantaged enemy infantry to collapse instantly and retreat from the battlefield.

Xin Sizhong had just retreated when he saw a troop of his own cavalry galloping towards him. He immediately perked up, shouting to drive the infantry back and charging once again at the Yongyi Army infantry and musketeers.

Unexpectedly, the roar of artillery fire suddenly intensified and continued unabated. Although the cannonballs did not land near them, the intense bombardment of cannon fodder was something they had never seen before in their lives.

Many of the bandits were immediately shocked by the scene.

The entire band of three thousand cavalrymen was thrown into chaos, with some horses even frightened, causing riders to fall off, which brought the cavalry charge to a near standstill.

This gave the brave and resolute infantry and musketeers ample time to react.

Before the cavalry could even get close, the Yongyi Army infantry had already formed a tight spear formation. The first rank of shield bearers squatted on the ground, raised their shields, and formed a shield wall, followed by the second and third ranks of spearmen.

At this moment, their spears were placed flat on the shields of the shield bearers in the front row, not tilted upwards, and they were in a half-crouching position, in order to leave space for the gunners behind to fire.

When Ma Shiyao's rebel cavalry had only entered within a hundred paces, they were met with three volleys of gunfire.

Immediately afterwards, two rows of spears rose up at an angle, forming a deadly forest of spears that gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, like twinkling cold stars...

At such a distance, the rebel cavalry withstood three volleys of fire from the Yongyi Army's muskets. Over a thousand bullets claimed the lives of hundreds of rebel soldiers, extinguishing their earlier arrogance and completely shattering their morale.

When the gleaming forest of guns was raised, the enemy cavalry lost all will to fight and make a name for themselves. In particular, the cavalrymen in the front row hurriedly pulled on the reins of their warhorses, steered them to the side, circled around, and retreated.

Even Ma Shiyao couldn't stop it; he could only retreat with the main force until they were out of the firing range of the Yongyi Army's musketeers before organizing the next assault.

This left Xin Sizhong somewhat confused. He had just reorganized the infantry and was rushing over to expand their gains when he saw that his own cavalry had already retreated...

"What...what's going on?"

Although he was very puzzled, Xin Sizhong understood very well that without a cavalry charge, if these infantrymen went up, they would be sitting ducks for the Yongyi Army's musketeers, at most just wasting some of their ammunition.

But in the blink of an eye, he witnessed an even more terrifying scene!
A troop of cavalry charged out from the ranks of the brave and resolute army. Although they appeared to be less than a thousand men, they were all fully armored and charged toward the cavalry led by Ma Shiyao.

The most striking feature was the cavalrymen of the Brave and Resolute Army who charged out; their helmets were adorned with feathers...

"Damn it, why are there so many government scouts!" Xin Sizhong cursed, leading his bandits in a hasty retreat. The Imperial Guards and Tiger Guards cavalry, along with the Vermilion Bird Camp's patrol cavalry, were mistaken for scouts by the rebel army because they were frequently on patrol.

They were a formidable force within the rebel army!
Even many seasoned bandits and Shaanxi border troops who had defected to the enemy were no match for them, and countless bandit soldiers and cavalrymen were lost at their hands.

Xin Sizhong's speed was due to the fact that Ma Shiyao's cavalry attracted the night watchmen of the Yongyi Army. Otherwise, given the speed of these foot bandits, most of them would probably have been left to be eaten by the swords and spears of the Imperial Guards.

…………

Li Michang has disappeared without a trace, and his fate is unknown.

Although Liu Tichun led the infantry in a desperate resistance, they could not stop the heavily armored cavalry no matter how hard they tried, and were forced to retreat step by step.

Although the heavy cavalry was not very fast, that was compared to light cavalry and other cavalry units. Compared to the infantry bandits led by Liu Tichun, they were naturally much faster.

Soon, the heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army broke through Liu Tichun's defenses, leaving him far behind.

Even though he was anxious, it was no use. Liu Tichun's voice was hoarse from shouting, but it did not slow down the speed of the Yongyi Army's heavy cavalry's breakthrough. He gripped his steel sword tightly, but his eyes revealed a strong sense of powerlessness.

Liu Rukui led more than 5,000 bandit soldiers as the last line of defense for the bandit army, and they were arrayed more than 300 paces behind Liu Tichun's infantry.

When Hu Dayou led his heavily armored cavalry to break through the enemy infantry formation, he had just been subjected to a fierce saturation bombardment by the Yongyi Army's artillery, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, even vomiting up the food he had eaten two days prior.
The shelling had barely stopped when the rumbling of iron hooves thundered across the ground.

Liu Rukui was not a naive bandit leader; he was a seasoned and experienced thief who had seen it all.
But today's bombardment was something he had never encountered before in his life, and it was something he had never experienced before. It completely stunned him!
In fact, firing cannons was all too commonplace for an old scoundrel like Liu Rukui.

He followed the rebel leader in his campaigns across several provinces, causing chaos and capturing countless cities. He was also very knowledgeable about the government army's artillery, and because he was familiar with Zhang Nai, he often went to his artillery camp to observe. He had never seen such a sight before.

Liu Rukui couldn't even imagine that artillery could be fired like this?

Putting aside the question of whether gunpowder and cannons cost money, isn't there a risk of the cannons exploding if they keep firing like this?

Thinking back to when he watched Zhang Nai's artillery battalion fire their cannons, he had personally witnessed a cannon exploding. Besides, didn't the government army's cannons often explode in the past?

I remember Zhang Nai once told him, "Usually after firing three or five shots, we have to stop and wait for the cannon barrel to cool down. We even have to use wet towels and quilts to cool the cannon barrel down!"
But why can the enemy's artillery keep firing endlessly?
What terrified him most was that many of the cannonballs exploded after landing, scattering dozens or even hundreds of fragments in all directions, killing or maiming anyone hit!
"It's a terrible sight...it's a terrible sight!"

Although Liu Rukui was puzzled, he had no choice but to face the Yongyi Army heavy cavalry that was charging forward at full speed. The cavalry, which had been in good formation, had been bombarded by artillery fire and was now in disarray.

Even so, Liu Rukui was unwilling to give up. At this moment, he had only one belief in his heart: "We must not let the soldiers attack the headquarters of the rebel king!"