Tiger Guards

Chapter 66: Battlefront Arrangements
Wenxi Nanxiang is the closest to the county seat.

Even if you stand on the earthen wall of Nanxiang Township, you can see the outline of the county town.

Because the county seat is located in the southern part of the county, the so-called Nanxiang is just one township, unlike the other three townships, which have multiple townships under their jurisdiction.

In addition to towns and villages, there are also many ancient cities that are neither good nor bad.

The Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period, and the Han Dynasty have been passed down for more than a thousand years. What Hedong lacks the least is various ancient cities.

A place with a larger population is called a township; a place with a smaller population is called an ordinary village.

In the afternoon, around four o'clock.

When the Huben vanguard arrived at the county, the county gate was closed.

No matter how Hu Ban shouted at the gate, there was no response from the city, not even a single person in sight.

Soon Zhao Ji arrived, still accompanied by the two battle flags of "Han Zhengxi General" and "Liangzhou Governor", disguising himself as Li Le's troops.

Hu Ban trotted over to greet him, "Zhao Zhonglang, something has happened in the city, and no one has responded yet."

Chang Mao, who was walking with Hu Ban, asked, "We don't see anyone moving around on the city walls. Should we send someone up there?"

Zhao Ji observed the old city wall sixty or seventy steps away, turned around and asked, "What do you think, Cavalry Cao?"

Cavalry Commander Wang Qi had experienced large-scale military operations. Although he was just a small component in the large military group at that time, he had seen big scenes after all.

Wang Qi reined in his horse and circled for a moment, observing the situation with a serious expression. "Zhonglang, Han Xian may have set an ambush. He may be inside the city or outside, waiting for an opportunity to attack our army from both sides."

“How come you see?”

"Feel."

Wang Qi pointed his whip at the city gate. "If Zhonglang advances, what will happen if the ambush troops draw their bows and crossbows? If we abandon the county and head straight for the southern township, the ambush troops will charge out of the city. With Han Xian's troops to the south, we'll be attacked from both sides. Add to that the decoy troops attacking from the west, and our army will inevitably be thrown into chaos."

Zhao Ji turned his head to look at the mountainous area to the west. The cypress trees were connected in front and back, and the scenery was green and beautiful.

"Then the whole battalion will rest. I want to see what the county has to offer."

Zhao Ji turned to look at Jia Tong who had followed him and asked, "How about a rest for the entire army?"

Jia Tong frowned: "Zhao Zhonglang wants to go straight to Nanxiang?"

"Yes, we have over 500 cavalrymen marching south in a mighty force. Even if Han Xian's military discipline is in disarray, his scouts will notice. We are now less than seven or eight miles from Nanxiang. I doubt he won't come. If he doesn't come, we will go find him after we have rested. We must surround him in Nanxiang before tonight!"

Zhao Ji then looked at the others and said, "I want to test whether there are any ambushes within the city. Chang Zhonglang, send a squadron of cavalry outside the south gate. If any cavalry from within the city come south, intercept and kill them. If Han Xian from the south sends cavalry to attack, retreat here and do not engage."

"I'll go there myself!"

Chang Mao agreed, turned and walked towards his horse, called a team of resting knights, and went around the south of the city.

Zhao Ji took a painted bow, attached the silk letter to the arrow shaft, and after persuading others to retreat, he rode his horse forward to fifty steps outside the city gate, drew his bow and shot an arrow. The arrow was nailed to the pillar of the city tower, but no one took the arrow.

As he turned his horse to retreat, he suddenly heard a shout from the top of the city wall: "Shoot!"

A row of archers stood up behind the parapet near the city wall and shot arrows at Zhao Ji. The golden armor on his body had unique markings, which successfully lured the ambushers.

Zhao Ji was hit by several arrows, and his horse was also hit by an arrow in the buttocks. It carried him and ran for thirty or forty steps before being stopped by the Huben soldiers.

"Zhonglang?"

"Tuen Chief!"

A dozen people shouted urgently. Zhao Ji waited until his horse stopped before jumping off and laughing: "Just as Cavalry Cao predicted, this city has been controlled by the enemy soldiers."

Hu Ban stepped forward and pulled the arrow out of Zhao Ji's cloak. After confirming that Zhao Ji was unharmed, he breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Aji, don't take risks again."

"It's okay. If I don't go, they will still be hiding. It's better to find out now."

Zhao Ji didn't care at all. He turned to Han Shu and said, "I'll give you a good set of armor in the future. You can do this kind of thing."

Han Shu was still in shock, but he forced a smile when he heard it: "Yes!"

If Zhao Ji had been shot by an ambush just now, his fellow Hu Ben would have beaten him up before the other Hu Ben to prevent him from being beaten to death by others.

