Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 31 Wang Jian's Plan
Fine raindrops fluttered and fell all over the sky.

As dusk fell, the sky became darker and more gloomy.

To the north of Songzhou City, on a small hill called Dingfeng Hill, Wang Jian's troops, who were retreating in panic, were finally caught up by Zhu Wen's cavalry who were chasing closely behind.

As Huang Chao had said before, although Qi Kerang set up the wooden ox and flowing horse formation to cover the rear and prevent the Cao army from pursuing, the Taining army had limited combat troops and could not protect the entire Song Wei army.

"You are trapped in our army's encirclement and have no way to escape. It is better for you to surrender early and save your life!" A small leader named Huo Cun under Zhu Wen shouted.

"Pfft!" A junior officer with a dark purple face to Wang Jian's left spat bitterly, "In the Tang Dynasty, we have soldiers who have their heads cut off, but we don't have soldiers who surrender to bandits!"

Another general also scolded: "That's right, there's a scar the size of a bowl on your head, and you guys can't escape being slaughtered and bloody!"

Inside Zhu Wen's camp, the eyes of all the Cao army soldiers lit up.

Wang Jian's rank wasn't high, but he was undoubtedly a big fish! He was a beloved general of Cui Anqian, a renowned official of his day—the Jiedushi of the Zhongwu Army and the commander-in-chief of all the military camps. His men were all elite Zhongwu soldiers, each capable of fighting ten men at once.

Moreover, Wang Jian was known to be resourceful and resourceful. Once he matured, he would become the "rising star" of the Tang Dynasty. If he could be killed or forced to surrender on the battlefield of Songzhou, it would undoubtedly eliminate a future formidable enemy for the rebel army!

Although the enemy was on a hill, which seemed to have the advantage of terrain, the slope of the hill was very gentle, which made it impossible for the cavalry to charge in. If they could capture Wang Jian's troops in one fell swoop, it would be like catching a turtle in a jar.

Wang Jian, a Zhongwu general with a bronze face, thick eyebrows, large eyes, a prominent nose, and high cheekbones, looked dignified. He raised his head and said to Zhu Wen at the foot of the hill with a forced smile, "Ah, so this is my younger brother Zhu Wen, who has recently become famous. I'm sorry for not welcoming such a distinguished guest. Erlang, serve some wine!"

He whistled to a lieutenant standing nearby, who then picked up a rake and lifted up a patch of loose soil on the top of the hill where no one was standing. Many round wooden objects were revealed, which turned out to be huge wooden barrels.

Wang Jian's soldiers picked up the barrels one by one and pushed them down, and they rolled down like many balls.

The Cao army was all surprised: "Could it be that these barrels are filled with wine?"

"Sending us wine? How can such a good thing happen?"

The hill was not steep, and the barrel did not roll down very fast. Although it caused the cavalry to break up slightly, it did not trip up any man or horse.

Just when everyone thought that Wang Jian was just adding to the joke, the wooden barrels suddenly cracked open and a large amount of liquid gushed out of them. There was no odor at all, only clear water.

But the clear water gushed out, splashing all over the ground, and the expressions of the heroes gradually became strange.

The terrain below the hill is low and the soil is soft. When flooded with a large amount of clean water, it instantly turned into a silt, just like the rice fields in the south.

Zhu Wen secretly thought that this was not good.

Qi Kerang had previously planned to flood the area around Yanwang City with mud by breaching the dam, thereby hindering the progress of Huang Chao's chariots. Zhu Wen, however, saw through his plan and preemptively attacked and plundered the Taining military camp, thus foiling Qi Kerang's scheme. But now, after a resounding victory, he was busy pursuing the enemy, unaware of the formidable obstacle that lay ahead!
Moreover, the water in the wine barrels alone was obviously not enough. Wang Jian ordered the soldiers to roll out of the wine barrels, apparently just to disrupt the formation of the Cao army.

As the loose soil was further dug up by the sharp soldiers of the Zhongwu Army, a series of small carts carved with auspicious patterns of peace and painted with tung oil appeared before the heroes of the Cao Army.

