Chapter 43: Night Raid Once More

  The wind was strong tonight, but the rain was changeable, sometimes heavy and sometimes light.

  "My lord! Marching in the rain, many of our soldiers are exhausted!" Chu Mengmeng's face was pale with cold, her whole body drenched from the rain.

  "What a pity!" Gong Sun Ce also discovered this problem, even the most determined Fu Bing troops had dropouts due to forced marches, and other troops were in disarray except for Gao Shun's trapped array camp which maintained its formation.

  "There's a village about one kilometer ahead, let the whole army rest there!" Gong Sun Ce knew that a night raid was a double-edged sword. If used well, it could turn the situation around in one move; if not, it would be jumping into a trap!

  The success of a night raid depends on three things. First, it's about intelligence, knowing the enemy and knowing oneself; second, it's about the coordination between troops, which is a highly technical issue involving both inter-unit cooperation and commander-soldier coordination; third, it's simply a matter of luck!

  This heavy rain made the battle even more confusing, and outside Chongxin County, the Xiamen army led by Azhuo had less than half the strength of the Liangjun, but with Azhuo leading the charge, the Xiamen army's morale was high, and they fought to the death. The ambush troops sent out by Song Piao were defeated one after another, and for a time, the Xiamen army was unstoppable.

  In this heavy rain, all the torches were extinguished, the clouds covered the moon and stars, and the earth was pitch black. The Liang army was stunned by the desperate attack of the Xia army, and the continuous melee made it difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, causing the Liang army's formation to be completely disrupted. It can be said that the soldiers did not know their commanders, and the commanders did not know their soldiers, at this time they were relying solely on numbers to hold off the Xia army.

  Especially in such a heavy rain, it's not just that you can't see anything, but also can't hear anything. The entire battlefield only had the sound of big raindrops falling to the ground, and even the shouts and screams of the soldiers engaging in close combat couldn't reach each other's ears, let alone the military orders issued by the officers.

  A night raid is a matter of technique, and luck. General Xia knew that he would surely die, his only choice was to launch a night raid or not to launch one.

  Launch a night raid, Liang's army must have made some preparations, and there is no return. Azhuo wants to make the last effort for survival, and does not wait to die with his hands tied.

  A Zhuo was lucky, when he was surrounded by the Liang army's ambush troops on all sides, a heavy rain fell from the sky. The torches of the Liang army were all extinguished, and in the darkness, A Zhuo only recognized the main tent where Song Bei was located and killed him, fighting bravely at the forefront, with the Xia army following closely behind, unstoppable.

  In the dark rain, Azhuo led his troops to surround the original place and kill the waves of Liao army one after another, but he couldn't find Song's central camp.

  The fire in the Chinese army's big tent went out, Song Pei held his sword with his hand and closed his eyes to rest. He didn't think that this battle would be so unlucky, if the rain had come five minutes later, it wouldn't have mattered. Unexpectedly, it came at such a coincidental time, casting a shadow over Song Pei's heart.

  Song Pei had already completely lost contact with the troops at this time, and not only could Xia Jun not find Song Pei's military camp, but even Liang Jun couldn't find it. Because the rain was really too big, Xia Jun led by Azhuo, more than once passed through the gate of the cart, but failed to discover the Liang Jun army camp that was close at hand! At the same time, Song Pei also roughly guessed the situation of the outside melee.

  "Beat the drum! The whole army is ordered to return to camp!"

  "Your Excellency, the Xia army is right between our beds. If the drums sound, it must be the Xia army arriving first! The safety of Your Excellency is related to the prosperity or decline of Da Leng, I hope Your Excellency will withdraw the military order!"

  "In my younger years, I could defeat the Xianbei and Hu tribes with a thousand men, capturing over 100,000 of their strong men. Now, with two hundred heavily armored personal guards by my side, what do I have to fear from just a few thousand men?" Song Bai stopped his subordinate who was about to speak further, and soon the war drums outside the great tent began to beat loudly.

  The drumbeat was faint, but it made Xia Jun's entire army stop in its tracks. Azhuo raised his knife and shouted loudly: "Song Xiangzi is looking for death! There's no time to lose, my lads, follow me quickly!"

  Many subordinates did not know what he was saying, still shouting to each other, closely following Azhuo's footsteps, advancing in the rainstorm, killing towards the source of the drumbeat.

  Although the drumbeat was faint, it was no less than a flash of lightning in the dark to the ears of the disheveled Liang army officers and men. So, regardless of whether their formation was intact or not, even scattered Liang soldiers also followed the sound of the drums and killed each other in the rain.

  In the small village, Gong Sun Ce once again confirmed one thing, a very frightening thing. That is, the military soul in the small village can only be recruited once! The villages he passed through all tried once, and the result made his heart jump, unable to calm down for a long time.

