Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 66: Breaking the Formation and Seizing the Flag
"Beep--"

"Qiliben, those Han slaves are coming towards us!"

"Ok?"

Just as the encirclement was about to be completed, the words of a guard drew Shang Yanxin's attention towards the direction of Qilian City.

Under his gaze, the Shandan army split into two, one part retreated to the city gate, and the other part rushed towards them.

This action had a different meaning in Shang Yan's mind.

"They want to use the city gate to help these traitors retreat, but they only have so few people. They really look down on me!"

Shang Yanxin looked at the Shandan soldiers, who were only 10% of his own number, and sneered as he turned his gaze away: "Kill these traitors first, then kill those Han slaves!"

"kill!!"

In the battle formation, Shang Duoluo was riding on horseback, advancing left and right with a gun in hand. Seeing the Hehuang cavalry surrounding him, he felt a trace of despair in his heart.

He did not expect Suo Xun to come to rescue him, so when the encirclement was about to close, he closed his eyes almost in despair.

This idea was not only shared by him, but also by all the Shanzhou cavalry.

Many people had already thought of surrendering and were just waiting for the encirclement to be closed and the Hehuang cavalry to surrender.

"Protector General! Those Han people are here to rescue us!!"

Before Shang Duoluo was swallowed by his despair, Jie'er beside him shouted at him excitedly.

He looked in the direction of Qilian City in disbelief, his eyes passed over the figures of the Hehuang cavalry, and saw the Sanchen flags approaching them.

"Brothers! The Heavenly Army has not given up on us. Break out in the direction of the Heavenly Army!!"

Shang Duoluo realized that this was his last chance of survival, so he ignited his fighting spirit.

Not only him, but also some Shanzhou cavalry who were surrounded with him were the same.

“Break through!!”

Shang Duoluo raised his bloodstained spear and rushed towards the Hehuang cavalry in front with a shout.

As his shouts and the charge horn sounded, the Shanzhou cavalry, which had been like headless flies, suddenly turned into spearheads and charged towards the Hehuang cavalry in the direction of the Shandan army.

They were like waves, one after another, but the Hehuang cavalry was like a dam, standing firm in the face of their attacks.

"They are just a few hundred Han slaves, yet they still want to fight!"

In the battle formation, Shang Yanxin had a grim look on his face. He did not expect that an action of the Shandan Army would actually ignite the fighting spirit of the Shanzhou cavalry who were about to be harvested.

In his eyes, the Shandan army with the flag bearing the word "Liu" numbered no more than 400. His army only needed to charge once to crush them under their horses' hooves.

With such a small number of troops, they dared to disrupt my arrangements. It is really hateful.

"General Lin Ruzhen!"

"The general is here!"

Shang Yanxin called out a name, and a short and strong general responded.

"Take a thousand men with you, put an end to the thoughts of these traitors, and bring me the head of General Liu from the Tang Dynasty!"

"The last general takes command!"

But following Shang Yanxin's instructions, General Lin Ruzhen rode out on his horse, dispatched a thousand cavalrymen to break out of the encirclement, and slowly advanced towards Liu Jilian.

After a thousand cavalrymen were withdrawn, the pressure on Shang Duoluo's troops suddenly decreased, and their fighting spirit gradually became stronger.

The two cavalry units fought towards Qilian City, but countless Shanzhou cavalrymen fell in the process.

Shang Duoluo could only rely on the hundreds of armored cavalry around him to try to break out, while General Lin Ruzhen also led a thousand cavalrymen and gradually approached Liu Jilong and his men.

"What are you doing?!"

In front of the city wall, Zhang Huairong watched the team outside the city split into two, and anger rose in his chest.

He watched helplessly as more than 400 soldiers, holding flags with the word "Liu" on them, marched toward the battlefield, watched as the battlefield moved closer to them, and watched as the Hehuang cavalry split off a part of their troops to attack them.

"Sima! Sima!"

Suo Xun led less than 200 people to retreat to the South City. He quickly ordered people to open the city gate and ran up to the city wall.

