Chapter Twenty-Four: Initial Victory

  Along the Yellow River, on the narrow mountain road towards Tongguan, the vanguard of the rebel army quickly marched in the direction of Tongguan.

  Zhonglang General Wu Gang led a thousand cavalrymen, lightly equipped and marching at the very front of the entire army. This thousand men were responsible for the vanguard tasks of the entire army, including route reconnaissance, sentry duty, seizing terrain in case of sudden situations and making emergency responses, and were the forward guards of the entire army.

  This is not a good errand, if an unexpected situation occurs, such as being ambushed or raided by the other side, the vanguard often suffers the heaviest losses, and few people are willing to take on this task.

  Wu Gang also reluctantly took over this task, but military orders cannot be disobeyed, and he had no choice but to accept.

  But today's Wu Gang is not worried about being ambushed or raided by the Tang army, because yesterday, their Great Yan army had just ambushed the Tang army in Lingbao, and nearly 200,000 Tang soldiers were annihilated, with less than 10,000 escaping back to Tongguan.

  Those less than 10,000 defeated soldiers were already frightened, let alone being ambushed or attacked by this cavalry. When the Great Yan army arrived at Tongguan, it was already quite good that they could stand firmly on the city wall of Tongguan and not be scared to fall off the city wall.

  The Great Yan army swept through, and it was impossible for the Tang army to resist again. Tongguan was within reach!

  The vanguard of Ma's army arrived at Tongguan City first, and it was likely the first large-scale Yan army to enter Tongguan City.

  Being the first to enter Tongguan City, this achievement can be exchanged for many rewards. Wu Gang felt that his position as Zhong Lang Jiang would soon be removed and replaced with a general, and he could also receive many gold, silver, and treasure rewards. What glory is this?

  Wu Gang had already conveyed this meaning to all his subordinates, and he knew it was a very inspiring speech!

  However, seeing the soldiers behind him looking a bit lackluster due to the scorching sun, he felt a little annoyed.

  "Pass the word to all brothers, cheer up! A few miles ahead is Tongguan City. The Tang army in Tongguan City may have already escaped and fled, and the city gate may be wide open. If we arrive at Tongguan City soon, whoever falls behind and doesn't get a reward, don't blame me for not reminding you!" Wu Gang pointed with his whip at the faintly visible Hantonguan City between the mountains in front of him, commanding the soldiers beside him who were spiritless due to the scorching sun.

  "Yes, General!" The soldiers around him were stimulated by Wu Gang's words and regained their morale.

  Getting rewards is the happiest thing, fighting with one's life, what we are after is getting rewards! The opportunity to gain military merit is right in front of us, how can we still be spiritless? After capturing Tongguan, we won't have to suffer from the scorching sun anymore, and we can comfortably rest and cool off in the shade.

  After Wu Gang gave the order, he also straightened his body and whipped a horse whip, speeding up the pace.

  The Lang Jiang, school officers and ordinary soldiers around and behind him also followed suit, whipping up their horses to speed up their advance, preparing to arrive at Tongguan City ahead of time and launch a surprise attack. Almost everyone believed that Tongguan City was now undefended, and with their large army approaching, they could enter the city without attacking.

  Wu Gang, with a spirited and vigorous appearance, rode at the forefront of the entire army. He was not worried about the Tang army ambushing them along the way. In the past half year of attacking Tongguan, although the battles were tough, they had never been ambushed by the Tang army on this mountain path. This was because the terrain in this area was too treacherous to hide a large number of troops. Previously, they had worried about the Tang army inside Tongguan city taking advantage of their unstable footing to launch a surprise attack, but now this concern was no longer necessary. The almost completely defeated Geshu Han's unit no longer had the strength or courage to launch a surprise attack on them.

