Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 228 A Shocking Change in the Formation
The sun in Lingnan has always been scorching.

Even though it was already autumn, when the sun was high in the sky, the temperature turned from cool to hot, and sweat streamed down the soldiers' faces and dripped into the seams of their armor.

The vast battlefield stretched from west to east, maintaining a constant pattern of advance and retreat.

The cavalry battle on both flanks remained a protracted stalemate, while the infantry in the middle took turns recovering their strength. Meanwhile, the government troops held the foot of the mountain, determined not to allow the rebel army to advance into the plains in its entirety.

While the rebel army had the advantage of a high vantage point on the hillside, they were fragmented by the rugged ridges, their formation scattered. They were repeatedly targeted by government troops, with daredevils breaking through their lines. Had Zhu Wen not reacted promptly and quickly mobilized reinforcements from the center, a major disaster might have ensued.

Meng Kai led his elite cavalry in a surprise attack on Yang Fuguang, who was positioned in the center of the government army. He nearly beheaded Yang Fuguang, which revitalized the morale of the bandit army, which had been struggling to break through the enemy lines and whose fighting spirit had been declining.

However, he ultimately failed to achieve merit, and Meng Kai was even riddled with spears by Qian Liu's army, sustaining three wounds, and led his troops to retreat.

The fact that Meng Kai was able to lead a hundred cavalrymen to charge through enemy lines of over ten thousand and retreat in an organized manner is enough to prove his unparalleled bravery.

However, this surprise attack yielded limited results and failed to break the stalemate on the front lines.

What is the key to breaking the deadlock in this battle?

On the hills to the northwest of the main formation, four thousand reserve troops of the government army surged down like a tide, the soldiers shouting in various accents.

Regardless of the thousand surrendered soldiers under Han Ping's command, Gao Yan looked down on these troops, believing them to be poorly trained and organized, and only capable of fighting when things were going well.

However, due to prolonged peace, military preparedness has deteriorated, and most of the Tang Dynasty's army today consists of such lazy, untrained soldiers.

Gao Yan and Yang Fuguang brought a considerable number of elite troops from north of the Five Ridges, which enabled the troops of Lingnan West Road to fight a decisive battle against Zhu Wen's 15,000 elite herdsmen.

Older soldiers often have quite a temper.

They regarded Zhu Zhen's two hundred-plus knights as nothing.

"Gao Yan is eating meat up there, but he won't even give us any soup?"

"That's right, that's right! We need to make a name for ourselves and show this blind brat what's what!"

The soldiers shouted loudly and spread out their ranks.

A thousand people spread out on the plains, reaching to the heavens and the earth; ten thousand people spread out on the plains, appearing boundless and limitless. Four thousand people spread out on the plains already appear vast and boundless.

Even when Zhu Zhen's small force dispersed, it looked like a few scallions sprinkled in a bowl of noodles.

The old soldiers looked down on everyone else, thinking that these people could be easily swallowed up!
A faint smile appeared on Zhu Zhen's lips.

His eyes gleamed, and he took out a horn from his waist and played a tune.

The scattered knights galloped towards Zhu Zhen's location.

Their ranks instantly became disciplined and sharp.

The knights followed Zhu Zhen at breakneck speed, forming a wedge formation, with the two hundred knights arranged in a tiered configuration, narrower in front and wider in the back.

The warriors put away their flails, raised their spears, and their horses' hooves pounded the wilderness like heavenly soldiers descending to earth.

The wedge formation leaves the rear vulnerable to enemy attacks from behind, so infantry rarely use this formation. However, cavalry has the advantage of mobility, and compared to the solid triangular wedge formation, the wedge formation can create a larger formation. Once in direct contact with the enemy, almost every knight has the opportunity to attack.

Two hundred elite cavalrymen plunged headlong into the enemy ranks from the side, like a flock of geese flying into the vast clouds.

The enemy soldiers, who were charging forward in droves, were caught off guard by this sudden turn of events. When Zhu Zhen's cavalry charged in, many of them did not even have time to dodge. They fell like wheat being harvested by the sweeping lances, their blood flowing and filling the small ditches on the ground.

Zhu Zhen let out a long, sharp cry, his eyes gleaming with an unusual intensity.

Sweeping through thousands of troops, crushing ten thousand horses, and charging through enemy lines like trampling wild grass—is this not the greatest joy for a cavalryman?

"How delightful!"

