Chapter 31: A Thought of Hell

  Thanks for the reward from KS, Li Aoqing and Jianghai brother, Meow sister is mighty!

  The wind howls on top of our heads, the horses whinny by our ears, and the forest of guns as tall as mountains dance around us.

  The 3,000 cavalry of Goguryeo hidden in the valley had already become a hell. This 3,000 cavalry of Goguryeo was ordered by General Eulji Mundeok to prepare for the surprise attack on Chen's camp as the vanguard of the 80,000-strong Goguryeo army. In the evening, after learning that Chen had set up camp, they hid in a valley, waiting to join forces with the main army and break through Chen's camp, rescuing nearly 20,000 captured Goguryeo soldiers and tens of thousands of civilians.

  In order to conserve energy, the vanguard commander led his troops to this valley and, except for a few sentries, everyone else fell asleep in preparation for a midnight raid on Chen Kefu's camp. In his opinion, Chen Kefu had only three thousand cavalrymen and would not even discover their whereabouts, let alone dare to launch an attack from the camp.

  It wasn't until the vanguard general of Goguryeo, Gaesu-dae, who was awakened by the sound of killing in his sleep, looked at the cavalry rushing around, and saw that each of the vanguard cavalrymen, who hadn't even had time to put on their armor and were still looking for their war horses, were being knocked to the ground one after another by long spears. He couldn't quite believe what was happening before his eyes. Had the Sui army really arrived? Was it that guy again who broke through their new city?

  He didn't have time to think carefully, he loudly shouted at his personal soldiers, in a hurry, they couldn't even put on their armor, only wearing their upper body, holding a large knife and riding war horses, constantly coming and going, killing and hoping to gather the scattered soldiers who had been killed by the Sui army. However, in the era of cold weapons, being ambushed by cavalry at night, and having successfully dispersed the soldiers, it was difficult to gather them again. Gai Su Ding fought for half a day, only to find that there were fewer people around him, and more and more Sui army cavalry had set their sights on him.

  Gao Liang was surrounded by dozens of riders, quietly sitting on his horse watching the three thousand Goguryeo cavalry fall one by one. He wiped off the blood that had splashed onto his face during the charge. Gao Liang's face lit up with a smile as bright as blooming flowers. He succeeded, he finally succeeded. A thousand men successfully ambushed three thousand Goguryeo cavalry, and they were completely victorious, without suffering many casualties. Thinking of returning to Liaodong tomorrow and the emperor's reward, he couldn't help but feel his blood boiling with excitement. What Chen Kefu, it was just a fluke, a general like him could also achieve such great merit.

  "General, many of the Goguryeo soldiers have laid down their arms. Should we take them prisoner?" a young officer asked, riding up to Hwang's side on horseback.

  He glanced at the increasingly scarce Goguryeo cavalry in the valley below, shook his head and said, "Kill them all, leave none alive. We still have to rush back to Liaodong City later, bringing these people will only hinder us. Everyone, remember to collect the Goguryeo flags, heads, and warhorses."

  Just as the officer was about to turn and leave, he added hastily, "Oh yes, take that naked enemy commander alive. This guy is a general after all, bringing him back might get us some rewards."

  Although they had just won a great victory, Gao Huan did not become complacent and forget himself. He knew that there might still be people from Goguryeo in the vicinity, and they needed to end the battle quickly and return to Liaodong City as soon as possible. Only by doing so could they ensure their safety. Having achieved a great merit, one also needs to have a life to return to Liaodong City, otherwise, how can one enjoy the reward?

  A string of urgent hoofbeats broke into Gao Liang's thoughts, and in the darkness, a cavalry troop holding torches hastily rushed towards the valley. Behind them, there seemed to be even more powerful hoofbeats rolling in.

  In an instant, the first few dozen riders had arrived beside Gao Lian's body. The one at the forefront was none other than Yuwen Huaji, who had been defending outside the valley. At this moment, Yuwen Huaji's face was as white as paper, his helmet had fallen off, and his hair was disheveled, looking utterly wretched.

  "General Gao, it's not good! A large army of Gojoseon has arrived, with at least tens of thousands of soldiers. Our brothers can't hold them back and have retreated into the valley. General Gao, please dispatch troops to block the valley immediately, or today will be the day we die."

  Yuwen Huaji had thought of taking his men and fleeing, but the high number of Goguryeo soldiers who came was too great, and they came too quickly; by the time he realized what was happening, there was no way to escape, and he could only retreat into the valley.

  Gao Liang's face suddenly turned pale, this was like falling from heaven to hell in an instant. The previous second they were still charging into the valley, killing the Goguryeo people, but now they had become the ones being trapped in the valley. However, although Gao Liang was stunned for a moment, he was after all a seasoned general and immediately reacted.

  "Form ranks, hold the mountain pass at all costs! Archers, prepare! Cavalry, dismount and form a long spear array. The rest of you, clear out the Goguryeo remnants in the valley quickly! Hurry up and chop down large trees to block the entrance, prevent their cavalry from charging in. Our only hope now is to hold our ground, I believe it won't be long before reinforcements arrive to save us. As long as we hold on, today's great achievement of annihilating three thousand Goguryeo cavalry will not escape your credit." General Gao stood on his horse, loudly issuing orders. Although the cavalry was also somewhat panicked, they all understood their situation at this moment and began to busy themselves.

