"Your Excellency, you must not! How can a commander sally forth to meet the enemy?"
Han Shizhong's words instantly turned his close attendants pale with fear.
At this moment, the battle inside and outside the city was all about morale. If anything were to happen to Han Shizhong, the city of Mingzhou would be lost.
"If I am not afraid, why should you be? Zhao Xicheng, heed my command!"
Having reached this point, Han Shizhong had no more room to retreat. He commanded with red eyes.
"Your subordinate is here!"
"I order you to temporarily act as general. If I do not return, you will be in charge of the city walls!"
"General!"
Hearing Han Shizhong's words, Zhao Xicheng was stunned.
"Enough, no more nonsense. If anything happens, just send someone to find His Excellency! Beat the drums!"
Taking a deep breath, Han Shizhong made up his mind. He tightened the straps of his armor, grasped his iron spear, and headed directly to the foot of the city wall.
The three hundred Elite Vanguard, though few in number, were chosen elites selected from six thousand men.
No matter how desperate the situation on the city walls, he had never deployed them. Now, the battle had reached a fever pitch. Even though he knew it was a perilous venture to sally forth, he had no choice but to fight to the death.
"Soldiers, the time has come to serve the nation with loyalty. Now, the rebel army outside the city is fiercely attacking Mingzhou. Your comrades are shedding blood and sacrificing their lives on the city walls. Now, I, your general, will personally lead you out of the city to give those rebels a taste of our might. Do you dare to fight with me?"
"We are willing to die for the general!"
"We are willing to die for the general!"
"We are willing to die for the general!"
Although these men had not known Han Shizhong for long, his actions had earned their respect.
Moreover, seeing others sacrificing their lives on the city walls, even the civilians in the city had begun to ascend the walls. As the elite among elites, they could only watch from behind.
Now that they finally had an opportunity to be deployed, these men naturally rushed forward eagerly.
"Good!"
"All soldiers of the Death-Defying Camp, hear my order! No matter what crimes you may have committed before, as long as you follow my warhorse closely and obey my command, your crimes will be pardoned after this battle, whether you live or die! This is your last chance. For your families, for your wives and children, follow me out of the city!"
With Han Shizhong's order, five hundred soldiers from the Death-Defying Camp and three hundred from the Elite Vanguard, a total of eight hundred soldiers, followed Han Shizhong and galloped out of Mingzhou city.
"Lu Shinang, your life!"
As the city gate opened, countless rebel soldiers swarmed forward.
Fiercely, they charged towards Han Shizhong and his men.
Han Shizhong, after slightly adjusting his direction within the crowd, spurred his warhorse and, wielding his iron spear, charged directly towards Lu Shinang's command flag.
Although the Song army was short of horses, Han Mo had managed to procure fifty warhorses for Han Shizhong in the city.
At this moment, these fifty cavalrymen were escorting Han Shizhong.
Seeing Han Shizhong charging towards Lu Shinang's central army, the soldiers behind him quickly followed, tightly protecting his flanks.
"Dong—dong—dong—"
"Dong—dong—dong—"
"Dong—dong—dong—"
Accompanied by the muffled drumbeats, the fifty cavalrymen led by Han Shizhong, like tigers released from their cages, charged and weaved through the rebel soldiers, cutting a bloody path.
Behind them, hundreds of Song soldiers, like tigers descending from the mountains, followed the path carved out by Han Shizhong and his men, constantly expanding their gains.
"Bastards! Kill them! Chop them all into meat paste!"
Even Lu Shinang himself had not expected Han Shizhong to dare to lead such a small force out of the city at this stage of the battle.
What was even more unbearable to him was that Han Shizhong had completely disregarded him, leading only a few dozen cavalrymen to charge directly into his central army.
If looks could kill, Han Shizhong would have died ten thousand times by now.
However, often, things do not go as people wish.
If Lu Shinang's soldiers were all elite Western Army troops, Han Shizhong would not have dared to play such a trick even with a hundred times his courage.
But the problem was that the vast majority of the soldiers Lu Shinang had brought with him had been holding hoes not long ago.
Especially after a continuous day and night of fighting, these men were already extremely fatigued both physically and mentally.
In contrast, Han Shizhong's eight hundred men were all well-rested reinforcements.
Furthermore, with their commander personally leading the charge and fighting bravely, how could the men behind him dare to hold back?
The contrast between the two sides naturally made the outcome predictable.
Even Lu Shinang himself did not expect that Han Shizhong, with just fifty cavalrymen, would charge through his central army as if in an empty realm, heading straight for his command flag.
"Is there truly such a fierce general in this world?"
Looking at Han Shizhong fighting valiantly below the city walls, even the experienced Shao Bowen was mesmerized.
"Has our Great Song Dynasty ever lacked fierce generals? It's just that..."
Although Han Mo did not finish his sentence, Shao Bowen understood his meaning.
Indeed, the Great Song Dynasty had never lacked fierce generals.
It was just that the world had been at peace for too long, causing the scholar-officials to forget that it was these valiant warriors who truly defended the nation on the battlefield.
"Stop him! Stop him!"
Compared to Han Mo and Shao Bowen's excitement, Lu Shinang was beginning to feel fear.
Although the Song army was small in number, he now realized that these men were like sharp daggers inserted into his belly, causing constant turmoil.
His central army of nearly three thousand men was utterly helpless against the opponent's small but potent force. At this moment, he truly felt a burning sting of shame on his face.
Seeing his central army beginning to scatter, the rebel attack finally began to slow down.
"Issue an order for everyone to press the attack with all their might! Be ready at any time to support General Han's triumphant return!"