Seeing that Shang Long was dead, Zhao Cheng did not hesitate. He brandished his sword, and two hundred soldiers immediately rushed up behind him. They lined up and charged into the enemy formation.
Shang Wei couldn't understand what was going on. These soldiers weren't carrying swords; instead, they had wide belts around their waists, covered with black, round balls the size of eggs.
These men were not on horseback, but they ran extremely fast, quickly passing Chen Daniu and Zhao Cheng, and stopped fifty paces away from the enemy lines.
What's going on? So many unarmed soldiers suddenly rushed over. Isn't this just courting death?
Shang Wei was about to give the order to kill the two hundred soldiers who had come to their deaths when, unexpectedly, these men took off the small black balls hanging from their waists, removed the fuses, and threw them at them.
Shang Wei immediately realized that something was very wrong. These people were probably throwing bombs. Although he had never seen one, he had heard of them.
As expected, the bombs exploded in the crowd as soon as they were thrown, and the soldiers were instantly torn to pieces.
"Retreat quickly."
Shang Wei shouted, and the army of forty to fifty thousand men retreated like a tide.
These two hundred men were grenadiers trained by Zhao Cheng. Each of them carried twenty or thirty bombs and followed behind the enemy soldiers.
Wherever the enemy troops retreated, they bombed them until they had thrown away all the bombs they carried.
After the bombs went off, countless farmers rushed out of the fields to the left of the enemy soldiers, carrying farm tools and shouting, surging towards them like a tide.
Even more incredibly, dozens of mountain bears, as large as black towers, rushed out from the mountains on the right.
They let out a deafening roar and charged at the enemy soldiers. Leading the charge among these mountain bears was Little Black.
Seeing that the opportunity had come, Zhao Xian immediately ordered all his soldiers to charge at the enemy troops.
The barbarian soldiers had never seen such a formation before, let alone such a fighting style. Due to extreme panic, the barbarian soldiers were completely in disarray and desperately fled, wishing that their parents had given them two more legs.
At this moment, the barbarian soldiers were attacked from three sides. In addition, tens of thousands of people were crowded together, trampling each other, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
Having finally shaken off their pursuers, Shang Wei counted his men and found that there were less than 5,000 left.
Shang Wei was a very famous general in the foreign country, having experienced countless battles, large and small, with very few defeats. This time, he led an army of 100,000 to invade the Central Plains and attack a small village.
Of the several teams, the one he led had the lightest task and was the easiest to complete.
Therefore, after completing his mission, his army was to immediately reinforce the troops attacking the capital of the Great Northern Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, their army was almost wiped out before they even set foot in Narcissus Village.
Shang Wei grew angrier the more he thought about it, and a mouthful of blood spurted from his throat. He drew his sword, intending to commit suicide.
Shang Wei's second son, Shang Hu, was terrified. He snatched his father's sword, and the generals around him came over to persuade him.
After a long while, Shang Wei sighed and told those around him that he would not commit suicide and that he would definitely come back to avenge the loss.
The pursuers could catch up at any moment, so we can't stay here any longer. We need to leave as soon as possible. The further north we go, the safer they will be.
For the Northern Dynasty, the north was already a territory that had fallen.
As this defeated army was rushing forward, a group of soldiers appeared in front of them and blocked their way.
Shang Wei was terrified, thinking that they had encountered an ambush. If Shui Xian Village had set up an ambush here, they would be doomed.
He urged his horse forward to check on the situation.
This force is unlike any army in the Great Northern Dynasty. Judging from its equipment, it is not a regular army at all, but more like a private army.
This force numbered approximately three thousand men, with a large flag in the middle bearing the character "Li".
This indicates that the army was a private force owned by someone surnamed Li, and was not an ambush force at all.
That makes things easier. Based on Shangwei's experience, private armies will keep their distance when they see them; they won't confront an army stronger than themselves head-on.
Although he had suffered a defeat, he still had 5,000 men, which was enough to deal with such a ragtag army.
But Shang Wei didn't dare to cause trouble at this point. He explained the situation to the team and asked them to let them pass, since the pursuers could catch up at any time.
The book subtly reveals that this force was the three thousand men led by Gu Huai, and Li Guang instructed him to go to Shuixian Village first to meet up with Zhao Xian.
They have been marching for more than ten days and are not far from Narcissus Village. They will arrive at Narcissus Village in less than a day.
To his surprise, they encountered the remnants of a foreign army here.
Needless to say, these people must have suffered a defeat when they attacked Narcissus Village, and I will not let them go.
He was determined to capture a few important figures alive and present them to Zhao Xian as a gift.
Shang Wei, of course, had no idea what Gu Huai was thinking. He sent someone forward to talk to the group and get them to let him pass.
Seeing a foreign general urging his horse forward, Gu Huai asked:
"Where are you from? Where are you going?"
This general originally wanted to fool them and get away with it, but the miserable state of his own team was too much to be fooled. He decided to tell the truth, figuring they wouldn't dare to do anything to his team.
Thinking of this, the general spoke:
"To tell you the truth, we are an army from a foreign country, here on a mission. Now that the mission is complete, we are preparing to return. Please make way."
Gu Huai sneered and said:
"Since they are from a foreign country, then they shouldn't leave."
After Gu Huai finished speaking, he waved his spear, and the three thousand soldiers behind him immediately formed a battle formation, ready for battle.
Seeing this situation, Shang Wei knew that this battle was inevitable. In order to win quickly and leave this place as soon as possible, he ordered Shang Hu to take down the general, and then the remaining soldiers would be easier to deal with.
Shang Hu, wielding a large club, spurred his horse toward Gu Huai. Upon arriving before Gu Huai, he didn't utter a word but raised his club to strike.
Seeing this, Gu Huai knew that this person was eager to win and wanted to leave this place as soon as possible, which meant that there were pursuers behind him, probably Zhao Xian's pursuers.
I must take care of these people before the pursuers arrive.
Thinking of this, Gu Huai stepped forward with his spear and began to fight Shang Hu.
Shang Hu's iron rod weighed over 200 jin (approximately 100 kg), and his strength was no less than Shang Long's. He raised the rod and smashed it down towards Gu Huai's head.
Gu Huai dodged the attack and used his spear to pull the large iron bar away.
As soon as the two exchanged blows, Gu Huai knew that this soldier was much stronger than him and that he was no match for him.
But it didn't matter, he didn't want to win anyway, he just wanted to lure these barbarian soldiers and generals into the battle.
As soon as he brandished his spear, the soldiers immediately took up their formation. This was the Eight-Sided Ambush Formation that Li Guang had taught him, and Gu Huai was already very familiar with it.
This was his first time deploying troops, and he was determined to annihilate all the remaining troops of the barbarian state.
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