Pingyang Fu of the Red Chamber

Chapter 864: Prince Teng dispatched troops
"Report, General Jie, urgent news from the front, Linshan County City has been lost!"

"Report, General Ji, the main force of the Taiping Sect is slowly retreating."

"Report, General, the soldiers who broke out of the city are fleeing eastwards, and a large number of bandit troops are following them."

As the scouts reported again and again,
The entire central army seemed somewhat restless. After the central army battle, Wang Ziteng, with a sullen face, watched the main force of the Taiping Army slowly retreat, obviously wanting to leave the front line. After all, if the county city changed hands, the food and grass in the city would be available. After some time, the attack and defense would be shifted. At that time, let alone military achievements, I am afraid that Daliang City would be in danger.
In a hurry, I haven't figured out what to do.
The Daliang City Jiedushi Lu Daiyuan who was standing beside him also had an ugly expression on his face. The county city had been lost and the enemy army was in high spirits, so it was not appropriate to attack. If they withdrew their troops, they would be followed by the enemy and their morale would be completely destroyed. Therefore, they had no choice but to fight.

"General, there is no time to hesitate. While the enemy is still unstable, we should attack and recapture the county city."

"Yes, General Jie, if you don't make a decision, you will suffer the consequences. You can only kill them."

Even General Peng Shiying of Hedong, who had always been against fighting, knew that everyone was responsible for the loss of the county city. How would he bear the responsibility if the court blamed him?

"General, we can't wait any longer. If we wait any longer, the main force of the enemy army will return to the camp."

Hexi General Dong Dawang also asked anxiously, seeing that the distance between the two armies was getting bigger and bigger, and by the time they entered the camp, they would have lost the initiative.

"Okay, in that case, I give the order for the entire army to form a battle formation and charge forward."

Wang Ziteng also knew that this was a rare opportunity, and if he didn't act now, there would be no chance, so he issued a military order, and then the messengers rushed in all directions.
The sound of drums and horns rang out again.

"Boom boom boom! Woo woo woo!"

Then, as if receiving a signal, hundreds of thousands of troops began to advance slowly.
The main force of the Taiping Sect, which was still retreating, had to stop, turn around, and deploy on the spot. The shield bearers were the vanguard, standing there with thick wooden shields, and the spearmen were behind them. Everyone had a yellow cloth strip tied on their left arm, which fluttered in the wind. There were also some longbowmen lined up in the back, forming a tight formation.

The distance is neither long nor short.
One stick of incense time,

The two armies are in sight.

suddenly,

As soon as the flag of the central formation of the imperial court coming from the north was changed, the cavalry on both wings began to speed up and leave the team as if they had received an order, and started to charge towards the two wings of the enemy army. Soon after, the infantry on both wings of General He and General Hu followed and attacked.

With a deafening horn sound, it rang out!
In an instant, both sides rushed towards each other like a surging tide.

In an instant,
The sky seemed to be disturbed by the sudden murderous atmosphere, the wind stopped, and then screams and shouts of killing were heard.

"A hundred and fifty steps ahead, archers, get ready, fire!"

In the central formation of the Taiping Army, many archers opened their bows and shot arrows on both sides, and a rain of arrows fell from the sky. Unfortunately, the imperial cavalry were all heavily armored and did not suffer much damage. In the middle of the left wing cavalry, Jia Lian was sweating profusely. He rushed towards the people and horses with his personal soldiers around him.
Before he could figure out what was going on, a hail of arrows began to rain down upon him. He then remembered that his cavalry formation still had short spears and javelins, so he quickly shouted loudly;

"Prepare your javelin, aim straight ahead, and throw!"

Following Jia Lian's order,
Many cavalrymen took out short spears and javelins, and threw them at the shield formation in front of them using the speed of their horses. In the blink of an eye, the Taiping Sect's seemingly extremely solid shield formation seemed to be made of paper and immediately fell apart, causing a large number of casualties.

at this time,

The cavalry approached and prepared to charge, but unfortunately, just as the leading cavalry raised his long sword, he suddenly fell down and fell to the ground with his horse, losing consciousness.

"Watch your step, there's a tripping pit!"

A shrill scream came from the front, and in an instant, the cavalry behind them separated and crashed into the two wings. The men and horses were immediately thrown to the ground, and they relied on the horses to charge and tear open a hole in the shield formation. From then on, the two armies started fighting.

Arrows from both sides were flying in the air like locusts. Soldiers were shot and fell down one after another, screaming in pain. Before the rain of arrows stopped,
He Yong followed closely behind with his soldiers. The infantry of both sides collided fiercely. The dull sound of spears piercing flesh, the harsh metallic sound of swords clashing, and the shouts of killing were intertwined.
The two wings were fighting fiercely.

