Tang Dynasty Swordsman

Page 102

With a series of words tumbling out, everyone in the hall was stunned. Li Ji thought to himself, "This guy's got a sharp mind. He's not just a reckless brawler. If he hadn't planned this all along, he couldn't have articulated such a coherent argument." He immediately slammed his hand on the table: "Brilliant, General's words!"

Then he turned to Cui Guangyuan and replied, "General Wu's words are very reasonable. We can go out of the city to defeat the enemy, and we must go out of the city to defeat the enemy. We cannot just hold Fengxiang and wait for the court to send reinforcements again..." It's already July. If we wait another month or two, the Tubo might send troops to invade again. Just as Wu Chongfu said, if these rebellious Hu people collude with the Tubo in the east and west, I'm afraid Longyou will be in danger!

They don't even need any substantial support. If the rebel Hu cuts off the Longxi Road, Li Tan and his men will be isolated in Longyou. How can they concentrate on fighting the Tubo?

But Li Ji added at the end: "Of course, how to use troops should be carefully considered and not act rashly."

Wu Chongfu was full of confidence in his Fuyan army. Li Ji, on the other hand, had only just come into contact with them, and it was inconvenient for him to visit every camp and talk to ordinary Fuyan soldiers with his rice bowl, as he had done with the Weiyuan army. Therefore, Wu Chongfu was not so confident. There were still fifty or sixty thousand men outside the city. To crush them in one battle with only five thousand soldiers, he couldn't just rely on a fierce charge. He also needed to consider tactics to ensure that there would be no mishaps in the battle.

Upon hearing Li Ji's words, Cui Guangyuan frowned, hesitated for a moment, and then turned his gaze to Wei Lun. However, Wei Lun deliberately lowered his head and avoided looking at him. Wei Lun's meaning was clear: I don't have much confidence in this battle, but as Wu Chongfu said, I'm afraid we can't drag this out for too long.

Leaving aside the Longyou issue for now, if the unrest drags on and we are even attacked and captured by the barbarian bandits, I'll definitely be in deep trouble!

Cui Guangyuan thought to himself, "Not only you, but I'm afraid I won't have a good ending either..." He finally made up his mind, first sighing, "I have no choice but to take the risk." He then ordered, "Let Li Ji lead the Weiyuan and Fuyan armies, and choose a time to leave the city and defeat the enemy!"

Li Ji bowed and accepted the order, but Wu Chongfu was somewhat bewildered—sigh, so all that I said was just to let someone else lead the Fuyan Army?

Immediately afterward, Cui Guangyuan left the office, and Li Ji invited Wu Chongfu and other generals to a side courtyard to discuss military matters. Wu Chongfu had been secretly clenching his teeth for a long time, but once all the generals had gathered, he could no longer hold back. He first bowed deeply to Li Ji and spoke:

"I've heard a lot about Li Erlang of Jingzhao's reputation for defending Longyou. Li Changshi is undoubtedly a great general, but he has never led my Fuyan army before. I'm afraid that he doesn't know his troops, and his troops don't know their general. When it comes to deploying them in battle, he won't be able to do it well."

Li Ji smiled knowingly: "What the general says makes sense. It is a great taboo in the army for soldiers and generals not to know each other..." Then he raised his eyebrows: "However, if the generals and commanders are not on good terms, they will only bring about their own defeat!"

Li Sheng quickly chimed in, "Since Lord Cui has given the order, we must respectfully obey Chief Secretary Li's command. Those who disobey will be punished according to military law!"

Wu Chongfu glared, about to erupt, but Li Ji quickly waved his hand, saying, "Liangqi, you flatter me." He then looked at Wu Chongfu and asked seriously, "Speaking of which, Fuyan was originally a wing of Shuofang, wasn't it?"

Wu Chongfu was taken aback upon hearing this, but could only nod.

Li Ji curled his lips slightly: "In the past, the court ordered Guo Situ to relinquish his post in Henan and appoint Li Taiwei instead. Li Taiwei entered Luoyang at night and summoned the generals from Shuofang to a meeting. Zhang Yongji, the Left Wing Army Commander, disobeyed the order and even tried to kidnap Li Taiwei. As a result, he was executed by the Taiwei at the gate of the camp!"

Wu Chongfu's mouth was half open, but he couldn't utter a word.

