Ji Jun Camp
After the rain, the sky was clear and bright. As the sun rose, its rays formed a thin layer of mist. The army camp was lined up neatly, with soldiers patrolling the area.
"Ha, hei!"
The soldiers were pulled out for training as they laughed. The ground was still damp, and smoke could be seen rising from the chimneys nearby. Someone was cooking.
"Pei Zi Yun has taken over Bao Yang County. All the men that Xie Cheng Dong brought were killed in battle. Only one survived!" When this news reached the main tent, it was dark and gloomy. Outside, it was as dark as night. When the lieutenant finished his report, he stood there with his hands by his sides. Zhao Yuan's face was contorted, and his muscles were twitching, making him look extremely terrifying.
Zhao Yuan paced around the tent several times before he managed to suppress his anger and fear. He couldn't help but think of Ji Bei Hou's warning.
Zhao Yuan had followed Ji Bei Hou for many years. Before the rebellion, he was just a Barracks Officer, and was even being reduced. He had fought for over ten years, and even though he didn't have any merits, he had still worked hard. Yet he was being demoted. His heart was filled with anger.
His old superior, Ji Bei Hou, had rebelled. Not only had he not been reduced, he had even been promoted to a You Ji General. Others didn't know how he felt, but he had been loyal to the King.
At this point, he could vaguely sense that it wasn't just his Master. King Lu had people who wanted to get rid of Pei Zi Yun as well. His own mission was to work together to kill Pei Zi Yun, and even take down Bao Yang County.
But now that Xie Cheng Dong's men were all dead, this plan was useless. He took a deep breath before asking, "What's the situation like now?"
"There are still people hiding within the county. From the looks of it, there are seven hundred cavalrymen. Bao Yang County has a thousand and five hundred men. Five hundred are from the county, while the other one thousand are from the county. Their numbers are lower than ours, but with their cavalrymen, they won't dare to fight!" The lieutenant pondered for some time before reporting, "Furthermore, they've set up camp outside the city. It seems like they want to fight us in the open."
"General, what do we do now? Should we retreat or advance? " After a long time, the captain asked in a low voice. You Ji General was the lowest ranked general. Below him was the captain, who was actually his assistant. Naturally, he could ask about it.
When Zhao Yuan heard this, he was a little hesitant. Right now, his army was still thirty li away from Baoyang County. They could advance or retreat at will. They had three thousand men while the enemy had two thousand and seven hundred. However, the enemy had seven hundred cavalry. If the enemy defended the county, there was no way they could take it down.
Now that the enemy had left the city to fight in the wild, it was hard to make a decision.
Zhao Yuan paced a few steps as he pondered. This person is the greatest threat to the Lord. If I can kill this person, the Lord's great cause will be accomplished. How can I retreat from the great battle?
More importantly, once the lord's plan failed, not only would he lose all his wealth and glory, he would also have to implicate his three clans!
Now that he had retreated, where could he retreat to when the time came?
Since he was going to die either way, he might as well go all out. Thinking of this, Zhao Yuan's expression turned savage, "Seven hundred cavalrymen and one thousand five hundred county soldiers. I can barely fight them."
"Today, I will get rid of this great danger for the High Duke." Zhao Yuan said fiercely. Seeing that the officer was hesitating, he pulled out his blade and slashed it down on the table, "Pass down my order, the entire army is to get into formation and fight against Pei Zi Yun."
"Yes, General." The officer replied as he trembled.
Following Zhao Yuan's order, the bugle horn sounded, and the entire army camp was filled with killing intent. Before long, the entire army started marching towards Baoyang County.
Along the official road of Baoyang County, there was a piece of flat land where a huge camp had been set up. Although it was a temporary camp, it was still very orderly. It had only been ten years since the founding of the dynasty, and the laws had not been relaxed yet. Regardless if it was the Imperial Army or Ji Bei Hou, they had set up their camp in an orderly manner. In winter, they would erect fences, and in summer, they would dig trenches.
Inside the tent, Pei Zi Yun was seated on the main seat when a scout reported, "Reporting … Zhao Yuan has led his army to a location ten miles away from our camp!"
"Good!" Pei Zi Yun stood up and said, "Pass down my order, the entire army is to get into formation!"
The bugle horn sounded, soldiers continuously poured out of the barracks in an orderly manner, following the squad leader out of the barracks. After three rounds, the military formation was completed.
Pei Zi Yun looked around and noticed that although the army was orderly, most of the county soldiers were trembling in fear. He shook his head and ordered, "Pan Hu!"
"Here!" An officer stepped forward and replied loudly.
"The enemy has less than three thousand men, and their formation is weak. I shall personally lead the cavalry to break through. You shall command these county soldiers. Once our army is victorious, we shall attack together."
"If anyone dares to disobey my orders or retreat, we shall execute them!"
These words were filled with killing intent, and everyone felt a chill down their spines. Pan Hu then spoke out loudly, "Dao Master, how can there be a reason for the commander to charge into the enemy's formation. Dao Master, please sit down. I shall charge into the enemy's formation, and if I fail to break through, I shall be executed!"
Pei Zi Yun nodded, "What you said is reasonable. However, the enemy has some elite soldiers as well. I have to end this battle quickly, and not let anything go wrong."
"You don't have to say anything more, just listen to my orders."
If this was an army, even if Pei Zi Yun had said this, the general would not have agreed. However, the highest ranking officer in the army was only an officer. Although he felt that it was inappropriate, he did not dare to argue any further. He swallowed his saliva and replied, "Yes!"
Before long, the army approached slowly, and stopped three hundred steps away. The atmosphere was tense.
