Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 65: Armored Soldiers
"Woo——"

"Beep--"

At the mouth of the Qilian Gorge, the sky seemed to be pressed down, the mountains on the left and right stood like armored soldiers, and the valley trembled with the sound of horse hooves.

The five thousand heavily armored Hehuang cavalrymen, with the sound of thundering hooves and flying dust, seemed like a sharp spear about to pierce through the "fragile" Shanshan coalition forces.

In the battle formation, facing the aggressive Hehuang cavalry, both the Shandan Army and the Shanzhou Army no longer had the intention of fighting among themselves.

Ganzhou was right behind them and they could not retreat, so what they were thinking about at this moment was whether they could withstand the enemy's charge and whether they could repel the enemy.

The cold wind from the northwest blew up the dust on the battlefield, covering it with a grayish-yellow veil.

"put!!"

"Beep--"

Almost at the same time, five thousand Hehuang cavalry rushed into the range of sixty steps. Soldiers on both sides shot arrows upon hearing the whistle, and black arrows crisscrossed in the air.

At the moment the arrows were shot, five thousand armored cavalry switched to long weapons and launched the final charge.

They did not use bows and arrows to test the enemy, but instead launched an attack directly.

This is a taboo in military strategy, but it also shows that Shang Yanxin regards them as "country chickens and clay dogs".

There was no time to be angry. At the sound of the whistle, the eight hundred soldiers of the Shandan army retracted their bows and arrows, and six hundred of them took up long weapons.

At the same time, the three thousand Shanzhou cavalry put away their horn bows, switched to long weapons and launched a charge.

They shouldn't charge, but they couldn't retreat, so they had to charge.

"Xilulu!!"

"Um..."

Thousands of arrows collided in the air and fell down, hitting the Zhajia with a clanging sound, but no one in the Shandan army was injured.

Compared with them, there were quite a few horses between the Hehuang and Shanzhou cavalry. Some of the horses only neighed, while others were shot by arrows and fell down.

The cavalrymen on horseback were caught off guard and were then trampled and drowned by the flood behind them.

During this process, the Shanzhou cavalry suffered too many casualties because they were only wearing leather armor, while the Hehuang cavalry suffered few casualties.

The two torrents collided after a brief setback, and countless people were thrown to the ground.

“March!!”

"Beep--"

Suo Xun gave orders with a gun, and 600 Shandan troops launched an attack under the cover of Shanzhou cavalry.

Taking advantage of the setback of the Hehuang cavalry under Shang Yanxin, Suo Xun tried to disrupt their formation.

Liu Jilong was in the vanguard of the front army, and he followed the team slowly forward.

In front of them, no one knew how many of the 3,000 Shanzhou cavalrymen had died in the collision.

The five thousand Hehuang armored cavalry were like a raging wave, one wave higher than the other, constantly attacking the defense line of the Shanzhou cavalry.

Amid the dust and smoke, the two armies met each other, a symphony of iron and blood was played at this moment, the war swirled in the canyon, and the morale of both sides reached its peak at this moment.

In the smoke of war, the roars of soldiers, the roar of horses' hooves, and the clashing of weapons were intertwined. Due to the similarity of armor, both sides could only distinguish friend from foe by flags.

"kill!!"

"Beep……"

"kill--"

Amid the dust and smoke, six hundred Shandan soldiers rushed into the battlefield. The vanguard team holding two-meter-long spears stabbed into the battlefield like spearheads, and countless people were knocked over and stabbed to death.

"kill!!"

On horseback, Liu Jilong rode his horse and wielded his spear on the flank of the vanguard team.

He used the iron spear as a club and smashed it at the Hehuang cavalry who tried to rush towards him.

In just a few breaths, several people were knocked off their horses by his gun.

But he was not just staring at the enemy in front of him, his eyes were also scanning the battlefield and the movements of the Hehuang cavalry.

Despite the dust and smoke, he could vaguely see Shang Yanxin withdrawing his troops and trying to launch a second charge.

"Go and pass the message! Tell Suo Guoyi that Shang Yanxin is going to lead the team to charge into the second battle!"

