Chapter 453: The Battle of Wokou (2)

A battalion of soldiers, under Zhao Kuangyin's lead, quickened their pace toward the Tang camp. Their banners snapped loudly in the winter wind, and were spotted from afar by Tang sentries, who sounded the horns to alert the entire camp.

On the Tang side, Militia Commissioner Guo Tingwei and Army Supervisor He Yanxi, upon receiving the report, swiftly rose from their campaign cots, donned their armor, and went to the front of the camp to survey the situation.

He Yanxi, still carrying the grumpiness of just having been roused from sleep, stormed furiously up to the watchtower, where he found Guo Tingwei gazing with slight puzzlement at Zhao Kuangyin's army arrayed in challenge just over a li away.

Seeing He Yanxi, Guo Tingwei introduced the situation to him: "The Han army has about four to five hundred men, no cavalry, and their banner reads 'Zhao'—it should be Zhao Kuangyin stationed at Wokou!"

"These Han troops snuck an attack last night, and now they come to provoke us this morning. With a mere few hundred men, they dare to tug at my tiger's whiskers?" Glancing down, He Yanxi immediately sneered, his voice laced with anger: "I'll take two thousand men and annihilate them!"

"Army Supervisor He, let's observe a bit longer—see what these Han troops are really after?" Guo Tingwei was a middle-aged general. Though his name was not widely known, he had experienced many battles and had always been steady and measured.

"Could Governor Guo be frightened by the Han cavalry's raid on our camp last night?" He Yanxi carried a scholar's arrogance about him, and said with slight contempt: "If you don't dare, then hold the camp yourself. I'll take the troops and deal with that insignificant Zhao Kuangyin!"

With that said, ignoring Guo Tingwei's grim expression, he ordered several battalions of over two thousand men mustered, threw open the camp gates, and charged furiously toward the Han army.

And a li away, seeing the Tang camp stir, especially spotting that large "He" banner, Zhao Kuangyin immediately broke into a smile and took a deep sniff of the air: "From a li away, I can almost smell the fragrance of rice in the Tang camp..."

Zhao Kuangyin had timed his arrival precisely to disturb the Tang camp—at this hour, the Tang soldiers had no time to eat. An emperor does not send hungry soldiers to battle, and these Tang troops marching out of camp were precisely a bunch of hungry soldiers.

However, once He Yanxi's Tang army exited the camp, Zhao Kuangyin couldn't help but frown, because the number of Tang troops sallying forth did not meet his expectations. Seeing this, he immediately abandoned his plan of feigning defeat after a single clash.

Waving his signal flag, the five hundred Han soldiers immediately adjusted into an attack formation. Zhao Kuangyin pointed from afar at He Yanxi, who was surrounded and protected in the midst of the army: "The enemy is spreading out their flanks, trying to swallow us whole. In a moment, follow me and charge straight at their center, keeping your eyes on that Tang general on horseback. Remember—do not kill him!"

With his red robe and gleaming armor, He Yanxi's attire was highly conspicuous.

Observing the Tang army's movements as they exited camp, once they had fully deployed, he raised his blade and shouted: "Warriors, the time to make your name has come! Follow me, charge!"

With that, he took the lead, leaning low over his horse, riding swiftly forward. Behind Zhao Kuangyin, the five hundred Suzhou militia charged at He Yanxi with battle cries on their lips.

Though few in number, their momentum was formidable—like a fierce tiger pouncing back at the Tang army. On He Yanxi's side, seeing the Han army's move, he was quite astonished. He hadn't expected that facing a fourfold enemy, Zhao Kuangyin would neither retreat nor form a defensive line, but instead charge straight at him.

The Army Supervisor, who prided himself on his military acumen, hastily sent orders for the Tang troops enveloping the flanks to hasten their encirclement, while he himself led his forces to meet the Han army head-on.

But as the Han army drew near, looking at the murderous, ferocious aura of the Han soldiers, He Yanxi felt an inexplicable panic grip his heart. He hastily issued another order for his men to form a defensive line.

In such circumstances, there was no time at all. In the ensuing chaos, the Tang army failed to establish their formation—they only managed to loose two volleys of arrows before the Han soldiers' blades were already at their necks.

Zhao Kuangyin's advance was like a knife cutting through tofu—cleanly carving into the Tang formation. Riding swiftly on horseback, Zhao Kuangyin cut down three men in succession, then pointed directly at He Yanxi, who had begun to shrink backward. His Suzhou militia, meticulously drilled and highly disciplined, followed tightly behind him, covering his flanks as they fought the Tang soldiers.

Their momentum was like a tiger cowing a flock of sheep—their edge impossible to withstand. The Tang soldiers, exhausted from last night's harassment, stiff-limbed from just rising, unfed, and driven out of camp to fight by He Yanxi, compounded by the Army Supervisor's chaotic orders, were in no condition to withstand the Han army's assault.

Within a mere quarter of an hour, they showed signs of collapsing. He Yanxi fled directly from the front of the formation to the rear, and his actions left the Tang army without command, each man fighting for himself.

Even amid the slaughter, Zhao Kuangyin kept a panoramic view of the battlefield. Though he scorned He Yanxi's performance, he was inwardly delighted by it. Noticing that the two battalions of Tang troops enveloping the flanks had arrived, he immediately gripped his blade, rallied his men, and charged toward He Yanxi, confirming He Yanxi's identity in the midst of the assault.

Facing the Han army's unstoppable momentum, He Yanxi began to panic, shouting in alarm: "Stop them!"

