Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

Li Ji quite liked this man's forthright personality, so he smiled and asked him, "Since you've studied, why not take the military examination like Minister Situ?"

Wu Chongfu laughed and said, "How dare I compare myself to Minister Situ? I was born too late and missed the opportune time. Rather than take the military examination, I'd rather join the inner circle..."

Since the Tianbao era, the power of the military governors had gradually increased, and they often appointed themselves as generals and officials. Even those who passed the military examinations, even if given official positions by the court, still had to serve as military governors in border towns to have the opportunity to fight on the battlefield and accumulate merits for promotion. Therefore, Wu Chongfu's idea was that if he had been born a few years earlier, he would have followed Guo Ziyi and entered officialdom through the military examinations. However, by the time he came of age, serving in the army was the proper path, and taking the military examinations would have been superfluous and unnecessary.

Li Ji thought to himself, "The power to select junior and middle-ranking military officers should not be held by the central government. Although there is a nominal military examination, it is actually handed over to the border garrisons. If this is the case, how can the likes of An Lushan not cause trouble when they are powerful? Moreover, it seems that there may be even more trouble in the future. It's just that unless Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi rebel, it will not lead to such a large-scale upheaval as the An Lushan Rebellion, or even the collapse of the two capitals."

Chapter 49, Discord Between Generals

Wu Chongfu, the general of Fuyuan, was arrogant and overconfident after leading his elite troops. After surveying the enemy's situation from the city wall, he immediately smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Even with such a disorganized enemy, who is like chickens and dogs, my Fuyuan army, though only numbering five thousand, can still be defeated by Lord Cui and Defender Wei!"

Wei Lun was very polite to Li Ji—firstly because Li Ji was renowned, and secondly because he was a civil official—but he was unwilling to show much courtesy to Wu Chongfu, who was purely a military general and seemed to be a rough and uncultured man. He immediately rebuked him, saying, "The disparity in numbers is too great, how can you say you are sure to win? Being careless and underestimating the enemy is not a blessing for a general—let's wait for the Jingyuan army to arrive before deciding on a strategy."

However, to everyone's surprise, the Jingyuan Army was unable to arrive...

The next day, a messenger suddenly entered the city through the north gate, reporting that five thousand Jingyuan troops were marching south from Longzhou, intending to directly outflank the rebels. However, they were ambushed by tens of thousands of Hu bandits near Qianyang. After a fierce battle lasting half a day, they suffered heavy losses and were forced to retreat back to their stronghold...

When the generals were gathered in the military governor's hall, Wu Chongfu, upon hearing the news, immediately slammed his fist on the table and cursed, "Who led the Jingyuan army? They are like pigs and dogs, so reckless and weak!" Wei Lun said sadly, "Now that Jingyuan has retreated, only Fuyan remains. I'm afraid it will be difficult to defeat the enemy... We should plead with the court for more reinforcements."

Wu Chongfu curled his lip: "Where will the imperial court get so many reinforcements?" He stood up, cupped his hands to Cui Guangyuan: "We have no need for the Jingyuan army's assistance. This humble general requests to lead the Fuyan army out of the city, and we will surely crush the enemy in front of us in one fell swoop!"

Cui Guangyuan ignored him and instead looked at Li Ji: "What does Changwei think?"

Li Ji nodded slightly to Cui Guangyuan, then turned to Wu Chongfu and slowly asked, "General, you say you are sure you can defeat the enemy, but the number of those coming from Fuyan is only five thousand, while the number of bandits is more than ten times that. May I ask how you plan to defeat them? Is there a complete plan in place, or is this just empty talk?"

Wu Chongfu was displeased, but dared not refuse to answer—this Chief Secretary Li was clearly asking the question on behalf of the military governor—and immediately turned to Cui Guangyuan, crossed his arms and said loudly, "The establishment of our Fuyan Army was originally to resist the Dangxiang and Western Qiang. Now, half of those Liao people have left the prefecture and are attacking Fengxiang. Therefore, Commander Du (referring to Du Mian, the deputy military governor and defense commissioner of Fufang Danyan) has selected the elite troops and ordered me to lead these five thousand men to settle Qin and Long in one battle, so as to ensure the peace of Fufang, Jingyuan and other places for several years."

