Chapter 43: Ambush from All Sides

The whole city of Zhending was filled with gunpowder smoke and the sound of killing shook the sky. The bowl-mouthed guns and Hongwu cannons roared continuously, and stone bullets flew into the air and fell into the sea of people like stones falling into the sea.

The main force of the government army was said to be 300,000, and the Yan army was said to be 200,000, but the actual number of people should be as many as 200,000! 200,000 people gathered together under the city of Zhending, not to mention that the main killing weapons at this time only ranged from ten to dozens of steps, and the surging of people and horses was like a tide!

Geng Bingwen held the hilt of the goose-feather knife hard with his left hand and kept walking behind the battlements of the city wall. His two white eyebrows had already been squeezed together.

He looked down and saw a mess under the western wall. A red flag rushed forward like a huge arrowhead, leading a group of cavalry to charge left and right as if they were in an empty space. The surrounding infantry had long lost their formation and were only concerned with attacking the "red flag" from several sides with all kinds of weapons. The cavalry drove them away, and the government troops retreated one after another; the cavalry suddenly turned around and rushed the infantry on the other side in all directions.

That cavalry surged in from the west like a flood, causing chaos on the western side of the government army's formation. The infantrymen around them ran around on the plain like frightened ants.

Geng Bingwen pointed his wrinkled finger over and said, "Although Zhang Yu of the right wing is fierce, he is not as fierce as the son of the Prince of Yan."

At this time, a voice suddenly answered, "King Gaoyang is known for his bravery and can be considered a fierce general, but he is still a little inferior to me."

Geng Bingwen turned around and saw that it was Ping An who was speaking. Ping An had a very solid and strong body. Although there was a layer of armor on his arms, his muscles were stretched even by the armor. His arms were thicker than the average person's thighs! This man's father was called Ping Ding. Ping Ding had an unusual appearance. Taizu was shocked when he saw him and insisted on adopting him as his son. Ping An also looked similar to his father, very strong and sturdy.

Geng Bingwen glanced at Ping An and said, "If we allow Prince Gaoyang to take over the central army and Prince Yan attacks from the front, the situation will be dangerous! We must reinforce the left wing."

Ping An immediately clasped his fists and said, "I will lead the cavalry out of the city to fight King Gaoyang!"

Geng Bingwen pondered for a moment and said, "In this case, why not follow Duke Wei's advice and dispatch our elite troops to surround this man, put him to death, and cut off the arm of Yan Ni!"

After he finished speaking, his face showed murderous intent, and he raised his hand and slashed down, "Come here, tell Lieutenant General Sheng Yong to go to the north of King Gaoyang to supervise the battle, gather the infantry to block the Yan army and block King Gaoyang's way!"

"Yes, sir!"

Geng Bingwen looked at Ping An again, "Sheng Yong is a man of many talents, and he is also quite good at commanding infantry. It will be extremely difficult for Prince Gaoyang to break through the northern formation! At this time, Ping An will lead the elite cavalry out of Zhenyuan Gate to block his way back! I will go out of Yong'an Gate, boost the morale of the central army, and counterattack the west. It will be impossible for Prince Gaoyang to escape even if he has wings!"

Ping An clasped his fists and said, "I obey your orders! However, the central army is well-defended, so there is no need for you to worry. Just stay on the city wall and see how we defeat King Gaoyang!"

Geng Bingwen nodded slightly, stroked his white beard, and said, "The father and son of the King of Yan are personally on the battlefield. The morale of the Yan army is extremely high. I am sixty-five years old this year. Am I not as brave as the King of Yan? It is enough to ask Wu Dinghou to stay on the city wall."

He looked at the vast battlefield and said solemnly, "Since we have been entrusted with important tasks by the imperial court, how dare we disobey orders? I hope you will fight hard to kill the enemy and repay the emperor's grace!"

Ping An's eyes widened, and he clasped his fists and said, "Understood!"

...Sheng Yong was ordered to the battlefield, riding his horse through the battle formation, issuing brief military orders everywhere. He didn't talk much, and he didn't necessarily only talk to the generals, but when the battle formation was shaken, he would always rush over and shout loudly to point out the key points.

The phalanxes on the left wing actually adjusted their directions one after another, and stood still to the north to fight fiercely with the Yan army in front; the phalanxes at the back turned to face the city wall, with long spears in front and muskets and bows and arrows for protection, facing the Yan cavalry that had broken into the formation.

At that time, Zhu Gaoxu led the troops, with the Quanyong Team, the Left Thousand General Camp, and the Right Thousand General Camp as the front and rear echelons, and attacked deep into the Southern Army's formation from the west. Many square formations near the city wall were defeated one after another.

Seeing that the charge had reached a certain depth, Zhu Gaoxu stopped assaulting the government army's center and turned around to encircle the enemy. According to the tactics agreed upon in advance, Zhang Wu's troops would now turn north and attack the other phalanxes from the front and back, attacking from both sides in an attempt to destroy the government army's western flank!

Unexpectedly, he found that his attack was blocked. The phalanxes in the north were like iron barrels, as if they were not at the same level of combat power as the troops he had just defeated ! Zhu Gaoxu charged repeatedly, but still could not break the nearby phalanxes.

He led the Quanyong Team to retreat slightly, charged into the already collapsed chaotic army for a while, and then turned back to observe.

The green flags in the west represent Zhang Wu’s cavalry. Those green flags move back and forth but cannot move north!

The attack is blocked! Can we still achieve the goal if we persist? On the battlefield, there are thousands of troops and the smoke is unpredictable.

