Guiyi Fei Tang

Chapter 407 Marching South (A Long Chapter of 10,000 Words)
"The refugees from the Yellow River and Huai River regions are my own children, and the soldiers of the Taiping Army are all meritorious officials. They were trapped in Lingxi and had no way to escape, so they had no choice but to rebel. Now I issue an edict to recruit them, and appoint Liu Zhan, the co-prime minister, as the pacification envoy."

"If they abandon their rebellion and surrender, all questions will be waived. Xianzhi will be appointed as the Left Shence Army Commander and concurrently as the Supervising Censor. All other surrendering soldiers will be dismissed and allowed to return to their hometowns. They should be persuaded and guided in their respective places to comply with my wishes."

On the seventh day of the tenth month of the seventh year of Xiantong, after the pacification proclamations from Chang'an were delivered to Guang Prefecture and Taishan respectively.

Faced with the imperial court's offer of amnesty, Wang Xianzhi, who had no great ambitions to begin with, was immediately tempted.

"Left Shence Army Chief Clerk, Inspector General..."

Inside the government office of Guangzhou, Wang Xianzhi gazed at the imperial edict, his expression revealing his excitement.

Seeing his expression, everyone became excited and asked, "General, what official positions have we been given in this amnesty?"

Shang Junzhang, Shang Rang, Liu Yanzhang, Cao Shixiong, Bi Shiduo and others all cast expectant glances at him. After listening, Wang Xianzhi looked carefully and found that the court had only given him an official position and had not given any official positions to his subordinate generals, which made him somewhat embarrassed.

"This……"

Wang Xianzhi hesitated, and everyone understood the court's attitude. Liu Yanzhang even cursed directly: "Accept amnesty! Accept amnesty! What kind of amnesty is this!"

"If the court looks down on us, then let's cause some trouble and show them what we're capable of!"

"Yes!"

Cao Shixiong and Bi Shiduo spoke one after the other, and Shang Junzhang and Shang Rang exchanged glances and then said, "General, could you please let my brother see the imperial edict?"

Wang Xianzhi was reluctant, but he couldn't refuse, so he eventually handed over the imperial edict.

Upon seeing this, both Shang Junzhang and Shang Rang looked rather grim.

Shang Rang went even further, saying, "General, the court wants you to disband your troops and go to Chang'an to serve as an official in the capital. But have you ever considered that if you disband your troops, what leverage will you have to negotiate with the court?"

"Once you arrive in Chang'an, you will be at the mercy of others."

"And General Jie, do you even know who you are?"

Shang Rang's question puzzled Wang Xianzhi, who frowned and asked, "Who could I be?"

Seeing Wang Xianzhi like this, Shang Rang couldn't help but shake his head and sigh:
“If you were merely a ‘coerced follower,’ the imperial court might let you off the hook, but you are the ‘ringleader’!”

Even if you disband your followers and submit to the court, can the court trust you?

"I'm afraid that if you are even slightly suspected in the future, the court will put you to death at any time."

"It should be noted that at the beginning of this dynasty, Du Fuwei, the commander of the bandit army who dominated the Jianghuai region, assessed the situation and believed that the world would inevitably be unified by the Tang Dynasty, so he submitted to the court."

"After the court learned of this, it also demanded that he abandon his troops, go to Chang'an to pay homage, and serve as an official in Chang'an, offering himself as a hostage, so that the court could easily take over Jianghuai."

"Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan initially treated Du Fuwei with great courtesy, bestowed upon him the surname 'Li,' included him in the imperial family genealogy, and enfeoffed him as the Prince of Wu. However, after the Tang Dynasty pacified the world, Du Fuwei still became a thorn in Li Yuan's side. In the end, he was stripped of his title and post, his property was confiscated, he was arrested and imprisoned, and his wife and children were all sent to the government as slaves."

"General, why don't you think about it? In terms of achievements, strength, and official position, in which aspect can you compare to Du Fuwei back then?"

"Even Du Fuwei couldn't save his life after entering the court, so what makes you think you can escape it?"

"Even setting aside Du Fuwei, did Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei escape this fate back then?"

Shang Rang saw things very clearly, after all, he had more experience than the historical figures of recruiting bandits and defending the border in the south.

However, after hearing this, Wang Xianzhi remained hesitant and seemed to want to refute Shang Rang's words, but could not find a reason to do so.

Upon seeing this, Shang Rang couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed in Wang Xianzhi.

In Shang Rang's view, the imperial court's offer of amnesty was not sincere at all, but this was not surprising.

Surprisingly, it almost convinced Wang Xianzhi, which made Shang Rang feel disappointed and doubtful about Wang Xianzhi, the "military commander".

However, in the capacity of a subject, he continued to advise, "If I am not mistaken, the court will surely be recruiting the likes of Pang Xun and Huang Chao."

“If these two people have a long-term vision, and if the conditions for the imperial court to offer them amnesty are comparable to those for my master, then they will definitely not accept the amnesty.”

"Even if you don't believe me, General, you should at least believe in the choices made by Pang Xun and Huang Chao."

