Shang Hu and over three hundred others selected from various battalions to supplement the Guards Battalion were mainly recruits who had fought bravely during these past days against Chuzhou Army cavalry harassment. They were summoned together and, following a dozen messenger cavalry, gathered in a mountain hollow in the northern foothills of Donglu Mountain.

This place had originally been a village of a dozen or so households, mainly inhabited by tenant farmers subordinate to Shang Family Fort, with dilapidated thatched huts.

The original tenants had all been driven off somewhere. Currently it served as a Chishan Army camp for besieging Shang Family Fort.

When Shang Hu and the others gathered here, those without armor all received lamellar armor or scale armor that even ordinary patrol squad leaders might not possess—Shang Hu didn’t know how the army suddenly had so many surplus sets of lamellar and scale armor to distribute to them.

Afterward, their deficient weapons were collected and replaced with sharper straight-spined sabers or war halberds. They were broken up and assigned to various understaffed patrol units, reinforcing each patrol unit’s heavy armored troops back to about one hundred men.

During these days, Shang Hu only had some very vague understanding of troop formations and deployments, but he also knew that if the Chuzhou Army really deployed such a heavy armored force to attack their flanks, those armies mainly composed of green recruits would certainly be routed with helmets and armor discarded.

He just wasn’t clear why the Chuzhou Army lacked strong determination to charge up, instead allowing many of their green recruits to quickly adapt to the battlefield rhythm.

Charging into battle was just that—advancing and retreating together with one’s unit, not panicking. If the other side had two or three cavalry spears thrusting over, this side could thrust out six or seven spears and would prevail.

Even if scattered, one couldn’t panic. The more one panicked, the faster one died. Gathering three to five people with one large shield could hold out for a while until reinforcements arrived from behind.

They were born into hardship, enslaved like mules and horses, their days as bitter as coptis, never tasting half a bit of sweetness in life, so they had no deep attachment to living. What was there to fear in death?

Only Shang Hu still didn’t know how his mother, younger brother, and sister imprisoned in the water dungeon by the Shang family were doing now, whether they had been released. He sat in the formation on the muddy ground, thinking random thoughts.

At this moment, a young officer not two or three years older than him walked over wearing black armor, the armor plates clustering and clashing as he moved.

Shang Hu and the soldiers around him stood up, but the young officer had no extra words. He only spoke a few words with the squad leaders before the formation, waved his hand. Hearing the new squad leader calling out ahead, Shang Hu inserted his newly wiped saber into his cowhide belt, gripped his armor-piercing spear, and with the other five hundred-plus heavy armored soldiers advanced toward the mountain hollow entrance ahead.

Shang Hu was all too familiar with Shang Family Fort.

Shang Family Fort was divided into Lower Fort and Upper Fort.

The Lower Fort was mainly inhabited by servants engaged in hard labor. It also housed water mills and other workshops, as well as cattle and horse stables. The fort walls were narrow and dilapidated, built merely to prevent the servants living inside from escaping.

The Upper Fort was where the Shang clan members lived.

Although the populations of Upper and Lower Forts differed by over tenfold, their land areas were comparable. This showed how cramped and crowded the servants’ quarters in the Lower Fort were. Shang Hu knew that when it rained, his family’s thatched hut leaked so badly there wasn’t even a dry spot to lie down.

The Upper Fort was naturally extremely spacious. Behind the Upper Fort was a meadow of over two hundred mu.

Every summer season, the meadow grew lush with verdant grass and many wildflowers of unknown names. When the womenfolk from the fort came out to play, their faces and figures were truly beautiful. At such times, Shang Hu’s heart would feel as if grass were growing in it, pounding wildly in panic. But even stealing glances was taboo.

Shang Hu still remembered one time helping the Second Young Master’s new bride retrieve a shuttlecock that had fallen into a mountain gully. When returning it, he couldn’t help but steal two greedy looks, yet he received ten lashes for it.

Even so, he couldn’t forget those eyes like stars in the sky, like a red-hot branding iron deeply seared into his heart.

Those tender little hands—if only he could touch them, or grab them and press them to his own chest, letting her feel how violently his heart was beating. Even if it meant another ten lashes—no, even if it meant death—wouldn’t he be willing?

A stone sloping path built along a mountain ravine connected the Upper and Lower Forts, separated by only about three hundred paces.

Previously, troops had already captured the Lower Fort. As Shang Hu passed by, he saw hundreds and thousands of ragged, emaciated servants being sent down the mountain.

