Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 26 Wang Xianzhi Goes into Battle

Yan Lingkong asked, "Qi Shuai, I have something I don't understand."

At this time, Qi Kerang had ordered the civilians on the Beibian River construction site to disband on the spot and flee for their lives. Qi Kerang's team was left with only the combat troops, which were small in size but very elite.

"Go ahead, Lingkong." Qi Kerang said calmly, but a hint of fatigue could be seen in his voice.

"Huang Chao's morale is high, and his soldiers are fighting bravely. Our cavalry has been dispatched to rescue the main camp, putting us at a disadvantage." Yan Lingkong said, "However, we're not clearly losing. If we head towards the main camp and link up with Deputy Commander Kou, and with the defenders of the various earthen hill positions also returning to support the main camp, we have at least a 50% chance of driving the enemy out and retaking it."

"Your vision has improved considerably," Qi Kerang commented. "You're absolutely right."

"If that's the case," Yan Lingkong asked anxiously, "Why should our army abandon our reinforcements and march westward to join General Song? If we do that, won't all the supplies in the main camp fall into the hands of bandits? We still have the strength to fight, so why not give it a try?"

"It is precisely because we still have the strength to fight that we must join forces with Marshal Song." Qi Kerang said with certainty, and his confidence made it impossible for Yan Lingkong to question it.

"This..." Yan Lingkong paused before saying, "The Marshal is very wise and profound, but I, a dull-witted subordinate, cannot comprehend it."

"No, I miscalculated." Qi Kerang sighed. "A proud army will always be defeated. I was too arrogant. I only paid attention to the enemy and ignored the movements of my allies. I thought I could win this battle with the strength of Taining alone."

"I just received intelligence today that General Song not only rejected Wang Jian's correct strategy, but also publicly denounced Wang Jian. This misstep by General Song has not only alienated the army, but also exposed the weakness of his own 'uncoordinated military strength.'"

"The three military governors' coalition forces are full of gossips, and Wang Xianzhi has extensive connections, so he must have received the tip-off. The news that the enemy has planted their flag in our main camp must have reached General Song's camp, shaking the morale of the coalition forces. If Wang Xianzhi storms their camp with all his might, he will surely defeat it!"

Qi Kerang smiled bitterly and said, "Marshal Song is old and weak, I didn't count on him from the beginning, but who would have thought that he would become the key to our defeat.

"If General Song's army is defeated, how can our army survive alone?" Qi Kerang said, counting on his fingers. "Besides, which is more important? Our army's baggage and equipment versus the lives of tens of thousands of friendly soldiers. We still have time to prevent the complete collapse of our friendly forces!"

At the same time, the commander-in-chief of the Cao army, Wang Xianzhi, who was dressed in a wide robe with big sleeves and was as elegant as a god, had sent out all his elite troops. His disciples, the brothers Shang Rang and Shang Junchang, as well as Qin Yan, Liu Hanhong, Cao Shixiong, Chai Najun and other leaders were all in the formation.

"Master," Shang Junchang asked, "Although General Chao has already launched the battle, the outcome is still unclear. And Song Wei is like a coward, entrenching himself in the camp. The enemy has many troops, and our army will inevitably suffer losses if we attack the camp..."

"No problem." Wang Xianzhi laughed heartily, his demeanor radiant and bright. "The last time Song Wei defeated our army, it was only thanks to the strategy of young General Wang Jian. Now Song Wei has talented men but refuses to use them. He sits back and watches the rats in the Shen Ce Army slander the virtuous and wise, exposing their own shortcomings, which only makes people change their minds."

"Besides, your brother has made great progress in military strategy. He discussed with me last night and decided on a plan. Our army has a perfect plan for this battle. Once I behead Song Wei, I will get drunk with you all!"

Shang Rang patted his brother's shoulder. He was shorter, and his brother was very tall, so he had to stand on tiptoe to do this. "Don't worry, brother. A man should be treated with new eyes after three days of absence. My talent and wisdom today are not necessarily inferior to those of General Chao, Wang Jian, or that new kid Zhu Wen over there!"

The army formed a wide horizontal formation and advanced slowly, soon reaching the camp of the three military governors. Some of the Cao army soldiers wore sleek armor and sharp swords and spears, rivaling those of the government troops. But some wore only breastplates, crude cowhide armor, or even no armor at all. After a long rest, however, morale was high, and their eyes shone with the will to win.

Several soldiers were tied to wooden posts and dragged to the front of the battle. They were all wearing the uniforms and armor of the Taining Army and spoke with accents from the Huaibei and southern Shandong regions.

"Oh no! General Qi was attacked by Huang Chao and has been defeated and is about to attack the area east of Songzhou!"

"We're defeated, we're all defeated, our army is finished!"

