I was living in the Five Dynasties period, just after crossing the Zhongdu Bridge.

The morale on the battlefield, though seemingly mysterious, is actually nothing more than pragmatic.

It is not about sacrificing oneself for righteousness under the teachings of sages, but rather an instinctive weighing of power when the strong and the weak are reversed.

Therefore, when Li Yin was thrown away by Shen Lie's spear, the balance of the war had already tilted in favor of the Han army.

The torrential rain blurred everything in the world.

In the center of the battle formation, the two iron torrents were already locked in a fierce battle, and the tragic scene of the two armies clashing was beyond description.

The shouts of people and the neighing of horses blended together in the thunderous summer rain.

Shen Lie did not linger beside Li Yin's corpse. In fact, before Li Yin completely lost consciousness, he had already led his men to prepare to break into the Liao army's formation.

"Charge with me!"

As these arrogant words fell, Shen Lie crashed into the Liao army's ranks.

He held the sword horizontally in his left hand, alternating between it and the long spear in his right.

With each slash, a Liao soldier would tumble from his horse; with each thrust of the spear, a flower of blood would be drawn from the barbarian's clothing.

Zhao Kuangyin followed closely behind. He was at the peak of his martial prowess at this time, wielding a dragon-patterned staff.

Sweep, push, pick, smash.

Every movement was incredibly simple and devoid of any frills.

Yang Ting and Liu Qing stood on the left and right, protecting Shen Lie's flanks.

These two of Shen Lie's confidants were now completely enraged.

As the saying goes, soldiers follow their generals, and the generals are the soul of the soldiers.

The five hundred cavalrymen under Shen Lie's command were mostly newly recruited soldiers who should not have had such combat strength.

But in that torrential downpour, when the barbarian's leather bows were all rendered useless, and in that instant when the commander-in-chief killed the enemy general with a single spear thrust.

A kind of fighting spirit belonging to the Han warriors was completely ignited.

Since the leather bows are no longer useful, everyone has two arms and two eyes, so it's a battle of who has the toughest life and who is the most ruthless.

The Khitans were strong, but their strength lay in their power, not in their spirit.

As long as you are fiercer and tougher than them, these seemingly invincible barbarians are nothing but clay chickens and earthen dogs.

In battlefield strategy, nothing is more important than having the initiative.

Yang An's looting had already dampened the morale of his soldiers, and the torrential rain had rendered their crossbows useless, leaving them with broken wings.

In contrast, Shen Lie, with his desperate gamble of borrowing a horse for a thousand miles, coupled with his heavy armor, was like a long, dark sword, cutting straight into the heart of the Liao army.

Thus, the battlefield outside Mingzhou City took a strange turn.

Yang An was in the middle of the formation, so anxious that he almost ground his teeth to powder.

Since the death of Emperor Zhuangzong Li Cunxu, who conquered the world with three arrows, the Han Chinese armies in the Central Plains have mostly retreated to the city walls or behind shield formations when they see Khitan cavalry.

Even those who dared to venture out of the city for open battle mostly relied on their numerical advantage to carry out encirclement and suppression operations.

He hadn't seen such a killer in twenty years, who attacked with a small force against a large one, and who directly charged in head-on with cavalry.

"Where did this murderer come from! When did the Central Plains breed such reckless mad dogs?!"

Yang An watched helplessly as Li Yin was pierced through by a spear, and as the black-armored general, along with his personal guards, charged rampage through his once-orderly formation.

His martial prowess was reminiscent of Li Cunxiao in his prime, and wherever he went, no one could withstand a single blow!

Looking around, the Khitan formation, which had initially held the advantage, showed signs of loosening under the opponent's unreasonable momentum.

He didn't understand.

Logically speaking, if the enemy led 500 cavalry to charge an army of 1,000, their offensive should have been halted when the two armies clashed. After that, I only needed to have the cavalry on both flanks surround and encircle the cavalry to defeat them.

But this cavalryman seemed to share life and death with the black-armored general, preferring to be pierced by the Liao army's spears rather than let him die than drag him off his horse.

If the enemy were to breach the city twice more, his thousand-man force would be completely annihilated beneath the walls of Mingzhou.

Morale is a thing that, when accumulated, is like water dripping into stone; it requires years of victories and generous rewards to nurture it.

But when it collapses, it's like a landslide or earthquake, requiring only a moment of self-doubt.

If the enemy continues to charge like this, even the most elite Pishi Army of the Liao army will become nothing more than cattle and sheep waiting to be slaughtered once they develop that illusion of invincibility.

"Go! Tell General Yang Gun!"

Yang An grabbed a personal guard and roared, "There are elite Han troops outside Mingzhou! Tell him to quickly lead those 1,500 cavalry south to encircle them! Don't linger behind them!"

The guard nodded and retreated, disappearing into the rain.

Yang Anfei was not a fool. He understood that with the few men he had left, even if he could win, he would probably be wiped out.

He had to drag Yang Gun, that slippery fellow, into it.

Once Yang Gun's fresh troops arrive, even if each of these five hundred cavalrymen had three heads and six arms, they wouldn't be able to escape the Mingnan Plain.

After giving instructions to his personal guards, Yang An himself couldn't bother supervising the battle from the rear.

"Follow me! Kill that man in black armor!"

He raised his spiked club, spurred his horse's flanks, and led his elite guards straight to the front of the Han army.

Yang An knew very well that this kind of near-suicidal attack was the ultimate test of a general's prestige.

Therefore, he had to personally sever the soul of this Han army.

Meanwhile, on the city walls of Mingzhou.

Guo Congyi and Xue Huairang, these two unfortunate brothers, were wearing straw raincoats and leaning against the parapet, gazing into the distance.

The rain was too heavy to see the details of the battle, but the trembling of hooves and the muffled shouts of battle could still be heard.

"Defense Master Xue...listen!"

Guo Congyi was a fierce general, and his ears were incredibly sharp. "The sound of horses' hooves is deep and chaotic; it's a cavalry charge! Our reinforcements have arrived!"

Xue Huairang was taken aback, rubbed his eyes, and looked around: "Reinforcements? Grand Tutor Gao sent people? But isn't Grand Tutor Gao besieging the city? Why did he suddenly send cavalry north?"

The two exchanged a glance, both seeing the doubt in each other's eyes.

Guo Congyi was Liu Zhiyuan's confidant and knew the Imperial Guard's order of command very well.

I can't think of any military governor who would dare to launch such a suicidal charge against the Khitan elite cavalry when outnumbered.

But no matter which deity comes, as long as they are flying the Han flag, they will be their lifeline.

"Who cares who he is!"

Guo Congyi gritted his teeth. "Since they've come to rescue Mingzhou, if we cower in the city like turtles, not only will we be unable to explain ourselves to the officials later, but the people of this city will also condemn us!"

"Defender Xue! Do you dare to fight your way out with me?"

Guo Congyi knew very well that if this unknown reinforcement was defeated, and Yang An and Yang Gun joined forces, the fall of Mingzhou was only a matter of time.

Looking at the Khitan cavalry in the distance, and recalling the humiliation of being attacked by Yang An a few days ago, Xue Huairang felt a surge of anger rising in his heart.

"What's there to be afraid of! If we sit idly by and watch our reinforcements die right under our noses, neither of us will even have a proper burial."

"Inspector Guo, please go down into the city and muster your troops first. I'll have the city gates opened right away!"

Then, the south gate of Mingzhou opened with a roar, and the suspension bridge fell heavily.