Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

He also heard the chief's voice.

The chieftain, a cousin of the Nuwuji herdsman, was roaring at Richard: "What the hell are you charging for? If you charge any further, you'll all die inside. The Ming army is already in ambush!"

"Boom boom boom!"

Countless thunderbolts were thrown down from the remaining sections of the city wall, exploding among the retreating Western Xia soldiers.

"what!"

A scream rang out beside Nuwuji; the man had been pierced in the groin by shrapnel and was writhing on the ground, clutching his crotch.

Nuwuji was so frightened that he fled out of the city, crouching low.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp pain in his shoulder, as if he had been struck by a stray arrow that appeared out of nowhere. It was Ming archers shooting arrows from the city walls on both sides.

The thunderous sound of hooves rang out again, and the city gates opened one after another. Yao Pingzhong personally led his cavalry out to fight their way out.

"withdraw!"

Richard then realized he had been ambushed.

Or rather, this place was a trap set for him, and Li Yanxian leaving with the main force was just an act to deceive him!

Nuwuji didn't know where his warhorse was. When he finally spotted one, it had already been ridden away by other defeated soldiers.

Chapter 3807 Shortage of Food and Supplies

He was very frustrated.

In Western Xia, herdsmen were registered commoners, and males who turned fifteen were required to be registered in the Yellow Register.

Nuwuji was conscripted for the first time more than ten years ago, and at that time he was given a warhorse and a camel.

Nuwuji was very excited to receive the warhorses and camels, but his joy soon faded.

Because he had to feed the warhorses himself and bear the daily cost of their fodder.

The chief would also send people to inspect the area regularly, and if a warhorse died, he would have to pay compensation.

He had already paid compensation once, but it wasn't enough to cover all his savings, so he had to borrow money from the herdsman at exorbitant interest rates.

"Where's my horse? Where's my horse?"

Nuwuji forgot the pain of being shot by the arrow and the fear of being ambushed; all he wanted now was to find his warhorse.

Or, he can just find any horse; otherwise, he'll lose money again.

There's a horse there!

Nuwuji ran wildly in joy, when suddenly a hail of arrows came flying and fell in front of him.

The warhorse, startled by the arrow, reared up and fled, disappearing into the night in the blink of an eye. Nuwuji stood there, wanting to cry but having no tears.

"kill!"

Shouts of battle came from behind, and a large number of Ming infantrymen chased after them through the breach in the city wall.

Nuwuji, unable to find his warhorse, was afraid to return and bear the responsibility of compensation.

They simply ran in the opposite direction to the foot of the city wall, knelt down there, and waited to be captured by the Ming army.

In fact, if an army is defeated and loses its horses, the soldiers are exempt from paying compensation.

But Nuwuji had completely forgotten about it; all he could think about was the fear of having to pay for the warhorses.

This fear was even greater than the fear of being massacred by the Ming army.

To what extent had the Western Xia Dynasty become corrupt?

When the government issued warhorses to men serving their first time in the army, some ranchers would even take away the fine horse.

Then the inferior or sick horse is given to its own shepherd.

It can both make money and make it easier to control the shepherds.

Moreover, it won't affect the battle; at worst, they can just lend another good horse to the herdsman before the battle.

If we win the battle, we'll have even more excuse to seize the shepherds' spoils and credit—you borrowed money from me at exorbitant interest rates,

If you ride my fine horse into battle, then your merits and spoils should naturally belong to me.

"Surrender, or I'll be spared!"

The Ming infantry had already rushed over, and Nuwuji knelt at the base of the wall and shouted.

Moreover, he was speaking in Mandarin, which he had secretly learned.

"The militia will remain to guard the prisoners and the captured warhorses!" an officer ordered.

Niu Fu was no longer afraid of the battlefield; in fact, he had become extremely excited.

He volunteered to rush over and pin Nuwuji down.

Yang Danian slapped him across the face and scolded, "Are you out of your mind? What if this guy is just faking surrender?"

"Next time something like this happens, at least two or three people should go!"

Niu Fu said with a grin, "I'll remember that. Brother Yang is right."

"There's someone here who's been hit by three arrows but isn't dead yet."

"Drag them into the city and wait for a doctor to treat them."

"Whether he lives or dies depends entirely on fate."

"There aren't many medicinal herbs left here; we'll have to use them on our own wounded soldiers."

"Haha, I caught one wearing iron armor."

"He's incredibly lucky to have survived being hit by a musket."

"..."

