White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

In September, after the White Dew solar term, but before the Frost's Descent solar term, the season has passed.

The reeds are lush and green, the white dew is like frost, the autumn wind blows, the reeds are in flight, and the fine horses of Hexi carry the Tangut knights, their iron hooves splashing water.

Ahead of them were an equal number of Youzhou cavalry.

Capturing a prey of the caliber of a military governor would be enough to make Iron Falcon famous overnight. Overjoyed, Li Yiyin sent someone to shout, "Will you surrender? Otherwise, you will all die!"

Gao Xingzhou ignored him and continued to ride swiftly on the saddle.

They chased the reeds to a river bend overgrown with aquatic plants, where the reeds grew shoulder to shoulder in dense swarms, like soldiers lined up in battle.

This reed patch is not very large; it can only accommodate three to five hundred people at most.

"Even if there are ambushes, I am not afraid."

Li Yiyin ordered that if they encountered an ambush, they should not panic, but charge straight ahead and cut the enemy formation in two. Under the fierce attack of the heavily armored cavalry, which were impervious to swords and spears, how long could the enemy, whose front and rear could not coordinate, hold out? They would surely suffer a crushing defeat and flee.

"Chase after them!"

Three hundred iron hawks plunged into the reeds, rustling the withered branches and leaves underfoot, and for a moment they did not spot any ambushes.

Li Yiyin did not notice that the Yan River beneath his feet was different from usual; the once clear water was now covered with a thick, viscous black oil film.

The fine steed seemed to understand, and the oil film slowly spread to its hooves. The horse kicked restlessly, trying to shake off the unpleasant stuff stuck to its legs, but no matter how hard it tried, it couldn't get rid of it completely.

The next moment, a strange thing happened: flames suddenly burst into flames on the water's surface, forming a wall of fire.

How can a fire be started on water?

Li Yiyin was greatly alarmed, and Tie Yaozi, who did not know what "fierce fire oil" was, even thought that the enemy army had used sorcery.

The Tangut people worshipped the gods, and in their legends: "Xiyun is the root of creation; Haotian is the ruler of the world; Tianzun brings blessings to the mortal world; Tianqiong covers the mortal realm; Baixiao is the source of all treasures." (Note 1)

If the opponent could manipulate water and fire, and reverse yin and yang, could he be the incarnation of the supreme ruler of the world? Iron Falcon was immediately thrown into disarray.

The flames did not actually cause much damage; a small amount of oil could not completely cover the entire river surface. However, the warhorses were afraid of the fire, and their speed immediately slowed down due to the shock and hindrance.

Gao Xingzhou had been waiting for this moment; once the cavalry lost their mobility, he could deal with them at his leisure.

Li Yiyin, in the center, saw that amidst the flames, the first few riders suddenly tilted to the side, falling heavily and unable to get up.

"How do you walk?"

He initially thought the muddy swamp had caused his horse to stumble and drag his companions down. But then more warhorses neighed and collapsed one after another.

"Enemy troops are lying in ambush!"

"They're grapplers; they're trying to catch the horse's tracks."

This time, Li Yiyin could see clearly that a long pole with a hook extended from the reeds and rested on the back of the horse's hind leg.

The knee bend is a flexible joint for both horse and rider. A sharp sickle can hook and pull at it, making it difficult for even the finest steed to resist.

Dragged and pulled, the warhorse neighed and knelt, throwing its rider to the ground in the shallow mud. Man and horse were now linked, their fates intertwined, a noose that would snatch their lives; once the horse fell, the rider could not rise.

In no time, dozens of Iron Falcons fell.

The ambushing enemy soldiers, in groups of several, knocked down one rider, then stepped on the disoriented knight and stabbed him indiscriminately in the neck, face, and other areas not protected by his armor, showing no intention of capturing him alive.

Screams echoed throughout the room.

Li Yiyin gritted his teeth in fury. Iron Falcon should have been invincible, how could he have been defeated by a mere grappling hook master?

Unbeknownst to him, Gao Xingzhou's elite troops were divided into two groups: the Youzhou Iron Cavalry and the Hook-and-Sickle Spearmen. They had long been dealing with the Khitan cavalry in the northern border, and now they had given the Dingnan Army a taste of their prowess.

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Regardless, this army embodies his elder brother's hard work and the wealth accumulated over generations in Xia Prefecture; it must not be destroyed in this battle. Seeing that over a hundred Iron Falcons had been lost, Li Yiyin dared not delay and quickly ordered a withdrawal from the reed marshes, where the danger was palpable.

Gao Xingzhou's elite cavalry from Youzhou reappeared, and this time it was Li Yiyin's turn to flee.

……

"Brother, we've fallen for the enemy's treacherous trap!"

Li Yiyin returned to his camp in a disheveled state, his large body tumbling off his horse: "Gao Xingzhou is so cunning. He first set fire to the camp, then secretly laid an ambush. It was only with great difficulty that I managed to bring back most of my men."

Seeing his younger brother return in a panic, and realizing that his carefully crafted Iron Falcon, which he had intended to use to dominate the Northwest, had been broken, Li Yichao was horrified.

Before he could inquire about the details of the defeat, the Zhangwu Army and the Zheyang Allied Army had already launched a counterattack. Li Yichao hurriedly ordered his troops to form shields and regroup.

With drums and horns beating in unison, the allied forces charged forward without needing further encouragement, giving the enemy no chance to regroup.

Golden swords, silver spears, and iron bows; red steeds, white horses, and yellow steeds, pierced through the enemy lines, moving swiftly and fiercely. Warriors bravely seized enemy shields, and nearly a thousand soldiers of the Dingnan Army were wounded or drowned.

