Even if I'm a useless bum at Whampoa Military Academy, I'll be invincible in the War of Re

Tengtian's brigade chased all the way to the ferry, but found no trace of the Chinese. They only found some hoofprints, which proved that cavalry had indeed been there.

Major Fujita finally found a chance to shine. Since firearms became dominant, cavalry has become increasingly marginalized. Some experts even confidently asserted that cavalry would disappear from the historical stage.

Major Fujita was unconvinced; he wanted to prove that the cavalry were the true protagonists on the battlefield.

"You cowardly and shameless Chinese! All you do is run away! If you've got the guts, come out and fight the Imperial Army for three hundred rounds!"

"Tap tap tap..."

"Tap tap tap!"

Gunshots rang out like popping beans, and Japanese soldiers fell from their horses like dumplings being dropped into a pot. Teng Tian's face changed drastically, and his adjutant was the first to spot the shooter, shouting in terror:

"Enemy attack, at two o'clock!"

Tengtian looked in the direction his adjutant was pointing and saw several dozen cavalrymen turning their horses around to flee.

"You bastard! You think you can just run away after taking advantage of us? Do you think the Imperial Army cavalry are made of clay?!"

"Hurry, give chase! We can't let them get away!"

The previously chaotic Japanese soldiers spurred their horses and gave chase, their tempers flaring as they raced towards the direction where the cavalry had disappeared.

In the cavalry company's ranks, Deputy Company Commander Li had already joined up with the main force. Seeing that the Japanese were relentless, Gao Mingyuan changed his mind and prepared to wipe them out.

Deputy Company Commander Li said with concern:

"Company commander, won't this cause big trouble for the main force of the battalion? The battalion commander's mission for the first company is to lure the Japanese away."

"Deputy Company Commander Li, times have changed. The Japanese only have two or three hundred cavalry, which is less than our battalion's strength, and their equipment is far inferior."

"Take your men and hurry to inform the battalion commander. I'll lead the Japanese soldiers around a few times first, then I'll be there."

Gao Mingyuan had already made up his mind; he wanted to teach these arrogant Japanese devils a painful lesson.

"Company commander, I'll stay behind to lure the enemy out, you go and get reinforcements—"

"Deputy Company Commander Li, carry out the order!"

Deputy Company Commander Li then quickened his pace, leading his squad to the agreed location to find the main force of the battalion. Gao Mingyuan turned back and smiled at the Japanese soldiers:

"What a fine warhorse! It's all mine now!"

Gao Mingyuan slowed his horse down, letting the Japanese soldiers close in. When he estimated they were close enough, he shouted loudly:

"The Japanese are coming! We can't beat them! Run!"

The brothers in the company sped up their escape, scrambling to get ahead, looking quite disheveled.

All of this was observed by Major Fujita. Three hundred against one hundred, the advantage was in my hands!

"Brave warriors, the Chinese are just ahead! We absolutely cannot let them escape!"

Led by Major Fujita, the Japanese cavalrymen were in high spirits and spurred their horses to chase after the company.

The two chased each other, kicking up clouds of dust.

To give the main force of the battalion as much preparation time as possible, Gao Mingyuan and the brothers of the cavalry company led Gui Liao around the wasteland several times before finally heading to the assembly point.

He believed that Deputy Company Commander Li should join up with the main force first, and the rest could be left to the battalion commander. The company was only responsible for leading the Japanese away.

In less than an hour, they lured the Japanese over. Gao Mingyuan was the first to notice a thick black line on the horizon, which was a cavalry formation.

The Japanese soldiers soon discovered it too, and the adjutant broke out in a cold sweat, trying to stop Major Fujita:

"Mr. Fujita, there are Chinese cavalry ahead! They deliberately lured us here; how despicable!"

Major Fujita was not afraid at all; on the contrary, he was very excited. He had been waiting for such a cavalry clash for too long, and it had appeared in his dreams many times. This was the cavalry stage!

"Miyamoto-kun, judging from the lineup, the Chinese only have three or four hundred cavalry. Given the training level of the Chinese, they are at most infantry on horseback."

Before the mighty Imperial cavalry, the Chinese are nothing but chickens and dogs!

"Mr. Fujita, the Imperial Army's warhorses have been running continuously for more than an hour, and their horsepower is greatly depleted. Meanwhile, the Chinese cavalry are well-rested and ready to fight. They will be at a great disadvantage in the decisive battle. This is the conspiracy of the Japanese."

Although Major Fujita was arrogant, he wasn't stupid. As a senior cavalry officer, he naturally understood the implications, but he didn't want to miss the opportunity, so he devised a plan:

"Miyamoto-kun, send someone to deliver a challenge to the Chinese, saying I want to fight them in half an hour!"

Miyamoto understood immediately. Sending a challenge required time, and with the extra half hour, his stamina would be sufficient to recover. He immediately gave a thumbs-up in praise.

"King Fujita truly lives up to his reputation as a paragon of chivalry. Cavalry is a noble branch of the military; a decisive battle should begin with a challenge. I will personally go!"

Major Tengtian nodded. The romantic blood of cavalry still flowed in his veins, and he believed that the Chinese cavalry would agree, because this was a source of pride that the cavalry needed to discuss and uphold together.

Battalion Commander Hu Ning was amused by the Japanese soldiers' childish behavior, but he still decided to meet the Japanese envoy. He knew the rule that envoys should not be killed in war.

