Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

Chapter 1260 Ambush
Woo, woo—

The desolate sound of the ox horn echoed through the Song army's ranks.

"kill--"

On the front line, soldiers roared and charged forward with shields and guns raised, the sounds of shields clashing and hysterical screams echoing across the plain.

The Xuancheng soldiers on the opposite side were suppressed by this fierce fighting style. Many soldiers on the front line were cut down instantly. Before the troops behind could come to their aid, the Song soldiers who were charging forward suddenly stopped and dodged to the left and right.

The Xuancheng soldiers who had just retreated were overjoyed to see the gap that had appeared. They took a few steps forward, but their expressions changed drastically. Countless heads surged toward them, roaring and shouting as they charged. At the very front were a hundred cavalrymen.

"Go back, go back!"

The soldiers at the front shouted in terror and tried desperately to retreat, but there were too many soldiers rushing forward and they could not stop for a moment. They were pushed forward and several arrows shot at the horses before they could reach them.

Several screams rang out as the front-line soldiers, riddled with arrows and bleeding from their mouths, collapsed.

Ahead, the Song cavalry on horseback had already charged forward. The tall and strong Liu Bao took the lead, swinging his great axe from bottom to top, and with one blow, he struck the enemy soldier in front of him in the chin. "Bang—" The man flew backward and crashed into his comrade behind him.

Behind them, the vanguard cavalry followed their commander and surged forward. Weapons and warhorses collided one after another, and the sounds of flesh colliding rang out. A dozen or so Xuancheng soldiers who wanted to take the opportunity to rush into the battle formation were knocked to the ground and then trampled into mud by the horses' hooves.

"Damn it..." Han Shiqing cursed angrily, grabbing his broadsword and yelling, "Hold on for me!"

The high-pitched shouts were drowned out by the roars of close combat as the cavalry, led by their infantry, charged forward.

The Xuancheng soldiers, who had not experienced much warfare, were trembling as they faced the elite soldiers who were launching a counterattack at any cost. An officer in the formation shouted, "Calm down!" "Form ranks and counterattack!" barely managing to get the soldiers to grip their spears and swords tightly, but their teeth and legs were shaking.

Ahead, the troops, led by a fierce general, surged forward like a raging tide, scattering the local soldiers with a deafening roar.

"You rebellious traitor!" Liu Bao killed a guard with a single blow, then shouted at Han Shiqing who was charging towards him, "The heavenly soldiers are here, why don't you surrender now!"

"I'll subdue your mother!"

Han Shiqing cursed under his breath and stepped forward to fight Liu Bao with his sword. However, the morale of his infantrymen had been shattered, and they were being slaughtered and retreating in disarray. Some of them could not bear the brutal fighting and turned to run away, causing their comrades around them to collapse.

bang——

The axe struck the hilt of the broadsword, and as Han Shiqing's arm sank, he heard his personal guards' heart-wrenching shouts: "General, run! We've lost!"

The general from Xuancheng roared "Ahhhhh!" and with a powerful thrust of his axe, before Liu Bao could attack, he pulled on the reins and spurred his horse into a slanted retreat.

As he turned, Han Shiqing's gaze swept across the front line. His soldiers were already unable to hold out, and many were being slashed to the ground. The dust mixed with the stench of blood was blown by the wind, making this man who had just been full of ambition feel somewhat frustrated.

"Run?!" Liu Bao, watching from behind, saw Han Shiqing turn and retreat, hang his great axe, draw his bow and arrow, and aim an arrow at Han Shiqing's back.

"what!"

Han Shiqing was furious and caught off guard by a stray arrow from behind. He screamed in pain, but luckily his thick armor prevented it from hitting a vital spot. He turned around and shouted, "I'll remember this grudge!"

Liu Bao lowered his bow, spat out a mouthful of saliva, and shouted, "The Qi army has been defeated! Pursue them!" He then spurred his warhorse and yelled, "Sound the horn! Inform the entire army!"

Under the bright sunlight, the army swept forward, and the shrill shouts and screams drowned out his roar. The rout caused the troops of Xuancheng to flee backward like the receding tide of the river.

On the front line, Xu Ning was fiercely attacking the battle formation in front of him. Zhang Zigai, the defending general on his side, was desperately trying to hold on when suddenly the sound of a bugle rang out. He immediately shouted with joy, "The Qi army in the west has been defeated. The time for a counterattack is coming! Hold on!"

The voice was loud, and several Song soldiers shouted after him. Xu Ning couldn't help but turn around and saw a "Han" flag indeed retreating. He was immediately stunned: "So fast?!"

He quickly pulled on the reins and shouted a single, concise word: "Withdraw!"

The sound of metal rang out from the hands of Xu Ning's personal guards, and the attacking troops began to retreat.

