Gan Ping crouched low, pressed himself against the horse's body, and with a flick of his fork, deflected an arrow aimed at the horse's head. He could clearly hear the anxious curses of the Su general; some of the scolded soldiers fired arrows haphazardly, while others braced themselves for battle. The Peace Army, surging forward like a torrent, clashed heavily with the hastily formed enemy ranks. In that instant of clash, Gan Ping seemed to hear the metallic clang of two boulders colliding. He couldn't care less; his steel fork shot out like a snake's tongue, and the Su general, somewhat sluggish from being intimidated by his killing intent, was thrown back with a powerful thrust. Using the horse's momentum, his body was flung far away, crashing into two enemy soldiers who were trying to avoid Gan Ping's sharp edge.
The thousand Peace Army soldiers swept into the still-unformed Soviet ranks like a gust of wind. The tens of thousands of Soviet troops at the front, unaware of what was happening behind them, heard shouts and cries of agony. Although they immediately formed a strong defensive formation under their commanders' orders, the Peace Army soldiers who had penetrated the Soviet army did not directly attack the center. Instead, they chose the weaker left flank and charged out again. This sudden attack and advance, which took only the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, left behind two thousand wounded and dead Soviet soldiers.
"Pursue them! The enemy forces are outnumbered!"
The Su general immediately saw Gan Ping's weakness and abruptly waved his hand to give the order. For years, Su had been unable to trade warhorses with the Rong people of the Qionglu Grasslands, relying instead on the Rong people living on the Tianci Grasslands of Lan Kingdom. However, Lan Kingdom was unwilling to allow Su to obtain its best warhorses, resulting in most of the warhorses ending up in Su's army being old, weak, or sick. Consequently, Su's cavalry was extremely weak, with armored cavalry virtually nonexistent. Gan Ping led the Peace Army cavalry in a charge, and Su's infantry, unable to catch the cavalry, could only try their luck with arrows.
But these hastily fired arrows couldn't catch up with the prepared Peace Army. After galloping several hundred feet, the Peace Army slowed down, their horses going from a gallop to a trot. The Su general took a breath and shouted, "Spearmen, form ranks!"
Armored infantrymen wielding long spears formed a dense forest of spears around the entire army, while shield bearers protected their bodies with thick leather shields. At this moment, the Su army formation resembled a hedgehog, and anyone who tried to charge forward would be heavily impaled. Gan Ping and his cavalry roamed at a distance from the Su army formation, occasionally firing a few arrows, but they could hardly even scratch the surface of the Su soldiers.
"Have they run out of tricks?" The Soviet commander stroked his beard and asked himself with some doubt. Based on his understanding of the Peace Army over the past few years, this attack was definitely not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
"Look, General!" The fat face of the adjutant beside him twitched, pointing due south. The Su general turned around and saw a human wall of soldiers appear there as if without a sound.
"A feint attack?" The Su general's heart skipped a beat. An enemy cavalry unit appeared behind him, drawing his attention before launching their main attack? Fortunately, he had deployed this circular formation. Now that the forest of spears was in place, it seemed the enemy's main force couldn't penetrate his ranks except through a direct assault. If the two armies clashed, the casualties would be heavy. Given Li Jun's character, he would never choose such a tactic unless absolutely necessary…
"What is that!" His eyes widened instantly, because he saw the cavalry of the Peace Army's main force split to the flanks, revealing dozens of mysterious chariots.
The Xuanji chariot was difficult to repair and manufacture, and its mobility was poor. Aside from being used for siege warfare or catching the enemy off guard, its actual usefulness was limited. Moreover, it became extremely difficult to move in muddy trenches, so Li Jun rarely used it except for occasional use. Su Guo had heard of this strange chariot in the Peace Army, but had never encountered it before. Wei Zhan used it in the initial battle.
The mysterious chariot emitted a heavy, rumbling roar—the sound of its iron wheels pressing against the ground. The autumn roads and surrounding plains of the Su Kingdom were dry and firm, perfect for this monster to traverse. As the iron monster drew ever closer, the arms of the Su Kingdom's spearmen trembled. Against this monster encased in thick iron plates, their spears could only be effective by piercing through the narrow gaps in its front.
"Yes, order the cavalry to launch a surprise attack from my rear to disrupt my preparations," the Su general thought frantically. "I originally intended to set up a defensive line and ditches to guard against this monster, but now I have no time for that..."
Although he understood the enemy's plan, the Su general was at a loss. His troops had originally marched south to reinforce the enemy, but he hadn't expected the Peace Army to advance so quickly, nor had he anticipated that the Su people along the way would bind local officials and bring the entire city to welcome Li Jun, who was leading them in the campaign against the Japanese pirates. Therefore, although he had sent out scouts, by the time they received the news, the two armies were already very close, and Gan Ping's surprise attack had disrupted his plans for setting up camp. At this point, he had no advantage whatsoever.
