Chapter 684
Second Battle with Su Jun
Due to insufficient troops, the Han army's camps in Shouchun were not connected, but rather divided into several units scattered around the area, occupying strategic locations and supporting each other. The Qi army's current attack target was the Han army camp east of the Fei River, specifically the camps commanded by Zhang Qi and Li Xing.
Their two forces, numbering around ten thousand, camped at the foot of the northern side of Mount Bagong. More than thirty camps formed a semi-circle along the mountainside, only a few miles away from Liu Lang and Du Zeng's forces on the mountain, forming the first line of defense for the Han army guarding the dikes.
It was late at night, and due to the wind and rain, there was no moon or stars overhead; the sky was pitch black. However, because the Qi army had set fire to the outer fence of their camp, Liu Lang could clearly see from the mountain that they were launching an attack in a trident-like formation, advancing from northwest to southeast. It seemed that one unit was overseeing the battle from the rear, while the other three were attacking the camp from the front.
The Han army was known for its strict discipline, regardless of the unit, with numerous night patrols and sentries in the surrounding area. Therefore, just moments before the Qi army launched their night attack, the Han soldiers in their camp noticed something amiss and immediately sounded the horns to warn their troops to resist. However, the Qi army, being the first to attack, took a risky gamble. Instead of attacking from the east, they stretched their lines, circling around and choosing to launch a night attack from the northwest.
The reason is simple: there was a northwest wind that night, and it was a strong wind.
Although it was still drizzling and hailing, the Qi people, riding the favorable westerly wind, set fire to the camp. The flames and thick black smoke billowed upwards, drifting towards the Han army inside. The Han soldiers reacted quickly and attempted to break through the enemy lines head-on, but the black smoke choked them, making it difficult to breathe and obscuring their vision. Then, the Qi people unleashed a hail of arrows with the wind at their backs, raining down on the wooden palisades and pinning the Han soldiers to the ground, leaving them in a very sorry state.
Seeing this situation, Liu Lang knew that Zhang Qi and his men might be defeated if things continued this way. So, he ordered his troops to assemble and prepare to send out troops, while discussing with Du Zeng, "General Du, in my opinion, the Qi bandits who have crossed the Huai River have come in full force. However, their formation is clearly suicidal. As long as our army leads its troops down the mountain and cuts off their flank, they won't even know how to escape."
Du Zeng shared the same idea, but he pointed to a unit of Qi soldiers supervising the battle from the rear and said, "However, the Qi bandits have left room for maneuver, specifically leaving a unit to deal with unforeseen circumstances. If our army charges down, they will likely try to stop us. We must defeat this unit in order to cut off the Qi army's flank."
Liu Lang nodded, but then he remembered a question and asked Du Zeng, "General Du, this force must be the elite of the Qi people, but regarding the cavalry, I'm afraid my force doesn't have many left. Are you confident?"
For Liu Lang's troops a few days ago, defeating an enemy force of similar size would have been a piece of cake, since no matter how many Qi soldiers there were, they couldn't withstand a charge of tens of thousands of cavalry. However, since the last military council, because Guo Song's troops were preparing for a night attack, He Pan decided to transfer most of the horses originally under Liu Lang's command. At this time, the remaining horses in the camp could only arm four thousand cavalrymen, which could not be considered a guarantee of victory.
But Du Zeng didn't care. He then laughed and said, "Wealth and fame are not for ordinary people. Four thousand cavalrymen are enough. Even if they are elite troops specially trained to block the enemy, I, Du Zeng, am confident that I can defeat them!"
Seeing his boldness, Liu Lang was also infected and laughed, "Alright, how about General Du and I each lead a force, with Commander Fu leading the infantry to follow up, and we attack him from both sides?"
"Exactly what I want!"
As they were talking, the first group of men had already assembled, numbering about two thousand. Du Zeng immediately led them down the mountain to attack. Because of the darkness, they dared not descend too quickly; the mountain path in the dark was more dangerous than the enemy. Once they had descended the slope and the terrain had gradually leveled out, Du Zeng mounted his horse and charged.
After Du Zeng descended the mountain to attack, Liu Lang also climbed the arrow tower of the North Mountain Garrison to observe the enemy situation again. He saw that the camp below was ablaze with fire, with green banners waving and black smoke billowing. It seemed that the Qi army had already broken through the outer perimeter, and the Han army inside the camp was basically unable to fight back.
The other Han troops, likely just waking from a dream, lacked the advantageous terrain Liu Lang enjoyed and were still confused about the situation. Furthermore, most of them were west of the Fei River and couldn't send reinforcements quickly; only his own force could change the course of the battle. The situation was extremely urgent, so he repeatedly urged Lai Guang to gather the remaining cavalry as soon as possible.
