Tang Dynasty Bandits

Chapter 127 Review
Zhu Wen, Lan Suting, and Tian Jun left the camp together and met up with Zhuo Ying, who was already waiting with his horse. They prepared to head towards Mount Tai together.

Lan Suting still cannot ride a horse.

“Originally, I should have let Fairy Zhuoying hold Zhizhen,” Zhu Wen said. “However, I still have something to talk to her about, so let me hold her for a while first.”

As he spoke, he pulled Lan Suting by the waist and mounted her on the horse, his expression clear as the wind.

Lan Suting didn't seem restrained, but Tian Jun's lips twitched slightly.

After they spurred their horses into a gallop, Zhu Wen smoothly unfolded a map in Lan Suting's small hand. The two of them stared intently at it, their minds completely clear. In the midst of their conversation, they returned to Linqi, the battlefield of clashing swords and galloping horses.

Compared to Tian Jun's pursuit of Wang Jian, Zhu Wen had to personally review the Battle of Linqi between Shang Rang, Meng Kai, and the Pinglu Army to understand the key aspects of the battle.

As the two of them swiped their fingers across the map, it felt as if they had truly returned to the bloody battlefield of Linqi many days ago.

……

The wheels rolled on, kicking up clouds of yellow dust on the plains east of the Jumei River.

Meng Kai brandished his large axe, stood atop his chariot, and roared fiercely.

"With Meng Juehai here, the entire army will retreat!"

The charging enemies surged forward like a tide, but they could not find a way in front of the heavily fortified tank formation.

Huang Chao's army, which had close ties with a large number of Qing and Qi horse caravans, did not lack horses; what it lacked were warhorses that could be used for ground-based charges.

Therefore, Huang Chao used chariots extensively to replace cavalry for charges. When chariots stopped and formed ranks, they possessed defensive capabilities far superior to cavalry, and could even be linked together with chains.

Meng Kai swung his axe and roared, as if possessing the power to split the heavens and earth. Since the beginning of this year, Meng Kai has broken through the bottleneck that had plagued him for many years, and his martial arts skills have greatly improved, approaching the level of the Four Marshals.

Regardless of whether they were infantry or cavalry, all the enemy soldiers who charged towards Meng Kai were swept away as easily as cutting melons and vegetables by his Xuanhua Great Axe. When the fighting got heated, Meng Kai would leap off the top of his chariot and charge into the enemy ranks, slaughtering his enemies indiscriminately before returning to his own chariot formation.

As for arrows—even crossbow bolts as thick as a child's arm—Meng Kai knocked them down from mid-air; how could they possibly get close to him?

After charging the chariots into the enemy ranks and forming ranks on the spot, Meng Kai relied on the chariot formation to wage a defensive battle amidst the enemy tide. The chariots formed a wall, with wooden planks erected so that soldiers could shoot arrows through small holes in the planks or thrust spearheads out from under the chariots.

Meng Kai himself would occasionally go out to charge into battle, letting the enemy surround the chariot formation layer upon layer, as if he were strolling leisurely.

"If Commander Song were still alive, what would we have to fear from this copper-faced brat!" An Shiru, the deputy military governor of Pinglu, cursed angrily upon hearing the report.

He was referring to Song Jue, nicknamed "Heavenly Blade," who was smashed into a pulp along with his horse by Wang Xianzhi's "Great Stele-Smashing Hand" during the Battle of Songzhou.

If Song Jue were alive, he could indeed suppress Meng Kai's brilliance. Furthermore, Song Wei's meticulously trained Five Directions Formation was nearly halved by Wang Xianzhi single-handedly during the Battle of Songzhou, rendering it practically useless.

Of the three major weapons of the Pinglu Army, only five hundred Pinglu armored cavalry remained, but the general who originally commanded this force, Ye Luoliang, had already died at the hands of Zhu Wen.

Ye Luoliang's death also proved what happens when you use pure armored cavalry to charge a well-trained and well-prepared tank force.

The extent to which the Pinglu army was weakened after the disastrous defeat at Songzhou cannot be assessed by the mere loss of three thousand men.

On Liu Xun's advice, An Shiru and Wang Jingwu decided to take advantage of their superior troop strength and deploy troops in stages to gradually wear down the morale of the chariot formation.

