Chapter 28: The Troops of Youyan are Skilled in Battle

  The north gate of Cao County, the sound of killing shook the sky, and the sound of drinking was like thunder.

  Xu Chu and Sun Jian fought fiercely in front of the two armies, killing each other until the sky grew dark and the sun and moon lost their light.

  The soldiers of both armies cheered loudly with all their might, shouting until they were almost hoarse.

  Luo Zheng stood under the great flag, his blood boiling with excitement.

  In this era, heroes are revered. Although individual martial prowess cannot play a decisive role in large-scale wars, it can boost morale to some extent. Therefore, when the two armies clash, there will be exceptionally skilled warriors who will fight a few rounds first.

  Sun Jian was known as the Tiger of Jiangdong, with the bravery of a million men, his reputation shook and intimidated all directions.

  Xu Chu was just an unknown villager, although he was called a tiger madman, but only spread in the countryside. Before that, he had never revealed his name, and unexpectedly, he could fight evenly with Sun Jian, how could it not make the soldiers of Xiliang army spirited?

  The golden armor is as sharp as a knife, and the golden stone pierces through the void.

  Xu Chu roared with rage, his eyes bulging out of their sockets as he fought fiercely.

  Sun Jian exerted his divine strength, and the ancient sword's every move was a swift attack. After more than fifty rounds of battle, he began to feel somewhat exhausted.

  Just now being angry and furious, I spat out a mouthful of old blood, but it was exhausting.

  This time, he encountered a fierce man like Xu Chu, and was slightly inferior from the start. As time went on, he fell into a disadvantageous position.

  "Accept death."

  Xu Chu grew more fierce with each battle, seeing that Sun Jian's strength was waning, he fought with all his might.

  Sun Jian's eyes bulged with rage, his thunderous roar echoed repeatedly, and the corners of his eyes almost split open.

  He had just recognized Luo Zhen as the mastermind behind the ambush that killed Huang Gai and Han Dang, and his anger was already burning fiercely. Having been enraged to the point of spitting up a mouthful of old blood, he now found himself gradually unable to match an unknown opponent on the battlefield, which made him feel utterly humiliated.

  Fought again for more than ten rounds.

  Xu Chu's bravery was even more evident, his knife flashing like lightning, swift and powerful.

  Sun Jian was already sweating on his forehead and his arms were numb.

  It seems that continuing to fight will lead to defeat, although reluctantly, he decisively pats his horse and leaves.

  "Wherever Sun Jian's husband goes, leave your life behind."

  Xu Chu let out a loud roar and chased after him on horseback, biting down hard and refusing to let go.

  Suddenly, a sharp arrow shot through the air, swift and ruthless, straight for the throat.

  Xu Chu hastily dodged to the side and let them pass, but three more powerful arrows shot out in rapid succession.

  Just seeing the strength and angle of this arrow, I know that there are good archers among the Youzhou cavalry.

  Xu Chu let out a loud roar, his powerful body suddenly flipping off the horse's back, passing through the horse's belly and flipping onto the other side of the horse's back. Just as three strong arrows brushed past his ears, his exquisite horsemanship left the Western Liang soldiers on the city wall staring in awe, forgetting to cheer.

  Normally looking at this guy's big head, it doesn't seem like he's good at riding skills.

  It seems now that I was wrong after all.

  Luo Zheng did not expect Xu Chu's riding skills to be so exquisite and couldn't help but shout in admiration.

  Xu Chu was about to pursue again, when the Youzhou cavalry in front of him had already opened their bows and shot a volley of arrows.

  "Sound the trumpet and recall the troops."

  Luo Zhen looked clearly from the city head, fearing that Xu Chu would lose, and hurriedly gave a loud order.

  Xu Zhu saw that things were not going well, so he hastily let out a loud cry, turned his horse around and galloped away. With his long sword flying about like flowers in the wind, he deflected all the strong arrows shot at him. However, due to a momentary lapse in attention, one strong arrow struck his horse's thigh.

  The warhorse ate pain, suddenly let out a long neigh, and opened its four hooves to gallop wildly.

  Fortunately, 500 Western Liang cavalry arrived in time and hastily intercepted them, driving them back with a loud shout, and chased the frenzied war horses back into the city.

  The three thousand Yu State cavalry did not take advantage of the situation to launch a surprise attack. After Sun Jian gave the order, they quickly retreated and left, with very strict military discipline.

  Luo Zheng's gaze on the city wall was a condensation, this Youzhou cavalry was not simple at all. Not only were they strictly disciplined, but their riding and shooting skills were no less than those of the Western Liang cavalry, and even surpassed them in some ways. They were indeed the elite among the elites.

  I had long heard that the Youyan cavalry was fierce and good at fighting, especially skilled in horseback archery, but I had never seen it with my own eyes.

  It turns out that there is no false reputation under a famous name.

  Youyan cavalry has been fighting with nomadic tribes outside the Great Wall for years, and Pei Taishou Gongsun Zan is also good at training cavalry. These 3,000 Youzhou cavalry are also Gongsun Zan's personal troops. When they shot at the corner of the formation, the angle of their arrows was absolutely top-notch.

  The arrow flew low and would have hit Sun Jian.

  If you shoot too high, you can't shoot back at Xu Zhu.

  The difficulty of grasping the angle is not something an ordinary archer can achieve.

  Only those who are truly skilled in archery can grasp the angle just right.

  Xiliang is a place of bravery, the Xiliang iron cavalry is brave and good at fighting, famous throughout the world. However, if only considering archery on horseback, they are slightly inferior to this elite group from Youzhou. This does not mean that the Xiliang cavalry is inferior to the Youzhou cavalry, but rather their archery skills are indeed slightly weaker.

