Chapter Thirty-Three: Execution of Cheng Yi

  "However,"

  Li Zheng said with a flash of his eyes, smiling slyly: "Although giving up the ambush here and not being able to finish them off in one battle, we also can't let them have it easy."

  Saying that, Li Zhēn's eyes burst out with a sharp light: "Now we have entered the deep mountains, the terrain is complex, and formations cannot be deployed. What use are more people?"

  Facing the white wolf and other war riders, Li Zhēng shouted: "We dare to rush into tens of thousands of troops, these bastards are just a few thousand people, they actually dare to come after us, it's simply seeking death."

  Li Zhong said this, and Fu Xie's eyes lit up first.

  He clapped his hands and laughed, saying: "Younger brother's words make sense! We can order a battalion of soldiers to harass them from time to time, using every trick in the book. After a few times, we'll definitely be able to make the pursuing troops collapse - the terrain in the mountains is complex, relying on our familiarity with the terrain, we can completely play hide-and-seek with the pursuing troops!"

  Bai Lang's eyes lit up as soon as he heard this.

  Li Zheng also smiled and said, "Brother Fu's words are indeed correct." He flattered Fu Xie with a sentence, then turned to speak to Bai Lang: "Such an interesting task, will you do it?!"

  "It must be done, how can it not be done!"

  "Those bastards have been chasing us for a whole day, and now they're exhausted. It's the perfect time for me to lead our troops back and catch them off guard!"

  Li Zheng nodded in approval and instructed, "When you go to defeat this wave of pursuing soldiers, you must understand the situation and act with confidence. The lives of your brothers are paramount. I won't be staying here waiting for you, regardless of whether you defeat the pursuers or not. You have two days, after which you don't need to follow my tracks and catch up. Head north, cross the Wei River, and join forces with Nu Luo!"

  Bai Lang remembered Li Zhong's orders in his heart, and after responding with a fist, he led the 52 light cavalry to turn back on the road they came from.

  It doesn't say how White Wolf teased the thousands of pursuers, but says that Li Ding came up with a plan and ordered White Wolf to carry it out. He himself didn't stay behind, but instead joined forces with Fu Xie's six green-armored cavalrymen, making eight people in total, and followed the southern foot of Zhuyue Mountain down towards the mountain's base.

  A group of people stood on a high ridge, Li Zhong and Fu Xie standing shoulder-to-shoulder with their hands behind their backs.

  "These rebels have arrived quickly!" Li Zhēng looked at the shadowy troops and horses below the mountain, and couldn't help but clap his hands and laugh: "I had expected that if Wang Guo didn't die, he would definitely send pursuit troops and contact other rebel generals to surround and intercept us, but I didn't think it would only take a day or two for them to catch up with us."

  "It's just as expected."

  Fu Xi smiled and said, "At present, most of the counties in Liangzhou are under the control of the rebels. This county is no exception. Fu Mouren is a thorn in Han Sui's eyes, let alone you, brother, who has greatly humiliated the rebels. They will not let us off."

  Li Zheng slightly nodded his head and smiled: "Fu brother, do you have the guts to follow me on a thrilling adventure?"

  "I am willing, but I dare not ask!"

  The two of them looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  Cheng Yi was a vanguard general under Han Sui, who had previously captured Xixian and rested there for several days. Last night, he received an order from Han Sui to intercept the governor of Hanyang, Fu Shu, while also beheading anyone who tried to rescue him.

  Cheng Yide received the order and learned about the detailed process, and his heart couldn't help but secretly be shocked.

  Someone actually rescued Fu Shuo from the flames and took him away amidst tens of thousands of troops!

  The kingdom's letter to Han Sui exaggerated the number of troops under Li Jing, but he didn't know that most of them were actually spies for Han Sui, so all the details of yesterday's battle had already been known by Han Sui.

  As Han Sui's trusted general, Cheng Yi naturally also got detailed information.

  It was precisely for this reason that he secretly felt surprised.