Fu Chang arrived late. Hearing that Liu Lang was going to lead his cavalry to charge into battle again, he was worried and advised him, "Jingming, why risk your life and act on your own? Don't forget the lesson He Gong taught you!"
Liu Lang was speechless for a moment. He said, "Uncle, the Qi army launched a night attack on the camp, killing and wounding countless soldiers every quarter of an hour. How could we have time to ask He Gong? It is true that I violated military orders when I challenged them last time. But this time, as a general, rescuing friendly forces is my duty, and there is no need for explanation!"
Fu Chang agreed, and repeatedly urged, "Then we must be careful. Just go down and help Commander Zhang and the others out of their predicament. There's no need to cause any more trouble." Liu Lang readily agreed.
While they were talking, Du Zeng had already started fighting with the Qi people.
Just as Du Zeng and Liu Lang had discussed, the Qi people were also wary of the Beishan garrison. Seeing a cavalry unit descend the mountain and regroup at its foot, the troops supervising the battle from the rear immediately surged forward like a tide. Upon approaching, Du Zeng was astonished to discover that the Qi forces opposite them also had a considerable cavalry force. They wore iron helmets, chainmail neck guards, and heavy armor, rode large horses, and each wielded a large sword.
Upon encountering the Han army, the Qi soldiers in the center dismounted and quickly formed ranks, withdrawing their horses to the rear. The cavalry on the flanks, however, remained mounted, acting as a shield. This was a relatively versatile formation. The armored cavalry in the center dismounted to compress space, preventing a direct breakthrough by light cavalry, while the cavalry on the flanks could continuously harass and maintain their mobility. If the enemy attempted to bypass them, these cavalry could entangle them, allowing the dismounted riders to remount and launch a pincer attack.
Du Zeng knew that there wasn't much strategy involved in breaking through this formation; it was simply a matter of head-on confrontation. As confident as he was, he was naturally fearless, especially with Liu Lang's fresh troops behind him. He immediately adopted the same formation as the Qi army: the knights in the center dismounted to fight, while the cavalry on the flanks charged directly at the Qi cavalry. Time was of the essence, and the two sides didn't engage in a prolonged stalemate; once the formations were established, they immediately began fighting one-on-one.
This time, the Qi army was indeed well-prepared; they had even brought a hundred crossbows beforehand. In the initial phase of their approach, a sudden burst of crossbow bolts struck like flying stones, instantly felling dozens of men in the front ranks. Then, the Qi soldiers discarded their crossbows and, taking advantage of the Han army's disorganized formation, accelerated their charge into the Han ranks. Visibility was already poor at night, and this gave the Qi army the upper hand, forcing Du Zeng's troops to begin their retreat.
At the same time, the two cavalry forces immediately became entangled, repeatedly tearing at each other and spinning around. The Han cavalry were surprised to find that the opposing cavalry seemed to be better equipped than their own.
At this time, the Han army mainly consisted of light cavalry, primarily skilled in mounted archery. They fired arrows from horseback, and as the arrows flew, Qi horses and riders fell to the ground one after another. Although the Qi soldiers were not skilled in mounted archery, their armor was good. As long as they survived two volleys of arrows and got close to the Han army, they used long spears to stab the enemy men and horses. They were accustomed to stabbing the horses first, and then the fallen Han soldiers. For a time, the neighing of horses rose and fell, and soon only the Han cavalry with spears were left fighting the Qi soldiers on the battlefield.
Du Zeng was originally in the central command, but seeing that the battles on all three fronts were going badly, he was secretly alarmed. He thought to himself: The Qi people must have brought their most elite troops. If this continues, I am afraid I will not be able to win. I must fight quickly and decisively to defeat the enemy generals and boost morale.
So he charged into the enemy lines on foot, spear in hand and broadsword in hand, parrying with his spear and slaying with his broadsword. His horizontal attacks were incredibly effective; in just a few rounds, he had killed six men, effectively closing a gap in the enemy's line. Then he shouted, "Du Zeng of Xinye is here! Who dares to challenge me, fearless of death!"
After the challenge a few days prior, Du Zeng had already made a name for himself in the Qi army. Upon hearing that the newcomer was Du Zeng, the Qi army was immediately thrown into turmoil, their offensive faltering. The Qi soldiers whispered among themselves, "Is that the Crimson Iron Beast? He's not easy to deal with!" But only for a moment, Du Zeng heard a familiar voice from within the ranks say, "Very well! Then let's fight another hundred rounds!"
