Chapter 26: The Battle of White Horse (Part 2)
The right wing of the Qin army had stabilized due to Li Yuan's personal outstanding military achievements, but on the left wing and in the center, the formation of the Qin army had been shattered by the coalition forces.
The left wing, Sima Yin, after struggling for two periods of time, was surrounded by more than 3,000 infantrymen on a high slope east of the Dahetan River. This high slope was only a dead angle accumulated by the river water washing and piling up. Sima Yin was trapped here, and the direction to break through was only left with west and south. In addition, the Qin army soldiers were exhausted from fighting from Quyu to Baima, and they saw that without reinforcements, this branch of the Qin army would not be able to escape.
In the central army, Yang Xiong relied on 4,000 cavalry and nearly 3,000 crossbowmen, along with Cao Can and Xiahou Yuan, to engage in a fierce battle. Although wounded, Yang Xiong's command was somewhat dispirited, and the Qin army's formation was forced to retreat step by step, almost being pressed into a single line.
"Cough, quickly, let Lieutenant Li of the right wing come over!" The intense military situation one after another made Yang Xiong's spirit highly tense, and the wound on his left elbow that had just healed began to crack again, with fresh blood staining half of his armor.
Yang Xiong had a good grasp of the situation on the entire battlefield. The Qin army's left, center and right wings were all in trouble. The right wing, led by Li Yuan, still had some strength left for one more battle. Sima Yin, who was in the most critical position, was already struggling to defend himself. Although the central army was elite, it lacked a capable general and its command was not smooth, so it also fell into a passive defensive situation.
——。
At the critical juncture.
In the expectation of Yang Xiong and Zhonglu Qin's army, Li Yuan finally arrived from the right wing. Facing the chaotic battlefield, Li Yuan also furrowed his brow.
Even if an individual is strong, they cannot stop a massive army of thousands and tens of thousands.
Yang Xiong nearly fainted when he saw Li Yuan's figure, and barely managed to hold on until Li Yuan arrived. He hastily handed over command to Li Yuan before losing consciousness due to blood loss.
Looking at the Qin army officers who were at a loss, Li Yuan felt a heavy heart. Yang Xiong was relaxed and directly fainted. Would these more than 20,000 soldiers really be annihilated here?
The sky was darkening, as if it couldn't bear to look at the carnage on the ground. Li Yuan looked up at the gloomy horizon, where heavy clouds pressed down, making it hard to breathe. Was this really the final battle? Unwilling to accept defeat, Liu Bang's counterattack came more fiercely than Li Yuan had imagined. This Battle of White Horse, which involved tens of thousands of troops and could be called a grand decisive battle, was only recorded in one stroke in historical books. Sima Qian's writing style was too powerful; he hadn't even had time to use his wisdom gained from two thousand years to change his fate before the Qin army was irretrievably defeated.
No!
It wasn't Li Yuan's wish to die in such a muddle, for 103 days, every day he came to this chaotic world, he was working hard and never thought of giving up.
Today is the same as well.
Li Yuan's determination was set, and in the Qin army, a large flag with the character "Li" was erected to replace Yang Xiong's banner. He wanted to use flag language to tell all the Qin generals on the battlefield not to give up or abandon him. He wanted to use this method to tell Liu Bang and other enemy generals on the battlefield that if they wanted to take Li Yuan's life, they could come at any time!
"One day, we may die on the battlefield, our hot blood drained; one day, we may lose our lives, never to return home; one day, we may be beheaded, dying a tragic death. But I tell you, it will not be today, it will not be here, it will not be...!" Li Yuan's expression was stern, his voice high-pitched, carrying a power that pierced through the hearts of men. The changes in the Qin army's banners caused many Qin soldiers to gather around the central banner, and when Li Yuan's words reached their ears, their bewildered eyes began to show a hint of spirit.
"We are the descendants of flying swallows, walking thousands of miles, tearing tigers and leopards; we are the generals and soldiers of Great Qin, where the banners point, there is no enemy; we are iron-blooded warriors, scars all over our bodies, witnessing glory!"
Fei Lian and E Lai were the vassals of King Zhou of Shang, the proud ancestors of all Qin generals. More and more Qin soldiers heard Li Yuan's passionate words, and the heroic ambitions that had been accumulating in their chests were awakened at this moment. Before Li Yuan, no general would shout loudly on the battlefield, and no general's words would make people's blood boil like this.
"Behind us is the mighty river, we have no way to retreat! The rebels killed everyone in Daliang, surrendering means death, jumping into the river also means death, either way it's death, why don't we fight the rebels to the end!" Li Yuan's voice was hoarse, his expression ferocious, and on the long handle of his spear, there were bloodstains.
A robust old farmer-like Gan Houbo stared hard at the enemy soldier rushing towards him, his face flushed red like a red cloth, and a menacing killing intent flowed out of his eyes.
"Fight to the death, no retreat!"
"Fight to the death!"
In the midst of the deafening and heart-stirring shouts, almost all the Qin soldiers began to shout frantically, and once their desperate and frustrated emotions found a breakthrough, the energy that burst out was astonishing.
"Fight to the death!" Zhou Xing loudly shouted in pain, his right leg was pierced by an enemy spear, but he simply bandaged it with his armor and continued to fight. Not far from him, Gu Yun, under the cover of a squad of Qin soldiers, fought against more than thirty rebel soldiers using team tactics. Although outnumbered, Gu Yun's performance was calm and composed, advancing and retreating in an orderly manner, mastering the art of combat.
Perhaps out of a protective mentality, Gu Yun quickly integrated into the Qin army. More than half of those rough and unrefined Qin military officers had heard about Gu Yun's competition with Zhou Xing. They soon resonated with Gu Yun, who seemed weak but was actually skilled in martial arts.
——。
The "Li" character of the Qin army's great banner fluttered high, not only did the Qin army officers and men see it clearly, but also the allied army soldiers who broke into the Qin array saw it clearly. However, in the rear array, Liu Bang still didn't know that the commander-in-chief of the Qin army had been replaced. Seeing the changes in the chaotic formation of the Qin army, Liu Bang's eyes revealed surprise and suspicion. He asked those around him: "What's going on? Did they kill Yang Xiong, the main general who killed the Qin dog, or did they kill Li Yuan, the treacherous dog?"
The desperate Qin army suddenly burst out with tremendous force, and every soldier seemed to be fighting for their lives, making the allied soldiers think they had encountered the iron-blooded troops that swept across the six nations.
Xiao He was also somewhat flustered, the battlefield wasn't his strong suit. After calming down slightly, Xiao He ordered a fast horse to quickly report back on the situation. Upon receiving the urgent report from the front lines, Xiao He hastily went forward and reported: "Lord Pei, it seems that the Qin bandits have changed their commander, judging by the flag, it's someone with the surname Li, this battle is going to be tough!"
Liu Bang stroked his somewhat graying beard, his expression changing slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes: "It's getting more and more interesting, Li Yuan. This scoundrel is quite capable, I underestimated him." In the face of desperate circumstances, with one man's strength, he rallied the soldiers who lacked fighting spirit, making them pick up their weapons again. Liu Bang asked himself, he couldn't guarantee that either.
It's just as well; only such an opponent would be worthy of my, Liu Bang's, reputation. The Battle of White Horse Crossing will be the first turning point in our western campaign.
At this time, Liu Bang's fighting spirit was high, and he faced the crowd of generals with a big laugh, saying: "The surname Li, if I'm not mistaken, that little thief Li Yuan has seized power, and Yang Gouxing is also a bit too timid. However, it's good to see what kind of ability this Li thief has?"
