Daqin arrests alchemists, what does it matter to me as a qi refiner?

The refugees began to curse angrily, and some of the hot-tempered ones raised their spears high to the sky, ready to meet the attack of the Jin army.

Yang Ling knew that if he continued to fight, it would be troublesome. Although he could lead the rebel army to resist, the refugees were just ordinary farmers after all, and they could not fight against the elite Jin soldiers. He immediately made a decision and ordered loudly: "Archers, crossbowmen, shoot these damn enemy soldiers!"

There was an earth-shaking response from the refugees.

Immediately afterwards, hundreds of heavily armored archers rushed out, drew their bows and arrows, aimed at the Jin cavalry, and pulled the trigger. The sound of whooshing resounded through the sky, and more than a dozen feather arrows whizzed out and landed in the middle of the Jin army, causing screams.

Dozens of Jin cavalrymen were caught off guard and shot down. The remaining cavalrymen were so frightened that they hurriedly urged their horses to turn around and flee.

At this time, the cavalry also reacted. They turned their horses around and tried to intercept the Jin cavalry.

Yang Ling took advantage of the chaos to draw out his sword, and rushed into the Jin army on his horse. His sword danced into a silver light curtain, and the enemy soldiers blocking his way fell off their horses and were chopped off like melons and vegetables.

The Jin army general was terrified when he saw this. He didn't care about the casualties under his command and turned his horse to run back.

Yang Ling snorted coldly and rode his horse in pursuit, killing any enemy who was hindering him from rescuing the refugees.

When the Jin army general saw Yang Ling chasing him relentlessly, he was so anxious that sweat broke out on his forehead. Seeing that he was getting closer and closer to his guards, he suddenly drew his sword and threw it at Yang Ling.

Ding--

Yang Ling easily blocked his sword with his scabbard, then chopped it off, blood and flesh splattered everywhere. The Jin general was unable to dodge and was cut off half of his head by a slanting shoulder. He fell off his horse, and blood gushed out, staining the ground red.

As soon as the body of the Jin army general fell to the ground, Yang Ling jumped up from his horse again and slashed at the cavalrymen next to him with his sword.

Puff, puff!
The Jin army's cavalry was killed in an instant. Seeing Yang Ling as fierce as a demon, the Jin army's soldiers were frightened and fled in all directions. Yang Ling took advantage of the victory and killed his way through the enemy's formation in a short time. The Jin army's infantry also fled in defeat.

Yang Ling led the remnants back to the camp. The losses of the rebel army were not too great, with only fifty or sixty deaths and dozens of refugees injured or killed. The total casualties were less than a hundred.

As the enemy's cavalry was too powerful, the rebels did not dare to go into battle for the time being.

After Yang Ling sat in the tent and pondered for a while, he told his personal secretary, "Pass the order down, everyone should rest tonight and continue the attack tomorrow."

"Yes, sir!" The confidant clasped his fists and agreed, then turned around to carry out the order.

"Report to the general, great victory, we have won a great victory!"

Just as Yang Ling was sitting in the tent thinking, Liu Zhixing excitedly rushed into the tent to report.

"Oh? What great victory?" Yang Ling looked up and asked.

Liu Zhixing said excitedly: "Just now the scout reported that a large group of Jin cavalry were found 20 miles to the northwest, estimated to be no more than 4,000!"

"What great news! God is really helping me!" Yang Ling was overjoyed when he heard it.

Yang Ling knew that there were traces of Jin army activities in the northwest of Puzhou, but these Jin troops were only a small group of cavalry. Because the distance was too far, Yang Ling was not too worried. However, he did not expect that such a large number of cavalry would be sent out. It seemed that they were determined to take Puzhou.

Liu Zhixing added: "According to the scouts' report, most of the Jin army's cavalry are armored soldiers, and there are also a small number of infantry. They are obviously here to reinforce Jicheng Prefecture!"

"Jicheng Prefecture?" Yang Ling frowned and asked, "Why is it Jicheng Prefecture?"

Jicheng Prefecture is located more than ten miles northwest of Puzhou, across the water from Puzhou. The location of this small county town is very special. It belongs to Puzhou, but is independent of Puzhou’s seat Tai'an. It is a must-pass place leading to Jinan, Henan Province.

As far as Yang Ling remembered, after the Jin army occupied Jicheng, they were stationed there. He wondered whether the Jin army had expanded to Jicheng Prefecture now.

Liu Zhixing explained: "According to the scouts, the commander of the Jin army, Jin Wushu, is besieging Jicheng Prefecture."

"No wonder Jicheng is in trouble!"

Yang Ling sighed secretly. After Jin Wushu and his gang of Jin troops occupied the city, they kept forcing Han immigrants to build walls and construct cities in order to cross the river.

The terrain of Jicheng is relatively dangerous. As long as the city is not broken, the Jin army in Puzhou cannot cross the river to the north. But now the Jin army has reached the city of Puzhou. If the Jin army is allowed to build castles and fences in Jicheng, Jicheng will soon be undefendable. So Yang Ling decided to send troops to rescue. Only by capturing Jicheng first and cutting off the Jin army's idea of ​​crossing the river can Puzhou be guaranteed not to be invaded.

