Late Tang Dynasty: Descendants of the Imperial Clan

Before the soldiers who spotted the Tang cavalry could report the news, Li Cenji's side had already begun their charge.

By the time the distracted rebels heard the sound of hooves and turned around, the hundred or so riders had already plunged into the enemy ranks like a sharp dagger.

Li Cenji took the lead, his lance sweeping left and right, knocking the rebel soldiers blocking his way to the ground.

Behind them, the soldiers brandished their swords and spears, seizing the opportunity to launch a surprise attack.

The rebel rear guard was thrown into chaos. The soldiers were unaware of how many Tang soldiers were coming from behind. Some turned back to meet the enemy, while others continued to charge forward. The formations became a jumbled mess, and the line of fire crumbled in an instant.

Ignoring the scattered soldiers fleeing in all directions, Li Cenji kept his eyes fixed on the commander's flag in front of him.

The yellow horse charged left and right through the chaotic army as if it were in an empty field.

Several rebel soldiers tried to stop him, but he swept them off their horses with two spear thrusts.

Xu Tai, standing beside Li Cenji, brandished his spear and with one thrust felled a rebel soldier who lunged at him from the side, yelling in pain.

"That felt great! That felt great!"

Li Cenji charged three times in succession, spurring his horse straight eastward. He ran into Shang Rang's messenger. Shang Rang's order had not yet reached the rear army. Zhao Lin, the subordinate general who should have received the order, had already been killed by Li Cenji with a spear.

He was unaware of all this, but he glanced back and saw that his comrades behind him had not fallen behind. Feeling reassured, he spurred his horse and charged straight into Shang Rang's main camp.

Only then did he get a clear look at Shang Rang. He was a burly man in his early forties with dark skin, a thick beard, and small but piercing eyes.

He turned his horse around to look this way, his face showing a hint of astonishment, as if he couldn't believe that Tang cavalry had suddenly attacked from behind him.

Two pairs of eyes met, separated by a distance of about a hundred paces.

Shang Rang's gaze swept over Li Cenji's face, then over the two bloodied heads on his saddle:

Wang Fan and Pang Min?

Both of them died.

Shang Rang's astonishment was quickly replaced by rage, along with a hint of suspicion.

He abruptly turned his horse around, thrust his long spear forward, and shouted sharply:

"Who goes there? How dare you trespass upon my great formation!"

Li Cenji didn't answer, but simply held his spear level and spurred his horse to charge straight ahead.

The yellow horse's hooves flew, covering the distance of a hundred paces in the blink of an eye.

Shang Rang's men shouted and rushed forward to stop him.

Two soldiers charged forward, one thrusting with a spear and the other slashing with a sword. Li Cenji slightly shifted his body to dodge the spears, and his right hand, wielding a horse spear, sprang up like a venomous snake. The spearhead slipped through the gap in the swordsman's armor and pierced his chest and abdomen.

With his left hand, he simultaneously took a golden mace from the side of the saddle and struck the spearman's helmet with it.

With the force of the warhorse's charge, the hammer blow was more than a hundred pounds strong. The spearman, helmet and all, was smashed off the horse and fell sideways, bleeding from all seven orifices. It was clear that he was not going to survive.

With two people killed in a single exchange, Li Cenji did not stop and continued to charge towards Shang Rang.

Shang Rang's soldiers were so intimidated by his imposing presence that they involuntarily took a half-step back.

Shang Rang was furious upon seeing this and shouted angrily:

"What are you afraid of! He's alone! Charge!"

As he spoke, he personally brandished his spear and thrust it at Li Cenji head-on.

The two lances clashed in mid-air, producing a deafening metallic clang.

Shang Rang felt a numbness in his hand, and the lance in his hand almost flew out. He was shocked. This Tang general had great strength!

Li Cenji, however, gave him no chance to catch his breath.

In the instant the two horses missed each other, he used the same trick again, throwing out his golden mace with his left hand, aiming straight for Shang Rang.

Shang Rang hurriedly dodged to the side, the hammerhead grazing his breastplate. Although it didn't hit a vital spot, it still dented the breastplate, causing his blood to surge in his chest and his throat to taste sweetness, almost spitting out blood.

The two horses passed each other, each turning its head away.

Shang Rang clutched his chest, his face ashen, staring intently at the blood-soaked Tang general before him.

Now that he was closer, he could finally see the other person's face clearly:

He was just a young man in his early twenties, with high brow bones and a straight nose. Although his face was mostly covered by bloodstains, his handsome features were still evident.

Yet this young man possesses such unparalleled courage.

A hundred riders charged into the enemy formation—could it be Gan Xingba reincarnated?!

"Who exactly are you?"

Shang Rang asked in a hoarse voice.

Li Cenji still ignored him. The cavalry could not stop; stopping meant certain death.

He galloped past, handing Shang Rang over to the knights behind him, hoping someone could give him a surprise.

Unfortunately, Shang Rang was protected by the guards, and although he was in a sorry state, he survived.