After Shang Rang finished speaking, Bi Shiduo also bowed and said, "Right now, merchants outside are spreading rumors that the imperial court suffered a crushing defeat in Longyou. I thought it was just hearsay, but now that the imperial court has offered amnesty to the military governor, it must be true."

"If the imperial court is defeated in Longyou, Guanzhong will be in grave danger. The military commander is now accepting the offer of amnesty for such a trivial official position. Wouldn't he be ridiculed by Huang Chao and Pang Xun?"

The two men's persuasion gradually made Wang Xianzhi's initial desire to accept the imperial pardon diminish.

"Alright, since that's the case, let's wait and see what Huang Chao and Pang Xun's attitude is!"

Wang Xianzhi nodded in agreement, and everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Shang Junzhang then took the opportunity to speak:

"At present, our army only occupies Guangzhou and Shenzhou, and our strength is weak, which is why the court underestimates us."

"Moreover, the reason we were able to develop peacefully before was entirely due to Huang Chao attracting government troops in Henan Province."

"Now that Huang Chao has gone south to Qizhou, Pang Xun is the only one left in the north, and he will surely be unable to hold the line alone."

"It would be better if our army also abandoned Shenzhou and Guangzhou, and attacked westward to take Dengzhou, Tangzhou, Suizhou, Anzhou and other prefectures, obtain Nanyang, and then plot to seize Jiangling."

"Even if the government troops attack, we can retreat to Jiangling Prefecture at our leisure. If that doesn't work, we can retreat south of the Yangtze River and occupy the area around Dongting Lake to resist the government troops!"

Shang Junzhang's analysis was correct. Apart from Luoyang, the rest of Henan Province had been severely ravaged. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to send tens or hundreds of thousands of refugees to attack cities so easily.

Now, there are refugees everywhere in Henan Province, and there is nothing left to rob.

Although they have been developing in Guangzhou and Shenzhou for several months, if the government troops march south, their resources will be easily destroyed.

No one knew the situation in the south better than those who had fought their way back from Lingxi to the Central Plains.

With their current military strength, even if they cannot capture Jiangling Prefecture, they can still occupy the area near Dongting Lake and rely on the Yangtze River to resist the government troops.

Wang Xianzhi was greatly moved by Shang Junzhang's words and immediately said, "In that case, let's gather the people of Guang and Shen prefectures, attack westward to seize Tang and Deng prefectures, and then seize the opportunity to move south!"

"The commander is wise!" Seeing that Wang Xianzhi had been persuaded, everyone praised him.

However, Bi Shiduo, who was standing behind the crowd, had a flicker in his eyes, as if he had some other thoughts about Wang Xianzhi's performance.

Just as Wang Xianzhi and his group decided to abandon Huainan and head west to Shannan East Road, Pang Xun of Mount Tai also received the imperial decree to be granted amnesty.

Even if the imperial court was willing to let him serve as a local militia commander, the number of soldiers he was given was only 1,500.

Pang Xun undoubtedly had a longer-term vision than Wang Xianzhi, so he immediately rejected the terms of amnesty in the imperial edict and began to bargain with Kang Chengxun.

Pang Xun hoped to retain his troops, set the number of soldiers at seven thousand, and appointed him as the military commissioner of Xusi.

Upon learning of this, Kang Chengxun immediately wrote down his conditions in a memorial to the throne and sent it to Chang'an.

When the news arrived in Chang'an, it was already October 15th, and the biting winter winds had forced the people inside and outside Chang'an to put on winter clothes.

This year, there were no refugees or beggars on the streets of Chang'an or outside the city. This was because the army needed laborers, so Zheng Tian ordered that refugees and beggars along the way be incorporated into the labor force.

The refugees received winter clothes and food because of him, and Zheng Tian often traveled between Longzhou and Chang'an just to obtain money and grain to continue building Anrong Pass and Zhisheng Pass.

[On the day of Ji-Mao, I led 800 elite cavalry and 2,000 infantry and cavalry to pursue the bandits to Muxia. The bandit leader, Husiguang, launched an attack and engaged in battle.]

[My vanguard launched a counterattack and defeated the enemy with a single shout. The bandit leader, Husi Guang, was in a panic and desperate situation. He fled into Mupan Pass with only seven horsemen, abandoning his baggage, cattle, sheep, and other livestock, which filled the valleys and stretched for more than a hundred miles. I collected his cattle, sheep, and other livestock, killed 765 bandits, and captured 2,376 bandits...]

"Ha ha……"

Inside Xianning Palace, Li Cui looked at the memorial from Li Chengxun, which had been sent from Jingyuan, and couldn't help but let out a cold laugh.

In the hall, the eight officials, including the three prime ministers, the four nobles, and Zheng Tian, ​​frowned slightly. Li Cui picked up the memorial and, barely suppressing his temper, said:
“Lord Li is indeed a good general. The court had just suffered a defeat in Qin Prefecture, and he killed and captured more than 3,000 enemy soldiers in Longshan.”

