Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

The pursuing troops are approaching.

Large numbers of Qi cavalry galloped across the plains, raising a cloud of dust that flew through the air as they charged toward the Song army in front of them.

In the northeast direction, Wang Bolong, Di Lei, Shan Shiqi, and Ma Ling, with a combined force of over 20,000 men, advanced diagonally into the heart of the Song army. To the east, Generals Jing Chao and Pang Wanchun deployed 10,000 troops in a defensive posture, hoping to delay the massive Song army.

Within the Song army, the infantrymen were tightly packed together, their swords pointed forward, while on both sides of the formation, four thousand cavalrymen, composed of three different units, were handed over to Yue Fei.

"Advance and support the cavalry!"

A loud roar came from Liu Qi's mouth. As the commander-in-chief of Luzhou this time, it was his duty to sit in the central army and send these generals who came to his rescue back.

The situation in Hefei has now reached a point where the outcome is decided. The generals in the army all know that with the city surrounded from both the front and rear, the isolated city, having lost its strategic depth, will inevitably fall.

Since that's the case, we might as well let more people live.

The shouts of battle were like a tidal wave. The running soldiers swung their swords and spears forward, thrusting and stabbing, their blades flashing, tearing up pieces of flesh and blood. The roars of men, the screams of the dying, and the crisp metallic clang of weapons clashing rang out violently on the front line.

The Song knights galloped up, tracing an arc as they searched for a weakness in the eastern battle formation. Under the banner of "Yue," Yue Fei, wielding the Liquan Divine Spear, suddenly pointed.

The warhorse galloped closer, the knight drew his bow, raised it diagonally upwards, his eyes glancing at the figure opposite him. The bowstring trembled, and the moment the arrow left his hand, a scream rang out in the air.

"Charge with me—"

A roar erupted from his powerful body. The divine spear, forged from fine iron, struck the shield, and with the speed and force of the warhorse, it suddenly sent the shield-wielding figure flying.

A Qi army shield bearer screamed and fell to the ground, only to be trampled over by a warhorse. The spear thrust to the side, piercing through an enemy rushing towards him, and then swiftly pulled out, smashing it into the head of a man charging towards the warhorse.

With his spear stained with blood, Yue Fei swung his arms, smashing and parrying with his spear. Occasionally, a fierce Qi soldier would flash past his spear and rush forward, drawing his protective sword and striking him down. His head, dripping with blood, would fly into the air, and he would shout hoarsely, "Soldiers of the Great Song, break through the northern bandits, let's go home!"

He shouted wildly, and the only ones who could hear him were the knights around him, their eyes filled with extreme longing. The cry of "Go home—" came from his mouth and gradually spread throughout the army. The sound grew louder and spread in all directions.

Infected by this, the Song infantrymen behind them roared "Go home!" even more frantically, charging, pushing, and hacking at the enemy. The Qi soldiers around them also pushed wildly towards the front line.

Under the scorching summer sun, everywhere was a hell of blood, severed limbs, and corpses.

Within a radius of several miles, the combined cavalry and infantry of both sides numbered 100,000. The Song army's advancing troops disregarded their own lives and desperately attacked the Qi army's battle formation.

Pang Wanchun roared as he directed his troops to fire arrows to hold the line, while simultaneously dispatching soldiers to reinforce the front. In his sight, the "Yue" banner had already reached the front of the "Jing" banner.

The earth trembled across the plains.

Wearing iron armor, Yue Fei moved as if he were in an empty field, and under the cover of Zhang Xian, Tang Huai, and Zhang Yong, he launched a charge towards Jing Chao in front of him.

The Li Quan Divine Spear kept extending and retracting in his hand, and the northern soldiers who tried to stop him all met their end with a single blow.

"Kill it!"

Jing Chao was furious when he saw the cavalry charging recklessly towards him.

Why did the two people guarding this line start by attacking him? Did they look down on him or something?

Do they really think Jing Chao is an easy target?
With gritted teeth, Jing Chao, wielding his spear, led his central guards in a charge to meet the enemy.

As the two armies drew near, each unleashed a thunderous shout of "Kill!" Facing the spears and iron lances, they charged forward without flinching or dodging, men and horses alike.

The spears and iron lances pierced through flesh and blood, emerging from behind and pushing up the armor on the back. A Song soldier gritted his teeth, and the spear in his hand bent into an inverted "U" shape under the impact before snapping in two with a bang. He had exerted too much force and was thrown off his warhorse, landing under the horse's hooves.

"what!"

A brief scream reached Yue Fei's ears. Even though he had recently become accustomed to the deaths of his soldiers, his heart still trembled. The cavalrymen beside him were all fierce soldiers he had carefully selected, and the death or injury of any of them would make him feel heartbroken for a long time.

"Death!"

Li Quan's divine spear pierced the chest of the cavalryman in front of Jing Chao. He struck the shaft with his left hand and pushed forward with his right, causing the corpse on the horse to fly up and crash down on the people behind.

Jing Chao was shocked. He quickly used both hands to smash the flying corpse away with his gun, and a cold glint pierced through the back of the body.

