Chapter 88 'Go and invite the Buddha'

After a night of mobilization and preparation, the 5,000 vanguard troops led by Lin Chong set out down the mountain early the next morning.

When Yang Chang followed Zhu Tong on the march, Hu Sanniang was still in the tent in the back mountain.

Last night, Yang mobilized the "power of a tiger" and made it impossible for Yizhangqing to get out of bed in the morning, let alone follow the army to attack Gaotang Prefecture.

This kind of weird way of retaining employees is not something most people can do.

So even though Hu Sanniang was fooled, she didn't feel any resentment in her heart.

Gaotang Prefecture is Gaotang County, located under the jurisdiction of Bozhou in the eastern Hebei Province of the Song Dynasty, about 300 miles away from Liangshan Marsh.

(Gaotang Prefecture was established in the Yuan Dynasty. There was only Gaotang County in the Northern Song Dynasty. Shi Naian probably lacked maps of the Song Dynasty, which led to incorrect place names in Water Margin and unreasonable action routes. In fact, many place names in the original work are from the Yuan Dynasty, such as Dongchang and Dongping where Zhang Qing and Dong Ping are located. They were called Yunzhou and Bozhou in the Northern Song Dynasty. This book used the wrong place names in the original work for the needs of the plot in the early stage, and then used the Song Dynasty names again when it came to the anti-Jin war.)
Lin Chong's vanguard had no baggage and reached Gaotang Prefecture in just five days.

When Gao Lian, the prefect of Gaotang Prefecture, heard that the Liangshan bandits were invading, he immediately ordered his troops to march out of the city to meet the enemy.

Lin Chong was in the front to hold the formation, and when he was about to reach the city, he urged his horse to move sideways. He wanted to ensure that the formation was intact to meet the enemy.

When he came to Zhu Tong's team, he saw Yang Chang standing beside him, so he asked with a smile, "Brother Yang, how is your riding skill going? Do you want to lead the charge later?"

"I don't think it's necessary. Sanlang has little experience in battle. Instructor Lin will select the generals before the battle. I am willing to lead the charge."

Before Yang Chang could open his mouth to reply, his old leader politely declined on his behalf. With Zhu Tong's many years of experience in horse warfare, he did not think that the transition from an infantry general to a cavalry general could be accomplished overnight.

"Haha, Brother Zhu is really caring, but Brother Yang is not weak at all." Lin Chong smiled without forcing it.

When he rode back to his original position, the enemy troops were already waiting in line outside the city. The man in fine robes and golden armor in front of the line was none other than the prefect Gao Lian, who was both civil and military.

Lin Chong didn't need anyone else to lead the charge. He rode out on his horse, held the snake spear across his chest, and shouted, "Leopard Head Lin Chong is here, who is going out to die?"

"Are you the little thief Lin Chong? You escaped from my brother that day, but you are not so lucky today. You are just a thief hiding in a small puddle. Who gave you the courage to invade my city? Chao Gai, Song Jiang or Chai Jin?" Gao Lian teased calmly.

Lin Chong was furious when he heard this. He pointed his spear at Gao Lian and shouted, "You bastard, I'll take your head today. Sooner or later, I'll rush to the capital and chop the traitor Gao Qiu into pieces. Only then will I be relieved of my hatred!"

"Who can help me catch this thief?"

"I go!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Yu Zhi, the commander beside Gao Lian, rode out on his horse, sword in hand.

Lin Chong jumped on his horse and thrust his spear forward to meet Yu Zhi. The two fought for less than five rounds before Yu Zhi was stabbed and fell off his horse.

"Who is willing to avenge Yu Tongzhi?"

"Lin Chong killed my companion, he must be killed today!"

Gao Lian looked in the direction of the voice and saw Wen Wenbao holding a spear, riding a fierce horse, and rushing towards Lin Chong, raising a cloud of dust.

Seeing Lin Chong's meritorious service by beheading the general, Qin Ming could not wait any longer and rushed out on his horse to intercept him, shouting, "Brother, wait a moment. I am here to intercept this thief."

Wen Wenbao was blocked by Qin Ming and had to leave Lin Chong behind to fight Qin Ming.

Lin Chong glanced at Yu Zhi lying on the ground and thought to himself, Yang is quite good at using spear and stick. Since he has come with the army to pick up armor and weapons, I will find two good ones for him. Unfortunately, his sword is not suitable and his armor is already damaged.

Huh? Against Qin Ming, the spear in his hand seemed to be OK.

When Wen Wenbao was fighting with Qin Ming, he saw Lin Chong reining in his horse nearby. He was worried that the other side might attack him from the side, so he thought to himself that he had to keep a close eye on his brothers in the battle.

