Chapter 42: Speed is the only way to success

Zhending is a big city. Zhu Gaoxu looked south from the army and saw the vast plain stretching as far as the eye could see. The eye-catching towers and walls were even more eye-catching. He didn't know the exact size of the city, but he estimated that the circumference was at least 20 miles!

The city walls were all made of earth, but Zhu Gaoxu knew that this kind of rammed earth wall had a trapezoidal cross-section, with little difference in thickness and height. It was very solid, nearly ten meters thick, and almost impossible to penetrate.

Outside the city, black square formations were arranged one after another, which looked like countless containers from a distance. Flags fluttered above the squares, and tall wooden carts were dotted in between.

In front of the square formation, some scattered horses were running, and the rising dust looked like fog from a distance. The old city towers and walls were also gray, and the whole world was filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere.

"Woo..." The sound of horns was heard in the Yan army's formation, and it sounded like a huge monster whimpering.

Zhu Gaoxu's troops were to the west of the main army. When he heard the horn, he summoned all the generals to come forward.

At this moment, drums in the Yan army camp sounded like thunder, and the cavalry in the center rushed out in a column to the front.

"Boom boom boom..." The sky was filled with the sound of artillery fire, and when Zhu Gaoxu turned around, he saw white smoke billowing from the earthen walls and in front of the enemy's square formation. The Yan army cavalry columns began to deploy on the east and west sides. After a moment, the scene in the distance became lively, with the crackling of muskets, bows and arrows, and shouts of killing echoing in the wind.

Zhu Gaoxu looked around for a while, then looked back to see that everyone had gathered, and then he said, "What are we going to do? We have already discussed it last night. When we go into battle, I will lead the Quanyong Team and a thousand personal soldiers to charge in front.

Zhang Wu's captain's left camp saw the position of the red flag and followed closely to open a gap.

Right Camp, do not go to the battlefield for the time being. If there is danger ahead, the captain of the Right Camp will judge the urgency on his own or respond to military orders.

If our troops stop advancing at the red flag, the left camp will change direction and attack from the north; our troops will make a detour and outflanking move, and work together with Zhang Wu's left camp to break the formation! Do you understand?"

All the generals clasped their fists and said, "Understood!"

"All the captains, deputy captains, and captains should see the opportunity and act expediently!" Zhu Gaoxu waved his hand, spurred his horse and shouted, "Let's go!"

The cavalry with red pennants went north first, and the Veda tribe followed in order, the sound of horse hooves became louder and louder. A group of cavalry, like a torrent, made a large detour to the west.

The government troops' formation was very wide, but the width was always limited. Zhu Gaoxu led his men to cross the end of the government army's formation from a distance, and then began to advance southward. According to the military order of the King of Yan yesterday, he was to attack the side of the formation from the west of the government army.

At this moment, a group of cavalrymen suddenly rushed out from the government army camp and rushed straight towards this side!

The enemy used cavalry to cover the infantry camp. Zhu Gaoxu was mentally prepared for this last night. The prisoner Liu Ying said that this situation might happen. It depends on where the enemy general puts the cavalry. Seeing the coming momentum, Zhu Gaoxu shook the reins, kicked with his right leg, pointed his arm to the east and shouted, "Wang Bin's troops turn left, follow me!"

Zhu Gaoxu turned around and shouted, "Send orders to the left and right battalions respectively. Zhang Wu is on the left, follow up with left and right to cover our flanks !"

"Yes, sir!"

Zhu Gaoxu then led the cavalry and immediately charged the enemy cavalry head-on. He raised the lance in his hand high and shouted, "Ready your lances, kill!" The soldiers then followed him and accelerated their running. The hooves of countless horses alternated rapidly, and the front army gradually entered a charging state.

The dry soil between the withered grass was trampled violently by the iron hooves, and dust flew up, and the men and horses seemed to be walking in the clouds. In the battle, visibility became lower and lower.

"Bang, bang, bang..." The sound of bowstrings came from the wind. The front lines of the two armies were only twenty steps apart! Zhu Gaoxu had already seen the enemy cavalrymen lying on their horses and drawing their bows in the dust.

"Ouch!" A scream of pain suddenly came from the left, and a Yan army soldier fell off his horse. Then there was a lung-piercing howl, as if he was kicked by the warhorse behind.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't turn his head, but rushed forward with his eyes wide open.

The cavalry approached at the speed of a charge, twenty steps in a few seconds at most, and a cavalryman wearing a wide-brimmed hat in front of Zhu Gaoxu threw away his bow and drew his sword from his waist. But it was useless, the speed was too fast! They didn't seem to expect that the Yan army would even skip the cavalry and archery, and directly rushed to the front!

"Ah!" When the scream rang in Zhu Gaoxu's ears, the tip of the spear had already pierced out from the back of the enemy soldier!

At this speed, Zhu Gaoxu had no chance to draw his gun. He just relaxed his grip and drew his long-handled saber from his back! With a series of strikes and chops, another rider was knocked off his horse in a flash.

There were screams everywhere and the clanging sound of metal colliding sounded like iron hammering. The smell of blood quickly spread and the dust in the air seemed to be stained with blood, turning into blood mist.

In the blink of an eye, a rider on the right raised his spear and was about to stab Zhu Gaoxu. However, the enemy soldier's muscle reaction was not as fast as Zhu Gaoxu's. He would be fatal if he was only half a beat slower. Zhu Gaoxu didn't wait for him to stab out with his spear, but directly chopped the man's face with his knife.

Zhu Gaoxu's face suddenly became hot, everything he saw turned red, and his nose smelled a disgusting fishy smell. He didn't bother to wipe his face, and rushed into the battle array, slashing at anyone he saw within range. That night, Zhu Gaoxu had already mastered the cavalry battle experience, with his legs clamped around the horse's belly, not stopping for a moment, concentrating on hand-to-hand combat. Most of the time, there was only one slash, Zhu Gaoxu attacked first, his speed was not very fast, but he was always a little faster than the opponent.

The soldiers around him saw the prince, whose future depended on him, rushing forward, and they all fought bravely without hesitation. The entire vanguard of the Yan army fought to the death with red eyes, as if their parents had been killed.

Soon, the enemy cavalry dodged to the sides and ran away in panic.

"Pah!" Zhu Gaoxu spat out a mouthful of blood and wiped his face with his left hand. His palm was covered with blood. He turned his head and saw a group of green flags following on the left and a group of blue flags on the right. He immediately thought: Brother, this is a stable start!

In the thick dust and fog, one could vaguely see many horse butts moving away; the enemy troops were in retreat.

Zhu Gaoxu relaxed his legs and the horse jogged forward for a while. He saw a soldier curled up on the ground, his face covered in blood and tears, his eyes full of fear. He was crying loudly and holding a piece of intestine on the ground with trembling hands, stuffing the intestine and the dirt on it into his stomach.

Zhu Gaoxu's left eyelid twitched as he watched, so he rode his horse forward, swung his knife, and with a "snap" sound, he freed him. Blood splattered in the air and all over the ground.

"Your Highness is simply the King of Hell!" Wang Bin's roar came from behind.

Zhu Gaoxu didn't care about much, and calmly observed the enemy infantry phalanx in the blurry dust. The two nearby phalanxes were in chaos, and they seemed to want to temporarily turn the phalanx... But it was easier said than done, and they turned into a chaotic crowd.