Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 223 Broken

"I come!"

As soon as Liu Daogui's armored soldiers lined up, dozens of them charged forward, led by Shen Tianzi.

Fellow villagers of Wuxing County, never forget the blood feud we suffered!

It was clear that he was highly respected; with a single call to arms, thousands of men immediately followed him forward.

Liu Daogui felt slightly displeased. This man was like a wild horse, doing whatever he wanted without any regard for the overall situation. Sun Yizhi had armored soldiers under his command, while his men were just scattered soldiers, relying solely on their bloodlust.

But since he had already rushed out, it was too late for Liu Daogui to order him to stop.

"This guy is even crazier than us," Liu Zun muttered.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loud shout pierced the night, "Revenge!"

"Revenge!" The thousand-plus men roared in response, each one like a mad tiger, charging headlong into the demon bandit's spear without regard for their own safety.

Blood and flesh flew everywhere immediately, and more than a hundred people fell.

However, just as the demon thief sheathed his spear and thrust again, the two leaped up, their long axes transforming into a cold glint, cleaving the enemy general in two.

The other man was equally impressive, slashing back and forth with his broadsword, and three demon bandits fell to the ground.

The two men looked quite similar; they were either Shen Tianzi's brothers or his clansmen.

The general is the courage of the soldiers.

The men were so brave that their morale soared. They grabbed all sorts of weapons and charged into the enemy ranks to fight hand-to-hand. They didn't care about formations or organization; they killed anyone they saw.

The demon thief was completely bewildered by this fighting style.

Their formation was disrupted, and they were crowded together, making it difficult for them to take advantage of their numerical superiority.

The Shen brothers were incredibly brave and fierce. They were no match for the enemy, and they moved through the bandits as if they were in an empty field. Wherever they went, a pile of corpses fell.

"Change formation!" Sun Yizhi had studied military strategy after all, and Sun En must have placed high hopes on him by placing him in such an important position.

The demon bandits quickly shrank from a long formation into a circular one, like a giant snake swallowing Shen Tianzi's men whole.

"It's over... This man is a real hero, but unfortunately too reckless." Liu Zun said with a face full of regret.

"Don't speak too soon," Liu Daogui said, staring at the battle formation.

Under the firelight, the sword and spear seemed to boil.

Shen Tianzi was like a copper pea, swallowed whole by the demon thief, yet he couldn't bite or chew it properly. He fought his way through the enemy lines, once again throwing the enemy's formation into chaos.

Blood shot into the sky, and a roar was like a thunderclap from a clear sky.

The demon bandits couldn't swallow Shen Tianzi, and Shen Tianzi couldn't break through either, so the two sides were locked in a stalemate.

"I never imagined that there would be such a brave and valiant person in Jiangdong!"

Gao Xun used to look down on Southerners, but now he was speechless with amazement at Shen Tianzi's bravery.

Not only him, but even Liu Daogui was astonished. He had only ever seen such bravery in his elder brother Liu Yu before. "In thousands of years of Chinese history, where have there been no heroes?"

The Jiangdong region during the Wei and Jin dynasties was not entirely a gentle water town.

Since the end of the Han Dynasty, they had been fighting with the Baiyue for a long time, and countless barbarian tribes were lurking in the mountains and rivers of the south.

Without such bravery and fierceness, it would be impossible to possess such fertile land.

After nearly half an hour of fighting, although many of Shen Tianzi's men had fallen, the demon bandits were also in great pain, exhausted and their formation completely broken.

"Conquer the enemy troops, attack!" Liu Daogui waved his hand, preparing to deliver the final blow to this group of demonic bandits.

Destroying these four thousand armored soldiers would be a heavy blow to the demon bandits.

But at that moment, a severed head was hung on a long spear. "The bandit chief is dead! Why don't you surrender now! Hahaha..."

Shen Tianzi's maniacal laughter echoed from amidst the flashing swords.

The tall flag bearing the character "Sun" crashed down.

Liu Daoding looked closely and saw that it was indeed Sun Yizhi's head. He was even more horrified. Since ancient times, being the first to charge into battle, capture the flag, kill the general, and break through the enemy lines has been considered one of the four great military achievements. Shen Tianzi captured the flag, killed the general, and broke through the enemy lines, showing unparalleled bravery.

If Sun En had given him a more important role, this suppression of the rebellion would not have been so easy.

Of course, the Celestial Masters sect and the powerful local magnates of the Three Wu regions were merely using each other, not being of one mind.

If the imperial court hadn't been so demanding and treated them like dirt, the Celestial Masters sect wouldn't have been able to generate such a huge momentum.

Liu Daogui's efforts in Wuxing County to comfort the people and address their specific needs also helped these powerful clans to understand the situation.

The moment Sun Yi's head was raised, the demon bandits collapsed, abandoning their armor and fleeing in all directions. Some, relying on their swimming skills, even ventured into the martial world...

Suddenly, the refugees behind him shouted and rushed forward to grab the armor, weapons, and clothing.

They were even more valiant than on the battlefield, not even sparing the corpses covered in blood and flesh, stripping them all naked.

The battlefield was suddenly swarmed by locusts.

"Get out of the way!" Liu Zun and Gao Xun were leading their men to capture the prisoners, but they were blocked by these people.

Most of the rebel army vanished into the night.

Fewer than a thousand were captured alive.

"Enough! Don't pursue a desperate enemy. It's the middle of the night, and we don't know the way. If we fall into an ambush, we'll be out of control. Forget about the loot. Order the whole army to rest immediately. There's another big battle waiting for us. Once we break through Xingpu and Shanyin, we can have as much loot as we want!" Liu Daogui was speechless at the defection of these young men.

But it's not good to break off relations and treat them with military law.

