Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 69 Descendants of the Duke
"All battle formations in the world, no matter how they vary, remain essentially the same. Almost all of them are derived from the Eight Formations of Wu Hou and the Six Flower Formations of Wei Gong." Shang Rang observed the battle formations of General Yan's army from the roof of the tall observation pole carriage and analyzed, "The battle formation used by General Yan should be a variation of Li Wei Gong's Six Flower Formation."

A lookout vehicle is a chariot used for reconnaissance and command. It is climbed upwards by pedals on a vertical pole. A lookout tower is set on the top of the high pole, and a rotating shaft is installed at the bottom of the tower, which can rotate in all directions for observation.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, Duke Li Jing of Wei used Zhuge Liang's Eight Diagrams Diagram as a basis, deduced the gains and losses, and created the Six Flower Diagram, which was commonly used throughout the Tang Dynasty.

The circular formation of the Cao army is more similar to the original Wu Hou Eight Formations, and focuses more on strengthening the defense of the infantry phalanx.

Shang Rang was not saying this to Wang Xianzhi, but to the shadow beside him.

Because Wang Xianzhi, as always, led the charge, he flew through the air and landed in the vanguard in a moment.

The sleeves swept out like lightning, like beating leather. The Jiangling warriors who were crushing the front and breaking through the battle line were instantly blown away like dead leaves in the wind, and their flesh and blood spurted out in the air.

The Jiangling soldiers who were under fierce attack naturally could not have the same defensive vigilance as Song Wei's five-square formation.

They were caught off guard by Wang Xianzhi's charge with the power to sweep away thousands of troops.

Even though they were warriors filled with hatred and ready to die, facing the unparalleled power of the world's number one master, they were still oppressed by the momentum and had to stop charging and retreat.

"Hold on!" Lei Yinfu roared, but he, who was originally the leader, quickly retreated to avoid Wang Xianzhi's devastating palm wind.

When Wang Xianzhi attacked with all his might, he even injured Xue Shuai Qi Kerang with a single blow. Lei Yinfu didn't want to be beaten into a meat pie by Wang Xianzhi.

The supervising team behind the Jiangling army fired crossbows and instantly killed many soldiers who turned around and fled.

At this time, the government army's center and left and right wings had already followed up, and there was a tendency to rotate the Jiangling army, which had suffered serious losses.

Even if Marshal Yan took advantage of the Jiangling soldiers' desire for revenge and organized them into a suicide squad to be consumed as cannon fodder, he could never leave them completely without hope of survival.

The new reinforcements quickly filled in the positions, and the formation changed like flowing water, without finding any flaws.

Wang Xianzhi had to admire General Zhen Ranyu's ability to deploy troops and use their forces.

The Tang Dynasty's Jiedushi system, which combined forces from several military governorates, always presented a significant challenge in terms of coordination. The collapse of Song Wei's army at the hands of Wang Xianzhi at the Battle of Songzhou was attributed to the poor coordination between the three military governors under his command.

But although they were all joint forces, the soldiers spoke different dialects and accents, but under Commander Yan's command they were all as easy as using one's own arm.

Wang Xianzhi's gaze suddenly turned deep, and he stared at Lei Yinfu who was retreating into the formation like a hawk, wondering whether he should twist off this kid's head to undermine the enemy's morale.

Taking the head of an enemy general amidst thousands of soldiers is not a rare thing for Wang Xianzhi, the world's number one master.

What's more, during the Songzhou battle, Lei Yinfu had already spoken rudely to Wang Xianzhi.

Suddenly, a strong wind blew in the face, and several figures in helmets and armor rushed into the field in an instant.

A Xuanhua axe cut through the sky and chopped down towards Wang Xianzhi's head.

A pair of golden maces shine brightly in the sun, reflecting dazzling spots of light.

Two pitch-black iron whips swept over, as if with the power to subdue demons and monsters.

A bright silver spear came like an angry dragon stirring up the sea, and its ups and downs seemed like the rolling sea of ​​clouds.

