Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

Everything went smoothly at first.

When Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu led their troops out of the dense forest, Lin Yan had just transferred the elite central army to attack Longweibei.

The rebel army's central garrison was left sparsely defended, and the troops from the two garrisons moved in as if they were in an empty field, completely cutting off the central and rear armies in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Cheng Zongchu, caught up in the killing frenzy, personally led a cavalry force, charging left and right through the rebel army's central formation, achieving considerable success.

But the good times didn't last long, and Shang Rang returned.

After the initial chaos, the remnants of the central army gradually regained their footing and launched a fierce attack under the leadership of Shang Rang.

Inspired by Shang Rang's leading role, these rebels launched a desperate counterattack from the west against the positions of Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu.

Meanwhile, the rear guard on the east side was also trying to clear the road and support the central army.

The two rebel armies, like two millstones, sandwiched Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu's troops in the middle, grinding them down repeatedly.

Although Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu had a combined force of nearly six or seven thousand men, their strength was stretched thin when facing attacks from both the east and west.

What's worse, they never expected to have to hold on alone for so long from the beginning:

According to Zheng Tian's plan, the infantry and cavalry on the high ground of Longweipo in the west should be able to quickly defeat the rebel vanguard, and then press forward to join forces with the ambushers on the north and south to encircle the rebel central army.

At that time, the rebel army's central force will be trapped like turtles in a jar, unable to escape.

But no matter how long they waited, the reinforcements from the west never arrived.

Cheng Zongchu was so angry that he started cursing.

His Jingyuan troops suffered heavy casualties under Shang Rang's fierce attack, and their lines were forced to retreat continuously.

Qiu Gongyu's Qinzhou troops were in no better shape. The eastern defense line had been torn open in several places by the counterattack of the rebel rear army. If Qiu Gongyu had not personally led his elite troops to fight to the death to block the breach, the position would probably have already been lost.

The troops of the two towns were pressed back to back, barely maintaining their last line of defense on a gentle slope north of the official road.

The warm sun shone on the tired and anxious faces, and the groans of the wounded soldiers rose and fell. The military medics were busy as bees, but they still couldn't keep up with the increasing number of wounded.

Corpses lay strewn about on the battlefield, some belonging to Tang soldiers, others to rebels, scattered haphazardly across the ground.

Cheng Zongchu wiped the blood off his face, leaned on his long sword and stood on the hilltop, gazing at the fierce fighting in the central army to the west. His anger burned ever brighter.

Beside him, Qiu Gongyu also had a livid face, with blood-soaked strips of cloth wrapped around his arm, staring silently in the same direction.

"Go to hell!"

Cheng Zongchu finally lost his temper, slammed his long sword into the ground, and cursed.

"Commander Qiu, say something! What exactly does that old bastard Zheng mean? Last night we agreed that we'd hold them off for half an hour, and reinforcements would arrive. Now? Half an hour? It's been a whole hour! We're risking our lives here, and where are his men?"

Qiu Gongyu did not answer, but clenched his fists.

Although he was more composed than Cheng Zongchu, his heart was also in turmoil at this moment.

Qinzhou already had few soldiers, and this time he brought only three thousand men from Longweipi. After this battle, he had lost no less than six hundred men, and the rest were exhausted and more than half of them had been killed or wounded.

If reinforcements don't arrive soon, he himself might perish here.

"And Li Xiaochang and Tuoba Sigong!"

Cheng Zongchu grew angrier the more he cursed, spitting as he spoke.

"Those two sons of bitches should have been here by now! But look at them, they're nowhere to be seen! That Tangut barbarian Tuoba Sigong is probably deliberately stalling, wanting to see us make a fool of ourselves!"

Qiu Gongyu finally spoke, his voice hoarse and low:

"Commander Cheng, please calm down. The remnants of the enemy are still putting up a stubborn resistance, and it's understandable that Commander Li and Commander Tuoba are unable to leave for the time being."

Qiu Gongyu said this, but the knuckles of his fingers gripping the hilt of his knife tightened even more.

He was also having the same thoughts as Cheng Zongchu, but he was thinking about even more things than Cheng Zongchu. However, he was a bit more composed than Cheng Zongchu and didn't utter a curse.

He originally trusted Zheng Tian's strategies.

The old prime minister was highly respected among the military commanders of the western capital, and his troop deployment was quite meticulous. This time, his ambush at Longweipo, which lured the enemy deep into the territory, cut off their retreat, and attacked from both sides, was watertight.

But the current situation left him no choice but to think:

Cheng Zongchu was a regional military governor west of Fengxiang, while Zheng Tian was the prime minister of the imperial court.

The relationship between the prime minister and the regional military governors was one of mutual exploitation and checks and balances.

It's not entirely impossible that Zheng Tian intended to use this battle to weaken the forces of Jingyuan and Qinzhou, or even cause their two military commanders to perish in the chaos of battle.

After all, if both of their forces were wiped out, the imperial court would have fewer obstacles in dealing with the situation in western Beijing.

As Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu were looking at each other, they suddenly heard a loud drumbeat from the east, even more urgent than before.

Both of them changed color and looked up.

Shang Rang's banner moved slowly forward, and he personally pressed forward again.

"not good!"

Qiu Gongyu blurted out,

"Shang Rang is going to fight to the death!"

Before he finished speaking, shouts of battle erupted from the rebel ranks to the east.

They launched a fierce attack from both sides simultaneously, like two heavy millstones grinding down on Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu's positions from the east and west.

In the warm sunlight, the rebel soldiers surged forward like a tide. The front row of swordsmen and shieldmen rammed their shields against the Tang army's shield wall, while the rear row of spearmen desperately stabbed through the gaps.

Further away, Shang Rang's soldiers had already formed a charge formation, each clad in heavy armor, their swords and spears gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

"Commander Qiu..."

Cheng Zongchu lowered his voice and spoke very quickly.

"If all else fails, we'll retreat north and clear the way. Letting them escape is better than us both dying here today."

Qiu Gongyu nodded, his face grave, but he knew this was the only way out at the moment.

He clasped his hands in greeting and said:

"Commander Cheng, I'll return to our base first and hold out until we get through this wave. If we really can't hold on, then we'll sound the retreat signal and both our towns will withdraw north at the same time."

After agreeing on their plan, the two returned to their respective camps.

Cheng Zongchu mounted his horse and led dozens of his soldiers back to the earthen slope where the Jingyuan soldiers were stationed.

The fighting on the slope was already fierce, with the front-line swordsmen and shield bearers clashing with the rebels in close combat, swords and shields flying, and blood and flesh flying everywhere.

A captain, struck through the shoulder by a stray arrow, still leaned on his sword and refused to retreat, shouting hoarsely:

"Brothers, hold on! Hold on—"

Cheng Zongchu led his soldiers forward, slashing down a rebel swordsman who was vaulting over the shield wall, and shouted sharply:

"I'm not dead yet! Hold your ground! Soldiers of Jingyuan will die on the battlefield!"

His roar boosted the morale of the surrounding soldiers even further.

The soldiers surged forward, shouting in unison as they thrust their spears outwards with all their might, forcefully pushing back the rebels' offensive by several steps.

However, the rebel army's rear lines launched a relentless offensive, with one wave retreating only to be met by another, giving the Tang army no chance to catch its breath.

Cheng Zongchu charged left and right on the front lines, his long sword already chipped, and a new wound appeared on his arm, blood flowing down his elbow, but he was completely unaware.

In the heat of battle, a sudden burst of drums and horns sounded from the east, and Shang Rang's banner had already advanced to within a hundred or two hundred paces of the earthen slope.

Cheng Zongchu could even clearly see Shang Rang's face.

Surrounded by hundreds of soldiers, each clad in bright armor and exuding a murderous aura, that fellow charged straight toward the earthen mound where Cheng Zongchu stood, like a sharp dagger.

Cheng Zongchu's heart skipped a beat, realizing something was wrong.

This guy's really going all out today:

The army of 50,000 suffered countless casualties, and their retreat route was cut off.

Anyone in this situation would become a trapped beast.

A trapped beast is the most terrifying.

Shang Rang's soldiers shouted and joined the battle, charging fiercely towards the earthen slope.

The first few dozen men, wielding large axes and iron hammers, began to smash the Tang army's shield wall.

The sounds of shields shattering, bones cracking, and screams mingled together.

The shield wall of the Jingyuan soldiers was already on the verge of collapse, and this fierce attack immediately tore several holes in it.

Shang Rang's soldiers surged in like a flood bursting its banks, brandishing swords and spears, hacking at anyone they saw.

Cheng Zongchu was not to be outdone, and he sent almost all of his soldiers to press forward, but he could not withstand the enemy's large numbers and fierce momentum, and his formation began to retreat little by little.

Cheng Zongchu killed several people, his body covered in blood, and retreated to the top of the slope under an old tree, panting heavily as he watched the chaotic battle below.

His gaze swept from Shang Rang's banner to his own shattered battle line, and then from the battle line to the east in the direction of Qiu Gongyu, where the shouts of battle were deafening, clearly indicating that they were also struggling to hold on.

Reason told him that he couldn't fight anymore.

If the fighting continues, the entire foundation of Jingyuan will truly be destroyed here.

He gritted his teeth and turned to a guard beside him, saying:

"Prepare to fire..."

He suddenly stopped before he could finish speaking.

The wind was strong at the top of the hill, making his thick beard flutter wildly.

He squinted, his gaze passing over the dark mass of people below the slope and landing on the rear of the rebel army.

Something's not right there:

Flags were waving, figures were running, and faint shouts of battle could be heard from behind, sounding like panicked cries.

"You guys,"

Cheng Zongchu grabbed a few sharp-eyed soldiers beside him and pointed to the rear of the rebel army to the east, saying,

"Get up to a higher place and take a good look—what's going on over there?"

