Chapter 52: A Match for a Thousand-Três Reinos: Liu Zhang da Temporada Han(O Taisui da família Huahua)

Liu Zhang raised his gaze and looked ahead. The phalanx led by Xi Su on the left wing of the fish-scale formation had already engaged the rebel forces. Meanwhile, the phalanx on the right wing, commanded by Ling Bao, wavered and hesitated under the falling rain of enemy arrows; its advance lacked the steady pace of Xi Su's formation, and it had not yet clashed with the rebels.

In history, Xi Su was praised by Lü Meng for his courage and competence. Witnessing the conduct of the troops under Xi Su and Ling Bao amidst the arrow fire, Liu Zhang could not help but sigh that the historical record was no exaggeration.

A general is the courage of the soldiers, and soldiers are the majesty of the general.

Both Xi Su and Ling Bao commanded Eastern State soldiers, and Xi Su even had Sichuan soldiers among his ranks. Yet, under the inspiring and formidable presence of Xi Su, the soldiers pressed forward through the enemy's arrow rain without a shred of fear.

By comparison, Ling Bao fell short of Xi Su.

"Beat the drums to boost the morale of Colonel Xi," Liu Zhang ordered.

"Boom."

Thunderous drumbeats immediately reverberated across the field. Guided by the drummers' steady rhythm, the rolling thunder stirred hearts, set blood boiling, and inspired the soldiers fighting on the front lines.

The clash on the battlefield now bore no resemblance to the ancient wars Liu Zhang had seen in television dramas during his past life, where two mobs simply hacked at each other in a chaotic melee with swords and shields—a style of combat in ancient times where one was far more likely to slaughter one's own men than the enemy.

The left wing currently in combat was not using swords and shields, but long spears. Nor were the two sides locked in a chaotic brawl; instead, both clustered tightly within their respective phalanxes, forming walls of lethal spearheads several meters long. Advancing and retreating in unison, they continuously thrust at the opposing side.

An inch longer meant an inch stronger; the primary weapons of warfare in this era were long spears and halberds. Swords and shields required both hands and coordinated movements, making them far less simple to operate than a spear. With a spear, one merely needed to thrust.

While Liu Zhang paused to reflect and observe, Ling Bao's forces on the right wing finally advanced to the rebels and engaged them.

Meanwhile, buoyed by Xi Su's presence on the front line, the troops under Xi Su were pressing the rebels back step by step.

* Ultimately, they are just a mob, lacking any real climate,* Liu Zhang muttered inwardly at the sight. He then issued his command: "Order Colonel Xu to charge the enemy's center. Let the entire front army press forward."

"Understood," the messenger acknowledged. He waved his signaling flags, spurring Xu猛, who was positioned in the center of the vanguard array.

Moments later, having received the order, Xu Meng led his men forward, advancing like a solid wall.

At the rebel center, seeing this development, Xie Feng offered a suggestion: " 別驾, it is time to order Chieftain Pu and Chieftain Luo to charge."

He was growing anxious. The right wing was already showing signs of defeat, and although the left wing had used a hail of arrows to suppress Liu Zhang's forces, now that they were in close combat, they appeared outmatched as well. If this continued, the momentum of retreat would cascade through the ranks, and the battle would be lost.

Naturally, he thought of Chieftain Pu and Chieftain Luo, stationed in the second rank of the vanguard. These two were Cong people, also known as the Banshun Man, and he hoped to deploy them and their tribesmen, relying on their barbarian valor to shatter Liu Zhang's formation.

Liu He, however, shook his head. The time had not yet come. Pu Chang and Luo Mang were his trump cards; the battle had only just begun, and it was far too early to play them, especially since Liu Zhang had merely advanced his vanguard.

Maintaining his composure, he persuaded, "Clan Leader Xie, both wings can still hold for a while longer. As for the center..."

"Clan Leader Bai, I must trouble your men," he said, turning his head to address Bai Xi. "You need only hold out for a moment to sap the strength of Liu Zhang's center. Once we send in Chieftains Pu and Luo to charge, it will yield miraculous results."

Knowing that Bai Xi commanded eight hundred armored elite troops known for their ferocity, Liu He intended to use them to anchor the center. Once the two armies were locked in a fierce melee, he would unleash the well-rested Cong warriors.

Bai Xi hesitated for a fraction of a second before gritting his teeth and accepting the order. Today's outcome concerned the survival of his entire clan; he could not afford to hold back his strength.

Xu Meng led his troops charging out from the recessed center of the fish-scale formation and collided with Bai Xi's forces. Wielding a long spear, the colonel relied on his personal valor to fight at the very forefront.

