Chapter 1 Gentlemanly Revenge, Ten Years Is Not Too Late

But Zheng Fan wasn't willing to wait ten years, as that would severely degrade his quality of life during that time.

So, when Liang Cheng ordered the charge, Zheng Fan bit down on his lower lip, raising the blade in his hand. He really enjoyed this feeling, this sensation of having just been slashed, and turning around to crush his attacker completely.

In truth, the Huo family's fury was no less than Zheng Fan's, because Zheng Fan had only lost his own capital, while they had lost their family.

The barbarian soldiers had accompanied Zheng Fan into the city last time, and had assumed that this time would be equally smooth. They hadn't expected to be driven out.

The barbarian soldiers naturally didn't dare to be angry at the Yan people, or at Zheng Fan. But they also had their own hierarchy of disdain, such as the barbarian soldiers of Cuiliu Fort. Having witnessed the weakness of the Qian army, they had begun to place the Qian people below them on their scale of contempt.

So, their earlier setback was unbearable!

The horses' hooves trampled the earth, the most powerful rhythm of this world. The Wolf Earth soldiers had already collapsed, even turning their backs to the sabers swinging down behind them.

They were ruthlessly knocked away by the warhorses, coldly cut down by the sabers. Their lives, their flesh, seemed so fragile in the face of the cavalry's charge.

"Pu!"

Zheng Fan sliced down a soldier, the man's blood splattering onto him. He didn't have the mood to savor it, and continued to charge forward.

The Wolf Earth soldiers were like wheat in a field, ruthlessly harvested, falling one after another.

Some soldiers knew they couldn't just run like this; it was too stifling to die in such a way. But in this overwhelming situation, their individual insistence seemed so pale.

The slightest resistance was instantly crushed, leaving no room or possibility for organization.

It was a massacre, a one-sided slaughter.

Everyone was chasing and surrounding their prey, everyone was swinging their sabers with all their might, venting the suppression and bewilderment that these Wolf Earth soldiers had brought them when they suddenly stormed out of the city.

What goes around comes around!

The best way to wash away one's shame was to kill those who had inflicted it.

The Wolf Earth soldiers didn't understand why the Yan people, whom they had just repelled, had become such terrifying demons in the blink of an eye.

Madam Daxi had some understanding, but there was no time for her to reflect and regret.

She suddenly understood why the Qian Kingdom, which had quelled the Southwest Tusi rebellion, was so afraid of the Yan people, because this group of Yan people was truly terrifying.

Especially on the plains!

Their warhorses were so much taller than the horses she usually saw, they seemed like completely different creatures.

Their horsemanship, their coordination, their discipline, were also far better than anything she had seen in the Qian army.

Equally terrifying were their arrows; even on galloping warhorses, they could shoot with such precision. It was round after round of those arrows that had crushed the courage and confidence of her soldiers.

Because Zheng Fan's team also included more than four hundred barbarian cavalry, and mounted archery was their specialty.

In addition, the sons of aristocratic families that Zheng Fan had accepted were of high quality, and their horsemanship was not bad. If the Yan Emperor hadn't trampled down the Yan aristocratic families, Zheng Fan would never have been able to take over so many high-quality soldiers.

In Zheng Fan's familiar Han Dynasty era, the most favored recruits were still those from good families, such as the Three Rivers Knights, etc., and the Three Rivers, strictly speaking, was actually the capital region.

Only families with money and assets could eat their fill, grow strong, learn martial arts, and break away from heavy manual labor to pursue self-improvement. For the ancient Central Plains dynasties, these people were the best source of soldiers.

Thanks to the Yan Emperor, the families of the people Zheng Fan had taken in were far better off than ordinary well-to-do families. In addition, Xu Wenzu had pulled strings to leave all the Huo family's descendants to Zheng Fan.

Their mounted archery skills were naturally not as good as those of the barbarian cavalry from the penal settlements of Cuiliu Fort, but they were not far behind. Although the Yan people were starting to adopt some of the habits of the Qian people, the mainstream ideology was still horsemanship and archery.

Most importantly, their quality was there, so their speed in listening to orders, cooperating, familiarizing themselves, and understanding was much faster than that of the barbarian soldiers.