He came to the tower panting and bowed, and said bluntly in front of Shang Bibi and others: "Liu Jilong disobeyed the general's orders and incited the soldiers to go to war. Please ask Sima Zhang to recall him immediately."

"Bastards!" Zhang Huaishen's eyes widened with anger, looking at the four hundred soldiers outside the city in disbelief.

"There are only three or four hundred people. What does he want to do?!"

Zhang Huairong still hasn't reacted to why Liu Jilong attacked, but Shang Bibi's expression has relaxed.

"If our Shanzhou cavalry is surrounded and annihilated, then Shang Yanxin, the bandit's horsepower will be at its peak, and your reinforcements may be in danger of being defeated."

"If my guess is correct, General Liu might be thinking of supporting Shang Duoluo and others in their retreat."

"Of course, or maybe he has a better plan, but I am stupid and can't think of any other tricks to break this situation."

"Really?" Zhang Huairong breathed a sigh of relief and looked directly at Suo Xun.

Suo Xun didn't know how to answer. He also knew that after the Shanzhou cavalry was completely wiped out, Zhang Huaishen might be besieged by the Hehuang cavalry.

Considering that Zhang Huaishen came with light equipment, they would not have carried much food with them, and it was indeed possible that they would be exhausted to death under the siege of the Hehuang cavalry.

But this kind of thing has not happened after all, and speaking out rashly may cause the army to lose morale.

Moreover, Liu Jilong disobeyed orders on the battlefield, which made Suo Xun really embarrassed.

But after thinking about it carefully, Suo Xun didn't think Liu Jilong could come back alive, so he could only nod heavily.

"It would be best if we could help Protector Shang retreat, but..."

He didn't elaborate on the details, but Zhang Huairong already understood Liu Jilong's approach.

He turned back and walked back to the women's wall, his eyes fixed on the Liu-shaped flag in the distance.

Under his gaze, the troops separated from the Hehuang cavalry slowly approached Liu Jilian's troops.

In the team, Lin Ruzhen saluted Xiaojieer beside him and said, "Dongben, we can use arrows to wear them down."

"Waste time?" Lin Ruzhen sneered and pointed with his whip:
"There are only three or four hundred people. How long will it take to wear them down with arrows?"

"We have a thousand cavalrymen. We can just charge over and trample them to death!"

"This..." Xiaojie wanted to say that this seemed like a waste, but General Lin Ruzhen had already given the order.

Under the gaze of the crowd, a thousand Hehuang cavalrymen blew their horns...

"Uuuuuu——"

"Infantry station!!"

There was no inflammatory speech. Liu Jilong just gave orders calmly and tightened his grip on the gun.

"Station!"

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded among the three hundred men, and the three hundred Shandan soldiers lined up with guns in hand, standing still.

Liu Jilong glanced sideways at the hundred or so cavalrymen behind him, but seeing that they were anxious, he calmed down and turned to look at the Hehuang cavalry in front of him who were about to launch a charge.

"Kill Hannu!!"

"Rush over!"

The spear blades shone with the cold moonlight, and a thousand Hehuang cavalrymen rushed over like a tsunami.

On their charge, the three hundred Shandan infantrymen, in their iron armor, stood still, like towering mountains, remaining as solid as a rock despite the raging winds and rain.

In the battle formation, many soldiers nervously clenched their weapons, while Liu Jilian on the wing kept looking around the battlefield.

He needs an opportunity, if he succeeds he can turn defeat into victory!
"Buzz rumbling..."

"Don't panic! The garrison will not retreat!"

The momentum of the Hehuang cavalry was like a raging wave, but the Shandan infantry's formation was like ancient rock, standing firm despite the erosion of time, wind, frost, rain and snow.

"kill!"

"Woo-"

When the Hehuang cavalry was less than a hundred steps away from the Shandan army, Liu Jilian suddenly blew the horn, turned his horse's head and rushed to the right, as if to get away from the battlefield.

Seeing this, more than a hundred cavalrymen rushed out. General Lin Ruzhen on the opposite side thought that these hundred cavalrymen were thinking of retreating, so he couldn't help but reveal a victorious smile on his face.