But looking at the squads of soldiers maintaining order and escorting the servants down the mountain, all wearing ragged robes with only white sweat cloths tied around their necks to distinguish soldiers from civilians, their weapons quite crude, they were clearly green recruits. Yet their expressions were all fierce, and looking closer, most had various scars on their bodies, yet they didn’t look like servants who had just enlisted.

Shang Hu had no mind to ponder too carefully. Looking around, he saw that most of the servants coming down the mountain had familiar faces, but he didn’t see his mother, younger brother, or sister among them. He stopped several people to ask, and all said they hadn’t seen them—they might still be in the Upper Fort.

Shang Family Fort’s Upper and Lower Forts were separated by only three hundred paces, but entering the mountain hollow entrance was a stone-paved sloping path about a zhang wide. One side was dark brown mountain rock, the other side was a ravine two or three zhang deep with a stream rolling out from the mountains at the bottom. The other side of the ravine was another steep slope with uneven rocks where people couldn’t stand.

The stone path had an angle of nearly thirty degrees, facing directly toward Shang Family Upper Fort’s solid fort gate piled with boulders. Above was a wooden shed for people to shoot arrows from crenels and throw down rolling logs and stones.

Shang Hu saw the stone path stained with blood. Presumably troops had been sent to attack before but were beaten back due to the overly treacherous terrain. He didn’t know how many had died before they had no choice but to deploy the Guards Battalion’s heavy armored elite for a forceful assault.

Entering the staging area, Shang Hu saw that the steep slopes on both flanks had been leveled. Six bed crossbows were mounted on both sides to seal off the stone path, preventing fort soldiers from counterattacking from inside. There were also some chevaux de frise, caltrops, and other obstacles piled in front, to be moved aside when attacking.

The stone path had steps in sections. Ordinary covered wagons, being quite heavy, couldn’t be pushed up forcefully. But Shang Hu saw that in the open space to one side, several craftsmen were on-site constructing wooden frames that could support large shields.

Clearly, once the defenders threw rolling logs from the crenels—short wooden stakes weighing hundreds of jin or even several hundred jin rolling down with the terrain’s momentum—no matter how strong one was, it would be difficult to directly shoulder a large shield and bear it.

These wooden frames placed behind large shields could dissipate the rolling logs’ momentum while also blocking arrow rain shooting like locust swarms.

These tasks had dedicated personnel. A squad leader-looking person led a patrol unit of soldiers, drilling on the side slope on how to set up large shields at the first moment, then have people retreat.

Soon the patrol unit where Shang Hu was located was also pulled over to coordinate in drilling fort assault. A dirt road had been built there, imitating the stone path before Shang Family Fort.

Many soldiers were laughing and joking, all wanting to charge up directly, not wanting to do this useless work here. But the officers were extremely strict, meticulously leading their subordinates along the dirt road, charging toward a slope with no enemies at all, even simulating various tactical movements. It was utterly boring. After half a day, most were exhausted.

The terrain where Shang Hu was located was slightly elevated. Looking north and east without mountain peaks blocking the view, everything was visible. He could clearly see five or six li away on the flank, Chuzhou Army cavalry harassment hadn’t stopped. But at this time he could also see clearly that behind the front lines they had previously defended, two cavalry forces of about two hundred men each were gathering close to two low mountains, seemingly waiting for the Chuzhou Army cavalry to expose vulnerabilities before unhesitatingly charging out.

These two cavalry forces were mainly equipped with arm-span crossbows, each clustering around seven or eight crossbow carts…

……

……

Seeing that the Chishan Army had nearly completed final preparations for forcefully assaulting Shang Family Fort, and confirming that Han Qian had deployed the most excellently equipped Guards Battalion from his side to before Shang Family Fort, Zhao Zhen couldn’t help but feel somewhat restless.

If the Chishan Army forcefully captured Shang Family Fort, the passage extending south into northern Xuanzhou would be completely opened. At that time, if they didn’t divide forces to garrison Langxi, then the passage between Boundary Ridge Mountain and Fuyu Mountain leading east into Huzhou would also be open to the Chishan Army.

The one thousand infantry defending Liyang city had now been deployed by Zhao Zhen to White Fox Ridge. The thousand-plus cavalry that had been harassing the north-central section of Maoshan from the northern flank without success were also all gathered here.

“Since Han Qian is certain we lack the determination to tear through their flank defense line, today no matter what we must kick this iron plate!” Zhao Zhen reined in his horse, stopping before Wang Wenqian, saying as if to encourage himself.