"Prime Minister Zheng, I would like to ask you how many troops the rebels currently have in Qin Prefecture. I wonder if the more than three thousand rebel soldiers killed or captured by the court in this battle can be considered a heavy blow to the rebels?"

Li Cui asked the question knowingly, and Zheng Tian knew that the emperor was going to make an example of Li Chengxun, but he did not feel sorry for him, after all, Li Chengxun's behavior was too much.

Did they think that without him and his 30,000 troops, the court would be unable to defend Longzhou and Jingyuan?

Thinking of this, Zheng Tian bowed and said, "The rebel army in Qin Prefecture should number no less than 30,000. If Governor Li really kills or captures more than 3,000 rebels, then the rebel army will surely suffer a heavy blow."

"Very well, very well..." This was exactly what Li Cui wanted Zheng Tian to say, so after he uttered those words, Li Cui issued the decree:

"By imperial decree, Li Chengxun is granted the title of Viscount of Liucheng County and is ordered to immediately attack Mupan Pass and capture it before the beginning of spring."

"If I do not see him capture Mupan Pass before the spring, I will dismiss him from his post and send him back to the capital!"

Since Li Chengxun had lied about his military achievements, Li Cui didn't mind playing along.

"Your subject obeys the decree..."

Xu Shang and the others accepted the imperial decree, while Li Cui inquired, "I have heard that news of the court's defeat in Longyou has spread throughout the Hehuai region, as well as Hedong, Hebei, and Jiannan. Is this true?"

"This..." Xu Shang and the others hesitated. After all, such a major event had been spread to all the realms in just over half a month. Either there must be a mastermind behind it, or some ministers kept letting slip the secret, which made it known to the whole world.

Given the prevailing atmosphere in the imperial court, the latter, though seemingly unbelievable, was actually the most convincing.

After all, Chang'an had the Bureau of Reports from Various Towns, and as long as the towns were willing to spend money, they could always pry open the mouths of some officials.

"What is the attitude of the various towns?" Li Cui asked the crowd with a dark face.

Upon seeing this, Lu Yan immediately stepped forward and reported, "They appear respectful on the surface, but many regional military governors have temporarily suspended the transport of money and grain due to the war in the Hebei and Huai River regions."

"This year, the imperial court should be able to collect less than 15 million strings of cash in taxes, grain, and silk..."

Fifteen million strings of cash was a very good fiscal revenue ten years ago.

The problem is that Li Cui raised taxes several times, at the highest point even reaching 22 million strings of cash in fiscal revenue.

Just now, because Liu Jilong was causing trouble in the western region, and bandits were rampant in the He and Huai rivers, seven million strings of cash in taxes were lost. How could he not be furious?

"I have heard that Li Guochang's troops have arrived in Songzhou. Why has Liu Zhan not yet sent troops to punish the rebels?!"

Li Cui's voice held a hint of suppressed anger, and Lu Yan, seeing this, said:
"This morning, the memorials from various provinces arrived, and the Southern Court only then learned that the two traitors, Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi, had not accepted the offer of amnesty. Wang Xianzhi sent troops to invade Tangzhou, and Pang Xun was unwilling to abandon his troops. He hoped that the court would appoint him as the commander of the Xu-Si militia and give him a force of seven thousand men."

"Outrageous!" Li Cui couldn't help but exclaim, "He dares to ask for seven thousand soldiers!"

"I agree," Lu Yan quickly echoed, adding:

"Moreover, Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi are both bandit leaders. Even if they surrender, they should be appointed as officials in the capital and their followers should be reduced. They should not be placed in local areas."

Lu Yan's words drew nods of agreement from Xu Shang, Yu Cong, Qi Yuanshi, and others.

In their view, these rebellious generals deserved to die. If the court hadn't been so preoccupied with other matters, they would have met the same fate as Wang Shouwen and Wu Wei back then.

Even if the court were to pacify them now, it would be impossible to allow them to serve as generals in the provinces. Giving them honorary titles and salaries in the capital would already be the best favor the court could bestow upon them.

"His Majesty……"

At the crucial moment, Zheng Tian stepped forward and bowed to Li Cui, saying:

"Your Majesty, the most important thing right now is to appease Pang Xun and Wang Xianzhi, and then do our best to annihilate Huang Chao."

"Since Wang Xianzhi has chosen to attack Tangzhou, it would be better to temporarily appease Pang Xun, then have Kang Chengxun and Liu Zhan join forces and march south to encircle and annihilate Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao together, and then turn around to deal with Pang Xun."

“Pang Xun is hiding in Mount Tai, making him difficult to surround and suppress. However, if they retreat to Xu and Si prefectures, they will be much easier to deal with.”

Zheng Tian's words made Li Cui's eyes light up. He immediately nodded and said, "Issue an edict to Kang Chengxun, instructing him to agree to Pang Xun's demands, but only allow Pang Xun to retain 6,000 soldiers, with the rest serving as soldiers to accompany the army south to suppress the rebels."

Li Cui still reduced the number of soldiers by one thousand, and he believed that Pang Xun would not mind such a small matter.

Upon seeing this, Zheng Tian bowed and said, "Your Majesty is wise."

