Sweep Yuan

Chapter 142 Breaking Through Enemy Lines, Guo Sheng Retreats the Enemy

Hong County was in grave danger, and the faster the reinforcements arrived, the better. Therefore, Han Cheng did not order the 2nd Cavalry Battalion to move with the slow-moving Infantry Battalion.

Feng Guosheng's troops crossed the Huai River early in the morning and rushed all the way, arriving at Wuhe in the afternoon. As soon as they entered the city, Sun Xun reported the latest battle report from Hong County.

"The Yuan army that marched south from Hong County numbered about four thousand (plus two thousand militiamen who accompanied the army to transport provisions). They were all salt workers from Huaidong. Although their equipment was inferior to that of the government troops, they were quite fierce and brave, and they had already breached two stockades. If this continues, Deng Shunxing probably won't be able to hold out for more than a few days!"

Brave?

In those days, whether it was the government troops or the Red Turban Army, anyone who dared to take the initiative to attack and capture cities and strongholds was incredibly brave and fierce.

Feng Guosheng didn't care whether the salt workers of Huaidong Road were brave or not; he only cared about their actual combat strength.

"Commander, has Deng Shunxing reported the number of Yuan army casualties?"

Deng Shunxing did report enemy casualties, but only a few people escaped from the two villages that were breached by the Yuan army. These were not the local militia who defended the village walls. The information he provided was vague and contradictory in many places. We can only summarize the fragmented descriptions of these people and make a rough estimate.

"The Yuan army first used local militia to fill the trenches with soil. The casualties were mainly local militia, and the losses of salt workers were estimated to be only about a hundred."

Lacking long-range attack capabilities, the local militia, relying on their earthen and wooden fortified villages, did find it difficult to defend against the well-equipped salt workers. However, with the help of local militia to fill the trenches and act as cannon fodder, the salt workers still suffered around a hundred casualties, suggesting that their combat strength was not particularly impressive.

Feng Guosheng had a general idea of ​​the enemy's strength, and the next step was to learn about the situation of his allies.

How many stockades and militia are left in Hong County?

Sun Xun secretly thought that the rumors about Feng Guosheng's competitiveness were indeed true. He deliberately provoked Feng Guosheng with his words, hoping that Feng Guosheng would take the initiative to fight. The local militia in Hong County were poorly equipped, and every day that was delayed would result in many deaths. The Red Flag Battalion had to provide support as soon as possible.

"There is one large fort and twelve small villages. Deng Shunxing's directly subordinate militia number about 1,300 people. The exact number of people in the other villages is unknown."

In fact, Deng Shunxing only needed to abandon the fortified villages along the route, lead his troops to retreat to the south bank of the Hui River and set up camp, forming a pincer movement with the Wuhe garrison. The four thousand salt workers would be no match for them. However, in doing so, he would have no choice but to abandon his base in Hong County and completely merge into the Red Flag Camp.

Sun Xun could understand Deng Shunxing's thoughts. The Marshal had originally entrusted Hong County to Deng Dalang so that the people of Hong County could defend it. However, in order for Feng Guosheng to better complete his mission, he added:
“Apart from the largest Youxi Fort, the other forts are far from the main road. The Yuan army broke through two forts in order to vent their anger and seize grain and fodder. Their forces are insufficient, and they may adjust their tactics later.”

Having been influenced by the lectures and discussions at Shishan recently, Feng Guosheng had become much more composed. In fact, he had already understood Sun Xun's meaning. He had rushed to Wuhe in a hurry to get into the battlefield and harass the enemy, so he had no reason to refuse and immediately volunteered for battle:
"The Second Cavalry Battalion is newly established. The soldiers have been riding all day and are exhausted. Please, Governor, allocate provisions so that we can rest for one night. Tomorrow morning, I will lead my troops deep behind enemy lines to contain the Yuan army and ensure that the local militia of Hong County will not be able to fight the Tartars alone!"

"Excellent! The Marshal was right about you!"

The next day, Feng Guosheng led his troops across the Hui River and headed straight for Youxi Fort.

Deng Shunxing believed that Shishan would not abandon him, which was why he fortified his position and retreated to the south bank of the Bian River to resist the enemy. However, he did not expect that the reinforcements from Haozhou would arrive so quickly. Overjoyed, he personally went out of the fort to welcome Feng Guosheng.