The soldiers scrambled up the old locust tree and to the top of the hill, shading their eyes with their hands as they looked eastward. They could vaguely make out figures of people and horses moving about and fighting.

Three or five breaths later, a sharp-eyed soldier suddenly cried out:

"Commander Cheng! Someone is charging! They're coming from the west, crashing into the rebel rear!"

"West? Charge?"

Cheng Zongchu felt a chill run down his spine. He pushed aside the guards in front of him and rushed to the top of the slope.

He was over fifty years old and his eyesight was not as good as when he was young, but he could vaguely see a group of men cutting into the rear of the rebel army like a red-hot iron knife.

The lead rider, whose face was obscured, was clad in gleaming armor that shone brightly in the warm sun. He wielded a ten-foot-long lance, sweeping left and right, leaving none who dared to block his path.

"Recognize the flag! What does it say on the flag?"

Cheng Zongchu asked urgently.

The sharp-eyed soldier squinted and examined the area closely one more time, then suddenly exclaimed:

"Fengxiang—Li! It's the character 'Li'!"

Cheng Zongchu clapped his hands sharply and laughed loudly:

"Li Changyan! It's Li Changyan!"

He abruptly turned around and shouted loudly at the Jingyuan soldiers who were struggling to hold on on the slope.

"Brothers! Reinforcements have arrived! The cavalry from Fengxiang have broken through! Hold on, all of you—just one more incense stick's worth of time, and the rebels will be finished!"

The shout echoed across the earthen slope, and the Jingyuan soldiers, who had begun to waver, suddenly felt their morale rise again upon hearing that reinforcements had arrived.

Shang Rang's soldiers, who had already charged up the slope, were forced back several steps by this sudden counterattack, and their offensive stalled.

Meanwhile, in the rear of the rebel army, Shang Rang was personally launching a fierce attack when he suddenly noticed something unusual about the commotion coming from the rear.

He reined in his horse and looked back, only to see a flurry of firelight behind him and the faint sound of horses' hooves coming from the west.

He frowned, about to send someone to investigate, when a scout came stumbling from the rear. The rider had been shot in the back with an arrow, his face ashen. He immediately fell forward, his horse lurching to the ground, and cried out:

"Grand Commandant! No, this is terrible! Tang cavalry have broken into our rear!"

Shang Rang's heart sank, and he said sternly:

"How many people? Who is in command?"

"Over a hundred riders! They recognized the character 'Li' on the flag!"

Before the scout could finish speaking, blood gushed from his mouth, and he fell dead.

Shang Rang chuckled, brandished his spear, and said:

"A mere hundred or so cavalrymen must have bypassed Wang Fan's forces via a side road; it's nothing more than a minor ailment. Order Zhao Lin in the rear to quickly intercept them; do not panic. The vanguard shall continue the fierce attack without pause!"

The messenger obeyed and left.

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

The one who charged in from the west of the rebel rear was not Li Changyan, but Li Cenji and his hundred or so cavalrymen.

Li Cenji, leading Zhou Ping, Xu Tai, Wu Kang, and over a hundred soldiers, killed Wang Fan and, without pausing, broke through the enemy lines and continued their eastward pursuit. From afar, the deafening battle cries could be heard.

Following the sounds of battle, after only a mile or two, they came upon the rear guard of the rebel army, who were arrayed with their backs to them, engaged in a fierce battle with the troops of Cheng Zongchu and Qiu Gongyu.

Li Cenji did not hesitate. He had chased after Longweibei for six or seven miles, all for this moment.

He immediately turned around and shouted to the hundred or so riders behind him:

"I have heard that when Xiang Yu, the Hegemon-King of Chu, was trapped at Gaixia, he dared to charge straight into the camp of a million Han soldiers with only twenty-eight horsemen. He galloped freely, slaying generals and capturing flags, and charging back and forth. No one dared to stand in his way! Now we have more than a hundred elite cavalrymen, each skilled in archery and horsemanship, brave and fierce. Compared to Xiang Yu's twenty-eight horsemen, our strength is more than double. Although the enemy's formation is dense and their troops are numerous, they are nothing but a rabble! A true man born in a chaotic world should learn the spirit of Xiang Yu! Today, let us follow the old example of Western Chu, rein in our horses and charge straight into the enemy camp with our spears! Those who have the courage can follow me to break through the enemy's formation and achieve unparalleled feats; those who are cowardly and retreat may leave on their own, and I will not say a word."

"I am willing to die alongside the colonel!"

More than a hundred soldiers shouted in unison.

Li Cenji held his spear level, then slammed his knees against the horse's belly. The yellow horse let out a long neigh and charged straight towards the rear of the rebel army like a yellow lightning bolt.

Behind them, Zhou Ping, Xu Tai, and Wu Kang, along with over a hundred soldiers, followed closely. The thunderous sound of their hooves shook the earth, and the dust they kicked up resembled a yellow dragon in the sunlight.

This charge struck the rear of the rebel army.

Although some soldiers in the rear noticed them, most of them were still focused on looking to the west, never expecting that cavalry would attack from behind.