Facing the Tang soldiers clustered in his path, Zhao Kuangyin instead spurred his horse and charged through, slashing left and right, cutting their formation apart with his men, and swiftly reached He Yanxi. Raising his long blade, he swung it at He Yanxi, barking: "He Yanxi, your life is mine!"

The edge of Zhao Kuangyin's blade was so cold it nearly chilled He Yanxi to the bone. With a cry of anguish, he instinctively ducked low and rolled off his horse. As the blade came down, Zhao Kuangyin pulled some of his strength, striking the armor on He Yanxi's back instead, knowing full well the man would be unharmed. Sure enough, He Yanxi tumbled off his horse, ignoring the pain, scrambling and crawling to hide behind the surrounding Tang soldiers, abandoning all pretense of scholar-official dignity.

Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin immediately ordered: "All troops, shout at the top of your lungs—He Yanxi is dead!"

Then, leading his men, he turned and charged toward the disordered parts of the Tang formation. Zhao Kuangyin's battlefield instincts were razor-sharp—he struck only at weak points, advancing while shouting "He Yanxi is dead!" Soon the center of He Yanxi's army was in complete chaos, and the disorder spread to the two battalions that had been circling around.

As for He Yanxi, he had lost all composure. When he tried to rally his personal guards and issue orders to the troops, it was already useless.

In the Tang camp, Guo Tingwei had been watching the battle before the camp the whole time. With superior numbers overwhelming a smaller force, the battle had somehow turned out like this—Guo Tingwei silently cursed He Yanxi as useless. When he heard the Han army's shouts of "He Yanxi is dead!" Guo Tingwei could no longer sit still. He angrily issued the order: "Leave a thousand men to guard the camp. Everyone else, follow me out to battle!"

Soon, Guo Tingwei led his troops charging out of the camp gates, pressing toward the battlefield. On Zhao Kuangyin's side, he was constantly watching the Tang camp's movements. Seeing more soldiers pouring out, he decisively ordered the shout: "Brothers, follow my banner—retreat!"

Under Zhao Kuangyin's leadership, the surviving Han soldiers turned and broke toward the south. The Tang soldiers caught in the melee were utterly unable to stop them, and could only watch helplessly as the Han army broke free, turned west, and left a scene of chaos behind.

Guo Tingwei arrived with his troops, and seeing the Han army gone, there was nothing he could do. He could only, with a grim face, restore order and gather the scattered soldiers.

"The Han army is fleeing! After them!" At this moment, He Yanxi, who had barely escaped with his life from under Zhao Kuangyin's blade, popped out from behind his guards.

Though he had straightened his helmet and armor, he was utterly disheveled, his face a mask of shame and fury.

"No pursuit!" Hearing his order, Guo Tingwei refused sternly, saying to He Yanxi: "This Han force came under suspicious circumstances. Better we return to camp and regroup!"

"That Zhao Kuangyin is so insolent, treating me as if I were nothing—how can I tolerate it!" He Yanxi said furiously: "He saw our strength and retreated, so he must be fleeing like a scared pig or dog! We should gather our forces and annihilate him!"

Guo Tingwei shook his head and opened his mouth: "No—"

Before he could finish, He Yanxi interrupted forcefully: "We've only suffered a minor setback. If we let them go, how can we face the army?"

"Commander-in-Chief Liu has already achieved merit at Anyuan, breaking the Han army's vanguard and advancing on Shouchun. How can we on the northern front sit by and miss this opportunity?"

"After them!" With that, regardless of whether Guo Tingwei agreed, he led his troops in pursuit.

Guo Tingwei gripped his battle blade tightly. He genuinely had the urge to swing it and cut He Yanxi down. These Army Supervisors sent by the court were too much of a hindrance...

"Governor, what do we do?" The main force had been taken away by He Yanxi in the name of his Army Supervisor authority, and a subordinate commander asked.

"Follow them! In case of unforeseen circumstances!" Guo Tingwei had no choice.

On Zhao Kuangyin's side, after breaking free from the battle, he ordered his soldiers to slow their pace—both as bait and as a chance to catch their breath.

"Governor, the Tang army is catching up!"

Looking back, he indeed saw the Tang army on the move, following behind them. Seeing this, Zhao Kuangyin breathed a sigh of relief. He had been worried that if he had hurt the Tang army too badly, scared them too thoroughly, they might have shrunk back behind their camp walls.

This baiting strategy was indeed hard to gauge—if the enemy didn't take the bait, he had no other options.

"Pass the order—retreat toward Tushan. Along the way, discard some banners, weapons, and armor!" Issuing another command, Zhao Kuangyin led his men, keeping the pursuing Tang army dangling behind them, like a training march.

And following behind, seeing the pursuit distance gradually shrinking, He Yanxi didn't think much of it. When he saw the military banners and armor the Han army had discarded, he breathed an even easier sigh of relief, saying to those around him: "The Han army is ultimately outnumbered—they don't dare face our several-thousand-strong force. This is a panicked flight!"

He immediately ordered an accelerated pursuit.

And so, with the fleeing side unhurried and the pursuing side impatient, less than ten li passed in the blink of an eye. The Tang army, under He Yanxi's leadership, strode boldly into the Han army's ambush circle. Dang Jin, who had been enduring the cold and waiting for a long time, immediately led his men out from both flanks, while Zhao Kuangyin also turned back to counterattack.

The Tang soldiers, having been disturbed the night before, fought a battle at dawn, eaten little or nothing for breakfast, and chased for ten li in haste, were long since famished and exhausted—how could they be a match for the well-prepared, well-rested Han army?

In the Battle of Wokou, Zhao Kuangyin used a simple yet classic bait-and-ambush tactic to defeat a larger force with a smaller one, routing the Tang army of Haozhou in a great defeat.