"I knew you'd be here!"

With a smirk, Jing Chao shouted and hurled his iron spear at the Li Quan Divine Spear. The spearhead struck the shaft, and the Northern general who had exerted force suddenly changed his expression.

The gun was weak and unable to withstand force.

call--

As the spear drooped and the tip touched the ground, Yue Fei gave it a sharp shake with one hand. The spearhead struck the ground with a thud and bounced slightly. The Li Quan Divine Spear, which was longer than an ordinary spear, still shone brightly in the sand and dust.

puff--

The spear flashed past the moving horse's leg, and blood spurted out.

Herod——

The warhorse neighed and staggered. Jing Chao, on horseback, swayed to the side and didn't dare to adjust his posture immediately. He barely managed to swing his spear with one hand at Yue Fei, who was charging towards him.

As the warhorses clashed, Yue Fei swiftly drew his sword with his free hand. The light, fluttering blade was a fraction faster than the iron spear wielded with one hand. He broke into the enemy's defensive circle, and a cold glint flashed across his neck. The Qi general on horseback suddenly froze, and his warhorse, which had run a few feet, slowly came to a stop.

"Break through here!"

The figure rushed forward, wielding a pistol and a sword, killing several men with both. He then shouted at the soldier holding the flag, thrusting his spear into the soldier's chest. As his warhorse galloped past, he cleaved the "京" (Jing) character flag in two with his sword.

Zhang Xian and Tang Huai, following behind, shouted, "Keep up! Keep up!" and quickened their pace to catch up with the figure in front and break through the defenses.

Several figures ran past the Qi army general who was holding a gun in one hand. Before anyone knew it, a red line appeared on Jing Chao's neck, with tiny beads of blood seeping out. The speed of the run increased.

hiss--

A small fountain appeared, then, as if deflating, more and more blood gushed out, eventually forming a continuous stream that fanned out from the throat of the man on horseback.

The corpse slowly tilted
fall.

The Song army on the battlefield became even more excited, their battle cries shaking the heavens. Seeing that the opportunity was not to be missed, Li Qiong, who was commanding the infantry, led his troops to fight desperately and break through the Qi army's infantry positions. Everyone shouted loudly, and they rushed through the Qi army's lines, whose morale had suddenly dropped, like a hot knife through butter.

On the other side, Pang Wanchun saw the Jingchao battle flag break, gritted his teeth, and his eyes almost bled.

"We cannot let the Song army break through so easily! Raise the blood-red flag and fight to the death!"

"Blow the bugle to signal that our unit needs reinforcements!"

Amidst the hysterical roars, a bright red flag rose into the air, fluttering slowly in the turbulent atmosphere, while the sound of bugles echoed across the battlefield.

……

Scouts kept coming and going, and a large contingent of troops followed under the imperial banner. Even in the sweltering midday sun of summer, the temperature remained intensely high. On his crimson warhorse, Lü Bu listened as the scouts shouted reports from the front: "Our vanguard has routed the enemy's rear guard! General Suo Chao is seriously wounded, and the enemy general has been shot dead..."

"General Wang Bolong, on the flank, has charged into the enemy ranks and is engaged in fierce fighting with the Song army..."

"General Maling and General Di Lei on the flanks are engaged with the enemy..."

"General Shan Shiqi, trailing behind on the flank, is chasing after the enemy..."

"Generals Niu Gao and Yang Zaixing are still three li away from the enemy lines..."

"A blood-red flag is being raised in the east; our army is requesting reinforcements."

The thunder of hooves echoed as Lü Bu, upon hearing the news, took a breath: "To the east are Jing Chao and Pang Wanchun, right? To think that I could force them to fight to the death and beg for reinforcements has truly surprised me."

This statement drew nods of agreement from many of those around. The Song army's breakout was both unexpected and expected. What was unexpected was that they would withdraw in broad daylight, and that they would not choose the seemingly closest southwest Wuwei Army, but rather Hezhou, which was adjacent to the fallen Chuzhou region in the east.

"Send a message to Shi Bao and Li Tianrun, who are lying in ambush in the southwest, and immediately send troops north to intercept the Song army that is about to leave."

"Send a message to Xi Sheng to be aware of Song army reinforcements on the water."

"Order the army to speed up and defeat the enemy outside Hefei."

As the bugle sounded, the army's cavalrymen galloped out one after another, heading in different directions across the battlefield.

Soon after, the various Qi armies launched a massive encirclement and attack on the more than 70,000 Song soldiers.

The battlefield, stretching for dozens of miles, came into view. Niu Gao and Yang Zaixing, commanders of the cavalry, each picked up long weapons and led their personal guards on horseback, galloping ahead: "Charge with me—"

The impatient cavalrymen pounded their weapons, and when the horn signaling the charge sounded, the more than 5,000 cavalrymen suddenly accelerated, forming a wedge formation behind the two-man spearhead. Hard iron spears protruded from their warhorses, and from the air, they pierced the front line of battle like sharp spikes.

"Stop them!"