"How is the situation in Jicheng?" Yang Ling asked with concern.

Liu Zhixing said with a smile on his face: "The situation in Jicheng is very bad. According to the scouts, the Jin army has gathered more than 20,000 people and is preparing to siege Jicheng. They just captured Jicheng County not long ago, and now Jicheng Prefecture is empty."

The city wall of Jicheng was not thick, and could even be said to be very weak, so after Jicheng was conquered, the Jin army abandoned the city without hesitation and withdrew its main force to Puzhou in the east, leaving behind two or three thousand defenders to guard the house and wait for the arrival of large forces.

Yang Ling smiled and nodded, then ordered: "Order each battalion to prepare for battle, we will launch a surprise attack on the city tonight!"

"I humbly obey my orders!"

The night was dark and windy, the moon was bright and the stars were sparse.

Yang Ling led more than 8,000 volunteers and quietly sneaked into the vicinity of the city. They then quietly dispersed, encircled the south and north gates of Jicheng, and then captured the gates and the north city wall one by one.

Since the defenders in the city were all deployed in the south of the city, and because the southern wall of Jicheng Prefecture was close to Puzhou, the Jin army was worried that the Han defenders in the city would fight to the death, so they did not send heavy troops to guard the city. As a result, Yang Ling easily captured the city gate and the north wall, and then led his troops straight in.

Although the defenders of Jicheng fought hastily, they were unable to withstand the fierce attack of Yang Ling's elite troops. In less than two incense sticks of time, Yang Ling and his troops broke into the city.

"Brothers, follow me and kill!"

After Yang Ling led his men into the city, he quickly cleared the defenders on the streets and called on his subordinates around him to help loot property. After all, there were more than 30,000 defenders in the city, and it was impossible for them all to be killed.

"Brother Yang, here!" When Yang Ling was looting property, he suddenly heard Zhao Bingjun's shouting from the left. He looked up and saw Zhao Bingjun running towards him with three Jinyiwei.

"Brother Yang, come and help us!"

When Zhao Bingjun saw Yang Ling, he couldn't help but smile and shouted, pointing at the tavern in front of him.

Yang Ling looked in the direction Zhao Bingjun pointed, and saw dozens of horses pulling a cart out of the alley behind the tavern. The curtains of the carriage were lifted, revealing boxes and barrels filled with grain.

Yang Ling's eyes lit up. It turned out that the tavern was a grain store. He didn't expect that he was so lucky. He was worried about having no food to eat, and the food delivered here would solve his urgent problem.

He quickly led his men to meet them and shouted, "Stop, dismount and surrender, or I will kill you without mercy!"

Several strong men who were in charge of escorting the grain and fodder were so frightened that they trembled all over and hurriedly led the mules and horses to the side of the road.

"Who are you and why are you blocking my way?" a man's voice came from inside the car.

Yang Ling kicked the shaft of the cart over, jumped onto the horse and shouted, "I am Yang Ling, the prefect of Puzhou. If you know what's good for you, surrender. If you resist, I will kill you without mercy!"

The carriage stopped and the curtain was lifted, revealing three men. Leading the group was a burly middle-aged man with thick eyebrows, big eyes, and a beard. He had a sword hanging from his waist and looked very majestic. It was obvious that he was a man of great martial arts skills, not like an ordinary person.

Sitting next to him were two well-mannered civil servants. The thin man on the left was a scholar, and the one on the right was a scholar in a blue robe, who looked gentle and elegant.

"It turns out to be Lord Yang. I am Han Deyan, and this is Li Wenzhong, Lord Li. I have been ordered to escort grain and fodder to Puzhou." Han Deyan bowed slightly and introduced himself.

Yang Ling carefully identified the other person's appearance and confirmed that he was Li Wenzhong, the prefect of Jicheng Prefecture. However, Li Wenzhong's face was pale and his cheeks were sunken, which seemed to be caused by long-term drinking.

Yang Ling bowed quickly and said politely, "I am Yang Ling, the prefect of Puzhou. I would like to ask you three names and what are you doing in Jicheng Prefecture?"

Han Deyan smiled bitterly and said, "Lord Yang, you don't know that the three of us were ordered to go to Yanzhou. When we passed through Jicheng, we were suddenly robbed by Tatar cavalry. In order to prevent the food from being burned, we had to lead our troops to retreat to Jicheng, hoping to hold out for a few days. Unexpectedly, the enemy came fiercely and we were defeated. We only held out for half a day before the enemy broke through the city defense. After the city was broken, Han and others also fled everywhere. Fortunately, we met Lord Yang and were lucky enough to save our lives."

At the end, Han Deyan's tone was full of grief and indignation, and it was obvious that he hated the enemy army to the core.

"What? The enemy actually dared to come to Jicheng to rob food?" Yang Ling was immediately furious. This was simply too bad. He pondered for a moment and said, "Master Han, please wait a moment. I will send a signal to Master Zhang, the prefect of Puzhou, for help."