Within the enemy's formation, Zhao Yuan was clad in armor as he watched. He was surprised and asked, "What is this? Pei Zi Yun is the Imperial Envoy, and yet he is personally leading the cavalry? "
After receiving confirmation, Zhao Yuan threw his head back and laughed, "This man is crazy. Even if it's bait, I shall swallow it. Tell the entire army that whoever kills this man will be promoted by three ranks."
"Pei Zi Yun is the Imperial Envoy, and is in charge of a hundred thousand soldiers. If he dares to make such a bet, how can I retreat?"
"If anyone dares to retreat, kill them."
"Today, even if I have to risk my life, I shall take a bite out of him!" Following his order, the entire army charged forward!
The moment the army moved, Pei Zi Yun moved out as well. Seven hundred cavalrymen followed Pei Zi Yun. At the first hundred steps, the horses galloped slowly. After a hundred steps, the horses began to move faster and faster, forming a line of steel.
The sound of hooves thundering could be heard, and the ground seemed to tremble. Zhao Yuan's expression changed. His old army was disbanded, and with one look, he knew that something was wrong. His new soldiers would not be able to defend against this.
"Archers, forward!"
The horses were moving too fast. By the time they moved forward, the cavalrymen were already in front of them. They were so dense that they could even see the faces of the people in front of them.
"Release!"
"Pu pu pu" A rain of arrows rained down, and at that moment, more than ten cavalrymen fell to the ground. However, it was too late for a second volley of arrows.
"Main camp, forward, spears leveled."
"Hua" A sound was heard. There were only two hundred of them, but as soon as the spears in their hands were lowered, they formed a row of long spears, gleaming with a metallic light. This was Zhao Yuan's true strength.
"Hold the crossbows, release!" Pei Zi Yun's words could be heard clearly from the charging cavalrymen. The front of the cavalry pulled out their crossbows and shot horizontally, while the back of the cavalry shot diagonally upwards.
"Pu pu pu" A rain of arrows rained down, as the opposing main camp's spearmen screamed in pain, as many of them rolled down the slope.
"Throw your crossbows, pull out your swords, and kill!" The cavalrymen were extremely fast, and by the time the words were spoken, they had already reached the spearmen.
"Kill!" Indeed, it was the main camp. Although they had been ambushed, they were flustered, and their faces were pale. However, they gritted their teeth and gripped their spears tightly.
As the spears pierced forward, the sound of spears piercing through flesh could be heard. The cavalrymen in front of them were riddled with holes, as blood spurted out from their wounds. It was a tragic sight to behold. However, the horses that were charging at them from a few hundred meters away bore down on them. At that moment, the main camp was filled with screams of agony.
"Kill!" Pei Zi Yun thought to himself. Many people worshipped the spearmen, but in truth, there had never been a case of a spearman being able to defend against a cavalryman, much less a spear formation.
The secret lay in the fact that the charging cavalrymen and horses had a momentum of several tons. As long as they were willing to sacrifice the frontline, without the protection of the chariots, the forest of spears would not be able to stop them.
Dozens of people in front had fallen, and the entire spear formation had been broken. Following that, wherever the cavalrymen pointed their swords, the spearmen would suffer heavy casualties. Some of them were even trampled mercilessly by the horses. Some were even trampled to death on the ground. Some were not trampled to death, and were still struggling and screaming in pain.
The stench of blood was so strong that it made people want to vomit. Fresh blood flowed down like a river. When the new recruits saw this, their faces turned pale. Their Adam's apple bobbed up and down as they hesitated to advance.
"Sickle Battalion, attack!" Zhao Yuan shouted out. This was a weapon that was specially used to deal with cavalrymen. It was used to cut off the legs of the horses. However, in reality, when charging at high speeds, such a weapon would be useless. Only when the cavalrymen were caught in a formation and slowed down would they be able to cut off the legs of the horses.
"Yes, General!"
The Lieutenant shouted out the order, as the sickle spears charged forward.
Pei Zi Yun laughed coldly, "What a joke. Maintain your speed, kill!"
Pei Zi Yun was clad in three layers of armor, and wielded two long swords in his hands. The speed of the horses increased, and he could feel the wind blowing against his face. Pei Zi Yun felt as though he was on fire.
'Even if an ordinary person was born with great strength, how could he compare to a Daoist who had trained his body to the peak?'
'Even if I were to wear three layers of armor, even if I were to weigh ten kilograms, I would still be able to withstand it.'
'As for my martial arts, even if I were to face an army of a thousand men, I would still be able to find a weak point in an instant.'
As he charged forward, Pei Zi Yun's long swords sliced through the air, slicing apart any incoming spears or sickle spears. He then followed the weak points of the enemy's formation and sliced through them.
No matter how strong an old soldier was, how could he be compared to an expert?
It wasn't that there weren't any weapons that struck their bodies. However, the sounds of metal clanging could be heard, and only wounds could be seen on their bodies. Wherever the swords landed, heads would fly off their bodies, as fresh blood splattered all over their bodies.
With his spiritual sense, everything became clear. The angry and panicked faces turned into screams of agony. The formation of the Sickle Battalion was torn apart, and could not be stopped for even a moment. The sharp tips of the spears tore through the formation, as the cavalrymen charged forward without any resistance. Dozens of sickle soldiers slashed down at the Sickle Battalion.
"No, impossible …" Zhao Yuan stared at the scene with his mouth agape. He saw that the Sickle Battalion had been pierced through, and that the archers and the new soldiers were right behind them.
The new soldiers and archers were unable to react in time at such a distance, and were in a state of panic. The Lieutenant saw that things weren't looking good, as he led his personal guards and charged forward, killing a soldier who was trying to escape. He then shouted, "Do not retreat, do not retreat!"
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