"Run!" The Su general looked around at his soldiers, each face filled with fear and cowardice. Ever since Dong Cheng, the last great general of Su, surrendered to Li Jun, and especially after the Battle of Qinggui which flooded the 200,000-strong Su army, the Su army had long lost its morale. The massacres of civilians over the years had made even the soldiers, who came from ordinary backgrounds, uneasy. Now, facing the main force of the Peace Army flying the purple dragon flag, their morale collapsed without a fight.
The heavy thud emanating from the Xuanji chariot was like the heavy breathing of the Su general; he had to decide whether to fight or flee. This suddenly appearing armored monster was so intimidating that the Su soldiers overlooked the slowly advancing army following closely behind.
When they were less than a hundred paces from the hastily deployed circular formation of the Su army, the powerful crossbows on the siege engines began to unleash poisoned spikes that gleamed like cold stars. At this distance, the leather shields made of three layers of cowhide and a layer of pine planks could not withstand the power of the crossbows. Shield after shield was pierced, and spearmen fell with cries of agony, their blood snaking like snakes from beneath their bodies, staining the plains and the post road red. The once dense, forest-like formation began to falter and gaps appeared; everyone was filled with fear and trembled.
"Let's fight!" King Su swallowed hard a few times; if he didn't make a decision soon, the army would collapse. Thinking of his wife and children at home, and of Wu Shu's gloomy, yellowish gaze, he closed his eyes briefly and shouted, "Charge before the enemy gets close!"
The fields on both sides of the post road were entirely occupied by soldiers from both sides. This area was originally unsuitable for combat, so the contact area between the two sides was not wide. The Su general was not entirely incompetent. Before ordering a charge and breakthrough, he first ordered the use of arrows to clear the way. Although the Xuanji chariots blocked their path like an impenetrable barrier, the arrows were shot into the air, falling after passing the Xuanji chariots. Therefore, although they were difficult to aim at, they still caused some casualties to the Peace Army.
The Peace Army's formation did not falter; in fact, aside from the crossbows on their siege engines, their archers had not fired a single arrow. When the two sides were within fifty paces of each other, the Soviet soldiers heard a alarming buzzing sound coming from within the Peace Army's ranks.
The bowstring twanged. With that twang, a hail of arrows rained down, whistling sharply, weaving a deadly net.
"Ah!" The screams of the wounded immediately drowned out the sound of arrows. Military strategy dictates that "no more than three shots should be fired at the enemy," meaning that such arrow attacks would only last for a maximum of three rounds before the two armies clashed, after which they would descend into melee. Therefore, as soon as the first batch of wounded Su soldiers fell to the ground, the two armies had already collided.
The Soviet forces numbered over 20,000, while the Peace Army had 50,000. However, in this terrain, the Peace Army's numerical advantage could not be immediately apparent. As the two vanguards clashed and their rearguard surged forward like a tide, Gan Ping noticed the tall purple dragon flags fluttering twice within the Peace Army's ranks.
"Understood!" he shouted loudly, and the thousand Peace Army cavalrymen began to accelerate, charging in again from the flank and rear of the Soviet troops. If the Soviet troops had been deployed in a dense circular or square formation, this level of attack would have only increased their own casualties. However, because the vanguard of the Soviet troops was in the midst of a melee, both sides could no longer maintain a dense formation during the charge. Gan Ping led the Peace Army cavalrymen to break through smoothly, throwing the rear of the Soviet troops into chaos.
When the Soviet troops realized they were being attacked from both sides, their already wavering fighting spirit instantly collapsed.
The Su general could no longer control his troops, and the army crumbled and scattered. Wei Zhan, seeing this from the rear of his own army, couldn't help but be taken aback and said, "So easily defeated?"
Ji Su also shook his head: "Cowards, not a single man among tens of thousands of people."
Li Jun watched all this with a slight weariness. He understood that Wei Zhan's arrangement was aimed at the fact that the Soviet troops were still able to organize a counterattack. Now it seemed that the enemy was about to collapse, and the results achieved by Lan Qiao and Tang Peng would be extremely limited.
As expected, seeing the situation was dire, the Su general led several thousand men in a retreat to the northwest, while the rest of his troops scattered and fled. Gan Ping would occasionally stand up in his stirrups to observe the battlefield. Whenever he saw any enemy troops still putting up a fight, his thousand cavalrymen would sweep them away like a whirlwind, which further hastened the collapse of the Su forces.
"Victory is all that matters." Li Jun uttered these four words in a low voice. Wei Zhan also smiled. The disparity in troop strength between the two sides was not too great. Being able to defeat the enemy in an instant was already a great victory. It was just a pity that most of these scattered enemy soldiers would regroup, but that was a matter for the next battle. Even if they returned to the battlefield, they would be like frightened birds.
The one-sided battle greatly displeased Gan Ping. When the enemy had no more effective resistance, he was too lazy to send his cavalry to pursue the fleeing defeated soldiers.
