Chapter 181: Decisive Victory

Chapter 181: Decisive Victory

Chapter 181: Decisive Victory (Additional chapter for the leader Bai Kan, who has been into this game for ten years)
Shao Xun led his personal soldiers to attack the enemy not to charge, but more to observe the military situation.

Although the scouts provided a lot of information, and it could be confirmed by many people, he always felt that this group of people had only grown up for a few years, so like a worried old father, he went out personally to investigate the enemy situation.

In addition, although our soldiers had eaten and rested for a while on the way, they had to hurry on and had just formed their battle array and were sitting on the ground to rest. If we come over to harass them and attract their attention, we can also delay the battle and buy more rest time for our side.

While he was thinking, he had already reached the outer edge of the enemy's formation within an arrow's reach.

The bandits were in a commotion, and many of them stood up and shot randomly with bows and arrows, but they could not reach because the distance was too far.

"Clang clang..." The sound of horse hooves was heard. It turned out that Li Le's troops, who were ambushing behind the grove, rushed out.

"Great, we've found out where the enemy is hiding." Shao Xun laughed and rushed towards them.

Tang Jian squeezed his horse hard and rushed to the front with more than ten people to guard Shao Xun closely.

A distance of more than a hundred steps was really nothing for the cavalry, and the two sides soon collided head-on.

At the critical moment, the bandits subconsciously dodged the sharp arrows of Shao's personal soldiers horizontally, not daring to fight head-on, and tried to win by fighting in a guerrilla manner.

But when engaging in close combat, how could they be so at ease?
Shao Xun stood out from the crowd and swept away with his heavy lance.

The enemy cavalry were quite strong. Some of them were lying on the horse's back, some were lying on their backs, and some were even hiding on the side of their horses. Only one or two unlucky guys tried to use their lances to block the horse spears - the result was no surprise, they were swept off their horses by the heavy spears.

Tang Jian drew out his ring-handled sword and followed Shao Xun closely. When he passed by the enemy cavalry, he raised his sword and slashed.

The enemies who had just stood up from their horses fell to the ground with screams before they could react.

Occasionally, there were a few who managed to dodge, but were picked up by the horse lance cavalry that followed, screaming in pain in mid-air, and then thrown to the ground.

If you don't dare to charge head-on, what kind of cavalry is that? If you only dare to shoot on horseback, what kind of hero are you?
Uh, "Shao the Thief" soon started to play horseback archery...

After rushing out for more than twenty steps, he reined in his horse, turned around, and planted his heavy lance in the soft mud. Then he drew out his well-strung horn bow and fired several arrows in succession.

Every time he shot, someone would fall down.

Dozens of riders gathered around him, faces filled with hatred, vowing to capture him.

Shao Xun fired three more arrows, this time at the horse.

A charging horse might either rear up and neigh in pain, or its front hooves might go soft and it would fall sideways.

Seeing this, the enemy cavalry scattered and moved around, but they immediately lost speed.

Shao Xun put away his horn bow and went forward with his spear in hand.

After Tang Jian and others made a circle, they surrounded them again and followed closely.

The sound of horse hooves was rapid and the shouts were continuous.

Dozens of riders from both sides collided head-on again. Shao Xun seized the left-hand position and his sprint direction was consistent with the horse's running direction, which was very comfortable.

He even held the lance in one hand and easily knocked down one of the enemies in front of him, in front of their surprised eyes.

Tang Jian and others tried their best to block the subsequent enemy spears. When the two sides passed each other, there were many ownerless horses running around.

The enemy cavalry was frightened.

They had more than 200 cavalrymen, while the government troops had only more than 100 cavalrymen. However, after two consecutive charges, more than 50 of their own men fell off their horses, while only a dozen or so were killed or wounded on the other side.

If it were to do this again, it might collapse.

Everyone looked at each other, and wanted to retreat.

While he was hesitating, he saw Shao Xun on the opposite side abandoning his horse lance and coming up with a horn bow.

There were continuous sounds of arrows breaking through the air. Only one of the three arrows missed. Another person screamed and fell. A horse painfully threw off the knight on its back and knelt on the ground.

"Retreat!" The enemy cavalry could not hold on and fled in panic.

Shao Xun took advantage and continued to act like a good kid.

After chasing for a while and shooting two people, he turned his horse's head and rushed straight towards the enemy camp.

