weaving

Chapter 1418 Could it be that we've fallen into a trap?

Xie Yinglong led his bandits in pursuit for less than three hundred paces when they ran into a group of seven or eight hundred government infantrymen, and the two sides clashed again.

Meanwhile, the cavalry, who had been fleeing, regrouped and returned to harass Xie Yinglong's rebel army from both flanks, constantly firing cold arrows, making it impossible for him to defend against them.

Xie Yinglong's side only had two thousand men, while the opposing government army had nearly 1,300 infantry and cavalry combined. The difference in troop strength between the two sides was not very obvious.

The opposing government troops formed a shield formation in front, with infantry behind. From a distance of a hundred paces, they unleashed a volley of musket fire, a truly astonishing display of force.

In the chaos of the attack, more than a dozen of Xie Yinglong's cavalrymen who were charging ahead were shot and rolled on the ground, howling in pain. The infantry behind them were so frightened that they dared not attack for a moment.

Xie Yinglong was naturally unwilling to give up. Having already made a bold promise to Xie Junyou, how could he stop now?
He shouted orders to the horse bandits to deal with the cavalry on both flanks, and forced the infantry to form a shield formation. Taking advantage of the lull in the government troops' muskets, he launched a charge...

However, once the two sides engaged in battle, they realized that these soldiers were indeed highly skilled. Their shield formation was very well-organized, and the infantry behind them kept thrusting with their spears, with occasional musket shots, making it impossible to break through.

The stalemate lasted for about fifteen minutes. Xie Junyou led his horse bandits to catch up, and behind him, Zhang Hong led a large group of foot bandits who were also rushing over.

Looking at the soldiers opposite him, Xie Junyou's eyes flashed with a hint of excitement. He was about to arrange his troops when he saw the soldiers opposite him turn around and run away again.

Seeing this, Xie Junyou hurriedly ordered Xie Yinglong to lead the bandits in pursuit. He believed that even if the government cavalry could escape, how could those two-legged infantrymen possibly outrun four-legged warhorses?

He and Zhang Hong led the foot bandits in pursuit.

At this moment, Xie Junyou's contempt for the officers and soldiers had reached its peak. In his eyes, what was the Yongyi Army? Weren't they just a bunch of cowardly soldiers who bullied the weak and feared the strong?
They dare to fight when they see that their own troops are few; but when they see that their own troops are strong, they flee at the first sign of trouble!
Even if more officers and soldiers were added, what difference would it make? It would only add another achievement to their record.

They chased after them for another three hundred paces and entered an open area. In the middle was a wide official road, and on both sides were boundless fields overgrown with weeds as tall as a person, stretching as far as the eye could see.

Xie Yinglong glanced around from his horse but couldn't discern anything amiss. He then urged his men to hasten the pursuit.

He was already very angry. Every time he was about to catch up with the government infantry, he would be blocked by a burst of gunfire. This happened twice in a row, which made him suspicious. How did these muskets load bullets? How could they never run out of ammunition?
What's even more infuriating is that the entire route was through forests and ravines, forcing the cavalry to pursue along the official road and making it impossible to flank and intercept them.

Now that they've reached open ground, it's the perfect place for his banditry to unleash its power.

But before he could order the bandits to take a detour and intercept the fleeing government troops, he saw the troops break into disarray, running off the main road and scattering in all directions, leaving less than a hundred people running on the wide road.

"The soldiers are in disarray! Scatter and pursue... Don't let a single one escape!"

Xie Yinglong shouted loudly, ordering the bandits to disperse and pursue them. He himself led more than two hundred bandits to chase after the government infantry on the official road. However, he saw that although the government soldiers on the official road ahead were staggering and looked disheveled, there seemed to be some pattern hidden in their scattered formation.

However, Xie Yinglong, eager to make a name for himself, had no time to think about it. He only wanted to catch up with and kill the soldiers in front of him, use their heads to curry favor with the rebel king, and secure a better future for himself...

If the rebel leader were to truly ascend to the throne in the future, whether he could be granted a duke or marquis title would depend entirely on his military achievements. Therefore, he was unwilling to miss any opportunity to make meritorious contributions, which was the reason why he volunteered for this battle.

With a loud bang, it sounded like a signal cannon. Xie Yinglong was only twenty or thirty paces away from the soldiers ahead, about to catch up, and victory was within his grasp when he suddenly heard the signal cannon fire. He immediately sensed something was wrong: "Oh no, have we fallen into a trap?"

as predicted……

The moment the cannon fired, the nearly one hundred government infantrymen in front suddenly stopped and turned around. Each of them held a lit tinderbox in one hand and a dark, unremarkable iron lump in the other.

"throw!"

With their shouts in unison, their movements were perfectly synchronized. They moved their left hands towards their right hands, instantly igniting wisps of black smoke. Then, they rushed a few steps toward Xie Yinglong, swinging their right hands to throw the iron lump far away.

Strands of black light streaked through the air, falling towards Xie Yinglong and his group's location...

"Boom... boom... it's boom!" one of the old thieves suddenly shouted.

The two hundred-plus bandit soldiers panicked immediately. Many hurriedly turned their horses around and tried to escape back, while some clever ones simply spurred their horses and galloped off the main road.

Xie Yinglong, however, was somewhat unwilling to give up. He shouted loudly, "Charge! We won't be able to blow it up!"

There were still dozens of bandits gathered around him. Upon hearing his words, they realized this as well, and immediately followed Xie Yinglong's horse, rushing forward together.

But then they saw the soldiers in front of them tumbling and leaping to both sides of the official road, and the entire front of the official road was instantly cleared, as if only Xie Yinglong and his dozens of riders were on the wide official road.

Just as he was wondering what was going on, a cloud of dust rose fifty paces ahead. Before he could see what was happening, he heard a series of sharp, banging sounds from a musket.

At such a distance, if one were hit by a Yongyi Army musket, survival would be extremely difficult.

Xie Yinglong had served as a soldier and general in the government army for many years, so he was naturally aware of this. He also knew that the muskets of the Yongyi Army were far more powerful than those of the government troops around them.

He dared not be negligent. The moment the musket rang out, Xie Yinglong suddenly veered to the right, his left foot slipping out of the stirrup, and he dismounted.

Xie Yinglong lay prone on the official road, his limbs on the ground, his entire body pressed flat against the uneven surface, in order to avoid the musket fire coming from the opposite direction.

"Thump"

At that moment, Xie Yinglong heard another cannon blast and thought to himself, "It's over, it's completely over, we've really fallen into an ambush!"

Then he heard shouts of battle coming from all directions, interspersed with the neighing of warhorses, as if a thousand troops were surrounding him.

Although I dared not stand up to look, I could roughly estimate from the shouts of battle from all sides that there were definitely more than five or six thousand government troops...