Fortunately, the soldiers managed to snatch some of the armor scattered on the ground when the demon bandits fled, and they didn't mind giving away the tattered clothes.

The veterans simply lay down on the ground and went to sleep.

The others fought all night, and by dawn, Shen Tianzi's four or five hundred men were completely transformed, all clad in iron armor, their excitement still lingering. "With Sun Yizhi's defeat, Xingpu will surely tremble in fear. I will lead my warriors back to fight our way out!"

"Kill back!"

His followers behind him were equally excited, like tireless wild beasts, their eyes bloodshot.

Regardless of whether Liu Daogui agreed or not, he waved his hand and shouted to the thousands of young men, "Follow me back to Xingpu, rob money, rob grain, rob women!"

Among the refugees, some immediately responded, "Rob money, rob food, rob women!"

More and more people stepped forward, and their voices grew louder and louder.

Those who have survived to this day are all young and vigorous, and these three things are incredibly tempting to them.

Shen Tianzi's heroic performance last night had already won the hearts of the people, and more than two thousand people immediately stood on their side, most of them armored soldiers.

Gao Xun frowned and looked at Liu Daogui.

Liu Zun's face also turned bright red.

Shen Tianzi seemed to realize that he had gone too far, so he cupped his hands in a salute, but his eyes clearly showed wariness. "Please forgive me, sir. I'll take my leave now. Farewell."

After saying this, he led his followers eastward.

"This fellow is extremely rude!" Liu Zun spat.

Liu Daogui watched Shen Tianzi's retreating figure. This man was indeed brave and fierce, but he was also an unruly wild horse. Without extraordinary means, it would be impossible to subdue him.

The Shen family of Wuxing were local strongmen in the Wu region, and it was impossible for Liu Daogui, given his status and position, to win them over.

"Those who walk different paths cannot make plans together. It's better that you're gone." Liu Daogui said indifferently, as following him would only cause him headaches.

Now is not the time for internal strife. Sun Yizhi has been defeated and killed, but the rebels still have a large force in Shanyin, Shangyu and other places.

Liu Daogui did not suffer a loss; most of the refugees were still willing to follow him.

"The money, grain, and women are all in Xingpu. We need to hurry, or he'll take them all again," Liu Zun said impatiently.

Liu Daogui looked back at the troops behind him. Including these refugees, there were nearly five or six thousand people, plus two or three thousand prisoners. Together, they formed a "great army" of ten thousand.

"What's the panic? Sun Yizhi has been defeated, and Xingpu has probably already been taken down by my brother. If we're going to do something, let's do something big. Follow me and head straight for Shanyin!"

"What?" Gao Xun's eyes widened. "That's the lair of the demon thieves!"

Sun En gathered the refugees he had coerced in Xingpu to make a show of force, while leaving only about 10,000 men in Shanyin.

The other troops were scattered across the five prefectures south of the Qiantang River, burning, killing, and looting, and had no time to regroup.

The bandits are like outlaws, never staying in one place, so they are not good at defending cities.

As long as they are held back, Liu Laozhi's army will follow, and Sun En's death will be imminent.

Liu Daogui even suspected that Sun En was unwilling to defend Shanyin to the death. "You are wrong. The main base of the demon bandits is at sea, not Shanyin. Even if we cannot take Shanyin, we can still scare Sun En and break his courage."

When Sun En raised his army, he only had a thousand men. Although he had gathered more than 200,000 able-bodied men, it was nothing short of a pipe dream to think that he could build an elite force in just six months.

Not to mention Sun En couldn't do it, even Wu Qi and Sun Wu couldn't do it.

One can get a glimpse of the strength of Sun Yizhi's troops. Although the Shen brothers were indeed brave, the three or four thousand armored soldiers under Sun Yizhi's command were as fragile as paper.

"What should we do, elder brother? He only has 1,300 men under his command." Liu Zun was very loyal.

Liu Daogui looked at the western sky. It was a summer morning, and the river was flowing eastward. A refreshing breeze carried a bloody smell. "What, you still doubt his methods? If I'm not mistaken, Xingpu should have been taken. Even if it wasn't, there's no use in us rushing over there. Shen Tianzi's men are enough."

In the art of war, the worst thing one can do is to be constantly on the move.

Last night's battle wiped out one of the demon bandits' naval forces, destroyed four thousand of Sun Yizhi's armored soldiers, and also absorbed twenty to thirty thousand of the demon bandits' reinforcements. It was a great victory.

At this moment, the bandits in Xingpu should know about the crushing defeat here, and their morale must be low. Whether they have the courage to hold on is still a question.

Liu Daogui had absolute confidence in Liu Yu.

He excels at fighting tough and hard-fought battles.

Liu Zun, brandishing his axe, agreed: "Ha, not bad. What's the point of going to Xingpu to eat other people's leftovers? If you're going to go, go to Shanyin!"

"Wherever the army goes, we'll go!" The other generals clasped their hands in agreement, signifying that they had reached a consensus.

"Tan Daoji, listen to my command! Lead five hundred armored soldiers, carrying prisoners, in the front; Gao Xun, driving refugees in the middle; the soldiers in charge of the conquest of the enemy, supervising the battle from the rear; Meng Ganzhi, lead all the troops to protect the two flanks. Any deserters must be executed on the spot!"

When the number of people exceeds ten thousand, there is no end in sight.

Commanding two thousand people and commanding ten thousand people are two completely different concepts.

Moreover, the composition of this group of ten thousand people is complex, and everyone has their own thoughts. Liu Daogui can only resort to this coercive approach to maintain order.

Fortunately, the bandits were also a motley crew, and their mobilization ability might not even be as good as ours.

(End of this chapter)