Chapter 637: First Battlefield Experience

In a dense forest less than three li from Wuyang Mountain.

Feng Linchuan pressed a map against his knee, simultaneously recalling and drawing the mountains and rivers on it.

These were all the places he had walked today; he marked where villages were and noted the terrain.

This was one of the purposes of their troop deployment.

His other purpose was to lie in wait here for the Qiang people to appear.

In this stretch of less than ten li, eight brigade troops were laid out in overlapping ambush.

Further ahead was the main force led by Xie Fengxian.

Once the front engaged the Qiang, Xie Fengxian would feign retreat, luring the Qiang into this area; then it would be their turn to act.

Upon first entering the battlefield, Feng Linchuan felt both nervous and excited.

Six hundred troops crouched silently in the forest; occasional whispers rose, but overall noise remained low, each person keeping his voice to a minimum and speaking only to those nearby.

Feng Linchuan finished the map, carefully folded it, and tucked it into his bosom, saying, "Brothers, many of you are new conscripts who just surrendered, and I too am leading troops for the first time. How our future days go depends on this first battle; I hope we unite and achieve a splendid victory!"

His voice wasn't loud, but in the quiet forest it reached every soldier's ears.

Yes!

The soldiers responded in low voices.

They were in such unison that nobody raised their voice.

After the Dingzhou conscripts were incorporated, the unit underwent a reorganization; this newcomer Feng Linchuan now commanded more than half of the newly updated Dingzhou troops.

Fortunately, Hu Bu Gui had trained his retinue well; regardless of combat effectiveness, discipline was strict, orders were followed without error, and there were no notoriously difficult troublemakers.

After a brief remark, the forest fell silent again.

Feng Linchuan drew his family's long spear into his bosom, then meticulously wiped the tip with a clean cloth; he had already cleaned it once, but the lonely wait was too dull, so he needed something to do.

"Brigade Commander, here he comes, here he comes!"

A soldier crouched beside him suddenly shouted in a low voice.

Feng Linchuan jerked his head up to see, in the freshly plowed fields ahead, a troop rolling up clouds of dust, galloping toward them; before they arrived, wailing cries like ghosts and wolves had already reached his ears.

"Save me, save me!"

"Don't chase us, we don't want to die—we were wrong… we were wrong!"

"Mother, someone wants to kill me!"

"Ah ah ah… save me, someone come save me."

"Don't chase us; if you keep chasing, we'll kill ourselves!"

"Ah, we really were wrong; go fight someone else—we won't fight you anymore."

……

Feng Linchuan's mouth twitched slightly.

This was the main force led by Xie Fengxian, but the scene somewhat differed from what Feng Linchuan had imagined.

…… It seemed a little mad.

What the hell are they shouting about?

So extravagant, yet the Qiang actually believed it, and indeed came chasing after them.

The Qiang cavalry moved fast, kicking up clouds of dust; they were less than a hundred paces from Xie Fengxian's force, giving the sense that at any moment the Qiang's curved blades would slash their backs.

"Brothers, it's our turn to act—remember what I said: go for the horses first, then the men!" Feng Linchuan said in a low voice, "That big pit we just dug must be used on these bastards."

"Yes!"

Feng Linchuan gripped his long spear nervously, eyes locked on the battlefield ahead.

In the chase, Xie Fengxian's unit and the Qiang army entered this narrow ambush zone one after another.

The first brigade had already moved out, slashing diagonally into the Qiang pursuers.

The two sides clashed for less than a moment, then quickly withdrew.

This Qiang troop, a bit hot-headed, actually split forces and gave chase.

Just as they split their forces, the second brigade emerged from the left flank and attacked.

Likewise, they would strike a bite and then flee.

The Qiang, whether overconfident or reckless, split their forces again.

On this broad, flat plain, the Qiang cavalry indeed held the greater advantage, but this terrain had been deliberately chosen by Xie Fengxian—surrounded by bamboo groves, woods, and villages; if the infantry could withstand the initial cavalry charge, the rest would be a headache for the Qiang soldiers.

Either they give up the pursuit, or they become infantry themselves.

"Ready? It's our turn—go!"

Feng Linchuan let out a deep shout, seized his long spear, and charged ahead.

He fixed his gaze on the foremost Qiang retinue.

No soldier fails to dream of becoming a general, and Feng Linchuan was no exception.

"Seize fame and fortune at once"—a saying he had heard since childhood, which had become an obsession for him.

Although the battle lasted only a moment, he still wanted to try taking out a Qiang commander.

"Buddy, you've been my county assistant for years; now it's time for you to taste blood!" Feng Linchuan gripped his spear, summoned strength in his right arm, and hurled it forward.

The spear flashed like a cold star, piercing the foremost Qiang commander in the ranks.

That man had just noticed Feng Linchuan's brigade, was shouting orders to block them, and also saw Feng Linchuan's spear-throwing motion, instinctively bending down.

But he clearly hadn't expected Feng Linchuan's spear to be so fast; his bend was a beat too slow, and the spear drove straight through his chest.

Thus the commander of that Qiang troop fell.

But Feng Linchuan's pressure rose as the Qiang dispatched over a thousand cavalry charging at them.

"Brothers, withdraw, withdraw, withdraw—we can't fight this!"

Feng Linchuan shouted loudly, turned and ran, even abandoning his family's long spear.

Six hundred infantry and over a thousand cavalry clashed head-on; this isn't something he can play with now.

Killing a general already counts as a great merit.

The soldiers hearing Feng Linchuan's words suddenly slammed on the brakes, turned and followed him running.

Just as they turned, another brigade of Bīngmǎ simultaneously rushed out from the left flank.

The tail end of the Qiang People Soldiers formation they chose.

Chasing up from behind is much better than charging head-on.

The Qiang People's reaction speed isn't that fast, and there is no Qiang People general reacting quickly.

The Qiang People cavalry chasing Feng Linchuan's killing charge, seeing this, swiftly abandoned Feng Linchuan's brigade of Bīngmǎ, turned and lunged at their own rear flank.

Feng Linchuan saw this, his neck jerked stiff, "Brothers, charge charge charge! Bite his ass!"

"Kill!"

Officers and soldiers instantly exerted force and sprinted madly.

Chasing behind the Qiang People cavalry, lunging forward to slash the warhorses.

Can infantry catch up to cavalry?

Normally impossible, but in such a situation, as long as reaction speed is fast enough, it can be done.

But it severely tests stamina.

Feng Linchuan, bare-handed, leapt onto a Qiang People cavalry's warhorse, raised a sand-pot-sized fist, and struck the temple of that somewhat panicked Qiang People cavalryman.

One punch down, the Qiang People cavalryman's eyeballs exploded.

"Pah, you're really disgusting, get lost!"