The moment the two sides met, Feng Guosheng interrupted Deng Shunxing, who was preparing to welcome him into the fort to rest, and said:

"Brother Deng, let's talk about this after we've driven off the Tartars. Tell me now, where is the Yuan army? Once we're deep behind enemy lines, which fortresses can provide us with supplies?"

Seeing how capable Feng Guosheng was, Deng Shunxing was even more pleased and immediately said without any formalities:
"The Tartars should be able to reach Qianzhang Village today. We also have more than sixty cavalrymen. Although they are not as strong as Brother Feng's soldiers, they are all brave men who dare to fight the Tartars to the death. I will keep ten messengers and give the rest to Brother Feng! After we drive back the Tartars, we will have a feast together!"

Feng Guosheng was struggling with a shortage of cavalry, which made it difficult to effectively deal with several thousand salt workers, so he naturally wouldn't refuse Deng Shunxing's offer.

"it is good!"

"Brother, come quickly and greet Commander Feng!"

Deng Youlong had grown much taller than he had been six months ago, and his physique was now roughly the same as Deng Shunxing's. He was in charge of commanding the Hongxian cavalry and had long wanted to go out of the fortress to kill the Tartars. Upon hearing his father's instructions, he quickly ran over.

"Please take good care of me, Commander Feng!"

"it is good!"

Feng Guosheng patted Deng Youlong's arm, and seeing his robust physique, he felt a surge of excitement. Fortunately, he knew a major battle was imminent, and forcibly restrained his urge to spar with him. He then turned to Deng Shunxing and said:
"Besides our 2nd Cavalry Battalion, the Marshal has also sent an infantry battalion as reinforcements. Yesterday, Commander Sun gave me the full picture, saying that we'll send troops as soon as the reinforcements arrive. Brother Deng, don't worry, if the Tartars dare to cross the river, they won't be able to escape this time!"

"Hahaha, good!"

Two hours later, north of Qianzhang Village.

"stop!"

Feng Guosheng suddenly raised his gun, ordered the troops to stop marching, looked into the distance and saw dust being blown by the north wind, then suddenly pointed to the northeast.

"A large contingent of Yuan troops is moving in the distance. Everyone dismount and follow me!"

He quickly selected a section of ditch that meandered northward, first ordering his soldiers to dismount, replenish their rations, and rest briefly. Then, he led his horses along the ditch on foot to minimize their exposure.

Ice shards along the canal cut into the horses' bellies, drawing blood. One cavalryman, his footing cracking the frozen ground, stumbled and nearly fell. Feng Guosheng reacted swiftly, whipping his whip around the horse's arm and pulling him back—thus preventing a commotion that would attract the attention of the Yuan scouts nearby.

When they were less than three miles from the enemy and saw enemy scouts approaching, Feng Guosheng no longer concealed himself and gave the order:

"Get on, ride your horses!" The Red Flag Battalion cavalry suddenly leaped over the ditch and appeared before the Huaidong salt workers who were preparing to attack Qianzhang Village, as if divine soldiers had descended from the sky.

The latter never expected the Red Flag Battalion to set out so quickly. They were quite relaxed along the way, and their marching formation was in disarray. When they saw the enemy cavalry speeding up, many of them instinctively turned and fled.

"Stop! Stop right now! You fools, no matter how fast you run, you can't outrun a horse! Form ranks, form ranks now!"

Salt Ding's idea of ​​leading a thousand-household army was good, and his orders were correct, but in such a chaotic situation, how could there be time to form ranks?
At this point, the two sides were extremely close. Not to mention the hastily assembled salt workers, even well-trained government troops would be caught off guard by a sudden cavalry attack during their march and would not have time to don their armor and form ranks. Panic was almost inevitable.

Feng Guosheng charged ahead, targeting the Yuan army's most vulnerable and chaotic area—the waist and abdomen.

"Kill!"

As the two armies clashed, Feng Guosheng wielded his 13-foot-long spear with rapid, unpredictable strokes, like a viper spitting its tongue. Wherever it went, it was like a fast ship cutting through the waves, causing the enemy soldiers in front of him to stagger and fall to the left and right.

Behind him, Deng Youlong and others formed a wedge formation, rapidly widening the wounds torn in the Yuan army's formation. Wherever the spears struck, blood splattered; under the trampling of horses' hooves, bones broke and tendons snapped.

