Tang Dynasty Swordsman.

As the Shence bandit leader caught up, he shouted, "Second Brother, capture a prisoner alive and interrogate him about the enemy's situation!" Li Ji agreed and spurred his horse to give chase. Cui Qi, unable to stop him in time, clicked his tongue and scoffed—you still dare to say you're not reckless?

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Chapter Twenty-Three: An Enemy of Ten Thousand

Leading the cavalry westward, patrolling to the city of Xin'an, were the rebel generals Li Riyue and Yu Wenjing.

Shi Siming had three mid-level generals under his command who were the bravest in the army and were highly valued. Shi Siming once boasted: "In the past, Liu Bei had two men, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, who were capable of fighting ten thousand men each, and thus he was able to occupy a corner of the country for decades. Now I have three men who are capable of fighting ten thousand men each. How can I not conquer the world?!" These three men were named Gao Tinghui, Li Riyue, and Yu Wenjing.

Li and Yu, both leading Khitan and Xi cavalry who had pledged allegiance, were always at the forefront in battle, slaying generals and capturing flags with unparalleled skill. At that time, Shi Siming was already in Luoyang, fearing that the Tang army in Shanzhou would come to his aid from the east. So he ordered the two generals to lead their troops westward and instructed them: "If Xin'an is undefended, you may attack and capture it; if it is already defended, plunder the city walls to frighten the enemy and to alert the western enemy for us."

So when Li Ji arrived at the city of Xin'an, the two generals were showing off their power and ordering the city's generals to surrender. Yu Wenjing heard from the scouts that two Tang generals were extremely brave and had killed several people and were in hot pursuit. He looked around and said, "They are probably Lai Zhen's Western soldiers. They must be the vanguard. Let me kill them to demoralize the enemy."

So he led his troops out and ran into Li Ji, Cui Qi and others.

At this moment, Cui Qi was grabbing Li Ji's horse by the head, urging him to turn back. Li Ji thought to himself, "Don't really think I'm reckless. If I don't want to retreat, with your horse's strength, you can't catch up with me at all. How could you possibly grab my reins?" But he said aloud, "I must first see the enemy's flags and assess their numbers before I can report back..."

As they were talking, the sound of horses' hooves clattered, and dozens of banners were instantly upon them. The Shence cavalrymen were somewhat terrified at the sight—firstly, the enemy outnumbered them, at least several hundred, and secondly, they were well-equipped and their banners were brightly colored, indicating that they were mostly elite troops, making them a formidable opponent… The captain hurriedly said, “Second Brother, retreat quickly, I will cover your retreat.”

Li Ji smiled faintly at him: "Since I am here, how can I let others cover the rear?" Then he turned his head and glared fiercely at Cui Qi—the little girl involuntarily loosened the reins.

Li Ji instructed the gang leader, "Please escort my brother back safely, and I will be grateful." He spurred his horse forward a few steps, stood in the roadside with his spear across his face, and shouted, "Li Erlang of Jingzhao is here! Who dares to fight me to the death?!"

His left hand kept waving behind his back, as if to say: You guys better get out of here, so I can run away.

Cui Qi gritted his teeth, raised his hand and whipped the leader's horse: "You all hurry up and call General Jing to come and rescue us!" He then somersaulted off his horse and darted away into the bushes by the roadside.

Hearing the shouts, Yu Wenjing spurred his horse forward and pointed at Li Ji: "What Li Er? Never heard of him? I am Yu Wenjing of Youzhou. Those who know my name, why don't you dismount and surrender immediately?!"

Li Ji raised his eyebrows: "What kind of clown or devil is that? I have no idea!"

Both were furious. The key issue was that one was involved in a rebellion in Hebei, while the other had achieved merit in the western frontier. In those days, there was no radio, television, internet, or Weibo, leading to a complete lack of communication and neither knowing the other's name. Li Ji thought to himself, "My lord's name is renowned throughout both capitals! How could some country bumpkin or peasant have never heard of me?" Yu Wenjing thought to himself, "I am personally bestowed the title of 'Enemy of Ten Thousand' by the Emperor of Great Yan! Who in the Tang army doesn't know me? What are you pretending to be stupid for?!"

Once I capture you alive, you won't dare to act so arrogantly anymore!

