Chapter 156: Accompanying the Sovereign is Like Accompanying a Tiger

The fourth charge.

It was as if, having gone through the third charge, the Qingzhou Army, which had exerted all its strength, now appeared somewhat listless, no longer possessing the unstoppable momentum of the third charge!

This is what is known as the spirit being exhausted after three attempts.

Even for the strong troops under the command of the Prince of Wei, human hearts are made of flesh and blood!

After three exhausting charges, these Yinzhou Army soldiers were like loaches; not a single one could be caught. Furthermore, even those who were knocked over would quickly spring up from the ground, and upon closer inspection, they had no injuries on their bodies at all!

This made them unable to help but feel anxious in their hearts.

"Charge!"

Xiao Qian gave the order again; this time, the square formation of the Qingzhou soldiers was slightly disordered.

The singular combat method made them unable to hold their composure.

A few fellows eager to perform meritorious deeds ran at the very front.

This time.

Qin Zhangfeng used the Shield Soldiers to block the charge, and behind the shields were directly the Mo Dao Soldiers and Heavy Armored Infantry!

Seeing this situation, the Prince of Wei felt a jolt in his heart, but as the number one hero of this Longyan Dynasty, he followed by slapping his thigh and laughing loudly: "Lost, lost, lost convincingly!"

"Ah?"

"Prince of Wei?"

"How could they have lost?"

The others were all confused.

These Yinzhou Army soldiers had morale like a rainbow; how could they be defeated?

The Prince of Wei gave a bitter laugh, too lazy to pay attention to this group of good-for-nothings. Having been through many battles, he knew Qin Zhangfeng's intention the moment he saw his troop deployment this time. He also raised his wine, looked at Liu Zheng with a smile, and said: "Prefect Liu, General Qin, can he be bought for a thousand gold?"

Liu Zheng was stunned and shook his head with a smile.

"Ten thousand gold?"

Liu Zheng still shook his head.

The Prince of Wei sighed in regret. He was a man who cherished talent; just by looking at how Qin Zhangfeng commanded with such precision today, he knew that his ability to behead Luoge'er and repel the Xiongnu to achieve the top merit was absolutely not false in the slightest.

The fourth charge no longer had the crushing force of the previous three.

Conversely, looking at the Yinzhou Army side, they seemed to have grown accustomed to the charge of the Heavy Armored Cavalry and dodged it with ease.

"Trash!"

"Dodging again?"

"Hahaha, do you lot dare to come at us head-on for once?"

Seeing the Yinzhou Army scattering and dodging them again, the Qingzhou soldiers could not help but laugh with contempt.

However...

Just as they pulled on their reins and turned around.

Qin Zhangfeng shouted sternly: "Form up, charge!"

"Yes!"

The Yinzhou Army immediately formed up again, following the order of the troop deployment just now, with Shield Soldiers in front and Plate Armor Infantry behind, immediately surrounding the Qingzhou soldiers who had just turned their bodies and horses around from all directions!

"What?"

Xiao Qian was shocked and hurriedly shouted: "Defend, defend, defend in place!"

However, it was already too late.

The speed of these Yinzhou Army soldiers was extremely fast, seemingly no slower than their horse-riding speed.

Three thousand soldiers, in squads of ten, hundreds of small combat teams, rushed over crazily.

Shields, Giant Axes, throwing axes!

Mo Dao!

Every type of unit that could be used was used at this moment.

The Qingzhou Cavalry immediately fell into chaos. The powerful advantage of the Heavy Armored Cavalry's charge was gone at this moment, because the War Horses couldn't even run, so how could they talk about charging?

They could only sit on their horses in a daze, circling in place.

But at this moment, the Yinzhou Army's attack had already arrived!

"Bang!"

"Clap!"

All kinds of weapons were brought down upon the Yinzhou Army soldiers. At this time, what did heavy armor matter? What did War Horses matter? Soon, some War Horses had their legs chopped off, and the heavy armored soldiers fell from their horses, only to have blades and swords held to their heads.

Some wanted to fight while on horseback, but at this time, the long spears in their hands could not be swung at all because they were too long.

Short, flat, and fast became the King's Way at this moment!

The flexibility of the Yinzhou Army and the advantage of being in groups of ten were fully highlighted at this moment. Ten people would first take down these few, then go to take down that one... But once the Yinzhou Army fell into chaos, there was even less tacit understanding between the War Horses. Each person was an independent combat unit, and they could easily be targeted.

Xiao Qian's face turned pale as he watched: "Counterattack, counterattack!"

He was indeed very brave, charging into the Yinzhou Army formation alone and knocking down several people in a few moves.