Li Ji meant: "Are your Shuofang troops habitually unwilling to obey the orders of our guest commander? Are you also planning to disobey orders? Have you heard of Zhang Yongji's fate?"

Guo Ziyi was known for his lenient military discipline, but he was also ruthless towards those who disobeyed orders—otherwise, he would never have been able to win battles. By the time Wu Chongfu reached his level, after more than a decade in the military, the hierarchical system and military laws were ingrained in his very being. In addition, although Li Ji was a civil official, he had a reputation for bravery, so when Li Ji used military law to suppress him, Wu Chongfu instinctively didn't dare to talk back.

Otherwise, given his temper, he would have already exploded if a sixth-rank civil official had been parachuted in and wanted to take command of his troops. He wouldn't have bothered to reason with Li Ji. Although Li Sheng's words just now were in Li Ji's favor, they actually fueled Wu Chongfu's anger. However, Li Ji managed to quell that anger with just a few words.

Seeing Wu Chongfu open his mouth but remain silent, Li Ji thought to himself: This is a show of force, do you understand? But he also knew that intimidation alone could not control the morale of the army—otherwise, Li Guangbi would have been stable in Heyang long ago, and would not have had to threaten to kill generals time and time again to maintain a balance with the traitor Shi—it has always been necessary to use both kindness and force.

He smiled and replied, “Of course, it is the responsibility of a general if his soldiers do not know each other’s orders, which is like not issuing military orders. It is somewhat excessive for Grand Commandant Li to execute Zhang Yongji without instructing him. But you may not know me, but I am not necessarily unaware of the Fuyan Army. I once followed General Pugu’s orders in Heyang and led the Shuofang Army to kill bandits. Fuyan originally came from Binning, and Binning came from Shuofang. It was only a matter of days ago.”

Wu Chongfu quickly interjected, "So Chief Secretary Li fought under General Pugu, so he must understand the Shuofang Army's tactics..." in an attempt to cover up his fear and embarrassment.

“Even so,” Li Ji continued, “it is inconvenient for me to directly command the Fuyan troops. The specific command will still need to be handled by General Wu. I, Li Ji, am here on the orders of Lord Cui to oversee the plan to break out of the city and defeat the enemy. I am willing to act as a consultant and work with you all to devise a plan. What General Wu said in the hall just now is in accordance with military strategy, but as Sun Tzu said, ‘He who calculates more wins, he who calculates less loses.’ Shouldn’t we discuss this further?”

"It is worth considering, it is worth considering."

Li Ji immediately waved his hand: "Bring me the map."

Pointing at the map, he circled areas around Fengxiang as he analyzed, "The area around Fengxiang Prefecture is all plains with fertile land, a granary since ancient times. I doubt they would grant it to those Hu tribes who migrated eastward..."

Wu Chongfu nodded and interjected, "There are no Hu tribes in Fengxiang Prefecture. The Hu people all come from Jing and Ning prefectures in the north, or Qin and Long prefectures in the west. They can graze some cattle and sheep on the mountains and plains, but there are not many horses, and the breeds are not good..."

"Therefore, the Jingyuan Army's desire to cut off the Hu bandits' retreat in order to throw them into chaos is not unreasonable?"

Wu Chongfu sighed, "The logic is sound, but... we should have sent someone to inform the city first so they could provide support. Besides, five thousand Jingyuan soldiers were defeated by over ten thousand barbarians. I really don't know how that Jingyuan general led his troops. He probably wanted to claim all the credit, so he was careless and reckless, and thus encountered the enemy hastily in a difficult place to deploy in the mountains..."

Li Ji nodded: "What if our army sneaks out of the city, heads west along the mountains, and cuts off the enemy's rear?"

Wu Chongfu waved his hands repeatedly: "No! On the plains, it is difficult to deceive the enemy when troop movements are made. The enemy will definitely send troops to intercept us. At that time, we will be outnumbered and have no reinforcements. Our chances of winning are slim. My previous plan was to quickly leave the city and catch the Hu bandits off guard. If we fight in front of the city and advance slowly, our number of troops will be too small and our chances of winning will not be great."

Li Ji smiled and said, "That would be best if the thieves were willing to divide their forces." (This website's domain name has changed.)

Wu Chongfu narrowed his eyes slightly: "What the Chief Secretary means is..."