These people were actually the wounded and captured soldiers of the Taining Army when the Huang Chao Army fought against the Taining Army a few days ago. They were quietly transferred to Wang Xianzhi's camp and then, after being tortured and bribed, came to shake the morale of Song Wei's army.

This was a simple ploy, easily detected. However, Song Wei's army saw from afar that the Taining army had already hoisted a golden battle flag, accompanied by a thunderous sound and rising smoke. They were horrified, and after being frightened by Wang Xianzhi, the soldiers in the camp became even more panicked.

Qi Kerang's habit of camping on high ground actually gave Song Wei's army a clear view of the yellow flags hoisted in the camp, which was naturally part of Zhu Wen's calculations. The smoke and explosions rising from the camp were actually firecrackers Zhu Wen had hastily made. He placed gunpowder in sealed bamboo tubes, ignited them, and the bamboo exploded, sending a roar of explosion and smoke that shook the earth.

In this way, even if the raiding troops have not completely occupied the Taining military camp and are still engaged in a tug-of-war, the coalition forces of the three military governors, who are disaffected with their morale, will still be frightened by the battle situation they see from afar. They cannot understand the details from a distance and will naturally think that the Taining army has been completely defeated.

Wang Xianzhi just waved his sleeves, sweeping out like a snake from Changshan. A wooden pillar that constructed the camp broke away from the fence, soared into the sky, and smashed directly into the camp, knocking down a barracks and splashing smoke and dust all over the sky!

Strong bows and hard crossbows shot towards Wang Xianzhi like a waterfall, but Wang Xianzhi's sleeves fluttered, and the originally soft cloth sleeves became as hard as fine iron. The arrows that came at him were knocked away and broken one after another, and all were caught, and could not hurt Wang Xianzhi at all.

"Oh no! The bandits are attacking our camp!" In Song Wei's army camp, screams of panic were heard everywhere.

"The Taining Army has been defeated, and Huang Chao is about to lead his troops to attack us!" Due to the words of the Taining Army prisoners, fear spread more and more in the camp. The soldiers of Song Wei Army lacked thinking, and many of them thought that the Taining Army in the east had really been defeated and was almost in chaos without a fight.

Such panic gave Wang Xianzhi's troops a great opportunity to attack.

Qin Yan, Liu Hanhong, and other fierce generals, each armed with a sword, displayed their bravery and strength, like the Eight Immortals crossing the sea, each displaying their magical powers, and defeated the enemy in a state of disarray. However, Song Wei's army was large, and their camps were scattered, making it difficult for them to rescue each other.

"Destroy the three western camps!"

"Nanwuzhai, destroy it!"

"Eastern Three Villages, destroyed!"

The Cao army's cavalry kept sending news of the breaching of smaller strongholds in other directions to Wang Xianzhi, who was currently attacking the enemy's main camp. Wang Xianzhi, leading a group of brave warriors, even broke through several fences and trenches, charging deep into the central camp!
"Incompetent person!"

A powerful and angry shout came from afar, with no less force at all, and it sounded like a thunderclap in the ears of the soldiers.

Song Wei's personal soldiers and the Shen Ce Army sent from the central government have formed a battle supervision team. Each of them holds a ten-foot-long Mo Dao to deal with those soldiers who may flee.

The soldiers who shouted and made a commotion in the camp, as well as those who fled quickly and disrupted order, were executed on the spot by the supervisory team. Their bodies were separated and blood was all over the ground.

This tragic scene quickly calmed the troops and brought the situation under control. The Song Wei army, deceived by the Taining captives and then breached by Wang Xianzhi's extraordinary power, had left them terrified. Seeing the panicked troops being killed on the battlefield, and the general Song Wei personally coming to support them, they finally calmed down, but morale remained low.

At Song Wei's command, the backbone troops he brought from the Pinglu Army immediately began to move, flattening the tents and clearing the cooking stoves, forming an open area in the camp, preparing to fight a field battle with Wang Xianzhi in the camp.

"The commander-in-chief has arrived. What is there to be afraid of a mere bandit?" The speaker was Song Wei's younger brother, a master of his generation, Tiandao Song Jue.

The panic in the eyes of the soldiers present faded, and they picked up their weapons and began to consider how to counterattack and kill the enemy. Because the two armies had previously been in a state of standoff, the soldiers in the camp were already equipped with armor and weapons when Wang Xianzhi attacked. Unlike when they were attacked by surprise, many soldiers were often without even their equipment.

"Five-sided formation disciples, listen up! Form a line to repel the enemy!"

Song Wei gently stroked his white beard and gave orders in a loud voice. Although he was over seventy years old, his vigor was still as strong as that of a young man.

The war drums beat loudly, and the battle flags fluttered in the wind. Five teams rushed out from behind Song Wei in an orderly manner, forming a battle formation and blocking the advance of Wang Xianzhi's troops.

The number of people in these five teams is not large, it can be said to be quite small, with only fifty people in each team.