This was also why Blind Man had insisted on waiting for the aristocratic family criminals to arrive before expanding the army, even after the fortress barracks had been built. Good food is never afraid of being late.

Zheng Fan even saw another layer of meaning in Blind Man's actions. Once this group was properly trained and their loyalty was consolidated, they could be promoted to officers to lead new recruits in the future, thanks to their excellent qualities.

This was also the German response after World War I. After being defeated, the Germans were restricted in the size of their army by the Treaty of Versailles, so they trained those limited troops as officers.

Back in the city, the Wolf Earth soldiers had attacked, but they were too restricted and caught off guard. Now, this was a real elite battle!

Madam Daxi was too obvious in the midst of the rout. She was riding a horse, and she was a woman, and her attire was so distinct, like a brilliant firework in the dark night.

In contrast, Zheng Fan hadn't even worn a cloak, precisely to avoid this situation.

During the charge, Liang Cheng maintained control over his cavalry, forcibly maneuvering two cavalry detachments to cross back after a piercing attack, cutting off the retreating Wolf Earth soldiers once more. During this process, Madam Daxi and dozens of Wolf Earth soldiers around her were surrounded.

However, the dozens of tribesmen around Madam Daxi were probably the most loyal guards. At this moment, they were not afraid of the cavalry in front of them, and they charged together, managing to break open the newly formed encirclement.

Fortunately, Fan Li appeared in time. Several arrows were stuck in the burly man, two in his left arm and one in his back, but fortunately his thick skin prevented the arrows from penetrating too deeply.

At this time, Fan Li wielded a huge axe, like Cheng Yaojin reborn, the tyrannical force combined with the inertia of the axe directly splitting the leading soldiers who were trying to break through, splattering blood everywhere.

This was a true fierce general, and a true "one against ten thousand" on the battlefield!

In the previous large-scale battles, individual martial prowess might not have had a real effect, but at this time, in small-scale conflicts, the Demon King's strength was fully displayed.

Blind Man, A'ming, and Si Niang began to take action.

Blind Man's mental power directly struck the horse beneath Madam Daxi, causing it to go mad and knock away the soldiers protecting her, actively charging towards Fan Li.

Fan Li had already raised the axe in his hand.

However,

Madam Daxi pushed off the saddle with both legs, and jumped directly from the horse's back, holding a longbow, and began to draw her bow and nock an arrow in mid-air, the arrow aimed straight at Fan Li's brow below.

"Swish!"

The arrow shot out, but fortunately Fan Li's axe was quickly placed above his head.

"Clang!"

The arrow was deflected, and Fan Li himself took two steps back.

He knew that it didn't matter if other parts of his body were hit, but if he got hit in the head like that, he would probably be done for.

Before Madam Daxi could land, two silk threads wrapped around her feet and suddenly twisted.

Madam Daxi lost her balance and fell down, and the surrounding knights quickly slashed at the soldiers, further pressing the attack.

Zheng Fan was hesitating whether to use the power of the demonic pill to attack.

But Liang Cheng shouted directly:

"Lord!"

Zheng Fan was stunned for a moment, but still spurred his horse to follow Liang Cheng.

Madam Daxi had been surrounded. With Blind Man and the others there, no matter how tricky Madam Daxi was, it wouldn't be a problem to deal with her.

At this time, the encirclement and division of the routed soldiers continued, and the farther the Wolf Earth soldiers had greedily chased, the farther their deadly escape distance was now.

At this moment, Liang Cheng led Zheng Fan out of the battle, followed closely by a hundred barbarian soldiers.

Soon, Zheng Fan understood what Liang Cheng was going to do. They were going to...reclaim the gate!

The place where they had lost face was the place where they would regain it!

Taking advantage of the momentum of the rout, they would charge into the city again.

This was an extremely bold strategy, and at this time, it was also an extremely feasible one.

The hundreds of Wolf Earth soldiers who had fled the fastest were already close to the city gate.

They had been terrified and only wanted to escape back into the city.

On the city wall, Meng Gong, seeing the returning rout, gritted his teeth. If he could, he really wanted to roar at that Madam Daxi, but now it seemed uncertain whether Madam Daxi could even return alive.

"Lord, close the city gate!"

A captain from Mianzhou City shouted.