He was particularly envious of the fine horse from Longyou that Li Ji rode. Yu Wenjing originally had two northern steeds, but one had fallen ill and couldn't be taken this time, and the other had been wounded by an arrow during the attack on Zhengzhou and forced to retire… His current mount, while quite valiant, was clearly inferior to Li Ji's. Therefore, he thought to himself, "Is this a gift from heaven, a special present for me? How can I refuse?"

He immediately spurred his horse, brandished his spear, and charged straight at Li Ji.

Yu Wenjing looked down on Li Ji, firstly because he was confident in his martial prowess, and secondly because, judging from his attire, he was just an unknown junior general, so what was there to fear?

The key point is that Li Ji didn't bring his own armor with him on this eastward journey—who could have predicted that Luoyang would be under attack so quickly? Even knowing Xu Shuji was unreliable, no one could have guessed he would surrender so instantly. In Shanxian, he temporarily borrowed a set from the Shence Army, the same as the uniforms of ordinary ten or fifty-man commanders. On the contrary, he noticed Yu Wenjing wearing a phoenix-winged silver helmet and fine-scaled iron armor, clearly of high status; especially the iron spear in the other's hand, with its long and thick blade, almost matching Nan Jiyun's weapon… In these days, anyone who can still wield a horse spear must be a brave warrior!

Thus, when the two horses clashed, Yu Wenjing underestimated his opponent and was careless, while Li Ji was cautious and meticulous. The difference in strength became clear in an instant. Yu Wenjing couldn't help but frown, thinking to himself, "Where did this Li Er come from? He's so formidable!" He immediately mustered all his strength and thrust his spear straight at Li Ji's heart, concealing various deadly moves, hoping that Li Ji could resist and compete with him.

By comparing physical strength, Yu Wenjing was confident that he was second to none in his time.

Li Ji indeed parried with his spear, and the two weapons clashed with a "crack," causing their wrists to tremble violently. Yu Wenjing realized he had no chance of winning in a contest of strength and finally began to panic—the key was that he had underestimated his opponent earlier, and one wrong move led to another, making it difficult to regain the initiative. He wanted to call his men to attack, but feared it would damage his reputation, so he used a trick, taking advantage of the moment when the two horses passed each other, he turned and fled.

Li Ji shouted, "You're talking big! Do you think you can just walk away?!" He spurred his horse and gave chase.

In truth, Yu Wenjing was feigning defeat, secretly drawing his bow and arrows, intending to turn and shoot that despicable Li Er off his horse. Li Ji, however, wasn't truly in pursuit—there were several hundred men on the other side; chasing them would be suicide. But the prey on the other side was truly tempting; if he could kill or capture it alive, it would greatly weaken the enemy's momentum, and perhaps those hundreds would scatter in panic… He thought, "I'll chase for a dozen paces; if I can catch up, all the better. If not, my horse's speed will increase, and I can use the momentum to turn, leap off the road from the side, jump over the ditch, and run into the wilderness…"

In an instant, Yu Wenjing turned around, the bowstring twanged, and an arrow shot forth. Unexpectedly, Li Ji's horse was fast, and he caught up, sweeping his lance horizontally across the enemy's bow. The arrow went astray and flew off to who knows where.

Startled, Yu Wenjing didn't have time to pick up his spear again. He was forced to throw down his bow, put his arms together, and grabbed the incoming spear—thankfully, the spear tip was only an inch or two away from his face.

He intended to try to disarm Yu Wenjing, but Li Ji instead pushed the spear shaft forward, causing Yu Wenjing to stumble on the saddle bridge. Li Ji thought to himself, "I'm used to disarming people, how could I possibly be outmaneuvered like this?" Taking advantage of the situation, he freed his right hand, drew an iron mace from behind his back, and with a "whoosh," struck down on Yu Wenjing's head.

Seeing the situation was bad, Yu Wenjing hurriedly let go and crouched down. The mace just grazed his helmet and landed heavily on his shoulder. He couldn't help but cry out, lay on the saddle, grabbed the horse's neck with both hands, and fled in panic.