A heavy sword shaped like a huge gate chopped down with such force that it seemed to be able to split the air.

These people exuded blood energy as surging as raging waves, and they were obviously masters of the time.

"Wang Xianzhi, you've been domineering for too long. This peaceful world has no room for you!"

The man's voice was powerful and majestic, with an air of authority like Mount Tai.

Wang Xianzhi laughed loudly, waving his robe sleeves, leaving behind a rustling afterimage, as if he had an incarnation outside of his body. In an instant, he caught the five weapons and forced the five men to retreat.

The soldiers of both armies, seeing the weapons of these five men, were able to guess their identities.

Just like the weapon that the former Tianping Jiedushi Xue Chong always carried with him was a Fang Tian Hua Ji that shone with dazzling silver light.

Therefore, the weapon used by Kou Qianzhi, the deputy envoy of Taining Jiedushi, was also a sword called the Moon in the Well.

"You are all old friends of the Zhenyi Alliance. You have come from afar, so why don't you talk nicely?"

Wang Xianzhi smiled and spoke freely, his clothes were not stained with blood, and he exuded the demeanor of a master, who was profound and majestic.

"Who are you, a bandit?" A muffled female voice spoke, belonging to the person holding the golden maces. She was about forty years old, tall and thin, with a sallow complexion.

"The founder of our Zhenyi League is Wang Bodang, the 'White-Robed Divine Arrow,' and among the five of us, four are also descendants of the heroes of Wagang. How can I, Wang, not call myself an old friend of these three?"

As soon as these words were spoken, the five people didn't know how to refute them.

Cheng Qianxi, Qin Shuangbo, Yuchi Yifeng, Luo Xiang, Xu Yuanping.

These were the true names of the descendants of these five nobles. Four of them had ancestors who were sworn brothers with Wang Bodang, the founder of the Zhenyi League, and who had sworn an oath of blood to die together for Li Mi, the Duke of Pushan.

Wang Xianzhi was certainly not a descendant of Wang Bodang. However, Wang Bodang was ambushed by the Tang army together with Li Mi, the Duke of Pushan. Wang Bodang lost a hand and a foot, faked his death and changed his name to establish the Zhenyi League. All his descendants died in that battle.

Therefore, Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the Zhenyi Alliance, is undoubtedly the most authentic successor of Wang Bodang.

Even in the writings of Tang Dynasty historians, Wang Bodang was a hero of his generation because of his loyalty and loyalty to his master until his death.

The five people could curse Wang Xianzhi as a "thief", but they could not say anything wrong about Wang Bo, who had already been defined by history. Otherwise, wouldn't that be an insult to the government?

Since Wang Bodang was indeed their ancestors' sworn brother and comrade, it made perfect sense for Wang Xianzhi to visit them to reminisce about the past.

"Our ancestors always served their respective masters and followed the general trend." Luo Xiang pointed his spear and said coldly, "If you, Wang Xianzhi, could find a descendant of Li Mi, the Duke of Pushan, and serve him as your master, I would still say you are loyal and righteous. But now, in this peaceful and prosperous time, you, a bandit, are causing chaos in the prefectures and counties, disrupting the peace. This is truly an unforgivable crime!"

Folk storytelling depicts Luo Cheng as a cool-faced, sharp-shooting wielder, but the real Luo Shixin, Duke of Tan, was an ugly, cruel, and murderous dwarf. Luo Xiang's appearance and build closely resembled his ancestor, though he possessed a rather sharp tongue.

"Dogs and pigs devour human food without a trace of restraint, while the starving people on the road are ignored. Not to mention the idea of ​​a prosperous era, have you ever thought about this? Why is it that Xue Chong, a descendant of Xue Rengui, who is a descendant of a founding hero, was able to become a military governor of a town, while the rest of you can only be sent by General Yan to die before Wang's army, even the descendants of Xu Shiji, the Duke of Ying, are no exception?"

Wang Xianzhi spoke slowly and calmly, and several people were shocked at the same time.

