70th Anniversary of the Battle of Zaoyang-Yichang

  Qingzhou Qingyun Mountain is in the southwest direction of Liangshan, Chen Xizhen Song Jiang and others led by Wu Guosheng came to fight, one battle was not peaceful, one battle was not victorious, and even without a fight, they lost Liangshan Water Village and went all the way to Qingzhou, quite miserable.

  Moreover, the Liangshan army marched day and night, without even touching the enemy's butt, morale was extremely low, everyone felt that the prospects were bleak, many of the troops deserted, taking advantage of the opportunity to run away, when they arrived at Qingzhou, ten battalions had lost one battalion.

  Wu Yong gave the order that if anyone ran away, they would be killed on the spot, and this finally stopped the fleeing. Moreover, in Zhujiacun, Zhu Biao and Hu San Niang sent their families to hide in the mountains overnight, then led the villagers to prepare for battle, waiting for a fierce fight.

  Flanking the Third Sister and Zhu Biao were originally a powerful force, with many fugitives among their tenants. During busy times they would farm and harvest, while in idle times they would practice martial arts and formation battles, their combat strength not inferior to that of government troops. Zhu Biao's estate had three thousand tenant soldiers, while the Third Sister's estate also had two thousand, who were locally dispatched and divided into five teams. Adding to this Lu Junyi's one thousand elite soldiers and Hua Rong's five hundred linked-horse cavalry, there were six and a half teams in total.

  The first six armies, each with a chief general and a deputy general, plus one strategist. Hu Yan's linked horse army was the vanguard, arrayed in front, horses wearing armor, men wearing iron scales. The horses wore armor, only exposing four hooves; the men wore scales, only revealing a pair of eyes, exuding an aura of murder.

  Hu Yanruo once relied on this cavalry to break the Liao State's Fire Ox Array, and his reputation was loud. Gong Shun designed a lightweight war chariot, with three horses pulling one vehicle, two archers in the car, and one hook gunner. The archer shot enemies at long range, and the hook gunner hooked people's legs and horse legs during close combat.

  Yan Qing sandwiched Li Kui between two small soldiers, and said with a smile: "Later, the bandit leader will lead the government army from the west. You must fight bravely, kill the enemy, behead a general, and my family's Chen leader will definitely give you great credit!"

  Li Kui laughed and said, "Don't worry, when Iron Ox goes into battle, his two axes are like door gods, only chopping at heads, no mercy. Little Brother Yi, keep a distance from me, last time we fought at the execution ground in Jiangdu, my axe swung smoothly and I almost chopped off Song Gongming's head too!"

  Yan Xiao Yi shivered with cold sweat, keeping a distance from him. Lu Da, however, was overjoyed and came to his side, clashing the crescent moon spade against Li Kui's battle-axe, laughing: "You go to the battlefield and kill people at sight? I also have times when killing comes easily, let's become sworn brothers!"

  Li Kui was overjoyed, and the two of them immediately clasped hands and became sworn brothers in the army. Since Li Da was older, he became the elder brother. Li Kui asked, "Big Brother, what military achievements do you have?"

  Lu Da smiled and said: "When I fought against Xia Guo in the past, I chopped him with ease and killed his deputy general."

  Li Kui remained silent, hiding behind Yan Qing. Lu Da called out to him, but he refused to go over, shouting: "I still have an old mother at home, a straight mother thief, if you happen to chop me off, who will support her?"

  Rudao said: "Your mother is my mother, I'll come to support her!" Li Kui refused to do so and muttered: "After all, it's not a biological parent..." Just as they were talking, Lu Junyi shouted: "Silence!" The seven armies quieted down, Yan Xiaozi immediately lay on the ground, listened for a while with his ear to the side, and said: "Three miles away!"

  Hu Yan stood on horseback, looking westward, and saw a large army marching forward with torches, all of whom were exhausted. He sneered: "A tired army, if I can't defeat this one, what face do I have to go back?"

