Chapter 70: Trapped
"Li Yuhou, what do you mean?"

After hearing what Li Guangbi said, Cheng Gui reacted.

If it was because of protecting the civilians before, now that the surrounding Turkic cavalry have been almost wiped out, they have not been deployed yet.

"I suggest that the general lead the elite cavalry to make a detour overnight and rush to the front army battlefield. Now our central army's infantry and cavalry are being monitored by the Turkic scouts, while the Turkic scouts in the rear army cannot penetrate. We are now less than a hundred miles away from the front army, and your troops are all elite cavalry and good horses, so we can take a long detour and avoid the Turkic scouts."

"If the front army has been defeated when we arrive at the battlefield, we will withdraw immediately. If the front army is still resisting, it means that the Turks have not much fighting spirit after a day and night of fighting and the pressure from our central army. We will take the opportunity to launch a surprise attack and will surely defeat the left wing of the Turks."

Li Guangbi analyzed the situation to Cheng Gui and asked him to send troops.

"Zhang Qiqiu is the deputy commander. If you rashly send troops without his permission, you will be violating military orders."

Cheng Gui was worried.

"General Cheng, do you think that General Wang can tolerate Zhang Qiqiu's behavior of watching someone die without rescuing him? General Wang loves his soldiers like his own sons!"

"When Su Dingfang followed Cheng Zhijie, the chief military commander of the Congshan Road, to fight against the Turks, they won the first battle and captured many prisoners. However, Wang Wendu, the deputy chief military commander, was jealous of Su Dingfang's military achievements and told Cheng Zhijie that he could not pursue the victory and should only form a square formation with his men and horses in armor and defend the place. He also forged a summons and took away Cheng Zhijie's command. As a result, the expedition failed. Afterwards, Wang Wendu and Cheng Zhijie were both questioned. Isn't this an example?"

"Zhang Qiqiu is doing something stupid. If we stop him, we will not only not do anything wrong, but will actually be rewarded. Besides, Mr. Zuo is grateful to you!"

"Think about it again, how did Wang Shuai's father die in battle?"

Li Guangbi advised Cheng Gui earnestly.

"Li Yuhou's words make sense!"

Cheng Gui slapped his thigh and woke up as if from a dream.

As long as we explain this to General Wang, Zhang Qiqiu will have no way to stop it.

Besides, the military commanders of this unit all obey the orders of him and Cui Zhan.

Cheng Gui immediately blew the horn and called on the troops.

In half an hour, five thousand elite cavalrymen were assembled.

The scouts went ahead to clear the way.

Li Guangbi wore armor and traveled with Cheng Gui.

All this was not informed to Zhang Qiqiu.

……

High slope.

By the second half of the night, the Turkic soldiers still had not reached the high slope.

The battle became more brutal, and the Tang soldiers, despite exhaustion and sleepiness, used courage and perseverance to support themselves. Their eyes were all bloodshot.

The Turkic soldiers were not iron men. They marched all night long, and by this time their bodies could no longer bear the strain.

They were unable to afford the high positions and generous salaries promised by Poli.

Every time they almost broke through, they were quickly compensated with lives by the Tang army.

The chariots on the periphery had all fallen apart and were covered with corpses.

By dawn, several formations in the southeast, northwest, and northeast had been broken up.

At the most intense moment, some Turkic soldiers rushed up the slope a hundred steps, threatening the logistics personnel and wounded soldiers, but they were eventually killed back.

The Tang army had run out of arrows long ago. There were no archers or crossbowmen. They all held guns and spears.

No team has more than half the number of people.

"Crack!"

The blade of Li Xuan's lance broke, so he used the shaft of his lance to knock a Turkic soldier away.

He found a good spear from the pile of corpses and continued fighting.

Covered in blood, he looked like a god of death, which frightened the Turkic soldiers.

"General, we can't hold out for much longer. Please lead the cavalry and break out!"

Wang Sili killed a Turkic soldier with his sword and moved to Li Xuan.

"How can you say such a thing? How can a man live in disgrace?"

Li Xuan rebuked Wang Sili.

How could he abandon thousands of wounded soldiers and soldiers who couldn't ride horses?

"General..."

