Jinting Han people

When the Jiangzhou army attacked, Liu Xian's troops had just completed their formation.

It must be said that Luo Shang's decisive night raid after his troops approached caused Liu Xian some trouble. Upon entering the Chengdu Plain, the open terrain made it difficult for scouts to conceal their tracks, forcing them to monitor from a distance. Under these circumstances, their assessment of the Jiangzhou army was inevitably delayed; by the time Luo Shang had already mustered his forces and set off, they realized the enemy was about to launch a night raid.

The scouts had to ride back to camp to report the news, but as Li Feng had said, the heavy rain and mud made the horses' hooves almost as fast as the people's feet. Despite their best efforts, the scouts only managed to close the distance of five miles with the Jiangzhou army. They urgently reported to Liu Xiantong: "Your Highness, the enemy army will arrive at the camp in about two quarters of an hour."

Liu Xian, still somewhat groggy, jumped out of bed upon hearing this, his expression turning serious. After the scouts left, he ordered a proclamation to the entire army, urging them to immediately leave the camp and prepare for battle. Gripping his Zhangwu sword, he shouted to his personal guard, Meng He, "Good! I've waited too long for this day! Luo Shang came in the middle of the night, thinking he could gain an advantage? He greatly underestimates my brave soldiers!"

It was still the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), and the clear, empty night sky was tinged with purple. The Hanzhong army hastily formed ranks within the limited time available. Liu Xian led his own troops as the central army, Yang Nandi's forces as the left flank, and Huangfu Zhong, the governor of Qin Prefecture, as the right flank, arraying themselves from north to south. Behind them, Li Ju was already mustering troops to besiege Chengdu, preventing a counterattack from Li Xiong's forces within the city.

Just as everyone had finished lining up, Luo Shang's first wave of attack was already imminent.

They launched their attack along the river, so the first wave of attacks came from Yang Nandi's troops.

The leader of the Jiangzhou army here was Xiang Fen, a renowned military commander known for his keen observation of the situation and his strategic acumen. At this time, he led primarily infantry. The vanguard, clad in heavy armor and iron helmets to protect against arrows, wielded ring-pommel swords and round shields, charging head-on. The soldiers on the flanks and rear, wearing leather armor and straw sandals, carried bows and arrows to support their frontline comrades. Under his command were the newly appointed Prefect of Jiangyang, Hou Fu, and the Prefect of Badong, Yang Qian, among others, all charging into battle alongside him.

This force of about ten thousand men surged forth in a dense, swarming manner, like ants, towards the hilltop occupied by Yang Nandi. The army's attack was utterly silent; only the sound of leather boots pounding the damp ground and the clanging of armor and weapons could be heard. From this alone, it could be concluded that the Jiangzhou army was not a rabble, but a well-trained and elite force.

The Jiangzhou army's attack was so well-organized that it slightly surprised Yang Nandi. He had a force of over ten thousand men, consisting of two thousand cavalry and eight thousand infantry. He had originally planned to launch a cavalry attack first, but the enemy was already prepared. Moreover, seeing the enemy's high morale and their heavily armored, densely packed frontline, his own cavalry had no room to maneuver and were unable to fight effectively. Therefore, Yang Nandi immediately ordered the flags to be raised, slightly altering his formation.

Changing formations on short notice is inherently risky; if coordination is lacking, it can lead to chaos or even collapse. However, Yang Nandi's change of formation demonstrated his shrewdness—while ordering his cavalry to retreat, he simultaneously dispatched over a thousand armored soldiers to advance and meet the enemy. Taking advantage of this opening, the knights in front quickly turned their horses and slowly moved backward.

The horses' hooves churning the damp, slick ground, and leading the armored soldiers was Yang Jiantou, the younger brother of Yang Nandi. He ordered his men to form a tight, fish-scale formation, and they clashed head-on with the enemy without hesitation. Both sides were densely packed with armored soldiers; in this kind of battle formation, whoever was more compact had greater impact. The Jiangzhou army, however, had not anticipated the counterattack and was forced to slow down and tighten their formation as well.

As a result, the Jiangzhou army's speed suddenly slowed down, and this slowdown gradually spread backward. The huge wave of attack was like hitting a dam, surging together, and the armor and weapons of the soldiers clashed against each other, making a continuous sound.

However, Yang Jian had no intention of directly confronting Xiang Fen; they lacked the strength. The vanguard only managed to fire a few scattered volleys of arrows before being driven back by the retaliatory arrows from the Jiangzhou army. The Jiangzhou vanguard advanced, quickly overwhelming the stragglers of Qiu Chi soldiers. But as the vanguard moved forward, their previously dense formation was stretched, leaving a slightly open space in the middle. The soldiers who hadn't yet engaged in combat followed, attempting to fill this gap.