Wang Ziteng, who was in the center of the army, looked much better when he saw the troops on both wings suppressing the enemy. However, the troops of He Yong and Hu Le had already gone to support the left and right wings, so the center of the army seemed a little weak.
Still more stable,
"Pass the order. The central army's formation remains unchanged. The troops from Hexi and Hedong counties will form a circular formation to protect the central formation and advance forward. When you are within range, the archers can fire without asking for permission."

"Yes, Commander-in-Chief."

As Wang Ziteng gave the military order, the commander of the central formation, Feng Shoujie, slowed down the team's advance and continued to push forward. The 40,000-strong army in a square formation was the foundation of the Daliang army. When they wiped out the White Lotus Sect, they used this formation to severely damage the front troops.

The troops from Hexi and Hedong counties followed closely on both wings and advanced slowly.
When they were about a hundred feet apart, both sides drew their bows and shot arrows at the same time, but the imperial court had the upper hand because of its thicker armor and more powerful crossbows.
The heavy armored soldiers of the Taiping Sect were fine. Unless they were armor-piercing arrows, ordinary arrows had no effect on them. However, the archers in the formation behind them were wearing leather armor and were immediately covered by a rain of arrows, suffering heavy casualties.

"Master Chu, the enemy is too strong. The main force is composed of elite defenders from Daliang City. The troops on the left and right wings are from other forces, which should be a weak point."

The person who spoke was Fu Shuwen, who was following beside Master Chu and had been keeping an eye on the movements of the imperial army, looking a little anxious. The first layer of the Taiping Sect's troops on both wings had been penetrated, but fortunately reinforcements were sent to block the gap. However, the central formation had to allocate troops to the left protector as an ambush. As a result, the central army's strength was even less than that of the imperial court. How could they resist?
"No hurry, we can still stop them with the traps in front of the battle and the heavy armored troops in front. We need to wait for an opportunity."

Chu Yiyue stood on a high slope at the back. Behind him were messengers from various units and flags on the high platform. He was moved by the tragic scene on the battlefield, but he still stared at the battlefield with a stern look, holding his long sword tightly in his hand, not caring about the number of casualties.

Especially the formations of the troops on both wings had already been dispersed, but relying on the number of people, they actually held back Wang Ziteng's 40,000 cavalry, which was an unexpected surprise.

"Yes, Master, I wonder where the former prince's army is?"

Fu Wenshu was still worried. The imperial army was unexpectedly strong. Seeing that the armies of the front and rear protectors were being held back and unable to withdraw any reinforcements, the imperial central army would directly attack and kill too many people. These were all the confidants of Sect Leader Chu. At this time, Fu Wenshu was still thinking about this.

"No matter where those people are, they won't just barge in. Besides, I didn't consider their role in this battle at all. Send an order immediately to let Du Shaoqing lead 30,000 troops to attack the right wing after the central army engages in the battle. If the left wing troops come back to support, let Zuo Ling lead all the troops to charge into the left wing and fight to the death!"

There was a murderous look in Chu Yiyue's eyes. Even if the imperial army was elite, they could not make up for the numerical advantage when facing them in battle formation.

"Yes, Master Chu, I will go right away."

Fu Wenshu knew that this battle was important, and was afraid that the messenger might not be able to explain it clearly, so he took people to deliver the message in person.

It was at this time,
The armies of both sides gradually approached each other, and the soldiers of the Taiping Sect also began to move forward with their shields raised, heading towards each other. However, after only a few steps, they stopped moving.
Many imperial soldiers thought that these bandits were scared, so they quickened their pace and were about to rush up to fight, but they suddenly felt their feet go soft and felt a sharp pain. They saw many hidden pits and iron nails on the grass, which had pierced their feet. They could not move forward and screamed miserably.
"Watch your step, there is a trap."

Just this one sound,
The forward formation was in disarray. Some people could not bear the pain and fell to the ground wailing. Seeing this, the central army general Feng Shoujie's face froze. The Taiping Sect's soldiers and horses had just passed without any problems. Could it be their positions? He looked carefully and found that the enemy's soldiers and horses were standing in a staggered position. Obviously, the nails were placed two steps to the left, which was exactly the position of his formation. He immediately shouted,
"All troops, listen up! Spear throwers, get ready! Break the shields!"

Then the messenger shouted,

"The general has ordered that the formation remain unchanged, take two steps to the right and continue forward."