Overjoyed at his victory with a single blow, Li Ji immediately charged forward, mace in his right hand and spear in his left. Just as he had predicted, the hundreds of Khitan and Xi cavalry, though elite, had always revered their commander, Yu Wenjing. Now, witnessing Yu Wenjing's defeat, they were all terrified. Who would dare challenge Li Ji's might? They turned their horses around and scattered in disarray, following their commander.

Li Ji pursued them for an arrow's distance, stabbing two more riders to the ground. Just as he was about to call it a day, he suddenly heard a drumbeat from nearby. Immediately afterward, it seemed to be Yu Wenjing's loud cry: "Brother Li, save me!"

Li Ji thought to himself, "Hey? Which Brother Li are you calling? Damn this common surname, there are people with the surname Li everywhere in the world."

A general, wielding a lance, galloped through the defeated soldiers and blocked Li Ji's horse—it was Li Riyue, another "enemy of ten thousand men" in the rebel army.

Li Riyue happened to arrive nearby and, seeing the situation, let Yu Wenjing go and went to fight Li Ji. The two horses clashed, their spears clashed, and both were startled: What immense strength!

Li Ji thought to himself, "I really shouldn't be so arrogant and underestimate the heroes of the world. Look at me, in less than half an hour, I've encountered two formidable generals, each only slightly inferior to Nan Jiyun and Lei Wanchun. Is it because Nan and Lei are guarding Luoyang that Shi Siming has sent out his most capable warriors first?"

Li Riyue was also surprised and couldn't help but exclaim, "What a brave warrior! That's why you were able to defeat my brother Yu. Seeing that you're not useful in the Tang family, why don't you surrender to my Great Yan? I'll guarantee you a deputy military envoy position!"

Li Ji uttered foul language, spitting in Li Riyue's face, "You filthy scoundrel, I am a civil official!" At the same time, he felt a chill. Wait, this is Lao Jing's tone. Have I been influenced by him to become vulgar these past few days? His hands didn't stop, he used both mace and spear to fight Li Riyue.

In truth, Li Riyue's physical strength was slightly inferior to Yu Wenjing's—if it were Yu Wenjing instead, Li Ji would ultimately be wielding a spear with only one hand, and would probably be at a disadvantage in the very first move—but his proficiency in spear fighting and horsemanship was far superior. The two men circled each other on horseback, and in a short time, they had gone through six or seven rounds. Li Ji encountered danger repeatedly and was starting to feel the strain.

He thought to himself, "I'd better stop with the fancy tricks. I'll just throw away the mace in my right hand and fight with both spears." If he continued like this, not only would his chances of winning be slim, but once the enemy soldiers had a chance to establish a foothold and saw that he couldn't defeat this general, they would all surround him, and then he wouldn't even have a place to run!

But the thought of throwing the mace stirred something within him, and he recalled a deadly move that Qin Huan had taught him.

According to folklore, Qin Shubao was skilled with double maces, and had a special technique called "the throwing mace," which could hit its mark every time within ten paces, killing instantly. Li Ji asked Qin Huan about this, but Qin Huan said, "Using the throwing mace to strike someone is merely a fancy trick used out of necessity. Even within five paces, it's only meant to dazzle the eye, with a hit rate of less than 30%. However, since you want to learn it, I will teach you."

The key to this move is to find a suitable release point when the mace is swung in the widest circle, and then use centrifugal force to launch it. However, the mace is heavy and cannot travel far, and its flight speed is slow. If the enemy is skilled in martial arts, it is virtually impossible to be hit. But what if the enemy is unfamiliar with the moves? Then there is no need to throw the mace at all.

At that moment, Li Ji thought to himself, "Since I'm going to throw the mace anyway, I might as well unleash it with a 'last-ditch' attack." So, seizing an opening, he mustered all his strength in his right arm and hurled the mace straight at Li Riyue's head. Li Riyue remained calm, slightly shifting his body to the side and raising his spear to parry—

Although he was a highly skilled martial artist and a veteran of countless battles, he had never seen such a move before, and therefore his response was somewhat ineffective. In fact, he only needed to observe the trajectory of the incoming mace and dodge it by sidestepping; there was no need to parry. However, he had just retracted his spear when he instinctively swung it to the side, striking the mace squarely. The mace, which was already spinning, was suddenly struck, and using the spear shaft as a fulcrum, its end instantly tilted upwards. Startled, Li Riyue hurriedly shrank his neck and leaned his body backwards.

