The Splendor of the Five Dynasties

Chapter 67: Taking Huazhou

"kill!"

Li Rong pressed his spear forward and shouted sharply, "Team A, wedge formation, follow me to break through! Team B, clear the obstacles, move those junk aside! Team C, spread out on both flanks, cover them with mounted archers, and suppress their archers!"

Before he finished speaking, the flag bearer beside him vigorously waved the red triangular flag and blew out two short and one long urgent blasts. His soldiers quickly changed formation, gathered into a wedge shape, and charged forward.

Although the number of infantrymen from Huazhou was large, the number of archers behind the barricades was small. Seeing the momentum of the northern troops, they lost their composure and fired only a few arrows. Some of them took cover under the bridge.

The barricades were breached.

Three hundred iron cavalrymen surged forth like a flood bursting its banks, their hoofbeats shaking the riverbank.

On the bridge, soldiers from Huazhou had already lined up to block their way.

"Kill it!"

"kill!"

Li Rong, relying on his bright armor, charged straight at them.

The infantry of Huazhou were merely local soldiers, no match for the elite Tianxiong Army. When they saw the cavalry charging fiercely, they were thrown into chaos. Some on the bridge wanted to fight, while others wanted to retreat, and they all fell into the river with a "plop," like dumplings being thrown into the water.

In one round, Team A crossed the bridge and reached the other side.

Xiao Yi discovered that Team B had completely scattered. Chen Guanghui had rushed to the south bank, while Lü You was still on the north bank, busy hacking people.

"Fan Si, you lead your men in guerrilla warfare!"

"Here!"

Xiao Yi sheathed his bow, drew his single-edged sword, and charged towards Lü You, shouting, "Why aren't you forming ranks yet?!"

"Here."

"Cross the bridge first, then follow me."

As soon as he stepped onto the bridge, two foot soldiers swung their axes at him. Xiao Yi swung his sword horizontally with his right hand and cleaved down. In the flash, one of the foot soldiers' arms, along with the axe, rolled off the bridge.

"what!"

At the same time, Zhang Mantun stepped forward and immediately stabbed another infantryman to death with his short spear.

Several wooden beams of the bridge had been removed. Although horses could still cross, they creaked and groaned as they stepped on the beams, as if the bridge were about to break at any moment.

The black horse pawed at the ground in alarm, but Xiao Yi quickly calmed it down. The horse was quite intelligent, and with its four hooves flying, it leaped to the other side, its nostrils puffing out white steam.

Xiao Yi reined in his horse, refraining from reckless charging, and reorganized the ranks.

Behind them, the wooden bridge swayed even louder, and some of their comrades shouted loudly.

"If you step on it again, the bridge will collapse."

Xiao Yi glanced back and shouted, "Control the horses! Cross the bridge in pairs, pull the reins slowly, watch your step... Clear all the corpses off the bridge!"

"Support! Quickly!"

Ahead, Chen Guanghui shouted incessantly.

Xiao Yi looked over and saw that the banner of the 20th Battalion Commander had been swallowed up by the enemy tide.

Chen Guanghui was fighting with an enemy soldier when he didn't notice another enemy soldier thrusting a spear at his horse's belly.

"puff."

Xiao Yi charged forward, parrying the spear with his sword, and with his left hand, he drew a short spear from beside the saddle and plunged it fiercely into the enemy soldier's chest, piercing through his armor.

Hot blood seeped into the lining through the nail seams and stuck to the waist and abdomen.

With the crisis somewhat averted, Chen Guanghui exchanged a glance with Xiao Yi, grinned, and said, "I'm injured! You lead the team to achieve merit, I'll protect the bridge."

"it is good."

Xiao Yi looked over and saw that Chen Guanghui's right half of his armor was cracked and his military robe was soaked in blood.

He immediately took over the command.

"Iron Fang, form a defensive line and guard the bridge to cover the brothers as they cross!"

"You lot, follow me and charge!"

Finally, they gained a foothold on the south bank.

Xiao Yi raised his hand and pointed to Li Rong's banner not far away, where Li Rong had already led his troops in a frontal charge against the enemy general.

