Jiuxi

Chapter 668: 666 [Upstream]

The autumn wind was bleak, blowing up the dead leaves on the plain and whistling past.

The sun emerged from behind the dark clouds, the sunlight was cut by the cold wind and scattered across the battlefield in patches.

The soil was trampled hard by horse hooves and mixed with blood and dust, and it was no longer possible to tell who the bloodstains belonged to.

Arrows rained down, swords flashed like snow, and every drop of blood was filled with lofty ambitions and endless rage.

At the foot of the distant mountain, jackdaws were chattering restlessly on the dead trees, wandering on the branches, and looking at the bloody battlefield from afar.

From time to time, war horses that had lost their masters would flee from the battlefield, their manes flying and their mournful cries echoing across the empty plains, as if they were looking for their deceased masters.

The smell of blood and fire filled the air. The shouts of soldiers from both armies, the clash of swords and guns, and the neighing of horses intertwined together, forming a tragic picture.

When Li Bingxue led the main force of the Feiyu Army to the battlefield, the reversal of the situation was inevitable.

The Jing army had tried its best to strangle the 3,000 cavalry led by Huangfu Yu, but failed at the last moment and was immediately trapped inside and outside by the Feiyu army.

Because the two sides were entangled, the commander Yan Hu was unable to lead his troops to withdraw and reorganize the formation in time, and could only watch the main force of the Feiyu Army's offensive like boiling soup breaking snow.

The collapse of Jing's army began from the right wing. Li Bingxue and more than a thousand elite soldiers were like the sharpest tip of a knife, directly breaking through Jing's hastily formed formation and expanding to both sides.

Like a domino effect, the chaos on the right wing of the Jing army then affected the main force in the middle. In addition, Huangfu Yu led his troops to launch a desperate counterattack from the center, and the balance of victory and defeat in the war continued to tilt towards the Feiyu army.

For the vast majority of Jing Army cavalry, the current changes made them panic and puzzled.

During this period, they were divided into small groups and roamed around the territory of Southern Qi at will. They had a general understanding of the ambush. Everyone knew from the beginning the strategy of luring the enemy deep into their territory and encircling and strangling them.

When they saw the 3,000 cavalry led by Huangfu Yu being lured all the way north, they couldn't help but be delighted. Even though there were some twists and turns in the middle, the enemy guarded the lonely mountain for a few days, but later they were surrounded by Jing's army.

If they could successfully defeat these 3,000 Qi troops, the Jinglian people would be able to vent their anger and wipe out the decline they had suffered on the battlefield in the past two years.

However, this small expectation still cannot be realized.

What frightened the soldiers of Jing Army the most was that, judging from the current situation, the Southern Qi cavalry had obviously anticipated this. Those 3,000 cavalrymen had clearly stepped into the trap on their own initiative, otherwise the main force of the Feiyu Army would not have arrived so timely.

The army was at a disadvantage in terms of manpower, past record, and their strategy had long been known to the enemy. With all these factors combined, the morale of the Jing army dropped at an unimaginable rate, and the gap between the two sides became increasingly obvious.

Naturally, Li Bingxue saw all of this.

Seeing the once invincible Jing cavalry showing signs of retreat, her will to fight became stronger and stronger. She kept ordering her elite cavalry to divide and encircle the enemy, striving to achieve the greatest victory.

When she learned that the Jing army's cavalry had crossed the border to attack, she and Huangfu Yu devised a counter-siege strategy and obtained Lu Chen's consent.

Now that the overall situation has been decided, thinking that after this battle, the Jing Army cavalry would not dare to continue to invade the border, Li Bingxue's eyebrows gradually raised, and he shouted loudly: "Hurry up, kill them all and leave!"

She did not forget that this was the enemy's territory. She obviously could not stay here for long and could retreat after achieving victory.

The central position of the Jing army was broken, and the cavalry led by Huangfu Yu was less than two thousand people, but they finally joined up with their main force.

The reinforcements took the initiative to protect these comrades in blood-stained uniforms behind them, and took their place to attack Jing's army.

The two armies were entangled, and the Feiyu Army gained an overall advantage.

At this time, dozens of cavalrymen came galloping from the north. They were the rangers that Li Bingxue had sent out earlier. They were mainly to guard against the nearby Jing army infantrymen coming to support them. They shouted hurriedly, "Enemy reinforcements are coming! Enemy reinforcements are coming!"

It was hard to hear their roars in the noisy battlefield. Fortunately, Li Bingxue noticed these rangers. She frowned slightly and shouted, "Fold the formation!"

The personal soldiers around were all shocked. The Feiyu Army was not far from complete victory. Even if a few Jing Army soldiers escaped, if they persisted in fighting to the end, they could still kill thousands of cavalrymen. Why did they choose to retreat at this time?

Although they were confused, the personal soldiers still tried their best to spread Li Bingxue's order.

After a while, there was a rumbling sound.

A flock of birds startled in the distance flew away in all directions, their terrified cries echoing in the air.

To the northeast of the plain, the boundless cavalry of the Jing army came in a mighty force, like an endless iron curtain sweeping across the earth, and the dust almost covered the sky.

A similar scene was seen in the southwest, with another group of Jing army cavalry covering the mountains and rushing straight towards the battlefield.

In the vastness, the two cavalry units of the Jing Army were like two torrents, converging on the plain.

The war horses neighed, and the sound of their hooves crushed the sunlight on earth. In the flying dust, the cavalry of Jing Army were wearing iron armor, holding long spears, and the light of war flashed in their eyes.

"Woo-wu-wu-"

A majestic and vast horn sounded, which was the prelude to Jing’s army’s fierce attack.

Li Bingxue looked solemn and his eyes were stern.

