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

The weakness of cavalry is that they cannot take care of both wings and the rear during battle because their movement speed is too slow. If the enemy outflanks from the left and right wings, they can quickly block the cavalry's escape route.

As the saying goes, "two fists cannot beat four hands." If the cavalry encounters an enemy encirclement and suppression on the battlefield, they will be caught in a dilemma of being attacked from both sides. Therefore, the cavalry must not face the enemy's encirclement and suppression independently in the war, and teamwork is required.

However, the cavalry lacks fortifications like the infantry, which means that the cavalry cannot rely on fortifications to ensure their own safety. This is because the cavalry cannot move as fast as the infantry. When they are fast, they can easily shake off the infantry, but if they get into a protracted battle, they will become targets for the infantry, who can kill them by simply standing in the fortifications and shooting arrows continuously.

The cavalry can only make up for this shortcoming through mobility and flexibility. Therefore, unless the cavalry forces the enemy to lose its combat effectiveness, they must never stop, because stopping means death.

Yang Ling led two thousand light cavalrymen and marched slowly along the official road south of Jicheng. Every half a day, he would send out scouts to investigate the enemy situation and confirm the enemy's deployment.

"Marshal, the defenders of Jicheng County have evacuated Jicheng County." The scout came back and reported.

Yang Ling nodded slightly and continued to move forward slowly.

At this time, the scout reported again: "General, there is an enemy lookout on the hill north of Jicheng. We don't know what their intentions are. We dare not act without authorization. Please give us instructions, General."

Yang Ling narrowed his eyes and snorted coldly, "They must be planning to take advantage of our crossing the river to cut off our support!"

He turned around and ordered, "Plant our flag up!"

The flag was hung on the saddle of the war horse and fluttered in the wind.

Soon, a rustling sound was heard from the woods ahead, and soon the woods were seen parting, revealing hundreds of heavily armored warriors lined up in front of everyone.

"Brother Yang, the enemy is coming so quickly." Li Zhong said in surprise.

Yang Ling sneered, "Jicheng County is the closest to Jicheng, how could they not come to reinforce? These guys want to take the opportunity to destroy us."

Yang Ling raised his sword and shouted, "My men, the defenders of Jicheng want to eat us up, let's show them how powerful we are!"

The two thousand light cavalrymen suddenly cheered, drew their swords in unison, and rushed towards the enemy with roars.

The enemy had only six or seven hundred men, four hundred of whom were responsible for defending Jicheng County, so Yang Ling was not in a hurry to annihilate them. Yang Ling's mission was to break through Jicheng County tonight, then cross the Jicheng River and join Li Zhong.

When Yang Ling and his cavalrymen rushed to within ten steps of the enemy formation, they pulled the reins and stopped.

The enemy leader was a man of about 40 years old, with a strong and sturdy figure, broad shoulders and a round waist, and a full beard on both sides of his face. He was riding on a warhorse, staring at Yang Ling's troops. When Yang Ling's cavalry rushed to the enemy's front and stopped five or six meters away, the general took a deep breath and urged his horse to meet Yang Ling's cavalry.

"Hahaha, I am the county lieutenant of Jicheng, and you are Captain Yang under the command of the King of Jin?"

Yang Ling rode up to the other horse and clasped his fists, saying, "I am Yang Ling. I heard that you are Han Mingzhi, the county lieutenant of Jicheng. I have come to visit you. I hope that Captain Han will give me some advice!"

The Jicheng County Lieutenant named Han Mingzhi said proudly: "Okay, I am Jicheng County Lieutenant Han Mingzhi, Captain Yang, if you want to cross the river, you must defeat me, otherwise you will never cross the Jishui River."

Yang Ling smiled calmly and said, "Okay, please!"

Han Mingzhi was not polite either. He turned his horse's head, waved his hands and shouted, "Beat the drums to cheer!"

The war drums sounded, and the enemies jumped off their horses one after another and divided into several small formations.

Han Mingzhi, the lieutenant of Jicheng County, pointed at the crowd on his side and shouted, "We have more than 5,000 people in total, and you only have 2,000. I want to see whether your iron hoof is harder or my iron hammer is harder! Captain Yang, please show us your weapons."

Yang Ling nodded slightly, jumped off the horse, and reached out to grab the sword. Yang Ling's riding skills were superb, so his mount was a white horse, with a white body and two golden collars hanging around its neck. It seemed to sense that its master was about to go to the battlefield, and it seemed particularly excited, with hot air coming out of its nostrils.

Yang Ling cheered up and rushed towards the enemy with his sword in hand. The horse under his crotch immediately ran after him.

"Kill!" Han Mingzhi shouted and led his men to charge towards Yang Ling.

"Ho--" Han Mingzhi's personal soldiers shouted and followed behind Han Mingzhi, rushing forward like a tidal wave.

Yang Ling did not retreat. He galloped on his horse, wielding the long sword in his hand with all his might, sweeping through the crowd of enemies like a whirlwind.