  But joy is often easy to give birth to sorrow, just as Wu Gang was leading the way, riding swiftly forward, he suddenly heard a "swish" sound, and an arrow shot out from somewhere, flying quickly towards him. The seasoned warrior Wu Gang could hear the "humming" sound of the arrow leaving the bowstring, and a wave of terror surged up in his heart, almost subconsciously preparing to dodge, but everything was too late, the swiftly arriving arrow hit him right in the left side of his chest.

  The arrow's force was extremely great, the entire arrow shot into his unprotected chest, almost piercing through to his back. Wu Gang only managed to let out a mournful cry before falling off his horse and landing on the ground with a thud. The impact of the fall drove the arrow further into his chest, causing it to pierce through to his back. Fresh blood spurted out from his chest and back like a fountain. After Wu Gang fell to the ground, he struggled for a few moments before becoming motionless after a few mournful cries.

  Wu Gang couldn't believe it until his death that the Tang army would ambush them here, and he would be the first to die among the entire vanguard cavalry.

  At this time, arrows shot out from both sides of the mountain slope like a swarm of locusts, all falling on the heads of the rebels.

  The leading general Wu Gang was shot and killed by a hail of arrows, the rebel vanguard horses were instantly routed in the sudden attack.

  Innumerable soldiers were shot and fell from their horses, countless miserable cries followed, some of the wounded horses galloped wildly in agony, and the riders who had not fallen off were soon thrown off by the wildly galloping horses and trampled to the ground by the war horses rushing behind.

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  Li Fude, who led the troops out of the city, set up an ambush five miles outside the city gate of Hantang after receiving guidance from Pang Zhong. However, before all his men and horses could be hidden, scouts reported that the rebel vanguard was approaching. Li Fude had to immediately issue orders to prepare for battle.

  Li Fude was from Shu, a seasoned general with rich combat experience. He owed his appointment in the capital to Yang Guozhong's recommendation and was deeply grateful to him. This time, he followed Yang Hui to the front line of Tongguan to provide reinforcements under Yang Guozhong's order. Although he had reservations about the ambush task assigned by Yang Hui, he could only obey orders and lead his troops out of the city under Yang Hui's stern command.

  However, after leaving the city and finding a suitable location for an ambush, his originally fluctuating mood completely disappeared, and he fully entered a state of combat.

  The terrain of this place is very suitable for a small-scale ambush, as the roads leading to Tongguan are all very narrow, and many places can only accommodate one large vehicle or two horses passing side by side. On one side is a mountain and on the other side is a river, making it impossible to deploy a large army. In this kind of place, giving the rebel army a head-on blow and ensuring the safety of our own troops' withdrawal is not a very difficult task.

  At dawn, Li Fude saw that the rebel army was not on guard at all, but came over with a big fanfare, and even didn't send out scouts. The conviction that the attack would definitely succeed occupied his whole body. When the vanguard of the rebel army entered the ambush circle, Li Fude decisively ordered the start of the attack!

  Five hundred soldiers suddenly emerged from the ambush on the mountain rocks, their bows fully drawn and buzzing with sound, arrows pouring down like rain into the rebel army formation. Countless rebels fell to the ground amidst cries of agony, many horses also being hit by arrows. The mountain path was instantly thrown into chaos, those rebel cavalry who were lucky enough not to be shot could only hastily turn their horses around and flee in the opposite direction or find a place to hide.

  The people and horses behind the rebels did not know that a sudden change had occurred in front, and they continued to move forward. The fleeing cavalry collided with the advancing personnel, causing even greater chaos. The sound of human shouting and horse neighing echoed through the mountain valley and spread far away. Many rebel soldiers were knocked down by their companions' horses, or fell off cliffs, riverbanks, and even trampled to death.

  Seeing the rebel vanguard fall into chaos, Li Fude was overjoyed and ordered his soldiers to continue shooting while shouting loudly. As Li Fude's troops shouted, more and more arrows flew towards the rebels' heads, and the sound of killing enemies echoed back from the mountain top, adding to the rebels' own chaos, with loud neighing and shouting, no one could hear how many people were shouting or how many government soldiers were ambushing here.