As soon as Li Ji threw out his right-hand mace, he immediately grabbed his spear with both hands and thrust it forward. Just then, Li Riyue leaned back, and the spear tip was only a few inches away from his breastplate, so he couldn't hit him. But as he leaned back, his vision instinctively shifted, and Li Ji seized the opportunity to change his move, swinging the spear shaft horizontally and lashing it hard at the neck of Li Riyue's horse.

The warhorse, in pain, twisted its neck and galloped sideways. Li Riyue swayed on the horse's back for a moment, and just as he freed his left hand to rein in the horse, a flash of white light appeared before his eyes, and a flying sword grazed his nose!

Blood trickled from Li Riyue's nose, and he was greatly alarmed. He hurriedly turned his horse around and fled along the road. Li Ji gave chase, and Li Riyue shouted, "They actually had crossbowmen lying in ambush! How shameless!"

—That white light was so close and fast that he didn't see it clearly and mistook it for a crossbow bolt.

Before Li Ji could reply, several arrows came flying at him, forcing him to parry with his spear.

Both Yu Wenjing and Li Riyue considered themselves invincible warriors, so when they fought one-on-one, their soldiers dared not interfere or rush to their aid, or launch sneak attacks, when the outcome was uncertain. But now Li Riyue was clearly defeated, especially since it seemed he was forced into this by a sneak attack. Could his cavalry continue to stand by and watch? Several of the braver ones immediately drew their bows and shot arrows at Li Ji.

Li Ji paused for a moment, watching as Li Riyue was about to escape. He thought to himself, "I'm really unlucky. I've defeated two enemy generals, but I can't catch either of them..."

Just as he was about to turn back, still lamenting, "Judging by this situation, I'll never get my 'Azure Lotus Four-Sided Mace' back..." Suddenly, a loud shout rang out, and with the sound of bells, a troop of soldiers galloped out from the flank. A general at the head of the troop raised his eighteen-foot-long spear and charged straight at Li Riyue. Caught off guard, Li Riyue was pierced through the side and immediately fell from his horse, dying instantly.

Li Ji looked closely and realized that the person who had come was none other than Lei Wanchun, whom he had just met!

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After Shi Siming surrendered to Xu Shuji and Dong Qin, opening the eastern gate of Henan, he immediately marched straight in. When the vanguard of the rebel army reached the outskirts of Luoyang, not only had Zhang Xun not been able to completely evacuate the soldiers and civilians, but even Li Guangbi, who personally gathered oil, iron, and other supplies from the city to escort to Heyang, was still unable to escape.

At that time, Li Guangbi led 500 cavalry to cover the rear, while the rebel guerrillas had already reached the stone bridge east of Luoyang. The generals asked for orders: "Should we go out from the north of the city or from the east, following the original plan to cross the stone bridge?" Li Guangbi gave the order without hesitation: "Cross the stone bridge." So, under the cover of darkness, they carried torches high and moved slowly. The rebels, fearing a trap, dared not advance rashly and could only pursue them.

Li Guangbi immediately retreated to Heyang with 20,000 troops and only enough provisions for ten days. Shi Siming seized the opportunity to attack Luoyang, and Zhang Xun led his 5,000 troops to defend the palace. The rebel army looted extensively within the city but gained almost nothing. They wanted to advance on the palace, but were intimidated by Zhang Xun's reputation and feared Li Guangbi's intervention…

Therefore, he dared not rush to attack the palace. Shi Siming retreated to the south of Baima Temple and ordered Zhou Zhi to lead troops to defend Tianjin Bridge to monitor Zhang Xun. The problem was that Zhang Xun was never a general who was willing to sit idly by and defend to the death. Back when Suiyang City was besieged multiple times, he dared to look for opportunities and frequently sent troops out of the city to launch counterattacks. Zhou Zhi was just watching from afar.

So Zhang Xun sent Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and others with several hundred cavalrymen to sneak out of the palace every day to harass the surrounding area. This time, Lei Wanchun had heard that Li Riyue, Yu Wenjing, and others were pressing westward towards Xin'an, so he went a little further to investigate the situation in Xin'an County, and ended up getting a free ride.

