To the Zhou army, the Yellow Deer Valley was a nightmare.
Amidst the sound of the horn, countless cavalrymen engaged in close combat in the valley. The Zhou army's slowly advancing formation became chaotic because of the halt in front of them and the battle. In this narrow position, the Khitans, who grew up on horseback, clearly had an absolute advantage.
Like they were hunting countless gazelles on the grassland, they brandished their swords and cut through the Zhou army's ranks. Their weapons did not stop and only moved forward. The people behind them followed closely behind like a swarm of locusts and continued to kill the Zhou soldiers.
When the smoke rose from the mountain pass, Sun Wanrong, who was lying in ambush in the middle of the mountain, saw the smoke rising in the distance. Overjoyed, he leaped up and shouted, "Attack!"
It was true that it was impossible to ambush thousands of soldiers in the dense forest on the mountain, but Sun Wanrong only brought a small number of cavalrymen. The rest were infantrymen. It was easy for these infantrymen to hide in the dense forest.
The valley was as wide as the belly of a gourd. It was indeed not suitable to launch a surprise attack on the Zhou army, but these herdsmen, who fought against the heavens for food, had their own methods.
Huge cages tied up with rattan rolled down the mountain, jumped, and crashed into the cavalry at the foot of the mountain. The cages were stuffed with withered branches and leaves, and some were even doused with fuel oil. Before they were pushed down the mountain, the Khitans had ignited the cages. If the light and elastic cages were not blocked, they could roll from this side of the mountain to the foot of the opposite side.
Thick smoke rose and flames rose. The thick smoke quickly sealed off the entire valley. After thousands of burning and smoking cages were pushed into the valley, the entire valley was filled with thick smoke. It was difficult to see people beyond five steps. The warhorses were burned by the flames and smoked by the thick smoke. They screamed in panic and trampled on the ground. The Zhou army collapsed without a fight.
Immediately, countless Khitans draped in animal skins and holding hunting bows rushed to the front of the forest on both sides. They used their bows and arrows to shoot at the Zhou army who had escaped from the smoke and fire formation and the Zhou army who occasionally revealed themselves in the thick smoke.
At the same time, the 2,800 Khitan cavalry lying in ambush further away, waiting solemnly for orders, also rushed out along a relatively sparse hillside. They charged towards the rear of the Zhou cavalry and intercepted them, trapping them in the valley.
Although the valley was wide, eight hundred cavalry were enough to form four blocking positions. The remaining cavalry had already galloped in the opposite direction, leaving the struggling Zhou army far behind and pouncing on the Zhou infantry who were still advancing rapidly several li away.
The fire in the valley was actually not that strong. What was truly fatal was the thick smoke that lingered in the air. Such thick smoke was enough to be fatal. The Qidan people, who knew all kinds of herbs, added many poisonous or pungent herbs to the fire balls. When they burned, the smoke made people cry, their throats swollen, and it was difficult to breathe.
The people were already like this, and the horses were even more unbearable. Under such circumstances, people could still try their best to remain calm, but horses could not. Even well-trained warhorses were startled. They kicked and stamped, bit, and bumped into each other, causing more horses to explode. Not counting the rain of arrows from the Khitans, just the number of soldiers who were trampled and injured by the startled horses was uncountable.
Seeing this situation, Cao Renshi could not help but beat his chest and stamp his feet in regret. Suddenly, an arrow was shot at him. The arrow knocked off his helmet, and a strand of his hair fell down. The bodyguard beside him was shocked and hurriedly used his cavalry shield to cover him. He shouted, "Great General, quickly charge back!"
Cao Renshi pulled out his sword and shouted, "We can't retreat. Attack up the mountain. Only by occupying this place will we have a chance of survival. Kill!"
After saying this, the old general took the lead and rushed up the hill like a madman.
He had no choice but to charge. In the thick smoke, he could not see anyone other than the bodyguards beside him, so how could he carry out his command?
Although in the army, other than flags, there were also drums that could convey orders, but those could only convey simple orders, such as attacking, retreating, or setting up defenses. They could not convey complex orders. Most importantly … he could not even find the orchestra.
Cao Renshi led his bodyguards. His hair was disheveled, and he brandished his sword as he charged forward, as if he was possessed.