Soon after, Tang Peng and Lan Qiao reported the results of the battle. The thousands of defeated soldiers under the command of the Su Kingdom had no intention of fighting. All Tang Peng and Lan Qiao could do was chase after them and accept their surrender. Lan Qiao, however, used a tripwire to drive the Su Kingdom commander off his horse and killed him in the ensuing duel.
"You could catch him alive, right?" Wei Zhan snorted coldly, expressing his dissatisfaction with Lan Qiao.
"What use is it to kill a few incompetent soldiers? What's the point of capturing them alive?" Lan Qiao chuckled. He was usually very honest and straightforward, but on the battlefield he was bloodthirsty and loved to cut off his opponent's head with a single sword. Therefore, what he used to present his merit was the head of the Su Kingdom's general.
“Your merits and demerits cancel each other out. If everyone were as bloodthirsty as you, would any enemy dare to surrender?” Wei Zhan said.
"Merits and demerits cancel each other out?" Lan Qiao twisted his neck and shouted, "Strategist, my men have earned their merits by fighting in the blood, and you just stand in the back and say that merits and demerits cancel each other out?"
"Lanqiao!" Ji Su had to interject, "How can you be so rude to the strategist?"
"You mean your merits and demerits cancel each other out!" Wei Zhan glared at him. "You're leaving now. If you dare to disobey again, you'll be court-martialed!"
Lan Qiao shrank back, pouted, and left the central command tent. Ji Su looked at Li Jun, but Li Jun looked at Wei Zhan. After Lan Qiao left, Wei Zhan smiled and said, "It's alright. He's willing to fight for his subordinates' merits, so he'll be even more loyal to the commander. Besides, he's a brute. Apart from Zi Yu, I'm afraid no one would expect him to be gentle."
Laughter erupted in the tent, easing the tense atmosphere caused by the conflict between Lan Qiao and Wei Zhan.
Chapter Eight: Beheading
one,
The Qingjiang River rushes forth from the Zhongxing Mountains in the west, turning northeast after passing through the fertile Qinggui Plain. Below Jiang'an City, the Qingjiang River is renamed the Liu River. Jiang'an, the first city on the Liu River, is small and poor, far inferior to Zhanyang, which is over 120 li away. To the north of Zhanyang City lies the east-west Phoenix Mountain; to the west flows the Zhan River, originating from the Phoenix Gorge; and to the south is the turbulent Liu River. South of the Liu River are the Lianhua Mountains, which block the eastward flow of the Gui River, forcing it to turn west. An ancient poem says, "Looking towards Phoenix from a thousand li away, passing Zhanyang in one night," highlighting the treacherous nature of the Liu River in the Zhanyang section, where hidden reefs, whirlpools, and shallows can turn upstream ships into splinters in the river's foam. Mountains stand facing each other on both banks, cranes cry in the sky, and monkeys howl on the cliffs. Plank roads wind like ladders between cliffs, truly embodying the saying, "Above are the lofty peaks where six dragons turn back the sun, below are the rushing, turbulent rivers."
“It’s not that the warships can’t get through.” Dong Cheng gently tapped his face with his hand, his gaze deep. He was filled with conflicting emotions as he embarked on this expedition. Although Huang Xuan’s willingness to fight for the people had won him over and led him to join the Peace Army, the thought of personally overthrowing the Great Su Dynasty, which was once his homeland, made Dong Cheng uneasy.
“The warships will pass through here. The danger of the river is secondary. Look over there.” His military advisor, Zhang Fang, pointed to a dark shadow hanging on the cliffs on both sides of the river. “Iron chains block the river. Ships going downstream will be blocked by these iron chains.”
“There.” Zhang Fang pointed again. “That mountain is called Yuan’erchou. It is the most dangerous place on the plank road. One man can hold the pass against ten thousand. The enemy has built a camp on the flat ground there and stationed more than a thousand elite soldiers. If we cannot break through Yuan’erchou, we cannot open the gates of Zhanyang City.”
Dong Cheng nodded slightly. Zhang Fang was a scholar recommended to him by Huang Xuan. He was quite clever, and whenever Dong Cheng asked him about military strategy, his answers always coincided with Dong Cheng's own thoughts. Therefore, Dong Cheng specially appointed him as the military advisor for this expedition.
"It's difficult, so difficult." Mo Zidu looked up at the faint shadow of the flag fluttering on Yuan'erchou, and sighed after a long while: "If we launch a full-scale attack, I'm afraid all of our tens of thousands of troops will perish here and we still won't be able to take Yuan'erchou."
“The key is to attack this camp,” Zhang Fang interjected. “If we can capture this camp, we can then go over and cut the iron chains.”
Dong Cheng nodded slightly, and after a while, he said, "The art of war says, 'To attack a strategic location, one should launch a night attack.' A frontal assault is obviously difficult to overcome, so the only option is a night raid."