  Yu Wen's expression changed as he finally had time to tidy up his disheveled appearance, and he glared at Gao Ying fiercely, "General Gao, didn't you say this matter was foolproof? How did it end up like this?"

  Gao Liang wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Young master, things on the battlefield can change in an instant, no one can guarantee anything 100%. However, young master, please don't be alarmed. I observe that all of our enemies are cavalry, which is a fortunate circumstance amidst misfortune. This mountain valley has three sides surrounded by mountains, with only this one exit. The Goguryeo people have no choice but to attack from here. Although these cavalrymen are fierce in battle, they came to raid Chen Kui's large camp, so although there are many of them, there are no infantry or various machines. As long as we guard the valley with giant logs and bows and arrows, the Goguryeo people will definitely not be able to break in for a while. Young master, don't forget that whether it is Chen Kui's large camp tens of miles away, or the emperor's Liaodong large camp, or General Pei's Xincheng, they are all not far from here. Fast horses can arrive in half a day, as long as we hold out for one more day, tomorrow when the army arrives, we will be fine. At that time, we may even be able to coordinate with the relief troops to launch a pincer attack on the Goguryeo people. Adding to that the 3,000 Goguryeo cavalrymen we killed tonight, it would be a great achievement!"

  For Gao Liang, tonight's scene is just a small matter. After serving in the army for so many years, he has encountered things that are hundreds of times more dangerous than this, and he has confidence in holding onto this valley with his thousand men. For a general like him, the current situation actually makes his blood boil with excitement.

  However, Yu Wenque was not a general, he was just a spoiled rich kid. He came here thinking it was a risk-free and profitable deal, but now he's in a precarious situation. As the saying goes, "A son of a wealthy family cannot bear to be humiliated", someone like him has never experienced such a situation before. In his heart, he couldn't help but hate Gao Huan extremely, planning that as soon as he returns to Liaodong City, he will make Gao Huan pay dearly.

  At this time, he couldn't help but think that it would have been better if Chen Kefu had stayed in the big camp. If they had listened to Chen Kefu and honestly stayed in the big camp, how could things have turned out like this today?

  "General Gao, I have already sent a team of soldiers to break through Chen Pojun's encirclement earlier, but I don't know if Chen Pojun will send someone to rescue me."

  Gao Liang couldn't help but smile wryly to himself after hearing this. Chen Pojun now had only three thousand men under his command, and he still had to guard a large camp - where could he spare people to send to their aid? But on the surface, he still smiled and said, "General Chen is also an old comrade of our Left Wing Guard. Now that the young master is in trouble, when he hears about it, he will surely rush to his rescue. Young master, you should go rest in the rear camp for now, I'll take care of this matter. You get a good night's sleep, and by tomorrow morning, everything will be fine."

  Chen Pojun's large camp, after half a day of emergency reinforcement, can be said to have become a temporary stronghold, with sufficient defensive equipment. They made the entire camp as solid as gold. Outside the camp fence were several trenches, followed by countless small pits for anti-cavalry defense, and then various abatis and caltrops. Inside the fence was a second line of defense formed by a circle of chariots and horses, behind which were rows of heavy weapons such as catapults, bed crossbows, and even fire oil, all of which had been prepared in advance in the new city to counter the Sui army, but now were all being used to prepare for the Goguryeo people themselves.

  Those civilians who knew how to use bows and arrows were all issued with bows and arrows, forming an archery team, preparing for a saturation attack on the incoming Goguryeo people. The rest of the sturdy men who did not know how to use bows and arrows were all issued with long spears, forming a spear team, lined up in formation behind the fence. As for those civilians who did not know how to use bows and arrows and were not very sturdy, they were all issued with shields, serving as the first line of defense, covering the archers and spearmen behind them.

  As for Chen Kefu's Broken Army Camp, it was used as a mobile force. Wherever the situation was critical, these 3,000 cavalrymen would be deployed. Finally, Chen Kefu specially selected 2,000 of the bravest and strongest militiamen. These men were equipped with small shields, crossbows, long spears, curved knives, and each had a warhorse. They formed the final reserve force. As someone who had theoretical knowledge himself and had learned from Li Benlei's experiences, Chen Kefu naturally understood that at critical moments, the rational use of a reserve force could change the course of a battle or even an entire war.

  Looking at the large camp in front of him, Chen Kefu was filled with infinite pride. Now he couldn't wait for those Goguryeo people to come and attack, as long as they were willing to come, this place would become a slaughterhouse for the Goguryeo people. And relying on such a large camp, he believed that not only could they defend the camp, but also give the Goguryeo people a severe blow. Let those Goguryeo people see what the strongest army in the world was like.

  It's a new week again, everyone votes to recommend and rush the list. This week is three Jiang, and now the new book total list is 17th, not far from the top of the list, everyone pushes brother a little bit.