Chapter 417: Capture Alive
Peng Ze was riding a horse following the mighty general Zhu Shou, and he was almost numb.

He had never seen such a shameless emperor. Compared with him, the one who called a deer a horse was considered to have integrity.

At this moment, a soldier from the Three Thousand Battalion galloped over and stopped three feet away from the general. He then dismounted cleanly, knelt on the ground and reported: "General, our army encountered the enemy during the march, and now Qiu Hou is leading the army to engage in a battle with the enemy!"

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shou asked excitedly, "How is the battle going?"

"Qiu Hou has the upper hand!"

"Hahaha, Qiu Qing is worthy of being the best general of our dynasty!" Zhu Shou laughed loudly, then looked at Peng Ze and asked, "General, I think the army can speed up its pace and cooperate with Qiu Qing from inside and outside to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop."

Peng Ze had a look of as if he had eaten shit. This kid doesn’t even pretend now!

"Replying to the general, the battlefield is changing rapidly, so don't be careless."

Peng Ze patiently put forward his own opinions: "I think that our army should adopt a strategy of steady and gradual advancement, so as to continuously exert psychological pressure on the enemy and gradually make them panic and waver."

"At the same time, make sure that our cavalry's combat space is not compressed, so that they can remain flexible and sharp and wait for the best opportunity. When the enemy's morale collapses and their defenses fall apart, that is when our army will strike with thunder and reap victory."

After hearing this, Zhu Shou could not help but nod his head. It was obvious that Peng Ze's method was more reliable: "Then let's follow the commander's words and act!"

As the order was passed down, the soldiers of the Shenji Camp began to advance forward in an orderly manner.

The cavalry battalion led by Zuo Lengchan marched closely behind the infantry. When he learned that Qiu Yue had already engaged the enemy, he felt an irresistible urge to try. He wished he could jump on his horse and whip the horse immediately, go into battle himself, and replace Qiu Yue.

However, before the expedition, Ou Zanghua had specifically told him to ensure the general's safety. If an emergency occurred, his mission would be to lead Zhu Shou to break out.

On the battlefield, after a round of charge, both sides distanced themselves from each other like the receding tide, leaving behind corpses everywhere.

Hua Dang quickly glanced around and saw mostly the remains of his brave warriors. This scene made him even angrier. At the same time, a cold reality lay before him, that is, in a head-on confrontation, his subordinates were no match for the Ming army.

After realizing this, Hua Dang licked his lips, put his fingers into his mouth and blew hard. A sharp whistle sounded on the battlefield, one short and one long.

After receiving the order, the elite cavalry of the Wuliangha and Duoyanwei began to adjust the speed and direction of their horses.

Qiu Yue knew at a glance that the opponent was planning to use the Mangudai tactics that the Mongols used to dominate the world.

In the Battle of the Sayo River, 60,000 Mongolian cavalry fought against 100,000 Hungarian cavalry.

The Mongolian commanders Batu and Subutai used Mangudai's tactics to lure the enemy cavalry into pursuit, and then launched a surprise attack from the flank, annihilating more than 70,000 Hungarian troops. This battle almost completely wiped out the resistance in Eastern Europe.

To put it bluntly, it's just 'if the enemy runs, I fight; if the enemy chases, I flee'.

Coincidentally, Qiu Yue also knows this tactic.

The mounted archers of both sides sat firmly on their horses, their eyes sharp. As their horses galloped, they constantly adjusted the bows and arrows in their hands, aiming at the enemy with precise angles and strength.

Some horse archers aimed at the gaps in the enemy's helmets, attempting to end their opponents' lives with a thundering blow.

Some aimed at the enemy's warhorse, intending to disrupt the enemy's formation and create chaos by knocking down the mount.

Dust was flying, the sound of horse hooves was deafening, and arrows were whizzing and pouring down like dense raindrops.

For a while, people on both sides kept falling behind and falling down, but the morale of both sides did not slacken at all, and both wanted to kill the other side.

After another round of confrontation, Hua Dang's eyes were wide open with anger. He couldn't understand why he was not as good as the opponent in a frontal charge, and even his Mangudai tactics were not as sophisticated as the opponent's?

