Chapter 016 Northern Expedition (Three)

  At this moment, a close attendant came to report that Bian Zhongxing, who was stationed in the small city of Zhangyan in Jizhou, had arrived. Emperor Huan hastily went forward to welcome him personally.

  Behind the bodyguard was a middle-aged man with an exceptionally pale face and an unusually tall and thin figure. Anyone who had seen him would have left a deep impression on him. He had two most striking features, first, his pale complexion, without a hint of blood color on his face, made people's hearts ache just by looking at him. Second, he was thin, in the chilly autumn wind, he seemed like a bamboo pole, with his clothes fluttering and rustling in the wind. He wasn't wearing armor because he was too thin, unless it was custom-made armor, otherwise even the smallest armor would be exceptionally large on his body.

  "Xuanwu Army Lieutenant Bian Chongxing has seen General Huang." Bian Chongxing said with a fist in his hand. However, his voice was particularly weak, like that of a patient who had just recovered from a serious illness, or a starving refugee who hadn't eaten for several days. It was soft and lacked any strength, giving people a creepy feeling.

  "Somebody, Haotian, is currently acting as the deputy defender of Dingzhou. As for General's deeds, Dugu General has already mentioned them earlier. Now that the country is in trouble, I don't know what plans you have?" Haotian was also a straightforward person and directly said

  "As a soldier, now that foreign tribes are invading, it's only natural to die for one's country." Bian Zhong said calmly.

  Haotian's face faintly smiled: "A certain person is now eager to attack Jizhou in the north, I don't know if General can lend a helping hand?"

  Bian Zhongxing said faintly: "A certain person has only two thousand soldiers under his command. If the general is not disdainful, a certain person is willing to follow the general to drive out the barbarians."

  "In that case, someone should represent the millions of people in Hebei province and thank General Zhang for his noble deed."

  His face showed no emotion as he gazed out at the vast army, before saying, "If you want to capture Jizhou, the most crucial thing is to block the enemy's reinforcements."

  "Oh, can the general be a bit clearer?" Haotian asked with some interest. His judgment was actually the same as that of Xuanyuan and others.

  "While riding and patting the horse, he said: 'The six states of Hezhou, Yan state is the first capital of Hezhou, heavily guarded by troops, not to mention the city walls are high and thick. Shi state is located on the south bank of the Great River, which is the northern gate of Hezhou. Ding state connects the north and south, which is an important commercial route, so the defensive strength of the two cities is no less than that of Yan state. In comparison, the other three states are much weaker. The nomadic tribes are mostly cavalry, they are good at field battles but poor at defending cities. Therefore, although there are 30,000 troops in Jizhou city, facing a superior enemy army, it's only a matter of time before it falls. So, the key to success lies in blocking the enemy's reinforcements. Shi state's Huan Shu Tian may not have any ideas, but An state's Shen Jie is not an ordinary person, if he comes to reinforce with all his might, trouble will be inevitable."

  Hao Tian nodded: "What does the general think should be done?"

  Bian Zhong shook his head: "I'm just in charge of defense, this strategic planning is not someone's strong suit."

  Xuanji smiled slightly: "Someone heard that the Wole number in Jizhou is called the first brave warrior of Autumn Ming, and he is a good big winner. And Shen Jie from Anzhou and Ye Lü Zhaochang who escaped have never been on good terms, while Huan Shu Tian from Shizu has shallow eyesight. So if you want to conquer Jizhou smoothly, you can start from here."

  "What does 'military advisor' mean?" Haotian asked, somewhat enlightened but still inquiring.

  "The governor of Shizhou, Huan Shu Tian, will not dare to come and rescue us. After all, Qiu Ming and Tie Ying do not have a deep relationship, he has no reason to risk his life for his former opponent. However, the governor of Anzhou, Ye Lu Zhao Chang, will definitely come. He lost Yan state, although he is also very prestigious in the country, but if he flees back to Man Dan in such a sorry state, it's inevitable that someone will kick him when he's down. So his only hope is to defeat our army and then retake Yan state."

  Luo Xiang interjected, "If Yelü Zhaochang comes, Deeping will not fall behind. The enemy army from Anzhou should be over 30,000 strong. If we take the initiative to attack the Anzhou enemy, Wohu will definitely come out of the city to attack. Although our side has an army of 100,000, they are all seasoned and elite soldiers, and the cavalry of the foreign tribes outside the Great Wall have always been fierce. I am worried that we may not be able to withstand their impact."

