Chapter 45: Revenge Does Not Wait Overnight

  "Zhang He's husband, die!"

  Under the night sky, Xu Chu let out a thunderous roar and swung his sword straight at Zhang He.

  Zhang He sneered and charged forward with his spear, while the 5,000-strong army behind him also rushed into battle.

  Right!

  The intense sound of clashing steel ripped through the night air, making people's eardrums ache.

  Zhang He's spear was knocked away, and he felt a surge of wild power rushing back at him, almost suffocating him. His arms were numb and aching to the point of death. He couldn't help but be shocked, never expecting that the Western Liang rebel army would have such a fierce general, whose martial arts skills were not inferior to his own.

  At this moment of astonishment, Xu Chu had already urged his horse to charge over again.

  Zhang He did not dare to be distracted, and he mustered up his spirit, going all out in a fierce battle with Xu Chu.

  Behind them, a force of 5,000 strong charged forward, ready to annihilate these more than 200 Western Liang cavalrymen.

  Luo Zheng was seriously injured and could barely crawl on his horse's back, let alone have the strength to fight.

  Li Meng and Wang Fang protected Luo Zheng with all their might, but unfortunately, they were outnumbered, and two fists could not contend with four hands. The remaining 200+ cavalry fought hard, but it was difficult to break through the encirclement, and moreover, their numbers decreased at an alarming rate, soon leaving only 70+ riders.

  At this time, there was a loud rumbling sound of hooves in the distance.

  Countless torches approached from afar and quickly converged on the East Gate direction.

  Zhang He was shocked and secretly thought it was bad. He hastily retreated and let Xu Chu strike once. He shouted loudly: "Withdraw! Withdraw quickly!"

  However, the 5,000-strong army had already been killed in a mess, and where could they retreat in such a hurry?

  "It's all over, I didn't think the Western Liang rebel army would actually come back and kill."

  Zhang He's heart was racing with shock when suddenly a large number of Western Liang cavalry appeared outside the city like a whirlwind.

  The various army schools followed Lu Xun's order and gathered outside the city after a sudden outbreak, but then received news that Xun Yu and others were trapped in the city, and Lu Xun killed his way back again. The various army schools feared that Lu Xun would suffer losses, so they led their troops to kill their way back again.

  Outside the city, more than 3,000 Western Liang cavalrymen suddenly appeared, and under their unexpected attack, Zhang He's 5,000 Jizhou troops were quickly defeated and fled in disarray, with most of them rushing into the east gate of Luan City.

  "General, shall we take this opportunity to launch a counterattack?"

  A small school of fish swam up to Luo Zheng's horse and asked in a loud voice.

  No need to chase, go!

  Luo Zheng reluctantly waved his hand, and more than 3,000 Western Liang cavalrymen immediately retreated and fled into the darkness of night.

  Zhang He hastily ordered the closure of the four gates and surrounded the Western Liang cavalry that was still in the city. After a busy night, when they counted the results at dawn the next day, they found that an army of 12,000 had suffered more than 5,000 casualties, almost to the point of vomiting blood.

  Under the deliberate sneak attack, casualties were even heavier than those of the Western Liang army, which was truly infuriating.

  In a stronghold ten miles north of Yancheng, torches illuminated the surroundings, and mournful wails filled the air.

  The Xiliang soldiers, who had been stifling their anger for a long time, were now slaughtering wildly. Except for the servants and attendants who were spared, all the others who looked like officials or nobles were brutally killed by the enraged Xiliang soldiers.

  Inside the courtyard of a hutong, in a small house.

  Luo Zheng lay on the thick carpet, closing his eyes to rest and recover from his injuries.

  Xu Chu stood at the gate with his sword in hand, blood staining his armor and clothes which had yet to be changed.

  More than a quarter of an hour has passed.

  Luo Zhengcai opened his eyes and let out a long breath, his injuries were fully healed.

  Got up and moved my limbs, found that my strength had increased by nearly double. This time I was stabbed less than a dozen times, bleeding profusely, severely injured, the recovery time was also exceptionally long, but similarly, the degree of increase in strength was also astonishing.

  With such a severe injury, if it weren't for the ring's magic, I'm afraid he won't make it through the night.

  Luo Zhen pushed open the door and went out of the house, only to find Xun Yu standing expressionlessly in the courtyard.

  Xun Yu immediately stepped forward, bowed down to the ground and said: "Thank you, General, for risking your life to save my young son."

  Luo Zheng waved his hand and didn't say anything, then took Xu Chu and left for the front yard.

  Xun Yu gazed at Luo Zheng's not very tall but majestic back, his eyes complex and speechless for a long time.

  The torches in the fort are shining brightly, as bright as daylight.

  More than 3,000 Western Liang cavalrymen were all sleepless, except for the night watch soldiers, the rest of them were all murderous and clamoring to kill the Ji Zhou army without leaving a single piece of armor, since they broke into Guandong, when did the Western Liang iron cavalry suffer such a great loss.

  Last night's melee, nearly half of the 7,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry were lost, how can one not be furious?

