Chapter 21: The Maiden's War

  "Fan Zige, Huangfu Wuyi, Yuan Wendu, you bunch of gutless cowards! Do you have the guts to come out and fight us to the death? Hiding in the city is no great feat! Come out! Come out!"

  "Yu Wentai, think it over carefully. Now if you open the city gate and surrender, we'll give you whatever you want. But if you stubbornly resist, once we break into Luoyang City, your whole family's heads will be gone! It's settled!"

  "Fan Zigei, you old thing, won't you die? Come out and fight a decisive battle with us! Won't you die? Come out!"

  The sky was really too hot, the sun was high in the air without a single cloud, and the ground was smoking from the heat. The rebel army was also sweating profusely, with sweat dripping down their faces like rain. Even the voices of those shouting and cursing were weak and lacking in energy. Yang Wanxiao, the rebel general who led 3,000 rebels to fight at Anxi Gate, and who was previously a Langjiang General of the Sui army, had long since dismounted his horse and sat on the ground, letting his personal soldiers take off their clothes to shade him from the sun. He muttered curses under his breath, "Damn this luck, why did it have to be today that the sun is so big? It's going to kill me!"

  "General Wu, why don't we head back?" suggested Yu Rou, a young nobleman who had recently defected to the rebel army, wiping away his sweat. "Anyway, that old codger Fan Zigai is definitely not going to come out of the city, and it's pointless to keep waiting in this heat. Let's gather our troops and return to Jinyong City instead."

  "Do you think I don't want to retreat to Jinyong City and cool off?" Yang Wansheng said in a bad tone: "But this is the big brother's order before he left, we are not allowed to withdraw until afternoon, violating his military order, even if I am his own fifth younger brother, I will be punished! You this Henan..."

  "Can't escape even if you run!"

  Yu Rou thought for a moment and changed her target, scolding: "It's all because of that cowherd's rotten Confucian who came up with a stupid idea, causing us to suffer here. When I get the chance, just watch me deal with him!"

  "Li Mi is still very capable, my father had already highly appreciated him back then." Yang Wanshuo was not as good as Yu Rou's pampered and spoiled son, and did not echo Yu Rou's criticism of Li Mi's plan. Instead, he instructed his personal guard on the side: "Go and pass down the order to the front lines, tell them to shout louder, make sure to put on a show that will curse out that old man Fan Ziga. Also, have the ambush scouts guard all the major and minor roads, absolutely cannot let any enemy scouts get away."

  The guard led the order and brought Yang Wanshuo's command to the troops who were scolding under the city wall. However, the weather was still a bit too hot. The rebel soldiers who were scolding and surrendering under the city wall couldn't shout louder no matter how hard they tried, and continued to be weak and powerless in their shouting for surrender. Many rebel soldiers even took off their simple helmets, bared their arms and shouted loudly under the city wall. Some bold rebel soldiers even ran to the edge of the moat to drink water, completely disregarding the defenders on the city wall.

  The rebel soldiers didn't have to worry about the garrison troops on the city wall either. In the face of the rebels' insults and provocations, there were hardly any garrison soldiers who dared to retort, let alone come out of the city to fight a decisive battle with the surging rebel army. From top to bottom, they were even more listless and dispirited than the rebels. Many garrison soldiers simply sat down or squatted, trying to hide in the meager shade under the arrow towers.

  Yuwen Dajue, the imperial censor in charge of defending Anxi Gate, completely ignored this and led his men to retreat into a cooler city tower to enjoy the coolness, ordering that unless the rebels attacked the city, no one was allowed to disturb him.

  After half past noon, the almost dead atmosphere finally changed. Fan Zigai, the Eastern Capital's garrison commander known for his strict military discipline, suddenly led a team of imperial guards back to the Anxi Gate after finishing his daily patrol, scaring the soldiers who were sneaking away from their duties and making them hastily stand at attention facing outwards. Yuan Wenda also received the news

  He hastily scrambled out of the city building, ran to Fan Zige's face, and hurriedly saluted, trembling with fear as he waited for Fan Zige's great anger.

  Yuan Wentai's luck was not bad, Fan Zigai just glared at him fiercely this time, reminded him that his official uniform was not proper, and then stood by the arrow tower to observe the rebel army outside the city. At the same time, the rebel army's cursing team outside the city also saw Fan Zigai with a snow-white beard, and suddenly they came to life like they had been injected with chicken blood, pointing at Fan Zigai on the city wall and scolding loudly, trying their best to infuriate Fan Zigai himself. At the same time, they sent someone to report the situation to Yang Wanshuo in the rear rebel army.

