flstandardbreds Chapter 369 The Mountain Yue's combat strength is truly pathetic.
Chapter 369 The Mountain Yue's combat strength is truly pathetic.
From the perspective of the law of conservation of energy, the more prominent a person's strengths are, the more obvious their weaknesses become; the higher their physical strength, the more they rely on violence, thus ignoring other issues.
As the bandit leader responsible for combat, Bi Kui was the kind of guy who was all brawn and no brains. When he saw Wu Jun charging towards him, he launched a counter-charge against Wu Jun without thinking, without considering whether the combat strength of his bandit army was on the same level as Wu Jun's army.
The result was obvious: before they even reached the Wu army, they saw the Wu soldiers all drawing their bows, and then...
Seeing the arrows raining down on him, Bi Kui was stunned for a moment before cursing, "Damn it, those damned Wu soldiers have no martial ethics, they're actually firing arrows?"
The bandits didn't have that many bows and arrows, nor did they possess the superior archery skills of Wu's army. They didn't even have enough shields. Faced with the rain of arrows, they could only use their heads to catch them, and many were shot down on the spot, screaming in agony.
Bi Kui desperately parried with his sword, narrowly avoiding injury by deflecting all the arrows. Before he could catch his breath after dodging the rain of arrows, the Wu army charged towards him through the barrage. Wu general Liu Zan raised his long sword and brought it down hard on Bi Kui's head, intending to cleave him in two on the spot.
This marked the beginning of Bi Kui's area of expertise. Despite his surprise, Bi Kui remained calm and swung his sword to clash with Liu Zan, forcing Liu Zan to retreat three steps. Bi Kui himself also retreated two steps, resulting in a draw.
Bi Kui had a slight advantage in terms of military strength, but his bandit army was at a complete disadvantage, suffering repeated defeats and screaming in agony as they were slaughtered by Wu's army.
Moreover, Liu Zan was no fool. After testing the waters and realizing that he was no match for Bi Kui, he stopped fighting desperately and instead called his personal guards to swarm him, preparing to use a gang-up tactic to beat Bi Kui to death.
Fortunately, Bi Kui still had some sense. Seeing that the enemy outnumbered him, he decisively retreated. Only then did Bi Kui remember Ning Huan's recent teachings and began to organize his army into a formation to resist. But it was too late. The formation he had painstakingly formed collapsed as soon as the Wu army charged, offering no resistance whatsoever.
Watching his brothers fall one after another, Bi Kui felt a deep sense of regret. He regretted that he had used his status as the fourth leader to avoid training during Ning Huan's reorganization, which left him helpless at the crucial moment.
"Thank God, if I can make it back alive this time, I will definitely follow the Second Master to learn military strategy and tactics properly, and I will never slack off again."
Although Bi Kui secretly swore an oath in his heart, he knew that the chances of escaping alive were very small. He swung his sword to force back the Wu army that was attacking him. Just as he was about to make a final charge, he suddenly heard someone shout behind him: "Fourth Master, I am Yunshan, the messenger sent by the Second Master. I want command of the army."
Yunshan was the scout who had shouted himself hoarse in the rice paddies but failed to wake Bi Kui. Although he hadn't woken Bi Kui, he hadn't forgotten his duty and charged towards Bi Kui's army without hesitation. He rushed into the formation, grabbed a scout instructor, and sternly questioned them why they hadn't restrained Bi Kui from forming ranks to meet the enemy, but instead allowed the army to follow Bi Kui in a disorganized and reckless manner.
Bi Kui's army also had scout instructors. These instructors were all elites who had been personally trained by Guan Xing, but they did nothing in the face of battle, which was simply unacceptable.
The scout instructor felt wronged and said pitifully, "We also want to form ranks, but the soldiers listen to the fourth leader, not us."
These are all soldiers trained by Bi Kui, so it's normal for them to listen to Bi Kui rather than their instructors at crucial moments.
Moreover, the scout instructor has been somewhat harsh on his bandit troops lately, emphasizing discipline every day, which has aroused considerable resentment among the bandits. It is understandable that they might rebel at crucial moments.
Upon hearing this, Yunshan disregarded the instructor's reprimand and immediately brandished his knife, charging towards Bi Kui while shouting for command.
Bi Kui knew Yun Shan and knew that he was Ning Huan's personal guard and could be trusted. Moreover, he was truly out of options, so he decisively handed over power, saying, "From now on, everyone will follow Yun Shan's arrangements."
After saying this, he had the nearby brothers repeat it several times in unison, making sure that all the bandits could hear it.
"Thank you, Fourth Master..." Yunshan, having received command of the troops, turned around decisively and summoned the three instructors closest to him, instructing them: "Take your men to support Fourth Master, hold off Wu's army and buy me half a quarter of an hour. I only need half a quarter of an hour."
After saying that, he ran to a point one-third of the way into the group and shouted, "Everyone, turn around and retreat 100 meters!"