In the center of the battlefield, Liu Qi, the commander of the central army, calmly issued orders. Poison smoke balls were thrown from the infantry formations on the left and right fields. The shield formations and spear forests were arranged more closely, and the cavalry were used to charge and attack. At this time, they could only rely on large shields, long spears and interception.

Warhorses carrying shields and long weapons charged like chariots. Two fierce generals shouted loudly in front of them. At the moment of contact, they smashed the spears and overturned the shields. The horses trampled over people.

The northern cavalry charged in fiercely at that moment, and no one could stop them.

"General Niu Gao (Yang Zaixing) is here!" The general, clad in fine iron armor, shouted, brandishing his weapon.

The cavalry behind them shouted and cheered.

Ahead, the Qi army, advancing on the battlefield, fiercely charged the rearguard. With both cavalry and infantry exerting their strength, the Song army's originally tenacious formation gradually began to falter amidst the shouts and cries of battle. Many soldiers who had been fighting since last month looked exhausted.

Further away, the Qi army's great banner came into view.

Boom boom boom——

A dense mass of footsteps spread outwards, and waves of soldiers surged forward. One after another, flags calling for reinforcements were raised within the Song army's ranks.

With flags waving and bugles blaring, Liu Qi, standing in the center of the army, glanced back and saw that the flags of the allied forces from Yue and Li, who had come to support them, had already spread across the eastern defense line.

After closing his eyes and listening quietly to the sounds of battle and shouts for a few breaths, Liu Qi opened his eyes again, picked up his spear, and spurred his horse forward: "I, Liu Qi, now issue the final military order."

"The army is charging in the opposite direction, attacking Hefei! I beg you, if you see me fall from my horse, do not stop fighting, but continue to advance and defend the city! Hold back the northern bandits, and the court will remember your merits and will use your actions today to launch a counterattack against Northern Qi and reclaim the lost territory!"

"Now! Charge!"

"May the Great Song Dynasty be victorious!!"

Wuwuwu——

The bugle sounded, and the Song soldiers marched forward in large strides, gradually increasing their pace to a jog, and then...

"kill--"

Shouts erupted from the 30,000 infantrymen who were desperately defending their positions. The flesh on their faces trembled slightly as they ran towards the black infantry and cavalry formation like an overwhelming tide. Shields, spears, and hand blades—all the weapons at hand were raised one after another. In the instant of the collision, the crackling sound of the weapons clashing drowned out the shouts of battle.

"kill!"

The same roars erupted from all the Qi army units. The cavalry charging in a wedge formation slowed down in the midst of the battle, and the leading generals ordered a retreat.

The Song soldiers charged forward, their shields slamming into the horses, their spears thrusting into the horses' bodies, and foul-smelling blood splattering and exploding, the horrifying colors and the sound of flesh tearing echoing through the air.

After that, more Qi troops, led by the banner, surrounded them.

"Maintain formation! Use your shields to trap the cavalry—" Liu Qi's voice boomed through the ranks, "Everyone, close the distance between yourselves!"

A gentle breeze stirs the clouds, but cannot disperse the dust that rises; under the sunlight, soil flies up from under the feet of men and horses.

Nearly two hours have passed since the breakout began, and the banners and flags of the Qi army that had surrounded them have come into view. The Song army's circular formation has now become gear-like.

The warhorses galloped wildly, the thunderous sound of their hooves coming from all directions, charging into the battle formation, creating distance, and then turning back to charge again.

From Emperor Lü Bu down to the unknown Sima in the Qi army, the use of this tactic was almost instinctive.

Along the swirling front line, crimson corpses could be seen everywhere, as well as black ones with warhorses, stretching out like a picture of hell.

Boom boom boom——

The warhorse snorted hot breath as Lü Bu raised his halberd. His figure, clad in golden armor and a bright red cloak, was quite eye-catching under the banner.

"Follow me into battle and crush them!"

A loud roar echoed across the battlefield. The personal guards and imperial guards following behind fired their arrows, then donned long spears and great axes, spurring their warhorses to follow the figures ahead.

The chaotic figures fighting ahead drew closer, and a warhorse suddenly galloped past the entangled figures. A spear thrust down from the rider, piercing through the body. The sound of weapons clashing was like popping beans.

More and more cavalrymen rushed into the battle formation from afar. Several generals in the Song army, including Liu Qi, Zhao Zun, and Yan Chong, commanded their troops to resist the onslaught from the front, while using their bows and arrows to shoot enemy soldiers off their horses. However, despite this, the soldiers on the front line were still retreating step by step, and the gaps were getting bigger and bigger.

That's about it...

Liu Qi looked up at the sky, a bitter smile on his lips. When did the battle situation turn out like this?

In my line of sight, the banner with the character "齐" was swaying.

Was it Liu Guangshi's escape without a fight?
Or should we confront the Qi army?
Right, it fell from Shucheng, or...

The problem I set up...

With his dry hands stroking the spear, Liu Qi shifted his gaze from the banner to the battlefield to the northeast. He licked his dry lips with his bright red tongue, his expression gradually turning ferocious!
"Follow me and kill!" (End of Chapter)