This was the most crucial blow in the battle.

"Twentieth Battalion! Charge with me!"

"kill!"

Xiao Yi charged forward on his horse, Zhang Mantun on the left, wielding his short spear wildly, and Guo Xin on the right, slashing with his single sword.

They were like a sharp dagger, piercing straight into the enemy general's flank.

"Woo——"

With a sharp whistle, the enemy commander, caught between two sides, hastily ordered a retreat, and the Huazhou infantrymen turned tail and ran.

"kill!"

The Northern cavalry immediately gave chase; after all, a head was worth five strings of cash, so how could they let it go?
Knowing he couldn't suppress the enemy, Li Rong simply left behind a hundred men and led his own troops in pursuit.

Thus, the more than 1,000 Hua soldiers immediately collapsed and were chased by two hundred cavalry.

"Xiao Yi, follow General Li in pursuit!" Chen Guanghui shouted, clutching his wound. "The rest of you, take up high ground on both banks and repair the bridge. We'll wait for General He's main force!"

Xiao Yi looked around and saw that his own troops had already dispersed. He then gave a series of orders.

"Hua Nong, raise the flag and order the uninjured members of the 20th Battalion to follow me."

"Here."

"Old Pan, line up the team."

"Here."

"Xihou and Hudeng, stand guard ahead and report immediately if you encounter enemy reinforcements."

"Here!"

Looking south, Zhang Mantun and Guo Xin were following Li Rong's banner, fighting fiercely. They hurriedly urged their horses to catch up.

They chased and killed their way through the enemy lines.

Half an hour later, the sun completely sank below the horizon, leaving only the last ray of light to illuminate the figures of the fleeing soldiers.

The cavalrymen varied in speed, and many had fallen behind, beheading others or collecting spoils of war.

Xiao Yi didn't care about the heads. As a newcomer to the battlefield, he was content to learn from the experience and protect his men as much as possible. Suddenly, he saw the outline of a city gradually appear on the horizon, with torches flickering on the city walls.

They had unknowingly chased him all the way to the outskirts of Huazhou City.

After counting, including himself, Li Rong had only fifty-odd riders left. He couldn't help but think of the saying "Don't pursue a desperate enemy." At the same time, he was calmly analyzing whether he could drive the defeated troops and take Huazhou.

Although this plan is risky, judging from the current situation, Huazhou is unprepared. If it succeeds, the army can save itself several days of siege and go straight to the Yellow River crossing.

"Look!"

Li Rong turned around, his face full of excitement. He pointed to the sliding door and shouted, "The city gate is not closed! The drawbridge is not retracted!"

Without needing to say anything more, Xiao Yi knew what Li Rong wanted to do just from that arrogant and domineering attitude.

really.

"Drive away the defeated troops and march into Huazhou!"

"kill!"

Guo Xin was the first to respond, and spurred his horse to gallop away.

At this moment, Xiao Yi had no time to think further, so he simply put aside his thoughts and obeyed orders to follow the routed army in attacking the city.

Looking up, the words "Wanghemen" are engraved on the city wall, and the glint of arrows from the defending soldiers can be faintly seen behind the battlements.

The defenders of Huazhou were clearly caught off guard and were not prepared to defend the city. The fleeing soldiers had already surged onto the drawbridge and squeezed into the city gate.

Inside the city gate, the garrison commander was shouting angrily.

"Close the city gates!"

"No entry into the city! Turn back and kill the enemy!"

"Turn around and kill the enemy!"

Li Rong and Guo Xin took the lead, rushed across the drawbridge, slashed at the defeated soldiers blocking their way, and roared as they tried to take the city gate.

Xiao Yi paid little attention to Li Rong, who was wearing the Bright Armor, and kept his eyes fixed on Guo Xin.

Several arrows shot out from behind the battlements. Guo Xin parried one with his sword, but another arrow pierced the neck of his warhorse.

"Eh-"

The warhorse neighed mournfully and collapsed with a crash.

Caught off guard, Guo Xin was thrown violently by the momentum and landed at the feet of the fleeing soldiers at the city gate. His sword also flew out of his hand.