The official road beneath their feet was only seven or eight meters wide, allowing only three carriages to pass side by side. Since the main battlefield for both armies was on the official road, neither side could commit their full forces. The fighting was fierce at the front, but the rear could not get involved.
Therefore, Yunshan ordered the instructors to lead a team to help Bi Kui block the Wu army, and then let the group that could not get involved retreat and form a formation, and then support Bi Kui after the formation was organized.
With Bi Kui's authorization, the instructors regained command and quickly lined up and retreated to regroup. But would Liu Zan give them that time?
After a fierce battle with Bi Kui, Liu Zan retreated into the enemy ranks and ran to a mound by the roadside to observe the enemy situation. When he saw the bandit army's rear guard starting to retreat, he realized something was wrong. He called over two squad leaders and ordered them, "You two lead your respective troops into the rice paddies to attack the bandit army's left and right flanks, focusing your attack on the bandit army's rear guard that is currently in formation."
At this moment, both armies were charging on the official road. There were hardly any people in the rice paddies. This was not because the bandit army and Wu army cherished their food, but because of their instinct. Who would want to go into the muddy rice paddies when there was a flat road to walk on?
But things are different now. Liu Zan gave the order, and the commanders who received the order led their troops into the rice paddies and charged towards the left and right flanks of the bandit army.
At the same time, Yunshan had already formed his ranks and personally led his troops forward, ordering the bandits to shout in unison, "Fourth Master, retreat into the rice paddies and let me take over."
The situation at the front was dire, and morale was on the verge of collapse. Some bandits had already jumped into the rice paddies to escape. Therefore, Yunshan dared not delay any longer. He was afraid that if the bandits were defeated, they would all turn around and charge at him. In that case, the formation he had painstakingly built would be broken up by his own men.
That's why he ordered Bi Kui to escape from the rice paddies and not block his way. Having suffered a great loss, Bi Kui instantly became extremely obedient. Upon receiving the order, he immediately led his remaining troops to rush towards the rice paddies to the south, charging towards the Wu army's flanking force that was advancing in this direction. They fought fiercely in the rice paddies with the Wu army's left flank flanking force.
Yunshan quickly filled the gap left by Bi Kui's retreat, leading his bandit army to attack Wu's army. This time, instead of fighting head-on, he commanded his army to fight and retreat, intending to use this opportunity to entangle Liu Zan and buy time for Ning Huan's rescue.
However, he once again overestimated the bandit army's fighting strength. The damned bandit army quickly turned its retreat into a rout, and Bi Kui was unable to stop Wu's outflanking forces. His formation was broken up by Wu's army, and he was forced to march onto the official road.
At the same time, Wu Jun's right flank flanking force also rushed up. With the bandits surrounded on three sides, their defeat was even faster. Someone shouted "Run!" and the bandit formation that Yunshan had painstakingly built up completely collapsed, forcing Yunshan to turn around and join the fleeing crowd.
The Yue bandits were truly powerless against Wu's army.
Seeing this, Liu Zan was about to order a full-scale pursuit when he heard the earth tremble to the southwest. He turned around and saw a large banner with the character "Ning" rapidly approaching. Ning Huan had arrived.
Liu Zan immediately changed his mind and hurriedly shouted, "Everyone abandon the pursuit and retreat north. Let Liu Sheng retreat with us."
Liu Sheng was the battalion commander who stayed behind to hold off Guan Xing. Now that Bi Kui had retreated but Guan Xing had not yet arrived, Liu Sheng's mission was over. Naturally, he should retreat north with me to escape the encirclement of the bandits and Guan Xing.
As for Wang Shu, who was supposed to block Ning Huan, Ning Huan was already right in front of him, and Wang Shu was probably in trouble by now, so there was no need to waste any more time on him.
With Liu Zan's order, Wu's army quickly broke away from the battle and rushed into the rice paddies to the north, fleeing northward.
Seeing that Wu Jun was about to escape, Yun Shan became anxious and immediately shouted, "Brothers, follow me and chase after him! Don't let Wu Jun get away!"
He didn't intend to fight Wu Jun head-on anymore; he just wanted to stay behind Wu Jun and put pressure on him so that Wu Jun wouldn't dare to run away and escape the bandits' sight.
Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention. The bandits were all busy escaping for their lives, so who had the time or courage to pursue Wu's army?
Seeing that no one responded, Yunshan was extremely frustrated and secretly vowed that once he had incorporated the bandit army into his own ranks, he would train them to death.
But that's a matter for later. Right now, the most important thing is to pursue Wu's army. We can't count on Bi Kui, so we can only rely on Ning Huan.
Ning Huan did not disappoint Yun Shan. Seeing the Wu army fleeing north, he immediately roared, "Everyone, speed up and chase them! We cannot let the Wu army escape our sight! Scouts, go and inform General Guan immediately that the Wu army has fled north and ask him to pursue them."