“Hmm…” Li Cui nodded in response, then reminded him:
"I have allocated 500,000 strings of cash and 700,000 shi of grain. I wonder if this is enough to train troops and recover Qin Prefecture?"

Given the grain prices in Chang'an, Li Cui's spending this time must have been at least 2.6 million strings of cash, which is quite a large sum.

Upon hearing this, Zheng Tian immediately said, "I have already gathered more than 30,000 troops from various towns in the northwest of the capital. With the return of the Shence Army and the troops from Hezhong, we have a total of 40,000 troops."

"I plan to select 30,000 laborers to continue training them into an army. When that happens, together with the 30,000 soldiers from Jingyuan, we will have 90,000 soldiers."

"After the summer grain harvest next year, the army can then seize the opportunity to move!"

"Great!" Li Cui couldn't help but applaud, feeling a little more at ease.

The strength of the Tang Dynasty is self-evident. As long as they are willing to exploit the people and are not afraid of unrest, they can raise enough money and food to continuously recruit soldiers and fight several more battles with Liu Jilong.

If they win just one game, Longyou will be sluggish for a long time.

"In that case, the matters concerning Jingyuan and Longzhou will be left to Prime Minister Zheng."

"As for the matters concerning Dongchuan and Xichuan, I have already appointed Gao Pian to act expediently and granted him control over the troops in Dongchuan and Xichuan, and ordered Wang Duo to withdraw to Xingfeng and Xichuan prefectures."

"Once the imperial decree is delivered, they will understand my thoughts."

Li Cui was invigorated, and Zheng Tian, ​​upon hearing this, felt a weight lifted from his shoulders and exclaimed, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Unfortunately, while the emperor and his ministers were discussing Longyou and boosting their morale, Liu Jilong, who was staying in Qinzhou, had already led his troops south.

"Susu..."

As we entered mid-October, many peaks in the Qinling Mountains were already covered in snow, and the damp chill in the mountains made people instinctively pull their coats tighter.

Longmen Town in Longnan is located in the Longnan River Valley, where two rivers converge to form the Longmen River, which flows southward.

Longmen Town is located between mountains and canyons, adjacent to the plains east of Longmen River. In the past, hundreds of people lived here, but it was abandoned after the Tubo invasion.

It is not large in scale. On both sides are mountains that are hundreds of feet high. Apart from the Longmen River, there is only a river valley plain that is about twenty feet wide from east to west and a thousand feet wide from north to south.

Because of the long stretch of flat land, it is called Long (Dragon), and the place guarding the throat of this area is called Longmen Town.

The former Longmen Town had become ruins. After Wang Duo led his army to this place, he cleared the ruins and built a rammed earth wall two zhang high on the original site to set up Longmen Pass and restrict the Chengzhou rebels from attacking Xingfeng and other prefectures.

However, the mountain gorge is quite cold, especially in winter.

Although Wang Duo had ordered his troops to cut down enough firewood before winter, the icy chill of winter still continued to plague the soldiers of the Western Army in Shannan.

"Damn it, this place is so cold."

Several soldiers with frostbite on their hands stood on the gate wall discussing the cold of Longmen Gorge. Even though they had been throwing firewood into the brazier next to them, they still couldn't feel warm.

Their winter clothes weren't particularly thick, and they had to pull them up from time to time to shield themselves from the cold wind.

Behind them, thousands of tents stretched for miles, with a five-zhang-wide road left in the middle for the troops to assemble.

"Drive! Drive! Drive..."

Suddenly, the sound of horses' hooves rang out on the official road to the north.

Several soldiers guarding the pass looked over and saw a dozen or so mounted cavalrymen galloping south: "Beep beep—"

The piercing whistle jolted the guards awake, and they shouted, "Enemy attack!!"

"Enemy attack?!"

In an instant, hundreds of armored soldiers trotted along the horse path onto the city wall, while the cavalry rushed into the city gate. The defending soldiers immediately assembled, closed the city gate, and firmly secured the gate bolts.

"Woooooooo..."

The bugle sounded melodiously, and the soldiers, who had just experienced the ambush by the rebels in Qingyang Gorge, were now like frightened birds, and began to put on their armor.

Those cavalry charged toward the central army, and the captain in charge dismounted and knelt before the command tent.

"My lord, the rebel army has come with a large force. Dozens of my men have been killed or wounded. The rebels are only about a mile away from here!"

Before his voice had even faded, a short-bearded civil official in his forties strode out of the tent and said urgently, "Why are you only informing me now?!"

"Their elite cavalry is fast, and our army has tried its best, but we still cannot shake them off!"

The cavalry captain tried to explain, and at that moment, countless generals emerged from the tents on either side of the main camp.

Seeing this, the civil official stopped pursuing the matter and waved his hand, saying, "You may leave."

"Yes, sir!" The captain withdrew, and the civil official addressed the generals, "Armor your troops and prepare to engage the rebels!"

"Your humble servant obeys!" The generals bowed and accepted the order.

