Chapter 175 Bloody Battle in Nanchong 3
Fang Xinyu saw his wife fighting below, shouting at him. Unfortunately, he couldn't hear her from such a high altitude, but he knew she was trying to get him down. Going down at this time would be courting death, and he might be hacked to death by the chaotic army.
So he picked up the electric speaker in his bag and shouted to the people below: "My silly wife! I can't hear you! Go away quickly, don't worry about me!" After that, Fang Xinyu looked at the wind direction and saw it was blowing east. So he took out his dagger and cut the rope with one swift move, and the hot air balloon floated away.
When the rope dropped, Ma Xiangling's heart sank. Fang Xinyu had told her that hot air balloons are difficult to operate. Without the rope, where they fly depends entirely on the will of heaven. But she couldn't care less. Her husband had cut the rope to save her life. So she turned her horse and led the white-pole soldiers to break out eastward.
Ma Wanchun and Qin Yiming both fled with their troops, but Ma Wanchun never saw his daughter and son-in-law emerge. Later, he saw a hot air balloon take off, with a signal light on it, and realized his son-in-law was still aboard. He immediately organized his troops and fought back. Li Dingguo's Dashi army was completely unprepared. The White Spear Soldiers, who had been driven out, came back to attack, and with Ma Xiangling rushing out, they formed a two-pronged attack on part of the Dashi army, causing them to lose a lot of men.
Ma Wanchun was delighted to see his daughter was alright. He asked, "My daughter, are you alright?"
"I'm fine! I'm going to chase my husband!" Ma Xiangling said nothing and rode her horse towards the hot air balloon. Ma Wanchun looked at his daughter's back and said, "Why don't you ask me what's wrong? I raised you for nothing!"
Ma Wanchun merely grumbled briefly and continued to gather his defeated troops. After a night of fighting, the White Spear Army had lost nearly 20,000 men. This distressed Qin Yiming and Ma Wanchun immensely. By this time, daybreak had broken out, and just then, Qin Liangyu's squad arrived. Seeing this, the seventy-year-old woman, with her whip, struck her grandson Ma Wanchun and nephew Qin Yiming three times.
Qin Yiming and Ma Wanchun could only endure it obediently. No matter how they were beaten or how Fang Xinyu reminded them, they didn't take it seriously, which led to their defeat today.
"Where is my great-grandson-in-law?" Qin Liangyu asked coldly.
"To command us, he boarded a hot air balloon at night. But then Li Dingguo sent troops to attack him. Xiangling went to rescue him, but the enemy troops were too numerous. Fang Xinyu, fearing Xiangling would be in danger, cut the rope and flew away with the hot air balloon!" Ma Wanchun said. He had learned this from a report from his daughter's subordinates.
"I think you two should stop leading troops from now on. If my great-grandson-in-law returns safely, he'll command the White Spear Army!" Qin Liangyu said. Her heart ached for Xiangling, fearing she'd become a widow at such a young age. And Fang Xinyu, disregarding the danger, cut the ropes to allow his great-granddaughter to escape. Marrying a man like that was a good choice! I just hope Heaven will see to it and spare my poor great-granddaughter from suffering.
Putting these thoughts aside, Qin Liangyu said, "Let's cook dinner right away. After we finish eating, we'll immediately assemble our troops and prepare for battle! I want to fight this Li Dingguo to the death!"
"Aunt! My nephew is incompetent!" Qin Yiming said.
"Grandma! My grandson is incompetent!" said Ma Wanchun.
"Stop talking! Go down and handle it right away!" Qin Liangyu said coldly.
Over a hundred thousand troops had just been disorganized, and it was impossible to reorganize them immediately. After cooking, Ma Wanchun and Qin Yiming personally led the team to find the veterans of the White Spear Army and had them lead the new recruits to reorganize the team. It took until noon for the team to complete the task. Ma Wanchun and Qin Yiming arrived at the main tent. They saw Qin Liangyu, a woman in her seventies, dressed in red battle armor and a feathered helmet. With a sword dangling from her waist, she sat in the center, looking majestic and reminiscent of her youthful valiant self.
This set of armor was handmade by Zhao Xiaofei in modern times. Ancient armor was always black or silvery-white. Red was forbidden. Qin Liangyu's armor, however, was made using modern technology. It was made by the same company as Li Sihong and Kou Baimen's armor. It's unknown what was mixed into it. The resulting armor has distinct colors and is resistant to paint fading.
No matter how old she was, this woman always loved beauty. With this red armor, no one would ever wear black again. Qin Liangyu, clad in red armor, sat on her horse, looking at the White Spear Army and saying to them, "The court has been kind to you! Today is the time to serve the court, and it's also the time for our White Spear Army to avenge our past humiliation!" The old lady spoke with confidence and a resounding voice.
The soldiers below shouted in unison: "Avenge the previous humiliation! Avenge the previous humiliation! Avenge the previous humiliation! Long live the Ming Dynasty!"
"Good! You are all good men of Shizhu! If we fail today, we will die! Line up!" After Qin Liangyu shouted, she began to wave the command flag and the drummer began to beat the drum.
Hundreds of thousands of White Spear soldiers began to form up, forming what looked like an inverted "V" shape from the air. Meanwhile, Li Dingguo was busy counting the casualties, finding them roughly equal to those of the White Spear soldiers. After daybreak, he prepared his meals and gathered his troops, preparing for a decisive battle with the White Spear soldiers.
Both sides formed their battle formations almost simultaneously. Li Dingguo's side adopted the Two Dragons Emerging from Water formation. Li Dingguo addressed his soldiers before the battle formation: "Commanders! Your wives, children, and elders are all watching over you in Chengdu! If you are defeated, they will die at the hands of the Ming army. Are you willing?"
"I don't want to! I ...!"
"I don't want to either! You can only survive by defeating the White Spear Army! Don't be afraid! The White Spear Army was defeated by us, and they still are today!" said Li Dingguo.
"Capture Qin Liangyu alive! Defeat the White Spear Army!"
"Capture Qin Liangyu alive! Defeat the White Spear Army!"
"Capture Qin Liangyu alive! Defeat the White Spear Army!"
The soldiers below shouted frantically, their morale soaring. Li Dingguo instilled a sense of confidence in victory, and everyone believed they would prevail. Unfortunately, his commanding presence lasted only three seconds. Just as Li Dingguo raised his flag and ordered a charge, the opposing artillery began to fire, and shells whizzed past. The explosions sent many Dashi Army soldiers soaring into the air, leaving no trace of their bodies.
But this couldn't stop their attack at all. The soldiers of the Dashi Army rushed towards the artillery fire as if they were not afraid of their lives. After all, there were too many of them, and Li Dingguo was not stupid. He did not let the soldiers advance in formation, but attacked in a dispersed manner, which could reduce the casualties of the Dashi Army.
With a loud bang, a soldier holding a spear was blown into the air by a cannonball. His body fell to the ground in pieces, while the soldiers behind him continued to advance despite being deaf. These soldiers were veterans that Li Dingguo had trained over the years, and each death made Li Dingguo extremely sad.
Li Dingguo just looked back and continued to urge his horse forward, charging towards the enemy under artillery fire!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
