From the enemy's scattered formation, Meng Yuan could see their panic and confusion. Therefore, he decided to take advantage of his sudden appearance and launch an attack immediately, without giving the enemy time to calmly respond.
Looking back at the five thousand cavalry behind them, although the vast majority were light cavalry rather than armored cavalry, they were still enough to inflict a heavy blow on the Lianfa army, which had few cavalry.
"Wedge formation, charge!" He raised his broadsword high, pointing it towards the enemy ranks. A killing intent as sharp as a raging wind converged within the enemy ranks as the sword pointed. Five thousand warriors roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens! Five thousand warhorses galloped forward simultaneously, their momentum like rolling thunder!
The sudden appearance of the Peace Army had already made the Lianfa Army from Baoshan realize that the situation was dire, and the momentum created by the surprise attack of 5,000 cavalrymen made it impossible for them to judge how many enemies there were. When Meng Yuan, as the vanguard of this attack, broke into their midst, their panic turned into utter disarray.
Meng Yuan's broadsword flashed like snowflakes. He knew that breaking the enemy's courage with a single blow was crucial. Therefore, he charged into the enemy ranks first, and under his broadsword, the enemy formation was torn in two! Where his blade struck, limbs and fragments flew everywhere, and blood shot straight into the dark clouds of the sky. A red path stretched behind him, but it was quickly trampled into black by the following cavalry.
It was as if a sharp dagger had been plunged into Lianfa's army, and the dagger was penetrating deeper and deeper, aiming directly at the heart of Lianfa's army. Meng Yuan's killing intent was so intense that all the enemy soldiers in the area where his blade was pointed were terrified and fled in disarray, with no one daring to stand before this incomparably brave general.
"A sneak attack! A sneak attack! Shoot that general dead!" A cold, sharp voice shouted from within the Lianfa army. If Meng Yuan were allowed to break through, the Lianfa army would soon be scattered by the Peace Army cavalry. Unable to use a dense formation to stop the Peace Army cavalry, they would only face defeat on this flat ground. Since no one could directly confront Meng Yuan, they would stop him with sneak attacks.
At the shout, the Lianfa soldiers, disregarding the chaos, unleashed a flurry of arrows at Meng Yuan. The voice alerted Meng Yuan, who deflected two arrows with his sword, then maneuvered on his horse to avoid the remaining two. His eyes, cold as lightning, darted towards the source of the arrows, and he roared, "You scoundrel, how dare you!" He spurred his horse, and the large black steed, like a bolt of lightning, flashed towards one of the archers. The Lianfa soldiers between Meng Yuan and the man scattered, and Meng Yuan swiftly cleaved the soldier in two from shoulder to waist, his internal organs and blood pooling on the ground.
But Meng Yuan didn't stop there. He spurred his horse and charged straight towards the source of the cold, sharp voice. His broadsword flashed white, and the surrounding Lianfa soldiers fell like broken trees. For someone like Meng Yuan, these amateur soldiers were simply unable to wield their killing weapons with hands accustomed to hoes. Accompanied by the tornado-like killing intent and qi surrounding Meng Yuan, even those who could still stand couldn't help but stagger and fall.
The Lianfa army's formation was now completely chaotic, and the Peace Army cavalry charged through it as if it were nothing. Despite their superior numbers, they were nothing more than a flock of slaughtered beasts. By the time Lanqiao arrived with his infantry, all they could do was take in the prisoners and drive away the resisters.
The major battle between the Peace Army and Chen Kingdom within its borders has temporarily come to an end. Taking advantage of the unexpected opportunity presented by the Lunar New Year holiday, Li Jun launched a surprise attack into eastern Chen Kingdom, capturing Ningwang, Huai'en, Baoshan, and Yuanding—four cities in one fell swoop. The once-powerful Lianfazong sect in eastern Chen Kingdom was forced to retreat to Shita City, abandoning more than ten other cities of varying sizes in the east, concentrating its forces to block Li Jun's entry into the heart of Chen Kingdom. Li Jun did not press his advantage; he had more pressing concerns. By diverting Lianfazong's attention to the eastern front and relieving pressure on Chen Kingdom's capital, Luoying, his strategic objective would be achieved.
