The emperor would rather have a

Chapter 27 The soldiers of our Great Zhou are brave!
Smoke and dust swept across the sky, and shouts of killing shook the sky.

In the narrow area south of Xinkou, the Zhou army and the Liao army were fighting fiercely.

The Liao army had a large number of cavalry, but their equipment was much worse than that of the Central Plains.

Most of them were light cavalry, most of them were not armored, and a few were only half armored. In terms of impact power, they were not as good as the Zhou army cavalry.

However, these people grew up on horseback and were skilled in archery and horsemanship. They took advantage of the swift movement of light cavalry and galloped back and forth to shoot arrows.

Every time Shi Yanchao wanted to rush out, the opponent would not engage in close combat with him. He would quickly escape by relying on his fast speed, and then counterattack with a wave of arrows.

In addition, the 20,000 vassal troops brought by the Liao army were basically infantry.

They formed a formation on the periphery and kept shooting arrows. Shi Yanchao was shot all over like a hedgehog.

Fortunately, the Liao army's bows and arrows were not very powerful and probably didn't penetrate his armor, otherwise he would have bled to death.

At the same time, Wang Shenqi and Zhang Jiangong led their elite cavalry to break through from both wings of the Liao army.

The Liao army sent out two groups of cavalry to intercept them. Judging from their equipment, they were definitely the elite of the enemy.

These are the main combat forces that the Liao army truly relies on.

The Later Zhou army was equipped with cavalry crossbows. They fired a wave of shots before engaging in close combat, and then the troops and horses of both sides collided with each other.

Wang Shenqi roared, swung his spear, knocked over a rider, and charged into the enemy formation without slowing down.

The Zhou cavalry behind him also joined the Khitan cavalry.

Relying on their superior equipment, the Zhou army moved forward like a rocket, and the Liao army's infantry formation was instantly split open.

Once the battlefield enters close combat, it's a competition of who is braver, not like in TV dramas where everyone is crowded together.

Especially when cavalry charges, there are often large intervals between them, otherwise it is difficult to maintain the momentum of the warhorse charge.

On the other side, the troops led by Zhang Degong were slightly slower than Wang Shenqi, and had also rushed into the Liao army at this time.

These warriors who emerged from the chaotic Five Dynasties were no less brave than the Khitans.

Although the cavalry was indeed at a disadvantage due to the shortage of horses, that was only in terms of numbers, while their combat effectiveness was not inferior, and they were even slightly better in terms of equipment.

In Li Yi's opinion, the Khitans only became truly unrivaled after the Northern Song Dynasty.

But its heyday was short-lived and it quickly declined, and was eventually destroyed by the Jurchens whom it enslaved.

If it were not for the fierce internal strife in the Central Plains during the Five Dynasties period, the Khitan might not have had the opportunity to rise.

In a flash, the situation on the battlefield changed with the addition of Wang Shenqi and Zhang Degong's teams.

The Liao army's formation had begun to waver.

Shi Yanchao took the opportunity to lead his personal soldiers in a fierce charge, and actually suppressed the offensive of the Liao army's light cavalry.

At this time, the Khitan general in the rear of the Liao army waved his hand, and a team of elite cavalry around him joined the battle.

The Liao army infantrymen in formation also began to advance forward, attempting to narrow the encirclement and restrict the movements of the Zhou army cavalry.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Li Yi immediately shouted:
"Everyone, follow me to attack the Liao army's rear!"

He observed for a long time and found that the weakest point of the Liao army was the rear formation.

Probably because they were backed by Xinkou, the Liao army was not afraid of a sneak attack from behind, so their main forces were placed in the front, hoping to quickly capture Shi Yanchao.

Fighting these days is very physically demanding. It's definitely not a one-shot rush. It's basically a fight and retreat.

When the strength of both sides is not much different, it comes down to numbers and endurance.

Of course, if the strength is completely overwhelming, it will naturally be faster to directly defeat the enemy in one wave.

