Chapter 261: Lure the Enemy
The battle between Xiao Zhuo's army and King Qi's army was a head-on confrontation.
Archers on both sides would first exchange arrows to cover the infantry's advance. Once the infantry began to charge, the archers would withdraw from the battle when there was a gap in the battle formation.
Shen Yuexi stopped on a high slope behind the battle formation, looking at the tragic scene in front of her.
Thousands of soldiers clashed relentlessly, shields and armor clanging metallically. The flags of both sides, like two different-colored storms, collided and tangled on the brown and green earth, transforming into thousands of sharp blades, piercing each other's bodies. The purple flags belonged to the Qi King's army, and the white flags belonged to Xiao Zhuo's army.
Sharp spears pierced through bodies, drawing streams of blood. Heavy blades slashed against bodies, creating the terrifying, shuddering sound of a butcher chopping bones. Blades flashed, flesh flew, and shouts of killing and screams mingled in a swirling chorus.
She had witnessed the Western Rong army charging into Langya Pass, their heads bruised and bloodied by rolling logs thrown by ambushes. She had also stood atop the Ice City, watching her own people slaughter each other below, hundreds, even thousands, falling under a hail of arrows. She had even seen the corpses of soldiers piled into a hill, with those behind stepping on those ahead to reach the top of the city walls... This was her first time witnessing a battle involving tens of thousands of people up close.
Life suddenly became insignificant at this moment. With a blink of an eye, several people fell to the ground. With every breath, dozens of people lost their lives.
Even though she had experienced several battles, she still trembled and closed her eyes, not daring to look.
It would be better if both sides could avoid fighting.
The thought only flashed through her mind, and she knew it was pure delusion.
Emperor Yongde was dead, and Xiao Zhuo was the only enemy the Prince of Qi and his son worried about. If they didn't eliminate Xiao Zhuo, they would live in fear all day long. Xiao Zhuo had clearly told her that he would avenge his father, and with his enemy right in front of him, he would never give up.
Two ferocious beasts met in Xiaogang Village and fought to the death with the determination to put each other to death.
"Master, our army's formation is showing signs of loosening." Qiang Lin's voice rang out beside her. "This is not good."
"What?" Shen Yuexi quickly opened her eyes.
As the captain of a thousand men in the Western Rong army, Qiang Lin had a clearer view of the battlefield situation than she did.
Just as he said, the white flag was gradually retreating, and the purple flag was like a pressing mountain, advancing slowly but unstoppably.
"How could this happen?" She looked ahead in surprise.
In her mind, Xiao Zhuo was invincible, so how could he not be able to withstand the attack of King Qi.
Qiang Lin whispered, "Master, although our army has 50,000 soldiers, they are all newly recruited soldiers from Xiliang and have never seen the battlefield. The Qi King's army is 100,000 elite soldiers with many years of fighting experience. It is not easy for us to hold out until now. After all, no matter how powerful King Zhao is, he can't transform ordinary soldiers into elite troops in a short period of time."
Shen Yuexi's heart suddenly rose to her throat, and she asked with difficulty: "Then...are we going to lose?"
"Master, rest assured. In a clash of armies of this magnitude, one or two defeats won't be disastrous. The worst-case scenario is that we'll be defeated and forced to retreat back to camp," Qiang Lin said, watching the retreating Xiao Zhuo army. "Master, let's retreat first, or we'll be within range of the enemy's arrows."
Everything that Qiang Lin saw was also seen by Xiao Beiheng under his command.
He rode his horse excitedly to the front of Qi Wang Xiao Ming:
"Father, the enemy's formation is in disarray. With just one more push, we can defeat Xiao Zhuo. Please give me the order to lead the troops into battle."
"No," Xiao Ming stared at the fight ahead with a serious face, "Xiao Zhuo hasn't fallen into defeat yet, wait."
"How is that possible? They can't hold on any longer!" Xiao Beiheng shouted anxiously, "Father, didn't you see it all too?"
It was obvious that his army had already defeated Xiao Zhuo's army and the opposing flags were falling one after another. The sign of defeat was too obvious, so why was my father still not in a hurry?