"Therefore, the soldiers under my command are all brave and fierce warriors who have fought against the various Hu tribes a hundred times and are used to taking their heads. One of them can be worth a hundred Hu, let alone ten times that number. Moreover, not all Hu tribes are the same. For example, the Dangxiang and Tuyuhun tribes had their former lands taken by the Tubo and have been living in Longshang ever since. Although the court has set up prefectures and enclosed lands to allow them to raise livestock, the land is actually small and barren, and their livestock do not thrive. They are all poor Han people! The Hu people are not very strong, their horses are not very good, their weapons are crude, and their armor is incomplete. Compared with the Tubo and Uyghur, they are as different as heaven and earth."

"If it weren't for the chaos in Guandong and the transfer of western troops to the east, neither the Tibetans nor the Uyghurs would have dared to challenge our Tang army, let alone these remnants of the barbarian tribes. If they were united and their orders were strict, they would not be easy to defeat. But now, all these tribes are standing together, they were only invited by a band of outlaws. Even when they set up camp under the city walls, they are far apart, as if they are afraid that their peers will take advantage of their weakness to attack them. Even if there are 100,000 of them, they are not worth fearing."

"However, with so many barbarian bandits gathering in Fengxiang, they will inevitably plunder the surrounding villages. If we do not defeat them in a day, the people will suffer even more and will not have a day of peace. To the west of here lies Longyou, where the King of Qi has been fiercely resisting the barbarian bandits for several years. If we remain here for too long, I fear that the barbarian bandits will invade again this autumn. If we coordinate with the other barbarian bandits to launch a pincer attack, Longyou will be in grave danger! Moreover, the barbarian bandits of Qin, Long, Jing, and Qing number more than 100,000. If they see that the government troops are slow to defeat the bandits, they may come to join us in droves. At that time, even if they dare not attack Fengxiang, they will surely go to take other counties. If we lose cities and towns, how can Lord Cui bear the consequences when the court questions us?"

"My strategy is to select two hundred elite cavalry, armored men and horses, to lead the charge, armed with long spears and broadswords, to form a battle line and then join the main force. Those barbarian bandits with weak bows and horses will surely be unable to withstand us. As long as each man fights bravely and advances quickly, the barbarians will not be able to come to our aid in time, and may even sit and watch. We can then break through their front lines and advance on Guo Yin's main force. If we kill Guo Yin, the barbarians will scatter, and the siege of Fengxiang will be lifted. If we can take advantage of the situation to inflict heavy casualties, we can even hope to secure peace in Longxi for several years in one battle!"

"I humbly request Lord Cui to grant my request and allow me to lead the Fuyuan army out of the city to defeat the enemy!"

With a series of words tumbling out, everyone in the hall was stunned. Li Ji thought to himself, "This guy's got a sharp mind. He's not just a reckless brawler. If he hadn't planned this all along, he couldn't have articulated such a coherent argument." He immediately slammed his hand on the table: "Brilliant, General's words!"

Then he turned to Cui Guangyuan and replied, "General Wu's words are very reasonable. We can go out of the city to defeat the enemy, and we must go out of the city to defeat the enemy. We cannot just hold Fengxiang and wait for the court to send reinforcements again..." It's already July. If we wait another month or two, the Tubo might send troops to invade again. Just as Wu Chongfu said, if these rebellious Hu people collude with the Tubo in the east and west, I'm afraid Longyou will be in danger!

They don't even need any substantial support. If the rebel Hu cuts off the Longxi Road, Li Tan and his men will be isolated in Longyou. How can they concentrate on fighting the Tubo?

But Li Ji added at the end: "Of course, how to use troops should be carefully considered and not act rashly."

Wu Chongfu was full of confidence in his Fuyan army. Li Ji, on the other hand, had only just come into contact with them, and it was inconvenient for him to visit every camp and talk to ordinary Fuyan soldiers with his rice bowl, as he had done with the Weiyuan army. Therefore, Wu Chongfu was not so confident. There were still fifty or sixty thousand men outside the city. To crush them in one battle with only five thousand soldiers, he couldn't just rely on a fierce charge. He also needed to consider tactics to ensure that there would be no mishaps in the battle.

Upon hearing Li Ji's words, Cui Guangyuan frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Wei Lun. However, Wei Lun deliberately lowered his head and avoided looking at him. Wei Lun's meaning was clear: I don't have much confidence in this battle, but as Wu Chongfu said, I'm afraid we can't drag this out for too long.

Leaving aside the Longyou issue for now, if the unrest drags on and we are even attacked and captured by the barbarian bandits, I'll definitely be in deep trouble!

