Sweep Yuan

Chapter 144 Battle Against Enemy Cavalry: The Combined Strength of Chang Wang

Aruhuige's guess was correct; Shishan was indeed using the threat of the Yuan cavalry to train his troops.

However, to prevent any accidents, the troops that went out of the city for the morning drill consisted of only seven elite battalions: the Red Flag Battalion's most elite cavalry battalion, the Zhenshuo Battalion, the Bashan Battalion, the Fifth Battalion, the Seventh Battalion, the Eighth Battalion, and the Jiaowei Battalion, as well as Guo Xing's Dingyuan cavalry, which had just been expanded to 320 men.

The eight battalions together numbered 4,200 men, including nearly 900 cavalry. Aruhuige only had 1,000 cavalrymen under his command, so naturally he didn't dare to confront the Red Flag Battalion head-on.

Of course, Shishan did not dare to lead only these troops to attack the 7,000 Yuan soldiers who were protected by a camp.

After repelling the Yuan cavalry's spying, he led his troops back to the city to rest.

In the afternoon, the Red Flag Battalion army marched out of the city again.

This time, Shishan added the First, Third, and Fifth Battalions, as well as the units of Guo Zixing and Miao Daheng, resulting in more formations. However, the poorly trained Dingyuan Army also dragged down the team, making the overall training less smooth than in the morning.

However, the morale was boosted by the "victory" of driving away the enemy cavalry in the morning. Although the newly joined soldiers were busy, their eyes showed less panic and more focus.

The Yuan scouts returned after their mission, only daring to stop and observe from a distance. They were quickly driven back by the fierce driving actions of the Red Flag Battalion scouts.

After these scouts had circled around for a long time, they sneaked back to Dingyuan City to spy on the situation. The Red Flag Battalion below the city was in a well-organized formation with clear flags. Their movements were quite disciplined, and the results of their joint training were astonishing.

Yuan army camp.

Upon learning that the Red Flag Battalion rebels dared to conduct large-scale military training outside the city, and that the combined force was growing larger and larger, with the total strength of the training troops already showing signs of exceeding that of the main force, the timid Chelibuhua panicked once again.

He seemed to already see the enemy army charging towards him like an overwhelming tide, and he shouted urgently that he wanted to break camp and retreat.

Aru Huige and his generals earnestly advised the rebels, emphasizing that it was already late and the army still needed to cross the pond. The risk of a hasty retreat at night was extremely high. Moreover, the two armies were still far apart, and the government troops had camps for protection, so the rebels would never dare to attack rashly.

Chelibuhua finally calmed himself down and reluctantly agreed to let the generals stay. But how could he sleep that night? He tossed and turned, and would sit up in fright at the slightest sound in the camp.

After a night of anxious waiting, as soon as dawn broke the next day, Chelibuhua impatiently urged the entire army to break camp.

Including the militia transporting supplies, the Yuan army numbered nearly 12,000, along with a large number of carts and supplies. Crossing the pond using only two narrow pontoon bridges was extremely risky and could easily lead to congestion and stampedes.

Chelibuhua, however, disregarded everything and led his elite troops and some cavalry to retreat first, leaving the difficult task of covering the rear to Aruhuige and others.

Before the retreat even began, an atmosphere of unease and chaos already filled the air.

In preparation for the siege, a large amount of supplies had been accumulated, which could not all be transported away in a hurry.

Aruhuige originally planned to burn these supplies after the main force of the army crossed the pool, but a scout reported that the Red Flag Battalion had already left the city and was advancing rapidly towards the Yuan army camp!
Aruhui's heart sank. He worried that the towering fire and thick smoke from burning supplies would prematurely reveal their retreat plan, and he was even more worried that the bandit army's swift movements would directly threaten the main force, which was crossing the river and whose formation was in disarray.

After much deliberation, he decided to personally lead his cavalry to meet the enemy, hoping to use the cavalry's mobility to harass the enemy and delay their movements. This would buy the main force precious time to cross the river and create an opportunity for his troops to retreat smoothly later.

"Mount up! Follow me!"

Aruhui shouted sharply, and nearly a thousand cavalrymen followed closely behind, kicking up clouds of dust as they rushed toward the Red Flag Battalion's path.

Today, the Red Flag Battalion marched and defeated the enemy, and their level of vigilance far surpassed that of yesterday's drills outside the city.

Shishan deployed his elite scouts ten miles away like a net. Soon after Aruhuige's troops left the camp, their whereabouts were keenly detected by the Red Flag Battalion scouts, and the fast horses with green triangular flags flew back to the central army like arrows.

"stop!"

Chang Yuchun gave the order almost the instant the scout appeared, his voice booming and instantly drowning out the sound of marching footsteps and rolling wheels.

"Swordsmen and shield bearers, don your armor! All troops, form ranks! Quickly!"

The order was like a stone thrown into water, creating ripples.

The hundred supplementary soldiers following closely behind the Eighth Battalion quickly unloaded the heavy iron armor and shields from the sixteen carts and nimbly assisted the Eighth Battalion's swordsmen and shield bearers in donning their armor.

The soldiers of the Third Battalion quickly used the supply wagons as a base and, with the help of long spears, constructed a simple yet sturdy wagon formation, protecting the reinforcements and archers within the formation.

The clanging of armor plates, the urgent commands, and the heavy breathing mingled together, filling the air with the grim atmosphere of impending battle.

When Aruhuige led his cavalry in like a whirlwind, the sight before him made his heart skip a beat:
The vanguard of the Red Flag Battalion was already on high alert, with swords and shields forming a wall and spears forming a forest, their cold metallic gleam shimmering in the morning light.

