Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

Now, after receiving Shang Rang's order, Wang Fan led two thousand soldiers to gather the defeated troops and organize a defensive line on the west side of the official road, and dared not delay for a moment.

He was originally a scholar and had no knowledge of warfare, but he was good at thinking things through and making good decisions. Over the years, he followed Huang Chao in battles across the north and south, and he has become quite skilled in military affairs and logistics.

At that moment, he stood on a slightly elevated mound beside the official road, shaded his eyes with his hand, looked westward, and surveyed the surrounding terrain. He then made a decision in his mind.

East of Longweipi, the official road winds and twists, and apart from Qishan Mountain to the north, there are no high mountains or great rivers, only gentle slopes and sparse poplar groves.

This terrain is not particularly dangerous, but it is not entirely without support either.

Wang Fan immediately issued a military order, dividing his two thousand troops into three parts:

Five hundred men from the left capital occupied a mile-long earthen slope on the north side of the official road.

Five hundred men from the Right Capital occupied a small earthen slope half a mile south of the official road.

He personally commanded the remaining thousand soldiers, forming a battle array along the road to gather the routed troops and guard against the pursuing Tang army.

The three positions are mutually supportive; if one side is attacked, the other two can provide support.

Once the military order was issued, the captains and brigade commanders acted accordingly.

After the arrangements were completed, Wang Fan ordered a simple wooden platform to be built in the middle of the official road.

This machine, made of just a few wooden planks, was about ten feet tall and could barely support three to five people. It was the place where the defeated soldiers were gathered and orders were issued.

He climbed onto the wooden platform and looked westward. He saw a steady stream of defeated soldiers retreating towards him on the official road. They came in twos and threes, some with wounds wrapped around their arms, some empty-handed, and some who had even lost one of their boots and were walking barefoot with a limp.

"Raise the banner."

Wang Fan instructed the messenger beside him...

"Guide the defeated soldiers back into the battle lines and tell them that there will be hot soup and dry bread at the rear so that they can rest well."

The messenger received the order and relayed it down the ranks.

Before long, dozens of defeated soldiers gathered at the foot of the wooden platform.

There were remnants of the old camp and Xu Jian's men from the vanguard. They were all covered in dust and looked pale. When they saw Wang Fan, they were like he was their savior. They knelt down and cried about how fierce the Tang army was and how they had escaped death.

Wang Fan offered a few kind words of comfort, then ordered his men to take them to the back of the formation, and instructed the cooks to boil water and prepare food.

His heart sank. The morale of these defeated soldiers was even worse than he had expected; their eyes darted around, their hands trembled, and they clearly looked utterly terrified.

If a large number of such defeated soldiers were to gather, it would be fortunate if they could simply remain behind the lines and not cause trouble, let alone regroup.

Just as he was pondering this, Vice General Pang Min rode his horse onto the mound, clasped his hands in greeting, and said:

"Commander Wang, you have gathered more than three hundred defeated soldiers and placed them all behind the lines. However, these defeated soldiers are demoralized, and many of them are wounded, so I'm afraid they will be unable to fight again."

Wang Fan nodded and said:

"Don't count on them. Pick out those who still have weapons and armor, form them into two teams, and keep them in the rear as reserves. Let the rest who are unarmed go east on their own; they don't need to stay here."

Pang Min responded and was about to go do it when she saw Wang Fan suddenly raise his hand and whisper in her ear:

Listen.

Pang Min was taken aback and listened intently.

A series of heavy footsteps echoed from afar, accompanied by the heavy breathing and muffled shouts of countless people.

The footsteps grew closer and louder, eventually rumbling over like muffled thunder, causing the wooden platform beneath their feet to tremble slightly.

Pang Min's expression changed, and he blurted out:

"Routed soldiers? Damn it, how come there are so many of them?"

Wang Fan did not answer, but quickly climbed to the highest point of the wooden platform, held onto the railing, and looked westward.

Upon seeing this, his pupils suddenly contracted.

At the western end of the official road, a dark mass of people surged toward them like a tide.

There were at least a thousand people, densely packed together.

These people jogged along the official road, their footsteps thundering, and the dust they kicked up swirled like a giant yellow dragon.

They were almost all running bare-handed, without weapons or armor, wearing only sweat-stained undergarments.

Those running at the very front had even lost their boots, their bare feet stomping on the gravel road, their soles already bleeding profusely, yet they were oblivious, simply pushing their legs forward with all their might.

Wang Fan's heart skipped a beat.

How could he not see that he was being chased away?

"Wang Sima!"

Pang Min also noticed something was wrong, and her expression changed drastically.

"This isn't right! They were chased all the way here by the Tang army!"

Wang Fan turned around abruptly and said sternly:

"Order: All troops prepare for battle! Left and Right Battalions, return to your respective positions and do not move without authorization!"

Military orders were passed down one after another, and the messengers below the wooden platform rode their horses to the earthen slopes and woods on both sides.