  With an expressionless face, Fan Zigai glanced at the rebel army and turned his gaze to Chen Yingliang beside him, saying: "Chen Jishi, Liu Changgong is already organizing the rear troops. The vanguard will be entrusted to you. Go and get ready to launch a counterattack."

  "Fan Liushou, please wait a moment, let me observe the enemy situation for a while." Chen Yingliang hurriedly cupped his hands and pleaded, then turned his head to look at the rebel army's situation in the distance.

  At this time, after receiving the news of Fan Ziga's appearance, the rebel army, which had slightly relaxed, immediately began to reorganize and shouted slogans in unison. The previously scattered formation quickly restored order. Seeing this scene, Chen Yingliang immediately cupped his hands towards Fan Zigai and said: "Fan, the enemy's morale has not been exhausted, please wait another half an hour, and let me lead the army to attack again."

  "Wait another half an hour?" Fan Zige frowned slightly and said, "What's wrong? Are you afraid again? Didn't you assure me earlier that we would win the first battle?"

  "Just because a small person wants to ensure the first battle must win, the first big victory, so we must seize the best opportunity to strike. Chen Yingliang respectfully replied: "On the battlefield, courage is important, but using brains to fight is also important. Those who only use courage to fight are brave generals, and those who can use their brains to fight are great generals."

  Having said that, Chen Yingliang hastily and respectfully added a sentence, saying: "The garrison master has read extensively on military books, is well-versed in strategy, looking at the weather, and then looking at the environment where the rebel troops are located, must have already known the reason why I requested to launch a later attack.

  It's just half past 7:28, we still have plenty of time."

  Looking at the scorching sun in the sky and then looking at the rebel army being scorched by the fierce sun on the open terrain, Fan Zigu's stern face rarely showed a hint of a smile. He said: "Alright, let's wait another half an hour. I won't leave either. Half an hour later, see how you defeat the bandits."

  "Thank you, General Fan." Chen Yingliang bowed his hands in gratitude and continued: "General Fan, General Huangfu, I'd like to ask you both to wait on the city wall for a while. Firstly, it's too hot outside, which isn't good for your health. Secondly, the rebel troops were boosted by your appearance, so if you leave the city wall, their morale will surely plummet again."

  When Chen Yingliang made sense, Fan Zigai also didn't speak, turned around and walked towards the city building, while walking, he sent someone to order Liu Changgong to let the three thousand rear teams rest temporarily. The weak and sick Huangfu Wuyi also hurried up, Chen Yingliang ran to the bottom of the city wall, requiring the soldiers to take off their armor and rest in a cool place, replenish light salt water. As a result, it was just as Chen Yingliang had expected that after Fan Zigai and others disappeared from the top of the city, the rebel army first responded with triumphant laughter and scolding sounds, and then the morale quickly fell again. Yang Wanshuo and Yu Rou returned to the clothes-covered canopy, scolding and scolding, and the rebel army's neat team also scattered again.

  For Fan Zigai and Huangfu Wu Yi, the high-ranking officials of Dongdu who had probably already sent out false military reports, this half-hour was likely to be the longest half-hour in their lives. The air on the city wall seemed to have solidified, making it hard for people to breathe, and even Fan Zigai, who was nearly 70 years old and had experienced countless storms, couldn't help but feel extremely tense, with a faint sweat on his palms.

  Chen Yingliang was not nervous. After countless life-and-death battles with criminal suspects and twice infiltrating the enemy's lair to hunt down the murderer, Chen Yingliang had long since developed an iron-like spirit and willpower. So as he gazed out at the rebel army outside the city whose morale was gradually declining, Chen Yingliang not only didn't feel a bit of nervousness but also didn't have much excitement about being able to show off his skills on the battlefield soon. What he was thinking about in his head were all the possible situations and countermeasures that might occur on the battlefield.

  Pei Hongzhe received the message and appeared at Anxi Gate without knowing when. He stood beside Chen Yingliang and gazed at the rebel army for a moment before saying in a low voice: "Don't put too much hope on Liu Changgong's rear team, he is a tiger general who relies on hereditary official positions, has never been to the battlefield, and the three teams that first defected from me at Baishi Ma Slope were all under his command. The leader of the rebellion, Yuan Jinhui, was also promoted by him as a trusted aide. His troops are unreliable, everything can only rely on yourself, be careful."