The routed soldiers had already returned, and it was clear that Yan cavalry was following behind them. If the Yan cavalry followed the routed soldiers into the city, the situation would collapse again.

Previously, the Yan people had actually entered the city. If the Wolf Earth soldiers hadn't killed the Yan people in the city with a burst of blood and courage, Mianzhou City might have changed hands for the second time in just a few months.

But the Wolf Earth soldiers had now been defeated. When the Yan people killed their way in again, who could stop them?

The captain didn't think he had the ability, and he didn't think his men had the ability either.

In fact, this constant back-and-forth had dealt a huge blow to the morale of the Mianzhou City garrison.

At the same time, because the last time the Yan people entered the city, they had only killed the officials, and had not slaughtered the city or searched the entire city, this undoubtedly gave the lower-level soldiers a psychological suggestion.

Probably something like: If the city falls, I won't die?

Maybe the officials would be implicated, but where else could they, the lower-level soldiers, be implicated?

Qian soldiers were also known as "criminals," already the lowest level of society. How much worse could it get?

But Meng Gong laughed.

If other generals were here, they would definitely order the city gate to be closed without saying a word, but he was Meng Gong.

Meng Gong pointed to the thousand or so Wolf Earth soldiers remaining in the city and said:

"If you close the city gate at this time, do you want the city to fall into civil war first?"

The Wolf Earth soldiers had no military discipline, so after the previous encounter, more than a thousand Wolf Earth soldiers had stayed behind to clean up the battlefield and collect heads, and had not followed Madam Daxi to pursue.

And now, if Meng Gong dared to order the city gate to be closed, trapping the routed Wolf Earth soldiers outside, the Earth soldiers in the city would not understand his difficulties and would not consider the overall situation. The knives and arrows in their hands would immediately be pointed at the Qian people.

If civil war broke out in the city, what would be the point of closing the city gate?

Meng Gong immediately patted his armor, made a decision, raised the imperial decree in his hand, and shouted to the surrounding city guards:

"The imperial decree is here, all of you follow me out of the city to stop the enemy!"

This order stunned the Qian soldiers above and below the city wall.

Out of the city?

Are you crazy?

The previously powerful Wolf Earth soldiers were driven back after going out of the city. And you want us to go out?

Meng Gong shouted again:

"The Prince is in the city. If the city is broken today, all of us, from top to bottom, will have our homes confiscated and our families exterminated! Don't think you can escape, you can't escape!"

Meng Gong drew his knife,

And shouted:

"Anyone with balls, follow me down to stop the enemy!"

Meng Gong took the lead in going down, and the Prince's guards looked at each other, but still followed down. Their families were all in the Prince's Mansion. If something happened to the Prince, they would be held responsible for failing to protect him, and their families would also be implicated. So the guards had no choice at all.

Although the surrounding Qian soldiers were a little hesitant, the threat of the imperial decree and the Prince's life made some of them follow down. After someone took the lead, some more Qian soldiers followed.

Arriving at the city gate, Meng Gong shouted to the Wolf Earth soldiers in the city in their native language:

"Madam Daxi has been ambushed by Yan people outside! We're going to save her!"

The Wolf Earth soldiers looked at each other. They didn't trust the Qian people, but they knew they couldn't let their madam be in danger. At this time, many Wolf Earth soldiers also stopped looting their spoils, picked up their knives or bows and arrows, and followed Meng Gong.

Meng Gong left the city, and behind him, a dark mass of people stood.

There was no formation, no order, but Meng Gong still relied on his own encouragement and personal example, leading the Earth and Qian soldiers behind him a distance outside the city gate.

Then, Meng Gong didn't dare to go any further. Too far from the city gate meant that the psychological endurance of the two thousand or so soldiers behind him would weaken. If the Yan cavalry was given enough distance, perhaps there would be another rout like the one the Wolf Earth soldiers had suffered earlier.

Moreover, there were still many disobedient and cowardly city guards on the city wall who didn't dare to come down, but they were watching from the battlements with bows and crossbows. If they went any further, they would be out of their shooting range.

As for rushing over to save Madam Daxi, he had no intention of doing so. What he had to do was block the possibility of the Yan people taking advantage of the situation and bringing the routed soldiers into the city again.

This time, the Yan cavalry was more numerous than last time, but in essence, it was still the same as last time. For a city, their numbers were still too small.

