Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 226 The Dragon-Trapping Gate

The key to utilizing cavalry lies in speed, accuracy, and ruthlessness.

By employing swift and precise strikes, one can overwhelm a powerful enemy as easily as striking a disorganized mob, thus defeating the many with the few and achieving victory against the strong with the weak.

As the ancients said, "To raze a mob is like crushing withered leaves and breaking rotten wood."

Dong Hou led thirty Ming Cult cavalrymen in a charge, followed by a hundred Persian Savaran cavalrymen who had joined Pi Rixiu's forces. In a single wave of attack, nearly a thousand government cavalrymen scattered in disarray, and even the renowned Changwu Cavalry were routed.

The cavalry's defeat instilled fear in the infantry, many of whom trembled slightly as they held up their shields.

Dong Hou let out a long whistle, gripped his spear, and galloped forward on horseback, swerving left and right as if entering an empty field.

The knights fought bravely alongside Dong Hou, chasing after the scattered government troops like tigers descending a mountain.

In the blink of an eye, they arrived at a low-lying area in a flat plain.

Just then, Dong Hou suddenly felt a bright light before his eyes, and a fiery color appeared in his field of vision.

A troop of elite soldiers, carrying longbows and wielding spears, broke through the ranks of the government troops.

They spontaneously stopped running, adjusted their breathing, and reorganized their ranks. Then, holding their spears, they lined up again in a straight line, launching an attack on Dong Hou and his men from the left, right, or center with a neat formation.

The man leading the group was tall and handsome, but his eyes burned with hatred.

Therefore, Zhao Chou, Zhao Qianye, is the leader of the Five Swords of Burning Heaven under the command of Zhen Ranyu, the Flame General!

Crimson robes and red banners blazed like fire, spears gleaming menacingly, as they surrounded Dong Hou and his elite cavalry.

It was as if a wall of fire had been erected, instantly halting the advance of Dong Hou and his men.

Almost simultaneously, the leading knight of the previously scattered Long-Wu Cavalry also shouted loudly and led a group of cavalry to turn around and charge.

The government troops were not feigning defeat; the fact that the Zhenhai Army and Zhejiang West Army cavalry are still fleeing in panic is proof of this.

However, the Changwu Cavalry was able to regroup from their rout and, together with the infantry led by Zhao Qianye, trapped nearly two hundred of the most elite cavalrymen, including Dong Hou, in an iron cage made of infantry and cavalry!

Faced with the ever-tightening encirclement, Dong Hou finally changed his tune.

The enemy's infantry and cavalry coordination was in no way inferior to that of the common army.

As Yan Shuai's most trusted confidant, Zhao Qianye was undoubtedly a man of outstanding talent, and the knight who commanded the Changwu Cavalry was by no means an ordinary person either.

"Liang Zuan, well done!" Gao Yan had already galloped away on horseback, pursued by the grass army cavalry. Before Gao Yan could lead his troops back to fight back, Liang Zuan had already led the Changwu cavalry, together with Zhao Qianye, to trap Dong Hou, Ge Congzhou and others.

This was the "Trapping Dragon Gate" tactic that Gao Yan and Qian Liu had discussed and deduced beforehand.

Cavalry warfare is subject to too many variables. Even with a numerical advantage in cavalry, there is no guarantee of success, not to mention the possibility of being overwhelmed by Meng Kai's sheer brute force.

Gao Yancai had Zhao Qianye's brave warriors laid in wait, and they were to coordinate with the adaptable Changwu Cavalry.

Their deep-seated hatred for the bandits meant that Zhao Qianye and his companions would not retreat a single step in the face of the overwhelming charge of the iron cavalry.

Gao Yan understood the power of hatred quite well, and he also knew that Yan Shuai's defeat and death at Muling Pass was caused by the anger of the heroes of the martial arts world who wanted to avenge Wang Xianzhi.

However, Zhu Wen's prestige among the common soldiers was far inferior to that of Wang Xianzhi. But since Zhu Wen and his direct troops hated him to the core, Gao Yanshang wasn't particularly wary.

According to Gao Yan and Qian Liu's plan, if the cavalry battle was unfavorable, Liang Zuan would reorganize the Changwu Cavalry as much as possible, adapt to the situation, trap the elite of the Cao Army cavalry, and then wear them down and annihilate them.

A wise strategist not only considers the possibility of victory, but also takes into account the possibility of disadvantage, and then prepares alternative strategies.

This is the source of Gao Yan's confidence that cavalry warfare is invincible!

Trapped in a depression in the ground, Dong Hou and his men were unable to accelerate their charge. They were surrounded by a dense hail of gunfire, putting them in a desperate situation.

"Are you scared?" Dong Hou took a deep breath and rubbed Ge Congzhou's shoulder.

“I’m not afraid.” Ge Congzhou appeared very calm: “If I die, it will just be to see my grandfather.”

Dong Hou nodded: "Boy, the Ghost King asked me to take care of you before he died. Even if I, Dong Hou, am torn to pieces today, I will not let anything happen to you."

After saying that, Dong Hou jumped off his horse, pointed his spear at Zhao Qianye, and sneered, "You want to avenge Marshal Yan, but we Ming Cult brothers also have a lot of grudges to settle with that little beast Gao Yan. What should we do?"

Zhao Qianye raised his eyebrows: "Then it all comes down to whose gun is sharper."

"Excellent!" Dong Hou said, then lunged forward and engaged Zhao Qianye in fierce combat.

The knights dismounted and took up their lances to fight on foot.

These elite cavalrymen of the Grass Army were trapped in unfavorable terrain and forced to fight on foot at low ground, which greatly reduced their effectiveness. They could only place their horses behind them and form a defensive formation.

