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Qin Mu had less than 200 cavalrymen, but they were like a raging wind and raging fire, breaking through Zhang Dingguo's two infantry squares in succession. A total of nearly 10,000 cavalrymen were running away in all directions under the galloping horses' hooves.
Hot blood was flowing on the earth, and the rain of iron hooves was still pounding on the ground. Even the nearby mountains and fields could feel the slight vibration.
Zhang Dingguo understood that if tens of thousands of defeated soldiers were allowed to rush to other military formations, it would most likely trigger a chain reaction, leading to the total collapse of tens of thousands of troops.
Less than two hundred cavalrymen defeated an army of tens of thousands. This was definitely not a myth. Zhang Dingguo knew too well what kind of people these tens of thousands of troops under his command were.
Strictly speaking, these tens of thousands of people were nothing more than refugees armed with swords and guns. They had not received any training and had no cohesion at all. Once panic spread, no matter how many people there were, they would be nothing more than lambs to be slaughtered.
"Shoot! Shoot!" Zhang Dingguo gritted his teeth, hardened his heart and gave the order loudly. The army he was in no longer cared about friend or foe. A rain of arrows rose into the sky and flew away like locusts. The defeated soldiers fell down screaming. The survivors looked at the big flag with the word "Zhang" on it in disbelief, unable to understand why their own people would shoot at their own people.
Even though they didn't understand, they were forced to turn around and flee under the rain of arrows that covered the sky. More than a dozen of Qin Mu's cavalrymen were shot and fell off their horses, and were also forced to fight outside. His number of people was too small, and he could not afford to fight Zhang Dingguo head-on, so he had to chase after the fleeing soldiers and hack them to vent his anger.
The rebels on the north side of Yuanshui were stopped by Qin Mu, and together with the scattered soldiers who had previously pursued the left army, nearly 20,000 of them were defeated by Qin Mu, giving the left army at the South Gate a glimmer of hope. Feng Xi, who had retreated into the city first, led more than 10,000 troops to charge out of the South Gate and rushed all the way to the West Gate to provide support. Wu Xueli's troops finally managed to stabilize their position, fighting and retreating, and gradually withdrew into the city from the West Gate.
Qin Mu couldn't help cursing when he saw this situation. He said, "I have been holding up half the sky, but you, with tens of thousands of troops, didn't take the opportunity to counterattack, but instead retreated into the city. When you all retreat into your turtle shells, won't I be left with only my few men to fight Zhang Xianzhong's army of more than 100,000?"
"Retreat! Let Huo Sheng lead the infantry to retreat first!" Qin Mu didn't bother to chase after the fleeing soldiers on the ground, and shouted loudly.
It was such a pity this time. If he had one or two thousand cavalry, he would have been able to defeat Zhang Dingguo's tens of thousands of infantry in one fell swoop. It would not be surprising if the chain reaction caused Zhang Xianzhong's army of more than 100,000 to collapse.
I remember that when Wanyan Dagu started his rebellion, he relied on a force of more than 10,000 soldiers and defeated the 700,000-strong Khitan army in one fell swoop. The Khitan cavalry was not comparable to the refugees who had just been recruited by Zhang Xianzhong. If one part of the cavalry collapsed, wouldn't it cause the collapse of the entire army
Because of this, Qin Mu was even more reluctant to give up those thousands of war horses. Before powerful guns and artillery were developed, cavalry was the king.
After Qin Mu's counterattack, 20,000 people had already run several miles north. The infantry led by Huo Sheng immediately turned north upon receiving Qin Mu's order. The miraculous Qin army was extremely brave in battle, and it was even more astonishing when the wind was strong. Nearly a thousand men and horses ran wildly, as fast as a receding wave... ... ...
Qin Mu led more than a hundred cavalrymen to cover the rear. Just as they rushed up a slope, they saw a cloud of yellow dust rushing towards them from the northwest at a 45-degree angle. Under the yellow dust, hundreds of cavalrymen made a huge rumbling sound, and in the front was a red shadow, even the long cloak was red, like a burning, flying flame... ... ...
Qin Mu had noticed this cavalry a long time ago. From the moment they retreated from the north gate, this cavalry appeared on a high slope in the northwest. Like ghosts, they had been watching from the sidelines, and seemed not to want to join in this melee. But now, for some unknown reason, they were ferociously hacking and killing the tens of thousands of defeated soldiers who were dispersed by Qin Mu and his men. Perhaps the rebels had provoked them just now, and they were forced to take action.
It was difficult to distinguish between friend and foe, and Qin Mu was unwilling to take the initiative to provoke them. He led the men behind him to the right and passed them at a distance of more than a hundred steps.
