Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 70 Ambush from all sides
Is Yan Shuai a child from a poor family?

No one dared to say this in front of Marshal Yan. People all said that Marshal Yan was from the Zhen family of Zhongshan.

This is a famous family in the Han and Jin Dynasties with a longer history than the Hedong Xue family. Its status was once comparable to that of the Hongnong Yang family and the Runan Yuan family. It is also famous for producing many beautiful women. Its representative figure includes the queen of Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi, the "Goddess of Luo River" Zhen Mi.

Judging from the appearance of Yan Shuai himself, he does have some of the charm of the Goddess of Luo River.

The only problem is that the name of Zhongshan Zhen family does not appear in the official family genealogy of the Tang Dynasty.

To become a prominent family in the world, the first condition is of course a long history, but the more important one is the continuous inheritance of Confucian classics and the maintenance of influence from generation to generation.

Since Wang Xianzhi, the leader of the Wang clan, can no longer be proud of his identity as a member of the Wang clan of Langya, it is very interesting to think about how much the origin of Yan Shuai, who is a member of the Zhen clan of Zhongshan, is worth.

In the history of the Tang Dynasty, the small group of young men from poor families who had overcome numerous hardships to gain high positions had greater objections to eunuchs than the gentry.

Several historical campaigns against eunuchs, such as the Yongzhen Reforms and the Ganlu Plan, were organized primarily by members of the lower classes. Liu Zongyuan, a descendant of the Hedong Liu clan, was exiled for his involvement in such campaigns, and his friend Han Yu even added a sarcastic remark in his epitaph: "He does not consider his own dignity."

The descendants of the five dukes did not know whether Marshal Yan opposed the eunuch party - it was impossible for Marshal Yan to sit in this position without making friends with the eunuch party.

But when Wang Xianzhi pointed out this problem, they realized that if Marshal Yan took an anti-eunuch stance, he would have sufficient reasons to send them to death.

In a duel between masters, a fraction of a second could mean the difference between life and death. A moment of panic cost Luo Xiang his life.

Cheng Qianxi, who rushed over to rescue, also found that the situation had gone awry.

Not only did he fail to save Luo Xiang, but Wang Xianzhi's left sleeve spread out like a tide, flowing along the handle of Cheng Qianxi's axe. In an instant, the cloth sleeve became sharper than a magic weapon. With a swish, three fingers of Cheng Qianxi fell to the ground with blood.

Cheng Qianxi groaned in pain, picked up the fallen axe with his left hand, and flew away.

Xu Yuanping, Qin Shuangbo, and Yuchi Yifeng looked at each other with changed expressions, and cold sweats were immediately dripping down their backs.

However, in the blink of an eye, one of the five descendants of the Dukes died and one was injured.

Any one of the five men, facing a master of the same level as the Four Marshals and Huang Chao, would dare to stand up and fight, and would have the confidence to last for more than thirty rounds.

No matter how powerful a general is, it is impossible for him to kill thousands of people in one battle.

What the generals fight for is the morale of both sides.

Generals Xu Yuanping, Qin Shuangbo, Yuchi Yifeng and Cheng Qianxi were terrified and withdrew. As a result, the entire vanguard of the government army became turbulent, like a small boat in the waves.

Wang Xianzhi let out a long roar, like a hurricane that swept into the formation. His movement was the eye of the hurricane, stirring up the swirling flesh and blood, completely surrounding Wang Xianzhi's figure.

His palm moves like thunderbolt, his sleeves wave like the wind, and he has never been able to defeat any enemy!
When Wang Xianzhi walked with his clothes flying, roaring proudly between heaven and earth, the clouds that piled up in the sky like mountains seemed to be washed away by the blood energy above his head, and dispersed in an instant. The golden sunlight poured down, casting a brilliant halo on the flying blood shadow.

I'm afraid that even with the strength to move mountains and the courage to conquer the world, it's just like this.

For a moment, the morale of the Cao army was greatly boosted and they cheered in unison.

Even though he was trapped in the enemy's schemes, even though he was facing the unparalleled wisdom of Marshal Yan, even though he was at a disadvantage in the first battle.

But they also have the legendary General Wang Xianzhi, who has been undefeated for forty years.

As soon as Wang Xianzhi made a move, the originally low morale suddenly soared and reached the sky.

"Brothers, follow me and charge forward to slay these imperial lackeys without a single one remaining!"

"Follow the leader's order!"

Thousands of camps shouted in unison, accompanied by the pace of charging into battle. The sky and the earth trembled in the blood and bravery of the soldiers. The vanguard of the government army, which had been advancing straight ahead, fell into a situation of retreat in an instant.

Chuoying watched the battle unfold from above, her eyes, veiled by the black veil, a flicker of joy filling them. "I've never seen the leader in action before, and I never imagined he possessed such might as to move mountains and overturn seas. Perhaps the ancients' description of a ten thousand-man foe is no more than this, isn't it?"