In an instant, blood splattered and screams were heard. Almost in the blink of an eye, several corpses fell beside Yang Ling. He was like a devil with bloodthirsty eyes, and he was unstoppable and approached Han Mingzhi.

Although Han Mingzhi was brave and fearless, he was not stupid. He deeply felt Yang Ling's strength, so he decisively abandoned the ordinary soldiers and took dozens of his personal soldiers to the flank in an attempt to block Yang Ling's cavalry.

How could Yang Ling let him succeed? He turned his horse around, pointed his saber at Han Mingzhi, and shouted, "Stop the enemy! Don't let them go."

"Kill!" Two thousand light cavalry rumbled forward, trying to entangle Han Mingzhi's pace and buy time for Yang Ling to catch up with Han Mingzhi.

Han Mingzhi gritted his teeth secretly. He knew that he could not continue fighting, otherwise it would be difficult to get rid of this light cavalry. He immediately rode his horse hard to break through.

The personal soldiers behind Han Mingzhi also rushed forward recklessly. The two sides quickly crossed each other, then detoured from both wings, forming a situation of mutual entanglement again.

"Kill——" Yang Ling and Han Mingzhi each brought three or four hundred people and bumped into the road again, engaging in hand-to-hand combat. The two sides fought fiercely.

Yang Ling's riding skills were superb, and his strength was also very strong, so he had the upper hand. He chopped left and right and was invincible. Although Han Mingzhi was brave and good at fighting, he was suppressed by Yang Ling and had no chance to resist.

Han Mingzhi was extremely anxious. He knew that with just a few men like him, he was no match for Yang Ling. If the trend continued, he would be wiped out in no time.

Han Mingzhi was indeed a brave and brave general. He showed his great potential at the critical moment. He slashed twice with his sword, forcing Yang Ling to turn his horse back to resist. Then he suddenly opened his throat and shouted: "Retreat!" Han Mingzhi's soldiers were well prepared. After hearing the order, they turned their horses and fled. Yang Ling's two thousand light cavalry were fighting fiercely. Who would let the enemy go easily? They immediately chased after them. As a result, Han Mingzhi's men had gradually escaped the encirclement.

Han Mingzhi's men escaped successfully, but Yang Ling was unable to stop them. He cursed angrily, "How cunning!"

Yang Ling gathered his troops and returned to the west bank of the Ji River.

A large number of Jicheng militiamen have gathered on the west bank of the Jishui River, and their horses have been led to the shore to feed. There are three battalions of militiamen stationed here, each with about 10,000 people, a total of 28 battalions, a total of more than 3,400 people, under the command of Han Mingzhi.

Yang Ling stood on the shore, his eyes looking towards Jicheng in the distance, a thoughtful look on his face.

Just now, Yang Ling led his troops to encounter Han Mingzhi, the county lieutenant of Jicheng. The two sides had a brief confrontation. Although Han Mingzhi had an absolute advantage in numbers, his cavalry was inferior to Yang Ling's cavalry, so in the close combat, Han Mingzhi was defeated by Yang Ling and suffered heavy losses. Han Mingzhi did not dare to fight, and left nearly a thousand casualties behind, and fled back to Jicheng in a panic with his troops. Yang Ling took advantage of the victory to pursue him, but Han Mingzhi took back the east gate of Jicheng first.

Jicheng was the seat of Huai'an Prefecture and where officials and gentry lived. Jicheng County Magistrate Chen Zhi lived in the county government office near the east gate of Jicheng. Yang Ling led the cavalry to the east gate of Jicheng and found that the plaque of the county government office had been chopped off and Han Mingzhi's general flag was erected on the city wall.

After Han Mingzhi removed the plaque of the county government, he sent people to hang the plaque on the city gate tower, and then arranged defensive fortifications on the city wall to take sufficient defensive measures.

"General, this bastard is too cunning, what should we do?" Li Wenzhong asked worriedly.

Yang Ling pondered for a long time and said, "Jicheng County is strong. It is very difficult to capture it. We only have 3,000 cavalrymen and cannot break through the city wall. Even if we can barely capture Jicheng, the people and property of Jicheng will not be saved, and the Ji River will become stagnant."

Li Wenzhong asked: "Then what should we do?"

Yang Ling said calmly: "Jicheng County Magistrate Chen Zhi should have escaped. Since he refuses to surrender to the court, he will definitely not be willing to stay in Jicheng and wait for death. He will definitely find ways to escape from the Ji River. His target must be the plains in the north. We only need to search for him along the way. After finding him, we can force him to surrender to the court."

Li Wenzhong suddenly realized and said with a smile: "General, you are really good at planning and winning battles thousands of miles away. I admire you. I wonder how you plan to block the Ji River?"

Yang Ling smiled confidently and said, "The west bank of the Jishui River is far from the plain. We only need to deploy heavy troops along the river and strictly prohibit any boats from crossing the river. If Han Mingzhi wants to escape, he will risk being shot into a sieve. If he dares to cross the river in the rain of arrows, he will be sniped crazily by our army. I don't believe he dares to take this risk!"