As for the enemy's main force under Shang Rang's command, the generals of Pinglu Army sent a detachment to keep watch and prevent them from attacking from the outside, allowing Meng Kai to launch a central attack.

As for the Pinglu Army's cavalry force, centered around 500 armored cavalrymen, they also clashed with the Cao Army's cavalry in the hilly area to the east. In the height of summer, the plains were much hotter than the mountains, and the two armies, locked in a stalemate, were sweating profusely, with the heat rising from above like a sauna.

"Shang Rang couldn't hold back any longer and launched a fierce attack on our army." Upon receiving the news, Liu Xun said to An Shiru and Wang Jingwu, "Now we can send out a special task force to defeat the enemy in one fell swoop."

Wang Jingwu pinched Liu Xun's cheek and laughed loudly, "Little Liu Xun went out to follow my fellow clansman, General Wang Jian, and he really learned a lot. Now his strategies are much more concise!"

Liu Xun blushed slightly and said with a hint of pride, "Of course, otherwise how could I live up to Marshal Yan's trust and promotion?"

"Liu Xun has already received great favors from several generals in the past, but he is still a young man with insufficient experience. He needs your guidance and training."

Wang Jingwu nodded in satisfaction—Liu Xun is indeed eloquent; he truly deserves to be called a prodigy of our Pinglu.

He had watched Liu Xun grow from wearing open-crotch pants to where he was now, and he had a very good impression of the boy.

In the midst of the fierce battle, the summer wind from the south stirred up dust and smoke, obscuring the vision of both armies. A cavalry unit of the government forces silently crossed the Jumei River, traveled a short distance, circled around to the direction of the grass army's camp, and charged in, instantly planting government army flags throughout the camp.

They encountered no resistance and failed to capture any family members or servants, which was rather strange.

However, they had at least completed their mission. The cavalry then began to beat their drums loudly from their horses. The sound of the drums filled the air, and when the peasant soldiers looked back, they found that their own camp was full of government army flags and banners, indicating that it had fallen.

A Pinglu army officer looked at Meng Kai and laughed loudly: "General Liu Xun's brilliant plan is indeed ingenious. We've captured your army's camp. How are you going to continue fighting? Quickly kneel down and beg for your lives. Maybe I'll spare you bandits. My family is short of some servants who can carry manure!"

Meng Kai then turned to his deputy general, Peng Baihu, and said, "I've thought of something good."

Peng Baihu replied, "General Meng, you have given us strict training. No matter how funny it is, we will not laugh unless we can't help it."

Meng Kai said, "The first person to compare a woman to the bright moon was a genius, but the tens of thousands of people who do so and are still proud of it are just utter fools."

Another deputy general, Ban Fanlang, said, "General Shang Rang said the same thing."

Meng Kai said, "General Shang Rang also said that Han Xin sent men to occupy the Zhao army's camp during the Battle of Beishui. Later, on this battlefield of Linqu, Liu Yu also sent a surprise force to occupy Linqu City when he fought against the Murong Xianbei. That bookworm Liu Xun likes to imitate ancient battle examples, so he will definitely do the same."

Peng Baihu said, "That's why General Shang Rang ordered us to secretly move everything out of the camp, leaving only some worthless hay. The enemy will occupy our camp and also disperse their own forces."

The summer breeze carried their conversation clearly into the ears of the Pinglu soldiers opposite them, ears soaked with sweat.

They found that their previously brilliant plan now looked utterly ridiculous.

Just then, a scout arrived with a report: "Shang Rang's army has broken up into several small teams, completely ignoring our intercepting forces, and is charging towards our lines like locusts, seemingly trying to coordinate with Meng Kai's army from within!"

An Shiru gritted his teeth: "Where is this kind of fighting style? Order the intercepting troops to charge and slaughter them, leaving not a single one alive..."

The other side continued, "Under the scorching sun, the standoff has lasted too long. The soldiers, clad in armor and drenched in sweat, are finding it difficult to run fast. The enemy, on the other hand, is wearing light leather armor, their morale is high, and they move swiftly. They also seem to have prepared a large amount of ice to cool off..."

"Damn it!" An Shiru was so angry that his vision blurred.

He knew the situation was probably going to get much worse.

Liu Xun, on the other hand, was deathly pale, trembling all over, and unable to utter a single word.

(End of this chapter)