The bandits on the periphery had been watching the cavalry battle for a long time and had already felt chilled. When they saw the cavalry marching in, the people in the front row subconsciously stepped back, and a large group of people were squeezed together.

Shao Xun's heart was pounding.

There is a strong impulsive factor in his character. Sometimes when he gets hot-headed, he becomes reckless and even dares to flirt with the Queen. He wants to tear the clothes of the Crown Princess and even want to give the mistress maternity leave. At this time, seeing that these bandits were not elite, he looked afraid, made up his mind, and rushed forward directly.

The enemy was suddenly in a panic. Some turned around and ran, some retreated, and some pushed forward and tried to stab with spears.

Shao Xun laughed loudly, slashed horizontally with his ring-handled sword, blocking a spear, then reached out and grabbed a shield in his hand, turned his horse's head, and rode away.

Tang Jian, who was following closely, also slowed down and rode away.

"General, charge into the battle line alone and seize one side of the card!" he shouted.

"General, charge into the battle alone and seize one side of the card!" the knights shouted in unison.

"General, charge into the battle line alone and seize one side of the card!" The high-pitched voice quickly spread throughout the battlefield.

Wherever the knights went, the noise became louder.

The bandit soldiers were skeptical, and rumors spread everywhere, and the officers were unable to control them.

Lu Ping was directing the deployment of troops when he saw this and felt a chill in his heart.

It was true, he had seen it.

The brave general who charged into the battle was arrogant and domineering, but he was also extremely courageous and had a sharp eye. He knew who could charge and who could not.

Damn it! How dare you fight with your brains? Where did you come from?
He didn't want to wait any longer, so he ordered the troops to assemble as quickly as possible and rush forward in one wave.

Victory is victory, loss is loss, it all depends on fate.

The longer you delay, the smaller your chances of winning.

After Shao Xun showed off for a while, he realized that his horsepower was not as strong as before, so he ran back to his camp.

Li Le rushed over from the other side, and after symbolically chasing for a while, he also retreated.

Next, it was time for the main infantry of both sides to fight each other, and they could not help much.

******
"The general is mighty!"

"Wan Sheng!"

"Kill him and let his head roll!"

Shao Xun rode his horse slowly, raised his right hand high and laughed heartily.

Tang Jian held the shield and followed Shao Xun, riding his horse through every square formation. Wherever he passed, there were cheers and morale rose rapidly.

The Silver Spear Army soldiers, who were originally a little nervous, forgot their fear and shouted with red faces and thick necks.

The soldiers of the Yamen Army, who had never taken the bandits seriously, cheered and rubbed their hands, ready to tear the enemy apart.

When the news reached the rear, the soldiers and young men who were surrounding the chariots and setting up camp also calmed down and gained more confidence in the battle.

Fighting requires courage!

The enemy has the advantage of experience, our army has the advantage of equipment, and now their morale is high, so what is there to fear?

There were bursts of drum beats from the other side.

Shao Xun looked back and saw that the bandits, after roughly arranging themselves in a formation, had already swarmed over.

"Beat the drums, march!" He did not hesitate at all. Why not take advantage of the high morale and march forward now, and wait until the excitement of the men has died down before fighting a messy battle?
"Boom, boom, boom..." The sound of drums soon rang out, and flags were sounded on the high platform of the central army. Two thousand Yamen soldiers and one thousand young men located in the right front marched in unison.

In the central army formation, the Silver Spear Army and Palace Soldiers who were sitting on the ground stood up and formed a battle formation.

When they heard the second drum beat, they began to advance.

There were another thousand Yamen soldiers in the left rear, along with two thousand auxiliary soldiers, who also stood up, but did not advance. Instead, they stood still with their weapons in hand. They would not advance until the third drum beat.

Finally, there were two thousand young men, three hundred soldiers from the prefecture and more than four hundred cavalrymen who stayed behind to guard the baggage wagons.

The auxiliary troops will not move, but the cavalry can attack at any time.

The weather gradually became hot and humid, and there was not a breath of wind on the battlefield.

The eagle flew across the sky, its sharp eyes watching the humans on the ground who were about to fight for their lives.

One side formed a square formation, which was completely unremarkable, quite standard, and a little messy at the edges.

