Chapter 12 Black Swan

The expeditionary army requisitioned almost all the war horses and even draft horses and took them to Liaodong.

And when they sent out troops a few days ago, they gave the only remaining war horses in the city to the rebels.

Therefore, the new army had only a few hundred cavalrymen, including the personal soldiers of the commander Zhao Yi and scouts. This forced the noble sons who were proficient in riding and shooting to serve as infantry.

It's not that these noble children don't have horses at home. Others may not know, but Li Yuanhui knows very well that there are at least 20 to 30 horses in his own stable, some of which are Hexi horses produced in Liangzhou, which can be used for heavy cavalry riding combat.

But isn't it a bit too much to recruit all the people and even the horses?
It is easy to recruit people to serve the country.

You even collected the horses, which are private property. I'm afraid that the noble families who stayed behind in Luoyang will have to tie up the two palace guards and the prince who is the regent and force them to open the door for Yang Xun.

It is estimated that Gao Shize and Murong Ju were also aware of this, so they only allowed each family to send people.

The army set out from Anxi, with each person carrying several days' worth of dry food, and headed straight for Mangshan.

As the saying goes, when there are tens of thousands of soldiers and horses, there is no end to the world. Li Yuanhui was walking in the team, and he couldn't see the end in front or behind. He didn't see any trace of the rebels for the whole morning.

It was almost noon when a messenger came to deliver the order, asking the three battalions of the right army generals Dou Guang, Chen Lin and Liu Sigong to stay on standby, take turns eating and resting, and be ready to go into battle at any time.

So everyone sat on the ground and began to eat and drink. Because once the battle started, it would probably last until night, so eating and drinking enough was necessary.

Just as Li Yuanhui swallowed the steamed bun and took a sip of water, the messenger arrived again.

He ordered Dou Guang's troops to advance.

Li Yuanhui stood up, checked his armor again, and prepared to go into battle.

The weather is clear and the sun is shining brightly.

On the rugged wilderness in the northern suburbs of Luoyang, nearly 100,000 rebels and 20,000 Yan government troops were deployed in the north and south. Looking down from the sky, they looked like a black swarm of ants or huge waves.

After the confrontation, Li Yuanhui, who was in the team, didn't know when the fight started or who started it first. It seemed that the fighting had been going on in the front since the beginning.

Where the two armies were fighting, countless soldiers and horses fled in panic, and arrows flew from the sky like rain.

Looking around, there were forests of spears and armor, and the dust was rolling and he couldn't see the beginning or the end. Being in the battle, he had no idea how the generals deployed their troops. It seemed that a captain didn't need to know, he just had to follow them.

Li Yuanhui was too lazy to think about the impact of this war on the Yan court. He had no intention of making achievements and climbing up the career ladder, let alone standing out.

Now he just wants to live, live well, and wait for his family to become successful. But he also knows that if he wants to survive on the battlefield, he must not be afraid and cannot escape.

There is a saying that only the brave deserve to live on the battlefield.

But his courage was soon diluted by a strong sense of fear and desire to survive.

In the smoke and dust, flags of various colors were flying high, and the sounds of trumpets, drums, horse hooves, shouts, and wailing rose one after another.

Looking around, it seemed like there were ambushes on all sides, as if thousands of troops were coming at us from all directions. It was enough to make people terrified even before they saw the enemy.

The war seemed to be entering a stalemate, and the rising dust was blown up by the wind, making it difficult to open one's eyes.

The situation on the battlefield was ever-changing. When Li Yuanhui opened his eyes, he suddenly discovered that the government troops in front of him seemed to be retreating. Countless infantrymen in front of him were fleeing in his direction, abandoning their weapons and armor, and were in a very miserable state. Their organization had long been broken up.

"TMD, what is going on?" Li Yuanhui could only curse in his heart at this moment.

Countless Yan army officers and soldiers who were defeated in front of them had already been entangled in the army formation of the main camp, and the front ranks were suddenly in chaos. The new army was hastily formed, and although they were all strong, they had never experienced a battle. Once they were caught in a battle against the wind, their lack of experience and coordination would be exposed thoroughly.