The cavalry charged past, carving a deep trench through the rebels' central formation.

Li Cenji led them out from the south side of the rebel army and crashed into a grove of poplar trees. Seeing that no rebels dared to pursue them, he reined in his horse.

The yellow horse was drenched in sweat, its nostrils flared, and its hooves were pawing the ground incessantly.

Li Cenji dismounted, planted his lance in the ground, and turned to count his men.

Zhou Ping, Xu Tai, and Wu Kang gathered around one after another, each covered in blood, their armor adorned with bits of flesh and arrows, yet all still alive.

The soldiers followed in twos and threes. Some of them could barely sit on their horses and had to be helped by their comrades to avoid falling off.

Zhou Ping wiped the blood off his face and said, panting heavily:

"Commander, we've taken stock... Five brothers are missing, and seven or eight are wounded. Two of them are seriously injured and probably won't be able to ride horses anymore."

Li Cenji remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

He stood by the poplar grove, gazing at the dark mass of rebel troops in the distance. He then looked down at the lance in his hand; the bloodstains on the lance's tip had congealed into a dark red, and there were several shallow knife marks on the shaft.

"At Gaixia, the Overlord, with only twenty-eight riders, was still able to slay generals, seize flags, and charge back and forth."

He sighed softly and shook his head.

"Today, I have over a hundred men, and after one charge, five were lost and seven or eight were injured. I couldn't even kill Shang Rang... Compared to the Overlord, I am far inferior."

Xu Tai, who was listening nearby, laughed and scolded:

"Commander, I don't like hearing that. A hero like Xiang Yu is a once-in-a-lifetime talent. You've only just entered the fray, yet you've already killed Huang Chao's nephew, beheaded two traitorous generals, and even breached their battle formation. What more do you want?"

Zhou Ping also said:

"Xu Tai is right. Commander, there is no need to belittle yourself."

Li Cenji waved his hand without replying.

He took the water bag from his personal guard, drank a few mouthfuls, and then handed the water bag to a soldier with an injured arm next to him, his gaze sweeping over the more than one hundred faces.

Most of these soldiers were former elite imperial guards.

At this moment, their armor was tattered and they were covered in blood, but not one of them showed any fear in their eyes.

Li Cenji slung the water pouch around his waist, mounted his horse, placed his lance across the saddle, and shouted:

"Brothers, I'm going to charge one more time. Is there anyone willing to come with me?"

Xu Tai was the first to shout:

"What are you saying, Commander! Wherever you charge, I will follow!"

Wu Kang and Zhou Ping also clasped their hands in greeting and said:

"I am willing to fight to the death with the Colonel!"

Seeing this, the hundred or so soldiers began to strike their weapons on the ground, creating a clattering sound, and shouted in unison:

"I am willing to follow the Commander! I will fight to the death!"

Seeing that the morale was high, Li Cenji felt a surge of fervor rush to his head. He pointed his spear eastward and shouted sharply:

"Then let's charge again! This time, we won't stop until we've chopped off Shang Rang's head!"

Two wounded soldiers who were too weak to ride remained behind to wait, while the remaining hundred riders turned their horses around and charged towards the rebel army.

Meanwhile, on Shang Rang's side, although Li Cenji's charge did not injure him, it threw the formation into chaos.

Those hundred or so cavalrymen carved a bloody path through tens of thousands of troops, breaking out from the south and leaving behind a trail of dead and wounded.

Cheng Zongchu seized the opportunity to attack, causing the rebel army to suffer repeated defeats.

Shang Rang was furious. He ordered the routed soldiers to be gathered together, and then dismounted himself. Standing under a large banner, he brandished his sword and directed his soldiers to regroup.

"What's the panic! It's just a hundred or so cavalrymen, and you've all thrown yourselves into this chaos?"

Shang Rang shouted angrily and kicked a soldier who was still running around to the ground.

"All of you, stand in formation! Form ranks! Swordsmen and shieldmen in front, spearmen in the back! If any Tang cavalry charge again, make sure they don't return!"

His soldiers, their faces flushed with anger from the scolding, returned to their positions and, under the pressure of Cheng Zongchu's troops, fought and retreated, gradually regaining some semblance of discipline.

Just as Shang Rang was about to mount his horse, he suddenly heard the thunderous sound of horses' hooves coming from the south.

He suddenly looked up and saw a troop of cavalry charging out like a whirlwind from the edge of the poplar grove on the south side. The first rider was a yellow horse, wearing bright armor, and the lance under his arm gleamed with a faint blue light in the warm sun. It was the Tang general from before.

"It's him again!"

Shang Rang was both surprised and furious, and shouted sternly.

"Stop him! Stop him!"

But before his orders could be issued, Li Cenji's cavalry had already arrived.

The yellow horse's hooves flew, covering the distance of three or four hundred paces in the blink of an eye.

Several soldiers thrust their spears at him, but Li Cenji swung his lance left and right, knocking the spear shafts away. His yellow horse then charged in, sending the first soldier flying backward, armor and all.