Moreover, the message from Feng Jiutian from Leiming City reminded him not to venture further into Chen Kingdom territory, lest he be isolated and unable to keep up with logistical support, especially troop replenishment, and also to ensure that the army could return in time should any unforeseen circumstances arise in the rear.
Nevertheless, the unstoppable offensive of the Peace Army since entering Chen territory, and the victory achieved in less than half a month, was enough to shake the entire Chen court and the people. For a time, the Peace Army from Yuzhou became the talk of the town in Chen. At first, people talked about how powerful the Peace Army was; later, they described the soldiers as invincible warriors, while Li Jun and Meng Yuan became monsters ten zhang tall with mouths like water vats. Li Jun and Lian Fazong's goal of winning over the hearts and minds of the people could be considered partially achieved.
"The Peace Army of Yuzhou?" Liu Guang was currently stationed in Moye, a major town in southern Chen State. This large city with 150,000 households was originally the capital of Liangzhou and one of the main bases of the Lianfa Army in southern Chen State. However, after Liu Guang entered Chen State, he won every battle and expanded his territory by thousands of miles in a month. Moye City naturally became the temporary camp of the deputy commander of the army.
Although the Peace Army was closer to Chen than Liu Guang, Li Jun was still on the Qionglu Grassland when he received the news, and the round trip took a lot of time. Therefore, the Peace Army entered Chen later than Liu Guang.
Liu Guang squinted, stroking his handsome beard, a thoughtful expression on his face. Back in Heng Kingdom, intelligence about Yu Prefecture had also reached him. The actions of that so-called Peace Army mercenary group in Yu Prefecture had caught his eye, but afterwards, he suffered a series of misfortunes and stopped paying attention to such a trivial matter. He never expected that both sides would appear in Chen Kingdom at the same time, and judging from the Peace Army's actions, it seemed that they were in no hurry to wipe out the Lianfa Sect rebels, just like him.
"Commander, the Peace Army is alright, they're just a bunch of mercenaries. The only worry is their leader, Li Jun, that greenhorn. He's cunning and skilled in combat, a real thorn in your side!"
The speaker had fair skin, but his eyes burned with hatred, distorting his once handsome features. He wasn't a direct descendant of Liu Guang from Heng Kingdom; rather, he had come to Chen Kingdom after hearing of Liu Guang's reputation. His words revealed no intention of considering Li Jun an ally in the fight against the Lotus Dharma Sect; on the contrary, they were filled with hatred and anger.
"General Tong seems to know this Li Jun quite well?" Liu Guang's gaze shifted, his narrowed eyes beneath his long eyebrows fixed on General Tong's face. Although he didn't show much anger or excitement, the unspoken pressure and imposing aura he exuded forced the originally impassioned General Tong to lower his head.
"Reporting to the General, I was originally from Yuzhou. Yinhu City in Yuzhou was originally my family's property, but Li Jun used my entire family as hostages, so I had no choice but to give it to him." General Tong was none other than Tong Pei. After being released from Yuzhou by Li Jun, he had always been resentful and went to Chen Kingdom to look for an opportunity. However, the Chen Kingdom court was completely indifferent to the affairs of Yuzhou. Their urgent need was the Lianfa Army. Therefore, he joined Liu Guang's army, hoping that one day he could use Liu Guang's strength to retake Yinhu City.
"I see. General Tong is from Yuzhou, so he must know Li Jun's true strengths and weaknesses. I heard that Li Jun is Lu Xiang's disciple. Is that true?" Liu Guang's heart stirred, and he asked this question first. He had indeed long admired that invincible general who was his equal, whom he had never met.
Tong Pei gritted her teeth and said, "It's just a rumor. Li Jun only served under Lu Xiang for three years. How could he have become Lu Xiang's disciple?"