Lin Chong stayed in the half court and did not return, actually to pick up weapons for Yang Chang, but this put a lot of pressure on Wen Wenbao.

He was distracted and fought with him for just ten rounds, but was accidentally tricked by Qin Ming's flaws, and a mace fell from the sky and his head burst.

Gaotang Prefecture lost two generals in succession, and there was constant cheering and shouting in front of the Liangshan camp, while the soldiers in Gao Lian's camp were all shocked.

"Who else?"

"Hurry up and go out to die!"

"Gao Lian, do you dare?"

Lin Chong shouted as he rode his horse, and came to Wen Wenbao, trying to pick up the spear with his snake spear. Yang Chang just saw Lin Chong kill the enemy easily, and recalled the previous fight with Hu Sanniang, thinking that there was indeed a gap between him and him.

At this moment, Gao Lian did not send any more generals to fight, but held the Tai'a sword behind him, muttering something in a convulsive manner.

"Brother Jieji, what is he doing?"

"do not know"

Yang Chang knew that there were strange arts and magic in the original Water Margin, but he had never had the chance to see them since he traveled through time. Even when he met Gongsun Sheng in the mountain, he found it hard to believe that he was a strange man who knew magic.

Gongsun Sheng had almond-shaped eyes, a square mouth, and was eight feet tall. He was stronger than most of the Liangshan leaders. The enemy leader, Gao Lian, was wearing an embroidered robe and golden armor, and was clearly a commander-in-chief.

The "strange" appearance and dress of the two people before and after made Yang Chang suspicious of the world he lived in. He suspected that the gods, demons and strange arts were all artistic processing, and believed that the world before him was no different from the ordinary ancient world.

However, inherent thinking is always slapped in the face by unexpected things.

Gao Lian's mouth continued to move for a while, then he waved his sword into the air and shouted, "Fast!"

Wherever the sword pointed, a black gas rose up immediately. It grew from small to large in an instant and soon spread to the air and filled the whole area.

Immediately afterwards, the earth shook, sand and rocks flew, and strange winds blew towards the Liangshan army.

Yang Chang was so shocked that he was stunned and couldn't help but swear.

"What the hell is this?"

"Sanlang, be careful, it might be a magic!"

When Zhu Tong gave the reminder, visibility around them was already very low and the horses were becoming restless and moving around.

"Magic?"

"I can't wait for the coach's order, everyone follow me and evacuate first!"

In the black fog, the Gaotang army's shouts of killing were deafening. Zhu Tong knew that he was blind and could not fight anymore, so he shouted and quickly retreated. Upon hearing what he said, Yang Chang ran madly after him, his heart in turmoil.

What is the power of a tiger, what is the invincibility of ten thousand men.
How can physical skills have any advantage over magic?

I was too naive before, thinking that I could be invincible by maxing out the attributes. Now it seems that I have to survive, unless I pick up some spell skills to hold on?

The retreat was normal at first, but soon they started to trample on each other, and the Gaotang soldiers caught up and chased them, and the Liangshan minions began to cry for their parents.

Yang Chang held the horse's neck and looked back, and saw flashes of people picking up corpses from time to time around. He knew that they were brought by the Liangshan minions, but unfortunately they had no way to stop and pick up the corpses while escaping.

The fleeing Liangshan army did not stop panicking until they ran out of the range of the black gas.

Lin Chong ordered all the troops to gather and count the personnel, and found that more than a thousand of the 5,000 vanguards were killed, which meant they suffered a major defeat.

Of the 500 men under Zhu Tong's command, more than a hundred were killed just now. Among the 100 cavalrymen, eighty riders escaped, and there were only more than 50 war horses, which means that some of the horses were lost.

Seeing that Yang Chang had exited unscathed, Zhu Tong asked curiously, "Sanlang has only learned horse riding for a few months, but he doesn't look embarrassed at all. Do you have a talent for horse riding?"

"Hey, it's my wife who taught me well."

Yang Chang scratched his head and smiled, thinking that his buddy was cheating.

Just then, Lin Chong came in front of the two horses.

He pushed the weapon forward, frowned and said seriously: "I didn't expect Gao Lian to know magic. I'm afraid it will be difficult to fight in Gaotang Prefecture. Brother Yang, take this spear first. It should be more suitable than the wooden stick you have now."

"Oh"

Yang Chang held the spear, just like Sun Wukong when he first arrived at the Dragon Palace. He felt that the weapon in his hand was still too light. However, no matter how suitable the weapon was, it was useless. To deal with the magician, he could only ask the magician for help.

In a trance for a moment, a picture suddenly appeared in front of my eyes: Go and invite the Buddha!
It seems that it is time for Gongsun Sheng to return to his position.

(End of this chapter)