Just then, a low horn sounded from the Tartar formation opposite.
Immediately afterwards, the Tatar cavalry began to move forward slowly, not in a hurry, like a wall slowly pressing down, carrying a great sense of oppression.
They seemed to realize that this side was at its last gasp and were preparing to launch a final attack.
Li Mao and Hu Laohei exchanged a glance, both seeing the resolute look in each other's eyes.
"No time to argue!" Li Mao swiftly drew his nicked sword and shouted, "Those who can still ride and shoot, come with me! The rest of you, follow Commandant Hu and break out to the south! Let's go!"
He stopped looking at Hu Laohei, spurred his horse, and led the four hundred cavalrymen who still had the will and strength to fight to launch a counter-charge against the slowly advancing Tartar cavalry!
"kill--!"
The shouts of battle once again ripped through the silence of the wasteland.
This time, the Yin army cavalry did not use crossbows. Instead, relying on their speed and desperate spirit, they crashed into the advancing Tartar ranks like a sharp knife!
The blade flashed, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.
Ignoring his injured left arm, Li Mao swung his sword with his right hand, slashing left and right, and successively cut down two Tatar cavalrymen who tried to attack him from both sides.
His personal guards and valiant veterans fought desperately, managing to slightly disrupt the Tartar formation in a localized area.
This brief delay bought valuable time for Hu Laohei's breakout team.
About three hundred cavalrymen gathered together and charged desperately southward.
Some Tartars split up their forces to try to intercept them, but they were held back by Li Mao's desperate fighting.
"Go! Go quickly!"
Li Mao roared, feeling his strength rapidly draining away.
He saw Hu Laohei at the back of the breakout group, glance back at him with an incredibly complex look in his eyes, then whip his warhorse hard and disappear into the rising snow dust.
"That's enough...it's time to go..." This thought flashed through Li Mao's mind.
He parried a scimitar that came slashing at him, then stabbed the attacker through the air. He turned his horse around and, with his last strength, shouted, "Retreat! Alternate cover! Retreat south!"
Upon hearing the order, the remaining rearguard cavalry, as if granted a pardon, broke free from their pursuit and fled south.
The Tartar cavalry were clearly unwilling to let go of the prize they had in their grasp, especially the brave and fierce Yin army general, who shouted and gave chase.
A brutal chase unfolds across the wasteland.
The Yin army cavalry, relying on the last bit of horsepower they still had, fought and retreated, with lone soldiers constantly being cut down by the catching-up Tartars.
Li Mao lay on the horse's back, feeling the scenery in front of him begin to sway and blur.
The pursuers behind him were getting closer and closer; he could even hear the Tartars' excited shouts and the sharp whistling of arrows piercing the air.
An arrow grazed his helmet, sending sparks flying.
Another arrow struck his warhorse in the hindquarters. The horse neighed in pain, reared up, and nearly threw him off.
Just when he thought he was doomed, the outline of the Shahu Pass wall appeared faintly on the horizon ahead!
Furthermore, the warning smoke rising from the wall ascended straight into the gloomy sky!
The pursuers seemed to have spotted the wall as well, and slowed down.
They chased for nearly ten more miles, and when they were about thirty miles from Kill Tiger Pass, they finally stopped their horses unwillingly, fired a volley of arrows at the fleeing Yin Army cavalry, and then turned around and disappeared into the northern wilderness.
Li Mao almost instinctively lay prone on his horse, surrounded by his personal guards, and charged into the barbican of Shahu Pass.
The guards on the wall lowered the drawbridge and shouted loudly.
Once he entered a relatively safe environment and relaxed, intense pain and dizziness completely overwhelmed him.
His vision went black, and he fell off his horse. The last thing he heard was his men's panicked cries: "General Li!"
The Battle of Baicaotan ended in a defeat and heavy losses for the Yin army.
But what Li Mao and Hu Laohei brought back was not only the defeats and casualty figures, but also valuable intelligence about the appearance of a large group of elite Tatar cavalry beyond the Great Wall, whose intentions were likely extremely sinister.
This intelligence, obtained with blood, will soon be delivered by fast horse to Yunzhou, Jinyang, and onto Zhao Muyun's desk, who is currently on an inspection tour.
......
Inside the Governor's Mansion in Yunzhou, the atmosphere was so heavy it seemed to drip water.
Tian Qing's face was ashen as he paced rapidly around the hall with his hands behind his back.
His brows were furrowed and his eyes were bloodshot.
Hu Laohei, half-covered in blood and wrapped in bandages, sat on the stool at the lower end of the table, panting heavily, and recounted the entire course of the Battle of Baicaotan.
Li Mao's injuries were too severe, and he was still receiving treatment while unconscious.
"...The Tartars are by no means a disorganized rabble; their advances and retreats are well-planned, and their flanking maneuvers are extremely skillful. Although their armor and bows are not as well-made as ours, they are certainly not made of scrap metal."
"Most importantly, there's that fierce aura... They're not afraid of death, and even... they even seem to enjoy the killing."
Old Hu was still shaken. "General Li was right. There must be a big shot behind this, giving unified orders. Otherwise, several tribes couldn't put together such an army, let alone coordinate such a battle."
Tian Qing stopped and slammed his fist hard against the pillar beside him, making a dull thud.
"It was my carelessness! I was only thinking about training the troops and showing my strength, but I didn't expect to stir up such a huge hornet's nest!"
He was extremely frustrated.
Despite Han Zhong's objections, Zhao Muyun supported taking the initiative.
But he messed things up.
“Commander, this is not the time to discuss this,” the military advisor beside him advised. “The most urgent task is to strengthen the city’s defenses and send urgent messages to Jinyang and the Grand Commander! The news brought back by Lieutenant Hu must be reported immediately!”
"It has already been sent out by express horse, on an urgent journey of eight hundred li!"
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