"Send a detachment out of the north gate, displaying false banners and feigning a westward advance. The enemy will surely divide their forces to attack. Dividing their forces will weaken them, and with their camps scattered and disorganized, chaos is inevitable. Those who remain to defend the city will be uncertain whether their rear will be cut off by our army, and they will be hesitant and uncertain. Therefore, as the general has said, we should launch a swift attack on the enemy's formation, drive straight in, and defeat Guo Yin."

Wu Chongfu stroked his beard, thought for a moment, and nodded, saying, "This plan is feasible."

Li Ji immediately clasped his hands in a respectful bow to the other party. Wu Chongfu hurriedly rose from his seat: "What does the Chief Secretary mean by this?"

Li Ji replied, “Although I have brought a thousand Weiyuan soldiers here, I will not hide it from you, General. In reality, only two hundred men are somewhat capable. The main force in this battle will naturally be the Fuyan army. I should have been stationed on the city wall to watch you lead the Fuyan troops to defeat the enemy, but I am itching to fight. I humbly request that you allow me to lead two hundred Weiyuan soldiers into the battle to defeat the enemy. Today I am the commander-in-chief, and I am assigning various units here. Tomorrow I will be a junior officer under your command, and I will follow your lead without question. I humbly request your permission.”

Wu Chongfu paused for a moment, carefully considering Li Ji's words, and then laughed: "Impressive! As expected of the renowned Li Erlang, I, Old Wu, am truly impressed. Today, I request the Chief Secretary to issue the order, and tomorrow I will fight alongside the Chief Secretary to slay the traitors!"

Li Ji smiled and said, "With the generals in harmony, there is no enemy we cannot defeat." He then looked around at his generals and said, "One of us must lead troops out of the city to feign cutting off the enemy's retreat. However, this is extremely dangerous. The enemy will surely send two times or even more troops to block us. If we cannot establish a strong defense, I fear that before General Wu and I can break through the enemy's defenses, we will be defeated and our lives will be in danger. Who dares to take on this important task?"

Upon hearing this, the generals all looked at each other in bewilderment, none daring to utter a single word.

The generals present were divided into three groups. One group consisted of generals from Fuyan, who thought to themselves that they would naturally follow General Wu and go out of the city to fight the enemy head-on, and that the task of luring the enemy would not be their responsibility. The second group consisted of generals from Qin, Long, and Fengxiang who were originally under Wei Lun's command. The third group consisted of two commanders of the Weiyuan Army. Logically speaking, one of them should have taken on this important task, but the problem was that it was too dangerous, and almost no one had the courage to do so.

The key issue is that the city garrison and the Weiyuan army are mostly ineffective. If you were to lead five thousand Fuyan soldiers out, even if ten times the number of enemies attacked, as long as you make preparations in advance and establish a firm foothold, it wouldn't be a problem to hold out for an hour or even half a day.

Chapter 50, Double Maces Defeat the Enemy

Li Ji asked his generals who dared to lead troops out of the city to feign an attack and lure the enemy. He then naturally turned his gaze to Li Sheng and Wang Bo.

After all, these two had come with him from Chang'an, so relatively speaking, they were the most likely to be under his command; unlike the generals in the city, who had basically never had any contact with him, so who would willingly submit to his orders?

Don't assume that with Cui Guangyuan's instructions and command of all the troops, all the generals will obey orders and can be deployed at will. In reality, they will mostly just go through the motions, but once they get to the battlefield, all sorts of problems will inevitably arise. Li Ji isn't so arrogant as to actually think he has some kind of kingly aura.

No matter how powerful or renowned you are, can you possibly surpass Li Guangbi? But what happened when Li Guangbi went to take command of the military in Henan? First, he rushed into Luoyang under cover of night, trembling with fear. Then, Zhang Yongji ignored the summons and even gathered his generals to stage a "military remonstrance"...

Therefore, the Fuyan army still needed the Fuyan general to command. Li Ji was only giving Wu Chongfu a show of force to establish his position as the supreme commander and clarify the strategic deployment. Afterward, he returned the command of the battle to the other party. As for the difficult task of sending troops to feign an attack to lure the enemy, he only dared to assign it to Li and Wang, who were relatively familiar with him and had followed him from the capital.

However, when his gaze swept over, Wang Bo quickly lowered his head, pretending that he had neither seen nor heard anything. This was exactly what Li Ji had expected; his eyes swept over the area, finally settling on Li Sheng's face.