  Lu Zheng's face was expressionless and he didn't say anything.

  Wait until dawn, personally buried Chen Tong in a river ditch on the west side of Wubao.

  As he stood up and turned around, all the soldiers of the three armies couldn't help but show their gratitude in their eyes, with a fierce flame burning in their pupils.

  Soldiers have always been the simplest individuals, with simple minds and agile limbs, not many twists and turns, as long as you are genuinely good to them, these illiterate rough men will die for you.

  Recalling last night's scene, fortunately witnessed by the soldiers, they all felt their hearts racing and an inexplicable fire burning.

  I ask you, among all the lords of the world, who else would truly care about the life and death of a single soldier?

  For the so-called great righteousness, those lords have always treated soldiers' lives as nothing more than a counterweight to war. Even in the Western Cool Army, no commander would care about the life and death of a small soldier.

  Luo Zheng didn't want his soldiers to die in vain, everyone knew that, but no one had a deep understanding of it.

  However, after last night's bloody battle and today's scene, everyone understood.

  Luo Zheng mounted his horse, turned around and faced the three armies' generals, his eyes gleaming with a fierce light, murderous intent brewing.

  He said in a stern voice: "Since we left Wuguan, we have always been the ones to launch sneak attacks on others. When was it that we were ever ambushed by others? Who can tell me, how do we settle this account?"

  "Conquer Ji Province, without leaving a single chicken or dog."

  "Capture Zhang He alive, flay him and extract his tendons."

  More than three thousand Western Liang cavalry responded immediately with a loud shout, and a fierce killing aura rose up.

  Luo Zheng raised his hand and the earth-shattering roar immediately came to an abrupt halt.

  All Western Cool cavalry stared at Luo Zheng with piercing eyes, and the blood in their bones was inexplicably boiling up.

  Luo Zheng shouted: "This feud must be avenged, but yesterday who patrolled the entire city, and the Jizhou soldiers hiding in the city didn't know, even the Jizhou army hiding outside the city was unaware. This general has repeatedly warned that we cannot be careless, after all, how did the Jizhou army find out about the city's exterior? Who can give this general an explanation?"

  The three armies were silent, one by one lowering their heads, no one dared to make a sound.

  "Where is Li Meng?"

  Lu Zheng's eyes gleamed with a fierce light, and he let out a loud shout.

  Li Meng hastily rode out of the formation and shouted: "The final general is here."

  Luo Zheng asked solemnly: "Who patrolled the city yesterday?"

  Li Meng hastily said: "Zhao Wu is patrolling the city wall and has already died in battle."

  "Hmmph!"

  Luo Zheng let out a heavy sigh and said, "Since I've already died in battle, then so be it."

  He paused for a moment and then shouted loudly: "When a man dies, the lamp goes out. Even if there were mistakes, General will not pursue them. However, from now on, if anyone dares to be arrogant and self-satisfied, playing with their duties, General will definitely behead without pardon."

  The crowd of military schools shuddered in unison and firmly remembered this point in their hearts.

  This time was ambushed by Jizhou army at night, mainly due to paralysis and negligence.

  Since the east exit of Wuguan, the 8,000 Western Liang iron cavalry have been victorious in every battle, never defeated once. To say nothing of the military commanders, even ordinary soldiers have developed a proud and arrogant attitude. Moreover, with Han Fu's large army not yet arrived, the Jizhou army is empty, so the soldiers patrolling the city are naturally somewhat lax.

  That's why the Jizhou army hid in the civilian houses and didn't realize it, and was broken through the south gate by internal and external coordination.

  Luo Zheng asked again, "The Jizhou army outside the city, where exactly are they hiding? Have you investigated clearly?"

  The captain of the vanguard wiped away cold sweat and stepped forward with a trembling heart: "It has been investigated clearly that the Jizhou army dug many large pits in the river ditch twenty miles south of the city, hiding soldiers in the pits, so they evaded our military scouts' investigation."

  Ambush from Ten Sides

  Luo Zhen suddenly realized and immediately revealed a stern expression: "This Zhang He is not simple, he can actually think of digging pits to hide soldiers and avoid our army's scouting. Such a talented general has mistakenly joined the incompetent Han Fu, it's really a pity!"

  All the military schools felt ashamed and humiliated, wishing they could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.

  Luo Zheng's face immediately turned stern, and he said in a stern voice: "However, Zhang He killed General Chen's brother, this hatred will not be shared under the same sky. General Chen must capture him alive, flay his skin and extract his tendons, and sacrifice him to Chen Tong to vent General Chen's hatred."

  "Please give the order, General."

  The morale of the troops was boosted, and they immediately shouted in unison, asking for orders.

  Luo Zheng raised his knife towards the sky, pointing to the south, and let out a long howl. The three armies followed orders, flattening the city of Luan, not leaving a single chicken or dog behind.

  "Conquer and level the city of Yan, without leaving a single rooster or dog."

  "Raze the city of Yan to the ground, and let no chicken or dog remain!"

  Thousands of warriors shouted in unison, their voices like a crack of thunder, killing intent bursting forth into the sky.