Wang Wenqian looked ahead with concern. The Chishan Army on the eastern flank still had forty patrol units of mixed veteran and recruit troops with uneven armor, plus twenty patrol units mainly composed of elite veterans, totaling nearly five thousand men. On their side, they had less than four thousand elite troops mainly cavalry. If they really fought hard, they could still overcome the terrain obstacles and tear through the Chishan Army’s flank defense line—the question was how heavy the casualties would be.

“You must be careful that Han Qian may have hidden a small number of elite ambush troops behind those mountains. Also, if Han Qian transfers elite forces back from the northern foothills of Donglu Mountain, don’t get entangled with the Chishan Army! The Old Prince may also be in Maoshan,” Wang Wenqian said.

Zhao Zhen reined in his horse. His gaunt old face as if carved by knives and axes, looking west against the slightly westward-slanting sun overhead—having campaigned on horseback for half his life, in his early years under Prince Li Yu in the Prince’sMansion, he was merely a deputy battalion commander. When the Chuzhou Army changed commanders and a large batch of battalion commanders and vice commanders were replaced, he had the opportunity to assume higher command positions. These years he emerged prominently in confrontations with the eastern Liang Army, growing into a high-ranking general.

Zhao Zhen was actually just over forty, but having experienced too much hardship over the years, his appearance looked extraordinarily aged. No wonder—leading soldiers crawling and rolling every day through wind, frost, thunder, and rain, his days couldn’t possibly be as refined and comfortable as civil officials like Wang Wenqian.

Some had seen Little Prince Li Xiu, once called the Milk Tiger, leading a cavalry unit garrisoned at Small Mao Peak. Could the Old Prince be in Maoshan?

But if the Old Prince truly decided to support the Third Prince, why would he do so secretly without proclaiming it to the world? Why was there no movement from Hongzhou? And why would the Old Prince approve Han Qian’s chaotic actions in Maoshan, stirring up the foundations of aristocratic families?

Han Qian at this time stood on a low mountain on Maoshan’s southeastern side, less than three hundred paces from the front patrol units, surveying the battle situation. On one side of the low mountain were two crossbow cavalry units selected from elite Guards Battalion troops.

The Chishan Army’s total forces had reached over thirteen thousand. Naturally many could ride horses, but those skilled enough to wield blades, spears, and weapons to fight enemies on horseback or shoot long bows—they still couldn’t muster even one basic battalion.

So they equipped arm-span crossbows—crossbows for long-range combat, dismounting to form battle lines for close combat.

When conditions were crude, one had to find ways to overcome them.

At this time, although the nearly four thousand Chuzhou Army troops gathering at White Fox Ridge were mainly cavalry with only about a thousand infantry, when they truly resolved to tear toward their eastern flank defense line, Han Qian saw that the opposing side still used three infantry wedge formations as the core, with one thousand cavalry divided into two units gradually pressing forward from both flanks of the infantry formation.

Additionally, the Chuzhou Army had over fifteen hundred cavalry holding the rear formation, ready to respond at any time to various unexpected situations on the battlefield.

“It’s clear the Chuzhou Army still cherishes their cavalry, wanting to use infantry to tear through our flank defense line before using cavalry to expand the gains…” Han Qian said to Zhang Ping and Yuan Guowei beside him.

Yuan Guowei was a veteran who had fought on battlefields for half his life. If not for his age, he would want to lead a unit of soldiers to the front lines to indulge in the thrill of boiling blood.

Zhang Ping and Feng Yi both felt their hearts pounding. On paper they could remain calm and composed, but every time they were present on site, they inevitably felt tense, especially since this battle determined whether the Chishan Army could open up a situation in northern Xuanzhou.

Marquis Xinchang Li Pu and Li Xiu and others were responsible for monitoring Lishui city forty li away. As long as Anning Palace didn’t send additional cavalry reinforcements, there was nothing to worry about. Yao Xishui ultimately chose to stay on Han Qian’s side to watch changes in the eastern flank battlefield.

It was hard to imagine Han Qian dared use five thousand mixed troops to resist the assault of Chuzhou Army elite forces. Her exquisite heart also jumped to her throat.

Han Qian had Guo Nu’er transmit flag signals, ordering the patrol units on the flank defense line to gradually gather in the direction of the Chuzhou Army’s advance, meeting the assault with a denser formation.

Soon the two armies collided fiercely, stirring up a contest of iron and blood. Amid flashing blades and swords, flesh and blood flew. Hoarse shouts roared and echoed between heaven and earth.

Wang Wenqian stood on White Fox Ridge six or seven li away, hearing the killing shouts carried by the wind. Even though he had observed formation combat countless times, his heart couldn’t help but shake. Perhaps this was one reason why in his lifetime he could only be a military advisor but couldn’t command troops charging into battle.

