Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 42 First Battle
The warhorse snorted loudly, and the knight of the Yanhai Army galloped to the front of Zhao Huaian's formation and shouted loudly:

"General, your troops will immediately advance westward and attack the enemy's flank and rear."

As he spoke, the knight turned his horse around on the spot, demonstrating his superb horsemanship.

After saying this, the man didn't care whether Zhao Huaian listened or not, and rode away again.

Now, Zhao Huaian and others were left watching in confusion.

It was Lawrence Lu who spoke first. He was really afraid that Zhao Huaian would get carried away and start:
"General, we are directly under the command of the Jiedushi, and we don't need to obey the orders of the Yanhai Army at all."

Zhao Huaian was not surprised at what Lu Zhongyuan said, but he did not expect that Zhou Dexing also said on the other side:

"Commander, this order is a death sentence. It forces us to advance alone to relieve the pressure on the Yanhai Army."

Zhao Huaian was surprised that this person from the Yanhai Army did not even consider the old unit.

Among the eight gang leaders, two clearly opposed the attack, and the remaining six remained silent.

Zhao Huaian has been watching these people's reactions. One can only tell what kind of person he is in this situation.

Sure enough, except for Lu Zhongyuan and Zhou Dexing, the remaining six people had different expressions.

Han Tong was looking at him with a frown, while Zhang Dai's face was full of excitement. Then Qian Tiefu next to him spat directly on the ground and looked at Lu Zhongyuan with a squint.

Chen Fahai held the flagpole tightly and stared at himself. Wei Jingang stared at the boss through Zhou Dexing.

Finally, there was Guo Congyun beside Zhao Huaian. He was the most relaxed and indifferent. His eyes were still on the Yanhai Army knight who had just come to deliver the message.

As for the disciples on both sides of him, some of them lowered their heads, some were adjusting their armor, but the four five-inch men were already holding their swords and shouting "Kill" loudly.

At this moment, Zhao Huaian had a deeper understanding of the personalities of his subordinates.

He licked his lips subconsciously, but found that there was no saliva in his mouth. It turned out that he was afraid too!

After looking at the eight leaders, then at the Langzhong behind them, then at the disciples around him, and finally at the Yanhai Army still fighting in front of him, Zhao Huaian turned his head and asked Lao Liu next to him:

"Six, what would happen if Huang Shuai was here?"

Lao Liu was shaking like crazy at this moment, but when he heard this, he straightened his neck, not wanting to discredit the old commander. He looked at Lu Zhongyuan sideways and began to make a move:
"The Elizhou army, under General Huang's command, fought tens of thousands of Nanzhao troops at the Dadu River, fighting to the death. Never mind the few Nanzhao soldiers ahead, even if there were twice as many, we would have wiped them out!"

"Besides, fleeing without a fight is a disgrace to our ancestors. Zhao Liu can't afford to lose this man. Who among you would be a coward?"

Lao Liu was scolding Lu Zhongyuan, which made Zhao Huaian feel guilty.

Lao Liu was bragging a little bit, but it also expressed Zhao Huaian’s attitude, which was to fight!
It was not for the Yanhai Army, but for their newly established "Baoyi Du".

This is the first battle of their group. They can lose this battle, but they must not be cowardly. Once they choose to escape without fighting, the team will be ruined.

Just now, Zhao Huaian looked around and saw that although most people were shaking, they were holding their weapons tightly and looking at him.

So not only can they not run away, but Zhao Huaian also has to fight head-on.

Why are these people following me?

Some came to learn martial arts, some were sold, and some gathered because they saw they had a future. But no matter what the reason was, they didn't want to follow someone who was a coward.

So they all looked at Zhao Huaian to see what choice he would make at this juncture.

This battle is not only a hurdle they have to overcome, but also a hurdle that Zhao Huaian himself has to overcome.

Thinking of this, Zhao Huaian jumped off his horse and said to everyone:
"I will initiate this battle. If I retreat, you will chop off my head! If you retreat, I will chop off yours!"

Then, Zhao Huaian said to Zhao Liu:
"Sixth Brother, you carry the flag for me. Sun Tai and Zhao Hu, you two will guard the flag. All of you follow my flag and kill!"

After saying that, Zhao Huaian pulled out the Mo Dao that was stuck in the ground and rushed out first.

Lao Liu behind him was dumbfounded. Well, I'm just saying, Zhao Da, why are you so honest?
But what could Lao Liu do at this moment? He gritted his teeth, carried the large khaki flag embroidered with the words "Baoyi", and followed Zhao Da closely.

Then, six disciples, wearing helmets and armor, each holding long and short weapons, followed closely.

Suddenly, Guo Congyun, who had been standing on his horse, shouted:
"Okay, okay, okay, kill him!"

Then he jumped off his horse and led his men forward, fighting bravely.

At almost the same time, each group, led by their leaders, closely followed the khaki flag, whistling and shouting. Behind them, black, red, green, and white flags of various colors shone brightly, and bears and wolves were grinding their teeth and biting people.

……

On the right side of Zhao Huaian's troops, Fatty Dou was also waiting anxiously.

The several retainers behind him were all veteran feudal soldiers and had already told their Lord Sanlang about the urgency of the situation.

It was at this moment that Fatty Dou thought of what Zhao Da had said to him a few days ago, that everything depended on his banner actions.

So after that, he kept his eyes on the ochre flag next to him.

Originally, Fatty Dou thought Zhao Huaian had received the news from above and was planning to run away when he saw something was wrong. But he suddenly saw Zhao Da leading his troops forward.

