Chapter 1 The True Cruelty

Zheng Fan gripped the armor of the barbarian soldier in front of him with one hand, looking back frequently. He was filled with resentment, because he knew clearly that the hundred riders led by Huo Guang were finished there, with almost no chance of escape.

This was perhaps the true cruelty of war; a back-and-forth exchange, where he could cut you down, but you could also cut him down.

This wasn't a game, where after a round, the troops could be left to replenish their strength in a few turns.

It wasn’t that strength couldn't be recovered, but the feeling of watching his own men fall, of his own capital being lost, was truly unbearable.

To be more sentimental, those were all living people, with whom he had spoken at dusk, telling them that he would lead them back, leading them to earn as much military merit as possible and survive as long as possible.

The high spirits of the journey thus far were now battered and blown away by the rain.

This might be a hurdle, a part that a newbie must experience. Zheng Fan had thought he was mentally prepared, but when things really happened before his eyes, he felt that his previous preparation had been too fragile.

At this moment, he suddenly understood the princess's behavior of using more than two thousand civilians as bait to gain a victory. Since people were going to die anyway, then proactively let them die, as long as the opportunity could be seized.

Zheng Fan was like a small-time boss from a humble background, who had always done small business, with little capital and small profits, but it was stable. Every day after closing shop, he could sit on the bed, a cigarette in his mouth, picking his feet and counting money.

He yearned for the lavish spending of the big bosses, but when he finally had the opportunity to show off, he found that his mindset was not in the right place at all.

He couldn't afford to lose.

He couldn't afford to fail.

Zheng Bapi (Zheng the Skinflint),

This was Zheng Fan's definition of himself.

However, reason can be controlled, but emotions cannot be controlled by oneself.

Until,

When Zheng Fan looked back again,

He found that the group of wolf-dog soldiers had actually taken off running, "wooing wooing wooing," chasing after them.

Zheng Fan's eyes narrowed,

And then his heart trembled,

But he immediately turned his gaze forward, towards the direction where Liang Cheng was. Zheng Fan did not give orders, did not overstep his bounds, because he believed that Liang Cheng would make the most correct choice.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

At this moment, only one thought remained in Zheng Fan's mind:

They made me lose money,

Then I,

Am going to kill them!

………

Because of Liang Cheng's timely order to retreat, apart from the hundred riders of Huo Guang's unit being lost in the city, the remaining cavalry did not suffer too many losses.

Compared to Zheng Fan's unease, Liang Cheng was the calmest. This was war, life and death, old men leaving and new men coming, it was simply too normal.

This setback was just bad luck.

In war, you can never expect the goddess of fortune to always favor you.

Infiltration, city seizure, opening the city gates, all went smoothly, but who knew that so many wolf-dog soldiers would be hidden inside.

As for saying that they were careless and didn't scout ahead, it was meaningless, because this was a surprise attack, and surprise attacks inherently required a certain degree of gambling. Moreover, you couldn't send people in to completely understand the situation before entering the city. First, it would increase the risk of the infiltrators being discovered by the city's guards, and second, if time was delayed, and day broke, then what kind of surprise attack would that be?

For Liang Cheng personally, only Huo Guang's unit was lost. The loss was not significant, because he still had nearly fourteen hundred riders around him.

Even, Huo Guang died inside. As the leader of the Huo family in Cui Liu Fort, his death actually made it easier for him to control the remaining members of the Huo family.

This idea was naturally a bit dark, but it was the truth. Throughout history, there have been countless examples of using the enemy's knife to help oneself eliminate dissidents.

Liang Cheng, as a general who had been leading troops into battle since ancient times, was naturally well aware of this. Once Huo Guang died, the remaining six hundred members of the Huo family, without a leader, could quickly be divided, disintegrated, and absorbed. Soon, the clearest mark on them would no longer be Huo family, but soldiers of Cui Liu Fort.

It's just…

Liang Cheng's peripheral vision glanced at Zuo Jiqian, who was galloping alongside him on his left.

Zuo Jiqian did not notice an ancient zombie looking at him at this moment, otherwise, he would definitely be frightened.

"Woo woo woo woo!!!"

Just then, Liang Cheng heard the long cry from behind.

He turned his head to look behind him,

He was stunned,

What did he see?

He saw the wolf-dog soldiers actually chasing out of the city gate, actually chasing to outside the city,

He saw a group of infantry chasing cavalry?

This situation, this change,

Made Liang Cheng suddenly feel a high degree of self-doubt,

Is this… a trap?

Because the opponent's move was truly incomprehensible to Liang Cheng.

It was like an mathlete competing with someone, and after the first round, he was frustrated. After the second round began, he suddenly found that the other party had written the answer to one plus one as three.