  Xuanji nodded and said, "Sir, what you say is reasonable. However, the terrain of Jizhou is rugged and not conducive to cavalry charges. We can use a small number of elite troops to hold off the enemy with the advantage of terrain, while our main force will first engage in battle with Wole of Jizhou, striving to defeat the enemy in the shortest time possible, and then return to wipe out the reinforcements from Anzhou."

  Hao Tian's eyebrows slightly furrowed: "Our army only has 20,000 infantrymen, while the reinforcements from Anzhou direction have at least 30,000. Even with the advantage of terrain, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on for much longer."

  "General Hao, if you don't mind, I'm willing to lead the army to fight against the enemy in the direction of Anzhou." At this time, Dugu Yuming interjected. Xuanji and Luo Xiang looked at each other, both seeing the other slightly relieved. The defensive power of the Xuangong Army has always been unparalleled in Qingfeng, while the attacking power of the Bai'er Army is also unmatched in the world. Bian Zhongxing and Dugu Yuming are both outstanding individuals among them, and the soldiers they lead out are naturally not ordinary people. With them leading more than 10,000 troops from their respective units, plus the 20,000 soldiers under General Hao's command, it should be as stable as Mount Tai on the Anzhou side.

  Haotian patted his head and said with a smile: "How could I forget General Dugu? The Bai'er Army has always been the nemesis of cavalry, but..." Haotian's face showed a hint of worry: "The general only has 8,000 soldiers under him, and what I can provide to the general is only 10,000 light infantry and heavy infantry. These troops are newly formed, and they were previously prisoners of war from the Northern Expedition Army that I rescued. I'm afraid they will drag down the general."

  "There are no soldiers who cannot fight, only generals who do not know how to command. Since they were originally soldiers of the Northern Expedition Army, they must have been seasoned veterans before that. As long as they can survive this battle and not die, they will surely be able to dominate the world afterwards. Moreover, a certain person still has the help of his brother, who is best at defense, although he cannot annihilate the enemy army, but it is still possible to hold off the enemy and gain time for the general."

  "In that case, someone will no longer speak those polite words. If this battle is won, the general and the border general should remember the first merit." Hao Tian nodded heavily and said.

  "General Hao, please be at ease. As long as someone still has one soldier under his command, the enemy will not dare to take half a step over that person's defense line. The position is in the hands of its defender, and if the defender dies, the position dies." Dugu Yu said with great passion and fervor.

  "The tribes beyond the border have always been fierce, big brother, please be careful." Tian Yi said with concern.

  Dugu Yu Ming's heart was filled with joy, and he burst out laughing: "Sister, please rest assured, big brother hasn't even had the chance to drink your and General Hua's wedding wine yet. How could I die in battle so early?"

  Tianyi's face turned red and she quickly turned her head away. For some reason, she had a bad premonition in her heart, could it be that this battle would have an unexpected outcome?

  The Hezhou Road is a fertile plain formed by the impact of the Great River and its tributaries, with a flat terrain, except for the hilly areas in the west and the Yin Wind Mountains in the south. The city of Jizhou is located on the banks of the Great River in the western hilly area. Here, the hills are continuous, weakening the impact force of the cavalry while also increasing the concealment of the troops. After scouting out the terrain, Emperor Huan hid his Golden Eagle Army and Wind Dance Army, bringing only the Tiger Roar Army and the Blue Wolf Army, as well as the men under Bian Chong and Dugu Yueming, to press down on Jizhou City.

  The city gate of Jizhou was closed, and the city wall was lined with soldiers from Autumn Brightness who were ready to draw their bows and shoot arrows. Haotian smiled slightly, knowing that the soldiers of Autumn Brightness were most skilled in field battles on horseback, but were weak in defending cities. Although he looked down on them, Haotian's troops did not approach within 300 meters of the city wall. The nomadic soldiers were still a group of divine archers even after dismounting, their folding bows having a range of up to 150 meters, and the legendary powerful composite bow had a range of up to 250 meters. Now they were also at a higher position, Haotian did not want to risk his own soldiers.

  "Report to Your Excellency, enemy troops are approaching from the northeast." Just then, a personal guard came forward to report.

  "How many horses?" Haotian asked faintly.

  "About twenty thousand. The leaders are Yelü Zhaochang of Mandan and Fred, but all are cavalry."

  Haotian shook his head slightly in disappointment and said to Xuanyuan and the others, "It seems that Shen Jie still doesn't trust his own Anzhou, and has only sent 5,000 cavalrymen to assist us."

  Xuanji also smiled: "There has been a precedent, Shen Jie naturally dare not confirm whether we are going to make another move to lure the tiger away from the mountain. Besides, he and Yelü Zhaochang are not on good terms, and he doesn't have much of a relationship with the Qiūmíng tribe either, being able to take out 5,000 is already quite impressive."