To his surprise, the Eighth Battalion did not hold their ground. Instead, under the command of Commander Chang Yuchun, they moved forward on their own initiative. Their steady footsteps made the ground tremble slightly as they marched towards the cavalry of the main force!

"Madman!" No one in the infantry formation charging forward would be foolish enough to directly confront a well-prepared square formation.

"Ignore them! Come with me!"

Without a second thought, Aruhuige cracked his whip and led his troops swiftly past the heavily fortified flank of the Eighth Battalion. His warhorses galloped, kicking up clouds of grass and dust, heading straight for the central army of the Red Flag Battalion.
Yesterday, after returning home, he was scolded by Chelibuhua. Arus pondered deeply and concluded that the bandit army must have a weakness.

The rebel army used its elite troops to intimidate people under the walls of Dingyuan City, but since the uprising was recent, the troops were bound to be of mixed quality. Today, the army is marching in long lines. If we can find those camps that are not yet in formation or whose morale is low, we can break in and create chaos, thus delaying their progress.

If we're lucky, the fleeing soldiers might turn the tide and rout their own lines, which would be a great achievement!
Unfortunately, he underestimated the Red Flag Battalion's training level and overestimated the mobility of his cavalry on the battlefield.

The vanguard of the Red Flag Battalion was three miles away from the central army. The two vanguard battalions could quickly form ranks, and the central army had more time to prepare. How bad could it be?
The two teams of Miao Daheng and Guo Zixing were indeed somewhat chaotic because they had a large number of people and insufficient training, and their formations were not yet fully formed.

But on its left and right sides, the flags of the other battalions of the Red Flag Battalion had already been unfurled, their armor clanging, their formations solid, and they were rapidly moving toward the center, like a pair of giant hands protecting the two battalions of Miao Daheng and Guo Zixing!

Whether Aruhuige's risky charge into those two units would be enough to break through the poorly trained Dingyuan Army remains to be seen, but he would certainly fall into the deadly range of the Red Flag Battalion's crossfire.

"My lord! Look at the flank!"

The terrified cries of the guards came from above.

Even without his reminder, Aruhui had already witnessed that chilling scene:
The elite cavalry battalion on the flank of the Red Flag Battalion, the same force that had caused them trouble the day before yesterday, had already moved out like an arrow released from a bow. Their warhorses galloped like thunder, and they were making a bold flanking maneuver towards the left flank of the Yuan cavalry. Their intention was all too clear—to cut off their retreat!
Further away, Guo Xing's Dingyuan cavalry raised a cloud of dust as they charged head-on towards the Yuan cavalry!

"Damn it! Let's get out of here!"

A chill instantly shot from Aruhui's tailbone to the top of his head.

He instantly realized he had fallen into a trap. The Red Flag Battalion was prepared and was going to devour his cavalry in one gulp!

Aruhuige suddenly turned his horse around, and the warhorse neighed loudly, rearing up. The cavalrymen followed suit, turning and galloping backward.

After running for nearly two miles, Aruhuige was astonished to find that the vanguard of the Red Flag Battalion (the Eighth Battalion and the Third Battalion) not only did not retreat, but instead took advantage of the time he went forward and then retreated, like two moving rocks, and advanced about half a mile before stopping and forming ranks again!

The terrain they chose plunged Aruhui's heart into despair.

That was a dead end!
To its south lies a winding river bend, the icy water reflecting a cold light;

To the right was a rugged, steep, and impassable pile of rocks. Infantry could slowly pass through the narrow passage between the river bend and the pile of rocks, but for cavalry that needed space to accelerate and maneuver, this place was nothing short of a death trap.

Between the river bend and the pile of rocks, there is actually a passage more than half a mile wide. Brother Aruhui had come from there before, so he knew the terrain well.

But at this moment, Chang Yuchun's Eighth Battalion and Wang Bi's Third Battalion had already firmly guarded the key points on both sides of the passage, cutting the already narrow passage into three even narrower "throats".

The widest section was less than a hundred paces, and the distance between the two infantry formations and the "central axis" of the passage was less than fifty paces—completely within the precise range of the infantry's powerful bows and crossbows! A chilling killing intent permeated this narrow space.

At this point, Aruhuige actually had another option: to immediately turn left and risk going around the river bend.

However, this would lead to encounters with the elite cavalry battalion, which was maneuvering at high speed. Their sharp spears would surely pierce the vulnerable flanks exposed by the Yuan cavalry as they turned, resulting in enormous losses.

"Charge! Full speed ahead!"

Aruhuige's eyes were bloodshot as he roared hoarsely.

This is the only way out! The cavalry charged at full speed, as fast as lightning. There were always gaps in the crossbow fire. As long as they could withstand the rain of arrows from both sides and pay the price of some casualties, they could break through this "death tunnel"!
"drive!"

"Come on!"

The Yuan knights knew there was no turning back, so they spurred their horses and whipped them mercilessly. The horses, in pain, neighed and pushed themselves to their limits. The knights crouched low, clinging to their horses' necks, hoping to use their superior horsemanship to dodge the deadly arrows.

"Xilulu——!"

A mournful neighing of horses suddenly rang out!
The leading warhorses suddenly collapsed forward without warning, throwing their riders violently off their backs!

Some died instantly from broken necks, while others fell to the ground and were trampled by the hooves of warhorses that could not stop their charge, letting out short and shrill screams!

A sharp-eyed knight screamed in terror.

"Barbed wire! There are barbed wires on the ground!"

(End of this chapter)