Chapter 565: An Imagination Limited by Poverty

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Bian Gao still had some ability. He knew his side had only one or two thousand cavalry, so pursuit was out of the question; the only option was to block the Zhou cavalry's route of retreat.

If those two thousand men wanted to run, then let them run — leaving behind the thousand men in the city would still be a great victory.

If they wanted to withdraw back into the city, then they would need the strength to smash through his ten thousand soldiers.

But Bian Gao overlooked one problem — or rather, with Bian Gao's limited experience, he simply had no idea how fierce the Zhou state's Yongliang cavalry were, or how fast their mobility was.

It was just like during the War of Liberation, when most Chinese officers and generals simply could not imagine what was so terrifying about European armored spearhead assaults.

Because they had never seen it — no! They had never even thought of it — so they had no way to judge.

Bian Gao was exactly like that. He had already estimated the Zhou cavalry to the very limit of what he could imagine, but the facts proved he had still underestimated them.

The Southern Tang army had made preparations to intercept the Zhou army on its way back to the city, but the collapse of the Jinghai Army and its attached local militia caused tremendous chaos on the battlefield.

More than ten thousand men were running and shouting in every direction, inadvertently providing cover for the Zhou cavalry's movements.

By the time Bian Gao raised his observation tower and began scanning the field, he was instantly so horrified he could not speak.

It turned out Zhao Kuangyin had never intended to retreat along his original route, nor to simply flee after breaking through the encirclement.

Instead, he had ridden a great loop around and arrived at the flank of the Southern Tang main army camp stationed to the north — a distance of four or five li, which cavalry could cover very quickly at a gallop.

Bian Gao was terrified out of his wits. Li Jingda was in the northern camp, and the main force had been brought out by him.

If the Zhou army attacked the main camp recklessly regardless of casualties, and if they broke in and captured the Prince of Yan, what then?

So the Southern Tang troops, who had just marched a little over two li to the west, now wheeled around under Bian Gao's command and raced back toward the main camp.

But most of them were infantry, each man carrying more than twenty jin, and no matter how fast they moved, it would still take nearly two ke to get there — yet the Zhou cavalry had almost already arrived.

Bian Gao did not dare gamble. He did not dare gamble that Li Jingda in the central army would not panic, so he hurriedly summoned the cavalry officer Shentu Lingjian to his side and ordered him to take all of the thousand-odd cavalry and go stabilize the situation first.

Shentu Lingjian was a burly giant of a man from Shandong, originally a shameless horse bandit from the Mizhou area, fierce and peerless in valor.

After the Khitan entered the Central Plains, Huangfu Hui, who had been Prefect of Mizhou under the Later Jin, refused to submit to the Khitan and led his followers south to the Southern Tang.

This Huangfu Hui was a heavyweight — the spark that toppled the Later Tang's Emperor Zhuangzong, Li Cunxu, was this very gang, who had gambled away all their money in the army at Weibo and stirred up a mutiny to cover their losses.

Shentu Lingjian, who could hit it off with a heavyweight like Huangfu Hui and be taken as his trusted confidant, was naturally a heavyweight himself.

They were typical Five Dynasties warriors — shameless, unscrupulous, greedy for money, but extremely brave.

Shentu Lingjian took the order and left, and Bian Gao's heart settled slightly.

Thirty percent of these cavalry were Mizhou horse bandits who had followed Huangfu Hui south. Though their discipline and character were nothing to speak of, their fighting ability was still assured.

Just as Bian Gao had thought, Zhao Kuangyin had accurately spotted his weakness — how could he not try it?

After all, Li Jingda's commander's great banner with its white field and ochre border, the gate banners, and the great red banners bearing the qilin and the character "Tang" symbolizing the Li imperial clan were simply far too conspicuous.

But unlike the utterly worthless Jinghai Army, the Southern Tang central army's will to resist was much stronger.

When Zhao Kuangyin led his troops through the maze-like military camps, although these camps were not yet completed and there were plenty of people running and wailing in every direction, in each half-built camp there were always a few men resisting.

Either a few arrows would come flying out, or spears would thrust from somewhere unknown, so that every step Zhao Kuangyin advanced, he had to first clear out the Southern Tang troops hidden on both sides.

But in front of the Southern Tang main camp, since it was where the commander's tent stood, it had long been completed.