At the same time, several fleeing soldiers from Huazhou saw an opportunity and lunged at Guo Xin, who was lying on the ground, with knives.

"Whoosh."

Xiao Yi shot an arrow.

One of the fleeing soldiers fell to the ground.

At the same time, he shouted, "Iron Fang! Fan Si!"

Zhang Mantun leaped off his horse, stabbed another fleeing soldier to the ground, snatched a long spear, and wielded it with incredible skill.

"Swish swish."

Xiao Yi and Fan Si fired several arrows in quick succession, aiming precisely at the faces of enemy soldiers who dared to turn around. Their accuracy and ruthlessness suppressed them, preventing them from easily charging towards Guo Xin.

Finally, the crisis eased somewhat.

Xiao Yi galloped across the drawbridge, quickly pulled Guo Xin up, and the two exchanged a glance. Without time to say more, they immediately followed Li Rong to charge through the city gate.

"Seize the city gate!"

Li Rong seized the opportunity and commanded the remaining thirty-odd cavalry to relentlessly slaughter the remaining defeated soldiers and defenders inside the city gate.

The garrison of Huazhou was shocked by their ferocity; a mere few dozen riders dared to storm the gate, causing a brief period of chaos.

The battle was fierce, and people kept falling.

Li Rong kept giving orders, leading Xiao Yi, Zhang Mantun, Guo Xin and others to form a battle formation. Taking advantage of the narrow terrain inside the city gate, they prevented the defending army from making its numerical advantage.

Xiao Yi knew that the defending troops were panicked from their hasty response, so he shouted, "The Tianxiong Army is right behind us and will be here soon! Why are you risking your lives for a high-ranking official? Those who surrender will not be killed!"

"Not bad!"

This shout reminded Li Rong, who also roared back, his voice like thunder.

"Listen up, garrison commander of Huazhou! General Li Rong and Commander Guo of the Tianxiong Army have arrived at the city walls. If you dare to resist, we will slaughter your entire family after the city falls!"

"General Guo has achieved numerous military exploits and wishes to share wealth and honor with us. Those who slay generals and surrender cities will be richly rewarded!"

The city's garrison was already in a state of panic, and after hearing such harsh words, their morale was clearly greatly weakened.

Just at this time.

"clang--"

A series of urgent gong sounds came from inside the city.

The dense sound of horses' hooves and footsteps came from afar in the city.

On the other side of the city gate, the firelight dispelled the darkness that had just descended, and squads of soldiers in bright armor surged forward, their numbers unknown.

"Damn it!" Zhang Mantun spat, "And they still managed to kill them all..."

"stop!"

Suddenly, a cry of alarm was heard from within the city, followed by shouts.

"I, Wang Chongwen, the military commander of Yicheng Army, respectfully submit this letter on behalf of Song Yanwo, the Grand Commandant, Duke of Guangping County, and Military Governor of Yicheng Army, to express our intention to submit."

The garrison troops of Huazhou quickly cleared the way.

Xiao Yi looked over and saw a man in a scarlet official robe holding a seal wrapped in yellow silk in his hands. He staggered toward them, escorted by ten guards who had disarmed themselves.

As they approached, Wang Chongwen made eye contact with Xiao Yi. Startled, he lowered his head, knelt down, and held the seal above his head.

"The General is willing to lead the civil and military officials of Huazhou to respectfully welcome Lord Guo's heavenly army. The current court is corrupt and treacherous, with wicked officials in power framing loyal and virtuous people, which arouses the wrath of both gods and men. The people of Huazhou cannot bear to be enemies of a loyal and righteous army. We only beg Lord Guo to have pity on the common people and not harm the people. Then the entire city's soldiers and civilians will be forever grateful for your great virtue..."

While Xiao Yi was still observing Wang Chongwen's expression, Li Rong suddenly grabbed his wrist and raised it high.

The soldiers behind him cheered immediately.

"Wan Sheng! Wan Sheng!"

The army marched for less than three days and headed straight for Huazhou. In this way, they could easily cross the Yellow River, and there would be no more natural barriers between them and Kaifeng.

(End of this chapter)