Cui Guangyuan thought to himself, "Not only you, but I'm afraid I won't have a good ending either..." He finally made up his mind, first sighing, "I have no choice but to take the risk." He then ordered, "Let Li Ji lead the Weiyuan and Fuyan armies, and choose a time to leave the city and defeat the enemy!"

Li Ji bowed and accepted the order, but Wu Chongfu was somewhat bewildered—sigh, so all that I said was just to let someone else lead the Fuyan Army?

Immediately afterward, Cui Guangyuan left the office, and Li Ji invited Wu Chongfu and other generals to a side courtyard to discuss military matters. Wu Chongfu had been secretly clenching his teeth for a long time, but once all the generals had gathered, he could no longer hold back. He first bowed deeply to Li Ji and spoke:

"I've heard a lot about Li Erlang of Jingzhao's reputation for defending Longyou. Li Changshi is undoubtedly a great general, but he has never led my Fuyan army before. I'm afraid that he doesn't know his troops, and his troops don't know their general. When it comes to deploying them in battle, he won't be able to do it well."

Li Ji smiled knowingly: "What the general says makes sense. It is a great taboo in the army for soldiers and generals not to know each other..." Then he raised his eyebrows: "However, if the generals and commanders are not on good terms, they will only bring about their own defeat!"

Li Sheng quickly chimed in, "Since Lord Cui has given the order, we must respectfully obey Chief Secretary Li's command. Those who disobey will be punished according to military law!"

Wu Chongfu glared, about to erupt, but Li Ji quickly waved his hand, saying, "Liangqi, you flatter me." He then looked at Wu Chongfu and asked seriously, "Speaking of which, Fuyan was originally a wing of Shuofang, wasn't it?"

Wu Chongfu was taken aback upon hearing this, but could only nod.

Li Ji curled his lips slightly: "In the past, the court ordered Guo Situ to relinquish his post in Henan and appoint Li Taiwei instead. Li Taiwei entered Luoyang at night and summoned the generals from Shuofang to a meeting. Zhang Yongji, the Left Wing Army Commander, disobeyed the order and even tried to kidnap Li Taiwei. As a result, he was executed by the Taiwei at the gate of the camp!"

Wu Chongfu's mouth was half open, but he couldn't utter a word.

Li Ji meant: "Are your Shuofang troops habitually unwilling to obey the orders of our guest commander? Are you also planning to disobey orders? Have you heard of Zhang Yongji's fate?"

Guo Ziyi was known for his lenient military discipline, but he was also ruthless towards those who disobeyed orders—otherwise, he would never have been able to win battles. By the time Wu Chongfu reached his level, after more than a decade in the military, the hierarchical system and military laws were ingrained in his very being. In addition, although Li Ji was a civil official, he had a reputation for bravery, so when Li Ji used military law to suppress him, Wu Chongfu instinctively didn't dare to talk back.

Otherwise, given his temper, he would have already exploded if a sixth-rank civil official had been parachuted in and wanted to take command of his troops. He wouldn't have bothered to reason with Li Ji. Although Li Sheng's words just now were in Li Ji's favor, they actually fueled Wu Chongfu's anger. However, Li Ji managed to quell that anger with just a few words.

Seeing Wu Chongfu open his mouth but remain silent, Li Ji thought to himself: This is a show of force, do you understand? But he also knew that intimidation alone could not control the morale of the army—otherwise, Li Guangbi would have been stable in Heyang long ago, and would not have had to threaten to kill generals time and time again to maintain a balance with the traitor Shi—it has always been necessary to use both kindness and force.

He smiled and replied, “Of course, it is the responsibility of a general if his soldiers do not know each other’s orders, which is like not issuing military orders. It is somewhat excessive for Grand Commandant Li to execute Zhang Yongji without instructing him. But you may not know me, but I am not necessarily unaware of the Fuyan Army. I once followed General Pugu’s orders in Heyang and led the Shuofang Army to kill bandits. Fuyan originally came from Binning, and Binning came from Shuofang. It was only a matter of days ago.”

Wu Chongfu quickly interjected, "So Chief Secretary Li fought under General Pugu, so he must understand the Shuofang Army's tactics..." in an attempt to cover up his fear and embarrassment.