Li Sheng hesitated for a moment, glanced left and right, and saw that none of the generals dared to ask for the order. When he looked up again, Li Ji was staring at him... He secretly encouraged himself, gritted his teeth, and finally cupped his hands and said, "If the Chief Secretary is willing to grant my request, I am willing to take on this task!"

What do you wish to request?

Li Sheng replied, “I have two requests. First, the Weiyuan Army under my command is truly ineffective. Those who are slightly brave and capable will naturally stay by my side. Therefore, I request permission to select one or two thousand usable soldiers from the city's garrison, provide them with appropriate equipment, and give them three days of training.”

Li Ji nodded and said, "I can agree. What is the second request?"

"This journey is indeed perilous. I humbly request that a sheep be slaughtered and wine be served as a reward for the soldiers I have selected. Furthermore, if I am not defeated, please award me the greatest merit; if I am defeated, or even die, as long as it does not harm the overall situation, I should not be punished."

Li Ji glanced sideways at Wu Chongfu, who nodded and took the initiative to speak, "If we can make the enemy split their forces to pursue you and disrupt their formation, I will naturally receive the greatest credit." He knew that this matter was difficult and dangerous, and he did not intend to send his own men to shoulder the heavy responsibility, so—the greatest credit is yours, I won't compete with you for it.

Li Ji said, "Good. He is loyal and brave, and he volunteered for difficult tasks. He is a model for the army. I will go and report to Lord Cui and Defense Commander Wei."

So they invited Cui and Wei to the hall again, where they presented their plans in detail. Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun exchanged a glance, then lowered their voices and asked, "Does Changwei believe that this will guarantee victory?"

Li Ji smiled and said, "Master Cui, the battlefield is ever-changing, and even the most famous generals of the past dare not claim certain victory. However, if we follow your suggestion and devise this plan, we will have a 70-80% chance of winning."

Wellen said, "Seventy or eighty percent, we can fight now." He paused, then slapped his thigh and said, "Good, as you wish. You may select two thousand brave soldiers from the city's garrison to lure the enemy. As for the weapons, you may take them from the treasury."

Cui Guangyuan also said, "Not only will we reward him with cattle and wine, but we will also give Li Sheng ten thousand coins. If we truly win, I will credit him with the greatest merit! Changwei, you will naturally also be credited with the greatest merit..."

Once the agreement was reached, Li Sheng was given one day to select soldiers and three days to reorganize and train them. At dawn on the fifth day, Li Sheng led his two thousand men, making a show of force by displaying banners to appear as if they numbered nearly ten thousand, and opened the north gate of Fengxiang Prefecture.

Fengxiang Prefecture is located in the western center of the Weibei Plain. Thirty miles to the south is the Wei River, and thirty miles to the north is the continuous loess plateau. Just by climbing the plateau, Jingzhou is not far away, which is the old home of some Hu tribes.

Therefore, unless those bandits are completely brain-dead, they would not disregard the risk of their retreat being cut off and their hometown being raided, and would definitely send troops to intercept them.

Li Ji ordered the Fuyan army to rest temporarily inside the west gate, while he, Wei Lun, Wu Chongfu, and others climbed the city wall to observe the movements of the rebels. Sure enough, as soon as dawn broke, the rebel camp became restless, and soon, troops from several camps in the northern part of the city began to emerge and head north. Wu Chongfu pointed and said, "The northern camp is now empty and not a concern. When we charge into the enemy lines, we only need to deploy a portion of our forces to the south to block the rebels from the southern camp from coming to our aid."

Li Ji nodded and said, "Please entrust this important task to me, Li Ji, General."

He wasn't afraid that Wu Chongfu would directly attack the core of the rebels, or even cut off Guo Yin's head, because no matter what, he had the merit of coordinating the overall situation, and in the end, it was Cui Guangyuan and Wei Lun who wrote the report of victory and requested credit; but Wu Chongfu and the generals of Fuyan Army might worry that Li Ji would steal the credit.

Therefore, I'll let you have the credit for this great victory of crushing the enemy head-on.

Wu Chongfu clasped his hands and said, "Thank you, Chief Secretary Li."

Li Ji smiled and said, "Why be so formal? Just call me by my courtesy name, or 'Erlang'."