"The general has ordered that the formation remain unchanged, take two steps to the right and continue forward."

The entire front army formation obeyed his order, moved two steps to the right, straightened the formation, and continued to advance. Sure enough, there were no more nails on the ground. With a "boom", many dug traps suddenly appeared on the ground in the front row. The soldiers in the front fell into them one after another. Their bodies were pierced by the inverted bamboo spikes, bleeding profusely, and they were about to die.

The captain in the battle formation's face changed, and he immediately shouted;

"Spears are set up, shields are laid flat, and they pass through in order."

As soon as the voice fell, the soldiers in the front row placed their spears above the trap, and then the shield soldiers laid their shields on top of it, making a simple bridge for them to pass through temporarily.

Everything was in good order, the formation remained unchanged, and although there were casualties, unfortunately, they were not serious.

Then, another general of the front army shouted;

"Javelin thrower, ready, thirty steps, throw."

A volley of javelins fell from the sky. Even the thickest armor could not withstand the power of the javelins. A gap immediately appeared in the Taiping Sect's dense formation. The people in the back row quickly filled in.

In the blink of an eye, the two armies met head-on.

The two armies relied on large shields and spears to fight forward. Soldiers in the front row kept falling, and they were replaced by those behind. It was unknown when the fight would end.
I just felt the front formation loosen up, the ground was soaked in blood, and there were corpses everywhere. The two armies fought bloody battles, and the formations collided. The Taiping Sect's entire heavy armored army was wiped out.

When Feng Shoujie saw that his abdomen was exposed after breaking through the enemy's front line, his eyes flashed with a fierce look and he immediately issued an order.

"The front troops attacked diagonally to both sides to clear the way, and the whole army rushed forward to attack."

"Yes, General."

The messenger then arrived at the front of the army and immediately shouted:

"The general has given orders to clear the way and charge forward with all our forces."

The entire battle formation was unpredictable. The spear and shield soldiers in the front were seen diagonally inserted into the enemy formation, and the sword and shield soldiers behind them swarmed into the enemy formation, disrupting the main formation of the Taiping Sect in a short time, causing heavy casualties.

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Chu Yiyue, who was standing on the high slope, saw clearly the disadvantages of the central formation and was surprised. They were indeed the elite of Daliang City. It was true that seeing was believing. It seemed that the previous strategy was somewhat lacking. The only way was to break through from the two wings.
On the battlefield, although the imperial cavalry was brave, they were entangled and could not display their strength.

"Quick, pass the order, let Zuo Ling's ambush troops all support the left wing and charge out. On the surface, they will surround the enemy's center army, but in fact, they will rush to their rear army. Then tell Du Shaoqing to ignore the center army and bring reinforcements to support the right wing. Charge out and head straight for Wang Ziteng's general's tent. We must capture the leader first."

"Yes, Master."

The messenger immediately went down the hillside,
Zuo Ling, who was lying in ambush behind, was also waiting anxiously. Just when he was getting impatient, Fu Wenshu arrived and sent an order to pass it to two places. He could only send someone on horseback to pass the order to Du Hufa first, while he went to find Zuo Ling.
"Left Guardian, the leader has ordered you to mobilize your troops immediately and attack the enemy's left wing."

"Yes, I will obey the order."

Zuo Ling suddenly sat up and said to the person behind him;

"Zhou Xiu, lead the troops forward and attack the left rear of the central army."

As soon as the voice fell,

Another messenger came forward and shouted urgently;

"Report, Left Protector, Master Chu has issued an order to order the Left Protector to reinforce the right wing. Kill through the left wing as quickly as possible and surround the central army from the rear. Move quickly."

Seeing that in a short period of time,

Two groups of messengers arrived. Zuo Ling knew that there was something wrong with the central army formation. But why did Master Chu let him go to the left wing? Wouldn't the decisive battle be in the central army?
Fu Shuwen, who arrived first, immediately stopped the messenger and asked:

"Please explain clearly, but it was said by Master Chu himself,"

"Replying to the Hall Master, it was Master Chu who said that he also ordered Du Hufa to lead the troops to support the right wing and charge straight towards Wang Ziteng. To capture the thief, we must first capture the leader."

"What, it turned out to be like this."

Fu Wenshu let go of his hand and muttered to himself, "Master Chu actually put his life and death aside." Suddenly he looked at the left protector and blurted out some words,

"Left Guardian, how is Master Chu doing?"

In the dialogue room,
Zuo Ling looked deeply at the high slope. He had never thought that he could achieve such a state. Then he looked at Master Fu.
"Master Fu, you lead two thousand soldiers and protect Master Chu. If the central army can't stop it, you know what to do."

