Water Margin: Lu Bu sits on Mount Liang

In the fourth year of Tianshun, the first month of autumn, Wuxu, grassland.

The heart-warming sunshine moved among the clouds. Below the white clouds was a cloud of dust raised by fighting. The splattered blood splashed on the grass leaves. The corpses fell to the ground and lay on the grass. The eyes of the dead were staring at the blood beads slowly sliding across the tips of the grass.

Benz's escape was made that morning. He was mentally prepared for Ugundile's counterattack. Before Jin Yang could fully turn around, he encountered a cavalry unit that had advanced ahead of him and defeated them.

He has three centurions under his command, and now they are divided into three teams and are racing on the grassland. However, this does not mean that all his men are regular troops, most of them are ordinary herdsmen. It's just that these people can burst out with surprising power when fighting.

In the recent war with Ugundile, these people who originally did not look like warriors finally got some experience of living on the edge of a knife, and in his mind, they were considered half-qualified warriors on the battlefield.

The sound of horse hooves hitting the ground resonated with the blood in his body. He could already see a ferocious face in front of him, and the flying arrow was clearly reflected in his pupils. He dodged the attack and hid in the stirrup. The flying black shadow passed by his previous position and nimbly returned to the saddle in a bumpy manner. He straightened up, pulled the bow, let go, and shot an arrow at the oncoming knight.

The figure charging in front fell off his horse, abandoned his bow and switched to a spear. The warhorse was relatively fast, and it only took one or two arrows to shoot. He held the spear shaft wrapped in sackcloth, his pupils slightly shrank, and calculated the distance of the attacking Liao army.

More than five hundred cavalrymen... capable of fighting!
This is what he was considering.

Losing the range to shoot arrows, the two sides charged directly on horseback. The cavalry of Zhajila and the attacking Ugundilie cavalry also put away their bows, grabbed their knives, held their spears, and wielded maces or flails, clamping their horses' bellies hard. The speed of the horses' hooves on the ground was getting faster and faster. The moment the spears approached, they dodged and lowered their heads to avoid the stabbing spears, shouting: "Kill--"

The iron spear swung open, sweeping down the first figure, and then stabbed into the knight behind.

Blades, spear shadows, war horses, and human figures collided with each other in an instant. The soldiers were dodged and roared, and the iron spears in their hands kept knocking people away. Blood flowed down the spear shafts and soaked the linen cloth wrapped around them. The Liao cavalry who crossed the spear shaft fell off their horses one after another, and let out miserable screams under the horses' hooves.

Behind him, the warriors of other tribes were also rushing forward desperately. Some of them killed several people in a row and were chopped off their horses by the swinging scimitars. Some of them were trembling with hands and dared not speed up. When a fish that escaped the net came over, they screamed and threw down the flail. The Liao cavalry with blood on their faces blocked the long sticks. The short and thick wooden stick connected with the iron chain followed the force, drew an arc and smashed from above, smashing the man's head with a bang. The splattered blood was on his face. He let out a roar and accelerated forward.

Hundreds and thousands of figures were fighting on this vast grassland. Some people threw out their long weapons while running, then drew their swords and slashed. Warning arrows were shot into the sky. However, the soldiers and horses that rushed in were entangled with each other, and sticky blood splattered and stuck to the bodies of both sides.

"No, rush out, rush out quickly!"

Tuo Zhao rushed to the front and suddenly felt that there was something wrong with this group of Liao cavalry. His experience in recent days told him that the morale of the Liao army was not strong and they would retreat after suffering a certain loss. Now this group of Liao people were harassing them. Recalling the sound of arrows he heard in the fight just now, he felt something was wrong.

He roared loudly, waved his hand to block the incoming blade with his iron spear, and swept the man into the air as the spear turned. With red eyes, he led dozens of cavalrymen to clear out the surrounding enemy troops, swinging their long weapons at both sides.

On the battlefield, more and more figures were falling off their horses. The Zhajila cavalry wandering around did not think too much about the entanglement of Ugundile's cavalry. He stretched out the horse bow in his hand, aimed for a while and shot an arrow.

A little further away, signals from whistling arrows were heard in the sky. Many wandering Liao scouts heard them and immediately split into two teams to pass on the message. More cavalry began to gather.

On a mound, the blue ox and white horse flags representing the Liao Kingdom gradually appeared, standing above and swaying with the wind blowing from the grassland. War horses were neighing excitedly, and a long spear was hanging on the mound and swaying slightly. He looked coldly at the two warring parties over there. Behind him, a knight in armor rode up on a war horse, and his upright weapon reflected the skylight.