Liu Jilong gave orders to the cavalry soldiers behind him. One of them immediately turned his horse around to report. Liu Jilong still led 200 cavalrymen to encircle and suppress the scattered Hehuang cavalry.

He swung the 18-jin iron spear and smashed it hard on the chest of a Hehuang cavalryman. The armor suddenly bent, and the cavalryman was knocked off his horse and trampled to death by the cavalrymen behind Liu Jilian.

After knocking down only a few armored cavalrymen, Liu Jilong felt a dull pain in the palm of his hand.

He took a look at the knuckles wrapped in linen. Although there was no blood, the pain told him that his knuckles could not withstand such intense combat.

"Beep--"

The whistle sounded, and Suo Xun, having received a reminder from Liu Jilong, was blowing the whistle to gather the troops.

At the whistle, the Shandan army stopped advancing, and the Shanzhou troops also whistled soon after.

The Shandan army stopped advancing, so the Shanzhou troops naturally had to cooperate with them and stop.

On the dusty battlefield, both sides withdrew their troops and hastily ended the first confrontation.

Returning to the formation, Liu Jilong glanced at his own army formation.

The Shandan Army did not suffer many casualties because the Shanzhou cavalry bore the first wave of attacks from the Hehuang cavalry.

He looked towards the Shanzhou troops, and sure enough, their numbers had decreased visibly.

Turning the horse around, he saw about one or two hundred corpses lying in a mess on the battlefield ahead.

Among them, most of them were corpses of Shanzhou cavalry, followed by corpses of Hehuang cavalry. Although there were few corpses of Shandan army, there were some.

During the confrontation, Liu Jilong could hear heavy breathing coming from beside him.

Although also wearing heavy armor, the Shandan army was still mainly composed of infantry, while the Hehuang cavalry was each riding two horses.

After the charge, the Hehuang cavalry did not consume too much physical strength, but the Shandan army consumed a lot of physical strength.

Heavy infantry are not afraid of confronting cavalry, but they are afraid that cavalry will use horsepower to consume their physical strength.

The physical strength of a single horse may not be as good as that of an individual, but the physical strength of two horses may not be the same.

At least in Liu Jilian's sight, he saw that after the Hehuang cavalry returned, they changed to the second warhorse in a stepped manner, with the front team providing cover for the middle and rear teams.

In just half a cup of tea, their condition returned to its peak, while the horsepower of the Shanzhou cavalry and the physical strength of the Shandan army had been greatly depleted.

"It's not a good idea to keep fighting like this..."

Liu Jilong glanced at the battlefield where there were only dozens of enemy corpses. He felt as if a stone was pressing on his chest and he could hardly breathe.

"Fighting like this is not a solution. We have to die 100 or 200 people in exchange for a few dozen of theirs."

"If they keep fighting like this, and charge two or three more times, my people will probably be routed and forced into the city!"

In front of the city wall, Shang Bibi's heart was bleeding. He signaled Zhang Huairong to think of a solution, but Zhang Huairong's face was as gloomy as ink, and he never said a word.

Shang Yanxin's hard power is much stronger than theirs. Facing such tough cavalry, no matter how many strategies he has, they are powerless to carry out.

"Uuuuuu——"

The horn sounded again in the Hehuang cavalry formation. This time, there was no need for Suo Xun to give orders. The Shandan soldiers, who had experienced this once, knew what to do.

The Shandan army, which numbered less than 600 people, was replacing bows and arrows, while the Shanzhou cavalry standing next to them were busy replacing long weapons.

More than half of their men were killed and the morale of the army was so high that it could no longer be suppressed.

Just as Shang Bibi said, if Shang Yanxin charged them two or three more times, they would probably abandon the Shandan army and flee.

Liu Jilong and Suo Xun both noticed that something was wrong with them and their faces turned even darker.

If the Shanzhou cavalry ran away, their 600 people would not be able to withstand the ravages of the 5,000 Hehuang cavalry.

Thinking of this, Liu Jilong had a bold idea in his mind.

He turned his horse's head and looked at the two hundred cavalrymen behind him: "When we fight, follow my flag closely!"

"Yes Yes……"

The sporadic responses made Liu Jilong firm in his mind, and at the same time, the Hehuang cavalry launched another charge.

