Chapter 199: Initial Battle

Lulong Mountain.

The Yuan Family troops were like a black river flowing through the valley.

Yuan Li, in full military attire, looked down at the dried bloodstains on the ground.

At this moment, he seemed to see Mo Di almost killed here by the Yuan Family disciples.

If Mo Di had died then, would there be no need to send troops to Yanguan today?

This thought flashed through his mind.

Immediately, his gaze turned cold.

To him, this question was now meaningless.

At this moment, the path he was walking was one of no return.

Perhaps the Song People would curse him as a traitor to the country in the future.

But so what?

Winners are kings, losers are outlaws.

When one day the iron cavalry of the Beidi tramples the rivers and mountains of the Great Song.

His Yuan Family would only be the meritorious ministers of the new dynasty, continuing to enjoy supreme wealth and honor.

"Have you sent people to notify the Rich Clans of Yan Commandery to rise up together?" Yuan Li said to Yuan Xiu at his side.

"Sent, they should all know by now," Yuan Xiu said.

Yuan Li nodded.

He had not forgotten the existence of Yan Wang, but the most important thing now was Yanguan.

As long as Yanguan is broken and the Beidi army enters the pass, Yan Wang will not escape death.

Therefore, he must concentrate all his forces to attack Yanguan; it cannot fail.

But he knew very well that once the Yuan Family troops moved, Yan Wang could not remain indifferent.

So he thought of the Rich Clans of the five commanderies.

At this critical juncture, would they foolishly remain loyal to the Great Song, or follow him to earn merit before the Beidi?

He believed these Rich Clans would surely make a wise choice.

"Yanzhou is about to fall into chaos, and the more chaotic, the better." A look of wild cruelty emerged on Yuan Li's face at this time.

……

Ping County.

Less than half a day after the Prince's Army entered this place, an army with messy banners and a wide variety of Armor styles blocked the path of the main force, numbering over twenty thousand.

Before the battle formation.

A general galloped back and forth on his horse, shouting loudly: "Yan Wang, I am Dong Qi, the Commandery Governor of Ping County. Why don't you hurry forward and accept your death?"

When the Prince's Army marched, there were always Scouts scouting ahead.

Upon learning that an army was blocking the road ahead, Chang Wei ordered the army to change formation while marching.

When they stopped, the army had already turned into a large Horizontal Formation used for combat.

Now, they could launch an attack on this army blocking their path at any time.

"Your Highness, shall we strike?" Chang Wei asked.

This was a private army scraped together by the Rich Clans of Ping County.

Without a doubt, these Rich Clans had chosen Yuan Li.

Zhao Xu nodded slightly, "Pull the Artillery forward."

Since the Yuan Family raised their army, the Flame Guard had been passing messages back and forth.

On the way, he had learned that Yuan Family disciples had gone to various commanderies to contact the Rich Clans.

This Ping County Commandery Governor Dong Qi clearly wanted to obstruct their relief of Yanguan and earn merit before Yuan Li and the Beidi, in preparation for future rewards.

Upon receiving his order, one hundred Siege Cannons firing 32-pound Cannonballs were pushed to the front of the formation.

Twenty Field Artillery pieces were towed to the two wings of the Prince's Army formation, ten on each side.

"Have the Cavalry prepare!" Zhao Xu ordered again.

The four thousand Cavalry brought by Zhong Li this time acted as Light Cavalry, using their mobility to be responsible for pursuit and surprise attacks.

And the fifteen hundred Cavalry under Chen Hu had all put on Plate Armor, and their horses were also covered in Armor gear, acting as true Heavy Cavalry.

Crossing Yanshan, the Yanzhou region is as flat as a plain.

In such terrain, Heavy Cavalry is the nightmare of Infantry.

However, before letting Chen Hu charge, he needed to use Artillery to disrupt the enemy's formation, making them unable to organize effective resistance.

"What is that?"

When the Yan Wang soldiers cleared a path and sticks shimmering with metallic luster appeared at the front of the formation, Dong Qi's heart trembled.

After receiving the news of Yuan Li attacking Yanguan, he thought Yuan Li was crazy.

But when the Yuan Family disciples mentioned that the Beidi army would arrive soon and would work with the Yuan Family from the inside and outside to attack Yanguan, he immediately made his choice.

He stood on Yuan Li's side.

So, upon learning that the Yan Wang army had arrived in Ping County, he immediately gathered the private armies of the Ping County Rich Clans to come and challenge them.

He naturally held no hope of defeating Yan Wang.

But he had to make this gesture.

Otherwise, when the Beidi enter the pass, how could he show his merit before the Beidi Khan?

The Rich Clans of Ping County mostly held this thought.

In their view, Yanzhou was finished, and the Great Song was finished too.

Once the Northern Di enter the pass, they will destroy the Great Song like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

If one does not strive to perform meritorious service now, then when?

He was just thinking this.

Suddenly, he saw the soldiers behind the sticks strike their Fire Tinder.

Instinctively realizing something was wrong, he immediately ran toward his own military formation.

Before he had run more than a few steps, suddenly "Boom, boom, boom..." muffled, thunder-like explosions erupted.

The tremendous sound frightened him so much he stood there like a wooden chicken.

The horse he was sitting on was startled and neighed, rearing its front hooves and throwing him off.

Just at the moment he hit the ground, he felt several gusts of wind brush past him.

One after another, black shadows flew out from the military formation behind him.

"Sss, sss, sss..."

Sounds like slabs of pork being slapped rang out one after another.

He looked over and saw that the dense military formation had developed row upon row of gaps.

At this moment, his head felt numb, and he had no idea what had happened.

As for the private soldiers of the Rich Clan, Dong Qi was lucky.

The moment the loud noise came, many of the Rich Clan were so frightened they trembled all over, and some Rich Clan Viscount even sat directly on the ground.

But this seemed to be just an appetizer.

Before they could react to what the loud noise was, they suddenly felt their faces become wet and sticky.

A Rich Clan Viscount wiped his face and discovered his hand was covered in fresh blood.

He turned his neck like a zombie and looked to his side, only to see the head of the soldier next to him had completely disappeared, and the fresh blood was spraying out from the neck.

And behind this soldier, at the same height, was a mess of carnage; not a single person was left alive.

He had never seen such a tragic scene; an extreme terror instantly occupied his entire body and mind.

"Boom, boom, boom..." Just as he had not yet sorted out what had happened, loud noises came from the Yan Wang army again.

At this time, he saw it.

Black afterimages rushed toward them, and wherever they passed, flesh and blood flew.

That was the Weapon brought by Yan Wang!

The legs of the Rich Clan Viscount were uncontrollable, as if nailed to the ground.

He struggled to move his legs; now, he had only one thought: escape!

"Sorcery!"

A soldier could no longer take it, covered his head and screamed like a madman, dropped the sword in his hand, and ran.

The tightly wound fear in the hearts of the other Rich Clan private soldiers finally spread with this cry.

Not even a single Rich Clan commander stopped the soldiers, and the entire Rich Clan military formation fell into chaos.

"Boom, boom, boom..." The loud noise descended again like a messenger from hell.

The black afterimages pierced through the military formation again, bringing up a bloody storm.

The limbs of the soldiers in a straight line were shattered.

This shocking scene made the Rich Clan soldiers wish they had grown two more legs.

Just at this moment.

They suddenly heard a sound different from the loud noise.

"Rumble, rumble, rumble..." Some Rich Clan private soldiers turned their heads.

They saw that in the glow of the setting sun, a group of Cavalry wearing Silver Armor, with their horses also draped in Armor, lined up in a row and came toward them.