But soon,

Liang Cheng was relieved again,

Because he understood.

The spy war between Qian and Yan could be said to have begun long before the formal clash of arms between the two sides. Through the trade relationship of the Silk Road, both sides had scattered countless nails in each other's homes.

And the Sixth Prince had already passed on the matter of Qian transferring the southwestern wolf-dog soldiers north to Cui Liu Fort through his own intelligence network.

The wolf-dog soldiers were soldiers under the command of the chieftains of southwestern Qian. They were extremely brave and had caused a large area of chaos in the southwestern region of Qian decades ago.

But they also had a problem. This problem actually had little to do with them. It had nothing to do with courage, it had nothing to do with equipment, but… war consciousness and way of thinking.

Just like in later generations, Seng Gelinqin's cavalry charged against the gun and cannon positions of the Anglo-French allied forces,

Just like the Polish winged cavalry brandishing their sabers and charging towards the armored tank vehicles of Nazi Germany,

Just like de Gaulle climbing out of a tank and watching the German Stuka bomber paralyze his French tanks one by one;

This was a difference in the cognitive understanding of warfare, and this difference, in many cases, would cause extremely terrifying consequences, the impact of which would even exceed the difference in weapons and equipment themselves.

Southwestern Qian was mountainous. They did not lack horses, but their horses were small, and could carry people, but were more often used to carry goods.

When the chieftains in the southwestern region of Qian collectively rebelled, the reason why the Qian army was repeatedly frustrated in suppressing the rebellion and suffered heavy losses, leading to the gradual collapse of the situation, was because in the mountains and forests, the soldiers, relying on their familiarity with the mountains, used various harassment, division, ambush, and other methods to make the Qian army miserable.

In the mountains and forests, warhorses were difficult to play a real role, and at the same time, the cavalry of Qian was not very good.

Therefore, Daxi Madame, including the wolf-dog soldiers under her command, had not truly experienced the baptism of cavalry, so they would make the choice to use infantry to chase cavalry.

They were certainly no strangers to cavalry, and they also had cavalry. Perhaps in their opinion, cavalry was just like that.

But the Yan people's horses and the horses in the southwestern region were different. The Yan people's understanding and application of cavalry tactics was also beyond the reach of the Qian people and the chieftains.

Because for hundreds of years, the Yan people have had a good teacher, who has been constantly teaching the Yan people the use of cavalry tactics, and in the last hundred years, the Yan people have finally surpassed their teacher and defeated him.

The teacher here is naturally the barbarians.

The desert barbarian tribes are naturally the ethnic group in this world that understands cavalry the most, but the strongest cavalry in the world is in Yan!

A hint of killing intent flashed in the depths of Liang Cheng's eyes,

He knew,

How distressed his lord must be feeling right now,

Then, let him give his lord the best comfort.

Liang Cheng raised his hand,

In recent days, the troops of Cui Liu Fort have been learning only one thing, and that is "obedience."

Under Liang Cheng's instructions, they, who were running away, began to deliberately slow down their horses.

Since you are so stupid and dare to chase out,

Then let you run a little longer.

No matter how fast you run, can you match the stamina of a four-legged warhorse?

On the north gate tower of Mian Prefecture City, Meng Gong was clutching the battlements tightly with both hands. He was very anxious, because he saw that the Yan cavalry was not collapsing, but retreating!

Retreating and collapsing were two completely different meanings, and at the same time, they were likely to mean two different results.

Meng Gong shouted loudly, telling the guards around him to beat the gongs and call the wolf-dog soldiers back.

But it was useless,

The wolf-dog soldiers were already crazy,

Moreover,

They never listened to specific commands on the battlefield.

More than a thousand wolf-dog soldiers were busy in the city, treating their wounded clansmen, and happily cutting off the heads of the Yan people, stripping off their armor, and picking up their weapons.

They heard the shouting and gong-beating of the Qian people on the city tower, but they just smiled, not taking it seriously, and looking at these Qian people with obvious disdain.

You Qian people are useless, and you are scared by the Yan people, but in front of us children of the mountains, the Yan people are really nothing more than that!

Meng Gong's shouting failed to make Daxi Madame, who was chasing out of the city, turn back. Meng Gong knew that back then, there was actually one person who could make the chieftains under his command obedient and respectful.

That was the face-tattooed prime minister. When the face-tattooed prime minister was around, the combat power of Qian's Western Army once greatly improved for a period of time, and the chieftains he subdued did not dare to overstep the slightest in front of his command flag.

At that time, there was even a voice in the court, saying that if the face-tattooed prime minister was fully supported, perhaps Great Qian could wash away the shame bestowed by the first Lord Zhenbei!

But soon, there was no then.