"Yes, thank you for your kindness, Left Guardian."

Fu Shuwen nodded and hurried to check the troops. He thought to himself that if the central army was defeated, he had to bring Master Chu out no matter what.

The military order has arrived.

Zuo Ling did not delay and immediately raised his troops to attack the left wing of the imperial court. On the other side, the reinforcements of Du Hufa were also heading towards the right wing.

On the battlefield,
Although the imperial court's troops were outnumbered, they had the upper hand. The central army, which had a great advantage, had already penetrated into the Taiping Sect's central army. If the Taiping Sect members had not been fearless and brave, and had caused heavy casualties to the troops in Hexi, Hedong and Daliang City, the Taiping Sect's bandit army would have been defeated long ago.

East of Linshan County City,

The former crown prince Zhou Yongxiao has already joined forces with the supporting troops, and the 50,000 troops who are retreating are also close at hand. At this time, with more than 100,000 troops under his control, if he were to fight back, the imperial court's troops would be finished.
But Zhou Yongxiao was not in a hurry. He found a suitable place and asked his men to start cooking. General Kong An of the Right Guard looked puzzled and came over with a bulging belly and asked;

"Your Highness, why are the soldiers cooking? We should go back and capture Wang Ziteng alive. I just took a look at the battlefield. The fighting was fierce and both sides suffered heavy losses. The elite troops of that old man Lu Daiyuan have almost dispersed the Taiping Sect's central army. If we don't find a solution, maybe Sect Leader Chu will have to run away."

Kong An has a rough and unrestrained personality, but he is also very powerful in martial arts and is proficient in battle formations. Although his words are a bit joking, every word he says is true. Wang Ziteng is still quite capable.

At this time, Zhou Yongxiao was sitting in a carriage, drinking tea with his teacher Yu Shiyuan. Hearing this, he lifted the curtain and exclaimed, "Huh?"

"No way, that Chu Sect Leader is no ordinary person. How could an army of more than 300,000 be easily defeated? Did you see the retreat of the troops on the left and right wings of the Taiping Sect?"

"Well, Your Highness, I didn't see that. Instead, the troops on the left and right wings held up Wang Ziteng's cavalry. So, Wang Ziteng has no soldiers to use?"

Kong An touched his head with his hand, and he still couldn't figure it out. This was a very risky move. Why would Wang Ziteng take such a risk?
"That's right. Wang Ziteng wants to decide the outcome with one battle. He wants to hold back the troops on the left and right wings, and let the central army rush over to kill them. In this way, even if Chu Yiyue has more plans, in a real fight, the Taiping Sect will not be able to beat the imperial court in battle."

Zhou Yongxiao thought about it in his mind. There was no conspiracy in Wang Ziteng's fighting style. Just like that, relying on the advantage of the imperial court's weapons and armor, the outcome would be decided in one battle.

If Master Chu doesn't have a backup plan, the outcome of this battle will be hard to predict.
"Then, Your Highness, can we send the 50,000 soldiers ambushed in the north to support us?"

When Kong An heard what His Highness said, he knew that the Taiping Sect could not be defeated. He was anxious and remembered that His Highness was stationed on the north side of the palace. Unexpectedly, Zhou Yongxiao smiled slightly and lowered the curtain.
"Don't be in a hurry. It's only been a few hours. The show hasn't ended yet. The two families are fighting fiercely. It would be bad for us to disturb them. General Kong, after the whole army has finished their meal, we should return to Weizhou. Leave 10,000 soldiers and horses to support Chai Qing."

"Uh, yes, Your Highness."

Although Kong An didn't understand the meaning, he believed in His Highness' words without a doubt, clasped his fists and left. In the car, Yu Shiyuan put down the tea bowl and asked;
"Your Highness, how sure are you?"

This is to ask about the battle situation between the Taiping Sect and the imperial court. Although Kong An speaks bluntly, his words are right after all. At present, the people of the Taiping Sect cannot lose!
Zhou Yongxiao picked up the teapot and added more tea to the teacher, smiling;

"Teacher, don't worry. The Taiping Sect has more than 300,000 people, and the troops on the left and right wings have not retreated. I think that Master Chu is very resourceful. If he didn't even think of this, would he dare to challenge him? What he meant was that he wanted to fight the imperial court in an open and aboveboard manner. If he wins, the whole world will be shocked. The Taiping Sect is better than the White Lotus Sect back then!"

"Yes, it's even better. By then, Jingnan will be safe!"

(End of this chapter)