Therefore, if you want to win with fewer troops, you need the right time, place and people.

Li Yi understood that it would be very difficult to rescue Shi Yanchao quickly.

Even if you rush out, the enemy can rely on the number of cavalry to chase you from behind and consume your troops.

It is very likely that breaking out and escaping will not be possible, and the casualties may be even greater.

This is also the case when the Central Plains faces nomadic peoples. Most of the time, they have to rely on defense to resist, and they are inferior to them in terms of mobility.

Unless you can completely defeat the opponent.

Li Yi is now ready to do the opposite and confront the Liao army head-on, targeting the Khitan general in the rear of the Liao army.

Capture the thief first and capture the king!
But Li Yi has no choice now. He either rescues Shi Yanchao or dies here with him.

It's easy to understand why Xiang Xun asked him to lead the cavalry to rescue Shi Yanchao first.

If I do nothing and just watch Shi Yanchao die in an ambush by the Liao army, who will be held responsible?
Even if everyone shares the blame, I have the lowest seniority and status, so most of the blame will be put on me.

Li Yi finally seized the opportunity in the Battle of Gaoping, and rose to prominence by killing Zhang Yuanhui in battle and guarding the emperor's carriage.

Do we have to start all over again?

I finally have the upper hand over Zhao Da now, but do I have to depend on him in the future?
"Anyone who stands in my way will die!"

Li Yi turned his resentment into anger and poured it out on the Liao army.

He roared angrily, raised his hand and swung his long spear, killing a Khitan cavalryman who was blocking his way.

The power of heavy cavalry should not be underestimated. The Liao army's bows and arrows shot at their armor had little effect at all.

But because there were too many arrows, Li Yi soon became like Shi Yanchao, with his body full of arrows.

He rode ahead, leading more than a hundred armored cavalrymen behind him. Like a sharp knife, he broke through the heavy blockade and rushed straight to the rear of the Liao army.

Any infantry and cavalry that dared to block their way were torn to pieces by this hurricane.

The narrow road meets the brave to win!

Many times, wars rely on this kind of momentum.

"Whose cavalry are they in the Zhou army?"

Yelu Tale, the King of the Southern Court of Liao, looked at Yelu Dilu, the political commander beside him.

The latter had come to support the Han army several months ago and certainly knew more than him, who came later.

Yelu Dilu shook his head and said, "No matter who they are, we'll just keep them all." As he spoke, he tightened his grip on his spear. "My Khitan warriors are wolves, and those people are sheep. Even if the sheep go crazy for a while, won't the wolves eat them?"

Yelu Dilu was actually holding a grudge in his heart. He was dissatisfied with the Northern Han ruler Liu Chong during the previous Gaoping battle, so he led his men to evacuate the battlefield early.

But according to the news brought by Yelu Talie, many people in the Liao royal court believed that he fled from the battlefield because he was afraid of the Zhou army.

How could Yelu Dilu, who has always been arrogant, endure such humiliation?
He's going to show those bastards today.

How could the wolves on the grassland be afraid of the sheep in the sheepfold!
Yelu Dilu lightly squeezed his horse's belly and shouted, "Warriors of the Great Khitan, defend the honor of our grasslands with the blood of Zhou soldiers!"

"Hurry up!"

The Liao cavalrymen beside him shouted in Khitan language.

Immediately afterwards, Yelu Dilu led his elite guards and rushed towards Li Yi.

……

"Well done!"

Li Yi saw from afar a large group of cavalry rushing out from the rear of the Liao army.

Although he did not know Yelu Dilu, the other party retreated too quickly in Gaoping and they had never met face to face.

But judging from the leader's attire, he must be a general of the Liao army.

Li Yi didn't have time to think about it and led the heavy cavalry team to charge forward without slowing down.

Yelu Dilu was the first to yell, "You little brat, let me show you how powerful our Khitan warriors are!"

"My soldiers of the Great Zhou are brave!"

Li Yi replied without giving in, and immediately swung his spear to smash it forward.

