jdhmnovel Chapter 146: Ru Zhao’s Courage, Ren Gui’s Arrows
Chapter 146: Ru Zhao’s Courage, Ren Gui’s Arrows
The imperial army, led by generals such as Zhang Xianhuai, Qin Ruzhao, and Xue Rengui, marched towards Beizhou City in a mighty manner.
Two days later, they finally arrived outside Beizhou City.
The army set up camp in an orderly manner, and the troops in each camp were ready for battle.
Among them, the soldiers of the Five Camps were particularly eye-catching. The firearms they were equipped with were a trump card in the military power of the Tang Dynasty.
At this time in the camp, the soldiers were busy setting up tents and transporting supplies.
Generals also shuttled back and forth, directing various matters, striving to settle the army as quickly as possible.
The entire camp was filled with the hustle and bustle of someone arriving in a strange place for the first time.
Zhang Xianhuai stood in the center of the camp, looking at Beizhou City not far away, his brows slightly furrowed.
The Cui family and the coalition forces of many aristocratic families that we are facing this time are by no means easy to deal with. We have been thinking about various possible situations along the way.
In fact, he had already anticipated that with Cui Jingming's intentions, he would most likely take the initiative to attack when the imperial army first arrived and had not yet established a firm foothold.
Therefore, during the march, he repeatedly reminded his generals to remain vigilant at all times and be prepared to deal with sudden attacks by the enemy, and he also emphasized the timing and strategy of using firearms in the five army camps.
In Beizhou City, after Cui Jingming received the news of the arrival of the imperial army, he immediately summoned the generals of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families.
His expression was stern, his eyes gleaming with ruthlessness as he paced back and forth in the conference room. He then suddenly stopped and said loudly, "Everyone, the imperial army has come from afar and must be exhausted by now."
"Besides, since they have just arrived here, their defenses must not be fully prepared. This is a godsend opportunity!"
"If we can seize this opportunity to take the initiative and attack, we will surely catch them off guard, enhance the prestige of our family, and let the imperial court know that we are not to be trifled with!"
Upon hearing this, the generals from the noble families looked at each other in bewilderment.
Although they were wary of the imperial army, seeing Cui Jingming's determination and resoluteness, and thinking that if they could really repel the imperial army in one fell swoop, their prestige among the aristocratic families would surely rise in the future, they responded one after another.
"Mr. Cui is absolutely right. We must let the imperial army taste the power of our coalition of aristocratic families!" The speaker was Lu Xiang, a general of the Lu family.
He commanded the Lu family's troops and 20,000 Fanyang soldiers, and was always brave and warlike.
"That's right, before they can gain a foothold, we'll kill them all!"
Zheng Hu from the Zheng family also echoed.
Seeing everyone was united, Cui Jingming nodded with satisfaction and waved his hand, "Alright! Assemble the troops immediately, open the city gates, and set off!"
The gates of Beizhou City were wide open, the sound of horse hooves was like thunder, and the shouts of killing shook the sky.
The coalition forces of the aristocratic families surged out like a tide and rushed towards the imperial army camp.
On the court side, the sentry was the first to discover the enemy attack and hurriedly blew the horn to warn them.
The sharp sound of the horn instantly broke the tranquility of the camp, and the originally busy camp suddenly began to run at high speed like a sophisticated war machine.
Zhang Xianhuai still didn't expect that Cui Jingming would make such a decisive decision and act so quickly.
He reacted quickly, shouting out orders: "Fifth Battalion, prepare for the first round of firearms attack! The rest of the armies, follow in order to meet the enemy!"
"Infantry, quickly form a shield wall for defense. Archers, occupy the high ground and prepare to shoot. Cavalry, stand by and follow my orders!"
The soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp had already been on full alert. After hearing the order, they waited for the Shijia troops to approach.
The firearms at this time are not very powerful and only have a one-time effect.
The range is also around 230 meters.
So you have to wait until the distance is close before firing.
What was unexpected was that when the cavalry of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families in the front row rushed over, the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp could see clearly that they all had a shield on their backs.
When he was about to get close, he simply pushed the shield behind him forward.
For a moment, the cavalry of the aristocratic family rushed directly into the camp of the Five Army Camps.
Seeing this, the soldiers of the Fifth Army Camp fired a round and then put away their firearms.
He drew his knife and fought against the aristocratic cavalrymen charging from the front row.
Cui Jingming in Beizhou City couldn't help but smile when he saw this scene.
The Tang army used firearms to attack Tubo in Songzhou. How could Cui Jingming not be on guard against this?
Qin Ruzhao's eyes widened as his blood boiled. He grabbed his spear, jumped on his horse, and shouted to the soldiers around him, "My men, follow me and kill the enemy!"
"Don't let the enemy underestimate the might of the Tang Dynasty!"
"Today, let them know how foolish it is to proactively provoke the imperial army!"
After saying this, he took the lead and rushed towards the enemy like a tiger descending the mountain.
Qin Ruzhao rushed into the enemy camp with an agile posture and his spear was like a dragon. Every time he swung it, a splash of blood was brought up. Wherever he went, the enemy soldiers fell down one after another.
They were so brave that they managed to tear a hole in the enemy's charge and block the first round of the coalition forces' attack.
Under the command of the generals, the court's 100,000 infantrymen quickly formed a tight shield wall, with long spears standing in rows, and defended like a hedgehog.