  Luo Xiang's expression didn't change as he said, "Your Excellency, since the reinforcements from Anzhou have arrived, Woler in the city will definitely not just watch from the sidelines. Shouldn't we also make some preparations?"

  Haotian nodded and ordered: "Pass the order down, the Tiger Roar Army and the Canglang Army infantry will be commanded by General Dugu, the rest of the soldiers will stay in place and prepare to battle the enemy within the city."

  The reinforcements from Anzhou arrived in a mighty rush, and just as Dugu Yueming had barely finished adjusting his troops, the 20,000 cavalrymen appeared on the horizon. The deep autumn air was desolate and dry, and the 20,000 iron riders swarmed forward, instantly stirring up a vast cloud of dust. It was like a turbulent yellow iron current that suddenly surged to the front in an instant. Through the swirling dust, the soldiers standing in the front rows could vaguely see the ferocious faces and gleaming blades of the enemy army hundreds of meters away.

  "Launch the spear!" Dugu Cheng said in a low voice. Although his 8,000 soldiers remained expressionless, the 20,000 soldiers who had been transferred from Haotian were pale-faced. They had not experienced a head-on collision of spears and shields before, as they had always been in an advantageous position and had only experienced the cruelty of war through their enemies. But now, facing those giant beasts that seemed to come from ancient times, everyone was filled with fear. Dugu Yueming saw this but did not have any contempt for them. As a seasoned general, he naturally understood what these soldiers were thinking, and the best way to firm up their beliefs was to let them realize that the enemy was nothing special.

  The soldiers of the White Ear Army had already formed a queue, and after the first row of soldiers threw out their javelins, they immediately squatted down and retreated, with those behind continuing to do so, forming a continuous wave-like attack formation. Although the small javelins were not very heavy, for the high-speed moving cavalry, it was undoubtedly a nightmare; anyone hit by the javelin would either die on the spot or fall off their horse and be trampled into a meat paste by the following cavalry. In just a few minutes, the soldiers of the White Ear Army had thrown out all the javelins they had, and the enemy's vanguard had thinned out significantly. The remaining cavalry, who had just charged to the front line, were also strung together with dragon-headed spears by the well-prepared soldiers. Seeing this situation, the faces of the Blood Color Army soldiers finally had some color, and under Du Gou's command, they all gripped their weapons tightly.

  Dugu did not seem as excited as his soldiers, his eyebrows still tightly furrowed. Although the enemy had lost three thousand cavalry in the first round of fighting, they still had seventeen thousand cavalry, including five thousand heavy armored knights from the Mandan dynasty. If the thirty thousand men under his command were the elite of his own White Ear Army, he would not have been afraid even if the enemy had doubled their numbers. However, only eight thousand of them were his own sons and nephews, fortunately, the rest of the soldiers were still quite brave, and with Bian Zhongxing, the defensive strategist, assisting him, Dugu's expression slightly improved.

  After experiencing a failure, the opponent obviously adjusted their formation. This time, Ye Ruzhang was the vanguard of the entire army, and at the forefront was his trump card, the iron-clad heavy cavalry. Tens of thousands of cavalry charged forward together, causing the ground to tremble slightly. Dugu Wuming still had a furrowed brow, but he simply waved his hand, and countless axes flew out under the powerful force of the axe-throwing soldiers. These three-catty double-headed battle axes were specially prepared for the heavy cavalry of the foreign tribes outside the Great Wall, whose strong killing power could easily crush the opponent's armor. Soldiers hit by these axes had almost no hope of survival. However, there were too many enemy cavalry, and after two rounds of throwing, the double-headed axes retreated to the rear army, while at this time, the enemy cavalry was about to charge into the front line.

  "Crossbowmen, fire at a 45-degree angle upwards." Du Gu's voice was calm as he gave the order. Although the crossbows fired quickly, their power wasn't great, only able to cause massive casualties among light cavalry. However, the enemy's light cavalry were all hiding behind the heavy cavalry, making it impossible to shoot directly. But for the soldiers of the White Ear Army, this wasn't a difficult task at all - the arrows shot upwards at an angle still managed to cause huge damage after falling into the enemy formation.

  After a round of arrow rain, the enemy finally rushed to the front of the formation. Dugu Yueming's face had replaced his original worry and anxiety with calmness. As an excellent battlefield commander, he must always keep a calm mind. Facing the enemy's crazy attack, he was calmly issuing various orders. Bian Chongxu was also standing beside him expressionlessly, calmly filling in the soldiers under his command to the critical defense line, and from time to time using the troops in his hands to launch a counterattack.

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