Fatty Dou was dumbfounded, his cross-eyed eyes straightened out, and he trembled as he asked Dou Lusan beside him:
"Three, am I seeing right? Zhao Da is rushing forward?"

Dou Lu San was trembling all over at this moment, and he shouted:
"Mr. Zhao is truly a hero! Mr. Zhao, let's go too."

Fatty Dou shook his head subconsciously. He was about to speak when he suddenly saw that Zhao Huaian's hundred men were all wearing armor, and the whole group seemed to be glowing under the sunlight.

He looked around blankly, wondering why what was happening was so different from what he had imagined. Suddenly, he remembered Zhao Huaian's words again:

"No matter what happens, follow my banner!" In an instant, Fatty Dou's entire body seemed to be struck by an electric current. He raised his two iron maces and shouted in a hoarse voice:
"Follow me! Follow Zhao Da! Kill!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Dou Lu San next to him jumped out. At this moment, he was wearing armor, holding a red spear, and bravely moved forward. Behind him, Fatty Dou and more than 300 people from his regiment rushed forward.

At this moment, as Zhao Huaian and Fatty Dou fought back, the other militias on this front were also bewildered. They all looked to their leader, awaiting the next order.

The leaders of the group hesitated for a moment and decided to follow Zhao Da and Fatty Dou and attack him.

In this way, led by Zhao Huaian, the local militias on the fourth front also moved forward to support.

For a time, the entire Western Front became increasingly chaotic.

……

Zhao Huaian had no idea what was happening behind him. At this moment, he was holding a Mo Dao in both hands and walking quickly.

Zhao Liu, who was behind, couldn't catch up even with the big flag, and could only shout:
"Zhao Da, Zhao Da, slow down!"

But Zhao Huaian couldn't hear it at all. He ran all the way to the west side of the battlefield, intending to cut directly into the left wing of the Nanzhao army. To do this, he had to quickly deploy his troops on the west side.

Seeing that Zhao Da didn't listen at all, Zhao Liu gritted his teeth and cursed loudly:

"Zhao Da, who the hell gave birth to a coward like you with a torn crotch? You're going to die."

But after cursing, Zhao Liu ran like crazy, saying, "Fuck you, I'm going to die together with you, Zhao Da, today. I'm begging for mercy."

As the large khaki flag moved forward rapidly, the eight guys behind it did not dare to delay at all. They ran madly and cursed.

In front, Zhao Huaian made a sudden move and finally succeeded in getting around to the left side of the Nanzhao army.

But at this time, Zhao Huaian was no longer reckless. He took a deep breath and yelled:
"Array, array!"

Zhao Liu finally caught up, but before he could catch his breath, Sun Tai next to him started yelling:

"Array up!"

Zhao Liu immediately began to wave the flag, and Niu Li behind him began to beat the small drum at his waist.

The eight guys at the back were running all the way, their formation had long been scattered. When they saw the flags and formation in front, several leaders shouted:

"You bastard thieves, get in formation!"

After saying that, he started to punch and kick the men at the back, forcing them to form a battle line around the military flag.

Although the situation on Baoyi's side was chaotic, they still managed to form an array of eight groups in a short time because they practiced formations frequently.

The Baoyi Army's assembly and formation on the left naturally caused a commotion among the Nanzhao Army.

At this time, they had already defeated the Yanhai Army to the point of losing their last breath, but suddenly saw a group of elite armored soldiers rushing to their left side, and they were all shocked.

In particular, the Nanzhao general of this unit, without any hesitation, sent the last reserve troops around him to the left wing.

In the chaos, Zhao Huaian instantly seized the opportunity.

He saw a group of troops breaking away from the enemy formation and charging towards them. In an instant, Zhao Huaian shouted:
"Bow and crossbow, shoot over there."

As he spoke, Zhao Huaian raised his Mo Dao and pointed at the assembled troops.

The eight groups that had already formed up, after hearing the general's roar, raised their bows and crossbows and fired at the army.

In an instant, eighty or ninety arrows fell on the team like raindrops.

These people were gathering and had not anticipated this wave of arrows. In an instant, they were covered by a rain of arrows and fell to the ground like wheat.

Zhao Huaian wanted to shoot another round, but when he turned around and saw his men trembling for a long time, they couldn't fire the second arrow.

There was no other choice, Zhao Huaian could only choose to break through the formation.

Looking at the "Wangzhuzi" battle flag, Zhao Huaian raised his Mo Dao and charged in without hesitation.

Behind him, the disciples of the middle group, each holding a sword, protected Zhao Liu and caught up with him.

……

A leather-armored Nanzhao warrior jumped up and angrily slashed at Zhao Huaian, but Zhao Huaian didn't even raise his eyelids, and swung his sword to cut the man in half in mid-air.

A belly full of offal fell to the ground, and the remaining upper half of the person was not dead yet. It lay on the ground wailing in horror, and then was smashed to pieces by a stick by Wang Li who rushed over.

After killing the man casually, Wang Li took a big step and caught up with the flag.

Zhao Huaian's advancement speed was too fast.

The Nanzhao army's formation was in chaos, and Zhao Huaian attacked from the weakest left wing, and there was no way to stop Zhao Huaian, who was fully armed.

After killing another person with his Mo Dao, Zhao Huaian saw the enemy commander under the "Wangzhuzi" flag from afar.

At this time, there were only two people left by his side, one on the left and one on the right, protecting the flag.

Almost at the same time, the other party also discovered Zhao Huaian and shouted in horror to the surroundings.

Then a group of Nanzhao soldiers left the front line and came to surround and kill Zhao Huaian.

(End of this chapter)