While speaking, he kept his eyes fixed on the enemy formation. The timing of the attack was crucial. If they attacked too early, the rebel army in the north might not have gone far and could return to reinforce them at any time. If they attacked too late, not only would there be clever men among the rebels who might rearrange their defenses in the north, but Li Sheng wouldn't be able to hold out for long either.

Just as he was waiting for the right opportunity, he heard Wang Bo's voice from behind: "This... may I ask, Chief Secretary, what are your plans for this humble general?"

Li Ji thought to himself, "What kind of assignment is this? You should just stay in the city. Consider it a bit of hard work for you to go west. What, with your guts, you think you can make a name for yourself?"

“Commander Wang, lead Wei Yuan and follow Wei’s orders. Once our army wins, we will go out of the city to pursue and kill the Hu bandits. The more casualties we inflict, the safer Longshang will be, and we can also give a better account to the court.”

Ultimately, the Fuyan army only had five thousand men. Even if they could defeat the enemy in one battle, even if there were fifty or sixty thousand pigs on the other side, they would be scattered and fleeing. They wouldn't be able to kill many of them. If they only got a few hundred heads, Li Sheng's two thousand men would suffer heavy losses, or even be completely wiped out. It would be a Pyrrhic victory, and they would have no face to report the victory to the court.

There are still nearly 10,000 troops in the city. If they don't have the courage or ability to face the enemy head-on, they should still be able to go out of the city to pick up the leftovers and reap the rewards.

As the sun rose higher, about an hour after the commotion at the rebel northern camp, Wei Lun and Wu Chongfu said almost in unison, "It's time!" Li Ji, however, spoke a beat later than them, feeling somewhat ashamed.

He then hastily descended from the city walls to rouse his soldiers. Wu Chongfu led five hundred Fuyan soldiers to Liji, along with two hundred Weiyuan soldiers, to protect the southern flank. Without beating drums or sounding horns, the city gates were suddenly flung open, and the drawbridge was lowered. Wu Chongfu personally led two hundred armored cavalrymen, who were the first to charge out.

This type of armored cavalry can be said to be the strongest type of soldier in the Tang army, or even in the world at that time. They are often used as the core force for charging into battle. However, not only is the equipment expensive, but it is also very difficult to train. Even Li Guangbi probably could not find more than one or two hundred of them among his 20,000 troops in Heyang. Therefore, the two hundred cavalrymen of Fuyuan Army were naturally not real armored cavalry. Fortunately, Fengxiang Prefecture was fully equipped with weapons. Iron armor, iron helmets, horse armor, and lances could all be piled on.

Of course, compared to the formal armored cavalry, it is definitely lacking in many parts, mainly in terms of horse armor. Most of them only have a single layer of body armor, and only half of them have a breastplate and a neck guard. As for the face shield and parasites, they have none at all.

Theoretically speaking, this level of defense is sufficient against the weak and feeble-bowed Hu soldiers of Longshang. However, if facing the Uyghurs, Tibetans, or even elite rebel forces, it would be better to remove some of the embellishments and simply become ordinary cavalry.

Two hundred weakened armored cavalrymen filed out in three columns, paused briefly outside the city, and then continued on foot. Li Ji and the others led the infantry, jogging to catch up. They also spent some time forming ranks in front of the city. When they looked up again, the cavalry were already close to the enemy camp and began to spur their horses. Only then did the drums sound from the city walls. Li Ji looked up and, sure enough, it was Wei Lun personally beating the drums.

The bandit camp was loosely set up, almost chaotic, and there were not many defensive facilities on the outside, mostly just wooden fences and a few shallow and narrow ditches—if it were a well-fortified camp, Wu Chongfu would certainly not have dared to let the cavalry take the lead.

In fact, the other side reacted as soon as the city gates opened. Unfortunately, the lack of unified command caused the transmission of information, the issuance of orders, and the deployment of troops to be extremely slow. It was as if the brain of the ancient beast was only the size of a walnut and its nerves were extremely convoluted and long. By the time the Tang cavalry had approached and started to use their momentum to pry open the fences with their spears, the first wave of resistance had just arrived.

Arrows rained down, and almost every armored rider was pierced by more than a dozen feathered arrows. Unfortunately, most of them could not penetrate the armor and were merely wedged into the gaps, like decorations...