"Woo-"

The sound of trumpets echoed in the valley at the mouth of the Qilian Gorge, and five thousand Hehuang cavalry launched another charge.

This time, under the command of Shang Yanxin, they aimed their arrows at the Shanzhou cavalry, which numbered less than 3,000.

The Shan-Shan coalition forces also drew their bows and arrows to launch a counterattack, and dense arrows collided and intersected again in the sky above the two armies.

A large number of Shanzhou cavalry were hit by arrows because they were wearing simple leather armor, causing panic among the entire army.

The Shandan army was well prepared, but not a single arrow fell into their formation.

Obviously, Shang Yanxin planned to defeat the Shanzhou cavalry first, and then turn around to deal with the Shandan army.

"Cut off its four legs and let the trapped beast fight!"

On the way to the charge, Shang Yanxin had a smile on his face, as if he had already seen the scene of the destruction of the Shanshan coalition forces.

"The third regiment is stationed at the south gate, ready to open the city gate!"

In front of the city wall, Zhang Huairong gave orders with a gloomy face and prepared to welcome Suo Xun and Liu Jilian into the city.

As for Shang Duoluo and other more than 2,000 Shanzhou cavalrymen, they will see if they can survive this charge!
"Hold your gun!"

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded, and Suo Xun gave orders while looking at the Shanzhou cavalry.

Many Shanzhou cavalrymen were severely injured and fell off their horses by the rain of arrows, but even so, Shang Duoluo still led them to charge at the first opportunity.

At the sound of trumpets, more than 2,000 Shanzhou cavalrymen collided with Hehuang cavalrymen.

This time they failed to slow down the Hehuang cavalry's advance as they did last time, but were unilaterally penetrated and split into two groups.

For a time, the Shandan Army preparing to advance in the rear was exposed to the attack of the Hehuang cavalry.

"Stop!"

"Beep--"

Suo Xun quickly raised his hand and ordered everyone to stop. More than 500 Shandan soldiers quickly changed their formation and took a defensive stance.

It’s a pity that Shang Yanxin did not lead the cavalry to confront this tough nemesis head-on, but instead split into two and detoured backwards.

Liu Jilong saw Shang Yanxin's idea, and he quickly rode his horse to the battle array: "Shang Yanxin wants to surround and kill Shang Duoluo!"

As if to verify his words, the situation on the battlefield changed in an instant. The five thousand Hehuang cavalry split into two groups while detouring backwards, trying to encircle the left and right groups of Shanzhou cavalry.

Shang Duoluo led his troops to try to break out of the encirclement, but the Hehuang cavalry followed them like a pocket.

"We can take this opportunity to retreat back to the city!"

Suo Xun began to think of retreating, but Liu Jilian knew that many parts of Qilian City were poorly maintained and could not stop Shang Yanxin at all, and it would also easily lead to Zhangye's troops falling into the enemy's camp.

"We can't retreat back into the city!"

It was rare for Liu Jilong to yell at Suo Xun, which made Suo Xun look at Liu Jilong in surprise, as if saying "how dare you question me".

"If we retreat back into the city now, our army will be able to survive, but what about Governor Zhang and his men?"

"Governor Zhang is leading his troops here lightly. If we defend Qilian City to the death, Shang Yanxin will find out that Zhangye's troops are coming lightly. Four thousand elite cavalrymen are enough to besiege the reinforcements coming from Zhangye!"

"If Governor Zhang is captured in the wilderness, let alone the guilt on our part, if the reinforcements from Zhangye are captured, the foreign bandits will march straight into the heart of Ganzhou."

“There is time to harvest the grain in Shandan, but there is no time to harvest the grain in Zhangye.”

"To sit back and watch Shang Duo Luo being annihilated is equivalent to putting the entire Ganzhou in danger!"

Liu Jilong looked at Suo Xun with a cold face. Suo Xun looked ugly, but he had to admit that Liu Jilong was right.

"Immediately send the Tangqi to pass a message to Governor Zhang. We will retreat outside the South City Gate!"

Suo Xun made a compromise, but Liu Jilong pointed his gun at the battlefield:

"Even if Tangqi takes the news to Zhangye Army, how many troops can Governor Zhang bring?"

