Chapter 44: Bloody Battle on Long Street

  Li Meng urged his horse to rush forward and shouted loudly: "General, it's too chaotic inside the city, the alleys are too narrow, our army is crowded together, it's really hard to kill the enemy, why not first break out of the city, then gather the main force, and have a decisive battle with the Jizhou army."

  Luo Zhen's mind was racing with electricity, knowing that the military morale had collapsed and it would be disadvantageous to fight hard. He immediately shouted loudly, "Order the whole army to break out of the city."

  "General, which gate will we break through?" Wang Fang asked loudly and urgently.

  Luo Zheng loudly asked, "What's going on at the East Gate, North Gate and West Gate?"

  A small school rushed over and reported loudly: "There is a firelight soaring into the sky outside both east and west gates, suspected to be an ambush by the Jizhou army. Only the north gate is quiet, with only a few hundred Jizhou soldiers. The general can order a breakthrough from the north gate."

  Luo Zheng's mind turned rapidly, and he shouted loudly: "Pass on my order, the whole army will break out of the encirclement from the east gate."

  "East Gate Breakout, this..."

  "General, there may be ambushes outside the east gate!"

  "Enough idle chatter, go and pass on the order at once!"

  "Yes, sir."

  The little school didn't dare to waste words and hurriedly rode away on horseback.

  Luo Zhen hastily ordered Chen Tong: "Chen Tong, quickly go and fetch Xun Yu's family and Gan Qian, and break through the encirclement first."

  "Roger."

  Chen Tong loudly acknowledged the order and urged his horse forward.

  Luo Zheng shouted loudly: "Li Meng, Wang Fang, listen to the order."

  "The end will be there."

  The two generals urged their horses forward and arrived at the front, bowing their heads in obedience.

  Luo Zheng shouted: "I order you two to each lead 300 cavalrymen to follow General Ben and cut off the enemy's rear. The rest of you, each lead your own troops and immediately break out of the east gate. If you break out of the city, then wait for further orders from the whole army, do not make any mistakes."

  "Roger."

  The troops responded loudly and immediately dispersed to take action.

  Apart from Li Mu and Wang Fang, everyone else immediately turned their horses around and left to gather a large army to break through the siege.

  "Kill!"

  Luo Zheng let out a loud shout and charged into the Jizhou army on horseback.

  Li Meng and Wang Fang's faces were ferocious, they also urged their horses to rush forward, with a fire burning in their hearts.

  Since entering Guandong, it has always been the Xiliang army that ambushes others, when have they ever been ambushed?

  Tonight, they were suddenly ambushed by the Hebei army, and all the military officers had a bellyful of resentment.

  Under the night sky, blood stains the long street, and the cries of killing shock the wilderness.

  The Jizhou army and the Xiliang army were crowded on the narrow streets, fighting desperately to the death, extremely tragic.

  Luo Zheng led six hundred cavalrymen to fight to the death, but unfortunately, the Ji Zhou army was advancing from all sides, and under the intense battle, they were still being killed and retreating in defeat. They had to be constantly on guard against cold arrows shot from the rooftops and houses.

  The cavalry around him fell one by one, and soon there were only over two hundred riders left.

  Xu Chu wielded his sword and rode horizontally, closely guarding Luo Zhen's side, blocking many cold arrows and chaotic blades.

  Li Meng covered in blood rushed forward and shouted: "General, hurry up and break through the encirclement, if you don't leave now it will be too late."

  Luo Zheng had long since become a bloody man, and he didn't know how many knives he had suffered. His eyes scanned around quickly with a fierce and cold gaze, and he made a swift decision to pull out his knife and shout loudly, "Break through!" As soon as the words fell, he urged his horse forward and charged into the fray.

  Li Meng, Wang Fang and the remaining two hundred cavalry immediately gathered around Jing Cong, fighting a desperate battle to break through the encirclement.

  By the time they arrived at the East Gate, there were less than fifty riders left by his side, and each of them was wounded.

  There were small schools with 500 riders waiting outside the east gate to respond.

  Luo Zheng was about to leave the city when another horseman suddenly caught up from behind.