"rush!!"

"Bam—"

When the Hehuang cavalry charged into the Shandan army, the horses wailed, the spears broke under the heavy load, and all kinds of noisy sounds covered everyone's ears.

"withstand!!"

In the army formation, several brigade commanders shouted at the top of their lungs, but how could an army of 300 infantrymen withstand the charge of 1,000 cavalrymen?

The first three rows were pierced, and dozens of people fell down in a breath.

The infantrymen in the rear did not retreat. Instead, they roared and charged forward with swords and sticks, waving them to stabilize their position.

"Liu Jilong! What are you doing!!"

In front of the city wall, Zhang Huairong's eyes almost burst as he watched Liu Jilian lead the cavalry and leave the battlefield, leaving behind three hundred infantrymen.

"Are you scared?!"

Suo Xun shouted wildly in his heart, and even felt a little secretly happy.

Perhaps if Liu Jilong was afraid to leave at this moment, he would not appear as terrible as he did just now.

“Good man!!”

"Don't checkmate!"

Shang Bibi was the first to applaud, and Jiu Juyan and Li Ji, who were staring at the flag with the word "Liu" on it, could not help but shout out as well.

For a moment, everyone shifted their attention away from the 300 infantrymen and focused on Liu Jilian and others who had left the battlefield.

At this moment, the Liu-shaped flag fluttered in the biting cold wind from the northwest.

More than a hundred cavalrymen bypassed and charged in one direction, targeting Shang Yanxin's banner!

"My men, now is the time to make achievements!!" "Kill!"

Amid shouts and cries of killing, this "tiny" troop compared with the Shanzhou and Hehuang cavalry, like a small boat in the sea, charged towards a troop not far away from the two cavalry troop of thousands.

It was not easy for more than 4,000 Hehuang cavalry to try to encircle and annihilate 2,000 Shanzhou cavalry, and their strength was weakened because Shang Yanxin sent 1,000 cavalry to attack the Shandan infantry formation.

More than 3,000 people finally suppressed the Shanzhou cavalry of less than 2,000 people, but at this time a team suddenly appeared.

Dong Ben and Jie'er, the Hehuang cavalry who were besieging Shangduo Luo, looked at Liu Jilong vigilantly and prepared to stop him.

Unexpectedly, Liu Jilian turned his troops around and more than a hundred cavalrymen headed straight for Shang Yanxin's banner.

"Cover Qiliben's retreat!!"

Jie'er's voice suddenly rang out, and before Shang Yanxin realized that he had become a target, he was protected and retreated.

When he looked in the direction of the sound, he saw the fluttering flag with the word "Liu" on it and more than a hundred Shandan elite cavalry charging towards him under the flag.

"Bastard!"

After realizing what was happening, Shang Yanxin didn't think about retreating, but felt that he was being provoked.

A mere hundred elite cavalrymen dared to charge at his banner. Has his reputation fallen to this extent?
But when Shang Yanxin looked around him, he realized that there were less than 200 elite cavalrymen around him.

Under his command, more than 4,000 Hehuang cavalry were divided into two parts, one part encircled and suppressed the Shanzhou cavalry, and the other part attacked the Shandan infantry formation. He was isolated between the two parts and had no reinforcements.

"Beep--"

A shrill whistle sounded, and Jie'er beside Shang Yanxin blew the whistle to call for reinforcements.

"Protect Chilibon!"

"Retreat! Protect Qiliben!"

General Lin Ruzhen, who was in the front line and trying to attack the Shandan infantry for the second time, was horrified when he saw this scene. He did not bother to besiege the Shandan infantry and hurriedly led nearly a thousand elite cavalry to defend.

"withdraw!"

In the Shandan infantry formation, a brigade commander who had received instructions from Liu Jilong before the battle immediately sounded the retreat.

Their mission has been accomplished, now it's up to their own generals to display their divine power!
"Protect Chilibon!"

"withdraw!"