Li Ji, mounted on his horse, did not gallop—he needed to keep track of the speed of his infantry. There was actually a gap of about a hundred zhang (approximately 333 meters) wide between the Tang army's infantry and cavalry. If an enemy force were to exploit this gap, the Tang army would inevitably suffer defeat. Fortunately, few of the barbarian bandits were intelligent, and even fewer possessed both intelligence and the ability to act. If we also consider organizational ability, the possibility of the Tang army being attacked at this moment was virtually zero.

It wasn't until the armored cavalry had penetrated deep into the enemy lines and their speed began to slow down that the following infantry had reached the original location of the outer fence, where they encountered the first wave of flanking attacks.

As Wu Chongfu had predicted, the flanking attack mainly came from the south. As for the north, there were only a few scattered groups of barbarian cavalry, which had no impact on the well-organized Tang army's infantry formation.

First to appear were the Hu cavalry from the southern camp, who approached and prepared to shoot arrows. However, Li Ji preemptively fired, and when the enemy was still a hundred paces away, he nocked his bow on horseback and unleashed a powerful shot, striking the leading Hu cavalryman squarely in the chest. Immediately, the infantry archers also obeyed the order and fired a volley, leaving behind more than a dozen corpses on the spot as the Hu cavalrymen fled diagonally.

Because of the lack of unified command, the various Hu tribes often fought independently, and when they encountered formidable enemies, they all became fearful, always hoping that other tribes would take the lead first, so that they could follow behind and pick up the scraps empty-handed...

After another twenty paces, they had penetrated deep into the enemy camp, and the chaotic Hu infantry from the south finally came up.

Although these nomadic tribes still lived a pastoral life, due to the limitations of the terrain, they could only graze some cattle and sheep in the mountains. They could no longer raise large herds of horses like their ancestors on the grasslands, resulting in a limited number of warhorses and the degeneration of the breed. Therefore, the nomadic tribes gathered in Fengxiang Prefecture were mostly infantry, with only one or two tenths being cavalry. In contrast, the ratio of cavalry to infantry in Tibet was close to one to four, and the Uyghurs were almost entirely cavalry, with some even having several horses per person.

—Actually, the Tubo people didn't have many warhorses, but they occupied the former territories of the Dangxiang and Tuyuhun tribes, which is the Qinghai grassland of later generations. Otherwise, Tubo would not have been a threat to the Tang Dynasty.

The number of Hu infantrymen was too great; although their ranks were disordered, they swarmed forward, and a few volleys of projectiles would certainly not be enough to force them back. Li Ji immediately spurred his horse forward and roared, "I am Li Erlang of Jingzhao! Killing barbarian bandits is as easy as slaughtering chickens and dogs, let alone you rats!" Whether the enemy could understand him or not was of no concern.

This shout was mainly intended to stabilize and boost the morale of his own troops.

With a swift movement of his spear, he pierced the chest of a Hu general. Then, with a sweep of his spear shaft, he knocked Erhu to the ground. His soldiers, guarding Li Ji's left and right, advanced in orderly ranks, spearmen flanking swordsmen, working together to slaughter the Hu rebels, leaving heads rolling and corpses strewn across the ground.

The Hu camp was set up in a very disorderly manner, resulting in narrow and winding roads within the camp, making it difficult to deploy large numbers of troops. This allowed the Tang army, which was outnumbered, to win in various local battles by using its superior numbers and courage to overcome the enemy's fear, thus gaining a steady advantage.

However, Li Ji's fighting was far from satisfying. The reason lay with his infantry; he couldn't abandon his men to charge into the enemy lines alone, and the narrow, winding roads made it difficult for his horse to run fast. Ascending atop a tall, powerful horse from Longyou, with his superior position and soldiers protecting him, his safety was naturally high—he only needed to guard against stray arrows—and his thrusts with his spear were unstoppable. However, the constant thrusting and retracting of his spear made him relatively slow, and gradually, no one dared to approach his horse anymore. He dared not ride too far forward; while his horse was indeed swift as the wind, turning back would be quite troublesome…

So he simply jumped off his horse, threw aside his lance, took out his double maces from his back, shouted loudly, and charged into the enemy formation. He swung his maces in a wide arc, not caring whether the opponents were generals or soldiers, spearmen or swordsmen, infantry or cavalry, he just kept hitting them, naturally breaking swords, shattering spears, piercing armor, and cracking bones.