……

The sounds of battle and shouts still echoed across the plain, while the war drums roared incessantly as the drummers pounded their drums in the rear.

Zhang Jun had already reached a high vantage point, and the sight of Han Shiqing's defeat came into view, causing him to frown involuntarily.

"The Qi army has been defeated?" Zhao Ding murmured to himself as he watched the routing army, then wondered, "How can they be so easily defeated? Could it be a trap?"

“It should be…” Zhang Jun was also puzzled, and hesitated on the surface: “However, judging from their defeated appearance, it does not seem to be faked.”

Just then, a rider came galloping towards them. The rider stepped forward and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Reporting to Prime Minister Zhang and Prime Minister Zhao, the vanguard of the Qi army has been routed, and General Liu Bao, a subordinate of General Zhang Jun, has already led his troops to pursue them."

Zhao Ding stepped forward: "Is Zhang Jun certain that the Qi army has been defeated?"

"General Zhang said that the enemy's formation was scattered, many soldiers were killed or wounded, and many surrendered. Weapons and banners were scattered all over the ground. It was not a deliberate retreat."

Zhang and Zhao exchanged a glance, and Zhao Ding gritted his teeth: "Perhaps we really have been defeated."

Zhang Jun took a breath: "Regardless of whether it's true or false, we must attack Ningguo." He paused, gritted his teeth, and ordered the entire army to advance. He ordered Yang Yizhong and Wang Xie to catch up first, and ordered Liu Guangshi to split the rear army into two flanks to protect the central army.

"Blow the bugle, advance!"

Wuwuwu——

No sooner said than done, the Song army began to advance rapidly at the sound of bugles. Although half of the troops on the front line were still able to organize their battle formation, they were constantly falling as they were pursued.

The corpses stretched into the distance, countless people abandoned on the plains, their thick blood seeping into the soil, seemingly fertilizing the land.

……

The battlefield situation changed abruptly. Among the cavalrymen who stood still, Han Chang looked at the infantry running back and couldn't help but curse, "They're already losing? They're all useless!"

"General Han, don't be anxious. This is exactly what we need," Li Tianrun said beside him. He glanced at the Xuancheng soldiers running around in a panic, crying and shouting, and couldn't help but sigh, "But they are indeed useless." Han Chang coldly picked up his spear: "Then, according to our prior agreement, shouldn't we go forward to provide support?"

Cries for mercy and help came as the Xuancheng troops approached. Li Tianrun watched as the original 5,000 surrendered soldiers from Xuanzhou were reduced to a few, and more than 4,000 surrendered Song soldiers fled in disarray toward them. He couldn't help but say, "These guys are running too scattered. If we go forward, we will inevitably trample hundreds more to death. We might as well just retreat. It seems we don't need to put on such a show of defeat."

"Tsk... Let's go." Han Chang picked up his spear, turned his warhorse, and looked back at the scattered troops: "Even though everything is going according to plan, it still feels suffocating."

Li Tianrun remained silent, but turned his horse around, and the more than a thousand cavalrymen around him turned around and followed the two generals toward Ningguo County.

……

On the battlefield, Yang Yizhong and Wang Xie's troops, having received orders to rush forward, launched a rapid attack. Five hundred cavalrymen from both armies galloped forward, arrows raining down from the sky. The soldiers who were shouting and running were constantly hit by arrows and fell to the ground, and were then beheaded by the cavalrymen who caught up with them.

Their two units, along with Wang Min's, were originally linked with Zhang Jun's vanguard and moved from the flanks to the battlefield to encircle Han Shiqing and Xu Ning's troops. Now, with the counterattack underway, they could take the opportunity to pursue them.

Yang Yizhong, who was running ahead, heard the sound of horses' hooves exploding in the distance. He thought that there were cavalrymen charging towards him regardless of the lives of their comrades. But when he looked up, he saw two flags moving in the same direction. He frowned and turned to his guards, ordering, "Go to the central army and inform Prime Minister Zhang that the Qi cavalry are retreating. Beware of a trap."

The guard responded and reined in his horse, turning it around. Yang Yizhong then shouted, "Slow down and drive the chaotic troops forward!"

The sounds spread across the chaotic battlefield. The Song army's cavalry and infantry, which were chasing from behind, no longer focused on killing. Instead, they drove the fleeing soldiers forward. Only Xu Ning's troops were relatively well-organized. Some soldiers kept firing back with crossbows as they fled. For a while, Zhang Zigai and Wang Xie's troops, who were chasing behind, could not defeat them quickly and could only send the news back.

Under the central army's moving banner, Zhang Jun and Zhao Ding remounted their warhorses and advanced under escort, their eyes fixed on the dust and smoke ahead. After receiving two different battle reports from the front, the two looked at each other. Zhao Ding tilted his head and said, "It seems they are really in a rout. But that makes sense. This Qi army has to defend the city and fight back, so their manpower is insufficient. However, we must act quickly. The situation in the north is unfavorable, and the situation in Xuancheng is also vague. We don't know when the Qi army will arrive."

