Chapter 8: The First Battle of Broken Army

  The Sui army besieged the city of Liaodong for many days, but they were unable to do anything about the Goguryeo people who hid and refused to come out. Every day, they launched fierce attacks, but in the end, there were countless casualties. If things continued like this, the Sui army would eventually be able to break through the city of Liaodong, but how many lives it would cost was an unknown number.

  The Minister of War presented a strategy, with the main army besieging Liaodong City and dispatching several routes of troops to attack nearby cities in Liaodong with surprise forces. Firstly, it would cut off the enemy's retreat route, secondly, it could also capture Goguryeo cities to obtain food and supplies, reducing the difficulty of continuously transporting grain from the Central Plains.

  Emperor Yang Guang ordered Yuwen Shu and General-in-Chief Yang Yichen to lead an army eastward to Pingyang, and Chen Keji led the broken army out of Fuyu Road to seek a battle opportunity.

  The entire army was already assembled and ready to depart, this being the first battle since Pojun Camp became an independent military unit. Everyone was somewhat tense. Chen Kefu was also extremely nervous, having only been in command of these cavalrymen for less than half a month, and he himself was still unfamiliar with this branch of the military. Now, however, he had to lead them into battle. Chen Kefu had no other choice; if he wanted an elite army, it could only be forged through blood and fire, and he too could only gain more chips for his own transmigratory life through war.

  "Men, today we drink to our fallen comrades in Liaodong! We will avenge them and destroy the Goguryeo dogs! Some of us may fall, some may not return. But for the tens of thousands who have already fallen, it is all worth it! Drink up, men! You have left your family's address with Sima, if you do not return, I will take care of them. If I fall facing the Goguryeo barbarians, just burn a few sheets of yellow paper for me every year! The Great Sui will triumph, the Broken Army is mighty!"

  He tilted his head back and drained the wine in the bowl, then Chen Kefu directly smashed the bowl on the ground.

  The three thousand cavalry had already left their home addresses according to Chen Kefu's order. Whoever died, the remaining broken army would help them raise their widows and orphans. Without this worry, the cavalry who had been suffocating in the military camp for so many days were also eager to go on stage to kill the enemy, win military merit and get rewards!

  The generals and soldiers who had drunk up their wine hurled their empty cups aside and shouted in unison.

  "Great Sui will surely win, breaking through the enemy camp with mighty valour!"

  "Pass down the order, the whole army will open fire!"

  Like a tiger out of its cage, like a pack of wolves in the forest, Chen Kefu's words had barely fallen when, accompanied by the thunderous sound of horseshoes, they burst out of the camp like arrows shot from a bow, charging forward with no hesitation.

  Chen Kefu wore that magnificent bright silver Qilin armor, riding the Western Domain's finest horse with a coat as white as jade, bestowed upon him by Yang Guang. In the army's formation, he was so conspicuous that all the soldiers could see their commander right in front of them.

  Luo Lin led fifty soldiers to guard Chen Kefu's side, disagreeing with Chen Kefu's charge at the forefront of the troops. In his opinion, as the commander-in-chief, Chen Kefu should be in the middle of the army, but Chen Kefu was unwilling to listen to him.

  Their purpose for this trip was to support the new city of Fuyu Road. According to the reconnaissance horseback report, there were nearly 20,000 Goguryeo guards there. However, although the number is not small, they are not the most elite frontline troops of Goguryeo, but just some garrison soldiers. If a real fight breaks out, who wins or loses is still an unknown number.

  Three thousand cavalry rushed along the way, and all the villages they passed through were deserted. It was July, but the fields were desolate. Chen Kefu sighed as he rode his horse, thinking that the war in Liaodong not only consumed a lot of the Sui Dynasty's national strength but also hurt Goguryeo's foundation. One was the master of the Central Plains, and the other was the king of the Far East. Now they finally engaged in a life-and-death duel. Chen Kefu knew their outcome: the Sui Dynasty would be exhausted and eventually overthrown by domestic rebellion, while Goguryeo also wouldn't laugh to the end. After exhausting its national strength, Goguryeo couldn't survive for long after its enemy fell and was eventually destroyed by the Tang Dynasty, which succeeded the Sui.

  As they approached the new city, Chen Kefu's opponent had several riders rushing towards him from afar. The person was Mao Yi, who had just been sent out to scout for enemy information in the new city.

  "Great General, I've led the men to scout out the new city's situation. The commander of Goguryeo's new city is already aware of our intentions. However, they didn't defend the city to the death, instead, they sent out 10,000 troops to prepare for battle outside the city. Currently, they have set up their formation in this mountain valley over ten miles away from the city. I estimate that there are about 10,000 infantrymen and around 1,000 cavalrymen."

  Chen Kefu turned his head and exchanged a glance with General Li Benlei, both of whom saw a clear smile in each other's eyes.

  "These Goguryeo people are really cooperative, it's as if heaven is helping me break the enemy's camp. If they had defended the city and not come out, I would have been worried about not being able to deal with them. Since they're giving us face by coming out of the city for a field battle, let's just grant their wish."

