Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 156: Sacrifice Your Life
The sky is high and blue. The northern mountains and rivers in March are like brocade. The beautiful spring scenery is unobstructed, and the spring breeze gently caresses the soldiers' faces.

But the determination and bravery on the soldiers' faces were not softened by the gentle spring breeze.

Being away from Lanling and deep into enemy territory made them more bloodthirsty and they looked forward to this bloody battle for a long time.

"Pass the order, rest for two hours and then return to fight a decisive battle!" Liu Daogui made a prompt decision.

"Joining the army is a great feat!" The soldiers' excited shouts said it all. They were never afraid of bloody or hard battles.

The hatred of the eight soldiers towards the Hu people became deeper and more intense, and they only regretted that they could not kill all the Hu people and avenge themselves.

The soldiers rested on the spot, chewing their dry food while lying on the ground.

Many people fell asleep while chewing, and their snoring blended with the croaking of frogs.

Liu Daogui's eyes were bloodshot. Others could sleep, but he couldn't.

Any slight change in the chasing troops will affect the outcome of this battle.

Fortunately, after several days of chasing each other, the enemy got used to Liu Daogui's escape.

A troop was dispatched from Puyang in the north and Huatai in the east to guard the cities of Chengshi and Wuyan, attempting to eliminate Liu Daogui south of Daye Lake.

Two hours later, the soldiers woke up one after another, put on their armor, and checked their bows, crossbows, and swords.

The enemy was less than thirty miles away.

At this distance, the two armies faced each other in less than half a day.

Liu Daogui brought Liu Guangzhi, Liu Heibin and other troops to observe closely.

The scouts said that the enemy had more than 11,000 troops, but only 8,000 or 9,000 arrived. Just like the Jin army, each unit of troops was given a small flag. By comparing the number of flags with the formation of soldiers, the real strength of the enemy could be quickly known.

The Yan army had been dragged on for so many days and was obviously exhausted. The formation was loose and the soldiers had little fighting spirit. Many of them even discarded their armor and were left empty-handed.

Long-distance marches sometimes test an army more than fighting a battle.

It is clear at a glance whether it is a mob or an elite force.

Eight hundred years ago, the Wei Wuzu were qualified only if they wore triple armor, held a long spear or iron halberd, hung a sharp sword from their waist, carried a powerful crossbow and fifty arrows on their backs, carried three days' worth of rations, and could march a hundred miles in half a day and immediately engage in battle.

In this era, most armies cannot achieve this.

Although our troops were also tired, they had rested for two hours after all, so their morale was still high and they were well-rested.

"The cavalry to the north is at most ten hours away from us, and Murong Long's troops to the south are six hours away. If we can't defeat them quickly, we will be in trouble."

Liu Guangzhi used to be a scout in the Northern Palace Army and was well aware of the danger of this battle.

"Six hours is enough! As long as Murong Zhou is defeated, Murong Long will die if he comes!"

After eluding the Yan army for such a long time, we finally found this opportunity to fight, and we cannot miss it.

Liu Daogui returned to his main camp, walked into the middle of the soldiers, and shouted, "Do you want to win? Do you want to survive?"

The soldiers were stunned. They didn't expect the question to be so direct. "Want to..."

Liu Daogui pointed to the north and said, "That is our land, where our ancestors are buried. How can we allow the barbarians to be so presumptuous? Even if we die in battle, we will not be ashamed of our ancestors and China!"

The soldiers gradually became excited.

Liu Daogui drew his ring-handled sword, his eyes gleaming with ferocity. He roared with all his might, "If you want to win, you must fight to the death. Soldiers, listen to my orders. If anyone in the ranks fails to advance, the rank leader will kill him. If any rank leader fails to advance, the fire leader will kill him. If any fire leader fails to advance, the chief officer will kill him. If I take a step back, you can chop off my head!"

The soldiers were all horrified. Their commander didn't even care about his own life... Liu Daogui thrust his knife into the ground and shouted even louder, "Kill one enemy and I'll reward you one string of cash. Kill an enemy general and I'll reward you a hundred strings of cash. This battle is a one-way street. I will live and die with you all!"

This is when the money is used.

As long as you win the battle, you will have everything. You don’t care about these small amounts of money. If you lose, it will be useless to keep a lot of money.

The harsh military law and high rewards made the soldiers silent for a few breaths. Then, they suddenly burst into hysterical roars: "Kill, kill, kill!"

"Kill!" Liu Daogui pointed at the Yan army in the east that had not yet formed a battle line.

In an instant, the soldiers seemed to be crazy, rushing forward like a tide. Although the enemy was clearly outnumbered, it was as if they had a mighty army. The wind and clouds suddenly changed color...

Zoucheng.

A huge flag with the word "Liu" on it stood between heaven and earth, with Murong Hui's majestic, handsome and extraordinary head hanging on it. His pale pupils looked towards the north, and his open mouth seemed to have a lot to say.

Under the ivory flag, a long dragon slowly moved northward.

The two thousand Dingling captives were driven like a flock of sheep by the Jin cavalry.

Seeing that the Jin army was slacking off, several captives took the opportunity to hide in the weeds.

But suddenly there was the sound of horse hooves, and then a long spear pierced his back, and the whole person was lifted up. Several other captives were also shot like hedgehogs.

Mao Dezuo looked to the west with worry in his eyes. He shook the long spear in his hand, and the prisoner fell to the ground. He was not dead for a while, but wailed on the ground. Soon he was trampled into a pulp by the galloping horses.

The heads of all those who escaped were cut off and hung on flagpoles to deter other prisoners.

"Ji Nu, Agui is surrounded, we should go to rescue him immediately!" In the rear army, Tan Zhi was persuading Liu Yu.

"Even if our eight hundred men rushed over, it would be useless. Instead, we would be easily trapped by Murong Long and Murong Zhou's cavalry. Our only option now is to raid Lu County."

Liu Yu was extremely calm and showed no personal feelings at all.

In fact, even if he rushed over now, it would be too late and would make this group of people exhausted.

"But..."

"No, there's no such thing as that. Once we're on the scale, we have to accept the loss. You can rest assured. Murong Long and Murong Zhou are both marching west at a rapid speed, which proves that Agui is safe and sound! When it comes to charging into battle and winning, Agui is not as good as me, and when it comes to commanding troops, I'm not as good as him."

Liu Yu looked to the west, his eyes becoming deep.

Since he said so, Tan Zhi stopped nagging about it. "There are still thousands of miles of enemy troops in Lucheng, and we only have 800 people..."

"Eight hundred men depend on whose hands they are in. In my hands, I can dominate the world!"

Liu Yu was so confident at any time and in any place.

This confidence was also passed on to every soldier. After the battle, all the fatigue was swept away. Everyone held their heads high and chests puffed out, striding towards the north with high spirits.

Even his footsteps became steady and powerful.

In a bloody battle a few days ago, Liu Yu's heroic figure on the battlefield still lingers in the hearts of the soldiers.

The Northern Army had always admired the strong. Liu Laozhi was so powerful that he could defeat ten thousand enemies. The Northern Army generals followed his lead. Tan Zhi felt that Liu Yu was no less powerful, and even surpassed him...

As long as they can survive this battle, Liu Yu and Liu Daogui will surely become two rising stars in the Northern Palace Army.

(End of this chapter)