A group of Zhongwu Army soldiers pressed the bamboo poles of the cart, and clear water was drawn out and squeezed out, spraying towards the bottom of the hill like white dragons.

This was a fire-fighting water hose, capable of spraying water several dozen feet high. Apparently, Wang Jian had hollowed out the hilltop, storing water tanks and vast quantities of water. Now, with the floodwaters pouring down, the hillside was destined to become a swamp!
Judging from the fact that Wang Jian had prepared so many backup plans on the top of the hill, he would have withdrawn long ago if he wanted to. He stayed behind on purpose to cover the rear of the army. He was truly as bold as a lion.

"When General Song refused to accept my advice, I planned for the defeat of the entire army. Choosing this place really came in handy." Wang Jian's voice suddenly became stern: "Brothers, follow me and charge!"

At some point, Wang Jian's soldiers had all changed into light and flexible wooden clogs, carried swords and spears, shouted "Kill" in unison, and rushed down from the top of Dingfeng Hill.

However, they did not rush into the quagmire to engage in battle. Instead, they raised a row of crossbows and arrows flew like locusts, landing in the rebel army's formation, and in an instant, people and horses were thrown to the ground.

As the saying goes, "Infantry formations should be dense, cavalry formations should be sparse." The rebel cavalry certainly wouldn't be as dense as the infantry formations, but in the mud, the heavy horses couldn't gallop at all, and being shot at by crossbows was like being shot at a target, making them extremely passive.

The rushing water caused the horses to lose control.

Wang Jian's troops were all elite warriors who could attack from a distance as well as in close combat. They shot with crossbows on the mountainside and released arrows with longbows at the foot of the mountain. Then the warriors in wooden clogs, holding short spears and Mo Dao, coordinated closely and went into the swamp to slash and stab.

The Cao Army cavalrymen were stuck in the mud and could hardly move. Their formation was scattered and they were unable to resist. In a blink of an eye, many of them died under the swords and guns of Wang Jian's sharp soldiers.

"Brothers, don't be afraid!" Zhu Wen shouted, "Everyone, quickly get down to the ground and form a battle formation. How fast can wooden clogs get us in such muddy terrain? Protect your horses! The enemy can't do anything to us!"

The soldiers' morale was low due to the sudden change, but they were inspired by Zhu Wen's words. They dismounted and formed a circle with their backs to each other, with their swords facing outwards, protecting their horses in the middle, and fought with Wang Jian's elite soldiers.

Since the mud wasn't deep, it wasn't a true swamp, so even if you put your foot down, you wouldn't sink in. While it was difficult to mobilize your forces in the mud, Zhu Wen had the advantage in numbers and managed to fight a fairly even battle.

The warhorses of the heroes also had bows on their mounts that they could use for counterattacks. Even though their bows were inferior in power, they could still suppress the enemy's firepower. Moreover, in the chaotic battle, bows and crossbows were not very effective. The advantage that Wang Jian had painstakingly planned out was gradually eroded by the Cao army's soldiers.

Seeing that they could not break the deadlock in a short time, Wang Jian gave an order, and the sound of gongs and bells was heard on the hill. The loyal and brave soldiers put on wooden clogs, lined up in the mud, and retreated one after another. It was obvious that they were going back to the hillside to re-form the formation, and then use bows and crossbows to consume the rebels before launching another charge.

"Young Master Zhu, I've heard you're resourceful, but how come you've been hunting geese all day and still got your eye pecked by a goose?"

A low voice sounded beside Zhu Wen's ear. The speaker was Liu Hanhong, a Yanzhou ranger who was a subordinate of Wang Xianzhi and was a lawyer. He was known as the "Invincible Iron Tongue".

These hundreds of cavalrymen certainly couldn't be Zhu Wen's subordinates alone. Liu Hanhong had already troubled Zhu Wen during the grand banquet held by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao's alliance. Now that Zhu Wen had achieved great success, this man's dislike for him grew even stronger. While he didn't dare speak loudly to discourage his own side, he still managed to provoke Zhu Wen.

(End of this chapter)