As soon as the battle began, the Yuan army ranks were filled with the angry curses of officers, the wails of wounded salt workers, and the screams of those fleeing in panic.

The salt workers, who had been running backwards on instinct, quickly scattered and scrambled together, colliding with their equally panicked comrades. In the ensuing chaos, their escape speed actually decreased significantly.

"Split up and turn around. I'll lead the charge, and you guys take the tails, Da Lang!"

As the Yuan army fled in disarray, Feng Guosheng's troops had already broken through the enemy's formation. Seeing the Yuan army in such chaos, he decisively divided his forces to continue cutting through their formation.

"Quickly form ranks! Quickly form ranks!"

Salt Commissioner's commander of a thousand troops also discovered Feng Guosheng's intentions. He knew that if he couldn't stop them now, all eight hundred of his men (including three hundred militiamen) would be wiped out here. He didn't care about being exposed, so he swung his sword and desperately slapped his dazed subordinates, shouting at the top of his lungs to form a battle formation.

However, although Yan Ding was brave and fierce, he was still a novice in battle and encountered cavalry that were particularly effective against light infantry during the march.

They had finally managed to gather seven or eight men when Feng Guosheng attacked again, his spear now replaced by a horse bow as he rode.

With a "whoosh," the salt officer hurriedly raised his knife to parry.

"what!"

The unfortunate man behind him took the brunt of the arrow for the commander.

Whoosh!
Feng Guosheng fired another arrow. The salt commander tried to parry, but the two sides were already close. The arrow was extremely powerful and grazed the edge of the blade, hitting his left shoulder. Before the man could retreat into the crowd to hide, Feng Guosheng had already charged. How could the already scattered formation stop him?

"Go to hell!"

Feng Guosheng killed the commander with a single spear thrust, then casually snatched his banner and shouted:
"The Tartar general is dead!"

Salt soldiers were repeatedly charged by cavalry, and their morale was already plummeting. Now that they saw that their commander was dead, they had no will to fight and wanted to surrender. However, the Red Flag Battalion cavalry general was just showing off his martial prowess while holding up his flag, showing no intention of accepting prisoners. Everyone knew what fate awaited them.

Although they knew that the only hope of survival was to quickly form a battle formation after being ambushed by cavalry, the bravest and most prestigious commander had already died in battle. Who had the prestige to gather the remaining men into battle?
At this point, even knowing that losing one's weapon and turning one's back to the enemy cavalry would mean certain death, one would still be facing certain death.

But it's better to die for your comrades than yourself. You don't need to run faster than a horse, just faster than your comrades.

In an instant, hundreds of people fled, only to be met with relentless pursuit.

……

The five hundred salt workers who attacked Qianzhang Village suffered a great defeat, with only a dozen or so escaping back. Lu Lu, the marshal of the Huaidong Road Righteous Army, suffered a relapse of his old illness. He felt a sweet taste in his throat, and a mouthful of blood rushed into his mouth, which he swallowed back down.

The Huai Dong Road Righteous Army Marshal's Office still has nearly five hundred cavalry. If the bandit cavalry is indeed only about three hundred as the defeated soldiers said, it is not impossible to wipe them out. However, the bandit cavalry has already arrived, and their large reinforcements should already be on their way—their reaction speed is too fast!

The tactical objective of heading south to Wuhe was to wipe out the bandits in Hongxian County and then use the captured militia to fill the trenches and attack Wuhe. Previously, two strongholds had been breached, but due to the fierce resistance of the rebels, the spoils were minimal and the number of captured militia was very small, which proved that this battle was extremely risky.

Now that the enemy reinforcements have arrived, it will only be more difficult to break through the camp, so there is no point in staying on the south bank of the Bian River.

Although our unit suffered a setback in the initial battle, it was only due to underestimating the enemy and being reckless. Our main force was not lost. The most important task now is not to fight the enemy to the death, but to stabilize the troops, preserve the existing gains, and first establish an invincible position before finding a weakness in the enemy's army and taking a decisive bite.

Lu Lu quickly devised a countermeasure and issued the following order:
"The main army retreated to the north bank of the Bian River, cavalry—"

He was speaking when a strong wave of dizziness hit him, and he collapsed to the ground.

"marshal!"

"marshal!"

(End of this chapter)