Liu Guang felt slightly disappointed. For a general of his caliber, finding a worthy opponent was extremely difficult. He had always harbored a secret desire to compete with Lu Xiang for the title of the greatest general of their time. However, with Lu Xiang's death, this ambition had to be abandoned. When he heard that Li Jun was Lu Xiang's disciple, he felt a surge of excitement. If he could outwit and defeat this disciple of Lu Xiang on the battlefield, it would fulfill a long-held wish. But according to Tong Pei's words, Li Jun was merely an ordinary general under Lu Xiang; if that was the case, there was no need to meet him.
However, judging from Li Jun's timing in launching his attack and his performance after entering Chen territory, this young man is quite strategic and tactical. Keeping him in Chen territory would ultimately be a problem. It would be better to let him return to Yuzhou and deal with him after I have dealt with Chen.
Having made up his mind, Liu Guang began to plan how to achieve his goal. He asked, "What kind of person is Li Jun?"
"He is audacious and reckless, befriending petty people and distancing himself from virtuous ones." Knowing that he was being questioned, Tong Pei answered to the best of his knowledge, "He renamed the perfectly good Tonghai City to Kuanglan City, intending to stir up trouble throughout the world, which shows his arrogance. He is extremely compatible with the common people, agreeing with them to treat everyone equally, while he harbors unwarranted hatred towards powerful families and clans, trying every means to make things difficult for them. Therefore, he is actually unpopular."
"Oh, is that so? It's somewhat similar to the tricks of the Lotus Sect. They associate with unruly commoners and are enemies of the gentry. It seems their rear is prone to trouble." Liu Guang smiled slightly. Based on just a few words from Tong Pei, he had grasped Li Jun's weakness. This weakness was enough to cause Li Jun a lot of trouble. No wonder he stopped advancing when he reached Huai'en. He must have known that his rear was vulnerable.
"Tell me in detail what Li Jun did in Yuzhou, to the best of your knowledge." Liu Guang did not act blindly based on this conclusion. It was always better to learn more about one's opponent, even a potential one, than to wait until the last minute. Preparation prevents trouble, while lack of preparation breeds worry.
Tong Pei then recounted how Li Jun traveled thousands of miles to Yuzhou, how he joined Hua Feng's ranks, how he lifted the siege of Leiming City, how he seized Tonghai and renamed it Kuanglan City, how he used Hua Xuan to break through Hua Palace and seize Leiming City, and how he successively wiped out the Tong and Zhu families and subdued the other five families. Some of these events were his personal experiences, and he himself had suffered greatly from them, so he spoke with tears streaming down his face. Some of these events were things he had heard from others, and some were simply things he had imagined. But for Liu Guang, this was already firsthand intelligence.
"You mean, that Peng Yuancheng wiped out the Zhu family for Li Jun?" Liu Guang showed unusual interest in this person who could rival Li Jun and leave him almost helpless.
"This Peng Yuancheng is also a cunning fellow, just like Li Jun. He is also a man without integrity! Today he pledges allegiance to this person, tomorrow he pledges allegiance to that person, and in the end he ruined all his masters." He hated Li Jun's "accomplice" just as much as he hated Li Jun himself.
"Oh, is that so? What is Peng Yuancheng's background? Is he also a commoner?" Liu Guang went straight to the point. Judging from Tong Pei's information, Li Jun indeed did not have the respect due to powerful families. Moreover, after unifying Yuzhou, he became arrogant and conceited. While he was away with his troops, he allowed that Feng Jiutian to implement a policy of cracking down on powerful families in Yuzhou. If Peng Yuancheng also came from a powerful family, then he would have a deep-seated resistance to such a policy.
"Although he comes from a prominent family, he has been implementing Li Jun's policies with all his might in the two cities of Da Gu and Yu Yang under his jurisdiction. I'm afraid he has completely forgotten his ancestors. If the commander-in-chief hopes that he will oppose Li Jun, it is probably unlikely."