The first batch of routed Wolf Earth soldiers finally ran back. When they saw the situation at the city gate, they were a little suspicious, but they didn't slow down.

Meng Gong shouted in their native language:

"Run to both sides! Anyone who dares to charge the formation will be killed without mercy!"

With that, he personally charged forward with his knife and cut down a Wolf Earth soldier who was about to run over. This caused a commotion among the Wolf Earth soldiers behind him, but the Wolf Earth soldiers who were retreating in front immediately began to run to both sides.

Soon, Meng Gong saw the figures of the Yan army cavalry. This cavalry had been hanging behind the routed soldiers, waiting for the routed soldiers to clear the way so they could charge the gate again.

Meng Gong knew that the opposing Yan general knew how to fight a war, and everything was well controlled.

Whether it was the initial retreat, or the subsequent counterattack, including the measure of taking advantage of the successful counterattack to bring in the routed soldiers to expand the results, everything was handled with great precision.

Meng Gong knew,

The opponent's only disadvantage was that the Yan cavalry that came this time were not numerous enough!

If he had another thousand cavalry, Mianzhou City would not be able to be defended today no matter what.

Meng Gong suddenly wanted to laugh. He had always thought highly of himself, feeling that he had obtained his father's true teachings, but in a city defense battle, even though his side had more people, he had actually fought like this.

"Clang!"

Meng Gong thrust his knife into the frozen earth in front of him,

And roared:

"Meng Gong is here, you Yan dogs, dare to come forward and take your grandfather's life!"

…………

"Stop!"

Liang Cheng raised his hand, signaling the barbarian soldiers behind him to stop. The cavalrymen reined in their horses one after another, controlling the warhorses beneath them.

Zheng Fan also saw the dark mass of people on the open space in front of the city gate.

Of course, he could try to charge, but he only had a hundred cavalry who had broken away from the battle.

He knew that the other side might just be holding on with a breath, and maybe a charge would cause them to collapse, but if they didn't collapse, then he and these hundred cavalry would all be lost there.

Zheng Fan still remembered clearly how Huo Guang had been submerged in the crowd with a hundred cavalry.

"Lord, the other side has someone who knows how to fight a war."

Liang Cheng could only say this.

"I see it." Zheng Fan nodded.

Seeing that his lord had no intention of charging, Liang Cheng immediately turned around, looked at the scattered Earth soldiers running around behind him, and ordered:

"Intercept them!"

The barbarian soldiers immediately dispersed, turned around, and continued to hunt down the routed Wolf Earth soldiers.

"Meng Gong is here, you Yan dogs, dare to come forward and take your grandfather's life!"

This voice came,

Zheng Fan suddenly smiled,

And said:

"Very arrogant."

"The general is the courage of the soldiers." Liang Cheng said, "But this time we killed so many Earth soldiers, including a female Tusi. Lord, we haven't lost out."

Zheng Fan knew that Liang Cheng was comforting him.

"It's impossible to lose out, but the feeling of just sticking your head in and being pushed out is very bad."

Liang Cheng nodded slightly. He really wanted to advise Zheng Fan to stop while he was ahead, but he knew that it wasn't appropriate for him to say these words.

"I hope Blind Man and the others capture that female Tusi alive, without killing her."

Liang Cheng's eyes narrowed, and he said: "Lord, you want to?"

Zheng Fan reached out and pointed forward to the Wolf Earth soldiers standing behind the Qian general,

And said:

"Do you think they would trade the city for their female Tusi's life?"

"I'm just afraid that the female Tusi is a heroine, a female hero."

"Blind Man isn't useless. Have him use his mental power to control that female Tusi, and have the female Tusi shout to her Earth soldiers, even if Blind Man overdraws his energy and falls unconscious!"

Liang Cheng opened his mouth slightly, and after a moment, said:

"Lord is wise."

This time's "Lord is wise" was no longer the kind of formalism like "Hello" or "The weather is nice today."

"I'm not as good as you at marching and fighting."

"Lord is being modest."

"But there's one thing I'm better than you at."

"Please enlighten me, Lord, so that your subordinate can learn."

Zheng Fan turned to look at Liang Cheng beside him. This zombie had always had a trace of arrogance in his heart.

"I'm dirtier than you."