"The total strength of Zhangye is only 3,000 soldiers, 30% of whom are unarmored. How can they break the siege of Qilian City?"

"There is only enough firewood in Qilian City for five days. If there is no firewood after five days, we will all have to eat cold rice and die of hunger and cold!"

Although Liu Jilong was also confused at the moment, he was still able to make a basic analysis.

Before the war, he had hoped that Zhang Huaishen would lead his troops to rescue him, but the combat effectiveness of the Shanzhou troops disappointed him.

Once the Shanzhou troops are completely wiped out, Shang Yanxin will obtain more horses and horsepower.

Even if Zhang Huaishen came to help by then, the Ganzhou troops would not be a match for Shang Yanxin, and might even be stopped by Shang Yanxin in the wild.

If Shang Yanxin sent light cavalry to raid Shandan and Zhangye, the grain that had not been harvested would be destroyed by these foreign bandits.

Currently, there is a food shortage in the four states and eight cities in Hexi. If anything unexpected happens to the grain in Ganzhou, Hexi will fall into turmoil.

By then, Suo Xun might be able to stay safe thanks to his status as a son of a wealthy family, but he, Liu Jilong, a man with no background at all, would probably not be spared.

Therefore, retreating to the South Gate was, to put it bluntly, tantamount to defending the city and waiting to die. It was a gamble that Shang Yanxin would not launch a surprise attack on Ganzhou and would leave Qilian City after failing to capture it for a long time.

Liu Jilian was not prepared to take the gamble, so the only way left for him was to unite with the Shanzhou cavalry to cooperate internally and externally to encircle Shang Yanxin's troops.

Even if they failed, as long as they could get Shang Duoluo's hundreds of armored cavalry to break through, they could also rely on the cover of these hundreds of armored cavalry to abandon the city and break out.

"Before they surround you, you lead your men to advance head-on, and I will lead the cavalry to support you."

"When the Shanzhou soldiers see us coming to their aid, they will surely be motivated to fight."

"If Shang Yanxin turns his troops around, you just hold your ground and leave the rest to me!"

"After rescuing Shang Duoluo and the others, we will immediately retreat back to the South Gate!"

"Asshole! I am the boss here!" Suo Xun scolded Liu Jilong, and then ordered the soldiers on his left and right: "All troops listen to my order, retreat to the south gate!"

After he said this, the soldiers around him looked at each other in bewilderment. For a moment, they did not obey the order to retreat, but hesitated.

They all heard what Liu Jilong said, and they knew very well what the situation was in Qilian City.

If we sit back and watch the Shanzhou cavalry being surrounded and annihilated and retreat to the south gate, we would be literally handing our lives over to Shang Yanxin.

"Guo Yi, what General Liu said makes sense..."

"This... Guo Yi..."

For a moment, the captains on both sides tried to persuade Suo Xun. Suo Xun looked at them angrily, but saw that many soldiers were looking at him.

In the minds of the soldiers, Liu Jilong, who fought his way up from a soldier to a general, was obviously more capable than Suo Guoyi, who started out as a captain.

"Pass my order... withdraw the troops!"

Suo Xun had a gloomy face. He knew that what Liu Jilong said made sense, but he would rather gamble his life than die now.

Even if Zhang Huaishen was defeated, or even if he did not come to help, Suo Xun could accept it.

As long as he held Qilian City, he didn't believe that Shang Duoluo would be able to defend him for half a month.

"Those who don't want to defend the city to the death, follow me!!"

Seeing that the Shanzhou cavalry led by Shang Duoluo was about to be surrounded, Liu Jilian didn't want to argue with Suo Xun anymore.

Rather than sit and wait for death, he would rather take that chance of life and death!

"Liu Jilong!!"

Suo Xun raised his gun and tried to warn Liu Jilian, but the soldiers around him made a choice that went against his will.

Except for a small number of people who still gathered around him, the remaining four hundred or so people turned to Liu Jilong.

Suo Xun stared at the scene, but Liu Jilong had no time to argue.

"Infantry, march forward in formation, and cavalry, follow closely behind me with the flags!"

"Beep--"

　Two chapters will be updated on time tomorrow at 12:30.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)