Master's attack was unstoppable, and Shang Rang couldn't help but look pleased. Furthermore, judging by the situation, the enemy didn't look like they were feigning defeat.

However, the change in the opposite formation made Shang Rang's expression gradually become serious.

"Not good!" Shang Rang suddenly exclaimed.

"What's wrong?" Chaoying opened her mouth slightly. She realized that Shang Rang had undoubtedly discovered something very terrible.

"Transform male into female." Shang Rang whispered, "This formation hasn't been used in a thousand years."

Chuoying's delicate body trembled. "Is this the formation used by the military genius Han Xin to defeat the Overlord of Chu at Gaixia?"

Shang Rang nodded without saying anything.

The so-called male formation and female formation are not complicated to explain. The former is like an outward-facing crescent moon, which can concentrate its strength to attack the enemy in front, while the latter is like an inward-facing crescent moon, which can squeeze the enemy's forward vanguard from all directions.

In the Battle of Gaixia, Han Xin retreated because the central army's attack was unfavorable, and the two generals Kong Fei advanced on the left and right. During this advance and retreat, Xiang Yu's army was surrounded by the Han army, attacked on three sides, and was finally defeated.

Afterwards, Xiang Yu fell into an ambush by the Han army from all sides. After a quick battle in Dongcheng, he finally committed suicide by slashing his throat at the Wujiang River.

Fourteen years earlier, Hannibal, the god of war of Carthage in Ctesi, also used a similar formation to defeat a larger Roman army with a smaller one, defeating 87,000 troops and killing or capturing 75,000 people.

"This formation can be used to defeat both the many and the few. The key point is that even if the center army is truly defeated, the timely replacement of the follow-up troops and the fighting on the two wings can still lure the enemy into the encirclement. A real defeat is also a feint."

"Once the enemy is trapped in a crescent-shaped encirclement, their space for movement is compressed. Soldiers will be forced to use their weapons, squeezing and stacking each other. No matter how elite your troops and generals are, they will be slaughtered."

"Since the use of this formation was even earlier than the Eight Formations of Wu Hou and the Six Flower Formations of Wei Gong, its essence was concealed by Marshal Yan's Six Flower Formation, and we were deceived for a while." At this point, Shang Rang felt extremely resentful in his heart. Why did he only see the essence of this formation now?
If the Salt Marshal Huang Chao was in command, Huang Chao himself was a master of formations who could compete with the Flame Marshal Zhen Ranyu. He would definitely be able to see through Zhen Ranyu's arrangements and would never let Wang Xianzhi fall into such a dangerous situation!

"What if our two wings quickly block the enemy's attack and prevent them from joining together?"

Chuoying suddenly said, "The enemy has few cavalry. Their main liaisons are the 500 Shatuo cavalry under Li Fu, the governor of Shannan East Road. But if our cavalry deploys all its might, it will be enough to stop them."

Shang Rang lowered his eyes to think, and then realized that this was his last hope.

Cavalrymen didn't become prehistoric monsters just because they were called Shatuo. The difference between Shatuo soldiers was perhaps greater than that between humans and dogs. While Li Fu's five hundred Shatuo cavalrymen were considered competent, having previously broken through the Cao army's intercepting force in Jingmen, neither they nor their fathers had any previous experience with the Feng Shuai family.

"Order all troops, abandon defense and fight to the death!" Shang Rang beat the drums and issued the order: "Commanders of the cavalry, you must regard life and death as nothing. Advance means death, retreat means life! Only in this way can our army survive."

His mind was working beyond its limit, beads of sweat dripped down his forehead and were blown away by the wind. Just issuing one command after another made his whole body feel hot as fire and his face turned red.

Now is the time to race against time.

With the flags waving and the messenger knights galloping, Wang Xianzhi, who was fighting fiercely in the front, had also received the urgent news from Shang Rang.

"They actually used the same formation that Han Xin used to besiege and kill the Overlord of Chu." Wang Xianzhi laughed heartily, looking up to the sky. "How could I possibly betray such kindness?"

He charged left and right in the ranks of the government troops, crushing them in their path. With his own strength, he carved out a clear alley of flesh and blood in the ranks.

The group of personal soldiers who were charging forward with him could now see Zhen Ranyu's central army flag.

The two thousand elite soldiers under Yang Fuguang, who served as successors, have now been rotated up to guard the central army as the last line of defense.

Killing a general and killing a commander are two completely different dimensions.

The founding generals Yuchi Gong and Qin Qiong both had the ability to capture generals by name. As long as Qin Wang Li Shimin pointed out the name of a fierce general in the enemy army, they would ride alone into the enemy formation, kill him from his horse, or capture him and hand him over.

However, killing the enemy commander can directly change the outcome of the entire battle.