In the central army formation on the main road, the swordsmen and shieldmen raised their shields to their chests in unison, while the spearmen in the rear tightened their spear formation, the spearheads gleaming with a cold light.

"Pass down the order!"

Wang Fan then shouted to the several loud-voiced messengers beside him.

"Shout in unison, ordering the routed soldiers to scatter to the left and right flanks, and forbidding them from charging the central army! Anyone who dares to charge will be killed without mercy!"

The messengers responded loudly and then shouted in unison to the west.

More than a hundred soldiers from the central army below the wooden platform also joined in the shouting, their voices merging into a torrent that drowned out the approaching footsteps.

"Scatter to the left and right! Do not charge into our lines! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!"

A hundred or so people shouted in unison, their voices echoing across the fields.

Many of the fleeing soldiers heard the shouts, and their faces cleared up, their feet involuntarily veering to the left and right.

The crowd began to split up, with more and more people flowing towards the two sides.

However, just as this diversionary trend began to emerge, several short screams suddenly rang out from behind the fleeing troops.

Immediately following was the whooshing sound of arrows piercing the air. Several feathered arrows flew out from the warm sunlight behind the fleeing soldiers and pierced the backs of the soldiers who were fleeing to the side.

The men screamed and collapsed to the ground, some lying there groaning in pain.

"Help! For Huang Wang's sake, help your brother out—"

But before he could finish speaking, he was trampled over by his comrades who surged up behind him, and in an instant, he was reduced to several grotesque piles of flesh and blood.

The routed soldiers were terrified, and some of the bolder ones raised their arms and shouted:

"Brothers! Charge this way! If you don't run now, you're going to die!"

As he spoke, he gathered dozens of people, gave a shout, and rushed towards the poplar grove on the south side.

They had only broken out of the ranks by a dozen or so steps when the sound of horses' hooves sounded behind them.

Four or five fully armored knights suddenly charged out from the side and rear of the fleeing soldiers. The first rider had only his lance hanging on his saddle, and he held a horizontal sword. With a flash of light in the sunlight, he cut down the leading fleeing soldier.

The remaining riders charged into the group of dozens of men like tigers among sheep, wielding their swords and slashing left and right, blood splattering wherever their blades flashed.

These defeated soldiers were already unarmed and had been hungry for half a day, so how could they withstand the charge of the cavalry?

Within a few breaths, seven or eight people were cut down, and the rest were terrified and scrambled back into the ranks, not daring to take another step to the side.

This scene is happening in more than one place.

If anyone on either side of the fleeing troops tried to escape to the side, a cold arrow would be shot from behind, or cavalry would rush out from the side and cut down those who tried to break away from the ranks.

The fleeing soldiers were terrified and had no choice but to be swept along and continue to surge forward, like a flock of sheep being driven by sheepdogs.

Wang Fan, sitting on the wooden platform, saw all of this clearly, and his face grew paler and paler.

He was not the kind of civil official who had never seen blood. He had fought alongside Huang Chao for so many years, and what kind of battles hadn't he experienced?

"What a vicious mind."

Wang Fan murmured, a chill running through him, and an angry expression appeared on his face.

Pang Min also noticed something amiss:

"Commander Wang, behind these routed soldiers are Tang cavalry! They're using these routs to disrupt our formation, then they'll take advantage of the chaos to break through!"

Wang Fan took a deep breath and forcefully suppressed the chill.

His gaze swept back and forth between the fleeing soldiers and his own ranks twice, then he suddenly asked:

"How far are the routed soldiers from our central command position?"

"Less than a mile."

Pang Min said.

"Pass on the order."

Wang Fan's voice suddenly turned somber.

"Archers, prepare. Once the fleeing troops are within range—"

Pang Min blurted out:

"Marshal Wang! Those are all our own brothers!"

"Our own brothers?"

Wang Fan turned her head and looked at him coldly.

"Look at the state of those routed soldiers. They're not human anymore. They're livestock driven here by the Tang army. If you take pity on them and let them charge into the enemy lines, then all of these thousand-plus central, left, and right commanders will be buried with them. When the Tang cavalry arrives, what will you use to stop them?"

Pang Min was so choked by his words that her face turned pale. She opened her mouth, but couldn't utter a single word.

"I just told them to scatter to the left and right, but they couldn't. It's not that I didn't want to save them."

Wang Fan's voice turned somber.

"If they can't scatter, they must die. I can't use the lives of these two thousand brothers to fill this bottomless pit. Pass down the order: archers, prepare to fire when the fleeing soldiers enter range, show no mercy."

Pang Min gritted his teeth, clasped his hands in a fist salute, and turned to relay the order.

Upon Wang Fan's order, hundreds of bowstrings were simultaneously taut on the northern slope and near the poplar grove on the south side.

The archers nocked their arrows, aiming them at the dark, surging crowd, but their hands trembled slightly.

How many of these people are former comrades, how many were brothers who once shared a pot of boiling water, and now they are to point arrows at them...

