You have truly caused me great suffering!

Chapter 64 Arrogant Army Advances
Finally, he returned to Hengshan. Looking at Hengshan, the former border wall of the Western Xia, Richard was filled with emotion.

The loss of Hengshan by the Western Xia was like the loss of the Sixteen Prefectures of Youyun by the Central Plains; from then on, both lost the initiative.

Others can hit you whenever they want.

After marching for a long time, he did not see a single living person, and the scouts reported that the fortresses ahead were all quiet and without flags.

Although Richard was cautious, he never expected there to be resistance ahead.

Although there were a few fortified villages, they were just desperate Song soldiers making laughable struggles there.

We should break through them with overwhelming force and boost morale.

Xingqing Village took the lead, standing at the very front.

Although the soldiers in the village were not very well-disciplined, they were all veterans who had been through many battles.

Han Shizhong's gaze drifted towards Qinggang Village in the distance.

Chen Shaozheng was there; he refused Han Shizhong's suggestion to stay in the rear and instead took the lead at the front.

This surprised Han Shizhong.

He also knew that he hadn't truly seen through this young ruler.

The Western Xia army finally appeared.

Richard's prepared army charged towards the camp without regard for anything else, followed by large troop of Western Xia soldiers.

Rockets streaked across the sky, leaving long plumes of smoke, their roars almost like a tidal wave crashing over everything!

Han Shizhong looked coldly at the surrounding soldiers, who showed little fear.

They were all veterans who had fought the Western Xia people countless times.

Before long, a large cavalry force had surged outside the moat, consisting of several hundred of Richard's handpicked elite warriors.

Richard didn't actually take these fortified villages seriously. In his view, they were all defeated enemies who had been defeated once, and they would definitely retreat on their own when he attacked.

I heard that they killed a group of careless Western Xia soldiers. Even though they only lost 800 men, the Song Dynasty was making a big fuss about killing 10,000.

This forced me to send people to inquire overnight, and it took several inquiries to confirm that only a small team had been lost.

Richard was both angry and amused, but his contempt for the Song people intensified.

Looking at the cavalry attacking the camp.

Han Shizhong sneered repeatedly. The wooden bridge over the moat had long been taken down. Anyone who wanted to cross would have to pay the price of at least a hundred men.

Sure enough, behind them, carrying planks on their backs, one man tumbled off his horse, picked up a plank, and charged forward through a hail of arrows.

"shoot!"

Han Shizhong waved his hand, and the men on the stockade wall drew their bows and arrows, and arrows rained down in an instant.

Especially the large crossbows; the people on the stockade could step on the crossbow stirrups, pull the string, and easily shoot through the wooden planks.

Richard frowned as he looked from a distance and gritted his teeth, saying, "Why would this mere fortress have a divine crossbow!"

Despite the heavy casualties in a short period of time, Richard gritted his teeth and persevered.

He didn't believe that such a small fortress could have many crossbows.

The desperate fighting style ultimately paid off. A few simple wooden planks were pieced together to form a wooden bridge, and dozens of riders flew across the moat and headed straight for the camp gate.

At the gate, a deafening roar of battle cries erupted from both sides. They were locked in a fierce melee, one side trying to break out, the other trying to charge in. A massive turbulent current formed at the camp gate, weapons flying and clashing, men falling from their horses and collapsing covered in blood. Richard breathed a sigh of relief; sure enough, they were running low on crossbow bolts!

As a veteran, Richard knew he had paid the price for underestimating his opponent, which annoyed him.

After all, their goal was to penetrate Song territory, and losing too many soldiers in such a place would greatly demoralize their side.

His only chance was to ride the wave of victory at Ancheng and charge in to plunder and kill his way in.

Morale must not falter!

These cavalrymen did not bring siege equipment, nor did they clear out the outer outposts. They thought they could easily break through the fortress, but ended up losing a hundred or so of their elite cavalrymen in vain.

Fortunately, although they put up some resistance, it was limited. Now that they had engaged in close combat, Richard was confident of victory.

However, the anticipated rout of the enemy troops did not occur. These Song soldiers were surprisingly capable, fiercely attacking from behind the stockade walls, which were also surprisingly sturdy; the renowned Western Xia heavy cavalry could not breach them at all.

The corpses at the camp gate were piled up in layers, and black blood flowed everywhere, staining the horses' hooves red!

Richard then discovered that the divine crossbow on the stockade wall had not been used up at all.

At this moment, they started shooting again, destroying the makeshift pontoon bridge and using crossbow bolts and moats to cut off their troops.

In other words, they let these people in on purpose.

The purpose was to annihilate these heavy cavalrymen who were attacking the camp, and not give them a chance to escape. After all, if these heavily armored cavalrymen wanted to retreat, the Song people could not stop them.

We've met our match!
Richard almost shuddered, his mind instantly clearing. This time, it wasn't the easy crushing he had expected; he had met his match.

Whether it's their tactics, deployment, or their deliberate feigned weakness to create the illusion that there's no resistance here, the other side came prepared.

Moreover, these Song soldiers also demonstrated the qualities of seasoned veterans. The veterans of the Song army were capable of forming ranks and using infantry to withstand heavy cavalry charges; Richard knew them all too well.

He immediately and decisively ordered a retreat to minimize losses.

However, once the order to withdraw was given, the cavalrymen who had been fighting the enemy camp had no chance of survival.

The shouts and clashes stirred everyone's adrenaline. Some cursed as they fought to the death with the Song army, while others had nowhere to go but jumped into the moat with a thud. The muddy water was filled with human heads.

Han Shizhong's tall figure quickly rushed to the front, and countless Xia soldiers, who had nowhere to advance or retreat, were killed by him!
His movements were large, yet precise and powerful. He used a straight sword for protection, and spears to smash or stab, and if one was broken, he would simply grab another.

At this time, the other fortresses also began to provide support. These fortresses were all built with their backs to the deep mountains and their fronts facing the Baima River. Squads of cavalry emerged from the various fortresses, not pursuing the enemy too far, but instead marching along one side of the moat formed by the Baima River, shouting slogans, firing fire arrows to set the city ablaze, and hacking and slashing in all directions.

Many of these cavalrymen were from other ethnic groups, including the Dangxiang Qiang people who shared the same clan as the Western Xia royal family. They fought more fiercely than anyone else.

The Western Xia dynasty oppressed its people too much. The emperor treated the people like dirt, and the people regarded the emperor as an enemy, regardless of your ethnicity.

Chen Shao also came out, riding on horseback. To be honest, he wasn't much of a fighter, but he was extremely good at boosting morale.

With the commander-in-chief here, what is there to be afraid of!
Dong Dahu followed beside him, holding an iron hammer. With each swing, he smashed a Xia soldier's head into a shattered gourd.

He was extremely brave and charged straight at whatever he faced. He dodged the opponent's weapon at the last second. The long-handled iron hammer was not actually very heavy, but the top-heavy weapon required a lot of strength to control. Dong Dahu swung it into a ball of black light, smashing countless skulls!
Richard looked at the battlefield situation with a grim expression. His troops retreated quickly because they were all cavalry.

Apart from the cavalry that were certain to be wiped out, the rest could retreat, and even launch a counterattack while retreating.

To be honest, the loss wasn't significant and is perfectly acceptable.

But the blow to morale infuriated him, and he could only try to salvage it with an even greater victory!

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(End of this chapter)