Li Jingda ordered the camp gates shut and had all manner of obstacles, chevaux-de-frise, and even supply wagons smashed and laid across the entrance.

Li Jingda also ordered his personal guards to bring out the brocade and silver coins that had been brought along to distribute as rewards on the battlefield.

Several of Li Jingda's personal guards were drawing their swords and patrolling, shouting as they went.

"Repel the Zhou bandits and every man earns merit — each man may take half a bolt of brocade or grab a handful of silver coins from the treasure chest!"

Who says I, the Great Tang's Prince of Yan, Li Jingda, am a fool? The man knows a thing or two about fighting!

The reality was indeed so. Compared to his cowardly elder brother Li Jingsui, and Li Hongji, who ten years later would have a commander's talent but be excessively cruel, Li Jingda was one of the rare Southern Tang imperial clansmen with some ability.

This gentleman had long been known for his uprightness. Though he was certainly no good at directing battles, he still knew how to save his own skin.

Zhao Kuangyin had some of his horse archers dismount and exchange fire with the Southern Tang troops in the camp using horn bows and crossbows, while sending men to search everywhere for a breach in the camp walls.

But this was the central army's main camp, with few breaches, and it was built on a hill. Though it could not be called easy to defend and hard to attack, the defenders would certainly have an easier time.

Xue Guizhong knew they did not have much time, so he directly ordered the horse archers to dismount, while Yang Guizhong personally led the strongest men among the horse archers, under cover from the others, carrying a huge log they had found, intending to ram the gate.

Zhao Kuangyin's eyes darted, and looking at Li Jingda's great banner and the qilin flag standing in the commander's camp, he swallowed hard.

If they could break through, this would be a peerless achievement — two thousand defeating one hundred thousand! As long as it could be done, it would at least earn him the status of an adopted son plus a count's title.

But he suddenly drew a deep breath and forcibly crushed that temptation deep into the bottom of his heart.

The Southern Tang army was already assembling under the command of the various army supervisors and commanders. The Southern Tang main force, having guessed his objective wrong, had also detached cavalry to come back in support. He could not gamble these two thousand soldiers.

Moreover, Zhao Kuangyin knew the purpose of this southern campaign to Yangzhou: besides beating the Southern Wu court into submission and seizing large amounts of population and wealth, it was also to weaken the Southern Wu imperial guard's strength as much as possible.

Even if these two thousand men captured Li Jingda, it would be very difficult to inflict heavy casualties on the Southern Wu army.

And Li Jingda was not Li Jing — he was far less important than the Southern Tang army here.

They had to wait for Murong Xinzhang to return before crushing them; only then could they inflict heavy casualties on the Southern Wu imperial guard's main force.

"Stop ramming, Xue Erlang. Your horsemen are fast — ride around and scatter the infantry already assembled on the left, and draw the Wu cavalry into chasing you. I'll strike them from the side. Let's kill their cavalry first."

Xue Guizhong was so anxious he wanted to grab the battering ram himself. Hearing Zhao Kuangyin say this, he swallowed hard and glanced once more at Li Jingda's great banner waving in the distance.

"Lieutenant, there may still be time. Once we break open the gate, we can surely capture the Southern Wu's false Prince of Yan."

Zhao Kuangyin did not explain further, but his face darkened. "Carry out the order!"

Xue Guizhong had no choice but to hurriedly call for the soldiers to drop the ram and mount up.

By this time, some of the Southern Tang prefectural and county troops had already assembled first, and under their officers' shouts they were racing toward the central army's main camp.

Xue Guizhong's appearance dealt a devastating blow to these Southern Tang troops who had assembled ahead of the others.

Most of them had not even finished putting on their armor. Clutching spears and hengdao sabers, with no archers or crossbowmen to cover them, they were met head-on by Xue Guizhong.

A sky-covering rain of arrows came flying in like locusts, and before that, the Southern Tang troops who had barely held formation had already been scattered by the intimidation of a thousand warhorses charging at them.

The thousand horse archers under Xue Guizhong were all the finest Yongliang cavalry. They wore only light armor and used smaller, weaker horse bows, so their rate of fire was extremely fast.

In barely a few breaths, they had poured two or three thousand arrows into these several thousand Southern Tang prefectural and county troops, killing or wounding at least nearly a thousand men.