  Dozens of riders broke through the array, rescued Fu Shuo at the same time, beheaded Ma Teng and shot King Guo, what kind of achievement is this?

  Although Cheng Yi also looked down on the miscellaneous troops under Wang Guo, after all, that was a large army of tens of thousands! Take Cheng Yi himself as an example, if he didn't have tens of thousands of elite soldiers in his hands, he wouldn't dare to charge into battle easily.

  He's a ruthless man!

  At the same time as being shocked, a competitive spirit rose up in his heart.

  As a martial artist and a commander, it is inevitable to have a competitive spirit.

  After receiving Han Shui's order, Cheng Yi did not dare to delay. After analyzing the terrain of Zhuyu Mountain nearby, he locked in this route from Xietigou down Zhuyu Mountain.

  The terrain of Zhū Yǒu Mountain is treacherous and the forest is dense, this area has sparse population, only the Shè Hǔ Gōu valley line is the most convenient for cavalry to pass through.

  Put yourself in Li Zhong's shoes and think about it. If you were in his position, you would definitely choose this route down the mountain!

  He then led 3,000 elite soldiers and quickly arrived at the mountain pass, where he set up camp.

  It's better to think carefully, with 3,000 elite soldiers, in this narrow terrain, it is completely possible to achieve the goal of annihilating that cavalry and capturing Fu Jue. Having more people would be useless instead.

  Report!

  In the midst of the Chinese army's grand tent, suddenly heard news being reported outside the tent, hastily letting someone come in.

  "Report to General, scouts have discovered several horsemen coming down from the mountain!"

  "Oh!"

  Although Cheng Yi had expected this, after receiving the information, he was both surprised and puzzled. He stood up and said: "It's actually only a few riders? Where did the others go... Never mind, pass on the order to have all the soldiers line up outside the camp, follow me to meet this bold and reckless cavalry!"

  "Ah!"

  When Li Zhong led his eight riders down the mountain, they were met with a rebel army waiting in formation!

  Although Yamaguchi is much gentler than Shanyang, the terrain of Beigao Nan-di makes Li Zhong and others in a commanding position.

  The king looked up at the eight enemy riders outside of his kingdom, surprised by their excellent equipment and different body types, but had no other thoughts in his heart. No matter how powerful they were, there were only eight of them, while he had three thousand cavalrymen behind him!

  Looking at the thousands of soldiers lined up in formation, far more elite than those under Wang's command, Li Ding couldn't help but curl his lips.

  Reining in his horse, Li Ding's eyebrows rose as he stepped forward with his gun and shouted: "State your name!"

  Then, from among the rebel army's formation, a lone horseman slowly emerged.

  He raised his eyes and saw that the general was wearing iron armor, holding a long knife, and with a glance, he indeed had some majesty.

  "I am General Cheng Yi under the command of Han Shui!"

  The general let out a loud shout, his long sword pointing directly at Li Zhēn, shouting: "You're the Han general who rescued Fù Nán Róng?! I didn't expect that in this land of Xīliáng, there would be someone like you who dares to oppose our leader! I don't know whether to say you have a big temper or no regard for your life?!"

  Cheng Yi drank again and said: "If you can rescue Fu Shuo, it's also a talent. Han Zhuo's leader is eager for talent, if not, surrender now, and still be able to keep your life!"

  Li Jing coldly laughed and shouted: "Han Shui? What nonsense! A mere rebel, dare to shout in front of me?! That treacherous general, I think you also have a reputation for being fierce on the battlefield. Following the rebels must be out of desperation. By my side is the renowned Han Yang Taishou Fu Xun, why not abandon your dark ways and follow the lord, turn against Han Shui, strike him down, and surely you will bring glory to your ancestors and become a marquis and general!

  Upon hearing this, Cheng Yi's face turned red with rage and he shouted: "How dare you speak such nonsense! I am the trusted general of the leader, how can I be compared to you?! You Han general, since you refuse to surrender, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

  As soon as he finished speaking, he was about to lead his troops in an attack.