Anyone in that situation would feel a pang of reluctance.

But military orders are absolute, and no one dares to disobey them.

The tide of fleeing soldiers is drawing ever closer.

Three hundred steps, two hundred steps, one hundred and fifty steps.

"Release the arrows!"

Pang Min gritted his teeth and swung the command flag down sharply.

Hundreds of arrows shot out from three positions, whistling as they hurtled toward the vanguard of the fleeing tide of soldiers.

The routed soldiers were unarmed and had no shields to protect themselves. Dozens of them were hit by arrows on the spot and fell down like wheat being harvested, with screams filling the air.

Blood gushed forth, staining the yellow earth on the official road a dark red.

But the fleeing soldiers did not stop.

It's not that I don't want to stop, it's that I can't stop.

Those in front wanted to stop, but those behind couldn't, because the sound of horses' hooves was getting closer and closer.

The cavalry followed closely behind like whips driving livestock, ready to strike anyone who dared to stop.

The sound of horses' hooves grew louder and closer, shaking the ground beneath their feet.

The routed soldiers were caught in a pincer movement and had no choice but to charge forward, even if it meant facing a mountain of knives and a sea of ​​fire.

Two more waves of arrows rained down, and more than a hundred more soldiers fell.

But the people behind them stepped over the corpses in front of them and kept rushing forward.

Seventy steps, fifty steps, thirty steps...

The faces of the fleeing soldiers in the front row were clearly visible, each face filled with despair.

Some people were foaming at the mouth, some had their eyes bulging out of their sockets, and some had arrows piercing their shoulder blades but were still stumbling and running forward.

"Swordsmen and shieldmen—hold on!"

Pang Min shouted in a hoarse voice.

The swordsmen and shieldmen at the front of the central army all pushed their shields forward, bracing their shoulders against the shields and slightly crouching their legs, assuming a stance to withstand the impact.

However, all of this was in vain.

The rout surged against the shield wall like a flood bursting its banks. With a deafening roar, the dull thud of shields colliding with flesh, the cracking of bones, screams and howls mingled together, making one's eardrums buzz.

The front-line swordsmen and shield bearers were forced back by the overwhelming force, and the shield wall was torn open in several places the moment it made contact.

Some swordsmen and shieldmen were tackled to the ground by the fleeing soldiers. They instinctively swung their swords, cutting down the people in front of them, but then two or three more people stepped on the fallen men and pounced on them, pinning them down.

Many more people were swept along by the fleeing soldiers and forced to retreat.

After the fleeing soldiers rushed into the enemy lines, they completely disregarded their surroundings and were only focused on escaping for their lives.

The entire central army formation was like a sand embankment, which was immediately riddled with holes by the tide of fleeing soldiers.

Chaos reigned in the central army formation. Generals could not find their soldiers, and soldiers could not find their generals. Shouts of battle, screams of agony, and angry curses mingled together, and everyone was caught in a boiling pot of porridge.

Wang Fan watched from the wooden platform, his eyes wide with fury.

He shouted hoarsely:

"Stay calm! Stay calm for me!"

But his voice had already been drowned out by the deafening noise, and even the soldiers under the wooden platform couldn't hear what he was shouting.

He suddenly drew his sword from his waist and was about to step down from the platform to oversee the battle, but was held back by a soldier beside him.

"Wang Sima! You can't go down! Chaos has broken out down there!"

The soldier said urgently.

Just as Wang Fan was about to shake off his hand, he suddenly caught a glimpse of a scene out of the corner of his eye that sent chills down his spine.

Behind the fleeing tide of soldiers, a cavalry force emerged like ghosts.

The lead rider was clad in blood-soaked, gleaming armor, with a ten-foot-long lance tucked under his arm, its tip gleaming with a faint blue light.

Behind him, over a hundred fully armored cavalrymen formed a wedge shape, their hooves thundering as they surged towards the central army formation with overwhelming force.

The general didn't even rein in his horse; the yellow horse galloped forward, its hooves flying, and plunged straight into the tail end of the fleeing tide of soldiers.

The horse spear swept left and right, knocking away the fleeing soldiers blocking its path like scarecrows, and forcefully carving a bloody path through the tide of fleeing soldiers.

A hundred riders followed closely behind him, like a red-hot iron knife cutting into solidified lard without any hindrance.

-----------------

Meanwhile, on the northeastern side, the troops ordered to block the rebellion's central and rear routes from converging were the military governors of Jingyuan, Cheng Zongchu, and Qinzhou, Qiu Gongyu.

According to Zheng Tian's prior plan, the two garrison troops, after emerging from the dense forest on the north side, should have cut into the rebel army's central force like a sharp knife, severing the rebel army's long, serpentine formation in half.

Then they would hold the gap tightly, waiting for the infantry and cavalry on the high hill of Longweipi to the west, along with the ambush troops of Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong to the south, to surround and wipe out the rebel vanguard and central army in one fell swoop.