Water Margin: The Tale of Li Erlang of Guankou

Chapter 178 The Liang Family Army Shows Its Prowess for the First Time, Breaking Through the Shield

"The old general's swordsmanship is superb; I admire it!"

Zhu Tong, nicknamed "The Magnificent Beard," was likely a very humble man. He knew very well that if the old general before him were twenty years younger, he would certainly not be a match for him, and might not even be able to keep his head...

"Lian Po is old, old is old, but it's a pity about your long beard!"

The veteran general Liang Ting pointed to the broken beard of "Magnificent Beard" Zhu Tong and said.

"That's alright, General. I respect you as a senior, but we have experts here who are more skilled than me. If we don't retreat, I'm afraid you won't be a match for us and won't be able to escape unscathed..."

Zhu Tong, known as "The Bearded Gentleman," tried to persuade him with kind words, but the veteran general Liang Ting was unconvinced. "I eat the emperor's food and have to be loyal to him. There's nothing more to say. I still have some time left. Do you dare to try and break through?"

After Liang Ting finished speaking, he swung his elephant-trunk-shaped ancient moon blade, and a group of soldiers appeared behind him.

These soldiers held broad, thick shields as their vanguard and carried large muskets to deter cavalry. Behind them were some card players.

This time, the players no longer held large shields, but small, round rattan shields or shields, which were light, convenient, and extremely durable.

The weapon used by the person holding the shield is a javelin, such as a spear, a plowshare, or a gold-plated javelin.

These weapons were not very long spears, but rather shorter javelins.

These javelins are divided into two categories: iron bucket darts and plowshare darts. Among them, the iron bucket dart is eye-catching for its unique shape. Its blade is four inches long with a sharp tip and two curved barbs on both sides that curve inward. The diameter is two inches and seven fen. It is used to kill people without a target and has the greatest power. It can often pass through people. However, once the barbs on its head are embedded in the human body, they are difficult to pull out.

The iron dart has a handle that is three feet long and two and a half inches in circumference. It is made of wood and painted with vermilion lacquer, making it appear dignified and practical. It is quite heavy and can effectively restrain armor, and can break through armor, with armor-breaking as its primary function.

Besides javelins, these men also carried short axes and hand knives at their waists, making them look different from ordinary soldiers.

Zhu Tong, known as "The Bearded Gentleman," had no idea what kind of unit this was or what their fighting style was. Cheng Da, known as "The Three-Axe Master," also rushed over wielding his great axe, but he couldn't figure it out either.

Only Lin Chong, nicknamed "Leopard Head," who was watching from the sidelines, seemed to have noticed something. This unit seemed somewhat similar to the rattan shield bearers that Lin Chong had seen, trained in the style of southern ethnic minorities.

During the Song Dynasty, around the time of Emperor Renzong, Nong Zhigao, the leader of the Zhuang ethnic minority in the south, rebelled. Emperor Renzong later dispatched the great hero Di Qing to quell the rebellion, which was successfully suppressed.

The Song army also adopted Nong Zhigao's southern tribal warfare tactics, combining javelins with shields. This method enabled soldiers to integrate offense and defense, greatly improving their combat effectiveness.

It seems that this unit has a similar organizational structure.

"Brother Zhu Tong, I'll help you break this formation. Can't the two of us break through it?"

Cheng Da, known for his "three-pronged attack," was a reckless man who acted without thinking. Even Zhu Tong, known as "the bearded gentleman," couldn't figure out the true nature of the formation and could only try to attack it.

"Brothers, follow me and break through the formation!"

After saying this, "Beautiful Beard" Zhu Tong grabbed a steel knife, and "Three-Strike Axe" Cheng Da picked up a large axe. They led several hundred men and were about to charge forward.

"Iron Chain Formation!"

General Liang Ting slammed his elephant-trunk saber heavily to the ground, and eight hundred heavily armored infantrymen roared into battle.

The front-row shield bearers drove their three-foot-tall iron birchwood shields deep into the loess soil, and iron chains twisted with copper rings linked the thirty-six shields together as one.

This is to turn the entire shield formation into a single unit, so that even if cavalry charges, they won't be able to break through it in one go.

"Brothers, follow me!"

Since joining Liangshan, Cheng Da, known for his "three-pronged attack," has basically not made any contributions. He has long been envious of others' achievements and is now eager to seize this opportunity to shine.

"Javelin ready! Fire!"

Liang Ting raised his elephant-trunk-shaped ancient crescent blade and then brought it down, signaling the javelin thrower to attack.

As the first wave of iron darts soared into the air, sunlight refracted through the barbs, casting a chilling beam seven feet high.

The Liangshan soldiers, charging at the front, instinctively raised their iron-clad wooden shields. These veterans of Liangshan, who had followed Li Hanxiao in breaking through the Zhu Family Village, had used this move to block all kinds of arrow rain.

But today is different—the moment the iron-forged dart head struck the shield, the pine wood wrapped in hemp burst open like lard meeting a hot knife.

Squad leader Wang Tieniu watched helplessly as his shield shattered into splinters. The镖头 (镖头 is a type of ...