  "Thank you, Uncle." Chen Yingliang replied respectfully, and added in his heart, "I never expected anything from him anyway."

  Half a time finally arrived, after obtaining the consent of Fan Ziga, Chen Yingliang walked down the city wall in big strides, gathered troops in the open area under Anxi Gate, and at the same time, Fan Zigai sent someone to pass on an order to Liu Changgong, ordering him to organize the rear army to prepare for a counterattack.

  The organizational discipline of the thirteen-day training was not in vain. Chen Yingliang gave an order at the foot of the city wall, and the remaining 411 soldiers immediately put on their armor, helmets, and white cloaks that distinguished them from ordinary Sui army officers. They quickly formed a line in front of Chen Yingliang, with every face filled with excitement and apprehension, but not a hint of fear or timidity.

  At the same time, in the Right Wuwei Army, the fourth-highest ranking official, Sui general Liu Changgong, also began to assemble his troops. Three thousand Sui soldiers were like a flock of ducks, shouting and neighing, chaotic for half a day without gathering into formation. Every soldier's face was filled with fear and worry, their expressions as wooden as if they were about to be executed. To boost the morale of the soldiers, Liu Changgong loudly shouted, "Brothers, don't be afraid! We're just the rear guard, just lining up along the city moat, making a show of force to assist the vanguard. The ones fighting at the front are those four hundred little rascals wearing mourning clothes. We only need to cut down fleeing soldiers, and if it doesn't work out, we can retreat back into the city at any time! Don't be afraid!"

  At the same time Liu Changgong shouted, Chen Yingliang declined the war horse sent by Fan Zigai. Now Chen Yingliang, who was still mediocre in riding skills, rode the war horse into battle, not only did he not help at all, but he would also become the target of the rebel army's arrows. On the contrary, it was safer to fight on foot with the soldiers. In this regard, Chen Yingliang, who had both bravery and wisdom, calculated carefully.

  Arbitrarily designated as u4e00

  Zero soldiers served as flag bearers, both hands handed over the loyal and patriotic great flag to his face, in front of more than 400 reporters, Chen Yingliang said loudly: "Brother, the military flag is handed over to you, you hold the military flag with me, the remaining 410 brothers follow the military flag, the military flag is the soul of the army, so from now on, you are our soul! You must protect the military flag like your life, as long as the flag exists, people exist, and when the flag dies, people die!"

  Under the gaze of all the soldiers, amidst the countless Sui army's military and civilian gazes on the city above and below, that soldier blushed, knelt down to Chen Yingliang with both knees, knocked his head three times, then stood up, took over the military flag with both hands, and silently stood beside Chen Yingliang.

  "Comrades, I didn't have time to tell you the reason earlier, but our attack time has been brought forward!" Chen Yingliang said loudly: "It was I who requested General Fan to bring forward the time, and there are two reasons for this. One of them is still not suitable to be told to you, and the other reason is that the opportunity for us to win a great victory in our first battle has arrived! Outside the city, there are only three thousand undisciplined troops of Yang's rebel army, and the commander leading them is unknown, as General Fan's scouts did not dare to get close to gather information. But we can know who the commander-in-chief of the rebel army is! As for how we know who the commander-in-chief of the rebel army is, you tell me, what method should be used?"

  Facing Chen Yingliang's strange question, the reporters were momentarily bewildered, but Chen Zhihong, one of the only two university students in the reporter team, reacted quickly and answered loudly: "Bring the bandit general over or behead him on the battlefield, then we can know who he is!"

  "That's right! We don't know who the enemy general is. Let's capture him and ask him, then we'll understand!" Chen Yingliang said loudly: "This is the simplest way, and also the most effective way!"

  Loudly finished, Chen Yingliang raised his voice again and shouted: "Report to the soldiers, tell me, what are we fighting for?"

  "Kill the rebels and pacify the bandits! Loyalty and dedication to the country!" More than 400 officers and men responded in unison, loudly.