The chieftains had been docile for many years under Qian's appeasement policy, but Meng Gong knew that without the suppression of the face-tattooed prime minister, this docility was really just a superficial layer.

Did they really think that the Yan people were the same as the Qian army, which lacked cavalry?

Did they really think that they were the same as the peasant armies they had faced when they helped suppress rebellions several times?

If the Yan people were really like that,

Then wouldn't Great Qian have launched a northern expedition long ago?

Wouldn't the barbarians have already marched south?

Meng Gong felt a little helpless and at a loss,

He could only hope now that the general of that Yan army had also been frightened out of his wits.

It was clearly a "victorious" start,

But he couldn't feel any joy at all,

His heart was filled with panic and unease, turning into a roar,

Meng Gong punched the battlements hard,

Cursing:

"Damn it!"

………

The wolf-dog soldiers naturally couldn't feel Meng Gong's anger, but they did feel… a little tired.

The wolf-dog soldiers were also human. Although their stamina was better and they were better at running, they had already chased out a long way in one breath, so far that Mian Prefecture City behind them was a bit blurry.

They were, after all, human, but they wanted to use their two feet to hunt down the prey riding horses.

It could be said that if the distance between the two sides was not getting closer and closer, if the other side had been running away without the slightest resistance, the wolf-dog soldiers would not have chased so far.

Daxi Madame may not understand the true horror of cavalry, but as a widow who ruled a mountain stronghold, she naturally couldn't be so不堪 (bukan - incompetent). She sensed that her men were a bit tired.

At this moment, her instinct as a military strategist made her want to order a retreat. Since they really couldn't catch up, then let's not chase.

Or, should they grit their teeth and continue chasing for a while? Just for a while?

What Daxi Madame didn't know was that in this bizarre process of infantry chasing cavalry, under Liang Cheng's orders, the cavalry at the front were already dividing into batches and turning to the sides to begin flanking maneuvers.

Zheng Fan also noticed the change in the troops. At this time, the barbarian soldier who had been carrying him had already jumped onto the back of another empty running horse, allowing Zheng Fan to ride alone.

It's time to make a move, Zheng Fan knew.

It's time to stop, Daxi Madame thought in her heart.

Because she suddenly keenly noticed that the number of prey she was chasing seemed to be much smaller.

"Woo woo woo woo woo woo woo woo woo…………"

A long cry came,

The wolf-dog soldiers began to slow down, some were panting, some were cursing angrily, those Yan people ran so fast, causing them to lose a lot of money.

However, at this moment, Liang Cheng, who was in front, also completely slowed down and led the cavalry around him to turn their horses' heads directly. His gaze was extremely calmly looking at the wolf-dog soldiers not far in front of him,

And,

The only woman riding a horse among those soldiers.

Liang Cheng had to admit that this was a very brave army. Their bloodiness and courage were much greater than the Qian army he had encountered.

War, in many cases, did require bloodiness and courage, but sometimes, some gaps could not be bridged simply by courage.

No armor, no sophisticated weapons, no strict formation,

And you came to face my fourteen hundred riders like this?

Liang Cheng pointed his sword forward and began to spur the warhorse beneath him.

The enemy was far enough away from the city,

Now,

It was time to let them taste the true horror of cavalry!

A cloud of gloom suddenly swept over Daxi Madame's heart. She didn't know what was going on, but this ominous premonition was getting heavier and heavier.

"Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!"

Suddenly, two cavalry units appeared on both sides of the wolf-dog soldiers. They were riding horses, they were galloping, and they were taking out crossbows and bows and arrows at the same time.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!!!"

Arrows shot over, and wolf-dog soldiers fell to the ground after being hit by arrows.

The wolf-dog soldiers were a little dazed, because they didn't expect the prey that they had chased so desperately to dare to turn around and show their teeth again.

They were very angry, so they began to fight back.

Every wolf-dog soldier was an extremely good hunter in the mountains, which meant that their arrows shot very accurately.

However, the Cui Liu Fort cavalry was not the same as before, when they were living targets that were difficult to maneuver in the city. They were galloping, and at the same time, they were also paying attention to widening the distance.

After a wave of arrows was fired, they would choose to pull away again to avoid the wolf-dog soldiers' counterattack, and then, the next wave would continue to approach from the other side in this way, shooting another wave of arrows.

While having to withstand the blows of arrows, they also had to aim at fast-moving targets. The wolf-dog soldiers' bows and arrows were not as sharp as when they were hunting in the mountains. Sometimes, even if they hit, the arrows' killing power would be reduced due to the distance, and after hitting the armor of the Cui Liu Fort cavalry, they would be directly deflected.