The first batch of javelins were all heavy, intended to penetrate armor and shields, but not capable of killing people instantly. This wave of javelins was also intended to destroy their armor first, and then finish them off.

How poisonous!

The second wave of Zijin Banner troops arrived in quick succession, and this time the small number of cavalrymen who charged alongside "The Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong were also wiped out.

To ensure speed, the light cavalry were equipped with light chainmail. Their chainmail became useless against the darts, as the triangular armor-piercing darts spun and tore through the iron rings, leaving half a lung lobe hanging from the back of the rider.

Even more terrifying was the third wave of plowshare darts, with iron chains trailing behind them, and a small iron lump attached to the chain.

This design is like having a small meteor hammer inserted at the back. When it hits the target, the small meteor hammer also swings, either wrapping around the centaur's legs or hitting the person directly, causing secondary damage.

Moreover, their javelins were fired from a low position, almost horizontally, specifically targeting the horses' legs.

The moment a yellow horse had its forelegs severed, the rider was thrown into the air by the momentum, and then entangled by two intersecting iron chains. His entire body was severed in the middle in mid-air, and his internal organs mixed with blood rained down on the soldiers behind him.

"Raise your shields! Raise your shields!"

Zhu Tong, the "Magnificent Beard," roared, but the sound of flesh and bone shattering was drowned out. Two new recruits trembled as they lifted the shields they had picked up, but the iron darts seemed to have eyes and pierced through the gaps in the shields, stringing the two young heads together like a gourd.

A brave man tried to parry with his broadsword, but the moment the blade touched the dart shaft, the steel-forged spear suddenly shattered into three pieces of iron caltrop, instantly turning the man's face into a honeycomb full of iron fragments.

It turns out that this javelin was also designed. It actually consists of three pyramids inserted into a hollow shaft, which would disperse when subjected to force. It's like a shotgun inside a javelin!

When Liang Tingzhong waved his command flag for the third time, the surviving Liangshan soldiers saw a hellish scene—seven hundred javelins of various colors woven into a death net, iron darts that could pierce heavy armor, purple-gold darts that could kill instantly, and plowshare darts and chains that stretched across the sky.

The copper-plated shields they once used to withstand cavalry charges were now being pierced through layer by layer, as if made of paper.

Three burly men wielding large oars were pierced by the same javelin, their bodies swaying on the shaft to form an eerie banner; light infantrymen who tried to roll away were instantly pinned to the ground by the javelin head that flew close to the ground.

The worst off was the flag bearer of the central army. Seven javelins pinned him to the flagpole of the "Lin" banner. The creaking sound of the barbs scraping against the wood was like the King of Hell grinding his teeth.

At this moment, "The Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong also rushed to the shield formation. When Zhu Tong's steel sword struck the shield, it made his tiger's mouth go numb - leaving only a white mark on the shield coated with tung oil.

Hard enough!

"Look at me!"

With his "Three-Strike Axe," Cheng Daqiu's beard bristled as he swung his Xuanhua axe in a full-moon arc. The moment the axe blade struck the iron birch shield, sparks flew like iron flowers, and the elm wood shield, as thick as a bowl, snapped in two.

But the shield wall remained unmoved—the broken shield was held firmly by the iron chains on the left and right, while three spears, like venomous snakes, pierced out from the gaps in the shield from behind.

"Brother, be careful!"

Zhu Tong, known as "The Bearded Gentleman," pulled on the reins of Cheng Da, known as "The Three-Strike Axe," and forced his warhorse to retreat three steps.

Suddenly, darkness fell over their heads.

Hundreds of iron darts tore through the autumn sun, their barbs whistling like ghosts in the wind.

The surviving cavalrymen in the front row of the Liangshan army were immediately thrown off balance. A green horse was pierced by three darts at the same time. When the barb of the plow-head dart tore open the horse's belly, blood mixed with internal organs splashed all over Cheng Da's head.

"You son of a bitch! Take this, grandpa's axe!"

In the midst of the chaotic battle, Cheng Da, known for his "Three-Strike Axe" technique, had his left shoulder armor, adorned with a steel lion head, torn open by an iron dart, the barbs tearing at the flesh and causing it to rip and tumble.

The burly man seemed oblivious to the pain. Blood gushed from his bushy beard, and his single eye glared larger than a copper bell. He grabbed the fletching of the javelin embedded in his shoulder and pulled the barbed spearhead out of the bone, hurling it, skin and flesh, towards the enemy ranks.

The second wave of Liangshan cavalry charge coincided with a volley of javelins. Hundreds of purple-gold javelins flew overhead in arcs, the sunlight casting dappled blue spots on the poisoned triangular spear tips.

The cavalry at the forefront screamed in agony—the light cavalry's leather armor was like paper before the armor-piercing darts. The javelins, after piercing through the bodies, still had momentum, and ended up impaling three soldiers on a dead tree, making them look like blood gourds.

"Third wave! Release!"

Liang Ting's white beard fluttered in the smoke, and the shield bearers suddenly dispersed from both sides of the shield formation, revealing three rows of javelin throwers behind them.