"Stop talking. I'm going to lead the cavalry into the enemy camp to attract the Turks' attention and reduce the pressure on the high slope."

Wang Sili was about to say something else but was interrupted by Li Xuan.

He rode on horseback not to escape, but to dampen the enemy's morale, especially from the south, where there were too many Turkic soldiers charging and they seemed unstoppable.

The cavalry descending from the high slope will definitely attract some Turkic soldiers.

Wang Sili reorganized his troops on the high slope and held out until reinforcements arrived.

"General, no, please let me do it for you."

Wang Sili hurried to stop it, it was a life-threatening situation.

"How can we let the commander and deputy commander do this? Let me do it."

A voice was heard nearby. It turned out to be Ashina Fuwen, who heard their conversation.

"I have made up my mind. This is an order. You hold the high ground. The Turks are holding on."

Li Xuan clenched his fists, feeling it was a great pity.

Doesn’t Zhang Qiqiu know?
In this situation, if the cavalry was sent to attack the Turkish cavalry last night, there would be no need to make a detour. The Tang army with more than 10,000 cavalry could definitely easily break through the Turkic left wing.

He fought all night, hoping that his cavalry would arrive.

Unexpectedly, dawn came first.

"General, although I am a Hu person, I know the righteousness of the Spring and Autumn Annals. I admire Langshe during the Spring and Autumn Period and respect him as I respect my ancestors. Please let me complete my pursuit of bravery like Langshe!"

As Ashina Fuwen said this, he took off his helmet to show his determination.

What is courage?
It's not about being aggressive or fighting, it's not about defeating a strong person.

Serve the country bravely!

Langshe died on the battlefield for his bravery.

Ashina Fuwen was determined to die.

"If death can't change anything, what's the point? Can your bravery save the lives of the soldiers? Your mission is to command the soldiers here and stabilize the situation. You are not qualified to take my place in the battle line. Do you need me to make it clear?"

Li Xuan reprimanded Wang Sili and Ashina Fuwen in a harsh tone, showing no mercy at all.

The two men were ashamed and gritted their teeth to command their soldiers to kill the approaching Turkic soldiers.

Li Xuan ordered Gao Kai to mobilize the heavy cavalry of Dangying.

It was discovered that there were only 200 Tiaodang soldiers left who could still fight.

Plus Li Xuan’s 17 personal guards.

They have to fight for their chance of survival.

All the soldiers rode on the strongest war horses.

Li Xuan held a lance in his hand and hung another gun beside the saddle.

"Sorry?"

Li Xuan asked Gao Kai, the commander of Tiaodang Camp.

"It's a pity, but I just regret that I didn't die in Feng'an Military City, so that my blood would flow along the Yellow River through my hometown."

Gao Kai half-jokingly told Li Xuan that his hometown was Yanci County, Le'an Prefecture (now Yanci, Shandong), and the Yellow River flowed right in front of his home.

My ancestors were from the Gao family of Bohai, and I thought that one day I would be able to return to my hometown in glory.

Now I no longer have such thoughts, only endless longing for my hometown.

"It's dawn, follow me!"

Li Xuan felt upset and patted Gao Kai on the shoulder.

He died in battle in his previous life. So he thought this life was a new one. He was worried that Li Shizhi would be schemed against by the old villain Li Linfu again.

Missing my brothers and sisters.

There are still unfulfilled wishes.

Thinking of this, Li Xuan was filled with strength, and he mounted the Fire Cloud Horse with a sharp gaze.

The armored men were armed with long weapons and were as determined as their commander.

"rush!"

At Li Xuan's command, the Fire Cloud Horse rushed southward.

"Pfft!"

The Tang army gave way according to Wang Sili's order.

The Turkic soldiers who had climbed up with great difficulty were scattered by the cavalry.

Li Xuan picked up a Turkic soldier and threw him away.

He swung his spear back and forth, taking away several lives in succession, and took the lead in stepping onto the thick pile of corpses.

He regarded the tens of thousands of Turkic soldiers as nothing, and rushed down the high slope on his horse, armed with swords and spears, with the momentum of a tiger.

Because Li Xuan was moving too fast, the Tiaodang Army and Li Xuan's personal guards could not keep up at all.