Standing so far away, Wang Wenqian naturally couldn’t clearly see each soldier’s face, but he could see over a larger scope the two armies colliding like a cruel yet magnificent painting unfolding between heaven and earth. He could also more clearly see that the Chishan Army on the eastern flank, even when gathering together, consistently maintained three distinct left, center, and right divisions.

The Chishan Army center was blocking the Chuzhou Army infantry assault. The left and right flanks were slightly forward, mainly restricting their cavalry from penetrating forward.

It seemed they would have to wait for the infantry to rout the Chishan Army center before having a chance to use cavalry to expand gains.

“Something’s wrong—the Chishan Army center is resisting too resolutely!” Yin Peng frowned after watching for a moment, figuring out something was amiss. The two armies had been fighting at the contact line for the time it takes to drink tea, yet not even one patrol unit formation on the opposing side had been scattered. This clearly wasn’t the Chishan Army recruit patrol units they had tested over the previous days.

Recruits couldn’t possibly undergo such tremendous transformation in just four or five days.

“Switching beams and pillars—the Chishan Army swapped troops during the night!” Wang Wenqian exclaimed in alarm.

They judged Chishan Army veterans versus recruits mainly based on armor. It was truly hard to imagine Han Qian would replace veterans into recruit patrol units, not even wearing armor, still fighting with long bamboo poles?

Looking at the resistance strength of the Chishan Army center now, it should be that during these days they secretly used veterans to replace recruits as bamboo pole soldiers.

Clearly, in Han Qian’s view, rather than having their flank simultaneously suffer their strong attack while forcefully assaulting Shang Family Fort, it was better to first lure them to attack the flank—at that time even if the flank had deviations, there would still be opportunities to adjust deployment.

Before they could send someone to remind battlefield commander Zhao Zhen, Wang Wenqian and Yin Peng saw two Chishan Army cavalry units emerge from the western forest, penetrating forward through gaps in the Chishan Army front lines. Their first echelon cavalry moved up to meet them, but were met head-on with a dense volley of crossbow arrows like locust swarms.

Chuzhou Army cavalry mainly wore light leather armor, with defense considerably inferior to lamellar or scale armor, unable to withstand close-range volleys from arm-span crossbows.

Especially since the Chishan Army’s two cavalry units had about four hundred men, everyone equipped with arm-span crossbows. Four hundred arm-span crossbows volleying head-on—no one could withstand that. Wang Wenqian and Yin Peng saw from afar that fifty or sixty of their elite cavalry were shot off their horses unprepared.

The Chishan Army’s two cavalry units were all equipped with powerful crossbows. After the first volley they didn’t press forward again but withdrew, using the cover of flanking infantry patrol units and over a dozen crossbow carts to reload crossbow arrows.

Watching the process of the Chishan Army flanking infantry patrol units closing the gaps, Wang Wenqian was in such pain he almost groaned—this was a process Han Qian had designed beforehand!

That is to say, Han Qian predicted they would still cherish their cavalry, using the urgently deployed infantry to attack the center of the Chishan Army flank.

No matter how anxious Wang Wenqian was, he couldn’t interfere with the battlefield situation. At this time he could only hope that Zhao Zhen, supervising the battle at the front, could make timely adjustments. But Zhao Zhen’s field of vision wasn’t as wide as theirs, and he might be somewhat dazed by the first volley, unable to react immediately.

Of course, adjustments weren’t so easy either.

If cavalry withdrew, what about those infantry formations attacking the Chishan Army center—wouldn’t their flanks be exposed?

Withdrawing together, with different speeds for infantry and cavalry—how could they easily pull apart from the Chishan Army?

Without changes, when the Chishan Army flanking infantry patrol units opened gaps again and the crossbow cavalry charged up again for the next volley—how many elite cavalry would be lost?

Zhao Zhen was worthy of being a battlefield veteran. He didn’t hastily withdraw the first echelon cavalry but ordered them to dismount and form battle lines, using longbows to volley at the Chishan Army flanking infantry patrol units, forcing these patrol units to raise large shields to protect the mostly unarmored veterans. Their movements immediately became hesitant.

Zhao Zhen then ordered the second echelon cavalry to attack the center-front flank of the Chishan Army center from an angle.

The fighting intensified.

The crossbow cavalry units formed from Guards Battalion elite troops, seeing the gaps between formations sealed, didn’t circle around from farther away but directly dismounted and entered the center patrol units.