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Chapter Twenty-Four: The Front Lines of Heyang

The rebel general Yu Wenjing fled wounded, and Li Riyue fell from his horse and died in battle, causing chaos in the army. Lei Wanchun and Jing Jiang, who had rushed to the scene, joined forces and completely routed the rebel army, beheading dozens of them.

Afterwards, Lei Wanchun asked Li Ji, "Since Erlang's personal matters are settled, why is he still lingering near Xin'an instead of returning to Chang'an?" Li Ji replied, "Because I am worried about Brother Nan and Brother Lei... When I arrived in Shanzhou, I met my old friend General Jing, who was transporting grain to Heyang, so he asked to travel with me..."

Lei Wanchun patted Li Ji on the shoulder and gave him a thumbs up: "Truly a good friend! With such a friend, my life is not in vain!" He then greeted Jing Jiang and asked with bright eyes, "May I ask how much grain you brought with you?"

Old Jing replied, "Shanzhou also has no surplus grain, so it only has a thousand bushels."

Lei Wanchun gave an "Oh," and the sharp light in his eyes faded, seemingly showing some disappointment.

He had originally hoped that Shanzhou could supply more military rations to the front lines, so that Zhang Xun's troops could also get a share—even if he intercepted them halfway, who would dare to stop him? But when he asked, he found out that there was only a thousand bushels, not even enough for his own army to eat for five days. If it fell into Li Guangbi's hands, it would only last for a shorter time... So he was too embarrassed to ask for more.

Xuan said, “Although we have defeated the bandits under Xin’an City, the eastern route is probably blocked. It would be better if I helped and escorted them across the Hengshui River first, so that we could proceed directly to Heyang with peace of mind. However, the road is difficult to travel and it will be hard to find a ferry.”

Old Jing thanked him. Then Lei Wanchun wanted to give Li Riyue's head to Li Ji, saying, "If Erlang hadn't first driven this thief away, causing him to flee in panic, how could I have succeeded so easily? This credit should naturally belong to Erlang."

Li Ji declined, saying, "I have not received any military orders yet; I have only come to help privately. What use is there for merit? Besides, if Brother Lei hadn't intervened, this thief would have already escaped, and how could we have taken his head?"

The key issue was that Li Ji didn't know whose head it was or how significant it was, so he politely declined. In the end, Lei Wanchun collected Li Riyue's armor, weapons, and head, but ordered his men to give all the other heads taken in this battle to the Shence Army. Old Jing was truly overjoyed, surrounding Lei Wanchun and calling him "General Lei" repeatedly, his fawning attitude unprecedented.

Li Ji couldn't help but think to himself: Did I make a mistake in choosing this friend? He turned around and searched for the iron mace he had thrown out, but it was not in its original place. He was filled with doubt and frustration.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly heard a rustling sound in the bushes by the roadside. Cui Qi then leaped over in a few steps, holding his mace in his hand, and presented it with both hands: "You were looking for this, weren't you?" Li Ji was overjoyed, took the mace, and couldn't help but say: "Thank goodness you're unharmed. I was worried that from now on I would be all alone, lonely and heartbroken."

He seemed to be talking about the mace, but his eyes kept glancing at Cui Qi.

Cui Qi spat, "You're talking nonsense again!" Then he stretched out his hand and said, "My horse is lost, you must compensate me."

Li Ji readily agreed. Just then, Lei Wanchun and Jing Jiang arrived following the sound. Lei Wanchun said, "Brother Cui is here too! Truly a good friend of a good friend, and a good friend indeed!" He ordered someone to bring over Li Riyue's mount: "This horse is for you."

Upon closer inspection, Li Ji recognized it as a magnificent steed from the north, with glossy coat, a head over ten feet tall, and powerful hooves... In particular, it was fully equipped with a saddle and bridle, inlaid with gold and silver, making it quite valuable.

He immediately put on a stern face and said to Cui Qi, "You cannot ride this horse."

Cui Qibo angrily retorted, "How dare you underestimate me?!"

Li Ji shook his head and explained, "This horse is too conspicuous. On the battlefield, it will attract everyone's attention. Riding it will only bring you trouble."

Cui Qi's expression softened slightly, but he reached out and gently stroked the warhorse's coat, showing considerable reluctance. He said, "How can a good horse not save your life but instead bring disaster? At worst, I'll exchange saddle and bridle with you, and let you go ahead of me, so everyone can see you..."