Zhu Zhen swung his spear, piercing the throat of an enemy general, lifting him into the air before slamming him heavily to the ground, where he was immediately trampled into a bloody pulp by the cavalry that followed.

The midday wind brushed against Zhu Zhen's cheeks, no longer as refreshing as in the morning, but instead carrying a hint of heat.

This only fueled the boiling passion in Zhu Zhen's heart!

A man should strive for fame and success on horseback; how can he waste his life in mediocrity?

The righteous warriors roared in unison, their voices powerful enough to shake the heavens and the earth.

The Lingnan West Road troops, unable to withstand the attack, reacted and retreated like waves, not daring to confront Zhu Zhen's sharp edge.

Now, only Han Ping's troops remained to block Zhu Zhen's forces. Han Ping was also horrified.

His troops were far more capable than those three thousand government soldiers; even under Shang Rang's command, they were quite formidable.

Although their military discipline was lax and they suffered some losses when Li Yi raided their camp, they were no less capable when it came to fighting tough battles.

Logically, if Han Ping had promptly ordered his soldiers to stabilize their positions and form a defensive formation, they should have been able to stop Zhu Zhen's attack.

Zhu Zhen and his men killed many people, which actually depleted their energy.

But looking into Zhu Zhen's sharp, knife-like eyes and imposing, mountain-like aura, Han Ping couldn't help but feel a little guilty.

Han Ping's trusted officers and generals acted quickly, organizing their soldiers into formation, shields and spears in hand, ready to meet Zhu Zhen's desperate charge.

But at that moment, a familiar voice suddenly rang out from within the formation.

"Run! Our army has been defeated!"

The sound was like a spark falling into a boiling oil pan, spreading and exploding in an instant.

Han Ping watched as the team crumbled in an instant, his face turning from horror to deathly pale.

He recognized Li Tangbin's voice, of course.

He should have realized that Li Tangbin was loyal to Shang Rang and wouldn't be willing to defect with him!

If only we had killed this bastard sooner...

By then, it was too late to say anything.

Gao Yan's suspicion of Han Ping's troops increased their unease.

Therefore, Li Tangbin and several close associates suddenly shouted, instantly spreading this unease throughout Han Ping's entire army.

The collapsed Han Ping troops fled in disarray, colliding with the already terrified and weak Lingnan West Road forces.

In the chaos, many of Han Ping's soldiers defected directly to Li Tangbin, joining forces with Zhu Zhen's cavalry to indiscriminately hack and slash at the government troops.

The four thousand reserve soldiers were instantly turned into a mess.

In their panic, many of them rushed directly into the rear of the barbarian army's lines, like knocking down a row of chess pieces, causing a chain reaction of collapse.

As Zhu Wen said before the battle, the enemy's hesitation and indecisiveness provided the breakthrough point.

Zhu Zhen rode up to Li Tangbin and said, "General Li has made a great contribution this time."

Previously in Fujian, Zhu Wen and Shang Rang's subordinates fought over spoils of war. Zhu Zhen was hit in the chest by Li Tangbin with a hammer and vomited blood.

Zhu Zhen spoke politely and showed no sign of holding a grudge.

Li Tangbin also said, "Not at all, not at all. It's just a matter of acting according to circumstances. We'll have plenty of opportunities to join forces against enemies in the future!"

With that, he swung his hammer and charged into the enemy ranks, smashing several government soldiers' heads until they exploded like watermelons.

Zhu Zhen nodded slightly.

As Li Tangbin said, this was the first time the two of them had worked together, and there would be many more such instances in the future.

The entire rear guard of the government army had completely collapsed due to Zhu Zhen's surprise attack and Li Tangbin's disruption.

Zhu Zhen spurred his horse and brandished his spear, charging like lightning to the front of Han Ping, who was already in a daze and whose face was as pale as paper.

In this chaos, Han Ping, the traitor, had all his personal guards scattered, leaving him a general without any troops.

Zhu Zhen, holding his spear high above, pierced Han Ping's shoulder blade with a single thrust, lifting Han Ping into the air.

"Spare me! I'm willing to offer up all my possessions, begging General Zhu Zhen and Liang Yu to forgive my sins..."

Zhu Zhen didn't even bother to listen and ordered his cavalry general Han Ping to be tied up like a rice dumpling.

Zhu Wen had instructed that once Han Ping was captured, he should not be killed immediately, but kept alive to be executed along with Gao Yan.

Although Han Ping was actually a major contributor to the victory of the rebel army in this battle.
(End of this chapter)