“Even so,” Li Ji continued, “it is inconvenient for me to directly command the Fuyan troops. The specific command will still need to be handled by General Wu. I, Li Ji, am here on the orders of Lord Cui to oversee the plan to break out of the city and defeat the enemy. I am willing to act as a consultant and work with you all to devise a plan. What General Wu said in the hall just now is in accordance with military strategy, but as Sun Tzu said, ‘He who calculates more wins, he who calculates less loses.’ Shouldn’t we discuss this further?”

"It is worth considering, it is worth considering."

Li Ji immediately waved his hand: "Bring me the map."

Pointing at the map, he circled areas around Fengxiang as he analyzed, "The area around Fengxiang Prefecture is all plains with fertile land, a granary since ancient times. I doubt they would grant it to those Hu tribes who migrated eastward..."

Wu Chongfu nodded and interjected, "There are no Hu tribes in Fengxiang Prefecture. The Hu people all come from Jing and Ning prefectures in the north, or Qin and Long prefectures in the west. They can graze some cattle and sheep on the mountains and plains, but there are not many horses, and the breeds are not good..."

"Therefore, the Jingyuan Army's desire to cut off the Hu bandits' retreat in order to throw them into chaos is not unreasonable?"

Wu Chongfu sighed, "The logic is sound, but... we should have sent someone to inform the city first so they could provide support. Besides, five thousand Jingyuan soldiers were defeated by over ten thousand barbarians. I really don't know how that Jingyuan general led his troops. He probably wanted to claim all the credit, so he was careless and reckless, and thus encountered the enemy hastily in a difficult place to deploy in the mountains..."

Li Ji nodded: "What if our army sneaks out of the city, heads west along the mountains, and cuts off the enemy's rear?"

Wu Chongfu waved his hands repeatedly: "No! On the plains, it is difficult to deceive the enemy when troop movements are made. The enemy will definitely send troops to intercept us. At that time, we will be outnumbered and have no reinforcements. Our chances of winning are slim. My previous plan was to quickly leave the city and catch the Hu bandits off guard. If we fight in front of the city and advance slowly, our number of troops will be too small and our chances of winning will not be great."

Li Ji smiled and said, "That would be best if the thieves were willing to divide their forces." (This website's domain name has changed.)

Wu Chongfu narrowed his eyes slightly: "What the Chief Secretary means is..."

"Send a detachment out of the north gate, displaying false banners and feigning a westward advance. The enemy will surely divide their forces to attack. Dividing their forces will weaken them, and with their camps scattered and disorganized, chaos is inevitable. Those who remain to defend the city will be uncertain whether their rear will be cut off by our army, and they will be hesitant and uncertain. Therefore, as the general has said, we should launch a swift attack on the enemy's formation, drive straight in, and defeat Guo Yin."

Wu Chongfu stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and nodded, saying, "This plan is feasible."

Li Ji immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow to the other party. Wu Chongfu hurriedly rose from his seat: "What does the Chief Secretary mean by this?"

Li Ji replied, “Although I have brought a thousand Weiyuan soldiers here, I will not hide it from you, General. In reality, only two hundred men are somewhat capable. The main force in this battle will naturally be the Fuyan army. I should have been stationed on the city wall to watch you lead the Fuyan troops to defeat the enemy, but I am itching to fight. I humbly request that you allow me to lead two hundred Weiyuan soldiers into the battle to defeat the enemy. Today I am the commander-in-chief, and I am assigning various units here. Tomorrow I will be a junior officer under your command, and I will follow your lead without question. I humbly request your permission.”

Wu Chongfu paused for a moment, carefully considering Li Ji's words, and then laughed: "Impressive! As expected of the renowned Li Erlang, I, Old Wu, am truly impressed. Today, I request the Chief Secretary to issue the order, and tomorrow I will fight alongside the Chief Secretary to slay the traitors!"

Li Ji smiled and said, "With the generals in harmony, there is no enemy we cannot defeat." He then looked around at his generals and said, "One of us must lead troops out of the city to feign cutting off the enemy's retreat. However, this is extremely dangerous. The enemy will surely send two times or even more troops to block us. If we cannot establish a strong defense, I fear that before General Wu and I can break through the enemy's defenses, we will be defeated and our lives will be in danger. Who dares to take on this important task?"

Upon hearing this, the generals all looked at each other in bewilderment, none daring to utter a single word.