For a moment, whether it was the Hewei cavalry besieging Shangduoluo or the Hewei cavalry besieging the Shandan infantry formation, they all saw that their own large flag was facing a cavalry attack alone, and they all returned to defend.

This is the opportunity Liu Jilong has been waiting for!
“Make achievements now!!”

He took the lead, riding his horse and charging with a gun in hand, and the flag behind him was particularly eye-catching.

"Shoot their horses!!"

Shang Yanxin roared and gave orders. Upon hearing this, the Hehuang cavalry around him covered Shang Yanxin's retreat while drawing their bows and arrows, aiming at the horses under the crotch of Liu Jilian and others and shooting arrows.

In an instant, arrows rained down, and many horses were hit by arrows and fell down, but because the Shandan cavalry was in a dispersed formation, there was no trampling.

The horse that Liu Jilong was riding was hit by several arrows, but none of them hit the vital parts, which instead stimulated the horse to charge.

"kill!!"

With a roar, Liu Jilong led his team to catch up with Shang Yanxin and rushed into Shang Yanxin's cavalry guards.

The eighteen-jin iron spear was swung lightly like a branch. In just a blink of an eye, Liu Jilian rode his horse seven or eight steps into the formation and swung the iron spear three times in a row.

The heavy iron spear smashed into the head of a Hehuang cavalryman with unparalleled power, deforming his iron helmet, turning his face into rotten flesh, and his teeth flew off with their roots and flesh.

This scene was repeated three times in the blink of an eye, making people's hair stand on end and their bodies go cold.

"Stop him!"

A Dongben ordered Xiaojieer to lead his men to stop Liu Jilian. Xiaojieer had no choice but to grit his teeth and stay behind to cover their retreat. He led more than ten cavalrymen to the opposite direction and rushed towards Liu Jilian.

"How dare the dog Han slave be so rampant!"

"die!!"

As the horses were crossing each other, Liu Jilong used his right hand to hold the gun and smashed the little boy named Xiao to death. With his left hand, he pulled out the armor-piercing hammer on the saddle and with a "Forced Splitting of Huashan" he knocked another Hehuang cavalryman to the ground along with his horse.

The nearby Hehuang cavalry were furious and tried to avoid him in order to save their lives. However, Liu Jilian took advantage of the situation and advanced into the Hehuang cavalry, wielding a spear in one hand and a hammer in the other, and stabbed left and right in the Hewei army formation as if he was in an empty space.

"Oh!"

"Uh-"

"Stop him!"

War horses neighed, spears broke, and the sound of flesh and blood colliding with weapons filled my ears.

Liu Jilian could no longer see his comrades behind him. All he could see was the big banner that was only twenty steps away from him.

It was fluttering in the air, and below it were several Tibetan generals in gorgeous armor, fleeing towards the northeast.

"kill!!"

Not knowing how many times he had repeated this word, Liu Jilong swung his spear and smashed down anything that tried to block his way, just to rush under the big banner.

"Protect Chilibon!!"

Jie'er shouted at the top of his lungs, and the Hewei cavalrymen around him rushed forward to cover Shang Yanxin's retreat.

"Kill that Hannu!"

Shang Yanxin watched helplessly as Liu Jilian led his troops into the battle array and killed his personal cavalry guards.

What's even more terrifying is that he never stopped. Like a tireless monster, he swung his black iron spear to knock down all the Hewei cavalry who tried to block him, and rushed towards his own direction.

He was too lazy to think about whether the spear Liu Jilong was using was an iron spear. He only felt that death was getting closer and closer to him.

Gradually, he went from being carried by his bodyguards at the beginning to taking the reins of the horse on his own initiative, waving the whip and running away.

He looked back from time to time, trying to see the scene where Liu Jilong was blocked, but Liu Jilong followed him like a ghost, and the number of people around him was getting fewer and fewer.

For a moment, all the Hewei cavalry on the battlefield gave up their original goals and rushed towards Shang Yanxin.

"My men, Shang Yanxin will die today. Kill him!!"

"kill--"

Shang Duoluo, who managed to escape, had no time to catch his breath, so he raised his gun and ordered the surrounding Shanzhou cavalry to pursue.