Zhu Gaoxu's mind went blank for a moment, as he had not yet fully understood the specific situation... If he could have defeated the large phalanx in the north and expanded the victory, but he gave in and missed the opportunity, wouldn't he be badly scolded?

However, the phalanx in the distance in the north has been slowly advancing towards this side. If Zhu Gaoxu cannot defeat them, the movement space of his cavalry will be greatly compressed, and they will become mounted infantry!

Zhu Gaoxu's forehead was covered with sweat, and the sweat washed away the blood on his face, flowed down to his chin and dripped onto his breastplate.

Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down. He soon came up with his own opinion: as the commander of an army, he could not arrange the battle formation, because his subordinates would always know how to do it. He could also be of average strength, as long as he did not run to the front... but the commander had to make decisions on the spot! Because only the commander had the power to command the troops.

Even if it is wrong, even if people criticize it, you have to make a decision! Even if it is a wrong judgment, it is better than no judgment!

"Send a message to the entire army, with the rear army as the vanguard, and everyone change direction and break out to the west!" Zhu Gaoxu shouted.

"Yes, sir!"

The Quanyong Team turned around first in the second charge, and Zhu Gaoxu led his personal soldiers to charge westward, and soon passed the Quanyong Team from the side. At this time, Zhang Wu's subordinates in the west also turned around and headed west one after another.

"Boom boom boom..." The cannons on the city wall fired again. The stone shells were thrown into the crowd, sometimes killing people, but the firing rate and lethality were very limited, and very few people could actually be killed. Among the thousands of troops, the main effect was to intimidate... The Yan army, which had a scale of tens of thousands, had a very small probability of each person being hit, but the huge cannon noise made it easy for people to ignore the fact of probability!

Zhu Gaoxu moved closer to Zhang Wuying, but saw the green flag lingering around! The cavalry moves very fast in the battle formation. What the hell is Zhang Wu doing? Does Zhang Wu still dare to disobey orders?

Zhu Gaoxu rushed to Zuoying's activities and shouted, "Why don't Zuoqian General Camp leave?"

A group of men and horses jogged back from the west. A general at the head replied loudly, "The army's cavalry is blocking the way to the west. The right camp cannot win and there is no chance of being killed!"

After Zhu Gaoxu heard this, he called Wang Bin and others around him, and led his soldiers past the position of the Zuoying troops. He patted his horse and headed straight to the west, where he saw countless cavalry retreating towards this side.

It was easiest to tell from the iron helmets. The southern army's hat brim was wider, so Zhu Gaoxu determined that these men and horses were the Yan army. After a moment, he saw the green flag waving among them, which was the 800 cavalry of the right camp.

"Aren't you the elite guards of Prince Yan? Run away!" Zhu Gaoxu cursed a few words, spurred his horse back, and headed straight to the west.

The triangular red flag was flying, and a group of wolf-like and tiger-like cavalrymen followed Zhu Gaoxu and rushed over. In the smoke, the Southern Army cavalry were chasing them!

Zhu Gaoxu picked up his newly replaced spear, thrust it into the air, and shouted, "Kill!"

The two armies rode their horses closer, and Zhu Gaoxu used his old trick again, slapping his horse to speed up, relying on the speed of his horse's charge to gain the upper hand! The heavy sound of the iron hooves was deafening.

The strong wind made it difficult for him to breathe, and his blood was rushing up. Zhu Gaoxu took a deep breath, raised his saber, and held it under his armpit. "Bang!" His right hand holding the saber slid forward, and he immediately let go of his hand and smoothly reached to his shoulder. He had done this many times, and was very skilled. He accurately grasped the handle of the saber!

"Shua!" A knife flashed, and a black shadow flashed before his eyes. Zhu Gaoxu slashed it with his knife. "Dang!" The violent trembling made his palm numb, and his whole arm trembled.

Zhu Gaoxu quickly glanced at the blade. There was a big hole on it, just like a tooth missing! What the hell? Zhu Gaoxu reined in his horse and turned around, glancing back.

He saw a sturdy man looking back. He looked like a square iron ingot placed on a big horse, holding an iron shield in one hand and a heavy axe in the other. His ridiculously thick arms flashed through Zhu Gaoxu's mind.

And in an instant, Zhu Gaoxu found that he was alone? There were only empty horses on both sides catching up! After a while, Wang Bin and several other riders came up, shouting that they had killed someone. Wang Bin's eyes were red.

The fierce man who had just received the attack swung his sword left and right, and soon killed several people. His horse was reined in at a distance, and he turned his horse's head around while shouting. The fierce man shouted, "King Gaoyang, let's fight again!"

Zhu Gaoxu knew his opponent's strength after taking one move, and thought to himself: I am wasting time fighting with you, and now I am waiting for my entire army to be surrounded?

He shouted, "Who is coming?" and looked for an empty spot, wanting to fight back and get away first.

The strong man said, "I am safe. My late father is your great-grandfather's adopted son. King Gaoyang has to call me brother!"

"Did my royal grandfather raise you and your son just to let you harm his descendants?" Zhu Gaoxu spurred his horse to charge south, killing two people in a row, and shouted without looking back.

Ping An's voice said, "The current emperor is the common ruler of the world. That is what your great grandfather meant!"

Judging from the sound, the guy is not far away and is catching up.

Zhu Gaoxu was charging in front, his horse was charging fast, he did not dare to relax for a moment, or look back, so he chatted with the fellow while judging his position, he shouted casually, "Qi and Huang, the two treacherous ministers, are plotting to kill my clan members!"