Of course, they would not think that their talents were inferior to Xue Chong, who died under Huang Chao's knife.

But they have been fighting for half their lives, and they are still just generals who charge into battle and are ordered around by others. They are totally unworthy of the great reputation of their ancestors who were included in the Lingyan Pavilion!
"I haven't read much, but I know that among the heroes, there are meritorious men and meritorious dogs."

Naturally, several people knew this story.

Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, once said, "In hunting, the dog chases and kills the rabbit, while the man finds and points out the animal's whereabouts. You, the gentlemen, can only catch the running animal, which is a waste of your efforts."

He actually directly evaluated the heroes who risked their lives for him as "meritorious dogs".

Liu Bang had always been rough and unrefined in his actions, but when the five heard Wang Xianzhi's statement that their ancestors were all meritorious servants, they couldn't help but look indignant: "You said our ancestors were just meritorious servants, then how are Xue Chong's ancestors more noble than ours?"

"Noble in that both Xue Rengui and Xue Chong are from the renowned Hedong Xue family. The Hedong Xue family rose to prominence four hundred years before Xue Rengui was born. Your ancestors were humble children back then, and so are you two hundred years later. Despite the titles of nobility, you are nothing more than humble children, worthless as grass in the eyes of the noble families!"

Wang Xianzhi spoke eloquently: "Look, this is the fate of the former Wagang heroes who worked for the Longxi Li family!"

As soon as these words were spoken, not only the five people, but also the soldiers of the two armies around them changed color.

Wang Xianzhi's words really hit the nail on the head.

So what if Duke Ying, Xu Shiji, was a master of military strategy? So what if Duke Bao, Yuchi Gong, and Duke Yi, Qin Shubao, braved danger to protect Emperor Taizong and were both honored as door gods?

When their talents and achievements are similar, they will never be able to compare with the children of the aristocracy who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth.

These heart-piercing words made the descendants of the five dukes feel so angry that their lungs were about to explode.

In this world, the truth is often the most hurtful.

"Death to you, you bastard!"

Five people roared at the same time.

There was murderous intent in their eyes, and they attacked with roars, vowing to grind Wang Xianzhi into pulp.

But Wang Xianzhi added lightly.

"You, the descendants of nobles, have no connections to the aristocratic families, so you can only rely on eunuchs to rise in the Shen Ce Army. Marshal Yan, however, does not like eunuchs. She asked me to get rid of a few of them, which will just weaken the power of eunuchs in the court."

This sentence really made the five generals panic.

"Duh!"

Wang Xianzhi glared and shouted, then slapped out with his palm. Yin and Yang energies flowed in his palm, and the light flickered.

After a series of crisp sounds like popping beans, Luo Xiang's spear broke, his chest collapsed, blood gushed out of his mouth, and he flew backwards several feet and fell to the ground. His body was limp like a worm, and the mouth that had been chattering just now could no longer utter a word.

For a moment, the officers and soldiers were all stunned!
Even though the descendants of the five dukes are not as powerful as the former Tianping Army Jiedushi and "Silver Halberd General" Xue Chong, the gap is very small.

At the beginning, when Xue Chong faced Huang Chao, who was no less powerful than Xue Shuai Qi Kerang, he was ambushed and still fought for dozens of rounds before Huang Chao used the "dragging sword" tactic and killed him on the spot with a move of "Jade Fire and Golden Light Sword".

The descendants of the five great dukes joined forces to attack, and the strength they displayed was far superior to that of "Heavenly Sword" Song Jue and even Snow Marshal Qi Kerang.

But before Wang Xianzhi could be hurt at all, in the blink of an eye, Wang Xianzhi used his unique skill "Sun and Moon in the Palm" to kill Luo Xiang, the descendant of Luo Shixin.

This was not only because Wang Xianzhi's martial arts were extraordinary, but also because the descendants of the five dukes were disturbed by Wang Xianzhi's words and their cooperation was disrupted.

(End of this chapter)