"Thank you for your help, sir. We are grateful!" Han Deyan bowed again with an extremely humble attitude. He did not dare to be negligent at all. There was nothing he could do about it. Yang Ling's subordinates were all elite soldiers. There were seven or eight hundred cavalrymen alone, not to mention the infantry and archers. These defeated soldiers could not withstand the heavy blow at all.

Yang Ling immediately picked up the fire starter, blew out the flame, and threw it towards the outside of the north city. With a whoosh sound, the fire starter turned into a meteor and shot into the vast night sky, drawing a graceful arc in the night sky and falling into the dark forest.

Yang Ling looked up at the shooting stars in the night sky and murmured, "I hope the reinforcements from Puzhou can arrive in time."

Yang Ling led his men to continue clearing out the remaining enemies in the city, but the defenders of Jicheng Prefecture had been basically wiped out, and the remaining scattered soldiers posed no threat at all.

Of course, this was also related to Yang Ling's tactics. If he attacked Jichengfu too hard, it might arouse the city's defenders' greater will to resist, which would be troublesome. Therefore, Yang Ling adopted the method of dispersed warfare and besieging and attacking reinforcements to gradually erode the enemy's strength.

Jicheng Prefecture is only five or six hundred miles away from Puzhou. With the speed of post horses traveling back and forth, it can arrive by tomorrow morning at the latest.

Yang Ling was not in a hurry to attack Jicheng. He took his men to plunder property in the city, and then found a place to rest. After recuperating, he waited for reinforcements to arrive.

Just as Yang Ling expected, reinforcements arrived in Jicheng that afternoon.

Yang Ling did not go to meet the general who led the army, and only left 5,000 soldiers to guard Jicheng. The rest of the troops went north overnight, preparing to set out from Puzhou.

“Brother Yang!”

Yang Ling had just finished dinner and was sitting in the house to rest when he heard someone shouting outside. He immediately got up and went out to greet them. It turned out to be Li Zhong.

Li Zhong walked into the yard with a smile on his face, clasped his fists towards Yang Ling and said, "Brother Yang, thank you so much! Dad and I will always remember your life-saving grace today."

Yang Ling waved his hand quickly: "Uncle Li, you're welcome, I'm also making a living for myself. Besides, we are still partners now!"

Li Zhong laughed: "Yes, we are friends. You and I both make a living for ourselves."

The two looked at each other and laughed.

After laughing, Li Zhong asked, "Brother Yang, when are you going to leave?"

Yang Ling recalled the news he received yesterday, saying that the Kingdom of Jin had sent 30,000 main forces to Puzhou. If he followed the plan, he would have to lead his army to Puzhou in mid-October. But it was already early September, and there were only four or five days left, so Yang Ling decided to send troops ahead of time. He said, "I estimate that in a few days, the reinforcements should be near Jicheng. Now we have to act quickly. The sooner we take Jicheng, the faster the situation in Puzhou will change, and we can make timely adjustments!"

Li Zhong nodded in agreement. He pondered for a moment and said, "Brother Yang, I suggest that you attack Jicheng County first. After taking Jicheng, you can attack Jiyang County from the west of Puzhou. This will not only solve the crisis in Puzhou, but also increase the pressure in the direction of Puzhou."

Yang Ling felt that Li Zhong was thoughtful, so he agreed.

Yang Ling's plan was simple. He would gather the main forces and personally lead 3,000 iron pagodas to break through the city wall of Jicheng County from the east gate of Jicheng County, and then launch an attack from the southeast corner of the city. There was a small river in the southeast corner of Jicheng County. The river was only three feet wide and two feet deep. The river bank was narrow and easy to defend but difficult to attack, so Yang Ling chose to attack here.

Yang Ling led 2,000 lightly armored cavalry, and the infantry of the vanguard camp followed. This lightly armored cavalry was specially formed by Yang Ling. Each cavalryman was equipped with three pack horses, and each pack horse was loaded with two cannons, for a total of four cannons. This was specially trained by Yang Ling in preparation for the future expedition to Goryeo.

Yang Ling led two thousand cavalrymen and began to advance along the northeast corner of Jicheng. Although this section of the river bank was narrow, it was very flat, with low hills on both sides. Yang Ling ordered the cavalry to advance around the hills and shoot arrows from time to time to prevent the enemy from approaching. At the same time, he used the cavalry's excellent impact capability to continuously expand the results of the battle.

What are the advantages of cavalry?

The reason for the cavalry's superiority lies in their mobility and flexibility. The cavalry has a strong impact capability and the enemy is almost unstoppable under the impact of the cavalry. The cavalry moves quickly and flexibly and can easily avoid the enemy's bow, crossbow or spear attacks. Because the cavalry's charge speed far exceeds that of bows and crossbows, the enemy cannot even catch up with them. This is also the reason why the cavalry has an excellent killing effect.

The advantage of cavalry is their mobility and flexibility. They have strong impact force. If the enemy cannot block the battlefield in time, the cavalry will form a dense formation and outflank the enemy from all directions. After the cavalry breaks through the enemy, they can easily occupy a favorable strategic depth. This is the advantage of cavalry. (End of this chapter)