  "Right! Kill the rebels and pacify the bandits! Loyalty to the country!" Chen Yingliang shouted loudly: "The slogan has been shouted, our opportunity has also come. Fan Yuwei has already given the order. If we win this battle, the reward will be doubled when we return! Those who die on the battlefield will receive triple rewards! For the emperor, for the imperial court, for the countless innocent civilians in Luoyang City, and even more for ourselves, we must win this battle!"

  Roaring loudly, Chen Yingliang waved his arm and shouted again: "Kill the rebels! Loyalty to the country!"

  "Kill the rebels and pacify the bandits! Loyalty to the country! Kill the rebels and pacify the bandits! Loyalty to the country! Kill the rebels and pacify the bandits! Loyalty to the country!" He had long been accustomed to Chen Yingliang's requirement for the soldiers to shout in unison, repeatedly raising their weapons and shouting loudly, infecting his comrades in the team and also being infected by them.

  "Soldiers, sing our military song loudly and follow me out of the city!" Chen Yingliang commanded in a loud voice, then shouted again: "City gate officer, open the city gate!"

  "Wolf smoke rises, looking north at the rivers and mountains, dragon rises and rolls, horse neighs loudly, sword energy like frost..."

  In the loud and clear military song, the city gate of Luoyang slowly opened, Chen Yingliang held a horizontal knife, walked out of the city gate with his head held high and his chest out, the flag of loyalty to the country was tightly followed by the flag bearer, Guo Feng and Chen Zhihong, two school lieutenants, flanked him on both sides, the remaining 408 reporting officers and men followed in a queue, the military song echoed continuously in the reporting team, "...... I wish to guard the soil and reopen the borders, the great Sui Dynasty, let the world come to congratulate us!"

  As the slogans and military songs were heard, and the eastern capital city gate slowly opened, the rebel army was already in a state of great chaos. They hastily put on their armor, and Yang Wanshuo and Yu Rou looked around with their heads raised, saying that they did not dare to believe that the defeated Eastern Capital garrison would have the courage to come out of the city for a decisive battle. It wasn't until they saw the soldiers lined up in formation coming out of the city that Yang Wanshuo and Yu Rou came back to their senses, hastily shouting loudly and commanding the army to form an array to welcome the battle.

  The Hu Bao Lang general Liu Changgong led the Sui army's rear team, still slowly walking into the city gate's barbican, while Fan Zigai, Huangfu Wuyi and Pei Hongce and other Dongdu heavy ministers had already walked to the top of the city wall, personally watching Fan Zigai stake his lifelong reputation, taking a risk to form this branch's first battle.

  As if infected by this tense atmosphere, a gentle breeze suddenly blew in, slightly lifting the hem of her skirt.

  A corner of the flag written by Fu Zigu's own hand, a loyal and patriotic great banner. By the way, one of the main reasons why Fan Zigai agreed to give Chen Yingliang this opportunity was because of the slogan he shouted out, requesting this military flag.

  Chen Yingliang was the first to cross the stone bridge over the moat. The rebels on the edge of the moat were few in number and did not dare to fight, so they retreated back to their main formation. The soldiers under Chen's command marched across the bridge in large strides, singing military songs, and gradually gathered into a formation outside the moat.

  The wind gradually grew stronger and unfolded the entire banner of loyalty to the country. On the northern horizon, a dark cloud like ink appeared. Chen Yingliang gazed at the enemy formation 500 steps away and found that the rebel army was still hastily forming up. He turned his head to look at the reporting troops and found that they had all left the city and quickly formed up, but Liu Changgong's 3,000-strong rear army was still slowly crawling out of the city gate like a turtle.

  "This is my only chance, Chai Shao, Li Yuan, I must make you regret!" Chen Yingliang muttered to himself in his heart. He raised the horizontal knife and swung it twice, and the military song behind him immediately stopped abruptly. Then Chen Yingliang raised the horizontal knife again and shouted loudly: "Soldiers, our life and death depend on this battle! Follow me and charge! Kill——!"

  Shouting loudly, Chen Yingliang was the first to charge forward with his sword towards the opposing rebel army, four hundred and eleven loyal soldiers roared like thunder, each holding their swords, guns, and flags tightly as they followed Chen Yingliang, their eyes wide open, taking big strides towards the rebel army five hundred steps away, nearly eight times larger than their own, "Kill———!"

  "The rear team hasn't even left the city, how can they charge now?" The people on the city wall, including Fan Zigai and Huangfu Wu Yi, were all shocked. Pei Hong Ce was so angry that he punched the arrow tower, furious with his nephew who had been boasting about his military strategies on paper.