The Southern Tang prefectural and county troops collapsed at the first shout. One Chief Supervisor of the Capital still tried to struggle, shouting loudly as he attempted to control the fleeing soldiers.

Xue Guizhong spurred his horse forward and loosed two arrows in quick succession. One struck the man squarely in the face. The Chief Supervisor clutched his face with a shriek, staggered, and toppled to the ground.

Shentu Lingjian's face broke into a cruel smile. He felt he had arrived at just the right moment. The Zhou cavalry had routed part of the prefectural troops, but in doing so they had exposed their rear to him.

With a shout, the Southern Tang cavalry lowered their horse lances and sabers and drew their bows, preparing to pick up an easy prize.

Xue Guizhong had in fact long since noticed the Southern Tang cavalry's arrival. Seeing that the enemy had taken the bait, he blew hard on the bronze whistle at his chest, and the officers around him blew their bronze whistles at the same moment.

The strange, shrill sound rang out, and the surrounding riders immediately stopped shooting, then suddenly spurred their horses to full speed.

Shentu Lingjian had just charged to within fifty paces, intending to loose a volley into the Zhou cavalry's backs, but he had not expected the Zhou horsemen to suddenly accelerate. Caught off guard, Shentu Lingjian could only watch as the Zhou cavalry galloped far away.

"The slave thieves run fast enough!"

Shentu Lingjian held his horse bow and could not help cursing under his breath. But he did not expect that at that very moment, a thunderous roar erupted to his left.

"Do you slave thieves know your granddaddy?"

Shentu Lingjian looked to his left in terror and saw a band of horsemen charging toward them at extreme speed. They held no bows in their hands—only cavalry lances, beak hammers, and long sabers.

Clearly, these men were shock cavalry, coming for close-quarters combat.

In his terror, Shentu Lingjian flung away his horse bow and twisted to draw the saber at his horse's side.

But in his panic, his hands and feet seemed to have gone clumsy. The saber that he normally drew with ease would not come free after two tugs.

And that brief delay sent Shentu Lingjian to his doom.

Zhao Kuangyin's mount, a third-generation Ferghana horse, was extremely fast. With his saber stuck, Shentu Lingjian could only let out a despairing shriek before Zhao Kuangyin's blade split the leather helmet on his head.

Blood sprayed everywhere. Shentu Lingjian, ever brave in battle, was cut from his horse by Zhao Kuangyin in a single blow, his fate unknown.

At this, the Southern Tang cavalry were thrown into extreme terror. They knew Shentu Lingjian's prowess, yet he had fallen from his horse without even lasting a single exchange.

Zhao Kuangyin threw back his head and gave a long howl, then hurled the saber in his hand with the momentum of his charging horse.

By sheer ill luck, a Southern Tang cavalryman rode into its path and caught the blade full in the face. With a scream, he flipped over and fell from his horse.

In an instant, Zhao Kuangyin had slain two men. The Zhou shock cavalry's morale soared like a rainbow. Every man vied to be first, and they immediately smashed into the Southern Tang cavalry, cutting them in two.

At this moment, Xue Guizhong's thousand horse archers also wheeled around and came back. They too drew their sabers and beak hammers and charged furiously into the disordered Southern Tang cavalry.

Pitiable were these Southern Tang cavalrymen—they had lost their commander the moment they entered the field. Their horses, weapons, and numbers were all inferior to the Zhou troops', and they had been cut in two. Soon they could not even put up a defense.

Bian Gao's face was pale. He hurriedly ordered the returning Southern Tang infantry to form ranks, muttering to himself all the while.

"The White-Robed Murong will surely find a way to raid us. That these two thousand riders could resist the temptation of the great merit of capturing our commander and instead use their full strength to devour our only cavalry proves they have confidence enough to annihilate us completely."

"Deployment Officer, what should we do?" A Commander of the Jiankang Army ran over and asked.

Bian Gao forced himself to focus and replied with narrowed eyes, "The Jiankang Army and the Longwei Army will each deploy a thousand crossbowmen. Have the sword-and-shield men cover the spearmen as they advance and form ranks in response."

Having said this, he saw the Commander was about to speak again. Bian Gao also knew he could not simply stand by and watch the Zhou cavalry slaughter his own horsemen without doing anything.

He said to the Commander in a low voice, "Send one battalion of infantry to feign an attack. They are only permitted to lose, not to win, so as to lure the enemy riders into charging our formation."