  Huyan Zhuo immediately ordered Lu Junyi and Yan Qing to lead an army in ambush on the left wing, Lin Chong and Yang Zhi led an army in ambush on the right wing, Hu Sanniang and Zhu Biao led an army, Xu Ning and Li Ying led an army, behind the linked horses, ready to charge at any time. Lu Da, Li Kui, Bai Sheng, Han Tao, Tianmu Jiang Peng two roads infantry followed to cover the rear. The six Taoist priests were protected by the soldiers in the middle.

  Hu Yan Zhuo had arranged everything, and the Pure Yang True Man Yan Shu De had already arrived two miles away. Yang Jia directed Chen Si Xi, a Taoist priest who was the leader of the Yellow River Bank's Taoist priests, to take action. Chen Si Xi was a descendant of Chen Si Long, a great Taoist master from the Tang Dynasty, and had inherited his evil skills. He was accustomed to stirring up trouble on the river, but when the Tianji Pavilion put out a recruitment notice, he was captured by Wu Song.

  Chen Sihai immediately understood and took action, but he pulled out a bamboo tube, put it to his mouth and blew hard, a thick fog spewed out of the tube, spraying one mile away, turning into a vast fog that covered the sky and moon.

  Hua Yan's gaze swept across, and he saw the Liangshan army arriving in the midst of thick fog. Many sorcerers raised their night pearls to dispel the fog, which shone brightly in the misty color. He immediately ordered the linked horse army: "Draw your bows, place your spears on your saddles, aim at the bright lights and charge!"

  Five hundred linked horses rushed out immediately, pulling light war chariots straight towards the Liangshan army. The knights on horseback and the archers in the chariots all drew their bows and arrows, rushing to a distance of one arrow's flight. They let go of their hands and shot, an arrow rain falling into the bright spot in the thick fog!

  Chunyang Zhenren Yan Shude heard the sound of horseshoes and felt the ground shaking when Huyan Zhuo launched an attack with his linked horses. He suddenly became alert, shouting: "The enemy has fallen into our trap!" The surrounding area was in a state of chaos. Now, deep in the thick fog, the enemy army is approaching, where to go and fight? Who to fight against?

  Yan Shude was also a general who remained calm in the face of danger. He immediately shouted: "Extinguish the fire and retrieve the pearls! Archers, shoot forward!"

  Both sides launched arrows almost simultaneously, but the results were different. Huyan Zhuo's linked cavalry had armor on both men and horses, so the arrows slid off unless they hit the eyes, while Yan Shude's side only had armored horses with red tassels, copper bells, and feathered tails.

  This time the collision, the front row fell in a piece! Fortunately, the lights were extinguished early, and the Taoist priests were not damaged. Yan Shude shouted: "Ambush at midnight, only fight to the death, and come out of the thick fog to survive!"

  Yun Wei, Yun Tianbiao and Yun Long, the three generations of the Yun family, Liu Guang, Liu Qi and Liu Lin, the three fathers and sons, each led a thousand soldiers to rush forward immediately. However, the road was narrow, and they were all crowded on the road, with people and horses trampling each other, making a mess.

  At this moment, Huyan Zhuo's linked horse carts arrived, and a loud shout was heard in the fog: "Throw spears!" Five hundred long spears fell like rain, and many Liangshan soldiers were nailed to the ground along with their horses!

  The chariots came, killing and wounding in all directions. The knights on horseback swung their large knives, and the arrowheads fell down. The bowmen inside the chariot continuously shot arrows forward, while the hook-and-sickle spear holders exerted themselves to kill those who had escaped the net. The blood splashing everywhere dyed even the misty color a deep red!

  The linked horses were mainly used to charge the enemy formation, first charging and disrupting the enemy's formation, and when they reached the middle of the enemy lines, the horses had difficulty advancing. Lu Zhishen and Lin Chong's two armies saw this and immediately led their troops in a charge out from the plank roads, one on the left and one on the right, sweeping everything before them, with long spears picking up string after string of corpses!