  Li Zheng hastily said: "You rebel general don't know what's right, you're also a commander who emerged from the battlefield, do you dare to fight me one-on-one?! Bullying the few with the many, what kind of hero is that?!"

  Cheng Yi heard this and slowly lowered his arm, secretly thinking in his heart.

  Li Zhongda's intention was clear: it was nothing more than a beheading tactic. Killing him would create an opportunity to escape the blockade.

  But Cheng Yi was also a military general and had a quick temper. The anger from being counterattacked by Li Zhen earlier reached the sky, and he thought to himself that he wasn't inferior to Li Zhen.

  Furthermore, Cheng Yi is also a celebrity, if he were to be challenged by an unknown person and didn't dare to respond, he would lose face!

  This is Xi Lian, where strength is revered!

  "Alright! Han will not be arrogant, Cheng Yi is coming to meet you, to debunk your lie of defeating tens of thousands of troops with just a few dozen cavalry!" What Cheng Yi resented the most was Li Zhong's military achievement two days ago, feeling envious, jealous and resentful.

  Now that there's this opportunity, I'll naturally take over this reputation!

  "What a man!"

  Li Zhong's heart was filled with joy, and he shouted: "I am Li Zhong of Lingzhou, the rebel general Cheng Yi! Today, I will take your life!"

  Cheng Yi was enraged, drew his sword and rushed out of the army formation on horseback.

  Li Zheng smiled and nodded slightly at Fu Shuo beside him, then charged forward with his spear.

  Clang!

  A shrill clash of steel on steel made many on both sides frown.

  In the arena, Cheng Yi and Li Zhong passed each other on horseback, with a joyful expression involuntarily appearing on their faces.

  In this strike, Cheng Yi clearly felt the power transmitted from the weapon was still inferior to his own, so he couldn't help but feel overjoyed. He immediately turned his horse's head and let out a long whistle, then charged again at Li Zheng's long spear.

  In just a few rounds, Li Zhēng's face turned bright red, seemingly unable to withstand the powerful blows. Every move and every style was on the defensive, and it seemed like he was completely at a disadvantage!

  In the arena, a bright snow-like knife light burst forth, just like the sun. The dark light representing Li Zhēn, however, was like darkness shrinking under the scorching sun!

  Cheng Yi's subordinates shouted one after another, each of them was in high spirits and morale, cheering for Cheng Yi.

  Fu Xie's side had a dozen riders, but they quietly tightened their reins.

  Suddenly, Li Zhong's loud shout came: "Charge!"

  Suddenly, a streak of cold starlight flashed across the field, and that dazzling knife light was like scorching sun on snow, disappearing instantly!

  Suddenly, the sound of horseshoes echoed loudly.

  At this moment, the thousands of rebels' cheering and shouting voices suddenly stopped. They opened their mouths wide in shock, staring blankly as a dark red long spear pierced through the throat of their commander!

  Li Zhēng exerted himself and shook off the corpse of Cheng Yi from the tip of his spear, sending it flying five or six zhang away to land in front of the rebel army. Meanwhile, Fu Xie and seven other riders had already charged forward!

  "Cheng Yi is dead, the rebels are in disarray, brothers follow me and break out of the mountain pass!"

  Rumble...

  In the blink of an eye, the situation on the field changed dramatically, and the 3,000 rebel troops who were blocked at the mountain pass couldn't accept it. Many people still didn't know what was going on, how did they just die when they were still pressing down on the Han general?!

  Within a hundred paces, Li Ding and eight others galloped forward with a loud whoosh, arriving right before them in just a few breaths.

  Before the rebels could even react, he charged right into their formation!

  At this time, a mournful cry finally rose from the rebel army's formation!

  "The general is dead!"

  "Kill him, avenge the general!"

  "Halt! Halt!"

  Unfortunately, with the death of the commander, the army lost control and for a time fought in disarray. In this narrow mountain pass, the chaos was even more pronounced.

  Under Li Zhong's leadership, a group of eight riders, killing countless rebel soldiers, finally broke out of the mountain pass!

  "Go north, let's go!"