To avoid being detected by the Japanese, Hu Ning ordered them to stop a hundred meters away. The Japanese were unarmed, so he only took a few men to meet them, wanting to see what the Japanese were up to.

Captain Miyamoto, still on horseback, saw Hu Ning stop a few meters away on his warhorse and bowed deeply, saying:

"I have come to deliver this challenge on the orders of Captain Viscount Tengtian. Lord Tengtian, I have heard that the ancient Chinese were skilled in cavalry warfare, and the Imperial Cavalry is the strongest army in the world. Are you willing to fight?"

Now Hu Ning understood, and he coldly shouted:

"Why wouldn't I dare? If you want to fight, then fight! Your warhorses are exhausted. I won't take advantage of that. How about I give you half an hour to recover your strength?"

Captain Miyamoto's face remained expressionless, as if this were the proper thing to do, and he bowed again, saying:

"You are a true knight. I promise you that if you surrender after your defeat, the Imperial Army will treat you as prisoners of war."

"This agreement also applies to you, and I allow you to surrender!"

"You bastard! Are you insulting the noble knights of the Empire? Since the start of the war, when have you ever seen an Imperial warrior surrender?"

The second company commander couldn't stand it anymore and shouted:

"Screw you, you son of a bitch! If you want to fight, then fight! What's with all this nonsense? Get lost before I change my mind!"

Captain Miyamoto immediately protested:

"Major, your men are far too rude. Is this how Chinese people treat guests?"

Hu Ning said coldly:

"Are you guests? Here, you're not even robbers, just mindless beasts slaughtering innocent people!"

Captain Miyamoto was speechless for a moment. Slaughtering Chinese civilians was indeed not a glorious thing.

He stopped dwelling on it; his goal of stalling for time had been achieved. He immediately bowed to Hu Ning and said:

"Sir, let our sabers do the talking!"

After Captain Miyamoto finished speaking, he strode away, his back view looking very arrogant. The second company commander said, extremely puzzled:

"Battalion Commander, why only give them half an hour of rest? There's no order to follow with those beasts of the Japanese."

Hu Ning sneered:

"Did I say I was going to talk to them about rules? Let the Japanese get back to full speed. The faster their horses run in front of the Browning machine gun emplacement, the faster they'll die!"

After hearing this, the second company commander laughed heartily and said:

"Battalion Commander, you're too cunning. I thought you were a good person and was planning to introduce my cousin to you after the war. I've changed my mind."

The others joined in with malicious laughter, and Hu Ning shook his head, saying:

"Stop! With your big, burly appearance, how good-looking can my cousin be?"

"Didn't you say you were going to introduce her to Company Commander Gao? Just how many cousins ​​do you have?!"

"Two...three!"

The second company commander remembered that he had promised the third company, so he had no choice but to change the two to three. He couldn't very well start a fight over his cousin.

Hu Ning was no longer in the mood for his nonsense, and her smile vanished as she coldly snapped:

"Load all the machine guns and mortars, set them up, and chamber all the rounds. Prepare for battle!"

The second company commander couldn't help but give a thumbs up. This was the real Lao Liu that Senior Zhao had mentioned. The Japanese soldiers were thinking that after they had rested, they could use their sabers to hack each other to pieces.

Hu Ning prepared machine guns, cannons, submachine guns, and semi-automatic rifles for the Japanese, so the outcome of the decisive battle was a foregone conclusion from the very beginning, and the Japanese thought they had the upper hand.

The cavalry duel was indeed very gentlemanly; the Japanese soldiers were openly feeding their warhorses water and feed, while also replenishing their own strength.

Under the cover of their warhorses, the 3rd Cavalry Battalion had already set up its fire support platoon with 6 Browning heavy machine guns and 4 81mm mortars.

All the submachine guns and semi-automatic rifles were loaded with bullets, spare magazines were placed within easy reach, and the sabers were polished to a gleaming shine—they were to be used last to behead the Japanese soldiers.

The cavalry formation was already in place, a classic "Double Dragons Emerging from Water" formation. Everything was ready, just waiting for the battle to begin.

Soon, half an hour passed, and both sides mounted their warhorses almost simultaneously. Both tucked their lances behind their backs and placed their sabers in front of their chests, signaling that they were about to engage in a fierce battle, full of ritualistic significance.

The Japanese launched the first attack. Major Fujita raised his sword high with one hand and roared at the top of his lungs:

"Cavalry battalion—Charge!"

Hu Ning was equally unwilling to be outdone, and slashed forward fiercely with his saber:

"Cavalry battalion—Attack!"

The two torrents surged toward each other like rolling waves, and in a short time the horses reached their maximum speed. The arrow was on the bowstring and had to be released.

Hu Ning brandished his military saber and instantly changed formation, spreading out the "Double Dragons" to both flanks, leaving the central area open;

Before the Japanese could react, the firing platoon positioned in the middle suddenly opened fire, six long tongues of fire sweeping towards the unprotected Japanese soldiers, causing them to fall and suffer heavy casualties.

At the same time, four 81mm mortars and nine 60mm mortars bombarded the Japanese troops fiercely. Major Fujita's mind went blank for a moment, and Captain Miyamoto cursed in frustration:

"The Chinese actually used machine guns and cannons; they have no sportsmanship!"

"Baka! You're not a real samurai!"

"mean!"

Japanese cavalrymen fell from their horses in rows; the more they cursed, the more died.