As we move forward, some people walk fast, some walk slowly, and there is a disconnect between the front and the back.

The other side deployed a diagonal formation.

The right front moves the fastest, trying to outflank the opponent's left wing.

All the members in the middle were wearing armor, their formation was neat, and their morale was high.

The formation at the left rear was a little scattered, and every fifty steps they had to stop and regroup before continuing forward. The eagle flew away, and the battle on the ground entered a bloody stage.

The bandits rushing in the front were aggressive and ferocious, and they were shouting to encourage themselves.

On both sides of them, more than two hundred archers stepped forward quickly, drew their bows and arrows, and prepared to shoot.

From their perspective, the opposing government troops were of high quality, well-organized, and well-coordinated. They were also well-equipped, with densely packed heavy-armored warriors, row after row, with no end in sight.

The drums on the other side stopped beating, and the advancing troops also stopped. Everyone put down their weapons, skillfully took out their bows from their waists, and drew long arrows from their quivers.

"This..." The bandit subconsciously slowed down his pace, a little dumbfounded.

"Woo——" The horn sounded as if it came from underground, releasing countless evil spirits.

"Buzz--" Dense arrows flew in from the opposite side, almost covering the sky and the sun.

The old thieves in the front row lowered their heads subconsciously.

This is a long-distance projectile, it's not scary, just get through it.

Arrows fell like raindrops, clanging against the helmets and armor plates, but did not cause much damage.

But they were fine, but the people behind them were in trouble.

Muffled groans and screams continued to be heard, and one after another fell to the ground while walking.

Some people held their thighs and breathed hard, limping forward, still quite tenacious.

Some people fell to the ground, holding their necks, and were stepped on by countless people.

There were also men who didn't even have leather armor on them, but were unlucky enough to be stabbed by several arrows. Perhaps the arrows didn't penetrate deeply into the flesh, but they scared themselves and shouted loudly, so they were stabbed to death by the officers to avoid affecting the morale of the troops.

After this round of projectiles, even though there were three thousand old thieves, their formation became much more disorganized.

Especially the archers on both sides, seventy or eighty of them fell down directly, and the rest fought back hastily. Hundreds of arrows flew into the opposite Silver Spear Army formation, which did not seem to have much effect. It only slightly disrupted their formation, but soon an officer with a recognition flag on his back shouted and adjusted the formation.

After walking forward twenty steps, the formation returned to normal, with nothing unusual to be seen.

"Woo——" the horn sounded again.

The Silver Spear Army stopped again, everyone threw their spears to the ground, took out their bows again, and the rain of arrows came as expected.

The casualties this time were more horrific.

The unarmored bandit fell to the ground as he was walking.

The formation of the lightly-armored thieves was also torn, with a piece missing here and a corner missing there.

The people at the back were confused and, under the command of the officers, stepped forward to fill the gaps and keep the formation intact.

"Hurry! Charge forward, don't save your energy." Lu Ping rode his horse forward along the gap between the two small square formations and gave orders loudly.

If they continued to follow the routine, the government troops would be able to fire another round of arrows, and the most powerful one would be a direct shot from thirty steps away. Wouldn't that shoot them to pieces? What was the point of fighting then?

"Kill them! Take their armor!"

"Kill them. Those who come back after the charge can go to the Jiazi Camp and play with the women."

"The Buddha of the West protects me, I am invulnerable to swords and spears, charge!"

The bandit leaders cheered up and jumped up with a group of armored bandits and rushed forward.

They no longer cared about their formation. It was better to be in chaos than to be hit by another round of arrows.

The government troops on the opposite side also quickened their pace, and the two sides soon came into close combat.

"Bang!" The long axe smashed fiercely into the chest of a heavily armored bandit leader, knocking him away on the spot.

"Bang! Bang!" More than a hundred long axes and wooden clubs smashed down on the head.

The sword and shield soldiers charged forward with their large shields on their shoulders and shouted.

The spearman followed closely behind, stabbing with his spear as fast as a dragon.

Those in the front were all veterans with two or three years’ experience, and most of them had participated in the massacre of the Xianbei in Chang’an.

Standing on the bloody battlefield, they were no longer nervous, and they could successfully display more than 70% of the skills they had practiced for years.

"Stab!" Wang Que'er rushed to the front. Under his leadership, the veterans mechanically stabbed out their spears, again and again.

