weaving

Chapter 1414 Rescue Battalion Breaks Through Encirclement
It is easy to tell from his armor that He Zhenxiong is a commander-in-chief of an army...

When Gu Kecheng saw the government cavalry charging towards him, he split into two. He naturally led the majority of his men to chase after He Zhenxiong's group, leaving only a thousand bandits to intercept Chen Zhanqi's government troops.

Even Li You, who was chasing from behind, like Gu Kecheng, led a large force to pursue He Zhenxiong's side, only sending a small cavalry unit to chase Chen Zhanqi.

A battle is subject to many variables, but the stalemate that begins often lasts a long time. When the forces of both sides are similar in strength, it is difficult to determine the winner for a while, and it is common for the two sides to be locked in a stalemate for months.

But the outcome of a battle often hinges on a single moment. Even during the battle itself, you may not know which moment becomes the key to victory or defeat. Only through deep reflection after the battle can you pinpoint that exact moment.

Today's battle was just like this.

Before the war began, both sides thought the battle would last a long time, at least several months.

No one expected the war to break out so suddenly...

Who would have thought that—the war would begin and end in a decisive battle...

…………

He Zhenxiong's Zhenbiao Battalion had 2,000 elite cavalrymen. By this point in the battle, nearly 10% of them had been killed or wounded. Nearly 500 more elite cavalrymen had been sent away, and now less than 1,400 cavalrymen were still fighting.

He and Chen Zhanqi each led less than seven hundred elite cavalry from the Zhenbiao Battalion, breaking through from the left and right respectively. His side alone attracted nearly five thousand enemy cavalrymen, who attacked from both sides.

Although eager to make a name for himself, He Zhenxiong knew he couldn't act rashly. He dared not engage the enemy cavalry again, fearing that if they got entangled, his entire army would be wiped out. So he led his troops westward at full speed.

He Zhenxiong knew that by drawing away the main force of the bandit cavalry, Chen Zhanqi had a greater chance of succeeding!
Chen Zhanqi's situation was much better. The bandit cavalry intercepting him was less than a thousand cavalrymen. As a result, he was only slightly inferior in terms of troop strength, and the gap was not large. However, in terms of combat power, he believed he was stronger.

Therefore, Chen Zhanqi had only run less than two hundred paces eastward when he saw that he had already distanced himself from He Zhenxiong's group. He then shouted, "Brothers, the day is the day to seize the flag!"

"Kill the traitors..." Chen Zhanqi roared as he charged toward the bandit cavalry.

"Kill the traitors...Kill! Kill! Kill!..."

The roar of more than seven hundred men from Xuanfu was enough to shake the heavens and the earth. They charged towards the enemy cavalry with unwavering determination.

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Although they had mentally prepared themselves, the bandit cavalry still felt a nameless fear when faced with Chen Zhanqi's sudden and swift offensive. It suddenly surged into their hearts and gradually seeped into every pore of their bodies...

This kind of imposing presence—they had never seen anything like it before…

To say they had never seen it before wouldn't be quite right; this aura gave them a sense of déjà vu, but they couldn't quite place where they had encountered it before.

In short, they were no strangers to this kind of momentum, but they hadn't encountered it in the past two years.

It seems that I have encountered similar situations when fighting against Ming generals such as Zuo Liangyu, Hu Dawei, and He Renlong in the past... but the feeling is still different from today.

It seems I've encountered them before in Chexiangxia, Tongguanyuan, and Yufushan... I've also encountered them during battles between Lu Xiangsheng, Sun Chuanting, and Hong Chengchou, but it still feels like something's missing.

Ah!
Cao Wenzhao!
It's Cao Wenzhao, it's definitely Cao Wenzhao!

It was during the battle with Cao Wenzhao's army that we encountered this overwhelming momentum, this awe-inspiring momentum. And the momentum emanating from the government troops today seems to be even more frightening.

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Before the bandits could react, Chen Zhanqi had already led his troops to their front. There was no time for fear, no time to run away... To survive, they had no choice but to fight!
But on the battlefield, morale is the key to victory.

The bandits were fighting only to survive, which meant that in battle, they mostly sought only self-preservation.

The knights of the Zhenbiao Camp were different; they fought to "kill the bandits," to win, and to prevent the people of the world from suffering the calamities of war again.

The valiant knights, full of high morale and fearless in the face of death, became the nightmare of the bandit army!

Chen Zhanqi's cavalry seemed to encounter no significant resistance and easily passed through the enemy ranks. He dared not linger and spurred his horse forward, galloping straight towards the towering banner in the enemy ranks.

At the same time, he shouted: "Kill...kill the traitors, seize the flag!"

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Shao Dashun's side had disrupted two enemy cavalry formations in succession, and was about to meet the third enemy cavalry formation when they heard the sound of footsteps pounding the ground behind them...

He quickly turned around and saw his own musketeers approaching. Overjoyed, he roared, "Musketeer brothers, we're here to help! Brothers, engage them! Don't let the thieves escape!"

Shao Dashun turned to Zhang Pingwen and shouted, "Pingwen, you go left and I'll go right. Our main task is to harass them. Just keep the enemy occupied. There's no need to charge into the fray."

"Okay, let's go!"

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, led more than two hundred cavalrymen to charge towards the last band of enemy cavalry.

All around them were scattered bandits and cavalry, in groups of three or five. Although they still appeared to number over 1,500, their formation had broken down, and they had become a disorganized mob, making it difficult to organize an orderly charge.

Once the musketeers come up, they can be completely wiped out.

"Bang... bang..."

Behind Shao Dashun and his men, they could already hear sporadic cracking sounds. Without even looking, they could guess that it was the clearing out of the scattered bandit cavalry.

…………

Li Changsheng's Imperial Guards suffered the fewest casualties...

Instead of directly charging the enemy cavalry, he led his 500 Imperial Guards to utilize their strengths, constantly changing formations on the enemy's perimeter to harass them with ranged attacks.

Suddenly, a volley of crossbow bolts would come flying; then, someone would rush forward and fire a volley of handguns; then, someone would charge forward and throw a volley of javelins. In short, they tried their best to avoid close combat with the enemy.

The bandits retreated, and he gave chase...

When the enemy troops pursued him, he led his army to retreat...

Just as the rebel army was about to besiege the heavy cavalry, he led his troops at full speed, assuming a charging stance...

But when the bandit army regrouped to fight, he led his troops back...

It can be said that Li Changsheng fully utilized the guerrilla warfare tactics taught by the Earl of Yongning, and successfully completed his mission of covering the main force's breakout while ensuring minimal casualties.

Li Changsheng's performance today is worthy of being included in the textbooks of the Yongyi Military Academy!
Now, seeing He Zhenxiong's battle flag and surrounded by a dark mass of enemy soldiers, he knew that He Zhenxiong must be trapped in an enemy encirclement. Seeing his ally in danger, Li Changsheng immediately changed his previous tactics.

He shouted, "Charge! Rescue the battalion and break through the encirclement!"