But no one can underestimate their power, just as no one dares to underestimate the Twenty-Eight Nebula Riders under Kou Qianzhi's command.

The Five Square Formation, also known as the Warring States Five Square Formation, is named after the five famous special forces of the five major powers during the Eastern Zhou Dynasty and the Warring States Period.

Wei Wuzu, Qin Ruishi, Qi Jiji, Chu Jianhao, Zhao Bianqi.

The Wei Wuzu established by Song Wei were all selected from the brave warriors in Wei. They were not only good at using spears and swords, but also could wield the Mo Dao with great vigor.

The Qin Ruishi troops revived by Song Wei were recruited in Guanxi. The soldiers were all related to each other from the same hometown, forming a solid bond. In battle, fifty people were as strong as one.

Shandong is known for its heroes, and Song Wei's team of "Qi Ji Ji" is also composed of Shandong heroes recruited at a high price.

The land of Chu is known for its swordsmen, and Song Wei formed the "Chu Swordsmen" with the swordsmen from Chu.

The people of Zhao had always been fond of riding and hunting. The fifty Zhao Border Cavalry recruited by Song Wei were all excellent warriors, chosen from among hundreds of thousands. They were not only outstanding archers and swordsmen, but also skilled in charging on horseback with lances. They were all-round knights with almost no weaknesses.

"Having served in the army for a long time, it is difficult to understand the battle formations."

The five-sided formation was formed, and a fierce military spirit instantly rose into the sky, stirring up the sky and clouds.

This group of fierce warriors stood in front of the grass army's advance, frightening the brave men who were charging forward and forcing them to stop.

They had to.

Because the brave men who were charging in the front, when they approached the Five-sided Formation, were instantly sucked into a whirlpool in the ocean and were swallowed up in an instant. Then they turned into bloody limbs and broken arms in the dense steel jungle, and had no power to resist at all.

Throughout the entire process, the Five-Sided Formation was as solemn as the towering Mount Tai. Apart from the sounds of weapons being swung, there was no other sound. There was no extra expression on the face of each soldier, and they were just reaping lives like cold-blooded killing machines.

After the killing, only a long and eerie silence remained between the pieces of inky black armor.

The heroes hesitated and dared not move forward, but this angered one brave man, who shouted, "What's so scary about this formation? Let me go and step on it!"

The speaker's surname was Chai, and his given name was Najun. He was from Xingzhou and was a fierce cavalry general in Wang Xianzhi's army.

Chai Najun was born with a face as red as a date and a temper as fiery as fire.

He was most famous for squatting under the village wall and thinking of names for his unborn children.

Not only that, he even thought of the names of his grandson and great-grandson. According to him, his grandson would be named Chai Shouli and his great-grandson would be named Chai Rong.

As a famous cavalry general of the Cao army, Chai Najun was known for his boldness and unstoppable bravery.

Without waiting for anyone to dissuade him, Chai Najun led a team of knights out of the formation and rushed towards the five-sided formation like an arrow.

"Drink!"

Chai Najunchuo raised his steel spear and urged a powerful horse to charge forward with a force of ten thousand kilograms. The tip of his spear broke the spear of a "Qin Ruishi" and hit him directly on the breastplate. The surging force of both the man and the horse penetrated the armor and killed the warrior in an instant, causing him to spit blood.

However, sharp warriors rushed forward with their spears, and Chai Najun was immediately surrounded and stabbed by several spears. Meanwhile, Qi martial artists also joined in, wielding their halberds, which were shorter than infantry spears, to pierce and attack. Their coordinated attack was seamless, leaving Chai Najun in a desperate situation, unable to defend himself.

When Chai Najun pulled his horse back, he was already attacked by Zhao's cavalry who were galloping and shooting at him, blocking his retreat.

With a long sigh of "God has doomed me", Chai Najun summoned up his remaining courage and killed another Chu swordsman, but he and his horse were stabbed like a sieve, bleeding profusely, and died tragically on the spot.

When the swords, spears, swords and halberds were withdrawn one after another, Chai Najun's body fell to the ground like a broken sandbag, his slippery and wet internal organs spurted out like a spring, and blood flowed, staining the ground a tragic crimson.

Chai Najun was a renowned and brave general in the Cao army, long renowned in the Jianghu. However, his brave charge resulted in his immediate death, and the majority of his elite cavalry were cut down and strangled.

For a moment, all the heroes were pale in comparison.

A calm voice suddenly rang out at this moment. It was as calm as a thousand-year-old frozen lake, yet vast and far-reaching, like a voice from heaven, piercing the heart.

“The skills stop here.”

Just four words silenced the noise in the venue.

The visitor looked at the Five-Directional Formation quietly, his eyes as calm as autumn water, but he seemed to have completely penetrated the thick formation and looked all the way to the end of the sky.

(End of this chapter)