Among them, Wang Fuyan, who had previously suffered a defeat in Xichuan, was now surprisingly promoted to Left Military Commander, and after the generals left, he bowed to the civil officials and said:

"Lord Wang, the rebels have just won a great victory in Qin Prefecture, and they are probably preparing to march south."

"In my humble opinion, the passes that our army has built may not be able to hold off the rebels for long. It would be better to send a detachment of troops to Jicao Ridge first."

"If the battle goes against us, the army can retreat to Xingzhou. With troops stationed at Jicao Ridge, we will not suffer heavy losses."

As Wang Fuyan finished speaking, Wang Duo, the military governor of Shannan West Circuit, who was addressed as Governor Wang, frowned slightly, then nodded and said, "Alright, send three thousand soldiers to retreat to Jicao Ridge to set up an ambush."

"Your Excellency is wise!" Wang Fuyan praised without reservation.

Wang Duo did not respond. After returning to his tent, he had someone dress him in armor and a robe.

Before long, he was dressed in bright armor and wearing a robe, and walked toward the pass.

At the same time, tens of thousands of troops stretched for more than ten miles and marched toward the pass.

The first to arrive were three thousand elite cavalry, followed by five thousand infantrymen, and the remainder were fifteen thousand infantrymen and more than thirty thousand laborers.

Within half an hour, a force of 23,000 soldiers and 30,000 laborers arrived at the mountain road north of Longmen Pass.

Wang Duo climbed the city gate and looked out at the rebel army two hundred paces away, but he couldn't make out their flags at all.

"Did you see clearly whose flag it was?"

He asked the general in charge of the troops, who bowed and said, "It seems that Liu Jilong has personally led a large army here."

"Liu Jilong?!" Wang Duo's pupils constricted, then he forced himself to remain calm and said:
"No problem, I have a foolproof plan. Even if we are outmatched, we can retreat with ease."

As Wang Duo spoke, a large banner appeared in the Longyou army and marched towards the front of the battle.

Liu Jilong rode out, his gaze sweeping over the distant Longmen Pass and the long, narrow Longmen Gorge.

Behind him followed four people: Husiguang, Zhang Wu, Geng Ming, and Chen Jingchong.

An Pohu had never fought in Longnan or Jiannan, so after much deliberation, Liu Jilong decided to keep him in the north to assist Gao Jinda in guarding Qinzhou and defending Shuofang.

Liu Jilong led an army of 20,000 south. When he reached Chengzhou, he incorporated another 3,000 veteran soldiers to continue south.

While Li Cui and Zheng Tian were discussing how to deal with him, he had already reached the front of the Western Army in Shannan.

"General, this city wall is just rammed earth and has no moat. All we need is one charge from our army to breach it and we can storm in!"

Zhang Wu spoke without hesitation, and Geng Ming and Chen Jingchong looked at him and nodded in satisfaction.

Zhang Wu came from the Longnan Governor's Office, so Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming were naturally pleased that he had been promoted in such a short time. In terms of magnanimity, they were much better than Shang Duoluo, Li Ji, Cuo Ben, and Ma Cheng.

Perhaps this is why, among the three southern governorates, they were the only ones who dared to launch an attack and achieve results.

"General, we two acted without authorization and disobeyed your orders. Please appoint us as the vanguard so that we can atone for our crimes."

Chen Jingchong took the initiative to bow and speak, while Geng Ming looked at Liu Jilong with a firm gaze.

Liu Jilong had issued a military order that no garrison should launch an attack without authorization, which essentially reflected his distrust of the quality of his generals.

After all, he knew the capabilities of the people he brought with him.

Wang Shi, Gao Pian, Zhou Bao, Li Sigong, Zhu Xiechixin, or rather Li Guochang, are not easy to deal with. If they launch an attack and it backfires, the resulting casualties will be irreparable.

As it turned out, Liu Jilong's initial military order was correct.

The casualties of Li Ji and Cao Mao's troops resulted in the casualties in the Battle of Shuofang far exceeding Liu Jilong's estimates.

Fortunately, timely adjustments were made, and with the emergence of figures like An Pohu and Zhang Wu, the casualties in the Battle of Qinzhou were reduced to 5,000 to 70,000.

The Battle of Shuofang severely damaged the elite cavalry of the government army, and the Battle of Qinzhou severely damaged the elite troops of the Guandong garrisons. Now, among the troops of the three southern garrisons, only the Xichuan troops under Gao Pian are worthy of Liu Jilong's vigilance. The quality of the remaining two troops can only be described as relatively good, but they can be used to sharpen the sword.

"Zhang Wu, you will command this battle!"

Liu Jilong looked at Zhang Wu, who immediately stammered awkwardly, "General, this humble general..."

He was only in his twenties, and he was naturally a little reserved when asked to command Chen Jingchong, Husiguang, Geng Ming, and others who had followed Liu Jilong out of Shandan. Not to mention that Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming were his former commanders.

However, seeing his restraint, Geng Ming, the most senior member, chuckled and said, "Your achievements are so great that it's not surprising that you command us."

"When we have achieved great merit, we will come back to command you."

