The world of martial arts, the immortal swordsman in the mortal realm.

Chapter 210, page 225: Alone, he stormed the enemy camp!

a few days later.

Li Shimin personally led three thousand cavalrymen along the Jing River valley into the Loess Plateau, advancing towards Jingzhou.

Upon arrival in Jingzhou.

The Turkic army had almost finished assembling, with countless tents and banners of all colors stretching along the flat and wide river valley from south to north, seemingly without end.

On a gently sloping hillside less than two miles from the Turkic vanguard camp.

Li Shimin, who particularly enjoyed personally scouting enemy positions, narrowed his eyes as he looked at the Turkic camp that stretched to the horizon, and explained the Turkic tactics to Lu Chen:
"Although the Turks had heavy cavalry, they mainly relied on light cavalry in leather armor. In battle, they primarily used mounted archery and had no fixed formation. They moved like the wind, gathering and dispersing unpredictably. If they encountered a tough opponent, they would run away. If you pursued them, they would lead you in circles until your strength was exhausted and your formation was broken, then they would turn around and counterattack. They were very difficult to deal with..."

"We have too few troops. Even if we defeat 100,000 Turkic cavalry in this battle, with only 3,000 cavalry pursuing us, we may be vulnerable to a counterattack if we are not careful."

Lu Chen said calmly:
"The prerequisite for a counterattack is that the Turks still have morale. The first battle completely shattered the morale of the Turks."

He looked at Li Shimin and said:
"You tell me... if I charge into the Turkic camp alone, will it provoke a massive attack by the Turks? When the Turks attack me, if I kill thousands or tens of thousands of them and then behead Bi Xuan, will the morale of the Turks completely collapse?"

Li Shimin stared in disbelief for a long while before swallowing hard and asking:
"Brother Lu, are you serious?"

Lu Chen looked serious:
"I made a bold claim in front of the people of Chang'an: if half of the Turks escape back to the grasslands, it will be considered a defeat for me. Therefore, in this battle, I must not only defeat the Turks, but also kill at least 50,000 in battle!"
"Of course I can't kill that many people by myself, and I can't catch up with them. So, once I lure the enemy into a trap, you, Shimin, can lead your troops in a surprise attack when the opportunity arises. If the morale of the Turks collapses completely, three thousand iron cavalry can pursue them all the way to the end."

Looking at Lu Chen's serious and earnest expression.

Li Shimin's throat was dry, his heart was pounding, and he felt waves of hot blood rushing to his head, making his scalp tingle and his hair seem to stand on end.

He was a reckless and audacious man, capable of anything when he got going. Now, fueled by his own passion, he gritted his teeth and nodded heavily.

"Very well! Since Brother Lu is so generous, how could I, Shimin, refuse to oblige! Let's do it!"

……

When Lu Chen returned to his military tent, he saw a handsome middle-aged Persian man sitting at a table, enjoying meat and wine, with Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling accompanying him.

The handsome Persian man is none other than Yun Shuai.

As for Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, their conversation that night had a profound impact on them. Furthermore, the Turkic invasion was clearly aimed at Lu Chen, and the Turkic envoy even demanded Lu Chen's head from Li Yuan. Out of loyalty, Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling also came along.

When Lu Chen entered, Kou Xu quickly put down his wine glass and stood up to greet him.

After Lu Chen sat down at the table opposite Yun Shuai, Kou Zhong solicitously brought him a plate of roast meat and poured him a glass of wine.

Lu Chen nodded to Kou Zhong, thanked him, and then looked at Commander Yun, asking:
"The Turks are destined to lose this battle. I wonder what the Grand Preceptor's plans are after the Turks' defeat?"

Yun Shuai smiled as he looked at Lu Chen:

"So confident?"

Lu Chen remained calm, but his tone conveyed an air of matter-of-fact:

"Even if Bi Xuan leads the army, since I personally go into battle, there is no reason for me to lose. The only difference is whether I gain more or less."

Commander Yun laughed:

"If you really defeat the Turks, then only the Western Turks can clean up the mess on the grasslands."

Lu Chen said calmly:
"And then, when the Western Turks grow strong, they will contend with the Central Plains again, repeating the mistakes of the Turks?"

Yun Shuai was taken aback, then laughed heartily, picked up his wine cup and drank it all in one gulp. Afterwards, while pouring himself more wine, he said, half-complaining and half-jokingly:

"Is my daughter really inferior to Li Yuan's daughter?"

Lu Chen shook his head:
"Two things. If Lianrou likes me, I will treat her well. But if the Western Turks think they've grown too powerful and want to invade the Central Plains, I will still fight them to the death."

Yun Shuai looked depressed:
"You haven't beaten Bi Xuan yet."

"I said, this battle will be won, it's just a matter of how much we gain."

Lu Chen took a sip of wine to moisten his throat, and while eating large chunks of meat, he spoke clearly:

"Commander Yun should know that there are vast and fertile lands stretching westward from the grasslands, right?"