"Finally found you..."

The wolf-tail fur on the iron helmet swayed in the wind, and Xiao Yixue's smile turned into a ferocious one: "A bunch of bastards! Kill them all!"

The rows of war horses shook their heads and snorted, and in the next moment, they let out a fiery breath, and the horses' hooves made a huge roar as they galloped across the earth. Two thousand cavalrymen swarmed over the land, creating a strong wind and huge waves under the midday sky.

In the field of vision, under the bright sunshine, waves reflecting the cold light of weapons surged up, as violent as a dust storm. The densely packed undulating figures were like layers of sand and gravel that made up the dust storm, sweeping over from high above, as if to swallow everything.

The sound of horse hooves rang in his ears. Tuo Zhao raised his head abruptly and looked at the hillside in the distance. Suddenly, his scalp went numb: "Go! Follow me!"

He pulled the reins, turned around and ran away, shouting at the nearby troops at the top of his lungs, and ran wildly in the opposite direction.

The Zhajila cavalrymen who heard his call immediately turned around and ran with him. The rest heard it and headed east, but it was too late to rescue the troops who were caught up in the fighting.

His face was covered with blood after he was defeated, and he shouted: "Turn, turn, don't fight, run——"

The war horses were galloping wildly. Countless herdsmen and tribal warriors left their companions who were fighting, hurriedly withdrew from this place, turned to the other side of the field, and followed the figure in the front and beat their horses desperately.

The remaining Zhajila cavalrymen looked at the cavalrymen rushing towards them like a wave and let out a scream of "Ah...Ah...Ah--" and began to turn around desperately. Those who lost their horses but luckily survived also cried out in despair on the ground towards their companions who were going away.

Ugundile's cavalry rushed over at high speed -

"Save me! I don't want to die—"

"Let me get on the horse—"

The desperate Zhazhira made his last sound.

Boom boom boom——

The roaring sound of war horses galloping drowned out all the sounds here, chasing after the hundreds of figures fleeing ahead.

Behind the Zhajila cavalry, a soldier who had finally managed to break out of the Liao cavalry looked back repeatedly with a spear in his hand. The moment his horse was caught up, he turned around and swept sideways, hitting the lance that was swung at him. The huge force made the spear in his hand bounce out. The lance did not stop, and swung from left to right, knocking him off the saddle. He fell to the ground and rolled several times. Just as he tried to stand up, the horse behind him rushed towards him, and his flying figure was submerged in the raised dust.

More Zhajira cavalrymen who failed to escape in time, or the knights who were entangled by the Liao cavalry before, were killed on the spot amid the screams of ghosts and wolves. In an instant, they were swept in by the iron hooves. The sound of broken bones was heard from time to time in the dust. Internal organs, limbs, blood and flesh were scattered all over the land, leaving a deep red mark.

After crossing a rolling mound, Tuo Zhao looked back, his eyes bloodshot as he turned to shout at the people around him: "Hurry up and inform the other two groups of tribesmen that the Liao people are luring us to attack, tell them to retreat, retreat to the north!"

Some cloth-clad knights on fast horses hurriedly spurred their horses upon hearing this. Some herdsmen, who could not bear being pursued from behind, turned around and shouted to fight back. However, before they could get close, they were shot by a hail of arrows from the cavalry led by Xiao Yixue, and fell off their horses one after another, and were directly swept into the ground by the dust storm.

"Run..." Xiao Yixue's eyes were fierce, and his whisper rang out among the horse's hooves: "Let's see where you run to today."

The blue ox and white horse flags fluttered in the wind brought by the cavalry. The horses' hooves rose and fell quickly, and the roaring sound of hooves was endless.

Still chasing...

After taking the move, she turned back again, her long hair under the headband a little messy. She looked at the big flag with the word "Xiao" over there and gritted her teeth: "Don't look back, keep running. The Liao people's horses can't run as fast as ours. Let's get rid of them——"

The Zhajira cavalrymen around listened and turned their heads frequently. Looking at the cavalrymen who were less than half a mile behind them, they gritted their teeth and beat their horses hard.

Tuo Zhao glanced at his panicked troops in the crowd, clenched his teeth, and felt a little sad. It seemed that about 30% of their number had been lost. It was his own mistake today. The victory some time ago made him careless.

"I don't know what happened to the others..."

While driving, his thoughts wandered.

The pursuit was a test of the generals' command ability, as well as the physical strength and will of the soldiers on both sides. Relying on his large numbers, Xiao Yixue constantly encouraged his cavalry to advance bravely, and his voice became hoarse from the repeated roars.

