xymnovel Chapter 12 Fierce General Protects His Master and Slays Men
Chapter 12 Fierce General Protects His Master and Slays Men
July 15th, the first year of Liang Zhenming, Jiaxu day.
On the Ghost Festival, the gates of hell open.
At noon, it was overcast and dark, and the sun was not visible.
From the reeds, the ambush troops suddenly sprang up, and shouts of "Capture Li Yazi!" echoed from all sides.
Li Cunxu turned his horse around and galloped off in one direction, disregarding the direction. Although his personal guards were startled, they remained calm and followed closely behind, their formation intact.
After running for about a hundred paces, a dark mass of Liang soldiers appeared ahead, blocking their path like ghosts. Immediately afterwards, large numbers of enemy troops appeared from the left, right, and rear, closing in on them.
Li Cunxu spurred his horse forward: "Charge! Close combat!"
Li Cunxu, who was exactly thirty years old, was a seasoned veteran of the battlefield, and this judgment was correct.
Once the distance is created, it is easy to become a target for crossbow bolts. Only by engaging in close combat and getting entangled with the enemy can one survive.
How could the Prince of Jin risk his life alone as a member of the imperial guards? He rushed ahead and charged into the enemy ranks, and immediately the sound of metal clashing rang out.
Li Cunxu's retinue consisted of many fierce warriors, including Commander Xia Luqi, and bodyguards Wang Menguan and Wudeer, all of whom were exceptionally brave and strong. The group of close followers, clad in fine armor, used their warhorses to overcome the infantry, charging back and forth through enemy lines, shouting and fighting fiercely without ceasing.
Although the enemy force numbered five thousand, they were unable to subdue Li Cunxu's hundred or so cavalrymen for the time being. (Note 1)
However, since Liu Xun had set an ambush and lured the big fish into the trap, he would not let it escape easily. He commanded the Liang army to surround the enemy layer by layer, gradually compressing the enemy's space for maneuver.
In the ensuing melee, crossbows were of little use, so some Liang soldiers switched to grappling hooks, intending to capture the enemy general alive.
The grappling hook is designed to target the softest parts of the body, such as the arms, elbows, and knees. Once hooked, the more the person struggles, the deeper the hook penetrates the flesh, making it difficult to exert force to resist.
Once one hook is secured, more hooks will follow, and even heroes will lose their footing, being dragged and pulled down, captured and taken away.
Even a powerful warrior like Guan Yu was captured by a grappling hook when he was defeated at Maicheng.
Even if someone bravely breaks free from the grappling hooks despite the pain, a fishing net will be cast over them, followed by a barrage of bullets and knives, leaving their fate entirely in their own hands. This is truly an effective method for ordinary soldiers to deal with fierce generals.
Liang Jun changed his tactics, and Li Cunxu suffered a loss as expected. He immediately hooked down two warhorses, and the riders fell off their horses, dizzy and disoriented. Before they could get up, they were attacked by hooks and stabbed by spears, and died tragically in the mud.
"I'll break the formation."
Seeing that things were not going well, Xia Luqi roared and urged his mount on. The horse and rider moved like black lightning, their hooves exploding in muddy mud, and the tip of their spear dragged on the ground, leaving a trail of water.
The horse was Wuzhui, and the man was like a tyrant. One man and one horse brought out the momentum of a thousand troops!
Liang Jun avoided the direct confrontation, only extending his legs to hook the horse's front legs. No matter how powerful or unparalleled you are, you can still be intimidating once you dismount.
Just as the two foremost grappling hooks were about to make their mark, Sharuchi suddenly raised his spear!
Clang! Clang!
A tremendous force sent the two grappling hooks swirling into the air. The warhorse didn't stop, and before the hooks even fell, Sharuchi had already charged past.
Ahead lay even more poisonous vine-like hooks, and even more insidiously, several more extended from the sides and rear. Not only were the warhorses targeted, but Sharucci's waist, abdomen, and legs also became targets.
"Hey!"
Xia Luqi wielded his spear, which spun rapidly like a wheel, parrying left and right, shielding from the front and back, constantly deflecting the attacking grappling hooks.
Liang Jun wasn't in a hurry. How long could he sustain this kind of exertion? If his men were even slightly slow, a momentary lapse in concentration could lead to lifelong regret.
Gunshots flashed wildly, windmills spun rapidly, and the sounds of gunfire rang out like the clanging of metal being struck.
Just then, while Xia Luqi was holding back most of the grappling hookers, Li Cunxu and his cavalry broke out of the first trap.
Seeing that the Prince of Jin had escaped, Xia Luqi suddenly thrust his spear into the ground, then used his arms to lift it upwards.
The spearhead sank about a foot into the riverbed, and a large clump of heavy, sticky mud was lifted into the air, covering the sky and turning into a curtain of mud and soil that fell down!
Mud blinded them, clods of earth pelted them, and in the instant the grapplers instinctively dodged, Sharuchi broke through the formation and caught up with his lord once more.
Seeing their prey about to escape, Liang Jun, emboldened by his superior numbers, suddenly became bolder. A junior officer, having gathered over a hundred men, gathered around, eager to claim credit for capturing the leader, and, unaware of the danger, stepped forward to challenge them.