In fact, it was not that the Zhou army did not think of escaping the smoke formation and charging up the hill. However, the edge of the smoke was precisely where the Khitans' arrows were aimed. If they charged out, they would attract an arrow. If they charged out in a group, they would attract a rain of arrows. In the chaos, a large group of people fought their own battles and could not form an effective attack.
When Cao Renshi charged out of the smoke, a Khitan soldier on the hill immediately raised his bow and aimed at him.
"Wait!"
Sun Wanrong, who had been a hostage in the Tang dynasty for many years, only needed one glance to recognize from Cao Renshi's armor that he was a high-ranking general. He immediately ordered, "We want this person alive! Capture him! "
Immediately, a few Khitan soldiers rushed down the hill. Cao Renshi charged out of the smoke formation. He first took a few deep breaths and tried to open his eyes that were red and tearing from the smoke. Before he could clearly see the situation outside, a horse noose fell from midair and accurately wrapped around his body.
"Come over here!"
The Khitan soldier who grabbed the horse noose pulled hard. Cao Renshi, who had not yet gained his footing, staggered and knocked away his bodyguards, and crashed into the enemy.
At this moment, the Junior Minister of Agriculture, Ma Renjie, was being protected by a few bodyguards. He stumbled and bumped into the crowd of horses, shouting along the way, "General Cao! Great General Cao! "
The cage gradually burned out, and the smoke gradually thinned. However, the Zhou army was trampled by frightened horses, and the smoke made it difficult for them to see. How many people could still wield their sabers and fight?
…
The saber in Maqiao's hand had already been chopped until there was no edge. Now, he was using a Khitan long saber that he had seized.
As he charged back, he did not know how many people he had killed. His conqueror's robe was already stained with blood. There was the enemy's blood, his own blood, and the blood of his comrades on his body. The soldiers following him were getting fewer and fewer, but there was still the endless and despairing Khitan cavalry in front of him.
Fortunately, there were enemies and allies mixed here, so they could only fight hand-to-hand and not shoot arrows. Otherwise, Maqiao would have long been dead on the spot, and it would have been impossible for him to charge until now.
As Maqiao led his troops forward, he faintly heard the sound of a bugle horn. He turned his head and looked again. The forest was quiet, but there was no sound. Maqiao thought it was his imagination, but a few soldiers also said they heard it.
Just as he was feeling suspicious, the smoke signal used to notify Sun Wanrong to launch an attack surged up at the mouth of the valley. Maqiao knew that something was wrong at first sight, but when he led his troops back to the mouth of the valley, he was even more dumbfounded.
The endless Khitans were like ants rushing back to their nests before a storm. They surged majestically into the valley. When he arrived at the mouth of the valley, the Khitan army was still surging into the valley. They had only casually separated a group of people to form a crushing attack and surround them.
"Brigade Commander, let's go!"
Maqiao's soldiers shouted in panic.
"We can't leave. Kill our way back!"
Maqiao unsheathed his saber, and a fierce gaze burst out of his eyes.
The Zhou army falling into an ambush actually had little to do with him, a vanguard. However, he still blamed himself, believing that it was his negligence that caused his comrades to fall into a tight encirclement. Now that his comrades were bathed in blood, how could he retreat?
Maqiao raised his long saber and charged into the enemy formation without hesitation. Like a fierce tiger choosing its prey to devour, he shouted repeatedly and charged forward ferociously amidst the neighing of his warhorse! However, until now, the people around him were getting fewer and fewer. He did not see any of his comrades who were surrounded, but there were more and more Khitans around him.
"Brigade Commander, let's retreat! At least, someone has to report to Lulong! "
A soldier with a broken arm had just finished speaking when a Khitan spear pierced through his heart.
"Let's go!"
Maqiao, who had just snatched a horse from the enemy because his warhorse had died in battle, knew that it was meaningless to continue fighting. He could only lead the remaining people, who had less than 20 people, back with hatred.
…
The Chief Marshal Yan Banshi and the General of the Left Guard, Li Duozuo, led the guards and the supply troops to the north at a speed of two days' journey ahead of the main force.
On this day, the troops arrived at Tangshan and the army set up camp there.