Xiao Ming asked, "Xiao Zhuo's troops were recruited from Xiliang and have only undergone a month of training. How could they hold off my elite troops for so long?"
Xiao Beiheng said impatiently, "Father, these are trivial matters. We have carefully selected 100,000 elite soldiers to destroy Xiao Zhuo. He is retreating now, so if not now, when will we charge? Since Father is unwilling to send troops, I will lead the Dingbei Army to attack."
After saying that, Xiao Beiheng turned his horse around and ran away.
Xiao Ming's face was filled with anger, and he shouted, "Bei Heng, come back."
A counselor nearby came over and advised, "Prince Qi, our army has just arrived here and urgently needs a great victory to boost morale. Xiao Zhuo's army is retreating continuously, and it would be a good move for His Royal Highness to send fresh troops to reinforce them. If we can defeat Xiao Zhuo in one fell swoop, the rest of the battle will be much easier."
Xiao Ming shook his head slightly and said, "Xiao Zhuo has been fighting in Beidi for four years and has never been defeated. I really dare not underestimate him."
The counselor laughed and said, "King Qi is overthinking. When Xiao Zhuo was the crown prince, he led the battle-hardened Yan army, which had been fighting against the Northern Di. Now he is leading an inexperienced new army. Even a god couldn't turn these new recruits into elite soldiers overnight."
After hearing this, Xiao Ming nodded and said:
"You have a point. It seems I was too cautious. Send the order to Bei Heng to lead 10,000 Dingbei cavalry to join the battle."
Xiao Beiheng was overjoyed when he received the military order, and personally led 10,000 cavalrymen to attack.
The Dingbei Army was the elite of the Qi Wang Army. After joining the battle, the remaining fighting spirit of Xiao Zhuo's army seemed to be gone. They dropped their weapons and turned to flee. The soldiers who fled first had already begun to charge past Xiao Zhuo's rear army.
Xiao Beiheng, among the cavalry, saw Xiao Zhuo's army giving up resistance and laughed heartily, saying, "Charge! In this battle today, we will annihilate Xiao Zhuo's entire army."
He personally led the Dingbei Army to charge and began to pursue the fleeing Xiao Zhuo army.
Xiao Ming, who was watching the battle from behind, suddenly changed his expression and turned to the soldiers, saying, "Sound the horn!"
The counselor was puzzled and asked, "King Qi, our army is about to sweep the enemy with one blow, why are you calling it a day?"
Xiao Ming raised his whip and pointed at the rear of Xiao Zhuo's army. "You only looked at the infantry fighting in the front, but didn't you look at the army behind? Their fleeing soldiers may seem panicked, but they haven't disrupted the rearguard at all. This shows that their retreat was intentional."
The counselor woke up as if from a dream, horrified: "King Qi, we have fallen into Xiao Zhuo's scheme."
The rapid sound of the horn rang out in the Qi Wang army. At this time, Xiao Beiheng's cavalry, together with the Qi Wang army, had rushed to the front of Xiao Zhuo's defense line. The cavalry's horses were fast and they rushed to the front, surpassing the infantry.
"As expected of the King of Qi, you saw through my plan so quickly," Xiao Zhuo listened to the horn sound from the other side, his face calm as he gripped the reins of his warhorse, "but it's too late."
Two thousand crossbowmen, who were on high alert, let the fleeing infantry pass and met the charging Qi army.
These crossbowmen wore iron masks and wielded terrifying crossbows. They had followed Xiao Zhuo from his arrival at Xiaogang Village, having experienced the fierce battles of Langya Pass and the Western Rong army's battle at Bingcheng. Their force had expanded from 500 to 2,000, and they were incredibly skilled in the use of crossbows, showing no fear in the face of the enemy cavalry's charge.
This is the army that Xiao Zhuo relies on the most, the Iron-faced Army.
General Qiu Liming, the commander of the Iron-faced Army, looked at the charging Qi King's cavalry and calmly drew his sword, waving it in the air.
"Continuous crossbow, all ten arrows fired!"
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