After running for about a mile, the fleeing soldiers became fewer, and Qin Mu's men slowed down a little. Looking back, they saw five or six hundred cavalrymen rushing past from the south of Yuanzhou, colliding with the red-dressed woman's men. But they saw the red-dressed woman's men rushing in from the middle, as if they wanted to cut the cavalry in half;
But Qin Mu soon discovered that their speed was getting slower and slower, as if they were stuck in a quagmire, and Zhang Dingguo's infantry phalanxes were pressing up from the west and south. Once they were surrounded, the 100 men led by the woman in red would probably have difficulty escaping.
"Turn back, turn back, kill!" Qin Mu no longer hesitated and immediately ordered to turn around and kill.
"Sir, we don't know if we are friends or foes, so why should we save them?"
"Zhu Yijin, you are such a fool. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Do you understand?" Qin Mu said loudly while whipping his warhorse and speeding up.
The red-dressed woman's troops were fighting with the rebels. Helping them now would be helping himself. Zhang Xianzhong's hundreds of cavalrymen were not simple. They were easily trapped by the red-dressed woman's sturdy troops, which showed that they were extraordinary. They should be the old subordinates who followed Zhang Xianzhong to fight in the Central Plains.
They came to reinforce the north bank, which meant they were originally coming for Qin Mu, but they just happened to collide with the red-dressed woman's troops. If this cavalry chased him, Qin Mu thought it would be difficult for him to escape unscathed.
Hong Niangzi was indeed forced to take action. They did not expect that Zhang Xianzhong's troops would suddenly attack them, chasing Wu Xueli. For a moment, the whole mountain and plain were filled with people fighting. They had no way to escape. The rebels were so bloodthirsty that they didn't care who they were. They just handed them knives when they saw them. The two sides clashed like this.
The red lady rushed into the enemy camp with a long whip dancing like a spirit snake, and the tip of the whip made a sharp whistling sound. With a crisp sound, a rebel who was rushing towards her was whipped, his eyes bursting, and he fell off his horse screaming. The warhorses kept neighing, and the sound of killing filled the ears from all directions. Howl! The long whip flew out again, and quickly wrapped around the neck of a rebel, and then pulled back. The rebel was strangled so that his eyes bulged and his tongue stuck out, like a hanged man. "Get off!" With a delicate shout, the rebel was pulled off the horse, and his stomach was immediately trampled by the warhorse next to him, and his liver burst out... ... ... ..
Xing Laoqi and Gui Sandiao stood on the left and right to protect Hong Niangzi, roaring continuously and slashing with their goose-feather swords. Although their group was powerful, they were too few in number after all. Halfway through the charge, their speed began to slow down, and the two cavalry groups almost ended up fighting on the spot.
Seeing that she couldn't break through the enemy's formation, Hong Niangzi couldn't help but get anxious. If she continued like this, even if everyone stretched out their necks for you to chop, you would be exhausted to death. At this moment, a large black flag flew over, bringing with it a puff of yellow dust like a dragon.
Qin Mu, with his more than one hundred riders, did not charge straight in. He did not have many men and horses. If he was trapped like the woman in red, he would be dead.
See the crescent moon again, and the crescent-shaped arc of light again!
One hundred and sixty soldiers rushed forward like flying, drawing a perfect arc of light that swept across the left side of the enemy formation. "Kill!" Liu Meng roared, swinging the giant wolf club and smashing the heads of two rebels. The soldiers on the right also took advantage of the thunderous power and swung their swords continuously, killing the rebels on the left side and forcing them to retreat several feet inward.
However, Qin Mu and his men did not continue to fight hard, but ran away as soon as they got close. When the last few cavalrymen passed by, several big guys with sparks hissing followed and rolled into the enemy formation.
They came and went like the wind, and did not cause much casualties to the hundreds of rebel cavalry. But after they had fought more than ten battles, several loud noises suddenly came from the enemy camp. Boom! Boom! Boom! Balls of fire shot up into the sky, and a bunch of iron pieces and broken stones flew like rain. The rebels near the explosion were blown to pieces, and the scene was in a mess. Broken limbs were swept into the air by the shock wave, and the left side was almost blown into a blank area.
Hong Niangzi, who was trapped in the middle, took this opportunity to lead her troops to charge out from the left. Just as they rushed out of the dense smoke, they saw the Qin flag sweeping out in an arc and then charging back again. Another crescent moon light passed by the right side of the rebels. Boom! Boom! Boom! Then several more balls of fire rose from the right side of the rebels, like demonic fire from hell... ... ... ...
It was the first time that Hong Niang discovered that cavalry could be used in this way. But to be honest, she also deserves half the credit, because it was their head-on attack and entanglement with the enemy that caused the enemy cavalry to lose speed, allowing Qin Mu's Crescent Moon Light to work.
"Turn back and kill!" Lady Hong didn't have time to think too much. While the enemy's hundreds of cavalry were blown to pieces, she led her men and horses to rush into the messy enemy formation again, as if she would not be satisfied until she wiped out hundreds of enemy cavalry... (To be continued...)
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