Ask the mountains and rivers

Chapter 465 Destiny (Part 3)

Pei Yan and Yang Huai, the couple, were both injured, and the heavy responsibility of commanding the cavalry battalion fell on the shoulders of the young Pei Yue and Pei Wan.

The emperor's personal guards, including Song Dalang, Fei Lin, Lu Wulang, and Ge Siniang, each led a cavalry battalion of a thousand men, continuously throwing themselves into the torrent of war.

Among them were many veterans who had fought against the Xiongnu. Confident and fearless, they rode forward like an iron torrent, either scattering or engulfing the imperial guards' cavalry.

The charge between cavalry was both brutal and swift. Once thrown from their horses, most had no chance of survival, trampled to death by both their own and the enemy's horses. Often, after a single charge, several men would fall from their horses, their screams and cries of agony filling the air. The worst were those whose intestines were ripped open, yet who were not immediately dead. Their screams seemed to come from hell, lingering endlessly in one's ears.

Soon, the first cavalry charge broke through and fled the battlefield. They scattered in panic, galloping away in all directions, oblivious to what lay in front of them, behind them, east, west, south, or north; only one thought occupied their minds.

escape!
Escape this horrible inferno of flesh and blood!
Pei Yue turned his horse around, showing no intention of pursuing the fleeing soldiers, and led the cavalry behind him to continue their flanking charge.

Pei Wan remained calm and, following the original plan, did her best to divide the Imperial Guard's formation.

Song Dalang was a steady man and did not rush to reap the rewards of his battle. Fei Lin, on the other hand, was less composed. Seeing a dozen or so Imperial Guard cavalrymen rush past him, he couldn't resist and led his cavalry to surround them, wiping out the dozen or so enemy soldiers.

This delay created a gap in the cavalry formation. The Imperial Guard cavalry seized the opportunity and charged forward.

Fei Lin launched a somewhat disheveled counterattack, and the battalion of soldiers was plunged into fierce combat.

Song Dalang was closest to the enemy and saw everything clearly, but he did not lead his troops to support them. Instead, he rode forward on horseback, resolutely carrying out the strategy set before the battle.

"Your Majesty," a messenger rushed in on horseback to report, "Commander Fei's cavalry has been entangled with the Imperial Guard's cavalry and is engaged in fierce combat."

Pei Qinghe, observing and overseeing the battle from the rear, couldn't see the entire battlefield, which stretched for dozens of miles, no matter how sharp his eyesight was. On the battlefield where life and death hung in the balance, on-the-spot command was unrealistic. What determined victory or defeat was the soldiers' bravery and fighting prowess, and the generals' valor and spirit. These qualities were honed through rigorous daily training and honed through countless battles.

Pei Qinghe's expression remained unchanged: "I understand. I have already ordered military flags to be raised here. If any cavalry fail to hold out and return, they will naturally converge on me."

The one who received the military order was Pei Yu, who had just reached the age of fifteen. The sons of the Pei family all studied and practiced martial arts from a young age, and could formally enter the army for training at the age of twelve or thirteen. Although Pei Yu was young, he had considerable experience in battlefield combat. In such a great battle, he showed no fear whatsoever, standing under the black banner bearing the character "Pei," his eyes shining brightly.

Pei Lang, who was going to the battlefield for the first time in his life, stood next to Pei Yu, gripping the hilt of his sword tightly.

Pei Qinghe turned her head and smiled: "Pei Lang, are you afraid?"

The twelve-year-old boy stood tall, his youthful, handsome face showing no fear: "No! Every son of the Pei family is a hero!"

The little dog that cried incessantly on the road to exile back then has now grown up and is ready to fight.

Pei Qinghe laughed: "That's right! Victory in this battle will surely belong to us!"

"Reporting to the General," several dozen miles to the south, General Situ also received the latest battle report: "The Pei family's cavalry is too powerful. Our cavalry battalion cannot withstand them. One battalion has already been defeated and scattered in all directions."

General Situ's face darkened. The battle hadn't even lasted half an hour, and one cavalry unit had already been routed by the enemy. Were the Pei family's cavalry truly this formidable? "Pass on my order to General Ma, who is overseeing the battle: any cavalrymen who escape back are to be executed," General Situ coldly commanded.

The messenger felt a chill run down his spine and immediately went to relay the military order.

After receiving the military order, General Ma grinned maliciously and drew his long sword: "Tell the general that with me here, no one can escape behind me."

As luck would have it, just as the words left his mouth, several routed soldiers fled back. Their eyes were filled with panic and terror as they spurred their horses toward their own banner. Unfortunately, what awaited them was a cold, sharp blade.

Several bloody human heads fell to the ground and rolled several times.

The Imperial Guard soldiers who witnessed this scene felt a chill run down their spines.

Cavalry from both sides poured in continuously, and eventually, the battlefield, stretching for dozens of miles, was filled with the two most elite cavalry forces from the north and south. This battle was so fierce that the sun and moon were dimmed, rivers of blood flowed, and heads rolled in endlessly.

Under the banner of the Pei family army guarded by Pei Yu and Pei Lang, the number of wounded soldiers is increasing.

The well-prepared medics quickly carried the wounded away and provided battlefield first aid.

Some of these wounded soldiers were too badly injured to be treated in time. Bandages were applied, but they had already stopped breathing. Some of them had less severe injuries, and even after being bandaged, they could still move. They used their swords to support themselves on the ground and tried to get up: "I still have the strength. Let me go back to fight the enemy."

The military doctor, Bao, immediately said, "The Emperor has already issued a military order that those who are wounded cannot go into battle."

The taciturn medic, Lu, chimed in: "Lie down quickly. The wound has reopened and needs to be bandaged again. With so many wounded soldiers, how can we possibly manage?"

General Ma on the other side was so exhausted from killing that his blade was dulled and he was numb with blood. His personal guards, who were overseeing the battle, were also numb with blood, their voices trembling: "General, we can't kill anymore. Our men finally escaped with great difficulty, only to die under our blades. What kind of situation is this?"

Furthermore, more and more people are fleeing, and there's no way to kill them all!

In a cavalry duel, it was clear that the Imperial Guard had lost!
As they were speaking, another large group of cavalrymen fled back. This wave numbered two or three hundred men. Most of them were covered in blood, and it was unknown how many wounds they had sustained.

General Ma sighed deeply, finally put down his long sword, and pointed to one of his personal guards: "Go and report to the General that I have done my best to supervise the battle."

General Situ was only five li behind General Ma. More and more cavalrymen were frantically riding back. Even if General Ma hadn't come to report, how could General Situ not have seen that the cavalry had already lost the battle against the Imperial Guards?

Their proud 30,000 cavalrymen were defeated by the Pei family army!
The number of those who died in battle and those who fled is now impossible to count!
In a fit of rage, General Situ drew his sword and killed several men. Then, he calmed down and ordered his officers to send infantry: "Yang Er, you lead 30,000 infantrymen to retrieve Pei Qinghe's head."

The military officer who received the order felt a chill run down his spine when he saw General Situ's bloodshot eyes, but dared not show any fear on his face. He accepted the order without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)