It was just as Tuozhao had expected. The Zhazhisas’ war horses had better endurance than theirs. Except for the horses that stumbled or the wounded horses that slowed down and were caught up and killed, the distance was shortened from half a mile to one mile... one and a half miles... two miles...

The skylight moves westward as the distance increases. The bright sunlight dims and turns into the golden sun before dusk. The moment it sets in the distance, the golden sun turns into a huge fireball that ignites layer upon layer of clouds in the sky. Then the dark blue impact extinguishes the burning fire clouds, and a half bright moon hangs in the sky.

Torches were lit.

"Damn it, these poor people are so good at running!"

Complaining words came out of Xiao Yixue's mouth.

Many war horses behind him were panting, and a lot of sweat seeped into their fur as their muscles rose and fell. The unique fishy smell of livestock entered their noses, but the knights on the horses seemed unaware.

"Stop!"

Raising his arm and issuing a new order, the messenger blew the horn. The short sound made the soldiers react immediately and they all pulled the reins.

"Commander in Chief..."

The confidant held the horse beside him and looked at him doubtfully: "If he runs away, he will come back later..."

"Then he must have soldiers and horses." Xiao Yixue took out the water bag and pulled out the stopper: "The other two groups may not be as decisive as this man."

Le turned his horse's head and said: "Go back and see if the others have any good news."

The warhorse turned its head, and the figure riding on top suddenly raised his hand: "Wait... that sound is wrong!"

The roar of horse hooves hitting the ground came from far away, one side was coming from the fleeing Zhajila people, and the other side was coming from his own side.

Many soldiers with sharp ears and eyes turned their heads to look southwest. The panting war horses also raised their heads, and the knights on horseback also looked in the direction those people were looking.

In the intertwined gazes, a flickering line of fire was reflected in the pupils, and then a series of unfamiliar flags were illuminated by the fire and penetrated into the pupils, violently striking the string in the brain that had been relaxed due to the long pursuit. "Enemy attack!"

"Commander in chief, the Qi cavalry! The Qi cavalry!"

"Turn, turn—"

The Ugundile cavalrymen who had reacted and those who hadn't yelled. Those who thought more turned around and tried to go back. Xiao Yixue raised the long spear in his hand and shouted: "Don't panic. You will die faster if you lose your composure at this time! All troops obey my orders and move forward bravely. Our horses have been severely damaged. We may survive if we fight hard now. If we turn around and run, we will die faster!"

The cavalry as black as the ink tide is coming!
The military order has been issued, and the sweaty war horses started moving again at the urging of the knights. Dust rose again on the flat grassland, and countless iron hooves flew, bringing up soil and grass leaves.

Under the torches, the weary cavalry and horses charged towards the dark tide.

Jurchen cavalry.

A thousand of the barbaric tribesmen who followed Wulindatai and originally lived in the eastern plains shouted excitedly on the grasslands reaching Shangjing.

"Prepare--"

Wulindatai, who was in the front, wanted to roar on horseback. The cavalrymen behind him heard the order and habitually clamped their legs together and held their spears tightly.

Wuwuwu——

A cavalryman blew a horn, and in the night, the desolate sound spread far away.

The Liao cavalry in the torches on the opposite side were getting closer. Wulindatai licked his dry lips excitedly, opened his mouth and exhaled a hot breath. The iron spear drew an arc in the air and was held in his hand.

whoosh-

Whizzing--

Arrows flew across the sky above both sides. He lowered his head and bent over. Two arrows flew past his ears with a sharp sound. He raised his eyes with a desire for military merit: "Liao dog, give me your life!"

next interest.

The iron spears stabbed into human bodies, and a thousand Jurchen cavalrymen who had advanced in advance rushed forward madly, taking advantage of the high-speed galloping of their horses to crash into the exhausted cavalry team, and waves of blood surged in the dark night.

War horses were galloping past each other at high speed, countless screams and roars were heard in the firelight, and the knights wielding swords had no time to distinguish the figures rushing towards them, and instinctively chopped and stabbed their weapons at the opposite side, then rode their horses to rush towards the next person, blood, flesh and limbs splattering.

The scimitar scratched the arm of the Jurchen cavalryman. The man with a broken arm screamed in pain. With red eyes, he looked at the Ugundile cavalry running behind him and suddenly pounced on them from his horse. The two men fell to the ground, and there was a "crackling" sound of broken bones and two shrill screams.