Chen Jingchong didn't say anything, but he did give them an encouraging look, since neither of them had any promising children at the moment.

If they could support a Zhang Wu, he could help their descendants when he rises to a high position.

"Give me command when the commander tells me to, and don't dawdle!"

Husiguang had a rather volatile temper. Although he was unhappy, he would do whatever Liu Jilong said.

Even if they have grievances, they would never joke with the lives of their brothers on the battlefield.

"Yes!" Seeing this, Zhang Wu had no choice but to bite the bullet and take the five-colored command flag from Liu Jilong, while Liu Jilong turned his horse and retreated to the central army.

Seeing Liu Jilong leave, Zhang Wu's demeanor suddenly changed, and he immediately said in a deep voice:

"Governor Chen and Chief Clerk Geng, I request that you two lead two thousand infantrymen to push shield carts and breach the city gate."

"Commander Hus, I request that you lead three thousand elite cavalry to await the sound of the horn and charge into the city!"

"Your subordinate obeys!!"

The three bowed in agreement, but after receiving the order, Husi Guang still felt somewhat uncomfortable and asked, "This terrain is long and narrow. If the government troops form a dense formation, using elite cavalry will only increase casualties."

"I know, I would not joke about risking the lives of my brothers, please rest assured, Commander Hus!"

Zhang Wu's words made Husi Guang nod in silence, then he turned his horse around and came to both sides of the official road, where he quietly waited for military orders.

At the same time, more than two thousand laborers drove horse-drawn carts to the front of the battle, unloaded supplies, converted the carts into shield carts, and covered the arched wooden planks on top of the shield carts with wet cowhide.

After all this was done, Zhang Wu ordered the laborers to retreat, while Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming exchanged a glance and mustered two thousand soldiers to push the shield carts forward fifty paces.

Fifty paces later, Zhang Wu waved his command flag, and one hundred infantrymen marched out of the town and began to push ten shield carts to launch an attack.

"Beep--"

Seeing the signal flags conveying the message, Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming no longer hesitated and immediately blew their wooden whistles.

In an instant, a hundred soldiers pushed the shield carts closer to the gate wall, and Wang Duo, seeing this, calmly gave his orders:

"Prepare the winch crossbow, fire when it gets close."

"Yes!" Wang Fuyan bowed in agreement, then advised, "My lord, why don't you retreat from the city wall first?"

"The soldiers are all here; I will stand with them through thick and thin!" Wang Duo refused to back down.

Upon hearing this, Wang Fuyan did not make any further demands, but instead ordered his soldiers to begin preparing the winch crossbow.

With ten winch crossbows ready, the soldiers of the Western Army in Shannan took out a thick rope with hooks at both ends, hooked one end to the crossbow string and the other end to the winch shaft, and then more than ten soldiers worked together to winch the winch.

The crossbow string slowly unwinds with the turning of the lever, and more than ten breaths have passed before it is fastened to the trigger.

At this moment, a soldier took out a chisel arrow as tall as a person, loaded it onto the winch crossbow, and began aiming at the target with two other soldiers. A large hammer was placed next to them.

As time went on, the shield carts of the Longyou army had rushed into a range of within 100 paces, which was exactly within the optimal firing range of the winch crossbow.

Seeing this, the soldiers guarding the crossbow raised their sledgehammers and struck the trigger with all their might...

"Bam—"

In an instant, chisel-shaped arrows as tall as a person whistled as they shot towards the shield carts.

The chisel arrow was called a chisel arrow not only because the arrow was thick, but also because the arrowhead was flat and chisel-shaped, which could penetrate a variety of siege weapons such as battering rams, siege towers, and well siege towers within 130 paces.

Although it was not as advanced as the three-bow crossbow of Longyou, it was still considered "high-tech" for that era.

But then they heard the whistling sound of the chisel arrows flying out, and in an instant they saw them pierce through three heavy shield carts.

Several soldiers from Longyou, their bodies pierced by arrows, whimpered and coughed up blood. Several soldiers rushed up from behind to take their place.

As they passed by, they all turned their heads away, unable to bear seeing their comrades in such a state.

At the same time, the military doctor immediately led civilians to bring them back.

Judging from their appearance, they were clearly beyond saving; their eyes dimmed before they even had the strength to give their last words.

Husiguang watched them die, and clenched his fists involuntarily.

However, he also knew that the city wall in front was too low and the shield carts were too close. If his side used three-bow ballistae or catapults to counterattack, it would be easy to accidentally injure his comrades.

Suppressing his anger, Husi Guang gripped his lance tightly, his chest heaving like a volcano about to erupt.

"Bam—"

The winch ballista fired again, and the shield cart was already seventy paces away.

Four shield carts were hit this time. The chisel arrows got stuck on the shield carts, but they were not stopped by the shield carts, but by the armored soldiers inside the shield carts.

Sure enough, another twelve soldiers were left behind, and soldiers from the rear immediately replaced them.

Next, the government troops fired chisel arrows from distances of fifty paces and thirty paces, each shot causing the deaths or injuries of more than ten soldiers.

"bump!"