  "General, our brothers are blocked and can't get out."

  His loyal bodyguard was covered in blood, one arm gone, crawling on horseback with a mournful long howl.

  "Where are Xun Yu's family and Gan Qing?" Luo Zhen asked loudly.

  The loyal guards wept and shouted: "He is still in the city."

  "Go!"

  Luo Zheng didn't say a word, turned his horse's head and killed his way back.

  Xu Chu, Li Meng and Wang Fang, along with the five hundred cavalry waiting outside the gate, hastily urged their horses to follow up and gallop towards the county government office.

  Outside the North Gate, two thousand Jizhou soldiers wore armor and held spears, hiding in a patch of thistle bushes, quietly waiting.

  Zhang Huo stood at the forefront, gazing into the city where flames had erupted and the sound of killing shook the heavens. However, after nearly half a watch, not a single soldier from Western Liang emerged from the north gate to break through the siege. His brow gradually furrowed as he suspected that the Western Liang rebels might not be planning to break through after all.

  Otherwise, why did you wait for almost half an hour without any movement?

  Just then, a horseman came galloping up and arrived in front of them.

  Zhang He hastily stopped the incoming horseman and asked loudly: "What is the situation in the city, why hasn't the Western Liang army broken out yet?"

  "General, you are unaware that the Xiliang rebel army has seen through our plan and did not make a surprise attack from the north gate, but instead made a surprise attack from the east gate. They have already broken out of the city. Whether to pursue them or not, please make a decision as soon as possible."

  "What?"

  Zhang Hu was shocked, and immediately grasped his wrist, saying: "This is indeed unexpected, Luo Zhen's little trick is really cunning, and he can recognize the general's plan so quickly. It's not easy to deal with him. Pass the order to the army, and quickly pursue."

  "Roger."

  He had long since sent his trusted soldiers rushing off and quickly passed down military orders.

  Soon, the 5,000-strong army ambushed outside the North Gate immediately poured out and killed towards the East Gate.

  For this ambush, Zhang He not only brought 5,000 elite soldiers from Ye City but also mobilized troops from neighboring counties and cities, gathering a total of 12,000-strong army. If the Western Liang army were to escape again, it would be somewhat unacceptable.

  Yuanzhou City.

  Luo Zheng led five hundred cavalrymen to quickly kill their way to the county government office, and when they arrived, they saw that dozens of Western Liang soldiers were blocked by the dense Jizhou army on both ends of the long street. Chen Tong fought hard, but he was unable to break out of the encirclement.

  Originally two hundred cavalry, now only more than fifty cavalry are left.

  A chariot was being guarded in the middle, already stained with blood, and the one who had been driving it was Xun Yu.

  But this guy, although a mere bookworm, has a courage that is truly admirable.

  Apart from a slightly pale complexion, there was hardly any fear, and instead, he calmly drove the horse carriage away.

  "Kill!"

  Luo Zheng let out a loud shout and urged his horse forward, charging into the fray.

  Xu Chu, Li Meng and Wang Fang fought with all their might, engaging in a bloody battle on the long street.

  At this moment, the war horse pulling the carriage was suddenly shot by a cold arrow, and it let out a loud whinny in fright. The left wheel of the carriage ran over another corpse, and the carriage suddenly overturned to one side, throwing out Xun Yu's wife, their young son, and Gan Qian who were hiding inside.

  Two women fell to the ground, their clothes immediately stained with blood, and were so frightened that they almost fainted.

  Xun Yu's youngest son had fallen over and rolled to a spot not far from Luo Zheng, letting out loud wails that shattered the silence of the one-mile-long street.

  A certain Hebei bandit sneaked over, gave a sinister laugh, and swung his knife to chop.

  No!

  Xun Yu let out a loud cry, his eyes bulging as if they were about to burst, and the corners of his eyes almost bleeding.

  Luo Zhen took a few steps back, unable to save him in time. At this critical moment, he suddenly bit his teeth and pounced down from the war horse, just like a mother hen protecting her chick, pressing Xun Yu's young son under his body, and suffered a knife wound from the Jizhou soldier.