Being on foot, it was quite convenient to leap back and forth. As soon as there was space beside him, he could dash into the enemy ranks again; after scattering a group of barbarian soldiers, he would rush to the next battlefield—

Li Ji thought to himself, "I really made the right choice with these two maces!"

I'd never had the chance to use them freely before, so my understanding wasn't very deep. I only thought that carrying a pair of iron maces weighing about thirty pounds on my waist or shoulder was imposing and intimidating enough. Today, I've realized that in the midst of a chaotic battle, a mace is far more wieldable than a knife.

The main problem is that the weapons used in this era, whether they are horizontal swords, shield swords, or long swords, are all narrow-bodied swords, no more than an inch wide, and basically have no armor-piercing function. Although the enemy soldiers rarely wear armor, especially iron armor, they still have shields. And, to be honest, human bones are quite hard.

A blade cleaving through armor or hard bone will inevitably damage the blade, and might even break it—based on Li Ji's past experience, even the finest blade, wielded like his in a charge, capable of killing nearly a hundred enemies, would likely only last for one battle. What legendary, battle-tested blade? It doesn't exist. What legendary weapon? He's never even seen one.

In particular, blades can easily wed into armor or bone, making them difficult to remove; even if they penetrate too deeply into the flesh, it takes considerable effort to pull them back. Therefore, the use of a broadsword on the battlefield is primarily for thrusting or slashing a point to kill. If one were to actually aim for the neck with every strike, like the legendary demon-head broadsword, one would have long since exhausted their strength and been riddled with spears.

The mace, however, is different. It can destroy everything in its path, and its moves are rarely hesitant. When swung with both maces, it can both injure the enemy and protect oneself, leaving almost no opening for attack. Of course, only someone as strong and powerful as Li Ji can wield it and swing it effectively. If an ordinary soldier were to use a mace, it would weigh at most ten pounds, and given the forging technology of that era, it would be just as easy to break.

It is believed that someone like Li Siye, who was skilled in using the Mo Dao (陌刀) and even said that his blade could shatter men and horses with a single strike, did not use an ordinary Mo Dao. It must have been at least twice as heavy as the one used by ordinary soldiers.

Chapter 51, Employing People to Settle Villages

In this battle, Li Ji fought with great gusto. Although the Hu soldiers outnumbered the Tang soldiers, they were only able to gain the upper hand by taking advantage of the terrain, and the battle was a back-and-forth struggle. However, from Li Ji's perspective, it was a one-sided massacre.

Gradually, even the two hundred guards around him stopped seeking out enemies to fight. They simply stayed by Li Ji's side, protecting him from flying arrows and finishing off anyone Li Ji knocked down.

Unfortunately, the fierce battle did not last long. Before Li Ji could finish enjoying himself, shouts of battle suddenly rang out from the west, and he could vaguely hear—"Guo Yin's head has been taken!"

A quick glance to the side revealed, sure enough, in the distance, the Guo-branded banner had fallen with a crash.

The news spread like ripples, and the Hu soldiers were all terrified. They turned around and fled in panic.

They were called 100,000 chaotic barbarians—though in reality, they were at most half—but actually divided into dozens of tribes. Not only were they not necessarily harmonious with each other, but they were also full of conflicts. Even among members of the same tribe, there were not necessarily no unresolved issues. This time, they were only able to unite somewhat thanks to Guo Yin's efforts in making connections. Once Guo Yin is killed, where will their will to fight be?

Li Ji, still not satisfied with the killing, gave chase, but fortunately, he hadn't let his bloodlust cloud his judgment. After only a dozen paces, he regained his senses. He hurriedly ordered his men to bring him a warhorse, mounted it, and commanded his soldiers to charge westward to rejoin the main force.

On the way, he turned his head and looked towards Fengxiang Prefecture in the distance. He saw that small teams of Tang soldiers were rushing out one after another. They were rushing out to pick up the scraps as soon as they saw that the overall situation was settled.

The timing was perfect, which shows that Wellen is indeed a capable general. It's just a pity that he was leading a group of weak soldiers before, which led to his narrow defeat.

Li Ji charged into the core of the Hu camp, only to see thick smoke rising. Wu Chongfu was leading the Fuyan army in setting fires everywhere, burning enemy tents—this was to create greater chaos and prevent the fleeing soldiers from regrouping nearby. Li Ji shouted from afar, "The enemy has been defeated! Don't rush to kill them; hurry to rescue Li Sheng!"