  In the midst of the chaotic army, the Liangshan troops were forced to retreat. Yan Shude beheaded several fleeing soldiers and shouted loudly: "Retreat means death, advance means life, there is no retreat!" He caught a glimpse of a lone horseman charging towards him, and hastily called out: "Baixu Wushang Zhenren, quickly dispel the misty fog!" After saying this, he wielded his 72-jin iron greatsword and charged forward on horseback. The swords clashed, and both men and horses were forced to retreat several steps!

  Lu Junyi was shocked and shouted: "What a powerful man! I am Lu Junyi from Hebei, who are you?"

  "A certain Sichuan Pure Yang True Man, Yan Shude, had been familiar with Confucian classics since childhood and read out the 'Three Virtues of Wisdom, Benevolence and Courage'. He thus changed his name to Yan Shude. Lu Ze, I've long heard that your spear and stick techniques are the best in the world. Today, I'll use the Courage Method from the Three Methods of Confucianism to have a duel with you!"

  Lu Junyi rode his horse and shouted with laughter: "The five virtues of Confucianism, benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and sincerity, are all born together, yin and yang are harmonized, transformed into the ultimate, and refined into a body of vast and upright energy. How much do you know? Don't talk nonsense, my family's national teacher has also refined a body of vast and upright energy, and understands more than you!"

  Yan Shude was furious. Although he had the reputation of being a Pure Yang True Man, he only mastered one of the three virtues - bravery. He knew nothing about the Confucianism of Yin and Yang, so he didn't know any Confucian skills. However, he was brave and fearless, not afraid of magical attacks. At this moment, when he heard Lu Junyi boasting about his martial arts, he became enraged, patted his horse to move forward, swung his knife and chopped!

  Two men clashed with swords and guns, both of their bodies shook violently. The horses they rode stumbled and fell to the ground, bleeding from all seven orifices. The two men jumped off the horseback, stepped onto the battlefield, one holding a spear and the other a sword, turning the surrounding area into a bloody hell. Regardless of friend or foe, anyone who entered this ten-zhang radius circle would be killed by the flashing swords and spears!

  Lu Junyi was blocked on this side, and Lin Chong was also intercepted by Yun Tianbiao. Yun Tianbiao wielded a Green Dragon Crescent Blade with boundless strength. Lin Chong had a gentle disposition and his spear techniques were tight and precise, only making the fatal blow at the very end. Many people who fell into his hands felt that they were evenly matched with him, but often inexplicably lost their lives in the final moment.

  Yun Tianbiao saw the secret of his shooting, and was shocked. Next to him, Lao Fu Yun Wei rode over on horseback, and the two joined forces to fight Lin Chong alone. Meanwhile, Yun Long entwined Yang Zhi, while Hua San Niang, Zhu Biao, Xu Ning, and Li Ying rushed up, only to be blocked by Liu's father and son trio. The army advanced half a mile forward before encountering strong resistance.

  But at this moment, Bao Xuguang's superior true man Ren Sen was making a spell to break the mist. He was suddenly rushed by Li Kui and before he could react, Li Kui swung his two large axes and beheaded him.

  Yan Qing saw it and shouted "Good!" several times, saying: "Li Kui is mighty!" Both the Liangshan army and the Zhu family army heard clearly. Li Kui laughed loudly and swung his axe again, killing another soldier of the Zhu family army.

  Suddenly, Ren Sen's headless corpse hugged its head and ran away. Li Kui was about to chase and kill it, but he was afraid of getting lost. Just then, a big spade flew over, chopping the corpse and its head into a pulp. Lu Da picked up the spade and said, "Brother, when saving someone, one must save thoroughly; when killing someone, one must see blood. This old Taoist priest's head has fallen off, but since no blood was seen, it means he hasn't died yet. We need to chop his head into pieces before we can be sure!"