At this time, the guards beside him reminded: "Chief, the Ming army is surrounding us again!"

Hua Dang turned his head and saw figures emerging from the distance, surrounding him from all directions. He looked at Funing City again and found that the city gate had been opened. The garrison commanders Gui Yong and Deng Bagong led the remaining hundreds of cavalrymen in the city to fight out and entangle with the front army. Even though they suffered heavy casualties, they still held the front army back.

Hua Dang was shocked. He didn't expect that a mere garrison commander could be so courageous!
But this was not the time to feel sentimental. He made a prompt decision and ordered, "Pass the order down, have the brothers follow me closely!"

"Yes!"

The guards talked among themselves, but without hesitation, they immediately passed on Hua Dang's order.

Then, Hua Dang gently kicked the horse's belly. The BMW under his crotch seemed to have a telepathic connection with its master, instantly understanding his intentions and starting to jog gracefully and steadily.

Seeing this, the soldiers in the rear also urged their mounts and followed closely. The whole team gradually accelerated from the initial jog, and their steps became more and more orderly and powerful.

Qiu Yue looked at the two elite cavalry units whose morale was still high after the reorganization, and a hint of approval flashed in his eyes. Then he raised his spear and controlled the warhorse under his crotch to rush towards Hua Dang.

The two sides engaged in a second horse battle. When Hua Dang used his move to split Huashan, Qiu Yue's spear arrived first and pointed directly at Hua Dang's vital points.

Hua Dang's face instantly became solemn, and he had to change his tactics urgently, forcibly transforming the offense into defense in the middle of the attack to block this sudden and fierce attack.

With a dull "clang" sound, Hua Dang felt his arms were numb from the shock and he almost fell off the horse.

Fortunately, his horse was fast enough, and after a brief fight, they quickly separated.

In the bloody battle, many soldiers from both sides fell.

But when Qiu Yue adjusted himself, he found that Hua Dang was leading a large group of people and rushing towards the west without looking back.

After observation, Hua Dang found that the troops in the west were the slowest. As long as they broke through before the enemy surrounded them, they could escape.

Qiu Yue was stunned for a moment, then reacted instantly and realized that Hua Dang was planning to cut off his tail in order to survive!

He immediately spurred his horse to chase after him, and shouted, "Hua Dang Xiao'er! Can't you afford to play?! You don't have the strength, you don't even dare to confront me head-on!"

Hua Dang took these provocative words lightly. On the grassland, fighting and integration between tribes was the norm year after year. Either one tribe disappeared in the flames of war, or another tribe was annexed in the dispute. Victory and defeat were common in the military. For him, occasional setbacks were just a part of grassland life and insignificant.

What he is thinking about now is to preserve these living forces first before discussing other things.

But what appeared in front of him was the Shenjiying led by the mighty general Zhu Shou.

Facing the charging cavalry, Peng Ze's eyes focused and he immediately sent out a flag signal.

Upon seeing this, Taoist Priest Tianmen shouted, "Prepare the mother-and-child cannons to meet the enemy!"

The artillerymen quickly set up the sub-guns, and the sub-guns were already filled with gunpowder.

"Fire in full force!" Peng Ze narrowed his eyes and shouted at the cavalry who were trying to break through from the side.

There was a loud "bang", as if the heaven and earth were shaking, and nearly a hundred shells flew out.

Hua instinctively bent over to avoid the attack, and the guard beside him was shot through by the shell in front of him. The shell continued to move forward and hit the hind leg of the BMW under his crotch.

With a roar, the BMW lost its balance and fell to the ground. Hua Dang was thrown out and rolled several times on the ground before stopping.

"Chief!" The uninjured guards rushed up on horseback, stretched out their arms towards Hua Dang, trying to pull him onto the horse.

When Emperor Zhengde saw this scene, he immediately pointed at Hua Dang's location and shouted, "Come here, catch Ci Liao!"

Zuo Lengchan, who had been patient for a long time, waved his hand, and the four masters Ding Mian, Lu Bai, Fei Bin, and Le Hou immediately led their subordinates and rushed down like wolves and tigers.
(End of this chapter)