  "Hu Hai, Mao Yi, listen to orders."

  "Long live the Emperor!"

  "I order you two to each lead two troops of cavalry, one after another, and charge straight at the enemy's left flank, try not to get bogged down."

  "Lu Shide and Chen Qing listened to the order, I ordered you two to lead two teams of cavalry each, after receiving the array, come out from my left wing and tear open his left wing."

  "General Zhang He leads two teams of cavalry, serving as a reserve unit. Once the enemy's formation is broken, I want you to immediately circle around to the enemy's rear and cut off their retreat."

  "The rest of the five troops will follow me in a frontal advance. Remember to keep a distance before breaking through the enemy's formation, and use bows and crossbows against them."

  "Roger!"

  Chen Kefu's order was heard by Li Benlei, who did not raise any objections. This arrangement was already a very regular way of fighting. After a simple temporary reorganization, the sound of horseshoes rang out again, and three thousand cavalry rushed forward with a loud rumble.

  Chen Kefu rode ahead on his horse, his silver armor dazzling in the sunlight. In the distance, the Goguryeo army's formation was visible, with over 10,000 infantrymen forming a massive square array, surrounded by long spear-wielding troops on the outside. On the outer edges of the three arrays, there were also about 1,000 cavalrymen guarding both flanks.

  "Narrow road ahead, brave ones win! Kill!" Chen Kefu loudly commanded, raising the long spear in his hand high.

  "Kill!" The military camp let out a thunderous roar, the horse hooves sounded like thunder, and the three thousand cavalrymen who had undergone days of formation training charged towards the Goguryeo army's formation in an orderly column like a surging wave.

  Thousands of arrows fired at the same time, such a scene is quite spectacular. All that can be seen is that in the distance not far from the Goguryeo people's array, all the Sui soldiers began to draw their bows and shoot arrows directly into the sky at an angle of 45 degrees. This kind of shooting is covering, and it doesn't matter whether the archery skills are accurate or not. The key is how fast you can shoot.

  The Goguryeo people, who were originally holding spears in a tight formation and preparing to defend against the Sui army's cavalry charge, did not expect that the Sui cavalry would suddenly come up with this move. When the arrows rained down from the sky along with strange sounds, the Goguryeo people, who were unprepared and had few shields, fell to the ground one after another, struggling and screaming in pain for a long time.

  The vanguard only managed to shoot three rounds of arrows, and they were already getting closer and closer to the Goguryeo formation. Just as they were about to charge into the formation, the Sui army suddenly split into two teams from left and right, attacking the Goguryeo cavalry on both flanks.

  One hundred paces, fifty paces, thirty paces, the increasingly close distance made the Goguryeo people hastily reorganize their formation. Layer upon layer of long spear soldiers were rearranged at the front of the array. This was the best method to counter cavalry charges - those slanting spears with tips already deeply inserted into the mud would mercilessly pierce through the warhorses as soon as they charged forward, impaling them on the spear formation.

  However, the Sui army did not charge forward recklessly in the face of such a long spear array. Instead, they suddenly split to both sides like small waves, and along the outer edge of the square formation, there were skilled archers on horseback drawing their bows and arrows, while less skilled archers held long spears and charged at the front row. They used their long spears to stab into the bodies of soldiers on the outer edge of the infantry phalanx, with some even piercing two people at once. Behind them followed curved swords and long guns continuously supplementing. The entire Sui army thus rode their warhorses rapidly surrounding and attacking the Goguryeo infantry phalanx.

  It was like making knife-cut noodles, as the Broken Army advanced, one by one, the high-ranking Goguryeo warriors fell like the falling dough.

  In this frantic melee, there were also instances where the cavalry of the broken army was stabbed down from their horses by the enemy's long spears and then killed by several infantrymen who swarmed up.

  It was like a gust of wind, whizzing by, and the next moment, the Goguryeo people suddenly found that the Sui army's cavalry had gone far away. Before they could figure out what was going on, the Sui army quickly reformed into an array in the distance, whizzing again with bows and arrows, and the arrow rain that whizzed down from the sky once again deeply pierced the bodies of those soldiers without shields. In the midst of the screams, the Goguryeo infantry phalanx continued to shrink and become chaotic.

  Then the Sui army's cavalry began to charge again, just like a nightmare. Their carefully prepared long spear array was of no use at all. They could only watch as the enemy cavalry wandered around outside the array, taking away one life after another.

  The Goguryeo people did not expect that the Sui army would be so formidable. The commander of the Goguryeo army, Go Gi, who was sitting on his warhorse, looked at everything in front of him with some panic. When he heard that 3,000 Sui cavalrymen were coming to fight, he thought it was an opportunity, a chance to devour this cavalry. But now it seems that if things continue like this, the ones being devoured will be them.

  It finally rose one more place and made it onto the new book chart, although it's in last place, but that's not bad either. Let's keep working hard everyone, let's blast our way up! Take out your recommendation tickets, let's charge!