  Behind the battlefield, Zhang Mingke, the true person of Penglai Xianjing, was actually a great master of Taoist origin. He encountered Yang Jia and five other masters, six people fighting one, still unable to take him down, only causing earth, water, wind, and fire to surge non-stop, fire coming and water extinguishing, wind coming and earth blocking. Suddenly, the entire battlefield turned into a large pit, suddenly rising high, suddenly raging flames burning everything, suddenly turning into a vast expanse of water.

  But all the soldiers and generals, after entering, died in a muddled and unclear manner. Yang Jia saw that his magical powers could not defeat him, so he raised the White Bone Flag, and white bones flew everywhere, whistling towards Zhang Mingke. Zhang Mingke saw this, shook his dustpan, and three thousand white silk threads sprouted forward, transforming into a white dragon made of countless silk threads, rolling and turning in mid-air, blocking all the white bones.

  Chen Sixi saw the situation, took out a small bamboo clapper from his bosom, and suddenly threw it up. It flew towards Zhang Mingke, transforming into a large clapper with sharp bamboo edges on its front face. He laughed: "This is made of purple bamboo from the Dragon Vein's Purple Bamboo Forest. Let's see how you can block it!"

  Zhang Mingke single-handedly took off the Bagua Palace clothes, unfolded them in the wind, and they were about three to five zhang in size. The bamboo slips fell into the palace clothes, but couldn't pierce through. The other four Taoist priests simultaneously raised their own refined treasures, all of which were materials found from the dragon veins, and threw them at him.

  Zhang Mingke hastily removed the flat crown on his head, thinking: "Good men can't withstand many people, and the Wokou's masters have refined strange and peculiar magical instruments that are hard to resist." Just as he was thinking this, suddenly dust and smoke rose from behind, and it turned out to be Zhu Yongqing, Zhu Wannian brothers, Luan Tingyu, Luan Tingfang brothers, leading the Liangshan army to arrive.

  Huyan Zhuang saw the situation and hastily beat the drum. The Zhu family army heard the drum sound, slowly retreated, and Lu Junyi and others did not dare to fight again, and they all jumped out of the battlefield and retreated. Zhu Biao and Hu San Niang rode forward on horseback, and Zhu Biao shouted loudly: "Two younger brothers, teachers, are you also going to kill me?"

  Zhu Yongqing's brother, Zhu Biao's cousin, Luan Tingyu and Luan Tingfang were also instructors of the Zhu family village. Upon hearing this, they all looked hesitant. Zhu Biao then pulled in Hui San Niang and said: "This is your sister-in-law, my wife and I are here, if you have a ruthless heart, come and cut off our heads to invite merit and ask for rewards!"

  The two brothers, Zhu and Jia, exchanged a glance, then turned their horses and left. Fan Tingyu hesitated for a moment, then whispered to Yan Shude: "Chen's order is that we absolutely cannot go back to Liangshan again, or else we will surely be defeated. He has ordered us to abandon Liangshan and immediately rush to Qingzhou, Qingyun Mountain..."

  Yan Shude looked at him suspiciously and sneered: "You have an old relationship with the bandits, are you here to deceive me?"

  The Yan brothers were furious and led their troops back, Yan Shude hastily ordered the whole army to follow up. In his heart, he was still suspicious: "The Zhu brothers and the Yan brothers seem to be secretly communicating with the enemy, and Song Jiang seems to have a surrender intention. Why did he secretly send his most trusted Li Kui into the hands of the Wu bandits? How hateful! Li Kui even killed one of my strategists!"

  On the other side of the battlefield, in the Liangshan Water Fortress, Wu Song ordered ten warships to open fire on Liangshan. Unexpectedly, the cannonballs brought out an old monster, a master of the Yin-Yang School and the leader of the Lianheng Sect!

  To know what happens next, please wait for the next episode.

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  Four thousand words chapter, next time will be more wonderful.