Infantry commander Li Gang stood in front of the formation and shouted, "Brothers, hold steady! Don't disrupt the formation!"
"Today is the day for us to demonstrate the prowess of the Tang Dynasty infantry. We will fight to the death!"
Thirty thousand archers were on the high slope, and under the command of the archer commander Zhao Feng, they shot arrows like rain at the coalition forces.
Zhao Feng commanded, shouting, "Shoot! Shoot hard! Let these ignorant fellows experience the might of my army's bows and arrows!"
However, the coalition forces of the aristocratic families were also numerous and powerful. They ignored casualties and continued to advance, wave after wave, attacking the imperial army's defense line.
Seeing that the enemy was coming in full force, Xue Rengui originally wanted to lead his cavalry in a roundabout attack as planned. However, the situation was critical at the moment, so he made a prompt decision and led part of the cavalry to attack the enemy from the flank, trying to relieve the tremendous pressure Qin Ruzhao was under.
He rode on a tall horse, holding a horizontal sword, and shouted to the cavalry behind him: "Brothers, follow me to charge in from the flank, disrupt their formation, and relieve the pressure on General Qin!"
After saying this, his cavalry swept across the battlefield like a gust of wind, brandishing their swords and reaping the lives of the allied forces.
Qin Ruzhao charged left and right in the enemy's formation. Although he was wounded in many places and his armor was stained red with blood, he remained fearless.
He brandished his spear and roared, "I'll kill anyone who comes, and I'll wipe out any group that comes! Come up and die if you dare!"
His bravery inspired the imperial soldiers, and they all fought to the death.
In the melee, Zheng Hu supervised the battle from the rear and commanded with confidence. Under his command, the coalition forces attacked in an orderly manner.
Seeing this, Xue Rengui drew his bow and arrow, his eyes blazing as he shouted, "Stop being so arrogant, you traitor! I'm going to kill you!"
The sharp arrow flew out from the bow and went straight for Zheng Hu's throat like a meteor chasing the moon.
Zheng Hu opened his eyes wide and had no time to dodge before he was pierced through the heart by an arrow and fell to the ground dead.
The coalition forces were suddenly thrown into chaos.
"General Zheng!" The allied soldiers exclaimed in shock. Seeing their commander killed, their morale was greatly reduced.
On the other hand, when the imperial court soldiers saw Xue Rengui kill the enemy commander with a single arrow, their morale was boosted, and they shouted, "General Xue's arrow is divine! Kill!"
The two sides fought fiercely for a long time, with corpses scattered all over the battlefield, and shouts and screams intertwined.
The battle lasted from early morning until dusk. The sun gradually set, and its afterglow sprinkled on the battlefield, dyeing the bloody scene red.
Both sides were exhausted and unable to fight again.
Zhang Xianhuai looked at the tragic scene on the battlefield and sighed in his heart. Although he had blocked the surprise attack of the coalition forces of the aristocratic families this time, his side also suffered heavy losses.
He gave the order: "Sound the retreat! All troops retreat to camp, treat the wounded, and reorganize the armaments!"
When Qin Ruzhao heard this, although he was unwilling, he also knew that the soldiers were exhausted at this moment. So, with blood and scars all over his body, he led the remaining soldiers to slowly retreat back to the camp.
Xue Rengui also returned with his cavalry. He looked at the corpses on the battlefield with a solemn expression and said to Zhang Xianhuai, "Xianhuai, the aristocratic family coalition's proactive attack this time really caught us off guard."
"Although we didn't let them succeed, we also suffered heavy casualties. We must be more cautious in the future."
Zhang Xianhuai nodded, his expression weary yet resolute. "Indeed, Cui Jingming is indeed no ordinary person. His sudden attack almost caught us off guard."
"I thought about it, but I didn't expect him to be so decisive."
"However, our soldiers also showed great bravery today, especially you, Zhao and Rengui. If it weren't for your fierce resistance, the consequences would be disastrous."
Qin Ruzhao wiped the blood off his face and grinned, "Humph! It won't be easy for that coalition of aristocratic families to defeat us! After we've rested, we'll definitely teach them a lesson!"
Xue Rengui also smiled slightly: "That's right, we will recuperate first, and wait for the right time to fight them!"
On the side of the aristocratic family coalition, Cui Jingming stood on the city wall, looking at the imperial army retreating to the camp with a gloomy expression.
He originally thought that this proactive attack would deal a heavy blow to the imperial army, but he did not expect the imperial army to be so tenacious, especially Qin Ruzhao's bravery and Xue Rengui's magical arrows, which prevented his plan from being fully successful.
"Lord Cui, although we did not defeat the imperial army this time, we did cause them to suffer considerable losses, and we also gained something." said Lu Shaoqing of the Lu family.
Cui Jingming remained silent.
Although the army raised by the aristocratic families is not afraid of death.
But it is still far inferior to the imperial army.
He not only took advantage of the numerical advantage to take the initiative.
He also predicted the firearms of the five military camps.
Let the cavalry charge the enemy's infantry.
This was even when the imperial army had not yet rested and recovered from its fatigue.
The fight was evenly matched.
This battle also made Cui Jingming realize that there was no chance to go out and fight.
Next, there is only the battle to defend the city.
Thinking of this, he suppressed his dissatisfaction.
Showed a smile.
"You're right, everyone played well today! Everyone gets a reward!"