With his right hand, he pierced the breastplate of a soldier with his lance. The man fell backward before he could even scream.

Seeing that the Tang general was fierce, Shang Rang hurriedly mounted his horse and raised his spear to defend himself.

The two horses clashed, their spears collided, and sparks flew everywhere.

Shang Rang felt a sharp pain in his tiger's mouth, and the lance in his hand was almost knocked away again.

He was greatly alarmed. This Tang general was even stronger than before, clearly driven by a bloodlust and a surge in power.

"Who are you?!"

Shang Rang shouted in a hoarse voice.

Li Cenji remained silent, turned his horse around, and thrust his spear at him again.

This spear thrust was as fast as lightning, leaving no room for evasion; the only option was to raise the spear to parry.

With a loud clang, Shang Rang's spear was bent into an arc, his hand was split open, and blood flowed down the shaft.

Shang Rang gritted his teeth, desperately parrying the spear, and shouted hoarsely:

"Where are the guards? Where are the guards?!"

Seeing their commander in danger, the soldiers beside him shouted and rushed forward.

But the hundred or so riders behind Li Cenji had also arrived. Xu Tai, Zhou Ping, and Wu Kang each led a team, and they fought fiercely with Shang Rang's soldiers. Swords flashed and blood flew everywhere.

When Shang Rang saw that Li Cenji was not charging straight past as before, he assumed that the other party was only focused on killing him and had stopped attacking, and he was overjoyed.

Immediately, infantrymen continuously surrounded the Tang army, whose momentum had gradually subsided.

Knowing he couldn't linger any longer, Li Cenji had no choice but to retract his spear, take a deep breath, and forcefully spur his horse forward, leading his soldiers to charge out from the north.

Without pausing, he turned and charged back into the enemy ranks.

But the soldiers had already witnessed the Tang general's might twice and were terrified by his defeat. Now that he was coming back for the third time, they had no will to fight.

Although they managed to move forward, they stumbled, their formation fell apart, and their weapons swayed wildly.

Li Cenji spurred his horse on, and the yellow horse galloped away, its hooves flying, and in an instant it rushed to the foot of the mound.

Several of Shang Rang's soldiers charged at him with their spears, but he parried them all with a swift stroke of his lance, and with a sweep of his lance, knocked the first man off his horse.

Seeing his true bravery, the others lost their courage and tried to flee to either side with a shout.

Li Cenji did not give chase, but turned his horse and charged towards the mound.

The hill had a very gentle slope, and the yellow horse neighed loudly, carrying him straight up.

Shang Rang was both surprised and furious when he saw him rushing up from the top of the mound.

He was, after all, one of Huang Chao's top generals; how could he be so humiliated?

"This is going too far, time and again! It's outrageous!!!"

Shang Rang steeled his resolve, turned his horse around, raised his long spear, and charged head-on at Li Cenji.

The two horses clashed, their spears struck, and with a loud clang, sparks flew everywhere.

Shang Rang felt an overwhelming force coming from the spear shaft. His already lacerated hand immediately bled profusely, and the spear flew out of his hand, tumbling several times in the air before landing far below the mound.

He was terrified and was about to turn his horse and flee when Li Cenji's spear pierced him like a venomous snake.

The spear came swiftly and fiercely, striking Shang Rang squarely in the chest and abdomen.

The spear pierced through Shang Rang's bright armor made of fine iron, protruding more than a foot from his back. Blood gushed out from the blood groove, splattering all over Li Cenji.

Shang Rang's body jolted violently, blood spurting from his mouth. His small eyes widened, staring intently at Li Cenji. His lips moved slightly as he asked with difficulty:

"Coming one...leave your name!"

Li Cenji twisted the spear shaft with both hands, hoisting Shang Rang's corpse high into the air, and shouted sharply:

"I am Li Cenji, Commander of the Cavalry under Zheng Gong, the Military Governor of Fengxiang and Longyou of the Great Tang Dynasty! Shang Rang is dead! Those who surrender will be spared!"

Around the mound, the remaining soldiers and defeated troops, seeing their commander dead, scattered and fled like bees scattered from a disturbed nest.

Some dropped their weapons and knelt down to surrender, some ran desperately eastward, and some, in their panic, plunged into the dense forest to the north and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

The banner bearing the character "尚" swayed precariously in the evening wind. Without anyone to support it, it crashed to the ground, its surface covering the corpse of a rebel soldier, soaked with blood.

In the distance, Cheng Zongchu was leading the Jingyuan troops in a fierce battle with the rebels.

He was over fifty years old, and his eyesight was not as good as it used to be. He could only vaguely see that the Tang cavalry was moving in and out of the rebel army's formation as if it were empty, and no one could stop them wherever they went.

He was engrossed in watching when he suddenly saw the Tang general seemingly lift up a figure. A short while later, the large banner with the character "尚" (Shang) shook violently a few times and slowly tilted to one side.

Then, a deafening roar of "The commander-in-chief is dead!" erupted from the rebel ranks.