In the end, the shield cart crashed into the gate wall, and Wang Duo hurriedly ordered, "The entire army must withdraw from the gate wall; the rebels are about to use magic!"

Wang Duo's reminder made them realize that the rebels might use magic.

Back then, in Qingyang Gorge, they were severely injured by Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming using gunpowder packs, resulting in the deaths of thousands of their brothers.

Now that the scene has been repeated, they hurriedly withdrew from the city wall, even retreating thirty paces away.

"Firearms Soldier!"

Zhang Wu calmly directed the attack, and dozens of firearms soldiers carrying gunpowder pouches rode off at breakneck speed. By the time they reached the city gate, enough space had already been dug out inside the shield carts.

The gunpowder was filled in, and then the fuse was lit, and more than a hundred soldiers retreated.

Thirty paces away from them, a cloud of dust suddenly rose behind them, followed by a thunderous explosion.

"boom--"

A cloud of dust rose more than ten feet high, and the soldiers who had been retreating immediately turned around and rushed into the dust.

"kill!!"

"Beep--"

Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming immediately led the remaining infantry to attack the breach, while Zhang Wu, seeing this, immediately looked at Husi Guang.

He saw Husiguang anxiously waiting with his spear, but he did not allow Husiguang to make a move.

"Why not send more troops?!"

Husiguang looked at Zhang Wu, but Zhang Wu said, "This place is long and narrow. Two thousand people are enough to handle it. Any more would be useless."

"Once we repel their first three attacks, their morale will plummet. At that point, our elite cavalry will be able to strike and we will surely win!"

Seeing Zhang Wu's confident assurances, Husi Guang had no choice but to continue believing him, and then fixed his gaze on Longmen Pass.

"kill!!"

The sound of clashing weapons rang out in the dust; it must have been the voices of the hundred brothers who had retreated, having already engaged the government troops.

After a while, the dust was gradually dispersed by the wind in the gorge. At this time, a gap of five or six zhang wide had been blasted into Longmen Pass, and the Longyou army had already entered the pass and was continuing to penetrate deeper.

"The three armies shall advance two hundred paces!"

Zhang Wu decisively waved the command flag and led his men to approach Longmen Pass.

When they arrived at Longmen Pass, Zhang Wu and Husi Guang walked up the pass wall and stood on the two-zhang-high wall, watching the scene of fighting that was taking place before them.

At this moment, two thousand Longyou infantrymen were pushing back against an army several times their size. Along the way, there were fallen people, both enemies and comrades.

All that could be heard were shouts of battle, and the rising dust, carrying the smell of rust, made people grip their short weapons even tighter with tension.

Because of the long and narrow Longmen Gorge, only the front-line soldiers of the two sides could engage in combat. They clashed with spears and lances, either knocking down their opponents or being knocked down themselves.

In such a situation, the side that has been overthrown is unlikely to be rescued from the environment of being trampled on by countless people.

To survive, they had no choice but to fight.

However, they needed to guard against not only the frontline warriors, but also the soldiers hiding behind them, constantly retaliating with bows and crossbows.

They dodged the enemy's spears, but not their arrows.

One second they've taken down the enemy soldiers in front of them, and the next second they're shot through their faceplate by an arrow that seems to come from nowhere, or worse, their eyes are pierced and they die.

"Um..."

"Help me! My mother is waiting for me at home... Help me... Oh no!"

The fallen soldiers looked terrified, their dying cries piercing our ears.

Their hands, gripping their weapons, cracked open, but they felt no pain as they roared as they killed their enemies.

As the enemy's spear pierced the seams of his armor, a war cry, mixed with the stench of blood, burst from his throat, followed by a cough of blood—a truly gruesome sight.

"Fire arrows!"

Countless arrows rained down on the vanguard, but Zhang Wu looked at the winch crossbow beside him, stepped on it, and said, "We have ready-made weapons to use."

"Someone, bring the gunpowder pouch, stuff it with iron pellets, and tie it to the arrow!"

As soon as Zhang Wu finished speaking, someone brought out a gunpowder bag, stuffed it with countless iron pellets or arrowheads, secured it with rope, and turned it so that it faced the two sides that were fighting.

"Are you crazy?!"

Seeing Zhang Wu's reaction, Husi Guang widened his eyes and asked, "What if you hurt your own brothers?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Wu frowned, and then said, "A few casualties in exchange for breaking through the enemy lines, would you choose?"

Husiguang's expression changed. He didn't understand why Zhang Wu, who had previously forbidden the use of triple-bow crossbows to attack the city, would say such things now.

Zhang Wu also saw through his thoughts and immediately explained:

“Even if we can suppress the government troops by attacking the city with three-bow ballistae, the government troops can only fire three to five rounds of arrows, and the number of casualties will still be only a few dozen.”

"But if we use winch crossbows to break through the formation now, we might only suffer dozens of casualties. If the government troops break through the formation, our army can avoid hundreds or thousands of casualties."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhang Wu looked at the general beside him and said, "Fire the arrows!"