The Liao general, with his flag fluttering behind him and a gloomy face, took a deep breath and raised his long spear, knocking down the torches held by his personal soldiers. The falling flames flickered on the ground, and it was unknown which warhorse had stepped on them, causing them to go dark. Soldiers holding flags fell off their horses, and the chaos of people shouting and horses neighing was spreading.

The killing continued tragically around them. Ugundile's cavalry were tired and hungry. People kept falling off their horses and their bodies lay across the battlefield. For a moment, this unknown grassland became the sleeping place of hundreds of people.

Wulindatai wanted to break out of the formation, so he pulled the reins and shouted for a fierce fight. The Jurchen cavalrymen, whose faces were covered in blood, responded one after another, making strange "Woo-la" sounds and once again lined up to charge towards the rear.

"What should I do with the army? The army... the army!"

A general saw that his own side had suffered heavy losses and instinctively went to ask Xiao Yixue, but when he turned around, the familiar figure was gone, leaving only a large flag with the word "Liao" flying in the center of the army.

"The commander is dead! Run—"

The general's instinctive reaction startled him, and he turned and ran away with a shout.

The Liao soldiers who didn't know what was going on scattered in an instant. Wulindatai was furious and said, "Liao dogs, don't even think about running away!" He turned around and said, "Leave a team to search here to see if there are any dead bodies of Liao commanders, and the rest of you follow me!"

The torrent is rushing away into the distance, holding torches.

……

When the horn sounded in the distance.

The fleeing cavalry of the Zhajila tribe looked back and around. The knights who had reined in their horses looked confused and uncertain. In the distance, they could vaguely hear a chaotic sound, but due to the distance they could not hear clearly what it was. They could only see the fire spots moving, interlacing, and going out.

"Tuo Zhao Bater, something seems to have happened to the Liao people behind us, do you want to go back and take a look?"

"No!" A resolute voice came out, Tuozhao's face was not good, and he reined in his warhorse: "We are already tired today, let's think of a way to go back and join the others first."

There was a weak reply in the reply, and Tuozhao's heart was bleeding. These one thousand people were all young and strong men in the tribe, but he had killed nearly half of them.

How to face my tribe members in the future.

The sigh was drowned out by the sound of horse hooves.

……

The night was dark and the moonlight was occasionally obscured by dark clouds.

The heavy horses stopped their pace, and dozens of figures shouted under the ancient city of Jumu. Soon, someone lit a torch to illuminate the area below, revealing Xiao Yixue's ugly face.

The closed door slowly opened.

Soon, there were sounds of troop mobilization in the city, and more figures walked up the city wall.

……

The mournful howls of wolves echoed on the grassland at night, and the rustling sounds continued to be heard.

The heavy footsteps of war horses sounded on the plains, and screams broke the quiet night. Then the lit torches illuminated the people who fell off the horses, and from a distance there seemed to be sounds of groaning and crying.

This was the meeting place of the Zhajila tribe. In the early morning, Tuo Zhao returned here with 571 survivors. Along the way, more than 400 of his men died in the battle with Ugundilie.

"Escape from the move, Bartel..."

A soft cry came from the mouth of a burly man. He turned around and saw that it was the other two thousand captains in the tribe.

The two men lowered their heads with tears in their eyes: "We were tricked by the Liao people, and many of our people died..."

He felt a chill in his heart, jumped off his panting warhorse, closed his eyes for a moment, and then opened them again: "How many more people are there?"

The two burly men looked at each other and spoke with some difficulty: "The two of us together still have more than 800 people."

His eyes went dark as he missed the move and his body shook violently. The two men rushed forward to hold him up.

His lips trembled, and he said dejectedly, "That is to say, more than half of our troops have been killed this time. How am I going to explain this to the old patriarch when I return? Sigh—"

Seeing the two people looking ashamed, Tuozhao sighed: "Rest first tonight, tomorrow... tomorrow we will explore first, and then make plans."

The other two responded with a low “Yes” and then walked to the back to rest.

Tuo Zhao looked up at the dark night, his expression changing for a while, and finally he couldn't stand the double fatigue of body and mind anymore and went to rest.

everything……

Let’s talk about it tomorrow.

……

Further away, soldiers wearing black armor and having two braids on their heads crossed the river in the dark, and became excited when they saw the yurts in the distance whose outlines appeared in the campfire.

Wanyan Zongbing raised the axe in his hand and pressed forward: "Take this place, whoever grabs the gold and silver will own it!"

The sound of horse hooves roared, and malice surged. (End of this chapter)