Su Jun strode out from the ranks, heading straight for Du Zeng. Upon meeting, the two exchanged no words, immediately discarding their spears and drawing their swords to engage in combat. As they fought, the Han and Qi armies clashed once more.
Du Zeng and Su Jun were indeed evenly matched. They hadn't gained the upper hand in their horse battle, and naturally, there was no difference on foot. However, with Liu Lang's reinforcements, Du Zeng felt more confident. Amidst his hacking and slashing, he even had time to taunt Su Jun: "Are you a rat? Last time you retreated without a fight, I thought you were scared out of your wits. Turns out you were planning a sneak attack. What, does the absence of sunlight embolden you?"
Su Jun dismissed it as a passing breeze, parried Du Zeng's sweeping attack with his sword, and replied without a care, "Killing the traitors is enough. Great generals fight with wits, not strength. How can I show my superior skill if I don't tease you fools?"
Du Zeng first retreated, then quickly dodged to the side, slashing out with his sword at an angle. Seeing that Su Jun barely dodged, he continued to sneer, "Oh? With your meager skills, you dare to claim you're superior? If you've got the guts, stand here and don't leave. Let's see who dies first, you or me!"
As the two exchanged taunts, Liu Lang arrived with his army. Instead of joining the battle from Du Zeng's rear, he led a light cavalry attack from the flank, suddenly entering the fray and fighting to the death. This portion of the Qi army, though well-equipped, was clearly outnumbered and quickly succumbed to Liu Lang's second attack, retreating and scattering their formation. A portion of Du Zeng's cavalry, who had been engaged in combat, joined Liu Lang's ranks, accelerating the rampage and putting Su Jun's forces at risk of collapse.
Meanwhile, the first batch of reinforcements on the west bank of the Fei River began to cross the river to aid Zhang Qi's troops, gradually forming a pincer movement against the Qi army that launched the night attack.
Su Jun led his men in a night raid to gain an advantage, not to engage in a death battle. He had given prior orders that if the flanks were in danger, whistling arrows should be fired into the air as a signal for the entire army to retreat. In this situation, the rear command did not hesitate and immediately fired three whistling arrows into the air. The bone whistles emitted a sharp whistling sound that could be heard by everyone.
Upon hearing this, Su Jun did not hesitate and smiled at Du Zeng, saying, "Your Excellency will not play games with this young man." He immediately retreated under the cover of his personal guards, then mounted his horse and prepared to leave.
Upon hearing this, Du Zeng flew into a rage and made a move to give chase. However, the Qi soldiers had prepared large bags of caltrops. After mounting their horses, they punctured the bags, and as the horses galloped, the caltrops scattered across the ground like falling petals, covering a large area. At this time, it was dark and windy, and the Han soldiers could not see the situation on the ground at all. Some of them, unaware of what was happening, instinctively tried to give chase, only to have their hooves and even feet pierced by the caltrops, collapsing to the ground in pain and clutching their feet in agony.
Therefore, within a quarter of an hour or two, a small portion of the Qi army had broken away from the battlefield, and the remaining troops, due to the fire at their camp, had also largely disengaged from the fighting, only a quarter of an hour or two away from a safe retreat. Meanwhile, Liu Lang joined up with Du Zeng. They had effectively relieved Zhang Qi's forces, but the results were minimal; they had killed dozens but lost over a hundred of their own men, far from the resounding victory Du Zeng had envisioned.
Du Zeng felt extremely indignant. He immediately pointed to the Qi army that was hastily retreating not far away and said to Liu Lang, "Your Highness, the enemy has retreated hastily and their formation is scattered. If we want to achieve something, now is the time! We should take advantage of the victory and pursue them. Otherwise, if we wait for them to reorganize and launch a night attack, it will be endless."
However, Liu Lang hesitated. Judging from the current situation, the Qi people's preparations, from the night raid to the defense and now the withdrawal, were very thorough. If they were to pursue them now, they might not come out on top. Moreover, he had already promised Fu Chang that he would relieve the siege of the camp below the mountain. To pursue them again would be acting arbitrarily without the marshal's orders.
Before Liu Lang could even give his consent, Du Zeng had already spurred his horse and charged off. His men were all old generals who had followed him from Jingzhou, and seeing their commander heading into battle, they didn't hesitate to follow closely behind. To avoid stepping on the caltrops, they bypassed the Qi army's original retreat route, attempting to take a shortcut along the foot of the mountain to pursue them.
Seeing this, Liu Lang naturally couldn't stand idly by. Otherwise, if something happened to Du Zeng and the others, how could he remain uninvolved? So he quickly instructed Lai Guang and the others to report the battle situation to Fu Chang and He Pan, and then he led his troops to pursue the fleeing enemy. (End of Chapter)