"Those who block my way shall die!"
Xia Luqi unleashed the Northern Overlord Six Harmony Spear, its power overwhelming, sweeping away thousands of enemies, its strength capable of uprooting mountains, its might covering mountains and rivers, killing several people in succession, including the junior officer leading the team, who also died under a fierce slash of the spear.
Liang Jun attacked several times, but Xia Luqi fought back fiercely each time, striking him countless times with axes, halberds, spears, and hammers. However, his body seemed forged from bronze and iron; his injuries did not diminish his fighting prowess at all, but rather made him even more courageous in battle.
As Xia Luqi grew engrossed in the killing, he wielded his gun with his right hand, sweeping and slashing horizontally and vertically, while drawing his sword with his left hand and hacking and slashing, transforming into a whirlwind of steel that spun endlessly.
Anyone who dared to approach was killed at their feet.
With his single-handed eighteen thrusts, Xiang Yu (Xiang Yu) used this technique to fight a hundred Han generals at Gaixia. Later, Zhang Fei of Shu Han learned it, and his horse was as fast as the wind, his spear as swift as rain, and he could execute it without any gaps.
Seeing that he could not defeat Li Cunxu, Liu Xun became anxious. He did not know when the Jin army's reinforcements would arrive, and he could not afford to miss this opportunity.
He finally made up his mind and, disregarding the possibility of accidentally injuring his subordinates, ordered the arrows to be fired!
In an instant, several riders neighed in despair, their warhorses bristling like hedgehogs.
Arrows pierced through his armor and embedded themselves in his flesh. Each time Xia Luqi was hit by an arrow, his body would only tremble slightly, and he would continue fighting as if nothing had happened, his stamina seemingly inexhaustible.
Wangmenguan, Wudeer, and others had either been captured or killed. What kept the remaining cavalry fighting and refusing to surrender, besides their loyalty to the Prince of Jin and their hope that reinforcements were on their way, was Xia Luqi's invincible prowess, which continuously instilled courage in them.
The battle began at noon, and by late afternoon the clouds had parted to reveal the sun. After nearly three hours of fierce fighting, Fu Cunshen's reinforcements arrived.
Liu Xun finally gave up, and the Liang soldiers retreated like a tide. Xia Luqi, armed with a gun and sword, stood guard beside Li Cunxu, like a guardian Vajra warrior.
Bathed in the setting sun, his hair was disheveled, his helmet was nowhere to be seen, his armor was tattered and torn, his body was covered in wounds and blood, yet he stood tall and unyielding.
Fu Cunshen sighed with admiration: "Dian Wei of the Three Kingdoms fought alone and was known as the ancient evil one, and now I truly believe that he was real."
Li Cunxu, having escaped a great calamity, turned to his entourage and said, "I almost became a laughingstock among the bandits."
Those around him all said, "This is just enough to let the enemy see the king's might."
In this battle, Xia Luqi fought desperately to protect his lord, killing more than a hundred people with his own hands. He became the fifth general in history to kill more than a hundred people, following Xiang Yu of Chu-Han, Wen Yuan of the Three Kingdoms, Ran Min, the Martial King of Heaven, and Wang Zhongsi of the Tang Dynasty.
Gao Xingzhou told his son this story not only because of Xia Luqi's bravery.
"Li Cunxu fought against five thousand with only a hundred cavalrymen, and was not captured by the Liang army from noon until late afternoon. Guess how many casualties he suffered in total?"
The two brothers figured that after such a fierce battle, at least half of them must have been killed.
Gao Xingzhou extended his palm, pinching his thumb and middle finger together: "Only seven of their riders were lost." (Note 2)
"Impossible! Absolutely impossible!"
The young child couldn't help but exclaim, "How come the casualties are less than double digits after fighting against overwhelming odds for so long?"
"Believe it or not, cavalry crushes infantry, that's just how it is."
"So this is the power of a fierce general paired with elite cavalry."
The older child secretly thought that it wouldn't be difficult for him to charge into enemy lines alone and fight his way in and out seven times.
……
"Xia Luqi is a Shandong man. He is honest, loyal, bold and rugged. He is three years older than me and Li Congke and often refers to himself as the elder brother."
Gao Xingzhou recalled the man's voice and smile: "Back then, when everyone gathered to drink and make merry, Brother Xia would always take off his shirt to show off his scars, imitating Zhou Tai of the Three Kingdoms. Your grandfather's enemy, Wang Yanzhang, was also captured by him."
His expression darkened: "What a pity."
The two brothers were confused, but from the hints their father gave, it seemed that Xia Luqi was unlikely to have a good ending.
If it were an ordinary person, ambushed and surrounded by an enemy many times their size, they would have long since lost their will to fight and surrendered. Not to mention his unparalleled martial prowess, Xia Luqi's will was also as strong as iron.
"Remember this: even when facing certain death, you must fight to the death; you might still have a chance to survive. Once you give up, it's over."
Gao Xingzhou suddenly realized that he had been reminiscing about old friends and things for a long time without getting to the point, so he quickly ended with a lecturing remark.
The two children were filled with excitement and envied Xia Luqi's feat of killing a hundred people. They straightened their chests and proudly agreed.
"Yes, Father!"