But Li Xuan's courage inspired them to chase after them and at the same time reap the lives of the Turkic soldiers on the slope.

"Huh! The Tang army is finally about to collapse, and their main general is trying to break out. All troops mount their horses and surround him. Don't let him escape."

Poli glared with bloodshot eyes and gave orders.

He didn't sleep a wink all night and his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

If he had not been the commander of the army, he would have wanted to go up the hill and attack personally.

On this high slope, more than 20,000 people died in one day and one night.

From completing strategic goals, it turned into a retaliatory attack, vowing to destroy the Feng'an Army.

Before, Po Li had a clear goal, but now he is confused and unsure whether his soldiers still have the confidence to fight against the main force of the Tang army.

Po Li mistakenly judged that Li Xuan was going to break out, so he mobilized all the cavalry below and set up a siege and interception.

"He is the fierce general of the Tang army who killed Xi Jiejin. He is indeed brave!"

Po Li was shocked to see that Li Xuan could defeat his soldiers after fighting for a whole day and night.

He thought he couldn't do such a thing.

Li Xuan ran down the hill, waiting for Tiaodang Camp to join him.

He began to lead the cavalry along the slope, killing the Turkic soldiers who climbed up the slope.

The cavalry rushed forward, leaving corpses all along the way.

The Turkic soldiers who were not riding horses had no fighting spirit, which caused many of them who had originally climbed the slope to retreat down, greatly alleviating the pressure on the Tang soldiers on the top of the slope.

After fighting for a while, several teams of Turkic cavalry rushed towards Li Xuan's cavalry.

"See you in the underworld!"

Li Xuan roared and rushed in on his horse.

"I am willing to fight again with the general."

The cavalrymen of the Tiaodang Camp behind them all shouted loudly. With the belief that they would die, they charged into the enemy cavalry. Everyone fought bravely, and all the Turkic cavalry fell off their horses.

Li Xuan swept his long spear across, and relying on the power of the Fire Cloud Horse, he easily beheaded a Turkic cavalry general.

Luo Xing and Xue Cuo swung their guns left and right to support Li Xuan.

There were also Turkic cavalry generals who refused to obey and rode their horses straight to stab Li Xuan.

"Pfft!"

The two horses crossed each other, and Li Xuan directly pierced his armor and killed him on the horse.

Another general was killed.

The other generals were afraid and called on their cavalry to surround them. Li Xuan charged in on his horse and killed ten cavalrymen in a row.

He saw a cavalry general and chased after him.

The rider turned his horse and ran, his Fire Cloud Horse charging forward as swiftly as flying.

The cavalry general was surrounded by dozens of cavalrymen, but Li Xuan was not afraid. He rushed into the battle line and stabbed the general to death.

Kill another general.

More than ten other Turkic knights stabbed at Li Xuan with their spears.

"Dangdang..."

"Pfft..."

Li Xuan brandished his long spear and knocked all the spears away. He held the spear tightly with both hands and thrust and stabbed repeatedly, knocking several Turkic cavalrymen off their horses.

The Turkic soldiers were all terrified, and some of them dropped their spears and turned their horses to run away when they saw Li Xuan's eyes.

Seeing Li Xuan's divine power, the cavalry hacked and killed all the way, breaking through several teams in a row, with great momentum.

Li Xuan continued to hack and kill the Turkic soldiers who were climbing the hill.

Many Turkic soldiers ignored orders and ran down to take the horses.

This gave the Tang army on the high slope some time to catch their breath.

"Can we still fight?"

Dozens more armored soldiers died in the battle, while others looked haggard due to fatigue.

Now their way uphill was also blocked, and it seemed that there was nowhere to escape.

Li Xuan is brave, but no matter how brave he is, he can never be a true enemy of ten thousand people.

"We can fight to the death!"

Gao Kai shouted loudly.

He was injured in the back just now, but fortunately he was wearing armor to protect himself, so the injury was not fatal.

But the blood had already soaked into the underwear.

"We can fight to the death."

Luo Xing and Xue Cuo both shouted.

"Then let's fight..."

As soon as Li Xuan finished speaking, he suddenly saw smoke and dust billowing in the northeast.

"Rumble..."

And the sound of horse hooves that shook the earth...

(End of this chapter)