This time, it was once again a plowshare dart with an iron chain. The gleaming spearhead trailed a steel chain over ten feet long, weaving a deadly net in mid-air.

Cheng Da's personal guard captain, known for his "Three-Strike Axe" technique, had his neck bound by iron chains. Before he could even slash them off with his sword, three darts pierced his chest from different directions.

In one fell swoop, Cheng Da's men, who had relied on his "three-pronged attack," were wiped out, and Cheng Da's anger reached its limit.

"Open it for me—!"

At this moment, Cheng Da's eyes were bloodshot, and his muscles were bulging like the roots of an old tree. The moment he swung the Xuanhua axe, the blade turned a dark red color due to the rapid friction with the air.

The first axe struck the center of the birchwood shield, and the elmwood frame, as thick as a bowl, shattered instantly. The second axe swept across the shield, the crisp sound of breaking chains mingling with the cracking of bones, and the four soldiers holding the shields were sent flying backward, spitting blood. The third axe, accompanied by a foul wind, cleaved the earth, splitting the rammed earth road into a three-foot-deep ditch, and the shockwave caused the shield bearers in the back to stagger backward.

He really put his "three tricks" to the extreme this time!

"kill!"

Cheng Da brandished his great axe and led dozens of soldiers to charge through the gap in the shield formation.

But just as they rushed in, a cold light suddenly burst forth from the breach.

"Second round!"

Liang Ting's aged voice pierced through the war drums. The rattan shield bearers, like raccoon dogs, flipped out from both sides of the shield formation, rolling along the ground with their round shields protecting them, breaking into smaller groups to engage in close combat.

Cheng Da's "Three-Strike Axe" was deflected when it struck the oil-soaked rattan; in a flash of cold light, three spears had already pierced the breastbone of his mount.

As the warhorse collapsed with a mournful cry, "Beautiful-Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong rushed to its aid, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw Liang Ting's elephant-trunk dagger slashing towards his long beard—where the blade passed, the severed beard fluttered like black butterflies.

There was nothing he could do but deal with the old man again!

Cheng Da, wielding his "three-strike axe," fell to the ground, utterly disoriented. His own axe nearly crushed him to death when it fell, even breaking the handle.

After finally managing to stand up, three rattan shield bearers rolled over on the ground again, the poisoned spikes on the edge of their round shields slicing across Cheng Da's calf with their "three-strike axe".

The bloodthirsty man burst into laughter, and with the meteor hammer at the end of his axe handle, he smashed a rattan shield, the flying poisonous caltrops instead piercing the eyes of the government soldiers themselves.

Just then, Zhu Tong's warhorse leaped across the ravine, his blade flashing like a bolt of lightning, severing five spears used to attack horses. But Liang Ting had also arrived, though he wasn't targeting him; he was chasing Cheng Da, the "Three-Strike Axe Master."

Just as Liang Ting's elephant-trunk knife was about to reach Cheng Da's back, "Beautiful-Bearded Gentleman" Zhu Tong shouted, "Watch out!"

When Cheng Da turned around to parry with his "Three-Strike Axe," the broken axe handle got stuck on the curved tip of the blade.

General Liang Ting flicked his wrist, and nine copper rings on the back of the knife suddenly shot out, causing Cheng Da's breastplate, known for his "Three-Strike Axe," to dent three inches.

This brute took advantage of the situation and crashed into Liang Ting's arms, biting at the other's throat with his bloody teeth, looking exactly like a wounded mad tiger.

"Go away!"

Liang Ting kicked out from his horse and knocked "Three-Strike Axe" Cheng Da to the ground. This time, Cheng Da was completely exhausted and lay on the ground, spitting blood.

Three Liangshan foot soldiers stood back to back, their sweat-dampened backs trembling slightly beneath their leather armor. About three zhang in front of them, seven bluish-gray rattan shields snaked along the blood-stained rammed earth.

The young soldier on the far left swallowed hard, and just as he raised his broadsword half an inch, three cold stars suddenly burst forth from the rattan shield formation.

"Watch out for poison darts!"

Before the bearded veteran in the middle could finish speaking, a purple-gold dart had already been thrust into the throat of his companion on the right. The red tassel at the end of the dart was still trembling when the seven rattan shields suddenly bloomed like lotus flowers.

The three rattan shield bearers used the momentum of their roll to throw their throwing axes from their waists. The axe blades spun and cleaved into the wooden shield raised by the bearded man, splitting the hardwood soaked in tung oil in two.

The young soldier's scream caught in his throat—the rattan shield bearer, rolling along the ground, was already close at hand, poisoned spikes grazing his bare ankles, and a numbing sensation instantly shot up his spine.

He staggered and tried to retreat, but the edge of the rattan shield suddenly flipped up, revealing the grinning face of the enemy behind him. The moment the steel blade pierced his abdomen, he heard the sticky sound of his intestines sliding out of his body.

"Brothers, retreat immediately!"

Just then, "Leopard Head" Lin Chong finally charged into the battlefield.