Chapter 57: Pingbei General, Lead Us to Charge One More Time

By the banks of the Yellow River, two armies met.

On one side was the Grand Commandant, Minister of the Left, and King of the Southern Regions, Kong Que of the Polo Han family, the foremost leader of the Liuzhen rebels under Han Baling, who had suffered few defeats in his life.

On the other side was Li Shen Gui, son of the sleeping tiger general Li Chong, the Pingbei General, who had suffered repeated defeats yet fought repeatedly since taking command at Yunzhong.

Before the two armies, the formations were clearly distinct.

Kong Que of the Polo Han family ascended the high platform, looking at the great banner bearing the character "Li" in the distant formation, his emotions surging within.

If only Li Shen Gui could be captured, all of this would end.

From atop the high platform, Kong Que of the Polo Han family issued the order to attack, then personally beat the war drum.

Strike with one breath!

The army Kong Que of the Polo Han family could command included the Polo Han clan, the soldiers of Huaishuo Garrison, and various tribes of the Western Chiles, a complex membership.

This time, he brought only the Polo Han clan and a few soldiers from Huaishuo Garrison to the field, aiming for a swift conclusion to crush the formation. Additionally, a cavalry force lay in ambush to the side, waiting to capture Li Shen Gui once his army was defeated!

This army consisted of the elite among the elite, belonging to the first tier of combat power among the entire Liuzhen rebel force.

The battle results were exactly as Kong Que of the Polo Han family had predicted; the charge of his elite troops was highly effective. The enemy's temporarily conscripted hereditary soldiers, though numerous in number, possessed weak combat strength and were quickly scattered by the charge.

The dark, oppressive line was forcibly cut through, until finally meeting resistance before Li Shen Gui's great banner.

Eight hundred Li family retainers, all clad in iron armor, wearing bronze masks, and wielding long blades, stood like a massive wall, blocking Kong Que of the Polo Han family's elite troops.

After unifying the north, the Northern Wei established a powerful military force group, supported by a vast number of official weapon and armor manufacturing workshops.

The Liuzhen had long defended against the Rouran; to prevent them from rebelling, the Northern Wei court controlled their food supply, yet placed no restrictions on weapons and armor.

Although the Liuzhen rebels were few in number, their rate of wearing armor was not low, though most of it was old and worn.

The retainers under Li Chong, however, wore bright and distinct armor.

The two forces of elite strength collided, and for a moment, victory and defeat could not be determined.

Li Shen Gui watched the battle situation ahead, his face extremely tense.

He had never seen such an elite army before; although he had been defeated in the previous few battles, the war had not become so intense right from the start.

There was usually a process!

But this time, the enemy's ferocious approach made it feel as though they had just pierced in, and were about to finish it.

Fei Mu, standing nearby, advised.

"Qing Zhun, we should retreat!"

"Haven't we already held them back?"

Looking at the naive expression on Li Shen Gui's face, Fei Mu said:

"Qing Zhun, these retainers are your own; what is the point of wasting them here? Let those hereditary soldiers block them for a while, and we retreat first!"

This was not at all a profitable deal.

One's own retainers are cultivated over many years, costing vast amounts of money and grain, and possess high loyalty.

Facing off against the Liuzhen rebels here, there would be no benefit if they won, and it would be even more disastrous if they lost.

"But..."

"No more 'buts'. If the rebels surround us, it will be too late for us to retreat."

Fei Mu overstepped his authority, issuing the order on behalf of Li Shen Gui.

But as soon as this order was issued, the Hu Ren leaders who were supposed to execute it temporarily detached from their units and gathered together.

"Pingbei General, are you trying to run again?"

Seeing the fierce demeanor of the crowd, Fei Mu quickly summoned the armored soldiers closest to him.

Only with the protection of the armored soldiers did Fei Mu feel a shred of security.

"Do you intend to rebel?"

Who would have known that these Hu Ren leaders dismounted and knelt down one by one.

"Pingbei General, we understand your strategy now. You simply want us to defect to their side to drag down the Liuzhen army, which is why you feigned defeat every time, correct?"

Li Shen Gui was stunned, murmuring.

"Did I?"

"Don't pretend. Otherwise, who could have been defeated so many times in a row?"

Hearing this, Fei Mu, standing nearby, couldn't help but roll his Bai Yan.

"Your strategy is indeed brilliant, but it cannot deceive us. To tell you the truth, we do not wish to defect. Life here is bitter, but we can still survive; if we go over there, I'm afraid we won't even be able to eat wild vegetables!"

As he spoke, the Hu Ren leaders drew their swords and held them across their necks.

"If you still intend to feign defeat, we would rather die here than bear the name of traitors."

"We would rather die charging forward than die miserably of starvation."

"Pingbei General, lead us to charge once more!"

"Yes, lead us to charge once more!"

Looking at the Hu Ren leaders, Li Shen Gui's eyes filled with hot tears; immediately, he drew his sword and shouted loudly:

"You are all loyal ministers and worthy generals. Since this is so, I swear here: If the lord does not betray me, I will not betray the lord! From this battle onward, whether living or dead, we are brothers. If I have one bite of food, you will absolutely not starve!"

With these words, the Hu Ren leaders present felt their blood boil; they seemed to have rediscovered the beastly instinct carved into their bloodlines, just as their ancestors on the steppes had done when they moved south over a hundred years ago.

They began to howl one after another.

The situation on the battlefield had changed at this very moment.

"Follow the Pingbei General and there is meat to eat! Brothers, charge with me!"

Those Hu Ren hereditary soldiers, led by their respective leaders, became fearless of death and turned to surround the Liuzhen army from the opposite direction.

Seeing the change in the situation, Kong Que of the Polo Han family's heart suddenly panicked.

He wanted to change the tide of battle again, but found that facing an absolute majority, he could do nothing.

Shengle.

Li Chong stared at the military report from afar, pondering for three days and three nights, yet still could not fathom how Li Shen had won.

Po Po Liuhan Kong Que led his elite troops to attack the temporary conscripts Li Shen had gathered; by all rights, there was no way they could have lost!

And lost so miserably!

Had Li Chong not known Fei Mu was reliable, knowing he would never falsely claim military merit, he would have almost suspected that the boy Li Shen was fabricating the military situation!

Li Shuang walked in; compared to Li Chong's confusion, he appeared far more indifferent.

"Shuang'er, what did Fei Mu say?"

"Fei Mu said this victory was aided by Heaven, not achievable by human effort."

Li Chong frowned and asked.

"What does that mean?"

"It means he cannot explain it clearly either!"

"..."

"Regardless, Po Po Liuhan Kong Que has been defeated, and our army has achieved a great victory. From now on, the name of my sworn brother, this great general, will spread throughout the Northern Frontier, and even across the entire world."

Li Chong looked at Li Shuang with suspicion.

"Why are you so happy, you brat? With this development, your Three Strategies for Suppressing Bandits cannot be implemented anymore; you won't be able to rake in any more money, right?"

"What kind of words are these, Father? Does Father think I am the kind of person who is blinded by money?"

Li Chong nodded.

Trust between people!

Li Shuang helplessly walked out of the main tent; Hou Jing stepped closer.

"My Lord, Yu Jin reported that the Nie Liehe tribe of the Chiles has finally agreed to surrender. We only await your command to launch a joint attack on Po Po Liuhan Kong Que's territory."

With this defeat of Po Po Liuhan Kong Que, half of his elite forces were lost, and many hearts relaxed.

"Wait a bit longer; let us see how the Liuzhen respond internally."

"What if they do not respond?"

Li Shuang smiled.

"The achievements of General Pingbei will climb another level!"