Every time his spear thrust out and retracted, it claimed an enemy life.

He felt an immense, exhilarating thrill: *A great man should naturally charge the battle lines and press upon the enemy camp.*

Under Xu Meng's leading example, the Bai family's troops began to give ground, while on both wings, Xi Su and Ling Bao also pushed the enemy steadily backward.

* Utterly useless, failing to hold out even for a moment,* Liu He cursed inwardly upon seeing the retreat across all three fronts.

He issued commands in rapid succession: "Order Chieftains Pu Chang and Luo Mang to lead their men and charge."

"Clan Leader Xie, the situation is critical. You must send out your cavalry."

The flag signals were transmitted instantly. Pu Chang, who had been waiting in agonizing idleness, was overjoyed to see the signal to attack. As a Banshun Man, warfare was as natural as eating and drinking; clashes between tribes occurred on a daily basis.

Yet earlier, he had been forced to stand idly by, watching the vanguard slaughter each other while his own blood boiled with nowhere to vent. It had been truly suffocating.

Had it not been for Liu He's promise that victory today would allow them to pursue the fleeing enemy, capture Jiangzhou—the commandery seat of Bajun—and divide the spoils—leaving the land and commoners to Liu He while all gold, silk, and women in the city belonged to him—he never would have exercised such patience.

Grasping a wooden shield in one hand and a ring-pommeled saber in the other, Pu Chang let out a roar, rallying his Cong warriors to charge.

Taking the lead himself, he sprinted forward like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, an unstoppable force.

Within breaths, he met the vanguard, using his shield to shove against the Bai family's youths and forcefully driving them forward.

With no retreat left to them, the Bai family troops could only fight desperately onward, and instantly the momentum of Xu Meng's phalanx met fierce resistance.

As more and more Cong warriors arrived behind the Bai family's troops, the forward-pushing momentum grew overwhelmingly powerful.

The soldiers under Xu Meng found that taking a single step forward felt harder than ascending to heaven. Caught in the middle, the Bai family's troops could neither retreat nor advance. While those on the flanks of the Bai formation could scramble away sideways, those in the center were squeezed to the point of utter despair, driven relentlessly forward.

For a time, Xu Meng's phalanx was actually forced back.

A single step backward ignited Xu Meng's ferocity. Drawing the ring-pommeled saber at his waist, seeing that the ranks of the Bai family's formation had thinned and their spear wall was no longer dense, he lunged forward, launching a close-quarters assault against the spearmen of the Bai family.

His personal guards drew their sabers at the sight and followed their commander into the fray.

In the brutal close combat, the Bai family soldiers, unable to react in time, suffered instant casualties in droves.

Having slashed his way through the enemy spearmen at the front, Xu Meng was met with the grinning, bared teeth of Pu Chang.

"Order Colonel Gan and the Qingqiang to advance." Observing the movements of the Cong warriors among the rebel forces, Liu Zhang issued counter-commands, sending forward the fiercely combat-capable troops of Gan Ning and the Qingqiang.

Simultaneously, the Xie family—possessing the greatest strength among the Xie, Bai, and Yang clans—combined their one hundred and fifty light cavalry with horsemen from the other families to form a force of three hundred horsemen. They galloped toward the right wing under Ling Bao, where the defense had initially been weakest.

Cong warriors and three hundred cavalrymen—watching his trump cards rush into battle, Liu He felt a heavy ache in his heart. He had not expected to deploy his ultimate assets so soon.

According to his plan, these cards should have been revealed when the two armies were locked in a grueling midday stalemate. With the sun still far from its zenith, it was painfully evident that his side's military might fell far short of Liu Zhang's.

He stared fixedly at the three hundred cavalrymen, praying they could throw Liu Zhang's formation into chaos and weight the scales of victory in their favor.

* What a bunch of paupers,* Liu Zhang thought, narrowing his eyes as he gazed into the distance at the charging enemy cavalry. He held them in utter disdain; the heads of the charging horses bobbed unevenly, and the riders lacked coordination, hardly daring to urge their mounts into a full gallop for fear of tumbling off.

He raised a hand, intending to deploy the eight hundred cavalrymen he had brought from Chang'an. These eight hundred were heavily armored, and their riders, hailing from Guanzhong, were skilled archers and horsemen. He had merely held them back initially to allow the Eastern State soldiers and Sichuan soldiers time to forge tactical coordination.

Yet, halfway through, Liu Zhang's raised hand paused in mid-air.

From the right-wing formation, a single horseman broke away from the ranks. He was as graceful as a dragon and fierce as a tiger, charging toward the rebel cavalry without a shred of hesitation.

A single rider could match a thousand.