After the first battle, the two armies separated, and the soldiers presented their merits and the horses they had captured.

Gao Xingzhou, without taking stock of the battle results, ordered his troops to record them themselves: "The battle is urgent, so each of you should record them, and you will all be richly rewarded."

They then led their troops to attack again. The morale of the Dingnan army was already low, and after a brief engagement, they were forced to retreat more than twenty paces.

"Stop them! Heaven will surely protect our race!"

Li Yichao tried his best to boost the morale of his troops, and although the effect was minimal, he managed to pull the army back from the brink of complete collapse.

However, Dingnan Army was still defeated, by two relatively unimportant figures.

Li Yimin, the former governor of Suizhou, and his brother Li Yijun had suffered at the hands of Gao Xingzhou. Not only were they defeated at Qingjian, but their subordinates had also turned against them and seized the prefecture. They were extremely wary of him.

In this battle, Li Yichao positioned their few hundred men in the rear, not expecting them to be of much use. The two were also filled with apprehension; even if Li Yichao won and captured Yanzhou, would he be willing to return Suizhou to them?

Seeing that the battle was going badly and the Iron Falcons had been defeated, they immediately led their troops to retreat, and the rest of the army followed suit, resulting in a complete rout.

Li Yichao sent Li Yiyin to catch up with the two men. Li Yichao grabbed their reins and said, "We should rein in our troops and return, brothers, to fight the enemy together. Why did you flee first?"

Since losing Suizhou and fleeing to Xiazhou, Li Yimin had been subjected to Li Yiyin's disdain and ridicule. He would never listen to Li Yiyin's advice. He snorted and spurred his horse northward.

Li Yiyin, with his volatile temper, ordered his officers to draw their swords and block the soldiers from retreating. Li Yimin and Li Yijun, who were half-brothers and had always been at odds with him, immediately drew their swords, ready to fight.

Fortunately, his subordinates were experienced and prudent, and they advised him that with the enemy at hand, it would be foolish for the enemy to make fun of him by fighting amongst themselves. Both sides backed down, and Li Yimin led half of his troops, who had no will to fight, back to Xiazhou, his resentment towards Li Yiyin deepening.

Seeing that there was no chance of winning this battle, Li Yichao led his troops to fight and retreat, setting up seven camps with their backs to the southwest mountains to hold the line and stabilize the situation.

……

The pursuit lasted for two hours. As darkness fell, both armies ceased fighting and returned to their respective camps.

Li Yichao tallied the battle losses of each unit and found that a total of two thousand soldiers had been lost.

The most heartbreaking thing is that more than 100 of the 300 Iron Falcons were killed or wounded. The lost knights, horses, armor and weapons were all top-quality and difficult to replace in a short time. They were practically crippled.

Li Yichao painstakingly built this elite force, while Gao Xingzhou took advantage of the terrain's restrictions on mobility, first attacking with rock grease and fire, then ambushing hook-and-sickle spearmen to strike. The defeat was unexpected, but the victory was entirely reasonable.

Gao Xingzhou had sharp eyes like an eagle, earning him the nickname "Old Hawk Gao." After this battle, a local saying arose: "Even the Iron Hawk is no match for the Old Hawk."

However, Li Yichao did not give up. Although he suffered a setback in the first battle and lost nearly 20% of his troops, the number of Dingnan Army soldiers was still comparable to that of the allied forces, and the number of cavalry soldiers was even greater. It was not time to admit defeat yet.

The only concern is the lack of morale among the soldiers. If the morale of the entire army can be boosted, there is still a chance to fight.

Li Yichao was considering countermeasures when Li Yiyin, who was on night patrol, came to report: "Brother, the enemy has sent someone to knock on the gate, asking where the general is."

"What was your answer?"

I ignored them.

"Gao Xingzhou was trying to probe whether the morale of our soldiers was stable. Brother Yin, you did the right thing by not answering."

After praising his younger brother, Li Yichao inquired about Li Yimin's retreat without a fight and sneered, "If we retreat back to Xiazhou now, Gao Xingzhou will only press us harder. Can't he even understand this principle?"

"Brother, it's best to keep military power in the hands of your own brothers. Back then, Father was bewitched by that woman and divided the four prefectures in two before he died. He was really senile. If Sui Prefecture were under your control, how could Gao Xingzhou have built a city so easily under your nose?"

Although Li Yichao shared the same thought when his younger brother criticized their deceased father, Li Renfu, the outcome of the great battle was still undecided, and it was not the time to discuss such matters further, nor was it the time for infighting and a power struggle.

He replied vaguely, "It's too early to talk about these things now; we should be working together to defeat the enemy."

As the fourth watch of the night approached, the two brothers were still awake, discussing how to fight the next day. Just then, they heard the enemy shouting around their camp, "Such a wretched army, why don't we surrender!" (Note 2)

"Just because we won one game doesn't mean we're all defeated. I challenge him to a one-on-one duel!"

Li Yiyin roared angrily, but Li Yichao didn't think so.

"Gao Xingzhou is skilled with a spear, Yang Hongxin is brave and good at fighting, and Zhe Congyuan is not easy to deal with either. Although you are young and strong, Brother Yin, you may not be a match for the three of them. I have a plan."

"Please speak, brother."

"Why don't you feign a duel on the battlefield, then gather your troops and unleash a barrage of arrows when the enemy gets close? He'll surely be killed!"

"A good plan, though despicable, I like it."

"This is called 'all's fair in war,' and there's no need to follow any rules with the Han people."

The two men agreed on their plan. Li Yichao prepared his troops for battle, while Li Yiyin went to find skilled archers and ordered them to fight a duel the next day. If they saw a man riding a white horse and carrying a silver spear coming out, they were to shoot him with all their might!