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“No ivory from a dog’s mouth, what ‘burnt sticks’!”
Niu Ben glared at Lu Fei.
Lu Fei immediately shuddered, chuckled twice, and dared not speak again.
Niu Ben surveyed the generals and said, “Juyong Pass cannot fall, and given the current battle, we will not save on ammunition.”
All the generals nodded upon hearing this. At this point, Ye Qingyun said, “General, most of the Western expeditionary soldiers were left in Qingzhou City. If they come to reinforce us, this crisis can certainly be resolved.”
“What you can think of, Deng Yuan will certainly think of. Now, Qingzhou City will surely have Prince Zhao’s forces pinning them down. This time, only Prince Yong’s and the Prince of Huainan’s forces can break the deadlock?”
“The Prince of Huainan?” The generals asked, surprised. They fought alongside Prince Yong’s forces, but why would the Prince of Huainan attack Chang’an with them?
Niu Ben explained, “After the Prince of Huainan eliminated Prince Yan this time, he requested to join the Western Expeditionary Army in attacking Prince Zhao. When this general set off, they must have also been rushing towards Qingzhou.”
All the generals nodded. Lu Fei said, “Chen Xinran’s forces are stationed in Yanzhou, but it will take three days to reach here from Yanzhou.”
“Seven days. That is the duration of this defense. If we can hold out for these seven days, it will be the time of Zhao’s demise,” Niu Ben said, narrowing his eyes.
The generals’ expressions became resolute. Unifying the north was at hand; as long as Prince Zhao’s forces were defeated at Juyong Pass, capturing Chang’an would become much simpler.
The next day, the barbarians and Deng Yuan attacked the city simultaneously from both north and south as usual, seemingly determined not to give up until Juyong Pass fell.
At this time, the Prince of Huainan’s forces had already reached Qingzhou.
“Your Highness, we have discovered a large number of cavalry patrolling ahead. They appear to be Prince Zhao’s Black Armored Iron Cavalry,” a returning cavalry patrolman said.
“How could the Black Armored Iron Cavalry appear in Qingzhou?” The Prince of Huainan was startled.
They had received news of the Western Expeditionary Army taking Qingzhou halfway through their journey, so he headed straight for Qingzhou, preparing to merge with the Western Expeditionary Army and attack Chang’an.
Cui Shang’an said, “Imperial Father, the appearance of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry is certainly not good. We should now combine forces with the Western Expeditionary Army in Qingzhou City to defeat this cavalry unit.”
“What you said is right. With Qingzhou City under siege, we cannot stand idly by, otherwise, it will become a handle for someone to sow discord before His Imperial Majesty.”
The Prince of Huainan nodded and said slowly, “Have the cavalry prepare and immediately advance.”
“Yes, Imperial Father.” Cui Shang’an immediately led the large army to set off for Qingzhou City.
The appearance of the Prince of Huainan’s grand army quickly alarmed the Black Armored Iron Cavalry outside Qingzhou City. The leading cavalry general immediately dispatched 20,000 cavalry towards the Prince of Huainan’s grand army.
The Huainan army’s scouts continuously observed the movements of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry. Upon seeing 20,000 cavalry heading directly towards them, the scout immediately relayed this news to the Prince of Huainan.
“Imperial Father, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry are Prince Zhao’s most elite cavalry. Their dispatch of 20,000 men this time must be to test our strength.”
The Prince of Huainan, energized by his crushing defeat of the Yan army, laughed heartily. “Then let them taste the power of cannons!”
With that, he immediately had the army heading to Qingzhou form ranks. He was well aware of the predicament of infantry encountering cavalry on the plains: a major defeat if they lost, a minor victory if they won.
The Black Armored Iron Cavalry soon appeared in the Prince of Huainan’s sight, a black torrent of steel exuding immense pressure.
After the Black Armored Iron Cavalry entered firing range, the Prince of Huainan, marching with cannons, shouted, “Fire!”
The Black Armored Iron Cavalry apparently also noticed the Huainan King’s formation, and immediately split into two groups, preparing to outflank them. The Huainan King, noticing this, immediately ordered the cannons to open fire, and shells whistled through the air.
“Boom, boom, boom…” The galloping Black Armored Iron Cavalry immediately had men and horses fall, and cannonballs landed, scattering dirt. The hit Black Armored Iron Cavalry were instantly shattered, men and horses alike, and Black Armored Iron Cavalry in a straight line suffered heavy casualties.
However, this did not cause any fear among the Black Armored Iron Cavalry. They continued to charge towards the Prince of Huainan’s position.
“As expected, the fearless Black Armored Iron Cavalry.” Amidst the cannon fire, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry’s formation showed no panic, still executing the outflanking order.
Several rounds of cannon fire inflicted considerable casualties on the Black Armored Iron Cavalry. Some cavalry with shattered legs and cavalry on the ground were trampled to death by subsequent cavalry before they could even groan. They like black waves, made the Prince of Huainan feel a hint of alarm.
A few hundred meters’ distance was a very short time for them In the blink of an eye, the they had charged right up to the Huainan army.
Upon entering firing range, the sound of arrows intensified, and a sky full of arrows, like dark clouds, shot towards the charging Black Armored Iron Cavalry.
The charging cavalry continuously fell, but the Black Armored Iron Cavalry’s pace still did not stop. At this moment, Cui Shang’an immediately had the pikemen quickly form a pike square in front to prevent the cavalry’s direct charge on the infantry.
The moment the pikemen raised their pikes, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry and the Huainan King’s army formally engaged. The cavalry collided head-on with the pike square. After the sound of flesh being pierced by pikes, the cavalry, wielding sabers, crossed the pike square and charged into the formation.
Both sides immediately plunged into a melee.
Relying on the flexibility of their horses, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry charged left and right through the formation, quickly tearing open a gap. The Prince of Huainan, seeing this, his expression grim, realized that these enemy showed naked contempt for them. In the future, 20,000 men could defeat them.
“Immediately close the gap! Don’t let them break through the formation!” the Prince of Huainan roared.
Cui Shang’an nodded. He personally donned his armor and led his mere 8,000 cavalry to charge at the Black Armored Iron Cavalry.
A portion of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, seeing Cui Shang’an leading cavalry, not only did not retreat but instead dispatched a portion of their cavalry to charge directly at the Huainan army’s cavalry.
The two sides immediately crashed into each other, men colliding with men, horses colliding with horses, and the sounds of fierce fighting echoed across the battlefield.
Just then, bursts of gunfire suddenly came from the direction of Qingzhou City.
Faint shouts of “Kill!” also rose from within the city, and the sound of gunfire grew closer and closer to the Prince of Huainan’s army.
It turned out that the defenders of Qingzhou City, upon discovering the Prince of Huainan’s army outside the city, immediately surged out from within the city. After forming a chariot formation, they charged directly towards the Prince of Huainan’s position, attempting to converge with the Prince of Huainan’s army.
Hearing this sound, the Prince of Huainan’s spirits were greatly boosted. He roared, “Soldiers, the Western Expeditionary Army soldiers are right ahead! Together with this king, kill these pawns of Prince Zhao!”
At this time, the Prince of Huainan’s blood surged. Although cannons and arrows had inflicted some casualties on the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, the impact of them had caused him to lose even more soldiers.
These cavalry came and went like the wind, and his soldiers with two legs simply couldn’t outrun them. Even though his soldiers outnumbered the Black Armored Iron Cavalry greatly, they still couldn’t pose a threat to them. Perhaps only musketeers could deal with these tiger-like soldiers.
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