  In the midst of the bloody explosion, Luo Zheng let out a low groan, his head spinning dizzily, and he almost had no strength to crawl up.

  "Go die."

  Xu Chu reacted the fastest, and he was the first to gallop forward and kill, with one swing of his sword cutting that soldier from Hebei in two.

  However, Luo Zhen had just picked up Xun Yu's young son from the ground when several more soldiers from Ji Province rushed over, their swords flashing wildly.

  Xu Chu blocked the right side but couldn't attend to the left, his eyes widened in shock as he let out a loud roar.

  "General, be careful!"

  At this critical moment, Chen Tong rushed over from his horseback and knocked Luo Zheng down.

  Pffft!

  With a swift motion, Chen Tong let out a low grunt and stretched out his arms with great force, tightly pinning Luo Zheng under him.

  "Go die!"

  Xu Chu finally turned his horse and charged back, this evil Han's beard and hair were all standing on end, a large knife danced with the momentum of opening a mountain, in one breath he beheaded over ten Ji Zhou soldiers who had rushed up close, severed limbs and bodies flew everywhere, fiercely intimidating the Ji Zhou soldiers who were charging up from behind.

  Taking advantage of this gap, the Western Xia cavalry finally caught up and surrounded Luo Zheng tightly in the middle.

  "Chen Tong, how are you?"

  Luo Zheng hastily turned over and held Chen Tong in his arms.

  "I'm fine!"

  Chen Tong's face was as pale as gold paper, his breath was like a wandering thread, and he continuously coughed up blood. He said miserably: "Since becoming a soldier three years ago, I knew this day would eventually come. My life is worthless, but if I can exchange it for the general's chance to live, I will die contentedly. However, my elderly mother and young siblings have no one to care for them, so I beg the general to take care of them."

  "Good brother!"

  Tears streaming down his face, he tightly hugged Chen Tong and said, "Don't worry, I will take good care of your mother, younger brother and sister. They will have no worries about food or clothing. When they grow up, I will arrange for them to find a good job or a suitable marriage."

  "Many thanks, General, I'm at ease now."

  After saying this, he coughed up a big mouthful of blood, his neck twisted, and he died.

  "Han Fu, you and I cannot coexist under the same sky."

  Lu Zheng's mouth cornered with blood, he looked up at the sky and let out a loud roar, his hatred piercing through the heavens.

  The surrounding soldiers all shed tears and fought with all their might.

  Several bodyguards rolled off their war horses and helped Luo Zheng onto a horseback, quickly charging back and forth in the fray.

  Xu Chu then lifted Gan Ning up with one hand and held him in a tight grip, his face deathly pale. With both legs controlling the horse, he stood guard beside Luo Zhen's body.

  Xun Yu, with the help of several Western Liang soldiers, quickly mounted a war horse, holding his frightened wife in his arms, and stumbled after Luo Zheng as they rushed out. His eyes were filled with both helplessness and sorrow for the chaotic times.

  The Western Xia cavalry came quickly and left quickly.

  Xu Chu quickly handed Gan Ning over to several Western Liang soldiers to take care of, and personally charged forward to clear the way.

  When they arrived at the East Gate, the five hundred cavalry that had come with them had been reduced to just over two hundred, showing how fierce the battle was.

  "Bandits retreat at once! Zhang He of Hejian is here."

  Just as they rushed out of the east gate, a loud shout was heard from the front, and another Jizhou army blocked their way again.

  Everyone looked at it hastily, and in the dark night, they saw the firelight flashing, fearing that there were five thousand horses.

  "Zhang He's sworn enemy, it was you all along!"

  "General Luo gritted his teeth and said: 'If I don't chop you into pieces, how can I avenge this hatred in my heart? Kill!'"

  More than 200 horses, although everyone was injured, people were exhausted and horses were tired, and there were pursuing troops behind, but there was no way to go forward. However, the Xiliang soldiers who were originally fierce and good at fighting were now stirred up with a desperate determination, each one making a great effort, shouting loudly, and charging forward fearlessly on horseback.

  Although there were only over 200 riders, the momentum was in no way inferior to that of 2,000 riders.