"boom!"

Yelu Dilu was secretly shocked. The young general opposite him was so strong that when their weapons collided, he almost knocked the spear out of his hand.

Before he could fight back, Li Yi swung his spear again.

Seeing that there was no time to put down his gun to block, Yelu Dilu leaned over and half hung himself on the side of the horse, barely avoiding the attack.

Li Yi didn't expect that this old guy, who looked quite old, was still so agile and could perform juggling on horseback.

As expected, we are a nation that grew up on horseback!
But Yelu Dilu obviously could not have imagined that Li Yi's horsemanship was better than his, and he could not have imagined how courageous Li Yi was.

Taking advantage of the moment when the two men passed each other, Li Yi held the spear in one hand and loosened the reins with the other hand. He grabbed Yelu Dilu's arm and pulled him off the horse with sudden force.

Then, with the help of the powerful momentum of the warhorse, he forcibly lifted Yelu Dilu up.

In this way, Li Yi picked up Yelu Dilu with one hand and dragged him all the way across the battlefield.

"Fuck, that's fucking fierce!"

Shi Yanchao, who was trying desperately to break out not far away, was stunned when he saw this scene.

Yelu Dilu's personal guards were desperate to rescue their commander.

However, Li Yi ran very fast, and there were heavy cavalry following behind him, so it was difficult to break through for a while.

The Liao army was afraid to launch a long-range attack.

Li Yi carried Yelu Dilu, a human sandbag, and ran around the battlefield as if showing off a trophy.

His outrageous move actually dispersed many of the Liao army's infantry formations around him.

At the same time, the infantry led by Xiang Xun finally arrived in time.

Li Yi casually threw Yelu Dilu behind without caring whether he was dead or alive. He turned around and led the heavy cavalry to cooperate with the infantry to counterattack the Liao army's front line.

The battle lasted until dusk, and the fighting between the Zhou and Liao armies was quite brutal.

Finally, with the assistance of the infantry led by Guo Congyi and Bai Chongzan who came to support.

Only then was the Liao army barely repelled.

However, the enemy did not retreat directly, but set up camp north of Xinkou.

But no matter what, the Liao army will not make any major moves for the time being.

On the way back to Xinzhou City, Li Yi was extremely tired, despite his frightening performance in the afternoon.

But after all, I am still a mortal, and my arms are still sore.

"Envoy Li, I originally thought your achievements in Gaoping were just luck, but judging from what I see today, they are indeed the product of real skill!"

Shi Yanchao's words were indeed unpleasant, and it was he who rushed forward recklessly and was ambushed by the Liao army, causing everyone to suffer with him.

But it was rare to hear Shi Yanchao praising others, so Li Yi was too lazy to argue with him.

Of course, the most important thing is that he is not qualified to have any opinions about Shi Yanchao now.

At this time, Xiang Xun also praised: "Envoy Li has made great achievements one after another. His future is limitless!"

"Heroes truly emerge from young people..." Guo Congyi and Bai Chongzan also praised him generously.

"I wonder if the Liao general who was dragged off his horse by Li Dushi was Yelu Talie, the Southern Court Prince of Liao, or Yelu Dilu, the Minister of State Affairs."

"It doesn't matter who it is. He's being dragged like a dead dog and is going to die anyway!"

"That's right. Envoy Li Du killed Zhang Yuanhui, the most powerful general of the pseudo-Han army, in a previous battle. Now he has killed a great general of the Liao Kingdom. He will surely be famous throughout the world!"

Hearing the praises from several Jiedushi, Li Yi was naturally happy, but he still pretended to be humble.

In this world, whoever has greater martial arts power will be respected.

Li Yi previously thought that he could gain the recognition of these warriors by becoming the commander of the inner palace.

But now that I think about it, everyone would just say behind his back that he was lucky.

But things will be different from now on.

Who dares to say that Li Yi got the credit by chance?

If you have the guts, go and fight the Khitans head-on!
(End of this chapter)