The generals present were divided into three groups. One group consisted of generals from Fuyan, who thought to themselves that they would naturally follow General Wu and go out of the city to fight the enemy head-on, and that the task of luring the enemy would not be their responsibility. The second group consisted of generals from Qin, Long, and Fengxiang who were originally under Wei Lun's command. The third group consisted of two commanders of the Weiyuan Army. Logically speaking, one of them should have taken on this important task, but the problem was that it was too dangerous, and almost no one had the courage to do so.

The key issue is that the city garrison and the Weiyuan army are mostly ineffective. If you were to lead five thousand Fuyan soldiers out, even if ten times the number of enemies attacked, as long as you make preparations in advance and establish a firm foothold, it wouldn't be a problem to hold out for an hour or even half a day.

Chapter 50, Double Maces Defeat the Enemy

Li Ji asked his generals who dared to lead troops out of the city to feign an attack and lure the enemy. He then naturally turned his gaze to Li Sheng and Wang Bo.

After all, these two had come with him from Chang'an, so relatively speaking, they were the most likely to be under his command; unlike the generals in the city, who had basically never had any contact with him, so who would willingly submit to his orders?

Don't assume that with Cui Guangyuan's instructions and command of all the troops, all the generals will obey orders and can be deployed at will. In reality, they will mostly just go through the motions, but once they get to the battlefield, all sorts of problems will inevitably arise. Li Ji isn't so arrogant as to actually think he has some kind of kingly aura.

No matter how powerful or renowned you are, can you possibly surpass Li Guangbi? But what happened when Li Guangbi went to take command of the military in Henan? First, he rushed into Luoyang under cover of night, trembling with fear. Then, Zhang Yongji ignored the summons and even gathered his generals to stage a "military remonstrance"...

Therefore, the Fuyan army still needed the Fuyan general to command. Li Ji was only giving Wu Chongfu a show of force to establish his position as the supreme commander and clarify the strategic deployment. Afterward, he returned the command of the battle to the other party. As for the difficult task of sending troops to feign an attack to lure the enemy, he only dared to assign it to Li and Wang, who were relatively familiar with him and had followed him from the capital.

However, when his gaze swept over, Wang Bo quickly lowered his head, pretending that he had neither seen nor heard anything. This was exactly what Li Ji had expected; his eyes swept over the area, finally settling on Li Sheng's face.

Li Sheng hesitated for a moment, glanced left and right, and saw that none of the generals dared to ask for the order. When he looked up again, Li Ji was staring at him... He secretly encouraged himself, gritted his teeth, and finally cupped his hands and said, "If the Chief Secretary is willing to grant my request, I am willing to take on this task!"

What do you wish to request?

Li Sheng replied, “I have two requests. First, the Weiyuan Army under my command is truly ineffective. Those who are slightly brave and capable will naturally stay by my side. Therefore, I request permission to select one or two thousand usable soldiers from the city's garrison, provide them with appropriate equipment, and give them three days of training.”

Li Ji nodded and said, "I can agree. What is the second request?"

"This journey is indeed perilous. I humbly request that a sheep be slaughtered and wine be served as a reward for the soldiers I have selected. Furthermore, if I am not defeated, please award me the greatest merit; if I am defeated, or even die, as long as it does not harm the overall situation, I should not be punished."

Li Ji glanced sideways at Wu Chongfu, who nodded and took the initiative to speak, "If we can make the enemy split their forces to pursue you and disrupt their formation, I will naturally receive the greatest credit." He knew that this matter was difficult and dangerous, and he did not intend to send his own men to shoulder the heavy responsibility, so—the greatest credit is yours, I won't compete with you for it.

Li Ji said, "Good. He is loyal and brave, and he volunteered for difficult tasks. He is a model for the army. I will go and report to Lord Cui and Defense Commander Wei."

So they invited Cui and Wei to the hall again, where they presented their plans in detail. Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun exchanged a glance, then lowered their voices and asked, "Does Changwei believe that this will guarantee victory?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "Master Cui, the battlefield is ever-changing, and even the most famous generals of the past dare not claim certain victory. However, if we follow your suggestion and devise this plan, we will have a 70-80% chance of winning."

Wellen said, "Seventy or eighty percent, we can fight now." He paused, then slapped his thigh and said, "Good, as you wish. You may select two thousand brave soldiers from the city's garrison to lure the enemy. As for the weapons, you may take them from the treasury."

Cui Guangyuan also said, "Not only will we reward him with cattle and wine, but we will also give Li Sheng ten thousand coins. If we truly win, I will credit him with the greatest merit! Changwei, you will naturally also be credited with the greatest merit..."