  If the county seat of Chongxin is occupied by the Liang army, not only will there be three thousand more Liang soldiers, but also the lives lost in the battle to take it back will be unable to revive new military spirit. What's the point of that? So the various troops in the small village returned and reassembled, without even having time to start a fire for warmth, seeing the rain let up, Gong Sun Ce did not dare waste any more time, urging the entire army to speed up their march.

  "Still three kilometers, hold your breath, whoever leaks before reaching the destination will be left behind! At this time, less than 500 meters from the village exit, the rain has greatly reduced. The whole world is quiet, and all that can be heard are the footsteps of the entire army, as well as Gong Sun's urging voice."

  "My lord, Li Jin has come to report. He says that the Xia army launched a night attack, but Song Pei was prepared and set up an ambush to counterattack the Xia army. However, a sudden heavy rain arrived, reducing visibility to within five paces. The main general of the Xia army, A Zhuo, led his troops in a fierce charge, breaking through the Liao army's ambush. At this moment, he is engaged in combat with Song Pei's personal guard!"

  "My lord, Li Jin brings urgent news. The Xia army was ambushed by the Song-arranged imperial guards and the Liao army at the Yanmen camp entrance, and is desperately holding on, on the verge of collapse at any moment!"

  Chu Mengmeng's two messages were only a little more than five minutes apart, and the situation suddenly reversed again. Xia Jun's general, Azhuo, was unexpectedly ambushed, leaving Gong Sun Ce with not much time left.

  Gongsun Zan immediately decided and said to the people around him, "There are still two miles left. I will lead the vanguard with my troops, while Gao Shun leads the rear guard with the remaining troops. I'll go ahead and occupy the city of Chongxin County first, we can't let the Liang army take it! If the Liang army attacks our vanguard, you attack their rear! We will sandwich them from both sides and definitely make Song Xian stay behind!"

  In the darkness, the shadows were heavy. Although their line of sight was blocked, Gong Sun Ce and his men still heard the faint cries of killing. Even more so, they didn't dare to hesitate, waiting for the Liang army to deal with the Xia army, they would definitely go to occupy the county city, lest the night be long and dreams many, after all, it's better to grasp in hand than to let things change.

  "The mountains and rivers are just a game of chess, and when the dream is over, one becomes a guest! Song Bei! I'll take the lead and leave first, I believe you won't be able to stay for long either!" Xia Jun's general Ah Zhuo had changed swords several times in his hand, this one was also notched, he placed the sword on his neck and laughed loudly towards the sky.

  Watching Azhuo's self-destruction, Song Pei sighed in his heart and wiped away a hint of sadness on his face. He quickly ordered the people around him: "Quickly select soldiers who can fight, follow this commander to attack Chongxin County immediately! The matter must not be delayed, delay will lead to changes!"

  "Enemy troops have appeared 500 meters behind us, their formation is in disarray!" The Ghost Face Green Shirt suddenly emerged, and Gong Sun Ce's heart skipped a beat as he didn't even know how the Ghost Face had approached. The Ghost Face Green Shirt was unpredictable, although following Gong Sun Ce and the others, but often acted on his own. Wielding a long sword, drinking strong liquor. Slaying the military souls in the villages along both sides of Gong Sun Ce's marching route, wouldn't compete with Gong Sun Ce for experience.

  "Form a single-line phalanx!" Gong Sun Ce shouted in a low voice, the soldiers stopped in their tracks, and two thousand men quickly formed up in the muddy terrain, holding large halberds and facing the direction of Liao's pursuing army.

  "How did you get here?" Gong Sun Ce saw the ghostly figure in a green shirt holding a bamboo umbrella, with dry and clean clothes all over his body. When he looked down again, he saw that the ghostly figure was actually floating above the wet muddy ground!

  "I followed my intuition and rushed over. Originally, I wanted to assassinate the city's guardian general, but unexpectedly that guy fled the city overnight and escaped by a hair. Then I sensed you were here, so I came."

  "Feeling?"

  "Yes, killing him will be beneficial to my cultivation. My long sword is about to ascend, and I need a superior soul." The man in green suddenly drew out his long sword, the dark blade flashing with a faint, eerie blue light in the black night.

  "That warrior who came from the opposite side has low strength, but his martial soul quality is higher! If possible, can I have him?"

  As for the sudden appearance of Gui Mian Qing Shan, Gong Sun Ce's heart was filled with astonishment. As for his request, Gong Sun Ce did not want to agree. Because living Song Pei is more valuable than a dead one.

  "I'm afraid I won't be able to, I want to surrender him!" Gong Sun Ce's response put a period on the conversation between the two.

  The road was muddy, and it took the Liao army five or six minutes to reach Gong Sun Ce's reconnaissance range within a distance of 500 meters. At this time, the Liao army was in its most relaxed state, after a hard battle, they were enjoying the fruits of victory. Even Song Pei couldn't say anything about this situation.