Hu Ban, standing nearby, was also filled with fear. If Zhao Ji and Pei Xiu hadn't tried to stop him, his head would likely have been hanging from the city gate. Zhao Ji re-arrested his arrows, aiming his bow at the city wall eighty paces away. Across from him, a bearded officer in silver-gilt armor pointed his right arm at him. "You little thief, dare you come again?"

Unfortunately, the distance was too far and Zhao Ji couldn't hear clearly, and it didn't look like anything good was said.

He shot an arrow, and the arrow hit the opponent's palm. He immediately held his arm and screamed.
The archers near the top of the city wall immediately crouched down to avoid it. Zhao Ji held the arrow and observed. After a while, he saw someone stretch out his arm to grab the arrow book on the pillar. Another arrow was shot out, hitting the opponent's palm, piercing through the back of the hand, and nailed to the pillar of the city wall.

Someone immediately stood up to pull out the arrow, and saw that the man had no helmet and was wearing a cloth bag on his head. Zhao Ji shot another arrow and hit the man on the back of the neck. The man fell down in front of the arrow.

The nearby Tiger Guards who were good at archery also came forward with bows in their hands, aiming at the city wall. Only the bandit soldier on the city wall who had been shot in the hand cried out in pain.

Soon, several more bandits stood up, holding shields to block the arrows and protecting their companions from pulling out the arrows.

Seeing no opportunity to exploit, Zhao Ji lowered his bow and said, "Everyone, take a rest. Tell Chang Mao to be careful and alert."

"Yes!"

The two Tiger Guards turned their horses around and headed south. Zhao Ji put the arrows back into the quiver, led his men back fifty steps, and began to feed the horses dry food.

Almost at the same time, a pile of fireworks rose on the south side of the city wall, starting to sound an alarm.

Before Zhao Ji could finish his second piece of bread, several Tiger Guards came from the south and ran straight up to him. "Zhao Zhonglang, there are about 700 to 800 infantry and cavalry coming from the south, but only about a hundred knights."

"Since Han Xian is here, tell Chang Mao to retreat slowly and move closer to Chidao."

Zhao Ji turned to look at Jia Tong. "Wenzhen, you and Chang Mao will form a team. Lead four squads of cavalry and circle from the west, waiting for an opportunity to join the battle and strike their flanks and midriffs. Don't linger in the fighting; focus on charging. If the enemy infantry formation is strong, use your cavalry to shoot them, avoid engaging them, and wait for an opportunity."

"Here!"

Jia Tong left quickly, and his two team officers and an officer under Chang Mao followed him quickly.

Zhao Ji then looked at Wang Qi, the Cavalry Commander. "Cavalry Commander, command our troops to garrison here. If the enemy troops from the city break out, we can engage them. The most important thing is to save the officers and soldiers."

Wang Qi asked in return, "If the enemy troops in the city force an attack, how should we respond?"

"Try your best to keep them engaged, preventing me from being attacked from both sides. I will lead the remaining six teams to confront Han Xian head-on, aiming to kill him with a single arrow."

Zhao Ji said as he looked at the other six officers and Jing Chun. "Wen Qing will be my deputy commander, in charge of the rear. If the enemy troops make false moves on the west mountain, leave a team of knights to be on guard. If the false forces come to attack, we can engage them."

The so-called entanglement means that each team of Tiger and Leopard Knights is divided into small groups of three or five riders to engage in melee and dog fights.

The Tiger Guards had no intensive training, let alone large-scale cavalry combat training, and did not understand complex tactics and coordination.

Even Zhao Ji didn't understand much, but he knew hunting and basic mathematics.

Deploy the army as far as possible to expand the attack surface.

The larger the battlefield, the slower the information transmission and feedback of Han Xian's command and dispatch will be.

The Huben are a full cavalry lineup. Even if the battle situation is unfavorable, they can just evacuate and regroup.

Han Xian has only a little over a hundred knights, mainly infantry. There are not many veterans, and most of them are recently recruited.

Even if morale is stable and training is high, there is a lack of sophisticated equipment.

If Han Xian dared to break away with his infantry and cavalry, Zhao Ji would lead his four direct teams of cavalry to charge forward.

By defeating Han Xian's hundred-plus knights, the threat posed by the other infantry would be infinitely reduced, and it would just be a matter of harvesting and negotiation.

He glanced at the four officers. "We'll engage the enemy later. Two teams will be in front, two teams in the back. Charge straight at the enemy cavalry and shoot with bows and crossbows. If they don't disperse, we'll turn back and charge with spears and halberds!"

"If the enemy cavalry scatters to pursue us, engage them in a melee!"

"If my battle flag falls, just retreat north."

"Otherwise, you are not allowed to leave the battle flag within three miles!"

Staring at these eager young men, Zhao Ji smiled and said, "Don't be nervous. If Han Xian dares to show up, I'll let him know how powerful I am!"

"Here!"

(End of this chapter)