knife

Chapter 799 Confrontation
Outside Zhongli County, a cavalry duel of the highest caliber in the world broke out.

The two sides involved only a few thousand cavalry, but the sheer number of riders left the onlookers dizzy and speechless. It was only because these two forces were evenly matched that any other army would have suffered heavy losses and been routed in a single encounter.

The thin, sharp blade cut precisely into the seams of the armor.
The sharp spear, thrown with irresistible force, pierced through the armor.

Heavy hammers, maces, and iron rods whistled through the air, mercilessly smashing men, armor and all, off their horses.
In just one charge, dozens of men from both sides fell from their horses and lay silently on the battlefield. The warhorses, having lost their masters, lowered their heads and neighed mournfully, futilely biting their masters' armor in an attempt to drag them up from the ground.

Then came the second charge.

The opposing team was the Qinglong Brigade, led by Guan Shan.
On the other side was a force of over a thousand iron cavalrymen, led by Linghu Yong, who had come from Chang'an to support Chang Lei and were subordinate to Linghu Ye's personal guards.

Chang Lei launched a surprise attack and achieved great success, throwing the entire southeast into chaos. Linghu Ye had already led his troops north. Linghu Qiu, who was guarding Chang'an, reacted somewhat slowly, but eventually sent reinforcements.

Linghu Yong is the son of Linghu Ye.

Previously, Linghu Yong was not well-known in the Linghu Group because Linghu Zhishu was too outstanding. Linghu Ye had always intended to cultivate Linghu Zhishu as the next generation's successor. However, after Linghu Zhishu died in battle at Huxiao Plain, Linghu Ye had no other choice. Among the best, Linghu Yong was the strongest.

Linghu Yong's martial arts skills are not lacking; what he lacks is political maturity and shrewdness.

Linghu Qiu sent Linghu Yong over this time, naturally hoping that Linghu Yong could take advantage of Chang Lei's success and share in the credit, adding more prestige to himself so that he could plan for the future.

The thousand-plus cavalrymen led by Linghu Yong were all genuine personal guards of Linghu Ye. Linghu Ye had only ever maintained a total of five thousand such troops.

If we were to raise more, firstly, we couldn't afford to support them, and secondly, it would be extremely difficult to find so many people who meet the requirements.

Linghu Yong surveyed his subordinates and, comparing the two sides, realized that he still had the upper hand, as the opponent had suffered about 10% more losses than him.

Suddenly raising their broadswords, the thousand-plus cavalrymen roared and charged once more towards the enemy.

Guan Shan, showing no sign of weakness, took the lead and charged forward once again.

More than two thousand riders became entangled in a radius of several miles.

Linghu Yong's cavalry force was indeed stronger.

After all, the Azure Dragon Brigade lost a lot of skilled fighters in the battle at the Northern Yuan Imperial Palace. After resting for several years, they were transferred back to the interior, but their strength had indeed declined.

The current enemy cavalry is comparable in skill to Li Dachui's former Tianzi Battalion.

It's a bit worse, but not by much.

"General, it's about time to sound the retreat!" Kou Wenhai looked at the battlefield with some concern. "Although the young marshal is brave and his subordinates are strong, with our current strength, there is absolutely no need to engage in such a battle with the enemy. These people are the marshal's personal guards. If we suffer too many losses, it will inevitably make your achievements this time pale in comparison to the marshal's!"

Chang Lei nodded. Linghu Yong was there to take credit for his achievements. He was eager to fight in order to make his presence felt in front of the tens of thousands of troops that Chang Lei had assembled and to enhance his prestige. Chang Lei could grant him this small request.

If Linghu Zhishu were still alive, he wouldn't resort to such pointless tricks.

But there was nothing they could do about it. When Linghu Zhishu was around, he had suffocated the brothers, and people like himself and Li Guohua all supported him. The Linghu brothers had no chance to compete, so they simply had to behave themselves.

Now things are really messed up. Linghu Zhishu is gone, but the Linghu Yong brothers are all about the same level. This time, Linghu Yong stayed behind, while the other brothers went with the commander to the north. Linghu Yong was already dissatisfied, feeling that he had no chance to make a contribution.

As a result, a surprise force emerged from his side, and Linghu Yong rushed over excitedly, pestering him with "Uncle" at every turn, which annoyed him to no end.

He has already demonstrated his martial prowess to the entire army, establishing the reputation of "like father, like son," and that's enough. Continuing the fight and risking serious injury would be undesirable.

He knew Guan Shan, who was opposite him. He was the leader of the Eagle Bandits who once ran rampant in the Northern Yuan Dynasty. He had many cunning and ruthless methods! It was best to take advantage of the current situation and quit while he was ahead.

"Sound the retreat!" Chang Lei said to the flag bearer beside him.

The flag bearer waved the flag, and immediately the sound of a gong rang out. Linghu Yong glanced back somewhat unwillingly at the retreat flag that had been raised in his own ranks, then reluctantly pulled on the reins and turned to leave. Even though he was Linghu Ye's son, he truly had no right to act superior in front of Chang Lei. Moreover, Linghu Ye's military discipline was extremely strict; failing to advance at the sound of the drum or retreat at the sound of the gong meant certain death. Years of battle had long since ingrained this as a habit.

At the same time, the sound of retreat rang out from the city walls, and both sides, as if by unspoken agreement, ended the engagement simultaneously.

One side retreated back into the city, while the other returned to their own camp.

After conquering Huaiyang, Pengcheng, Donghai, Langlang and other places, Chang Lei colluded with local powerful families and used the detention of their relatives to organize an army of up to 80,000 men. After a brief reorganization in Pengcheng, he swiftly advanced into Zhongli County.

Take Zhongli County as quickly as possible, then approach Danyang. While Na Wei is still in Liyang holding back Jiang Qian's main force, take Danyang in one fell swoop, and great things will be within reach.

For Chang Lei, Zhongli County was hardly a major city. It was only because Lin Yunqi reacted so quickly that the enemy had already organized troops to enter Zhongli County just as Chang Lei had captured Huaiyang.

However, today's battle actually put Chang Lei's mind at ease.

If the troops inside the city were all like Guan Shan's, his confidence in attacking the city would increase somewhat.

A strong army in field battles may not be good at defending a city.

Everyone has their own area of ​​expertise, and he currently has quite a few skilled warriors under his command who excel at conquering cities and seizing territory.

Could such low city walls of Zhongli County withstand a full-force attack?
"We'll build siege equipment overnight. Tomorrow we'll attack the city. I want to take it in one fell swoop. I'll give the entire army a whole day to take Zhongli County without having to sheathe their weapons!" Chang Lei said.

"Yes, sir!" The men and women were overjoyed. Not having to sheathe their swords for a day meant that everyone could do whatever they wanted without being punished by military law.

On the city wall, Lin Yunqi watched Chang Lei's army slowly retreat with a solemn expression. Zhu Chi, Xiong Yi, Zhou Zheng, and others were frantically recruiting troops and strengthening defenses in Danyang. Yesterday, they sent a message hoping that he would stay on the top of Zhongli County for about ten days no matter what.

But it seems quite difficult now!
With hundreds of thousands of troops marching south, Chang Lei is going all in!
Damn it, I should have ripped Kou Wenhai's head off when I went north to Pengcheng back then.

Lin Yunqi regretted his actions.

You traitor who has served three masters, when you fall into my hands, I will surely tear you to pieces!

(End of this chapter)