  A row of soldiers crouched in the muddy pit, their long spears slowly rising. Gong Sun Ce quietly drew out his Wushan sword from his waist. He perked up his ears to judge the distance between them, and when it was almost twenty steps away, Gong Sun Ce revealed a ruthless smile. He stuck out his tongue and licked his icy lips.

  Song Pei, although walking in the middle, had a ominous premonition in his heart. The most feared thing for a general is to have this feeling, he only felt that his slowly beating heart was being squeezed by an inexplicable force, and couldn't help but accelerate its beat.

  He always felt that something was off, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. It wasn't until one of the guards slipped and fell in the muddy ground beside him that it suddenly became clear! There's a problem with the ground beneath their feet! Because after the heavy rain, although the mud was slippery, it shouldn't have been muddy to this extent. The only way for the mud to be churned up like this is if someone had been constantly trampling on it!

  "Warning! Enemy ahead!" Song Pei drew his sword and shouted loudly.

  "Kill!" Gong Sun Ce also let out a loud shout, which was almost simultaneous with Song Pi's.

  Fu Bing and the vanguard of the Liang army were only three or four steps apart. Before the Liang army could react, Fu Bing charged forward with his spear, and countless Liang soldiers were knocked down by the dense forest of spears rushing towards them. Some were even pulled down by their own comrades. In an instant, the vanguard of the Liang army lost its ability to resist.

  "General Gongsun Zan of the Great Qin is here! Who dares to stop me!" With a loud and boisterous shout, Gongsun Zan led his troops in a crushing charge against the Liang army. The Liang soldiers were armed with short weapons and faced a chaotic hail of blades, either being killed or fleeing in disarray, rolling and crawling through the muddy terrain.

  Song Pei, in the middle, heard the mournful cries of the cool army in the front row, and also heard countless killing shouts coming from the front. Based on the momentum of these killing shouts, he immediately judged that the other side had about 2,000 people.

  The Lü Bu's army had only about a thousand men, although they were all seasoned veterans, their physical strength was severely depleted and exhausted. Gongsun Zan's soldiers also suffered severe physical exhaustion from marching in the rain, but they didn't exhaust themselves, so they still had some explosive potential left.

  A school lieutenant ran back from the front, fell headlong in front of Song Pei, and splashed countless mud points. Song Pei still took him for a fleeing soldier who was afraid of war, and raised his sword towards him.

  The school lieutenant pointed east, his arm covered in mud and rotting flesh falling to the ground. His voice was hoarse: "Director Song, this battle is already lost, please quickly withdraw to Huating. Gather our Great Liang elite soldiers and fierce generals, only then can we avenge ourselves!"

  The commander's arm fell weakly to the ground and soon turned into a pile of withered ash.

  "You all protect the governor and retreat to Huating first, I will lead the troops to cover the rear!" Song Pei looked at a general under his command, who was heroic and willing to die, with a bitter heart.

  He couldn't let him think too much, and was immediately lifted up by several heavily armed guards and quickly fled.

  "Don't let a single enemy escape, kill!" Gao Shun's voice came from the other end. Gong Sun Ce knew that Song Pei was blocked by himself! A Liang army general who was fighting against him heard Gao Shun's voice coming from behind his back and couldn't help but change color in fright.

  After beheading the enemy general, he left a unit of soldiers to clean up the remaining Liang troops and led the main force of soldiers to attack Song Pei again. Song Pei fled back to the original Liang army camp, where the wounded soldiers who were recovering got up, ignoring their wounds, letting them rot, and grabbed their weapons to kill their way out of the camp.

  "Fall into formation, follow me!" Gao Shun saw that the Liao army was relying on the camp gate to defend itself. For a time, spears and halberds were like forests, like hedgehogs, causing the attacking troops to return without success, suffering heavy casualties.

  "Invincible in attack! Undefeated in battle! Kill!" Two hundred heavenly soldiers, each strong and robust, majestic and powerful. Wearing double-layered top-grade armor, holding various heavy weapons, they charged fiercely towards the camp gate, their long spears stabbing at the chest armor of the enemy, but to no avail, some even got stuck in the armor and couldn't be pulled out for a while.

  The heavenly soldiers were very brave and bold, holding up their shields to withstand the enemy's gunfire, and directly charging forward. After that, they slaughtered wildly, feeling extremely exhilarated.

  "Kill!" Song Pei saw himself surrounded and put aside his extra thoughts, only thinking of fighting to the death.

  "Kill! Governor, I'm coming too!" Suddenly another army launched an attack from behind Gongsun Zan, despite the fierce offensive and large numbers. However, most of them were just decorations, their blades chopping against the symbol-bearing armor, at most only breaking through the armor, causing only minor damage to the symbol-bearing soldiers.

  "It's him!" As soon as he heard that familiar voice, Gong Sun Ce knew who it was.