  The rebels in the ambush area have been basically shot dead, and Li Fude decisively ordered the soldiers to mount their horses and pursue.

  The soldiers immediately jumped out from behind the hidden cliff, mounted their horses hidden on a vacant lot on the other side of the cliff, and under Li Fude's leadership, chased after them at the fastest speed.

  This ambush site was chosen by Pang Zhong for Li Fude, but it is only suitable for hiding a few hundred soldiers and horses. Not only is it not easy to be discovered by the enemy, but also easier to pursue or escape. If there are over a thousand soldiers and horses, wanting to set up an ambush in this area without being discovered by the enemy, and being able to withdraw calmly or quickly pursue, that would be quite difficult. This should be the main reason why the rebel army did not expect to encounter an ambush in this place!

  Victory is the most inspiring, when leading the army out of Tongguan City to set up an ambush, Li Fude's heart was still full of anxiety, deeply afraid that this battle would be a one-way trip. The soldiers under his command were also the same. But the ambush succeeded easily, and the rebel vanguard immediately collapsed, he didn't hesitate at all and issued the order to pursue. There was no hesitation, nor any fear, even he himself had forgotten, his troops only had five hundred soldiers, not five thousand.

  Li Fude did not know that he and his soldiers shot a wave of arrows, unintentionally killing the Zhonglang general who led the vanguard of the rebel army, causing the rebel scouts to have no one in command, otherwise they would not be so chaotic.

  Ambushed, several hundred cavalrymen of the rebel vanguard were killed by arrows. After the rapid collapse of the vanguard, they became entangled with their own rear troops, which were already in a state of great confusion. When they heard the shouts and hoofbeats of the government army's pursuit approaching from afar, they became even more panicked. The soldiers who heard the battle cries were infected by the panic of the defeated soldiers and involuntarily turned their horses around to flee. The entire column was completely chaotic, and even the loud shouting of the generals could not stop it! At this time, the arrows shot by the Tang army flew in with a "buzzing" sound, continuously falling into the chaotic array of rebel soldiers. Although the density of the arrows was not as dense as before, they still caused even greater chaos in the rebel ranks.

  Li Fude led his troops to ambush in this place, which can be said to be the most critical section of this road. The terrain is slightly flat both front and back, so the large army will not appear crowded when advancing or retreating. However, the soldiers who were advancing and retreating were mixed together, and the rebel army was in chaos! At this time, Li Fude had already led his troops to kill their way to the front, with countless swords flashing cold light in the dawn, emitting a murderous aura.

  Li Fude, who was at the forefront of the charge, caught up with a rebel soldier who had turned to flee and swung his horizontal sword with all his might. With a faint cry, the head of the rebel soldier who had fled for his life was actually cut off by Li Fude, and a column of blood shot up into the air. The headless corpse galloped wildly on horseback for a while before finally falling to the ground!

  The tragic scene caused several rebel soldiers who saw it to scream and cry out, shouting "dad" and "mom" as they desperately galloped away on horseback.

  "Kill!" The cries of kill continued unabated.

  Li Fude's troops had not experienced the defeat of Lingbao, and they were well-trained in peacetime, so they did not have much fear of the rebels. Moreover, they had just gained a successful ambush, which made them all full of fighting spirit. In the hands of many soldiers, some slow-moving rebel soldiers were beheaded under their horses, and some rebel soldiers were frightened and threw away their weapons, dismounted and knelt down to surrender.

  After two rounds of fierce fighting, the rebel army's formation became even more chaotic and failed to organize effective resistance. However, with the road blocked by rebel soldiers, further rapid charges were impossible, so Li Fude decisively ordered his troops to retreat.

  In the midst of the continuous shouting and killing, Li Fude and his 500 elite cavalrymen killed many more rebel soldiers before finally riding off into the distance.