Chapter 5: The Panic of Lord Pei

  Strong winds and thunderbolts.

  Li Yuan exerted force with both feet, tapping the stirrups made of bull tendon to maintain his body's balance in rapid movement. The iron torrent of later generations had long replaced horse herds, fortunately this body's instincts were still there, allowing Li Yuan to charge into battle smoothly and steadily.

  "A vanguard, the enemy is ahead!" A scout on horseback rushed back quickly. Liu Bang's army was arrayed to the west of the city, waiting to cut down a few stray fish from Liu's army. The officers and men of Liu's army did not make any evasive maneuvers, because in their view, catching rabbits didn't require much strength, it was almost a matter of just reaching out and grabbing them.

  "Advance, accelerate, kill!" Li Yuan gritted his teeth and swung the copper spear, issuing a command to fight to the death. Behind him, the high-held banner with the Qin character led this team of nine deaths and one life, charging forward with all their might.

  Red and Black.

  Two surging torrents were rapidly approaching, and Liu Bang, who had successfully guarded the tree stump, was excitedly summoning his rear generals to quickly press forward. The Qin army's cavalry unit in front of them was not numerous, and should be the last opponent they could encounter at this stage. This made the anxious Liu army officers and men as excited as if they had won the jackpot, unable to contain themselves.

  "Drive!"

  Xiahou Yuan tightened the reins, directing the chariot driven by two horses to move quickly forward. The infantry following behind were left far behind. As Liu Bang's charioteer, his primary responsibility was to protect Liu Bang's safety, and only secondarily to engage in battle. This made Xiahou Yuan feel stifled, especially after his good friend Cao Shen led the troops into the city.

  Now, there was finally a chance to show off his skills, and Liu didn't stop him either. Xiahou Yan only felt a refreshing coolness on his forehead.

  "Clang!"

  The sound of clashing steel, the sharp collision of weapons, and the urgent neighing of war horses filled the vast wilderness in an instant. The narrow road was a meeting place for brave warriors, where only the strongest would emerge victorious. From the moment he abandoned Zheng Chengzhong and his infantrymen, Li Yuan had only one conviction in his heart: no matter who stood in his way, he would kill them, whether they were gods or Buddhas.

  Even if I die in battle, I will fall with my face up towards the sky, and have no regrets about this life.

  A Liu Junbing chariot charged into the Qin cavalry formation, with the long-handled halberd-wielding soldiers on board attempting to stab the surrounding Qin cavalry. Upon seeing the banner behind Li Yuan's back, the Liu Junbing troops on the chariot couldn't help but feel overjoyed and repeatedly urged the driver to hurry up and come forward.

  "Kill!"

  His eyes were stern and unyielding, the cruel slaughter of this chaotic world had worn away the softness in his heart, leaving only a strong will to survive.

  "Who are you?" Liu Jun shouted loudly, finally catching up to a Qin general who looked like the leader. Ji Xin felt very lucky.

  "Ah!"

  Li Yuan did not respond again, his feet pushed off the stirrup and exerted force, at the moment of intersection a spear stabbed out swiftly, like breaking through leather it pierced the left wing of Ji Xin's war chariot, the horse's neck artery was penetrated, and in mid-gallop the blood of the horse suddenly gushed out like a fountain.

  "Huh...!" Ji Xin's charioteer had not expected the warhorse to disobey orders, and hastily pulled hard on the left side of the fallen horse, but how could he pull it back up?

  The chariot overturned, and Ji Xin was unable to stand firm. Just as he thought of crawling up from the ground, several Qin cavalrymen came chasing after Li Yuan, and a powerful collision sent Ji Xin flying out for several meters.

  The horse trampled his body, like a heavy object pressing down, Ji Xin's body twitched a few times, and then there was no more sound.

  The Qin army's torrent continued to advance, this momentum colliding with Liu Bang's army. The number of dead was unknown, and Ji Xin was just one of the unlucky ones. Li Yuan had already thrust out his copper spear countless times, its tip no longer sharp after multiple collisions and penetrations, and his arms were starting to ache.

  This is the inevitable reaction after a series of charges, Li Yuan didn't know how many soldiers Liu Jun had left in front of him, but he couldn't fall down, couldn't stop, because he had a feeling deep down that in the not-so-distant city, Zheng Chengzhong and the remaining soldiers were staring at them with wide eyes, watching to see if this group of comrades who carried the mission on their backs had completed their entrusted task.