The Jishui River is only 20 to 30 feet wide from north to south and is rather narrow. The riverbanks on both sides are as thin as paper and cannot be defended at all. Yang Ling believes that as long as the river mouth is blocked, Han Mingzhi will not be able to escape.

Li Wenzhong said with great admiration: "The general is very wise. Han Mingzhi can't escape now!"

Han Mingzhi really didn't have the courage to cross the river under the arrows, so he could only stay on the south bank of the Ji River and wait for reinforcements. Although Yang Ling's method was clumsy, it was the most effective.

On the north bank of the Jishui River, Han Mingzhi's troops were still fighting. Although Yang Ling's troops were numerous, the Jishui River was narrow and their mobility was greatly reduced, so they were unable to completely wipe out Han Mingzhi's troops.

Yang Ling was anxious when he saw Han Mingzhi relying on the Jishui River embankment to resist stubbornly. He immediately ordered the entire army to disperse and divide each unit into 50 teams according to the predetermined organization, and conduct reconnaissance along the Jishui River beach five miles away from the west bank of the Jishui River.

Led by Yang Ling, his cavalry marched towards the north bank of the Jishui River.

Although Han Mingzhi's subordinates were brave, they were few in number after all. Facing the repeated attacks of Yang Ling's three thousand elite troops, their formation soon became disrupted.

Han Mingzhi's deployment was extremely clever. He had people build deer horn barricades on the west bank and use sandbags for cover, making it impossible for Yang Ling's troops to cross the line. At the same time, he sent people to guard the north bank of the Jishui River to block Yang Ling's reinforcements, while he himself commanded the troops on the east bank, not seeking merit but only for stability.

Han Mingzhi's idea was correct, but unfortunately Yang Ling did not give him this opportunity.

After dark, Yang Ling's men were already close to the west bank. Seeing that Han Mingzhi was still resisting stubbornly, he simply had his men set up ladders and prepare to climb up and capture the county town.

Han Mingzhi was terrified when he saw that the enemy was setting up ladders to attack the city. He immediately led his soldiers to fight to the death to stop them. The two sides fought fiercely on the beach of the Jishui River.

Yang Ling led his troops to seize the opportunity and charged fiercely, quickly breaking into the enemy's hinterland.

"Brothers, work harder. It will be our credit if we take over Jishui County!" Yang Ling raised his arms and shouted.

Yang Ling's soldiers had followed him in many battles and were loyal to him. When they heard Yang Ling's encouragement, their morale was boosted. Han Mingzhi's men were exhausted and were suppressed behind the front line by Yang Ling and his soldiers.

Yang Ling's men had already broken through Han Mingzhi's defense line and were about to break through Han Mingzhi's defense. Han Mingzhi could no longer bear the pressure. He suddenly drew his sword and cut off the antler barricades, then threw away his longbow, drew his sword, jumped off the city wall with several servants, and fled north.

Upon seeing this, Yang Ling's cavalry immediately launched a pursuit, but Yang Ling did not issue an order to pursue because they had to leave enough cavalry to patrol the riverside.

The bank of the Ji River was a gentle slope, and Yang Ling's men quickly formed up in depth, waiting for their opportunity with ladders, crossbows and other equipment.

A moment later, hurried footsteps were heard in the distance. Han Mingzhi ran over from the Jishui River and led the way. He was followed by three or four guards. Han Mingzhi had obviously anticipated that the enemy might launch a sneak attack at night and had taken precautions in advance.

When Yang Ling saw Han Mingzhi going out of the city to meet the enemy, he secretly sighed that Han Mingzhi was indeed cunning and knew that this was not the time for a head-on confrontation.

Yang Ling immediately sent someone to notify Liu Qingyuan and ordered him to lead his troops to withdraw to the other side of the Jishui River.

When Liu Qingyuan heard that Yang Ling's troops had captured the county town on the east bank of the Jishui River, he was very excited. He immediately assembled 500 armored battalions and retreated along the Jishui river beach on the east bank of the Jishui River to the west bank of the Jishui River. At the same time, he ordered people to build a pontoon bridge in preparation for crossing the north bank of the Jishui River to meet up with Yang Ling.

Although Yang Ling's subordinates had the advantage, the terrain of the Jishui River was complex and the river was turbulent. They did not dare to cross the river rashly. They could only suspend the attack and line up on the east bank of the Jishui River to prepare for battle.

Han Mingzhi led his guards to the riverside, and Yang Ling raised his right hand, signaling his men to lower the ladder. Han Mingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and quickly ordered his men to push the ladder to the middle of the Jishui River.

Han Mingzhi personally lifted up the wooden planks on the pontoon bridge and pushed it to the other side. Yang Ling's cavalry had just tested the structure of the pontoon bridge. By doing this, Han Mingzhi could completely avoid being accidentally injured by the opponent's arrows.

After the floating bridge was pushed over, Han Mingzhi was about to turn back, but he saw Yang Ling's troops moving quickly and retreating to the northwest woods. Han Mingzhi was stunned: "What do they want to do?" (End of this chapter)