The reason the Dangxiang vanguard camp was so formidable, aside from the soldiers’ bravery and the horses’ agility, was that both riders and mounts were equipped with thick armour, making them a standard heavy cavalry unit.
The Dangxiang’s smelting techniques were less advanced than Dakang’s, so building a heavy cavalry unit was no small feat.
This time, because the main cavalry force hadn’t caught up, Li Jikui had deployed this vanguard camp to hold the line.
Normally, losing even a single vanguard soldier would pain Li Jikui, but now the Tielin Army had wiped them out entirely.
The consequences were dire.
“How is my brother?”
Yeli Lang asked, eyes red with rage.
His brother, Yeli Xiong, was the commander attacking Qingshui Valley.
“General Yeli… has fallen!”
The red-plume messenger answered cautiously.
Clang!
Yeli Lang drew his sabre, “Say that again!”
The messenger fell to his knees, trembling.
“What are you doing?”
Li Jikui, irritated, kicked Yeli Lang aside, “Want revenge? Go after the Tielin Army! Why take it out on our own? Did he kill your brother?”
Yeli Lang, unfazed by the kick, knelt on one knee, clasped his fists, and said, “Commander, please let me lead men to destroy the Tielin Army!”
“Commander, no!”
Before Li Jikui could respond, the aide quickly intervened, “We’ve already lost half our cavalry. Until we understand the Tielin Army’s new formation, we can’t send more to attack Qingshui Valley. If we lose this half too, our southern campaign is doomed.”
“Who says we’re down to half our cavalry?”
Yeli Lang, eyes blazing, said, “Didn’t you hear? My brother’s men aren’t all dead, just trapped by the Tielin Army in Qingshui Valley. Commander, we must save them!”
Many from the Yeli clan served in the army, and most had followed Yeli Xiong to Qingshui Valley.
If they were all killed, the Yeli clan’s standing in the military would plummet.
“Sir, we Dangxiang never abandon our brothers,” Li Jikui said to the aide, “Besides, we have infantry as well as cavalry.”
The aide sighed, ceasing his objections.
“Pass the order: the fifth cavalry camp and the second and third infantry camps stay to guard the base. Everyone else, assemble immediately to rescue General Yeli Xiong.”
With Li Jikui’s command, the Dangxiang camp buzzed with activity.
Soon, the troops were ready.
Li Jikui personally led the charge, with one thousand cavalry and five thousand infantry, heading for Qingshui Valley.
In Qingshui Valley, the Dangxiang cavalry were now squeezed into the middle by phalanxes on both sides.
Over a thousand cavalry, men pressed against men, horses against horses, had no room to turn.
“Stop!”
“Attack!”
“Retract!”
With Xu Xiao and Zhong Wu’s shouts, dozens more Dangxiang cavalry and horses were killed.
“Surrender and you won’t be killed!”
The Tielin soldiers shouted the surrender call again.
Without waiting for a response, the phalanx advanced.
It moved two steps, then stopped again.
The bamboo poles thrust out and retracted, taking dozens more lives.
…
In the time it takes to burn one incense stick, the Dangxiang lost hundreds more men and horses.
Some cavalry tried to resist, grabbing at the bamboo poles.
But each pole was held by three Dakang soldiers, how could one man overpower three?
Even if some had the strength, as soon as they grabbed a pole, another would stab from the side…
Some Dangxiang cavalry slashed at the bamboo, but even if broken, a sharpened tip could still kill.
If it didn’t kill, it could knock a rider off their horse.
In this situation, falling from a horse almost certainly meant being trampled to death.
Even if not trampled, when the phalanx advanced, finishing blows would follow.
The Tielin Army was prepared, bringing many spare bamboo poles. Whenever one was cut, it was quickly replaced.
The broken poles were sharpened again with knives for reuse.
The Dangxiang’s bravery was built on years of victories.
Having never lost to Dakang in all these years, many believed Dakang soldiers were weak, ready to die at the sight of a drawn blade.
But now, watching their kin on the edges being killed by the Tielin Army, some less resolute Dangxiang cavalry began to waver.
They started considering surrender.
Though surrender meant hard labour and possible death, living one more day was still a day.
At that moment, the sound of dense hoofbeats came from the rear.
“Brothers, our reinforcements are here! Hold on, and we can break out and slaughter the Tielin Army!”
A captain shouted, rallying the Dangxiang cavalry.
Sure enough, their morale surged, and they repeatedly charged the phalanx.
Jin Feng immediately had the drummers and flag bearers signal below.
When Zhong Wu had cut off the Dangxiang retreat from the woods, he had formed two phalanxes, one facing forward, one backward.
The backward-facing one was to block reinforcements.
Zhong Wu, a seasoned warrior, needed no reminder from Jin Feng. At the first sound of hoofbeats, he ordered the forward phalanx to slow its attack, prioritising stability, then ran to the backward phalanx, personally commanding it to retreat one hundred steps into the valley.
Directly in front of this phalanx were freshly dug pits.
There hadn’t been time to camouflage them. From the high ground, the riverbank ahead of the phalanx, for dozens of meters, was dotted with dark, bowl-sized deep pits.
Li Jikui, face cold, ordered the drummers to signal a halt to the cavalry charge.
His aide and other Dangxiang leaders looked grim.
These pits were devastating. They had little impact on a marching phalanx but were a deadly problem for galloping horses.
One misstep could break a leg or cause a fatal fall.
In battle, a cavalry’s greatest weapon was the momentum of a charge, and the pits completely nullified that advantage.
“Commander, I suggest halting the cavalry and sending infantry to fill the pits, then charging with the cavalry!” the aide proposed.
“Good idea!”
Li Jikui’s eyes lit up, immediately ordering the drummers to signal.
Soon, the cavalry moved to the sides, letting the infantry advance.
On the Tielin high ground, Old Man Zhao, who had just approached, noticed the enemy’s intent and quickly warned, “Master Jin, they’re likely sending infantry to fill the pits. Do you have a way to stop them?”
“Zhong Wu won’t give them the chance.”
As Jin Feng spoke, Zhong Wu directed the phalanx to advance, reaching the pit area almost simultaneously with the Dangxiang infantry.
Even the heavily armoured vanguard camp was no match for the phalanx, let alone these unarmoured infantry.
With one thrust and retraction of the bamboo poles, a row of Dangxiang infantry fell.
The phalanx then pressed forward, forcing the remaining infantry out of the pit area.
When Li Jikui switched to cavalry, Zhong Wu immediately led the phalanx back behind the pits.
“Damn it!”
Li Jikui cursed, turning to his aide, “Sir, what now?”