However, Yang Jiantou did not lead his troops to flee. Instead, he would stop from time to time and continue to harass the Jiangzhou army with arrows. In this way, fighting and retreating, Yang Jiantou pulled the Jiangzhou army's formation westward. The Jiangzhou army's vanguard held on tenaciously and gradually became distorted, creating a gap between them and the riverbank, while the rearguard remained on the riverbank.

The Jiangzhou army, preoccupied with following and driving away the Qiuchi army's vanguard, failed to notice the whereabouts of the Qiuchi cavalry who had withdrawn from the battle formation. Given the open terrain, they couldn't wait to observe the enemy's movements from a distance. In fact, after Yang Nandi ordered his cavalry to retreat, they had been waiting for orders in the rear, led by Yang Nandi's son, Yang Yi, who was waiting for their chance among the reeds on the riverbank.

At this moment, the Jiangzhou army's cavalry was like stretched dough, not only becoming sparse but also riddled with holes of varying sizes, threatening to break apart at both ends. Seeing this state of the enemy, Yang Nandi couldn't help but sneer, "These bandits, is this all they've got? They dare to fight me? I'll just drive them into the river to feed the fish!"

He immediately ordered his cavalry to attack from the riverbank. Before long, thousands of Qiuchi light cavalrymen swiftly emerged from the reeds and swept across the enemy lines from east to west.

In infantry fighting cavalry, the worst thing is to be loose and lack formation. The Qiu Chi cavalry, in a column, resembled a sharp bayonet. Although their speed was not as swift as usual, they were still powerful and unstoppable in cutting into the vulnerable neck of the Jiangzhou army. They continued to extend westward, threatening to cut off and encircle the enemy's vanguard.

Almost simultaneously, Yang Jian's troops, who had been locked in a fierce battle with the Jiangzhou vanguard, scattered and fled in all directions. They moved swiftly and soon disappeared from the battle lines. Standing before them were the well-prepared Qiuchi soldiers, their formation arranged in several horizontal rows. They donned full armor, protected their heads with iron helmets, the front ranks wielding long spears, and the rear wielding broadswords. During this period of stalemate, the Qiuchi men had fully awakened from their initial daze and were now full of energy and high morale. With earth-shaking roars, the heavily armored army surged towards the Jiangzhou troops before them.

At this moment, Luo Shang and Qiao Deng were observing the progress of the battle. From their position, they couldn't see the counterattack from the front lines, but they could clearly see that Qiu Chi cavalry suddenly emerged from the reeds and then swept across towards Fen's troops. Luo Shang's eldest son, Luo Yu, was alarmed and hurriedly said to Luo Shang, "Our army has marched thirty li, and we're probably exhausted. If the enemy intercepts us from behind, and if we're then attacked by their counterattack from the front, we'll surely be unable to hold on! My lord, quickly send reinforcements!" Luo Shang was also somewhat puzzled. He wondered, "When our army charged, the enemy's formation was clearly loose, and they hadn't yet stabilized their position. How did it turn out like this?"

Now he could only order a portion of his central army to fight. At this time, the central army numbered over 20,000 men, divided into two parts. One part consisted of his son Luo Yu, Luo Yanshou, and trusted advisors such as Yao Shen and Bao Zhong. The other part was led by Qiao Deng and others. Qiao Deng's unit was particularly strong, and he did not want to commit them directly to the front lines, so he kept them as reserves and ordered Luo Yu and others to reinforce the right flank.

Seeing the enemy forces move out to reinforce the right flank from the center, Liu Xian on the opposite side couldn't help but laugh and said, "The battle on the east side hasn't even been decided yet, and Luo Shang is already getting restless. What will you do if I send the center forward?"

Having said that, he immediately waved his flag and ordered the three divisions of Guo Mo, Suo Lin, and Huangfu Dan in the central army to attack and intercept the enemy on the left flank.

Compared to Luo Shang's massive army of ten thousand, Liu Xian only deployed fewer than five thousand men. Logically, the Hanzhong army, being weaker, should have been unable to effectively strike the Jiangzhou army. However, the moment the two armies clashed, the stark difference in strength immediately became apparent!

The infantry that Liu Xian's main force dispatched were his well-trained Zhaowu Heavy Armor Army. They wore iron armor and helmets painted red, and what was even more frightening was that each of them also wore black iron masks with terrifying floral decorations, revealing only their eyes.

They emerged between night and dawn, their gleaming swords and spears flashing with a cold light. Their ferocious faces, like reapers rising from the earth, combined with their conserved strength, resulted in a one-sided battle from the very first engagement.