  "No wonder they want to wear mourning clothes, it turns out they are eager to send themselves to death." Liu Changgong, who had not yet left the city gate, was gloating over the misfortune of others, and the Sui army officers around him were almost all thinking the same way.

  There is a saying that "those who are in the midst of it are confused, while those who observe from the side are clear", but sometimes it is indeed only those who are in the midst of it who can truly understand what is happening. The Sui army's premature charge was met with bewilderment and schadenfreude, but for the rebel army, it was utterly unexpected and shocking. Since the rebellion began, they had never encountered a situation where the Sui army, with low morale, dared to launch a charge against their own army, let alone when the Sui army was at an absolute disadvantage in terms of military strength.

  Under the unexpected circumstances, Yang Wanhua and Yu Rou directly shouted out loud, while the rebel soldiers had a hint of fear, starting to gradually become afraid of the brave and fearless soldiers who were charging towards them - after all, the rebel soldiers were also human beings, and their troops were composed of ordinary civilians, militiamen, sailors, and surrendered Sui army soldiers, making them a typical mob. Such an army would be invincible when fighting with the wind at their backs, but when it came to fighting against the wind, in a desperate battle... Haha, everyone understands.

  There is another point, Chen Yingliang's insistence on wearing white robes also played a huge role. This was not because Chen Yingliang let the soldiers wear white robes and suddenly became Chen Qingzhi's White Armor Army, but rather that Chen Yingliang borrowed some of Chen Qingzhi's psychological tactics, creating a sense of belonging, cohesion, and uniqueness among the soldiers. It also made the rebel army understand at a glance that this army was different from others, giving rise to a fear of the unknown, completely losing their psychological advantage in front of the defeated Sui army.

  In the blink of an eye, the rolling black clouds had already covered half the sky, the strong wind was blowing fiercely, and the great flag of loyalty to the country was waving in the wind, making a rustling sound, rushing towards Chen Yingliang at the forefront, and the distance from the rebel army's troops was less than two hundred steps.

  "Beat the drums! Cheer on the brave warriors of Great Sui!" When the dark clouds completely covered the entire sky, Fan Zigai finally remembered this important matter.

  "Beat the drums and charge! We can't lose in morale!" Yang Wanshuo finally remembered this important matter and hurriedly shouted loudly to order the troops to charge.

  "Boom!" The sudden explosion of thunder completely covered the sound of war drums from both sides. In the distance to the north, a red flash appeared, like a black cloud being lifted, revealing a large patch of blood-red sky. A cool breeze mixed with raindrops hit Chen Yingliang and Bao Jiangshi's faces and bodies. Chen Yingliang did not stop his footsteps, nor did Bao Jiangshi's footsteps cease. The angry roars in their mouths seemed to have covered up the sound of thunder.

  "Boom! The Thunderbolt Explodes, 'Die——!'"

  Some rebel soldiers started a countercharge, but their footsteps were clearly not as fast as they had been in the battles with the Sui army over the past few days. Some of the rebel soldiers even began to worry, "Who are these people coming at us?"

  "Rumble!" Another flash of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the ground in a burst of clarity. The first pea-sized raindrop hit Chen Yingliang's face as he led his troops, now less than thirty paces away from the rebel army. Guo Feng and Chen Zhihong, temporarily serving as company commanders, charged forward together, overtaking Chen Yingliang and reaching the front lines.

  Heaven and earth conscience, greedy for life and fear of death Chen Yingliang this time really is not intentionally slowing down the pace, but Chen Yingliang malnutrition small body simply can't run over physically strong Guo Feng and Chen Zhihong. Guo Feng who wants to marry a beautiful wife and Chen Zhihong who wants to marry Feng Jie, in order not to let their own beautiful dreams shattered, in order not to let the temporarily held position of school lieutenant quickly lost again, they desperately rushed to the front.

  Rumble...

  Another thunderbolt exploded in the sky above the battlefield, and a torrent of rain poured down, pounding against the scorching hot ground that had been baked by the sun. The raindrops evaporated quickly, rising up as white mist, which enveloped the entire ground in a short time, like clouds. Chen Yingliang and his soldiers charged into the rebel army like heavenly warriors, their thunderous battle cry echoing through the storm: "Kill!"