Fearing that Shi Siming would send troops to suppress Yu Wenjing after he fled back to the main camp, the group dared not enter Xin'an City to avoid wasting time. They hurriedly ordered the infantry and grain carts with missing gates to catch up, and then left the main road and took the small road to the north, heading east.

After listening to Lei Wanchun's account of the battle situation at the front, Li Ji learned that the Luoyang palace was relatively safe for the time being. Therefore, he was not in a hurry to go and help, but planned to first escort supplies to Heyang before making further plans. Furthermore, Lei Wanchun relayed Zhang Xun's words, analyzing the battle situation as follows:

"Judging from Shi's intentions, he will definitely attack Heyang first. If he wins, he will then plan to attack the Luoyang Palace. Li Sikong's troops consist of only the Shuofang Army and other forces, totaling more than 20,000 men. Moreover, their food supplies are insufficient, and their situation is very precarious... Doctor Zhang believes that if Li Sikong can hold Heyang for half a month, the food supplies from Lu, Huai, and Hedong may be able to be supplied. Furthermore, the rebels' morale has been lost, and the situation in Luoyang can be considered temporarily stable."

"However, to break this deadlock and secure victory, two options are available: first, the imperial court can send a large army to reinforce the region; second, the troops from Hedong can march east out of the Taihang Mountains to harass the rebel Shi's rear, and even pressure Fanyang. But with the nation's current financial resources, it's unlikely to be able to sustain this..."

Li Ji couldn't help but ask, "Does the bandit Shi have ample provisions?"

Lei Wanchun curled his lip: "They naturally plunder along the way, unlike us, who are government troops. Even if we steal grain from the people, we wouldn't dare to drain the pond to catch all the fish... But I heard that the bandit Shi has divided his troops to plunder the Jianghuai region, and now that Doctor Zhang is no longer guarding Suiyang, I'm afraid the Huai River is hard to defend... If we cut off the Huai River, it would be like cutting off an arm of the imperial court, while the bandits' military supplies would be secured..."

"Then who will guard the Huai River now?"

“Li Huan, the military governor of Jianghuai, and Deng Jingshan, the military governor of Huainan East Circuit,” Lei Wanchun said with a sneer, “are just mediocre people.”

In conclusion, the situation is very bad.

Li Ji thought to himself that at the end of last year, seeing Shi Siming surrender and An Qingxu besieged in a lonely city, many optimistic people thought that this great rebellion could be brought under control quickly. Who would have thought that in the blink of an eye, everything would be turned upside down... Speaking of which, it was all because of that bastard emperor Li Heng's reckless command that caused millions of soldiers and civilians to pay the price of blood and even lives for his recklessness! He really wanted to stab that bastard to death!

There were no major dangers on the road. They occasionally encountered some rebel soldiers, but Lei Wanchun, Li Ji, and Jing Jiang charged side by side on horseback and they were overwhelmed... Oh, and perhaps we should also count Cui Qi, who stayed close behind Li Ji and refused to stray far.

However, crossing the Yellow River to the north caused considerable delays, during which a cartload of provisions overturned, resulting in the loss of about ten bushels. It wasn't until four days later that they finally arrived at the Heyang front.

The saying goes, "South of a mountain and north of a river is called Yang," so Heyang is naturally located on the north bank of the Yellow River. Originally named Mengjin, this place has been an important ferry crossing on the Yellow River since ancient times. Since the Qin and Han dynasties, due to the gradual accumulation of silt, the water flow in this section has become slower and slower, while the area of ​​the sandbars in the water has become larger and larger. Therefore, in the tenth year of the Tai Shi era of the Western Jin Dynasty, Du Yu built a pontoon bridge here to connect the north and south banks of the Yellow River. It has been maintained and repaired in subsequent dynasties and is called Heyang Bridge.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of supplies to Huaizhou and Luzhou in the north—as grain from Guanzhong in the west was no longer a viable option—Li Guangbi was forced to retreat to Heyang Bridge, set up fortifications along the south bank of the river, and established his command tent in Heyang City.

Heyang City, also known as Mengzhou, is located northeast of Heyang Bridge on the north bank of the Yellow River.