  ——。

  "Marquis of Pei, Zu Chong's long-range archer has fallen!"

  "Marquis of Pei, the right wing army formation has been dispersed by the Qin cavalry, and the two generals are unknown whether they are alive or dead!"

  One piece of bad news after another reached Liu Bang's central army, making Liu Bang, who was still in the midst of chasing and killing Qin cavalry, very annoyed. Even if the speed of the troops' carts was faster, it couldn't be compared to that of war horses. Xiahou Ying exerted himself to increase the speed, but only managed to intercept one detachment of this batch of Qin army's rear troops.

  "Just now, the enemy general was beheaded by whom? He's so brave!" Liu Bang exclaimed, his face changing color. Zuo Chu, a strong and powerful man with a long arm, swung open three or five sturdy men who couldn't get close to him. In Liu Bang's army, he was known as one of the two heroes along with General Fan Kuai, but unexpectedly, he was beheaded today. A small-scale ambush that had been under control and was about to win, gradually turned into a stalemate after the Qin army continuously killed several Liu military marquises and first-class officers.

  "Marquis of Pei, the enemy is like a trapped beast. We should leave one path open and then attack from behind!" Just then, Cao Wushang, the left army commander of Liu's forces, was not far from Ji Xin. The momentum of Qin's decisive battle left him stunned.

  "How hateful!"

  Liu Bang clenched his waist sword tightly, and the fat rabbit was about to catch it, but unexpectedly slipped away from his fingers. How could he not hate? However, what Cao Wushang said was not unreasonable. These more than 3,000 Pei County sons who blocked the enemy were the foundation of his uprising. If he didn't have this elite army, Liu Bang would not even be considered a benevolent elder in the eyes of various lords.

  "Smelly old man, where are you going?"

  "Haha, the commander of this western expedition has a capable person in charge, Lord Pei, why don't you yield to him!" Liu Bang didn't need to think much to guess the faces of those so-called anti-Qin leaders who worked together. The enemy army fled, and they could fight again next time to see who's stronger, but if his own strength was weakened too much, then what would he, Liu Bang, be as a commander-in-chief?

  "Sound the golden drum, assemble the troops!"

  Liu Bang shouted loudly and ordered the soldiers to beat the golden drum, while also trying to intercept and kill the Qin cavalry, Liu's army officers and men flocked towards the central army.

  The Qin army fought their way out of the formation, and all the cavalry were wounded. Li Yuan saw that they had broken through the enemy's formation, and hastily led the remaining hundred or so remnants towards Xingyang in the west.

  Three rivers converge, Gongyi is the foundation.

  Li You's deputy generals Yang Xiong and Zhao Bi led more than 10,000 soldiers to guard this place.

  ——。

  Outside Yongqiu City, the battle gradually subsided.

  In the city, in the county office, Li You's last resistance was also nearing its end. This loyal guardian of the Great Qin dynasty had fewer than twenty men left by his side.

  "Cheng Zhong, you said Li Yuan made a breakthrough!" Li You leaned against the pillar, his body covered in wounds, and at this moment, he was only relying on a burst of energy to support his body that had lost too much blood.

  "Li Junhou, Junhou led the cavalry out of the west gate an hour ago. At this time, he should be on his way to Xingyang." The man who answered was struggling to speak, lying on the ground with an arrow deeply embedded in his abdomen, and it was clear that he had no chance of survival. Zheng Chengzhong, this rough and bold man, after sending off Li Yuan, turned back and killed his way into the city to meet up with Li You.

  "Cheng Zhong, actually, you don't have to come back," Li You sighed.

  "Where General Shao is, I am. The kindness of Chancellor, I dare not forget." Zheng Chengzhong's face turned golden, his voice growing weaker and weaker.

  "Yuange has left the city, and Mu Zi is delighted, like a wild grass on the plain, the wildfire will never be extinguished, and life will go on forever." Li You said softly, her voice gradually fading away.

  In the second year of Yuanshuo, on August 10th, Yongqiu was defeated and Li You fled. His head was cut off by Cao Shen, a general under Liu Bang's command.