However, just as he wanted to stir up more trouble, Qin Zhangfeng came to fight him with a spear!

"Clang!"

The two spears dueled in the air, and Xiao Qian cursed angrily, wanting to fight three hundred rounds with Qin Zhangfeng.

Just at this moment, the war drums on the drill ground stopped, and the sound of the gongs signaling a retreat finally rang out.

Xiao Qian looked up in a rage, looked at the Prince of Wei, and shouted: "Prince of Wei, we still have a chance!"

The Prince of Wei, however, laughed and said: "No need to fight anymore, lest it harm the harmony."

"Prince of Wei!"

Xiao Qian was furious.

The Prince of Wei coldly shouted: "Are you trying to defy Mandarin's military order?"

"Hmph!"

Xiao Qian was so angry that he fiercely threw his long spear onto the ground, his face full of unwillingness. As for those Qingzhou Army soldiers, they had long been battered and exhausted by the small-unit combat tactics of the Yinzhou Army, and upon hearing that they had lost, they felt both indignant and helpless. These Yinzhou Army soldiers did not play by the rules at all; how were they supposed to fight like this!

"Good!"

"This... Yinzhou won?"

"Hahahaha, the younger generation is to be regarded with respect!"

On the viewing platform, everyone was cheering.

The Prince of Wei even personally poured a cup of wine for Liu Zheng, and Liu Zheng hurriedly said with humble modesty: "Just a stroke of luck, just a stroke of luck."

The Crown Prince watched with repeated cold snorts, and the Third Prince's expression was not very good either.

The Prince of Wei looked deeply at Liu Zheng and smiled: "Prefect Liu, your use of troops is godlike; Mandarin is old."

Liu Zheng hurriedly said: "The Prince of Wei must not say that; to resist the Qi, we cannot do without your Qingzhou Army!"

The crowd also followed suit, speaking words of flattery toward the Prince of Wei.

The Prince of Wei, however, laughed loudly: "Cannot do without Mandarin?"

"In this world, there is nothing that cannot do without someone! Mandarin has known the Mandate of Heaven for many years; in this bright Longyan, Mandarin guarding Qingzhou is already not easy. In a few more years, it will be the responsibility of you young people!"

The crowd heard this with mixed feelings.

Especially Grand Eunuch Zhou, who chuckled and cupped his hands without a word.

The Prince of Wei lightly snorted: "Old Zhou, you can go back and tell that person that Wei Shumou is old, no need to worry that Mandarin harbors ulterior motives; Mandarin traveled a thousand miles to Baiya, bringing only three thousand armored troops, which is enough to explain everything. As for what you have seen today, are you satisfied?"

Grand Eunuch Zhou laughed loudly, noncommittal.

Liu Zheng, however, felt his hair stand on end upon hearing this.

The conversation between this Prince of Wei and Grand Eunuch Zhou was extremely subtle. Could it be that this trip to Baiya was arranged by the old Emperor from the start?

Could it be...

Liu Zheng took a deep breath; could it be that the Emperor wanted to see the heroes of the world, especially to see if his own two sons had anyone capable of suppressing this Prince of Wei, who was as glorious as the midday sun?

And if there were none?

He would definitely not hesitate to find a Method to kill this Prince of Wei!

But if there were?

Letting him enjoy his twilight years in peace, would that not also be acceptable?

Thinking of this, Liu Zheng felt his scalp tingle. It truly is like accompanying a king as if accompanying a tiger!

This old Emperor, is he not too calculating?

"Hahahaha, the little one understands now?"

Seeing the several shifts in Liu Zheng's expression, the Prince of Wei knew that this clever fellow had figured out the subtlety of it all, so he smiled: "So I say, you little one, you have saved Mandarin's life! Hahahahaha! Today we should drink a large cup of wine together, and let Mandarin give you a grand gift, how about it?"

The crowd immediately changed color, one after another lowering their heads in silence.

Grand Eunuch Zhou also had a bitter smile on his face.

This remark was truly something only the Prince of Wei would dare to say so brazenly.

Liu Zheng cupped his hands: "This small one does not dare!"

From then on.

No one else dared to go up and challenge the Yinzhou Army, and Qin Zhangfeng looked excitedly at Liu Zheng on the viewing platform.

Liu Zheng laughed loudly: "The Horse King Dust-Surpassing is undoubtedly General Qin's!"

Qin Zhangfeng was overjoyed and led the unruly Dust-Surpassing away to slowly train it.

The first day of the Contract Fair was considered a success.

At dusk, everyone returned home fully satisfied.

However, before Liu Zheng could return to his lodging, he discovered that the entrance was already crowded with people.