Most of the bandits on the opposite side are desperate criminals who are very fierce, but their skills are not very outstanding. They fight with a ferocious spirit and hope that the enemy will give up and flee at the sight of them.

"Stab!" No one retreated, and the second round of spears stabbed out.

The old thieves shouted slogans and, relying on the iron armor on their bodies, rushed directly into the jungle of spears, slashing left and right, creating a small wave of chaos.

The Silver Spear Army soldiers were chopped down to the ground one after another, screaming in pain.

"Stab!" The spearmen in the back row stepped forward quickly, and stabbed out with spears like a forest, directly piercing these old thieves, and blood flowed all over the ground.

"Stab!" After several consecutive rounds, the voices of Wang Que'er, Jin San and others had long been drowned out by the chaotic noise of the battlefield, but the veterans of the Silver Spear Army spontaneously recited the commands, raised their guns and stabbed with just the right rhythm, and it was obvious that they had gotten the feel for it.

Under their leadership, the first-year soldiers and even the new recruits behind them were deeply encouraged, their tension was greatly relieved, and they gradually remembered the key points of the movements in training.

The officers took the opportunity to encourage them and led them to advance in formation, assassinating the bandits who were missed by the veterans one by one.

A total of 2,400 people were like a sophisticated killing machine, humming along, leaving corpses and cries of pain wherever they passed.

"Stab!" The long spears stabbed all over the place, and the last group of old thieves who dared to fight were frightened and turned around and ran away.

"Dao Dao..." Chang Can stared at the flag on the central army command vehicle. After seeing the order to attack, he immediately led his subordinates to mount their horses and rushed out.

The enemy cavalry moved out.

Soon, a drum sounded in the baggage camp at the rear, and the cavalry also set out.

The commanders of both sides have made their backup plans, and the war has entered its final stage.

Shao Xun stood on the command vehicle, overlooking the battle situation from a high vantage point.

The core of their偃月阵 was composed of 2,400 Silver Spear Soldiers. Facing the attack of 3,000 old thieves, they remained unmoved and even fought back, pushing them back step by step. They were on the verge of collapse.

The three hundred soldiers seized the opportunity and planned to launch a flank attack on the old thieves who were on the brink of collapse and defeat them in one fell swoop.

The enemy cavalry was obviously coming to stop them, so the cavalry immediately set out, attacked sideways, and engaged in battle with the enemy cavalry.

At the "crescent tip" on the front right, the soldiers of the Yamen Army are almost in place and can flank the enemy at any time.

But it seemed that they were no longer needed in this battle, because the enemy could not hold out head-on.

The palace soldiers rode their horses quickly and soon reached the old thief's flank.

As usual, they launched a volley of crossbow fire, directly disrupting the last bit of the bandits' formation.

Then came the hand-to-hand assault by the longsword warriors, cooperating with the silver spear soldiers in the front, chasing after the confused old thieves, hacking and killing them, and driving them to retreat.

The old thief was not stupid and knew the consequences of disrupting his own camp, but there were government troops everywhere and they didn't know what to do in a panic and could only retreat in a daze.

Those who were alert also knew to pass through the gap between the two phalanxes, which was the passage reserved for the fleeing soldiers.

But there were too few people of this kind. More people panicked and simply crashed into the unarmored and lightly armored cannon fodder behind them and fled.

The Silver Spear Army quickened their pace, their formation became more orderly, their morale became higher, and they soon rushed to the front of the chaotic bandit army.

"Stab!" Dense spears stabbed out.

Looking from the command vehicle, the enemy army's formation looked like a collapsed wall, with a large piece of bricks and stones falling off.

"Stab!" The spear stabbed out again.

The casualties were even more horrific because there were few enemies left to resist.

The defeat of the front army, the chaos in the formation, and the shouting of people all made people panic and lose their fighting spirit.

"Stab!" The soldiers of the Silver Spear Army harvested lives indiscriminately.

"Run."

"Failed, defeated!"

"Stop fighting. I was forced to kill by them."

"Spare my life."

"Stab!" The soldiers of the Silver Spear Army shouted slogans spontaneously, and the sound of killing shook the sky.

Under their fierce attack, following the front line, the enemy's center army also collapsed uncontrollably.

At this point in the battle, the outcome is no longer in doubt.

(End of this chapter)