Once the agreement was reached, Li Sheng was given one day to select soldiers and three days to reorganize and train them. At dawn on the fifth day, Li Sheng led his two thousand men, making a show of force by displaying banners to appear as if they numbered nearly ten thousand, and opened the north gate of Fengxiang Prefecture.

Fengxiang Prefecture is located in the western center of the Weibei Plain. Thirty miles to the south is the Wei River, and thirty miles to the north is the continuous loess plateau. Just by climbing the plateau, Jingzhou is not far away, which is the old home of some Hu tribes.

Therefore, unless those bandits are completely brain-dead, they would not disregard the risk of their retreat being cut off and their hometown being raided, and would definitely send troops to intercept them.

Li Ji ordered the Fuyan army to rest temporarily inside the west gate, while he, Wei Lun, Wu Chongfu, and others climbed the city wall to observe the movements of the rebels. Sure enough, as soon as dawn broke, the rebel camp became restless, and soon, troops from several camps in the northern part of the city began to emerge and head north. Wu Chongfu pointed and said, "The northern camp is now empty and not a concern. When we charge into the enemy lines, we only need to deploy a portion of our forces to the south to block the rebels from the southern camp from coming to our aid."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Please entrust this important task to me, Li Ji, General."

He wasn't afraid that Wu Chongfu would directly attack the core of the rebels, or even cut off Guo Yin's head, because no matter what, he had the merit of coordinating the overall situation, and in the end, it was Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun who wrote the report of victory and requested credit; but Wu Chongfu and the generals of Fuyan Army might worry that Li Ji would steal the credit.

Therefore, I'll let you have the credit for this great victory of crushing the enemy head-on.

Wu Chongfu clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Chief Secretary Li."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Why be so formal? Just call me by my courtesy name, or 'Erlang'."

While speaking, he kept his eyes fixed on the enemy formation. The timing of the attack was crucial. If they attacked too early, the rebel army in the north might not have gone far and could return to reinforce them at any time. If they attacked too late, not only would there be clever men among the rebels who might rearrange their defenses in the north, but Li Sheng wouldn't be able to hold out for long either.

Just as he was waiting for the right opportunity, he heard Wang Bo's voice from behind: "This... may I ask, Chief Secretary, what are your plans for this humble general?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What kind of assignment is this? You should just stay in the city. Consider it a bit of hard work for you to go west. What, with your guts, you think you can make a name for yourself?"

“Commander Wang, lead Wei Yuan and follow Wei’s orders. Once our army wins, we will go out of the city to pursue and kill the Hu bandits. The more casualties we inflict, the safer Longshang will be, and we can also give a better account to the court.”

Ultimately, the Fuyan army only had five thousand men. Even if they could defeat the enemy in one battle, even if there were fifty or sixty thousand pigs on the other side, they would be scattered and fleeing. They wouldn't be able to kill many of them. If they only got a few hundred heads, Li Sheng's two thousand men would suffer heavy losses, or even be completely wiped out. It would be a Pyrrhic victory, and they would have no face to report the victory to the court.

There are still nearly 10,000 troops in the city. If they don't have the courage or ability to face the enemy head-on, they should still be able to go out of the city to pick up the leftovers and reap the rewards.

As the sun rose higher, about an hour after the commotion at the rebel northern camp, Wei Lun and Wu Chongfu said almost in unison, "It's time!" Li Ji, however, spoke a beat later than them, feeling somewhat ashamed.

He then hastily descended from the city walls to rouse his soldiers. Wu Chongfu led five hundred Fuyan soldiers to Liji, along with two hundred Weiyuan soldiers, to protect the southern flank. Without beating drums or sounding horns, the city gates were suddenly flung open, and the drawbridge was lowered. Wu Chongfu personally led two hundred armored cavalrymen, who were the first to charge out.

This type of armored cavalry can be said to be the strongest type of soldier in the Tang army, or even in the world at that time. They are often used as the core force for charging into battle. However, not only is the equipment expensive, but it is also very difficult to train. Even Li Guangbi probably could not find more than one or two hundred of them among his 20,000 troops in Heyang. Therefore, the two hundred cavalrymen of Fuyuan Army were naturally not real armored cavalry. Fortunately, Fengxiang Prefecture was fully equipped with weapons. Iron armor, iron helmets, horse armor, and lances could all be piled on.