Zheng Fan was also in the team, and he also had a bow and arrow in his hand. Because of A-Ming's sparring, Zheng Fan's archery skills had improved a lot during this time. Although he couldn't compare to the barbarian soldiers, he could infuse his qi and blood into the arrows, so his arrows could shoot farther and be more powerful.

A wolf-dog soldier was hit by Zheng Fan's arrow. The force of the arrow caused his body to flip to the side, but Zheng Fan didn't cheer excitedly, "I hit it, I hit it!"

Because it seemed that most of the characters who cheered excitedly on the screen after hitting someone were paving the way for the headshot and death that followed.

The Zheng garrison commander at this time was like a gambler who had just lost a game, and at this moment, he was determined to win back the game.

Daxi Madame quickly realized that the situation was already extremely bad. She quickly ordered the troops to begin to retreat, but how could the speed of a person's two feet be compared to that of a four-legged warhorse?

At the same time,

These wolf-dog soldiers were already tired.

Liang Cheng did not order a charge, but continued to command the cavalry under his command to harass and provoke in this way, slowly cutting the flesh with a soft knife.

Perhaps influenced by film and television works, in most people's minds, cavalry meant rolling iron hooves that crushed the enemy's defenses, and then the cavalry was like sitting on a high stool, beginning to slash at the enemies around them.

In fact, unless it was in a desperate or extreme situation, most generals would not choose to use cavalry in this way,

The reason was simple,

Too expensive!

The Yan people had always been playing with cavalry, so a large portion of Yan's annual tax revenue had to be transferred to the Lord Zhenbei's mansion to be responsible for raising soldiers.

Therefore, the reason why the Jingnan Army was divided into the forward camp and the rear camp, and the reason why the emperors of the Great Yan had not carried out a southward march, was here. Raising soldiers was already expensive enough, and once a war broke out, the Yan treasury could not afford the war at all.

It wasn't that the ancestors of the Yan people didn't know that infantry was cheaper, but there was no way, it was all forced. Because you had the barbarian as your neighbor, you couldn't use your two legs to fight the barbarian cavalry in the desert, could you?

Cavalry was an absolute money-burning thing in the age of cold weapons, and if you didn't want to make a show, it would burn even more money.

Think about how even the Lord Zhenbei had to fight with Ji Runhao, who was a prince, for chicken legs when he was a child. You can see how frugal the Lord's mansion was in order to maintain the 300,000 iron cavalry of the Zhenbei Army.

It's not to say that the Lord Zhenbei's mansion didn't embezzle, but his excess losses were definitely at an extremely low point, an extremely low point that no feudal town in history could imagine. As long as you dared to embezzle, you had to try and see what the consequences would be if the Li family, who lived frugally, found out!

The Qian government also ran horse administrations, but because of the large investment and because of the national conditions of Qian,

In the end, they were unable to support the supply of warhorses for Qian. At most, they just maintained the facade.

The wolf-dog soldiers were now facing an extremely awkward situation. They wanted to retreat, but it was difficult to retreat freely, because the cavalry around them kept sticking to them like plaster, biting off a piece of your flesh and then retreating.

They wanted to advance, but they couldn't catch up with the other side at all.

Daxi Madame's face was as dark as water. She knew that the general of that Yan army was teaching her a lesson, but she couldn't afford to pay the tuition for this class.

Being cut slowly with a soft knife was also a very terrible thing, because a person's mental resistance was limited.

Especially when they were surrounded, teased, and harassed by cavalry, this feeling of despair would be gradually magnified, magnified, and magnified again…

Even an extremely excellent army with military discipline and restraint would find it difficult not to collapse in this situation where there was no internal or external support and no hope could be seen, let alone these wolf-dog soldiers who relied solely on blood and courage to fight.

Their courage came fiercely, but when they collapsed, they would be even more thorough!

They were actually more like a mob. In the mountains, they could use their hunter's instinct and familiar terrain to发挥 (fahui - give full play) to their advantages, but in reality, they were not much different from peasant armies, except that they surpassed peasant armies in morale and bravery.

Finally,

They began to collapse,

Some people began to run away desperately,

They instinctively wanted to return to the city,

Because they remembered that in the city before, these Yan people were not so scary!

They wanted to go back to the city, go back to the city, one person ran, two people ran, and then groups of people ran.

Daxi Madame's long cry could no longer gather her clansmen at this time,

The wolf-dog soldiers, who originally didn't have a very obvious formation, completely lost their formation at this time. They were scattered!

At this time,

Liang Cheng raised his long sword and issued a new order.

All the cavalry at this moment took back their arrows, bows, and crossbows. They pulled out their sabers, and they began to fully release the horsepower of the warhorses beneath them without leaving any room for maneuver.

The prey had been broken down under their training, and now, it was time to harvest.

Liang Cheng's sword slashed down, drawing a residual image, and roared:

"Charge!"