Zhang Jun nodded: "Order Zhang Jun, Yang Yizhong, and Wang Xie to be careful. That Qi general surnamed Xu is quite capable. It would be best if we could capture him, but if not, we must prevent him from escaping back to Ningguo City."

"Yes!"

……

As the fighting raged north of Ningguo County, Han Shizhong, who had been sending out scouts, sat quietly on a blue stone. Leaves fell from his head in the wind. They had done their best in everything they were supposed to do. No matter how many plans they had, it was up to the generals to carry them out. Now that the two armies had started fighting, they could only trust that their comrades would be able to execute the strategies they had agreed on correctly.

As for the Song army, although they did not know the personalities of the two leading ministers, time did not allow them to conduct too many tests.

As he looked down, he saw a running figure in his pupils. A soldier dressed in plain clothes quickly approached and reported: "General, Han Shiqing has been defeated and his troops have retreated. This has forced General Xu Ning to retreat hastily. Generals Han and Li have already withdrawn."

"...It was somewhat expected. It's better that we lost. It's just a pity for the soldiers who died."

Han Shizhong suddenly stood up, and a guard handed him a sword, which he took and hung at his waist: "Order Generals Yang Zaixing, Wang Yin, and Shi Bao to prepare to attack when the enemy is more than halfway through."

He walked into the woods and squatted behind a tree that took two people to hug: "Give the order to the whole army to be alert, and don't be careless and roll down the hillside."

……

Boom boom boom——

The sound of galloping warhorses echoed under the sky. On the plains, a thousand cavalrymen carrying the banners of "Han" and "Li" quickly approached the hilly area. The troops and horses galloped swiftly along the roads between the hills, kicking up countless clouds of dust. The infantrymen who ran faster behind them scattered in twos and threes. Before long, the banner of "Xu" also rushed in, surrounded by more than three thousand infantrymen.

Further on were the scattered and disorganized surrendered soldiers from Xuancheng and Ningguo. Regardless of whether there was a road or whether the hills ahead were safe, they rushed up in a swarm, squeezing through any gaps they could find. Many who reached the top of the hill felt safe and stopped to catch their breath, turning their heads to look at the crimson sea surging toward them.

The warm sunlight shone on the people, and many of the surrendered soldiers sighed, spread their arms and fell backward, saying, "I can't run anymore..." "Whatever," came the complaints, while others turned around and continued running to the next hill.

Below the undulating hills, Yang Yizhong, who was chasing at the forefront, reined in his warhorse, slowing its speed while scanning the Qi soldiers fleeing in disarray. When he saw that quite a few of them were running haphazardly up the hills, he breathed a sigh of relief and pointed his spear ahead: "Chase them!"

His 5,000 troops followed him along the main road. Wang Xie and Zhang Jun, seeing his banners, caught up without hesitation, and the battle formations ran quickly to catch up amidst shouts.

Three miles ahead, on a hill, Lü Fang picked up his precious bow, looked down at the "King" banner passing below, lowered his eyes, and grabbed the arrow stuck in the soil beside him, making a soft sound.

The sounds of running, horses' hooves, and the shouts of Song generals, "Hurry up!" "Keep up!" came from behind a tree trunk. Yang Zaixing took a deep breath, nocked an arrow, closed his eyes, and quietly felt the wind blowing on his face.

state--

With a bang, Yang Zaixing suddenly opened his eyes, leaped out from under the tree trunk, and released the arrow aimed at the running figure below.

Whoosh whoosh—

Hundreds of arrows rained down from both sides of the hill, and the Song soldiers running alongside their comrades were caught off guard and were immediately hit.

"what!"

"There's an ambush!"

"Enemy attack!"

The screams of the dying and the frantic roars came from the mouths of those who had been hit by arrows and those who had not. The troops, caught between arrows flying from both sides, were instantly thrown into chaos. Many Song soldiers turned left and right and were shot to the ground by arrows from who-knows-where.

Yang Zaixing fired five arrows, then threw down his bow, pulled out the spear stuck to the side, and his loud voice rang out across the sky: "Follow me and kill!"

"kill!"

A louder shout came from the hills on both sides, and thousands of people picked up their swords and spears and charged down with their generals.

……

Below, the sounds of arrows piercing the air, the panicked shouts of soldiers, and the groans of wounded soldiers mingled together in the small space, then exploded in everyone's ears.

Wang Xie, mounted on his warhorse, looked left and right, raised his spear to deflect the incoming arrows, and couldn't help but shout, "Hold on! Don't panic! Swordsmen and shieldmen, defend!"

　Liu Bao was a historical figure and a subordinate of Zhang Jun.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)