"Keep the formation, keep the formation!" Hao Yaoqi shouted desperately.

But what responded to him was not the shouting of killing, but the sound of horses' hooves leaving.

They were all frightened by the performance of this heavily armored cavalry, fearing that they would be the next to be hit.

The Shun cavalry fled in all directions.

Li Xingzhong took advantage of the situation to launch a counterattack.

Three thousand light cavalry charged left and right, dispersing the five thousand Shun troops.

There was chaos on the battlefield.

The battle in the north of the city is still in a stalemate.

Next to a raised earthen mound, Niu Jinxing stared at Li Yan and asked, "Mr. Li, our army also has more than a thousand heavily armored cavalry. Why don't we let Hao Yaoqi take them with him to resist the Ming cavalry?"

Before Li Yan could answer, Hong Niangzi's soft voice sounded from the side: "Niu Zuofu, you don't know that the heavy armored cavalry is indeed strong in charging, but the thick armor is a heavy burden on the horses, so they can't fight for a long time."

"The most important point," said Lady Hong, whose red lips uttered words like pearls in the sunset, "heavy cavalry can easily be entangled by the enemy after a small-scale battle and cannot quickly leave the battlefield."

"Hao Yaoqi's mission is to contain the enemy cavalry. With his ability, there is absolutely no problem."

Just when Hongniang was feeling proud, a scout rushed over.

He shouted to Li Zicheng: "Your Majesty, Hao Yaoqi was ambushed by the Ming army, and the west of the city is in chaos."

Li Zicheng stared with one eye, somewhat incredulous, "How...how did you lose?"

"Li Xingzhong first lured General Hao into the city, and when the battle became intense, he rushed out a thousand heavily armored cavalrymen from the city, and with one charge, they dispersed General Hao's army."

"Oh my!" Li Zicheng pounded his chest. "Hao Yaoqi, Hao Yaoqi, they say that a rough man has a delicate side. I think you are just a big fool."

"No," Li Zicheng suddenly calmed down.

He stared at the west of the city and asked, "Logically, the Ming army would pursue the enemy after the defeat. Why can't we see any signs of the Ming army pursuing us?"

The scout explained: "The west of the city is in chaos. The Ming army is busy harvesting the battlefield and reorganizing its formation, so they have no time to pursue the defeated soldiers."

Li Zicheng looked towards the west of the city, then towards the east, and finally took a deep breath: "Order the central army and my personal soldiers to follow me to attack the White Spear Army. As long as we take down this White Spear Army outside the city, the rest of the Ming army will collapse without a fight."

The soldiers in the central army had already gathered and were ready to join the battle at any time.

After Li Zicheng boosted everyone's morale with the briefest words, this elite force rushed to the battlefield.

With their participation in the battle, the White Spear Soldiers finally could not hold on any longer.

Before they joined the battle, the White Spear Soldiers had lost 30% of their strength.

Most of the remaining people were injured.

Li Zicheng's central army broke into the White Spear Army's formation with just one charge.

The previous battle between the two sides turned into a melee.

The losses of the White Spear Soldiers increased sharply.

But they did not retreat because Qin Liangyu was standing behind them.

"Aunt, retreat quickly!" Qin Zuoming, whose body was covered in blood, rushed to Qin Liangyu and shouted.

"Fight to the death!" Qin Liangyu drew her bow and shot a Shun soldier dead.

"But the defeat is already decided. If we don't leave now, it will be too late."

"Who said we're going to lose?" Qin Liangyu pulled out another arrow and shot it out.

"The White Spear Soldiers lost four cities and have been fighting for such a long time with no reinforcements. How can they not be defeated?" Qin Zuoming almost cried.

He personally recruited these white-pole soldiers and taught them step by step.

Today's loss pained him deeply.

Qin Liangyu found that all the arrows in her quiver had been shot, so she reached out and picked up the spear.

Looking at the bandits all over the mountains, she said to the people behind her: "Fire the cannon, order the whole army to attack!"

boom!

The central army's cannon suddenly exploded.

Immediately afterwards, there were thunderous sound of cannons from the top of the city, and countless shells hit the Shun army's formation.

The artillerymen took advantage of this time to move dry gunpowder from the city and wiped the water off the cannons.

As the cannon sounded, the north gate of Chengtian Prefecture was opened from the inside.

Countless Ming troops rushed out along the suspension bridge.

They were the defenders in the city and had been watching the battle in the city.

At this critical moment, Qin Liangyu decided to abandon the city defense and let the defenders in the city go out to join the battle.

When they joined the battlefield, the whole situation changed again.

The Shun army that had rushed into the Ming army's position was quickly killed, and the two sides once again engaged in a positional battle.

The two sides were deadlocked for a while, and Li Zicheng knew that he could not win.

He learned from his scouts that the battle in the south of the city was drawing to a close. Zhang Xianzhong's troops were badly defeated, and Zhang Xianzhong himself was forced to flee to the mountains for refuge.

The Ming army left behind a thousand cavalrymen to clean up the battlefield, and the remaining infantry and cavalry regrouped and moved towards the north of the city.

It had been some time since Hao Yaoqi in the west of the city was defeated. After chasing him for a while, the Ming army stopped chasing and turned back to regroup.

Only the battles in the east and north of the city remained undecided.

However, this does not affect the outcome of the battle.

After the rest of the Ming troops have assembled, they will rush to the battlefield and surround them as soon as possible.

At this time, the total strength of the Ming army had surpassed his.

He couldn't defeat his opponent when he was in an advantageous position, and he was even less of a match when he was in a disadvantageous position.

So defeat is inevitable.

"Your Majesty, I didn't expect that the White Spear Army would not be defeated even after losing 40% of its troops. I am guilty!" Li Yan, as one of the commanders, began to apologize.

Li Zicheng smiled bitterly and said, "It's not your fault, sir. It's just that Qin Liangyu is too strong."

Li Yan glanced into the distance and whispered, "Today's defeat is certain. I suggest that we withdraw our troops as soon as possible. Before the rest of the Ming army gathers, we still have a way to retreat. If we wait until they gather, we will have no way to retreat."

Li Zicheng looked gloomy: "Of course I know to retreat, but where should I retreat to?"

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