As Suo Jing's son, Suo Chen often felt ashamed for abandoning his father and leaving the battlefield after the crushing defeat at Luoyang. Later, he joined Liu Xian's army with Liu Shen, only to suffer another defeat at Bacheng, which made him even more ashamed. He longed for revenge but had no opportunity, only participating in minor battles such as suppressing the rebellion of the Celestial Masters, which only deepened his frustration. Now, finally, another major battle had arrived. Suo Chen said to his confidants, "If I do not achieve merit again, how can I face the world? I would rather die!"

Having said that, he took the lead and quickened his pace, becoming the first of the three columns to engage the enemy. Their attack was like a torrential downpour of mud and rocks cascading down a high cliff, naturally cutting the Jiangzhou army directly opposite them into pieces, then eroding and shrinking them until they disappeared completely. In the first wave of the attack, Suo Lin's troops had killed more than three hundred men, tearing a huge gap in the Jiangzhou army.

Luo Yu and his men, who were leading the troops at the front, were all taken aback and astonished by the enemy's destructive power. However, they soon realized that the enemy was deep in enemy territory and that it was the perfect opportunity to launch a siege. So they gathered all the other troops behind them and prioritized the attack on Suo Lin's forces.

Suo Lin's troops suddenly faced immense pressure. The density of the arrows raining down from above was almost three times that of the other fighting units, and they were also being pressed from both flanks. If they weren't careful, they would be hacked to pieces by the longsword formations that charged in. Some of his trusted men couldn't hold out any longer and suggested that Suo Lin retreat. Upon hearing this, Suo Lin was furious. He said, "Retreat? What? If one side can't hold out, we'll just attack the other side. What's there to say? There are friendly forces to the east now. Let's attack over there!"

Having said this, Suo Lin ordered his men to turn their forces and charge directly to the left. Suo Lin himself led the charge, wielding a blood-stained broadsword, hacking at the head of anyone he saw. Suo Jing, as a veteran general, had imparted two key principles to his eldest son: in mounted combat, kill the horse; in foot combat, behead. If both sides were protected by armor and couldn't kill the enemy quickly, then hack them until they were dizzy and disoriented; the rest would be easier. Suo Lin was quite adept at this. He swung his sword, and soon a cacophony of screams and howls filled the air, his blade becoming covered in dead men's hair. His guards followed him, and soon the enemy's corpses lay piled high at their feet.

Seeing that they had carved a bloody path through the enemy lines, Luo Yu was extremely unwilling to give up and immediately led his elite troops to intercept them. Unexpectedly, Suo Lin, noticing his distinguished attire, turned and charged at him again. Luo Yu was startled; he dared not fight him head-on, but a clever idea struck him. He planned to trick Suo Lin and then assassinate him later. So he faced Suo Lin directly, speaking in a Sichuan-accented accent, "Don't kill me! I'm willing to surrender!"

Unfortunately, the noise was too loud, and Suo Lin had no time to hear his rambling. He swiftly swung his sword again, striking Luo Yu on the head. Luo Yu was shocked and tried to dodge, but it was too late. Suo Lin slashed his shoulder, and blood gushed out instantly. In excruciating pain, he lay on the ground howling in agony. Suo Lin then slit his throat and led his troops in a different direction.

At this time, Liu Xian's main force had already erected a watchtower and set up a flag canopy. Liu Xian stood on the wooden platform to observe the battlefield situation and command the entire army. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Suo Lin's troops join forces with Yang Jian's forces. He then looked to the west. It was getting dark, and dawn was approaching. The river reflected the sky to the east, making it possible to see clearly, but the west was shrouded in darkness.

But Liu Xian knew that Luo Shang's most elite troops must be lurking in the shadows. Since the two armies were fighting on the riverbank, the eastern river was the chopping block, and the western army was the hammer. Whoever diverted their main force from the west, giving the opposing force an opportunity, would be driven into the river and crushed to pieces. Therefore, both sides tacitly maintained silence, letting the eastern and central routes fight first, seeing which side would lose patience and call in their western troops first.

Currently, Liu Xian holds a clear advantage, so he is not in a hurry but is waiting for the other side to make a move. He knows what Luo Shang is waiting for. Although the Jiangzhou army does not seem to have gained an advantage on the main battlefield, there is a factor he needs to consider, which is the reaction in Chengdu. If Li Xiong can successfully disturb Liu Xian's rear, then even if he does not have the upper hand on the main battlefield, he can take the opportunity to make a decisive move.

Liu Xian then looked back at the Chengdu battlefield to the north. Bonfires had already been lit within the city, their thick red smoke rising and echoing the smoke billowing from Luo Shang outside, making them strikingly visible in the dawn. Simultaneously, deafening shouts and battle cries rose; even without seeing clearly, it was clear that as the fighting outside the city intensified, the battle within the city had officially begun. (End of Chapter)