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Chapter 1419 Ambush by Government Troops
Xie Junyou also heard the cannon shot...

He was urging the enemy soldiers to speed up on his warhorse when suddenly a signal cannon shot rang out. He was startled and immediately ordered the entire army to halt. He then leaped onto his horse and anxiously looked around.

A moment later, he leaped down, sat back on his saddle, and shouted, "Form ranks! The whole army, form ranks and advance, join the cavalry, and engage the government troops!"

"Master Xie...were you ambushed by government troops?" Zhang Hong asked from the side.

Xie Junyou glared at him angrily and roared, "Ambush my ass! The government troops are only a few more men. If they dare to ambush me, I'll wipe them out!"

Zhang Hong stuck out his tongue helplessly and stepped aside, not daring to say another word.

After glancing at him again, Xie Junyou loudly ordered, "Zhang Hong, you lead the cavalry to help Xie Yinglong retreat. I will form a battle formation here and wait for the enemy."

Although Zhang Hong was somewhat unwilling, he dared not disobey Xie Junyou's military order, so he could only reply "Yes" and call his men to charge forward.

…………

Xie Junyou's troops numbered over three thousand men and horses, including over eight hundred cavalrymen and the rest were infantrymen; Xie Yinglong's troops numbered over two thousand men, including five hundred cavalrymen and the rest were infantrymen; Zhang Hong's troops numbered less than two thousand men, including only over two hundred cavalrymen and the rest were also infantrymen.

The three men had a combined force of over 7,000 bandits. Although their cavalry was slightly fewer, they still numbered over 1,500, which was comparable to Wei Zhice's Tengshe Camp, and their total strength was even greater than that of the Tengshe Camp.

After all, one chariot division and three supply wagon divisions of the Tengshe Battalion were left at Daguantou, and only four divisions plus two central army divisions were sent out to fight this time, with a total force of less than five thousand men.

Xie Junyou had just taken a quick look around from his horse. Although there were government soldiers all around, their numbers were still much weaker than his own. This was why he was not in a hurry to break through and retreat.

As soon as Zhang Hong led his troops away, Xie Junyou loudly ordered his bandit soldiers to form a battle formation on the spot.

"Form ranks, form square ranks. Shield bearers on the outside, spearmen in the back, and cavalrymen all inside the circle."

The bandits reacted quickly, forming a square formation on the official road, facing south. Their front-line shield bearers stood on the edge of the road, with several old willow trees that were almost dead beside them.

The entire formation was roughly rectangular, occupying the entire official road, with the bandits on the north and south sides standing on the edges of the road.

The outer perimeter was a shield wall formed by two rows of shield soldiers, and inside were three rows of spearmen standing with their spears raised. The cavalry were all inside the square formation, which could both participate in the defense and attack at any time.

Since the troops on the south side of the official road had the greatest presence, Xie Junyou focused his defensive efforts on that side, that is, on the front of his formation.

In fact, Xie Junyou also had some doubts: "If the soldiers were setting up an ambush, why were they moving so slowly, allowing me to easily form a square formation?"

Although the matter was indeed somewhat strange, the changing situation on the battlefield did not allow him to think about it any further, as the government troops had already advanced to the front.

In the open field south of the official road, figures could be seen moving about in the tall grass, approaching the official road where they were located.

However, what surprised him even more was that these figures suddenly stopped a hundred paces away. They were crouching in the grass, busy with something, and all that could be seen were the swaying grass ears.

He hurriedly ran in other directions, only to find the same thing in the grass north of the official road.

In the direction he had just come from, a cavalry force of government troops suddenly appeared on the official road. At a quick glance, it appeared to be at least a thousand cavalrymen, who had stopped on the official road only three hundred paces away from him.

"Thump!" The third blast of the government troops' cannons rang out.

Just as Xie Junyou was staring intently into the bushes below the official road, a series of deafening explosions rang out, as if they were right next to him.

Xie Junyou had personally experienced the artillery bombardment of the Yongyi Army during the siege of Daguantou, and had also witnessed the ferocity of the Yongyi Army's bombardment of Zhang Nai's artillery battalion. Now, hearing the cannon fire that sounded like a soul-summoning curse again, he was completely stunned!

It was at this moment that Xie Junyou finally understood why the officers and soldiers had been hiding in the grass and had not shown themselves.

"quick……"

Xie Junyou roared hoarsely, "Kill...charge forward, kill!"

Some of the bandits understood and leaped into the bushes below the official road; others stood there blankly, looking completely bewildered.

Xie Junyou reacted quickly. He swung his sword, felling a bandit soldier in front of him, spurred his horse, and leaped over the heads of shield bearers. He roared again, "Horsemen, charge with me! Let's go back!"

Led by him, more than 800 cavalrymen leaped over the enemy lines, cut down the enemy soldiers blocking their way, and rushed past him, all rushing back the way they came, trying to fight their way through the suddenly appearing government cavalry.

…………

An infantry headquarters was set up on each side of the official road. Zheng Youjin's left infantry unit was on the south side, and Gao Chengshan's right infantry unit was on the north side.

The reason they didn't launch an immediate attack and take advantage of the chaos to raid the bandits on the official road was to minimize casualties, since the main band of bandits was still with Liu Zongmin at Taojiadian.

The force responsible for luring the enemy was over 500 cavalrymen from the rear left wing of the cavalry, personally led by Jin Yong, the deputy general of the Tengshe Camp, along with over 700 infantrymen.

After they retreated to this designated battlefield, the cavalry rode off the official road and disappeared into the grass on both sides. The infantry did the same, with only about a hundred warriors remaining on the official road to throw grenades to block the enemy.

Now appearing behind Xie Junyou, blocking his retreat, are more than a thousand cavalrymen from the vanguard of the Weiyuan Camp, led by their famous Black-Haired Thousand-Man General Qiu Yingquan.

Meanwhile, on the official road in front of Xie Yinglong, a cavalry force of more than 500 men appeared. They were the Right Division of more than 500 cavalrymen led by Ji Donglai, the centurion of the rear cavalry of the Weiyuan Camp.

…………

The artillery fire of the Yongyi Army not only bombarded Xie Junyou's bandit troops, but Zhang Hong and Xie Yinglong also did not escape the Yongyi Army's bombardment.

The Yongyi Army infantry on both sides of the official road concentrated their limited small artillery in three sections: the positions of Xie Yinglong's troops, Zhang Hong's troops, and Xie Junyou's troops. They did their best to inflict casualties on the enemy and break their will, so as to annihilate the enemy army at the lowest possible cost.

Before the bombardment had even ended, Ji Donglai had already led five hundred cavalrymen from the Right Division in a frontal charge against Xie Yinglong's forces.

At this moment, Xie Yinglong was lying on all fours on the official road to avoid the sudden barrage of gunfire. His cavalry and infantry were also thrown into chaos by the artillery fire.

The shelling had barely stopped when Ji Donglai's cavalry charged right up to them.

Xie Yinglong had just turned over and stood up, still wanting to put up a last-ditch effort, but he couldn't stop the government cavalry from moving too fast and outnumbering him. He parried two or three times with his long sword, but was knocked to the ground by a blow and lost consciousness.

Ji Donglai didn't care about Xie Yinglong. He roared and led the Right Division cavalry straight into the infantry bandits, hacking and slashing, forcing them to flee. He then pursued them...