knife

Chapter 587: Falling into a trap
At daybreak, the scouts Yang Lixin sent out quickly returned with news of He Yiming.

Along with the scouts returned, so did the enemy's messengers.

From the messenger, Yang Lixin understood why the main force of the Tiger Legion had appeared before him.

It's still the navy.

The Tiger Legion commander successfully deceived He Yiming with only a small number of troops, while their main force, led by Li Xiu, secretly left Huangpi at some unknown time, circled around to Yang Lixin's rear, and delivered a fatal blow to Yang Lixin.

Upon discovering this, He Yiming immediately organized a team to rush over and rescue Yang Lixin.

Their main force has now arrived at Meishan and is setting up positions there.

He Yiming's troops also consisted mostly of light infantry and few heavy infantry. The best way to deal with heavy infantry like the Tiger Legion was to set up camps and fortifications and use weapons to fight them.

This time, He Yiming only brought about 10,000 men to rescue Yang Lixin. The rest remained in Huangpi, since Huangpi was captured by He's troops during the earlier attack on Yong'an, and they couldn't easily give it up.

He Yiming demanded that Yang Lixin bring his men to Meishan to join forces with him. With the two teams united, they would be able to put up a tough fight against their opponents.

Yang Lixin, without hesitation, immediately urged his troops to speed up and head towards Meishan.

Although he had gained the upper hand and successfully deceived Li Xiu, the enemy quickly discovered that he had led his main force away from the battlefield and was now in hot pursuit, only half a day's journey away.

The enemy scouts had already gotten close enough to investigate and were engaged in fierce fighting with Yang Lixin's men who were covering their retreat.

He Yiming has already set up a position in Meishan in advance. As long as I arrive, I can move in immediately. Moreover, He Yiming is well prepared and has all kinds of heavy weapons. Once I get there, I should have a chance to turn the tide of battle.

The group of over 10,000 people took off running and raced towards Meishan.

Looking at the clearly demoralized team, Yang Lixin felt a pang of sadness.

There were 25,000 people when we set off!

Now that the three thousand veteran Green Forest cavalrymen are gone, and after a fierce battle with the Tiger Army, the remaining cavalrymen have suffered heavy losses, with more than half of them killed. After a day of fierce fighting, including auxiliary troops and regular troops, thousands more have been lost due to casualties and desertions.

This battle made Yang Lixin fully realize the power of the Chu heavy infantry.

No wonder the Qin army suffered a crushing defeat in the Battle of Xiangcheng.

As the sun was about to reach its zenith, Yang Lixin finally saw the outline of Meishan Mountain.

After walking a little further, they could clearly see the entire Meishan Mountain, and even the wisps of smoke rising from its chimneys were clearly visible. The aroma of food carried on the wind gave the already somewhat tired soldiers a lot of renewed energy, and they ran towards Meishan Mountain with lightning speed.

Having not slept all night and having rushed for dozens of miles, all the soldiers were looking forward to arriving at their destination as soon as possible, then having a hearty meal and a good night's sleep.

A hill ridge extending from the main peak of Meishan is the position that He Yiming set up for Yang Lixin. At least a hundred wisps of smoke are rising from there now.

The troops rushed in that direction, while Yang Lixin led a group of his personal guards straight to the main peak.

Of course, he needed to see He Yiming first to discuss how to fight the next battle.

Upon seeing the position He Yiming had set up for him, Yang Lixin knew that the Tiger Army would still attack his position first after they caught up, but there was nothing he could do about it.

We're already lucky to have food, pre-established positions, and sufficient weapons and supplies. How could we possibly expect He Yiming to stand at the forefront?
They're not living saints.

On Meishan Mountain, He Yiming looked down at Yang Lixin's troops, who were densely packed up the hillside. Beside him stood Zhan Zhao, Lu Xiong, Liu Chuang, Su Qi, and other subordinates. The hillside below didn't have hundreds of large pots cooking the enemy's desired food; instead, there were a hundred or so fires, countless archers, and infantry ready to charge at any moment.

Meanwhile, on Meishan Mountain, countless crossbows and catapults had already aimed at their targets. The large, gentle slope leading up the so-called position on the hill was a veritable death trap.

"Yang Lixin is here!" Zhan Zhao said. "I'll go greet him!"

Su Qi picked up his large rake and said, "I'll go with you!"

He Yiming nodded: "This person is He Zudao's trusted confidant, there's no need to leave him alive!"

Zhan Zhao nodded.

Yang Lixin spurred his horse up the mountain, but gradually his horse slowed down. On Meishan Mountain, there were indeed all kinds of crossbows and catapults. These were all good for dealing with heavy infantry, but the problem was that they seemed to be facing the wrong direction.

Turning his head and looking in the direction the crossbows were aiming, Yang Lixin abruptly reined in his horse, cold sweat pouring down his face.

A gust of wind blew, and several people, like the wind, drifted down from both sides.

General Yang, how have you been?

Zhan Zhao looked at Yang Lixin with a smile.

Yang Lixin shouted, turned around, spurred his horse, and prepared to descend the mountain.

Amidst a loud laugh, Zhan Zhao leaped up, his large iron cudgel slamming down on Yang Lixin's head. Yang Lixin countered with a fierce slash of his nine-ringed saber. The clash of saber and cudgel produced a resounding crash. One had just entered the ninth rank of the Profound Origin Realm, while the other was at the peak of the eighth rank. The difference between them wasn't actually that great, but Yang Lixin's warhorse couldn't withstand the immense force. It let out a mournful cry and collapsed to its knees, all four of its hooves broken.

Su Qi brandished his iron rake and lunged at Yang Lixin's guards.

At that moment, He Yiming, who was on the mountaintop, gave the order to attack.

Arrows and stones rained down on the gentle slope below, while at the same time, rows of archers on the mountain revealed themselves, their arrows covering the entire area below.

Caught completely off guard, Yang's soldiers fell in rows and clumps like grass being cut down.

All they wanted was a good meal and a good night's sleep, but instead they were met with a merciless massacre.

The troops waiting to greet them there were not their allies.

Instead, they are the King of Hell and the Black and White Impermanence who reap lives.

Now, they don't even have anyone to command them.

Already exhausted, they completely collapsed when the army on the mountain launched its attack.

The two sides were roughly equal in terms of troop strength, but one side was well-rested and exhausted, while the other was hungry and tired. One side was full of killing intent, while the other side was completely relaxed both physically and mentally.

When Li Xiu arrived, the battle was already drawing to a close.

The three thousand heavily armored infantrymen who were still putting up a last-ditch resistance completely lost their will to fight.

The mountains and plains were filled with Yang's soldiers, who had abandoned their armor and weapons and surrendered with their heads in their hands.

(End of this chapter)