weaving

Five thousand cavalrymen of the rebel army were positioned behind the rebel infantry defense line, a full three hundred paces away from the front-line infantry.

Logically speaking, if the infantry line in front was in danger, it would be perfectly feasible for these 5,000-plus horse bandits to temporarily regroup and engage in battle.

However, they did not expect that the opposing Yongyi Army would act unpredictably, firing suddenly without warning. And without saying much, the shelling went completely off course...

Aren't they afraid of hurting their own cavalry and startling their own warhorses?

The Yongyi Army's second artillery bombardment lasted for six rounds, with some cannons firing as many as seven or eight rounds. This was a world of difference compared to the Chuang Army's cannons, which could only fire three shots at a time.

No wonder the rebel army's infantry and cavalry were so surprised!
In particular, during this round of bombardment, the Yongyi Army used a large number of exploding shells, which not only caused great casualties to the cavalry behind the rebel army, but also caused them great psychological damage.

Even this was only because the Marquis of Yongning was merciful. In order to avoid damage to his cavalry, he strictly ordered that no poison smoke shells or other shells be used. Otherwise, these more than 5,000 rebel cavalrymen would probably have no fighting power left!
Even so, Liu Rukui's 5,000 cavalry were shattered by the artillery fire and could not form a strong formation for a time. They were scattered in groups of one or two hundred, and in groups of three or five hundred, but they were completely dispersed and could not form an effective fighting force.

Even so, Liu Rukui refused to give up easily. He shouted, "Follow me, go east, join them over there, and then kill the government troops."

He was referring to a group of rebel cavalrymen from the east, numbering about four or five hundred, who were gathering together, but were only able to manage to stay together because of the billowing dust kicked up by cannon fire all around.

Soon, nearly a thousand cavalrymen gathered around Liu Rukui. Before he could explain, he pointed to a junior officer beside him and shouted, "Go over there and gather the men!"

He then shouted to the riders around him, "The government cavalry is coming! We must stop them at all costs and not let the government troops break into our rear!"

After Liu Rukui finished speaking, he raised the long knife in his hand, squeezed the horse's belly with his legs and spurred it forward, shouting at the same time: "Brothers, kill the government soldiers!"

…………

Facing the heavily armored cavalry of the Yongyi Army head-on was Liu Rukui's tragedy, a nightmare in his military career, and the beginning of the shattering of his dream to assist the rebel king in "conquering the world and becoming emperor".

Liu Rukui's mounted combat skills were genuine, but in the face of the heavily armed Yongyi Army cavalry, all his mounted combat techniques seemed pale and powerless.

No matter how he slashed, split, smashed, thrust, or stabbed with his longsword, he couldn't inflict any damage on the heavy cavalry, and he couldn't even harm the warhorses beneath them.

Watching his cavalrymen charge forward and be killed one by one by the government troops, Liu Rukui felt their pain deeply. He was filled with anger and hatred, but he was helpless against the knights in front of him who were covered in iron armor.

He himself was nearly stabbed by the lances of the heavy cavalry. If he hadn't been wearing armor, he would probably have fallen off his horse, wounded, just like the other cavalrymen.

Suddenly, Liu Rukui noticed that the horse's legs were unarmored. He was overjoyed, thinking he had discovered the weakness of the government army's heavy cavalry, and hurriedly spurred his horse to meet them again.

Just as the two sides were about to engage in battle, he suddenly ducked down on his horse to avoid the lance thrusting at him by the heavy cavalry. At the same time, he turned to the side and swung his long sword with both hands, slashing hard at the heavy cavalryman's horse's leg.

With a "crack," the horse's leg snapped off instantly.

With a "thud," the tall, strong warhorse collapsed to the ground, and the heavily armored knight on it was thrown aside, motionless, seemingly unconscious.

"Horse leg...cut off the horse leg...cut off the damn horse leg!" Liu Rukui finally cut down a heavy cavalryman of the government army. He was overjoyed, but he did not forget to tell his cavalrymen about his discovery.

At the same time, two more lances came thrusting at him. Liu Rukui hurriedly turned his head and shrank back to dodge, barely avoiding one lance. At the same time, he retracted his long sword to parry and deflect the other lance.

However, the heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army had already charged past him, and stopping them seemed impossible.

Liu Rukui knew this too. Right now, all he could think about was stopping one enemy after another. The more heavy cavalry he could stop, the less pressure there would be on the rear camp.

Just as he adjusted his horse's direction, intending to use the same trick to cut the heavy cavalryman's legs again, another lance came thrusting towards him. Liu Rukui imitated the previous method, turning his head and sideways to avoid the lance.

Unexpectedly, this heavy cavalryman did not charge forward like the previous ones. Instead, he slowed his horse and changed the way he wielded his lance, bringing it down heavily on Liu Rukui...

…………

It turned out that in order to ensure the strength of the charge and the speed of breaking through the enemy lines, Hu Dayou strictly ordered his heavy cavalry not to linger in battle, but only to use their lances to stab and wound the enemy, and to avoid getting too entangled with the enemy soldiers.

Logically speaking, Hu Dayou's arrangement was not wrong. If the first thrust missed, the knights behind would follow up with another thrust, and there would always be a lance that could kill the bandit. There was absolutely no reason to slow down for the sake of a bandit.

However, Liu Rukui's performance was too outstanding. If he had been like other bandits and had been unable to harm the heavy cavalry of the Yongyi Army, everything would have been normal.

It was Liu Rukui's personal bravery and skill in battle that aroused the bloodlust of this heavy cavalryman. He reined in his horse and slowed down for Liu Rukui's sake, while risking the breakage of his lance and smashing it down with all his might.

With a loud "bang".

The long blade of the lance struck Liu Rukui's breastplate, causing his blood to surge and making him feel slightly dizzy.

Liu Rukui squeezed his legs tightly around the horse's belly to keep himself from falling off. At the same time, he took a few quick breaths to calm the surging blood in his chest. He shouted "Kill!" and slashed his long sword down hard at the heavy cavalryman.

In his excitement, Liu Rukui momentarily forgot who the enemy was and the sturdy, heavy iron armor he was wearing. With a loud clang, his longsword struck the shoulder armor of the heavy cavalryman, and the recoil made Liu Rukui's hands go numb.

At the same time, the heavy cavalryman's lance struck Liu Rukui's breastplate again, this time with even greater force, breaking the long blade of the lance in two.

Liu Rukui felt a severe wave of dizziness wash over him, and his vision blurred. His body swayed on his warhorse, and he nearly fell off.

In the end, all I remembered was that the brave and resolute heavy cavalryman opposite me also swayed on his horse, seemingly about to fall off...

As for whether the heavy cavalryman actually fell from his horse, Liu Rukui couldn't remember anymore, because all he remembered was a personal guard shouting, "Master Liu, you can't hold on, let's protect you and retreat!"

After that, he lost his memory.

When he regained consciousness, he was already within the territory of Weishi County... (End of Chapter)