The Shanzhou cavalry also saw Shang Yanxin running around being chased by Liu Jilong. With their fighting spirit rising, they followed Shang Duoluo's footsteps and entangled with the group of Hehuang cavalry who were trying to leave the battlefield.

The attack and defense changed in less than half a cup of tea.

This scene made Zhang Huairong and others on the city wall dumbfounded. They couldn't believe that Liu Jilong actually dared to charge at Shang Yanxin's banner.

Before this, except for Jiu Juyan, Li Ji and other people from the third regiment, everyone else believed that Liu Jilian was afraid of fighting and left the front battlefield, leaving behind 300 infantrymen as bait in order to save his life.

But Liu Jilong not only dared to use more than a hundred elite cavalry to attack Shang Yanxin's main camp, but also managed to move the entire body by pulling a single hair, and chased Shang Yanxin so hard that he had to flee in panic.

"Kill that Hannu! I will reward you with a hundred cattle and sheep!"

While fleeing in a panic, Shang Yanxin did not forget to offer a reward for Liu Jilong, but at this time there was no one around him who was capable of spreading the news.

Just trying to escape Liu Jilong's pursuit exhausted all their energy.

They fled with their heads down, and Liu Jilian chased them madly, killing the lagging Hehuang cavalry one after another.

Behind their two groups of troops, four thousand Hehuang cavalrymen were fighting and retreating against less than two thousand Shanzhou cavalrymen.

Shang Yanxin originally wanted to look back to see if Liu Jilong was catching up with him, but as Liu Jilong got closer and closer to him, he didn't dare to look back and could only run away.

He could feel that there were fewer and fewer people around him, and the fear in his heart changed everything.

Fortunately, the main force of the Hehuang cavalry in the rear was divided into two under the command of several Jie'er, one part blocked Shang Duoluo, and the other part pursued Liu Jilian.

In Liu Jilong's eyes, there were fewer and fewer people around Shang Yanxin, and killing him would allow him to turn defeat into victory.

Even if we can't kill him, that big banner must fall!

His eyes were determined, and the Hehuang cavalryman holding the big banner gradually fell behind because of the heavy banner.

Seeing that he was only ten steps away from him, Liu Jilong suddenly threw the iron spear in his hand.

"Oh!"

The iron spear hit the cavalryman from behind, causing him to fall flat on his horse's back, unable to do anything.

Without his urging, the warhorse's speed slowed down a lot.

Liu Jilong drew his sword and slashed the hip of the warhorse he was riding, causing the horse to speed up in pain.

As the two horses crossed, Liu Jilian swung his sword and cut the cavalryman's arm.

"Uh-huh!!"

He was awakened by severe pain. His arm was cut off at the elbow, and the big banner was cut in half by Liu Jilong as it fell from the air and fell to the ground.

“Big Banner!!”

"The banner has fallen!"

"Chiliben!"

The fallen banner caused panic among the Hehuang cavalrymen who came to support from the rear. Everyone shouted as if their blood had frozen.

If Shang Yanxin died, considering Kongre's brutality, few of their group would survive.

"Qiliben!!"

Everyone rushed forward like crazy. When Liu Jilong looked back, Shang Yanxin had lowered his head and ran a hundred steps away, or even further.

There were only a few cavalrymen following him, and pursuing them would only put himself in danger.

"withdraw!!"

Liu Jilong turned his horse around and began to run towards Qilian City in a roundabout way.

The surviving cavalrymen behind him were filled with excitement. They could not hear what Liu Jilian said, but only followed the flag.

A cavalryman demonstrated his superb horsemanship, half of his body leaned out of the horse's back, and raised his hand to pick up the large banner that was cut down by Liu Jilian.

Another cavalryman staggered to pick up the iron spear that Liu Jilong had stuck on the ground, and the two of them quickly retreated.

All the Hewei cavalry who tried to stop them were knocked off their horses by Liu Jilong. More than a hundred elite cavalry broke out of the formation and retreated to Qilian City...

(End of this chapter)