The essence of the Mandarin Duck Formation was most effective against infantry. It hadn’t been demonstrated before mainly because the wolf-fang lance patrol units lacked long-range troops. When four hundred powerful crossbows were supplemented into infantry patrol units, the effect was completely different.

Enemy troops couldn’t easily make contact—either using heavy armor and shields to resist bow and crossbow volleys, or having no choice but to use cavalry charges and trampling regardless of casualties.

Unfortunately, the Chuzhou Army front commander was unwilling to commit all three thousand elite cavalry, and the thousand-plus infantry deployed from Liyang city—though called infantry, how many truly wore lamellar or scale armor capable of withstanding longbow and arm-span crossbow volleys?

Not to mention the infantry defending Liyang city—even the elite cavalry personally led by Commander Zhao Zhen, the vast majority only wore leather armor, which could only effectively defend against sword slashes and reduce arrow penetration depth, but couldn’t resist close-range spear thrusts at close range, nor completely resist close-range bow and crossbow volleys.

Currently, the Chuzhou Army infantry formation mainly relied on over a hundred large shields and iron shields in the front rows to suppress volleys from wolf-fang lances and arm-span crossbows.

It was fortunate that arm-span crossbows’ lofted shooting lethality was far inferior to longbows, so the Chuzhou Army infantry formation casualties hadn’t suddenly intensified. But when the Chishan Army’s dozen-plus crossbow carts entered between infantry patrol unit formations, shooting through gaps, each arrow as thick as a short spear could skewer two to three people or directly pierce through a warhorse’s chest and abdomen—it was terrifyingly different.

The Chuzhou Army second echelon cavalry directly assaulted the Chishan Army center, but there were only four hundred men.

Although they routed three Chishan Army center infantry patrol units regardless of casualties, they couldn’t advance half a step further.

Because what they faced next were infantry patrol units reinforced with Guards Battalion elite troops.

Zhao Zhen had placed dozens of heavily armored cavalry with horses wearing horse armor in the second echelon cavalry. But with the warhorses’ charging speed suppressed, and simultaneously facing wolf-fang lances with branches, even horses wearing armor had vulnerable spots like eyes easily attacked. When heavily armored cavalry couldn’t retreat at this time, they could only be used as heavy armored infantry, unable to exert greater advantages.

For the Chishan Army Guards Battalion elite troops, after shooting crossbow arrows, they simply set aside the arm-span crossbows and switched to spears, pikes, and halberds to meet the Chuzhou Army fierce soldiers who forcefully attacked without retreating.

Wolf-fang lances held more steadily in veterans’ hands with better coordination meant they could better keep enemy troops blocked outside five meters. Whenever a gap appeared, it only allowed their own sword and shield or halberd-wielding veterans to see opportunities to charge forward two steps, hack and slash several or a dozen times in the chaos, then retreat.

The fighting intensified. The earth flowed with rivers of blood.

Seeing the Chishan Army’s resolute defense will on the flank, Zhao Zhen ultimately didn’t dare commit the remaining fifteen hundred cavalry in the rear formation. When leading remnant forces to withdraw crosswise toward White Fox Ridge, over two thousand soldiers had already fallen on the battlefield.

Those wounded but not dead warhorses shrieked and wailed miserably on the battlefield, struggling to stand up.

Zhao Zhen’s face was ashen. He hadn’t expected that resolving to charge once would still be so dismal.

The Chishan Army didn’t pursue. He reined in his horse to look at the remnants, secretly estimating their casualties. At this time it appeared comparable to the Chishan Army, but they had retreated from the battlefield in disarray. Those wounded soldiers who didn’t have time to retreat would become Chishan Army spoils. The final casualty ratio—their side would be more tragic.

Previously the force ratio was four thousand to five thousand. Now not only had the force disparity not decreased, it had widened.

Losing over a thousand troops hadn’t shaken the Chishan Army’s flank defense line. And Han Qian could still deploy more forces at any time from the northern foothills of Donglu Mountain so close at hand. Zhao Zhen had even less confidence to continue fighting.

Wang Wenqian was also silent. Zhao Zhen’s command had no problems. Even if they had known before the battle that Han Qian had switched beams and pillars, secretly using more veterans to replace recruits in the flank defense line, they couldn’t truly be willing to sit and watch the Chishan Army forcefully assault Shang Family Fort without fighting.

At bottom, this Chishan Army rabble’s combat capability was far from as weak as they had imagined.

What they needed to consider next was no longer whether Shang Family Fort could hold, but rather to consider how the entire battle situation would change after the Chishan Army opened the passage extending into northern Xuanzhou, and how they could calmly respond!