Nuwuji obediently allowed himself to be taken away, his ears filled with a jumble of sounds, and he couldn't understand most of the Chinese spoken.

But the Ming army did not kill him.

These wounded prisoners were taken into the city and made to kneel down, where doctors came to treat their wounds.

Chapter 3808 The Attack!

At this very moment, Yao Pingzhong was leading his elite cavalry in a frenzied pursuit.

He did not know the direction of the enemy commander.

In the darkness, more than 10,000 Western Xia cavalrymen scattered and fled.

However, the Ming cavalry pursuing them numbered only two thousand.

No Western Xia general dared to lead his troops back to fight.

They also had no idea how many troops were lying in ambush in the city.

In the darkness, no one knew how many Ming Dynasty cavalrymen were pursuing them.

One tribal chief even frantically blew his horn to gather his people.

They all stopped after fleeing far away, waiting to surrender at dawn.

Because they fled in the wrong direction; the east was full of cities occupied by the Ming army.

Even after clearing the land along the way, they couldn't find anything to eat.

Why bother running away? Just surrender!

The reason they didn't surrender immediately was because they were afraid the Ming army would kill them in a bloodthirsty frenzy!

Yao Pingzhong pursued and killed countless people along the way, but he still couldn't figure out Richard's location.

Left with no other option, he could only pursue the enemy everywhere, since the enemy forces had scattered across the vast grasslands.

It is impossible to restore the system in the short term.

This can be considered a form of annihilation warfare.

Yao Pingzhong has always had bad luck.

Wu Lin, however, was incredibly lucky. He led five hundred elite cavalry in pursuit, and they relentlessly chased after Richard's main force.

……

Richard is getting old after all.

He's over fifty years old and has been indulging in alcohol and women for the past few years, so his physical strength is far from what it used to be.

He marched from the Mu Us Desert, taking only two short breaks along the way, and even marching through sandstorms.

They waited until dark, ten miles outside Yanzhou City, and only rested for an hour.

Then they rushed over and immediately engaged in battle.

We're all exhausted!

Richard believed that the city could be captured in one fell swoop.

Even with Ming scouts patrolling outside the city and sounding alarms to alert the defenders inside, it was difficult for the defenders to quickly deploy their defenses at night.

At this moment, a group of Ming cavalrymen were hot on their heels.

Richard blew his horn twice, ordering his cavalry to scatter and flee, and he also sent out cavalry to cover their retreat on several occasions.

The Western Xia cavalry responsible for covering the rear, intimidated by Richard's imposing presence, reined in their horses, slowed down, and turned to defend themselves.

But when Wu Lin led his army to charge, these Western Xia cavalrymen were terrified.

Suddenly, they dared not physically confront the Ming army, and scattered after only thirty or forty paces.

Wu Lin completely ignored the routed enemy; he was fixated on Richard's own team.

Although it's difficult to see clearly in the dark, under these circumstances,

They were even able to send troops to cover the rear and continuously issue commands by sounding horns.

Then there must be a Western Xia general ahead.

Gradually, no one had the courage to cover Richard's retreat.

Richard split his cavalry behind him and fled in three directions, with Wu Lin still chasing after him.

Richard couldn't understand how the enemy general who had caught up with him had recognized him.

It's quite simple; the other directions are mostly occupied by tribal cavalry.

But those who always stayed by Richard's side were his personal guards and Iron Falcon.

After being crippled by Han Shizhong and Yue Fei last year

Richard reorganized his personal guards and Iron Falcons who had escaped alive into an elite cavalry force of over a thousand men.

Even when fleeing in the darkness, this elite cavalry force stood out from the crowd.

They escaped in a more orderly fashion.

Moreover, it automatically "isolated" friendly forces from the rest of the tribal cavalry.

I always keep a distance from them; it seems that getting too close would be offensive.

Chapter 3809 Chasing the Helmet Tassel!

If Yao Pingzhong had come after them, he would definitely have discovered something amiss.

Unfortunately, Yao Pingzhong pursued the wrong target from the start; he was chasing Wei Muxiaoliang, the military commander of Yanzhou.

Li Jiqian's biological mother's surname was Wang.

Li Yuanhao's biological mother's surname is Wei Mu.

These surnames all belong to prominent clans in the Western Xia Dynasty, and they occupied many civil and military positions.

In his desperate attempt to escape, Wei Muxiaoliang became even more frantic, charging at full speed on his horse.

Riding on his fine steed, he galloped away, leaving all his personal guards behind.