"Yes!" The others were persuaded by Zhang Wu and immediately began operating the winch crossbow, but they all raised the firing height of the winch crossbow and lengthened the ignition rope.

"put!"

"boom--"

In the blink of an eye, the eight surviving crossbows fired simultaneously, launching bolts a hundred paces before they began to fall, but before they could even touch the ground, they exploded in mid-air.

"Uh-huh!!"

Countless iron pellets and arrows burst forth, but the number of casualties was not high.

That's the power of gunpowder; if the quantity is too small, even if someone holds it, it may not be able to kill them.

Only by increasing the weight and getting closer can the greatest casualties be caused.

"You have one more chance!" Zhang Wu didn't expose the other general's thoughts, but he subtly reminded him.

Seeing this, Bie Jiang could only lower the height of all the winches slightly and lengthen the fuses again.

"Oh!"

"boom--"

As expected, the chisel arrow struck the government troops directly, and the subsequent explosion caused many casualties among them.

"Kill! Charge in!"

"Take advantage of their disarray and kill them!"

Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming issued military orders one after another, and the vanguard immediately began to fight fiercely upon seeing this.

The troop leaping soldiers in the rear would occasionally launch surprise attacks with crossbows, or immediately rush in with short weapons after the front-line warriors fell and exposed gaps.

"Cavalry, prepare..."

Zhang Wu looked at Husi Guang, who nodded and walked down the city wall. The two generals who had followed Zhang Wu the first time said:
"Captain, why do I feel that you are more experienced than these commanders?"

“I think they are getting old, and we will have to take their place in the future.”

The two chatted and laughed, but Zhang Wu frowned and scolded, "Without them, where would we be?"

"If I ever hear either of you say such things again, you will be court-martialed!"

"Yes……"

The two men were caught off guard by Zhang Wu's sudden reprimand and quickly bowed in agreement.

Seeing that they had calmed down, Zhang Wu looked at the vanguard again.

Seeing that Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming had already led their troops to break through the government army's lines, he immediately stopped hesitating and picked up the command flag representing the elite cavalry, waving it around.

Upon seeing this, the flag bearer immediately took out his horn and blew it:
"Uuuuuu——"

"kill!!"

Husi Guang, who had been eagerly anticipating the event, charged forward first, while Zhang Wu also began waving his command flag. Upon seeing this, Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming of the vanguard immediately understood Zhang Wu's intentions.

"kill!!"

As three thousand elite cavalry charged forward, the infantry of Longyou decisively made way for them, and the Shannan Western Army, which had never fought against cavalry before, was immediately intimidated by the momentum of the thousands of cavalry charging forward.

"Form ranks! Form straight ranks and hold the line!!"

Wang Duo in the rear kept waving command flags, but the front army reacted too slowly.

Before they could form ranks, Husi Guang led his cavalry into the vanguard, disrupting the advance of the Shannan Western Army.

Upon seeing this, Chen Jingchong and Geng Ming immediately led their infantry to cover the elite cavalry on both flanks as they fought their way out.

The breaches in the front lines were constantly being torn open, and many soldiers of the Western Army from Shannan were pushed off the official road and plunged into the Longmen River, where they struggled incessantly.

"Help!"

"Help me, help me..."

The heavy armor they wore caused them to struggle a few times before collapsing helplessly into the water. Meanwhile, on the main battlefield, the vanguard was completely routed.

Countless soldiers and officers from Shannan West Circuit were forced into the water, and many were swept downstream.

Upon seeing this, the soldiers of the central and rear armies were greatly alarmed. Seeing the Longyou troops charging towards their positions, they could only retreat continuously.

For a time, the vanguard of the Shannan Western Army was isolated and helpless. Although Wang Duo realized what was happening, Zhang Wu had already raised his command flag.

"The vanguard retreats, and all infantry of the three armies advance!"

"Beep--"

Amidst the sound of wooden whistles, ten thousand fully equipped infantrymen had already passed through the breach and, under the guidance of whistles and flag signals, launched an attack on the government troops.

Chen Jingchong, Geng Ming, and Husiguang led their troops to retreat one after another, while Zhang Wu went down to the city and commanded the infantry of the three armies to relentlessly pursue and attack the exhausted Shannan Western Army.

For a time, the Shannan Western Army retreated continuously, while the Longyou Army charged forward like tigers descending a mountain.

The vanguard of the Shannan Western Army was completely defeated and turned to flee towards the central army, whereupon they actually attacked their own central army.

"No retreat! Anyone who retreats will be killed! The deputy captain is in charge!!"

Wang Duo waved his command flag, and Wang Fuyan directed the central army soldiers to kill all the vanguard soldiers who tried to turn around and flee.

Zhang Wu's drive of the vanguard of the Shannan Western Army exhausted the central army. After the more than 1,000 defeated soldiers in the vanguard were completely killed by both sides, the well-rested Longyou army also charged into the central army of the Shannan Western Army.

Zhang Wu emulated Liu Jilong's composure in commanding infantry, overwhelming them with a powerful and imposing formation.

"The day we advance and defeat the enemy will come at this moment!"

(End of this chapter)