Therefore, the location of the enemy commander is often the strongest position in the enemy formation and is guarded by the most elite troops. It is itself a huge death trap.

Throughout history, there are only a few records of beheading generals and defeating armies, such as Guan Gong beheading Yan Liang and Xue Rengui beheading the general of Goguryeo.

Even the extremely brave and valiant Wudao Heavenly King Ran Min was captured alive when his horse was injured and died while he was trying to break through the enemy line to kill the Xianbei commander Murong Ke!
Wang Xianzhi looked up and saw a high hill with a large number of guards standing among them and a chariot under its flag.

Yan Shuai Zhen Ranyu sat leisurely on the carriage, wearing a wide robe and a belt, with powder on his jade-like face. He looked lazy and calm, with the demeanor of a famous scholar of the Wei and Jin Dynasties.

When she wore women's clothes, she was extremely beautiful. When she put on celebrity clothes and waved flags in her hands, she had an ethereal and elegant demeanor like an immortal.

"Alliance Leader Wang Xianzhi, I'm honored to meet you." Zhen Ranyu sipped the tea from the white porcelain cup passed to him by the guard beside him and said leisurely. His voice was very soft, but everyone under the hill could hear it clearly: "Alliance Leader, are you here to take my head?"

"If you want to take half of Sheng Yanshuai's son, this is the only way."

Wang Xianzhi said calmly, and with a flick of his sleeves, he unleashed a magnetic attraction.

As he charged forward, he also severely injured Xu Yuanping, a descendant of the Duke of Ying. Unable to escape, Xu Yuanping, along with his greatsword, was sucked in by Wang Xianzhi to within half a foot of him, unable to move. With a flick of his sleeve, Wang Xianzhi struck, snapping Xu Yuanping's spine like a dead branch, sending him sprawling to the ground. The heavy iron sword was also bent and sent flying sideways, smashing the heads of two more soldiers.

"Alliance Leader Wang's martial arts are unrivaled. It's not impossible for him to take my head amidst the vast army." Zhen Ranyu gently hooked her jade finger, revealing a hint of regret: "What a pity, Alliance Leader, you don't have the chance."

Wang Xianzhi's eyes were fixed on Zhen Ran's figure in the jade carriage.

"This doesn't mean your second disciple, Shang Rang, isn't commanding well enough. He's done a remarkably good job, successfully pinning down both flanks of our army. He even managed to hold back Li Fu's Shatuo cavalry. Otherwise, this formation would have surrounded Alliance Leader Wang on all sides." Zhen Ranyu commented, "If I had such a talent among my 'Five Heavenly Swordsmen', I would be extremely delighted."

Long service in the military makes it difficult to master formations. A young man like Shang Rang, facing the unparalleled formation changes of Yan Shuai, could respond at this level. Even his master, Wang Xianzhi, was somewhat surprised by Shang Rang's progress.

Lei Yinfu listened to Zhen Ranyu's lecture with respect, and had no complaints about Yan Shuai saying that the Five Burning Heaven Swords were not as good as Shang Rang.

He had followed Yan Shuai for many years and knew that Yan Shuai did not like to praise others, especially his enemies. If he did so, it would always be before he gave his enemy the greatest despair.

"However, your disciple Shang Rang has disbanded the circular formation and is now fully engaged in the battle against our army. This leaves your formation wide open on the river bank. Furthermore, your fleet is currently tied up on the riverbank and has not yet set sail."

"At this moment, if a hundred elite cavalrymen rushed out, they could cut your formation in two."

Only then did Wang Xianzhi and the personal guards around him understand where Marshal Yan's last ambush was hidden.

on board.

It may sound incredible that a hundred elite cavalrymen could cut off an army of tens of thousands. However, during the Battle of Shayuan during the Northern and Southern Dynasties, the fierce general Li Bi cut off the 40,000-strong army of the great hero Gao Huan, who boasted a force of 200,000, with only 60 elite cavalrymen.

Facing the grass army that generally wears light armor, the armored cavalry, with both men and horses wearing armor, can be a devastating weapon if used properly.

It turns out that the dangerous mountains and rivers are not only a natural barrier to block the Cao army, but also a place where General Yan can ambush troops.

The male and female formations were ambushed from all sides. Wang Xianzhi knew that General Yan had used all the tactics that the military genius Han Xin had used against the King of Chu on him.

In this game, if we only consider calculations and military tactics, the Cao army should have been defeated with conviction and would not be able to say a word.

But Wang Xianzhi understood that as long as he was still alive, he would not give up the fight.

He had come here with the intention of dying. If he could win by chance, it would be a gift from heaven. But now that he was in this situation, death was death, so what was there to fear?

Moreover, as the world's number one master and the leader of the martial arts world who has suppressed the martial arts world for forty years, he will never give up the last hope of victory.

(End of this chapter)