With just a few glances, she saw that the two reinforcements had at least 20,000 cavalry, and realized that the Feiyu Army was in the greatest danger since its establishment. Jingguo had deployed a total of 40,000 cavalry on Nanjing Road, including 3,000 heavy cavalry. Excluding the 2,000 to 3,000 light cavalry following Wu Yanshu, the remaining cavalry that could be mobilized was more than 30,000, most of which appeared near this plain.

How could Li Bingxue not understand at this moment that the real target of Jing Jun this time was not the three thousand cavalry led by Huangfu Yu, but the entire Feiyu Army.

She used the 3,000 cavalry led by Huangfu Yu as bait, and the enemy commander used the 7,000 cavalry as bait, allowing the Feiyu Army to defeat and strangle her own cavalry in order to drag the Feiyu Army into the quagmire and not give them a chance to escape.

Except for the main general Yan Hu, the 7,000 cavalry of the Jing army did not even know that there were two reinforcements prepared in advance, so there was no flaw in their performance, whether it was the previous strangling of the 3,000 cavalry led by Huangfu Yu, or the later panic and confusion facing the main force of the Feiyu Army, it was just right from beginning to end.

Now seeing the arrival of their own large force, the more than 3,000 Jing Army cavalrymen who were still alive in the center of the battlefield became more confident and took the initiative to engage in a fight with the Feiyu Army soldiers around them, trying to delay the enemy.

On a high slope several miles to the north, Pucha, commander of the Jing army's cavalry, stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the scene on the battlefield with a look of relief on his face.

The defeat at Yongqiu not only caused Qing Yugong to lose his post as Marshal of the Southern Court, but other military heroes also came under heavy pressure. They desperately needed a victory to make up for their mistakes.

However, it is not so easy to win. In a short period of time, Emperor Jing will not allow Wu Yanshu to start another war, and the Southern Qi border army is obviously on the defensive. It is difficult for Jing's army to seize the opportunity to fight in the wild. The only way is to lure the enemy with a small group of cavalry like now, and it must pay a certain price.

In short, Wu Yanshu never thought about conquering cities. He only wanted to annihilate the Feiyu Army cavalry. This is like hurting five fingers is not as good as cutting off one finger. Because the Southern Qi lacked cavalry, they had tried every possible means to put together two and a half cavalry units in the past few years.

If the Feiyu Army is lost, Lu Chen will have lost an arm.

Although Pucha had studied Li Bingxue's life and knew that this female general fought bravely and would not miss this opportunity, he still could not relax before seeing the battle situation in the south with his own eyes. After all, he had suffered too much at the hands of the Qi army in the past two years.

Until this moment.

A confidant beside him said respectfully: "General, the Feiyu Army of Southern Qi can't escape this time!"

Pucha raised his chin slightly and said calmly: "I hope Li Bingxue will lead the troops to escape."

He was a veteran of the battlefield and was particularly skilled in cavalry warfare. He understood the current situation clearly. If the Feiyu Army retreated hastily, they would inevitably suffer heavy losses under the pursuit of more than 20,000 cavalrymen of the Jing Army. But how could they not retreat?

If they did not retreat and stayed where they were and fought to the death, they would also be strangled by Jing's army. It was only a matter of time.

No matter what, the Feiyu Army is faced with a situation where they are doomed to die.

The next moment, Pucha's expression suddenly changed, his eyes fixed on the south, with a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

On the battlefield, the two torrents are about to merge.

Fortunately, Li Bingxue was decisive enough. When he saw the galloping cavalry, he ordered them to retreat and spread the military order to the surrounding areas.

The soldiers of Feiyu Army began to quickly adjust their formation. Taking the general's flag as the basis, each unit approached it. They saw bloody spears standing upright like a jungle, forming sharp light and shadows in the sun.

"General, we have to retreat!"

Huangfu Yu rode his horse closer and spoke loudly while enduring the pain.

Li Bingxue looked at the cloth on his face, a hint of concern flashed in her eyes, then she shook her head and clenched the lance in her hand.

She rode forward, her loud voice echoing all around: "All soldiers, follow me to kill the enemy!"

The general's flag is pointing to the enemy in the northeast!

She did not choose to escape, not because she was proud and conceited, not because she did not care about her soldiers, but because she knew that retreating now would be the worst decision.

The enemy came too quickly, and the Feiyu Army had no room to reorganize and turn around to withdraw, let alone maintain a relatively complete formation, unless she ordered everyone to fight on their own and flee.

There would be only one consequence, the Feiyu Army would completely lose the ability to resist and be at the mercy of others.

Li Bingxue was well aware that she was not good at strategic planning, but she possessed an innate sharpness and decisiveness on the local battlefield.

Under her command, the Feiyu Army barely got rid of the cavalry led by Yan Hu, and then maintained its original direction, ignoring the enemies rushing from the southwest, and moved forward towards the northeast!

The big flag fluttered in the wind. Li Bingxue adjusted his breathing and rushed to the front.

Her decision also surprised the Jing army reinforcements. These Jinglian people never expected that the Southern Qi cavalry not only did not flee to the east, but rushed towards them instead.

"In a desperate situation, the only way to survive is to risk your life!"

Li Bingxue suddenly shouted this sentence, wielding his lance and knocking an oncoming enemy off his horse!
The commander-in-chief led by example, and the soldiers of Feiyu Army were greatly encouraged. Everyone fought bravely and risked their lives!

Li Bingxue chose to cut into the left wing of Jing's army. The Feiyu Army as a whole formed a cone formation, and they rushed into Jing's army like a sharp long sword.

In the chilling wind, killing continued and blood spurted out.

On the high slope in the distance, Pucha looked at the scene in the south, his brows suddenly frowned, and he growled two words amid the puzzled gazes of the guards around him.

"not good!"

(End of this chapter)