The enemy attacked and relentlessly tightened their encirclement. Dong Hou and his men fought for a while, but were outnumbered and found themselves in a desperate situation.

The entrapment of Dong Hou and others allowed Gao Yanneng to gather more defeated government cavalry. Huo Cun led his cavalry to their rescue, but they were held back by the government cavalry, resulting in a stalemate.

In the depression, Dong Hou and his men had nowhere left to retreat.

Surrounded in the center, the horses, their faces almost pressed against the front line, breathed heavily and kicked their hind legs in unease, revealing their restlessness.

Caught off guard, Dong Hou was stabbed in the abdomen by a long spear that pierced through his armor.

The spear was pulled out, and blood gushed out instantly, tearing a conspicuous gap in the armor.

Zhao Qianye's eyes dimmed slightly.

He certainly hoped to fight Dong Hou one-on-one and settle the score.

However, whether or not Dong Hou and his men could be annihilated quickly would determine the success or failure of the entire battle. Even though Zhao Qianye respected heroes, he could not give Dong Hou a fair chance to fight.

Ge Congzhou, who was standing nearby, was shocked and quickly helped Dong Hou up: "Uncle Dong, are you alright?"

A sticky substance mixed with blood flowed out of Dong Hou's wound.

Dong Hou looked down at his protruding intestines, gritted his teeth, and replied, "What is it? I can't die before I see Gao Yan go to hell."

As he spoke, he stuffed his intestines back into his abdomen, tore off a piece of his battle robe and quickly wrapped it around his wound. He roared, his eyes bloodshot, and his spear flew up and down, exuding murderous intent. He became more and more courageous as the battle progressed!

Upon seeing this, the morale of the grass army cavalry was greatly boosted, and the government troops were also intimidated, forced by Dong Hou to retreat dozens of steps.

They had only heard the legends of ancient people fighting with their intestines protruding, but had never seen such ferocity in reality.

"I'm perfectly fine!" Dong Hou shouted as he charged into battle, saying to Ge Congzhou, "If it weren't for that little bastard Gao Yan's instigation, how could the Ghost King have ended up turning against his brother! Today, I will definitely cut off Gao Yan's dog head to appease the Ghost King's spirit. Otherwise, I will not be able to die in peace!"

From the rear ranks of the grass army cavalry in the distance, Tian Jun's thunderous roar also rang out.

"You scoundrels!" Tian Jun angrily rebuked the cavalrymen: "When I faced Commander Yan, I never showed any fear. Yet your own brothers are trapped, and you dare not advance!"

Having said that, he glared and brandished his spear, charging into the enemy ranks like a streak of blue lightning.

During the Battle of Muling Pass, Zhu Wen was able to kill Yan Shuai, who had been seriously wounded by Huang Chao, thanks to Tian Jun's desperate surprise attack, which further weakened Yan Shuai's fighting strength.

Even though she had a falling out with Zhu Wen before, Tian Jun still thought that she could not let Zhu Wen down in this life-or-death battle!

Huo Cun showed a hint of shame and shouted loudly, "Brothers, even if we lose our heads, we'll only have a scar on our heads. As long as we're alive, we can take the head off that little thief Gao Yan. Fight me to the death!"

The cavalrymen were stunned for a moment, then shouted in unison, their shouts shaking the earth. Their morale was restored, and like a giant spear, they instantly drove away the enemy cavalry, like waves splitting apart.

Gao Yan rode over to intercept him, but Tian Jun was a natural-born cavalry general. Once he got angry, he was unstoppable and completely disregarded life and death.

Gao Yan's strength was no less than Tian Jun's, but his temperament was far less pure. Tian Jun also gained the upper hand. After a few exchanges, Gao Yan's strength waned, and he retreated.

The knights roared like mountains and waves, unstoppable, tearing apart the enemy cavalry and fighting their way to where Dong Hou and the others were trapped. Seeing that Dong Hou and Ge Congzhou were safe, they were overjoyed.

However, Gao Yan's attempt to stop the rebel army failed, and he did not linger in battle. Instead, he took advantage of the opportunity when Tian Jun and Huo Cun came to the rescue of Dong Hou and others to regroup.

The two cavalry forces once again found themselves in a stalemate, locked in a fierce battle with no clear victor for the time being.

The sun in the sky continued to slant westward, and beads of sweat slid down the soldiers' faces.

The dust kicked up by the warhorses obscured the view of the entire eastern side of the battlefield.

However, just to be on the safe side, Zhu Zhen still crossed the Li River via the bridge in the eastern part of the mountainous area, and then returned via another bridge upstream, silently circling around to the enemy's rear.

Zhu Zhen knew that the outcome of this battle would likely depend on their outflanking force.

"Just as expected." Zhu Zhen saw that as they approached, the shield bearers at the rear of the enemy formation quickly turned around, forming a defensive line like the Great Wall.

Gao Yan was meticulous and would not have been unprepared for Zhu Wen's planned surprise attack team to outflank and encircle the rear.

"Brothers, grab your weapons and let's thresh the wheat!" Zhu Zhen said to the cavalrymen beside him.

What they held in their hands were not the lances commonly used by cavalry, but two solid hardwood clappers connected by an iron chain, with iron plates covering the tops of the clappers.

In later generations, this thing was called nunchucks, but at this time, it was generally called a flail, a farming tool used by farmers to thresh wheat.

Zhu Zhen, carrying a large, bright red flail, rode straight ahead.

The barbarian soldiers with shields raised them to block.

With a flick of the iron chain, the flail bypassed the rattan shield and struck the barbarian soldier on the head, instantly causing his skull to explode.

(End of this chapter)