Yun Shuai frowned and said:
"You mean, you want the Western Turks to expand westward?"

Lu Chendao:
"Why not? In the future, the Western Turks and the Central Plains can be in the east and west respectively, engaging in trade and exchanging goods."

Yun Shuai looked disgusted:
"But the west is really too poor."

Lu Chen glanced at him:
"What, are you coveting the wealth of the Central Plains and want to take over the Central Plains?"

Yun Shuai laughed heartily:
"Once the nomadic peoples of the East become powerful, which one wouldn't want to conquer the prosperous Central Plains?"

Lu Chen said calmly:
"Then just wait to get your head smashed and bruised."

Yun Shuai smiled, then straightened his expression and said seriously:
"I am a Persian who served as the Grand Preceptor of the Western Turkic Khaganate because of my personal relationship with Tong Yabghu Khan. I have no particular interest in the Central Plains..."

"If you can truly kill Bi Xuan and crush the 100,000-strong Turkic army in this battle, believe me, Tongyabhu Khan will be a good friend of the Central Plains. The most loyal and friendly friend."

"That would be for the best." Lu Chen nodded slightly, raised his wine glass, and said, "A toast to the Imperial Advisor!"

After eating and drinking their fill, and chatting about martial arts for a while, Commander Yun took his leave. Lu Chen didn't try to keep him, and got up to see Commander Yun out of the tent.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed them out. From afar, they saw Li Xiuning, dressed in bright red riding attire, wearing riding boots, with her long hair tied in a ponytail and a long sword at her waist, looking dashing and heroic, coming towards them. Kou Zhong quickly pulled Xu Ziling aside, bid farewell to Lu Chen, and hurried away.

Lu Chen stood with his hands behind his back in front of the tent, waiting for Li Xiuning to come over.

Li Xiuning quickly approached Lu Chen, looking at him with a solemn expression:
"I just heard from my second brother that you're going to charge the Turkic camp alone?"

"Come in and talk."

Lu Chen turned back into the tent, sat on the low couch, and then said to Li Xiuning:
"The Turks have too many troops, while we only have three thousand cavalry. If the Turks' morale does not drop, even if we win a small victory or even repel the Turkic army, we will not be able to gain much, and the Turks can come back at any time."

“The Turks have specifically named me and demanded my head. Even Bi Xuan has personally led his troops, which shows how much they value me. In that case, I will charge into their camp alone to give the Turks the illusion that they can surround and kill me, thus creating an opportunity for a great victory.”

Li Xiuning came to Lu Chen's side, knelt down on the carpet beside him, held his hands in hers, and looked at him with worry in her eyes:

“But that’s too risky! There are many experts among the Turks, including the Martial Venerable Bi Xuan…”

"I was just about to meet Bi Xuan."

Lu Chen smiled:
“Wu Zun Bi Xuan is a god in the hearts of the Turks. If this god is killed, the spirit of the Turks will be gone.”

"But……"

"What, are you worried I can't beat Bi Xuan?"

“No, if it were a one-on-one fight, I firmly believe you can defeat Bi Xuan. However, Bi Xuan is treating himself as a military commander this time, not a martial arts grandmaster. If he can send troops to besiege Ning Zhenren, he will certainly send troops to besiege you as well, exhausting your true energy and physical strength…”

"Didn't I say that I wanted the Turks to besiege me?"

Lu Chen said calmly, "How can we create an opportunity for a great victory if we don't surround and attack me? I want Bi Xuan's head, and at least the heads of 50,000 Turks!"

Looking into Lu Chen's deep, unfathomable eyes, and listening to his calm yet confident and menacing words, Li Xiuning's heart trembled, her beautiful eyes filled with infatuation.

……

The next day.

As dawn breaks and a cool breeze blows.

Lu Chen rode a tall, long-limbed, fiery red Ferghana horse, dressed in a black robe but without armor, carrying a black iron spear. He spurred his horse down a gentle slope, against the morning wind blowing from the upper reaches of the valley, and urged the Ferghana steed to trot slowly toward the Turkic camp.

On the gentle slope behind us.

Dugu Feng, Wanwan, Shi Feixuan, Li Xiuning, and Lian Rou were all dressed in military attire, wearing black leather armor, and stood on the hillside, watching him ride alone towards the enemy camp.

Li Shimin, Yuchi Jingde, Li Jing, Hong Fu Nu, Pang Yu, Zhai Changsun, and other generals and experts from the Qin Prince's Mansion watched Lu Chen go, their eyes filled with excitement and respect.

Yun Shuai was also there. Looking at Lu Chen's back, he felt both admiration and a little doubt.

He charged into the enemy camp on horseback...

It was still the camp of 100,000 troops under the command of Martial Venerable Bi Xuan.

This feels like a myth.

Even after watching Lu Chen ride off with his spear in hand toward the enemy camp, Commander Yun couldn't help but wonder if he was still dreaming.

Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling, who were also wearing black armor, had no doubts whatsoever. Looking at Lu Chen's back, their eyes were filled with fervent reverence.

Next, they are about to witness a miracle in military history... no, it should be called a divine miracle!
And they will participate in it personally!

……

The Turks were relatively cautious.

Although they were on the offensive and never expected that the Tang army would dare to launch a counterattack, when they set up camp, the outpost camp still felled trees to build fortifications, erected arrow towers, and set up barricades.

However, they still did not dig a deep trench, nor did they build a solid wall with earth and stone.

In the eyes of the Turks, a log fortress wall and a few rows of barricades would be enough.

Even if some Tang soldiers were to have the audacity to launch a counterattack, the Juma Fortress would only provide a slight obstacle, giving the cavalry in the camp ample time to prepare and charge out to annihilate the Tang army.

The Turks firmly believed that, faced with their 100,000 iron cavalry, even the boldest Tang army could only cower in the city, trembling and desperately awaiting their death.

No one expected that on this bright and sunny morning, someone would come alone to break into the camp.

The sound of hooves clattering.

The Ferghana horse, with its fiery red coat, carried Lu Chen with light and elegant steps to the Turkic camp, stopping just an arrow's length away.

The Turkic sentries on the watchtower didn't take him seriously, assuming he was an envoy sent by the Tang army.

Issuing a challenge?
Or should we surrender?

The Turkic sentries were speculating, while their eyes were greedily fixed on the tall, magnificent, and elegant fiery red horse. They were contemplating whether to lure the man over, shoot him dead with an arrow, and then steal the prized horse.

at this time.

The Turkic sentries suddenly saw the unarmored man in black robes on horseback raise a dull, ungleaming iron spear high.

The fiery red horse once again set off, trotting towards the camp gate.

As the fiery red horse gradually accelerated, it slowly became like a leaping crimson flame.

The black-robed man on horseback, holding his iron spear high, also let out a shout that could be heard for miles around:

"Lu Chen is here! Martial Venerable Bi Xuan, come and meet your death!"

Ordinary Turks cannot understand Chinese.

But when Lu Chen spoke, the thousands of Turks in the outpost camp felt as if a string of thunder was rumbling and rolling above the camp, making them panic, short of breath, and their eardrums tremble.

The Turkic sentries on the watchtower were seeing stars, their faces were pale, and they were on the verge of collapse.

After finally managing to steady themselves by holding onto the railing, they were shocked to see the black-robed man on horseback charging straight towards the barricades in front of the camp.

As they approached the barricade, the man in black robes swung his iron spear down, shattering the barricade into pieces—not just one, but a whole row of them!

The fiery red steed, like a leaping wildfire, charged forward under the black-robed man's command. In the blink of an eye, the rows of simple barricades exploded, turning into a pile of broken wood, and the black-robed man had already reached the front of the stockade wall.

The log fortress wall, which should have been able to stop the cavalry charge, failed to slow the black-robed man's horse.

He charged wildly towards the stockade wall on horseback, and when he was still three zhang away from the wall, he gripped the butt of his iron spear with one hand and swept it horizontally from left to right.

As the iron spear swept across, a visible burst of energy erupted from the blade, transforming into a roaring wave.

This powerful surge, like the crest of a tsunami, was propelled by the howling wind and crashed fiercely towards the stockade wall.

Boom!

Amidst a deafening roar.

The log wall, which was more than two zhang high, was actually struck as if by a tsunami wave. A section of it, which was more than ten zhang long, exploded and shattered into pieces of wood.

The fiery red horse, carrying the man in black robes, charged straight in and into the Turkic outpost camp.

The pieces of debris from the stockade walls that were thrown into the air all came back down. As long as they landed within ten feet of the man in black robes, they would suddenly float in the air. Then, propelled by some inexplicable force, they would be like giant crossbow bolts, bombarding the Turkic camp!

The Turkic outpost camp was staffed with elite troops who reacted extremely quickly. When Lu Chen's shout landed, although they were shaken and panicked, the thousands of Turkic vanguards in the camp still rushed out of their tents with bows, arrows, swords, and spears as fast as they could and found their warhorses.

As Lu Chen rushed into the camp, the fastest-moving squad of elite Turkic cavalry had already mounted their horses and assembled, charging towards the camp gate.

Then they crashed headlong into the barrage of splinters of wood that was raining down on them.

One after another, broken logs, several feet long and as thick as thighs, slammed into the cavalry with a violent gust of wind. Wherever they passed, men and horses were shattered, blood splattered like rain, and severed limbs were scattered all over the sky!

In a single encounter, the nearly one hundred elite Turkic cavalrymen were wiped out without firing a single arrow!

"Lu Chen is here, but where is Bi Xuan!"

Lu Chen let out another low shout, spurred his horse and charged into the camp, heading straight for the second group of Turkic elite cavalry.

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(End of this chapter)