weaving

After only two volleys of gunfire from the Tengshe Battalion, the three hundred cavalrymen sent out by Liu Zongmin to test the waters were routed, leaving behind seventy or eighty corpses before hastily retreating.

"Cease fire..."

Han Maocheng, the commander of the left wing of the infantry, shouted: "First and second divisions, retreat and load ammunition; third division, step forward one step; the whole army, stand by."

The soldiers of the Left Division changed their formation in an orderly manner, but from Liu Zongmin's side, there was no movement at all. It was as if the musketeers had completed the formation change in an instant.

…………

Liu Zongmin took a deep breath and sighed inwardly, "The formation is so well-organized, the commands are so consistent, and the formation changes so quickly that it's impossible to discern anything. They are indeed a formidable opponent!"

His subordinate general, Liu Hongcai, then asked, "Sir, shall we launch another attack?"

Liu Zongmin gently raised his right hand, which was holding the riding whip, and said in a deep voice, "If the enemy doesn't move, I won't move."

Through the probing by the three hundred cavalrymen, he was now certain that the opposing officers and soldiers were elite even among the Yongyi Army. Despite being only two or three thousand infantrymen, they were likely no weaker than the border cavalry of Shaanxi if a real battle broke out.

Moreover, his purpose in coming here was not to engage in a decisive battle with this government army, but merely to delay them so that the main force could smoothly transfer to the south of Xiangong Temple. At the same time, he also wanted to see with his own eyes what kind of government army could annihilate his seven thousand elite soldiers in one battle.

Now that they have witnessed the strength of the opposing officers and soldiers and believe Zhang Hong's report, there is no need to send troops to test the waters and needlessly sacrifice their own men.

Moreover, according to Zhang Hong's report, "the government troops number at least 10,000 men," but now they only see two or three thousand infantrymen in front of them, and at least seven thousand government troops have not yet appeared. In particular, the elite cavalry and artillery that Zhang Hong mentioned have not been seen.

Given this unclear situation, the best course of action is to "remain unchanged amidst all changes"!

"Sir, the government troops are only this small. Could it be a trap?" Liu Hongcai also raised his question.

"The government troops are treacherous and we must be wary of them." Liu Zongmin's words were an affirmation of Liu Hongcai's question.

Liu Zongmin continued, "You send six hundred cavalrymen to search south along the official road towards the Xiangong Temple to see if there are any government troops."

"Yes, sir."

"Also... take another thousand cavalrymen and go around to the north to scout out the area near Yangquan Village."

"Yes, sir."

"Remember this well, old man: you can fight government infantry, but never engage cavalry. Always keep a distance of more than two hundred paces, lest those bastards bite you and you can't escape."

Liu Zongmin concluded by demanding in a stern voice, "Did you remember?"

"I've written them all down."

"Go," Liu Hongcai said, and left.

A moment later, hundreds of cavalrymen moved through the grass south of the official road, causing the grass to surge like waves, one after another, for a long time.

Next, they reached the north side of the official road. Liu Hongcai led a thousand bandits down the road and galloped north through the tall grass, disappearing into the tall grass like a giant python.

Here, Liu Zongmin sat on his warhorse, gazing at the government army formation opposite him. His old face, usually so ferocious, was expressionless, cold and almost ruthless, inspiring fear in those who looked upon him.

.........

In fact, there were only a little over 1,500 officers and soldiers lined up opposite Liu Zongmin.

After all, thousands of bandit soldiers were captured in the last battle. They were not like starving people or servants. These prisoners were either seasoned bandits or border soldiers who had defected to the enemy. None of them were easy to deal with.

Therefore, Wei Zhice had no choice but to leave troops to strictly guard the prisoners. He transferred 500 cavalrymen from the left wing of the cavalry vanguard and 500 infantrymen from the left wing of the infantry to Yangquan Village to guard the prisoners. Currently, only 1,500 infantrymen are visible on the official road. The remaining 1,500 cavalrymen, along with the central cavalry, are hidden in the shadows and have not yet revealed themselves.

Wei Zhice was unaware that Liu Zongmin had transferred most of his bandit troops south, so he dared not launch a direct attack on Taodian.

The reason Wei Zhice led his troops here was actually just to tie down Liu Zongmin's main force, preventing them from attacking Zhang Guodong's side, so that Chen Zheng's troops in Xiangong Temple could be brought out to provide support.

It is precisely because both of them harbor ulterior motives and are wary of each other that the current stalemate has been formed. Both sides are trying their best to maintain this very delicate balance—only daring to probe each other, and not daring to launch a full-scale attack!
…………

Just as the bandit cavalry left the official road and began their southward search, Qiu Yingquan, who was hiding in the bushes, had already asked Wei Zhice whether to pursue and intercept the bandits. The reply he received was, "Continue to lie in wait and do not show your face."

After all, Wei Zhice's goal was to delay the main force of the rebel army. As long as Liu Zongmin's banner was still there, the movements of the other small groups of rebels were not important.

But less than a quarter of an hour later, another army appeared in the bushes south of the official road...

Wei Zhice looked closely and saw that it was the thousand bandit cavalrymen who had just run down the official road. Upon seeing this, a subtle, enigmatic smile appeared on his lips.

“General, something’s not right,” said Yu Deshui, the commander of the central army.

"What's wrong with this? Tell me."

"The bandits we usually encounter are extremely fierce and valiant. They don't even greet us before charging straight at us..." Yu Deshui said with a face full of doubt, "But this time..."

Although he didn't finish his sentence, Wei Zhice had already guessed his meaning and asked him with a smile, "You only see the enemy's cowardice, but aren't we the same?"

Yu Deshui then looked as if he had just realized something and said, "Could it be... that the enemy forces are also insufficient, which is why they dare not launch a full-scale attack and fight us to the death?"

Wei Zhice smiled and said, "Look at the other side, it's all bandits, not a single foot soldier, and you can hardly see any servants either."

Upon hearing this, Yu Deshui immediately craned his neck to observe carefully for a while before replying, "Indeed, it is exactly as the general described."

"I suspect the bandits have already been transferred elsewhere, and they sent these thousands of elite bandits to delay our army in order to probe our strength and cover the retreat of the main force."

As Wei Zhice spoke, he raised his riding whip and pointed to the opposite side, saying with great certainty, "I guess the leader of the opposing army must be the great bandit Liu Zongmin without a doubt!"

"Hey."

Upon hearing this, Yu Deshui immediately became excited: "General, why don't we charge over there? If we can kill this fellow, wouldn't that be a great achievement?"

"How can it be that simple?"

Wei Zhice shook his head slightly and said, "I think the bandits on the other side have no less than four or five thousand cavalry, while our infantry and cavalry combined only have three thousand men. We have already lost the advantage in terms of troop strength."

Furthermore, the opposing force consists entirely of elite horse bandits, many of whom ride two horses at once, moving with incredible speed. Our side, on the other hand, has half its troops made up of infantry. Even if we win this battle, we'll have little chance of catching up with Liu the bandit.

"So... then we'll just watch like this?"

“Yes.” Wei Zhice said firmly, “That’s right. Just keep watching Liu the blacksmith. As long as he doesn’t dare to attack, we’ve won.”

He looked at Yu Deshui and smiled, "The bandits have superior numbers but dare not attack. They have already lost in terms of morale. Whether we fight or not, this battle is a victory for us!"

"Whether we fight or not, it's a victory?"

Yu Deshui repeated Wei Zhice's words, but still didn't understand their meaning, muttering to himself, "How can we win if we don't fight?" (End of Chapter)