  The northwest is plagued by frequent wars and raids from nomadic tribes, with extremely harsh living conditions.

  Gou Yi, Northwestern people are mostly valiant and brave, and the Western Liang army is also famous for its bravery and good fighting skills.

  If we talk about military bravery and good fighting skills, only Pingzhou Army and Youzhou Army can be mentioned together with Liangzhou Army.

  Youzhou is also a land of bitter cold, and the Youyan army has long been known for its good fighting skills. In addition, it has been at war with nomadic tribes for many years, and the cavalry of Youzhou is particularly skilled in riding and shooting. By comparison, the Western Liang Iron Cavalry is slightly inferior in terms of horseback archery.

  Of course, whether Youzhou cavalry is good at fighting or Xiliang iron cavalry is fierce, it's not just about riding skills.

  It's hard to say who's better until they've fought each other.

  Luo Zhengmu saw off the cavalry of Youzhou as they retreated far away, and in his eyes, a sharp light flashed, while in his bones, his blood boiled up for no reason.

  In the sound of rapid footsteps, Xu Chu hastily rushed up onto the city wall.

  "My lord, I'm back."

  Xu Chu rushed before Luo Zhen and loudly repeated his orders.

  Luo Zhen heavily patted Xu Zhu's shoulder, showing affection, and laughed loudly: "Zhong Kang is doing well! This time, killing Sun Jian made him flee in disarray, greatly boosting the morale of our army. It makes Sun Jian, that fierce tiger from Jiangdong, dare not be arrogant again, haha!"

  More than ten officers of the Western Liang army also burst out laughing, all feeling a great relief.

  Looking at Xu Chu again, he was even more pleased and sincerely accepted this fierce man.

  Xu Chu said with a sense of shame: "I was unable to behead Sun Jian, I have failed to meet the expectations of our lord, it is truly shameful."

  Luo Zhenlang said loudly: "Zhong Kang, don't worry about it. This time, if we can kill Sun Jian and make him flee in disarray, it will already be a great achievement. If we can defeat the three thousand Youyan cavalry brought by Sun Jian, Zhong Kang should take credit for the first merit."

  The crowd of military school students hurriedly chorused their congratulations, with envy visible in their eyes.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and said, "Go back to the Stabbing History Bureau and discuss military affairs."

  In the late afternoon, before sunset, Sun Jian's 15,000 infantry finally arrived at Qiao County.

  After the army set up camp, they immediately cooked and rested to recover their spirits and physical strength for the next day's battle.

  The news arrived in the city, and Luo Zhen hurriedly led the troops to climb up onto the city wall to observe.

  After inspecting Sun Jian's military camp, he returned to the governor's mansion and discussed how to defeat the enemy.

  However, after repeated discussions, they were unable to come up with a reliable plan to defeat Sun Jian's army at a small cost.

  In terms of military strength, the Western Liang Iron Cavalry was less than half of Sun Jian's army.

  Although the Western Liang army was all cavalry, with a great advantage, Sun Jian also had three thousand elite Youzhou cavalry under his command. It was not an easy task to defeat Sun Jian's large army at a small cost.

  If there were no three thousand Youzhou cavalry or only these three thousand Youzhou cavalry, it would not be difficult to break them.

  However, with an army of 15,000, plus these 3,000 Youzhou cavalry, things are getting a bit troublesome.

  With these three thousand Youzhou cavalry, Sun Jian's army will not be led by the nose by the Xiliang Iron Cavalry. If they want to seek an opportunity to defeat the enemy, the chances will become very slim. Even if they engage in a real-life battle, the seven thousand Xiliang Iron Cavalry may not necessarily win.

  Lu Zheng rubbed his brow, listening to the various military officers downstairs loudly discussing one by one, their brows gradually furrowing.

  As the sound gradually faded away, he looked up and found that all the military academy students were looking at him with eager anticipation.

  Luo Zheng waved his hand, just about to end the military meeting, when he suddenly thought of the time he read Water Margin and saw Xu Ning use a hook-and-sickle spear to defeat Huyan Zhuo's iron-clad ring-linked cavalry. Suddenly, a brilliant idea flashed in his mind, and a plan formed in his heart.

  This era has no Golden Gun General Xu Ning, so naturally there is also no Hooked Spear Gun.

  Moreover, the hook gun's destruction of iron armor and chain mail cavalry is just a plot point, whether it can actually be done is another matter.

  So, why not learn from the wisdom of the ancients?

  Luo Zheng suddenly thought of horseshoes and horse nails again, and his eyes became brighter.

  The eyes of the military academy saw that General was first frowning, then his eyes lit up and revealed a sly smile. The familiar military academy immediately lifted their spirits and knew that the general must have thought of some clever strategy to defeat the enemy.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  "Sure enough, Luo Zheng suddenly shouted loudly: 'I've got it! General, I have thought of a good strategy to defeat the enemy.'"

  The officers all hastily said in unison: "Please give your orders, General."

  "Bring paper and pen!" Luo Zheng said loudly.

  There were already attendants who responded to the call and quickly brought brushes and silk fabrics.

  Luo Zheng sat at his desk and drew a messy picture. He wasted over a dozen pieces of paper before he finally managed to draw the shape.

  "You wait and withdraw for now."

  Luo Zhen waved his hand and drove all the military officers out, leaving only Xu Chu behind.

  Silently and stealthily, the gate appeared before him.

  Luo Zheng beckoned with his hand and turned around to step inside.

  Xu Chu also hastily followed up, although he had entered and exited many times, but there was still an uncontrollable look of surprise in his tiger-like eyes.