Once the country falls into a state of defeat, even if Sun Wu were still alive and Han Bai were reborn, they would not be able to save it.

In this situation, only the pinnacle of personal bravery, combined with the counterattack of an elite team, can reverse the situation, such as Zhao Da in the Battle of Gaoping.
While he was daydreaming, Li Yuanhui felt his cheeks getting hot with a "puff" sound. He turned his head and saw that an arrow had pierced the neck of a soldier next to him, and blood splattered directly on his face.

He knew this soldier. He was a servant of the Li family. His name was Wang Erlang. He was usually quite clever.
Li Yuanhui was stunned. He thought that his mental endurance should be able to accept the cruelty of the battlefield, but at this moment, his throat could not help but move. Then, more arrows fell, like hail, and people kept falling down.

An arrow also hit Li Yuanhui's head, causing him to feel nervous. Fortunately, he had a helmet on his head, which deflected the arrow.
"kill"

The sound of horses' hooves hitting the ground was like thunder, and it was endless. The rebel cavalry came sweeping in, accompanied by smoke and shouts of killing.

The chaotic soldiers in front were being chased in a panic, and an army formation right in front of them was torn apart from the front by this group of heavily armored cavalry, and was immediately defeated.

Then, I heard my cousin Li Huaizhen, who was the captain, shouting, "Brothers, don't panic, retreat first!"

After hearing this, Li Yuanhui quickly ordered his soldiers to retreat. In fact, it was useless for them to order them to retreat or not. The entire government army was surrounded by the fleeing soldiers, and they had no choice but to retreat even if they didn't want to.

I had just retreated several dozen steps when I suddenly heard a shout from the front: "Anyone who retreats will be killed!"

"The country is in danger now. We have received the emperor's grace for generations. It is time for us to serve and defeat the bandits and put down the rebellion. Today is the day. If you retreat, you will be executed immediately!"

Following the sound, I saw a general standing on his horse with a spear in hand not far away, surrounded by armored cavalry. It was Zhao Yi, the General of the Left.

The few people who had escaped the fastest had already been killed. The army was frightened and the trend of defeat temporarily stopped.

Suddenly another voice came, "The rebel cavalry is coming."

Looking at the front of the formation, it was indeed a rebel cavalry. The soldiers and horses were wearing armor and marching forward, constantly charging into the Yan army formation, driving away the defeated soldiers, and strangling those who dared to fight.

The leading general, wearing heavy armor and holding a long spear, was like an unstoppable force.

Someone shouted, "It's Yang the thief!"

What? Yang Xun?

Li Yuanhui had never seen Yang Xun in person, but he had heard that this man was extremely brave and could be called the reincarnation of a king.

The cavalry general in front of him was indeed the most courageous general Li Yuanhui had ever seen on the battlefield. Of course, this was also related to the fact that it was his first time on the battlefield and he had never seen any big scenes before.

If this is Yang Xun, then if I shoot him to death with an arrow at this moment, will the rebellion be over?

Does that mean we don't have to fight anymore? Am I safe?

Thinking of this, Li Yuanhui drew his bow and arrow and shot at the leading cavalry general.

All of this was done smoothly and in one go.

In fact, what he didn't know was that even if the arrow hit the cavalry general, it would probably not cause any harm, because the opponent was covered in heavy armor. Unless it hit the face, or if he was extremely lucky, it would hit the gap in the armor, it would be possible to cause harm to him.

In a flash, the cavalry general who was charging and fighting raised his head and looked around, trying to find the direction of the next attack. At that moment, he was just a black dot, and heard the sound of an arrow breaking through the air. Then he lost consciousness and control of his body. The warhorse continued to move forward, and its owner fell headfirst.
The hit was right in the face and the person died instantly.

"Yang the thief was shot off his horse!"

"Yang the thief is dead!"

"Yang the thief is dead!"

Li Yuanhui was stunned. I shot Yang Xun to death?
Some people are just so lucky.

Some people's luck is just that bad.

There is also a very low probability situation called a black swan.

(End of this chapter)