This was a town whose original name was Dacheng Mountain. When Li Shimin conquered Korea in the east, he passed by here on his way back. His beloved concubine, Lady Cao, unfortunately died of illness. Li Shimin missed his beloved concubine and gave the mountain the surname Tang. From then on, it was called Tangshan.
Li Duozuo led the elite imperial guards and was responsible for escorting the rations and the supply troops.
The rations were the most important resources of the army. Those who guarded the rations were always experienced, calm, and cautious generals. From this point of view, it was not wrong to let Li Duozuo escort the rations.
However, there were also factional disputes in the army. Cao Renshi, Zhang Xuanyu, and the others were all generals who were close to the Wu family, so they were put in an important position. Although Li Duozuo was loyal to the imperial court and had never done anything disloyal, he was always indifferent to the Wu family's solicitation and was not enthusiastic. Now that the Wu family was the most powerful in the army, it was reasonable for them to reject him and let him escort the rations.
Although they were only stationed for a night and there was no enemy threat here, Li Duozuo still carefully arranged the rations. He made fire prevention arrangements in the camp and stationed the troops outside to form a defensive formation. Only then did he go to the central camp to see the Chief Supervisor of the army, Yan Banshi.
The two of them had just chatted for a while when a central guard rushed in to report, "Chief Supervisor, the frontline has sent an urgent order!"
…
After the army had settled down, the troops of the various battalions carried out detailed arrangements under the overall arrangement of the Chief Steward.
Although Shi Rui was a veteran general, he was very familiar with all kinds of matters related to camping and garrisoning. Yang Fan didn't know much about these matters related to marching and fighting, so he naturally entrusted them to Shi Rui. Meanwhile, Yang Fan himself followed beside Shi Rui, watching and listening at the same time. He secretly pondered over the various arrangements of the barracks and garrisoning, and he gained some understanding of them.
After the camp was settled, Yang Fan invited Shi Rui, Yun Gufan, and a few other subordinates to go to the riverside.
The camp had to be set up in a place with water, and the location of their camp was the closest to the river.
Along the way, they were covered in dust. Many soldiers had already taken off their clothes and were bathing in the river. Yang Fan and the others did not care about their status as generals and also wanted to take off their clothes and bathe to their heart's content. Unexpectedly, just as Yang Fan took off his robe and walked naked into the river, there was the sound of military drums in the distance.
Shi Rui listened and exclaimed, "The Drum of Generals! Head Steward, what happened? "
Yang Fan had been in the army for a long time, so he could recognize the Drum of Generals. The Drum of Generals would sound three times, and if the drum stopped, it would be executed!
Yang Fan did not dare to be negligent; he hurriedly put on his robe and rushed back to his tent. Shi Rui, Yun Gufan, and the others knew that something big must have happened if the Drum of Generals were to be called, so they hurriedly jumped into the river and washed themselves before the order was given.
Yang Fan returned to his tent and put on his armor before rushing to the main tent.
In the main tent, the generals were standing in great numbers. Before Yang Fan could catch his breath, Chief Supervisor Yan had already called the roll of the generals. Yan Banshi announced in a loud voice, "I have just received news from the commander of the frontline army, General Zhang Xuanyu. Our imperial army has already engaged the Khitan rebel army and defeated the enemy in one battle!"
When the generals in the tent heard this, there was an uproar and joy appeared on their faces.
Yan Banshi's expression did not change; he continued in a stern voice, "However, the enemy has scattered and fled toward Yingzhou. It will not be easy to encircle and annihilate them. Great General Cao and Great General Zhang have already led their troops to attack them. Great General Zhang urgently ordered our officers and men to abandon their heavy supplies and fatigue. The three armies are to advance at full speed! If the frontline army pursues them to Yingzhou but our army has not arrived, all the generals will be executed and there will be no mention of the soldiers' merits! "
When the generals in the tent heard this, their hearts trembled. Yan Banshi solemnly passed on the order, "Now, this Chief Supervisor orders: Other than General Li Duozuo's troops escorting the rations to the rear, the rest of the soldiers are to immediately prepare five days' rations and set off immediately to participate in the encirclement and annihilation. Those who are late will be executed on the spot!"
…
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