Chapter 671

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Overcast clouds covered the sky.

The sounds of battle on the field echoed like rolling thunder from time to time.

The Black Armored Iron Cavalry, relying on the flexibility of their warhorses, galloped across the battlefield. From time to time, they would charge into the Huainan King’s formation, but then they would immediately disengage, often killing some soldiers and then quickly retreating.

Although the Huainan King’s soldiers fought bravely, they often failed to achieve significant results against cavalry that came and went like the wind.

After Cui Shang’an’s cavalry collided with the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, they began to chase and fight on the battlefield. However, the Huainan Army’s cavalry was clearly at a disadvantage.

Facing the seasoned Black Armored Iron Cavalry, the Huainan Army’s cavalry, who had never fought an enemy on the battlefield, appeared very clumsy and suffered thousands of casualties in a very short time.

All of this was witnessed by the Prince of Huainan. Although anxious, he maintained a calm demeanor to steady morale.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

Outside Qingzhou City, the soldiers of the Western Expeditionary Army fought the Black Armored Iron Cavalry from behind a chariot formation. The soldiers inside Qingzhou City this time were led by Di Ying, a Qi army captain.

When the Black Armored Iron Cavalry appeared outside Qingzhou City, encircling it but not attacking, he realized that Juyong Pass might be in danger.

However, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry were numerous, and the troops in Qingzhou City were all infantry. He was helpless against these cavalry.

Yesterday, he sent out a chariot formation to protect the musketeers and fight the Black Armored Iron Cavalry. However, these Black Armored Iron Cavalry never engaged them. But once the chariot formation moved too far from the city, these cavalry would try to cut off the musketeers for encirclement and annihilation.

The musketeers in Qingzhou City outnumbered those Lu Fei had taken, but there were still only 60,000 of them. And 20,000 of these 60,000 had to remain to defend the city. After all, if Qingzhou City fell, Juyong Pass would become a completely isolated city.

And with 40,000 men against 50,000 Black Armored Iron Cavalry, even if they forced a breakthrough, they would likely suffer heavy losses. So, for the past two days, Di Ying had been thinking about how to get rid of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry.

So, when the Prince of Huainan’s forces arrived today, Di Ying was overjoyed. He immediately led the musketeers from the city to join forces with the Huainan Army.

As soon as the chariot formation appeared, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry immediately panicked. Protected by the chariots, the musketeers relied on the chariots’ bodies for cover, moving and firing at the Black Armored Iron Cavalry.

The Black Armored Iron Cavalry had already experienced this troublesome chariot formation yesterday. Now, with the addition of the Huainan Army, they became somewhat flustered.

Maintaining a distance from the chariot formation, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry felt powerless for the first time. This chariot formation was like a hedgehog; getting too close would only lead to death. The only way to break through such a chariot formation was for infantry to charge and break it.

“Bang, bang, bang…”

The chariot formation continued to move, and the Black Armored Iron Cavalry continuously fell along the chariot formation’s path. The Huainan Army soldiers, seeing this, were greatly boosted in morale.

The Prince of Huainan saw hope at this moment. As long as their soldiers entered the chariot formation, these cavalry would be helpless against them.

“Kill!” the Prince of Huainan shouted loudly.

“Kill!” The Huainan army, re-formed into battle array, integrated and advanced towards the chariot formation.

The Black Armored Iron Cavalry tried to prevent the Huainan Army and Prince Qi’s army from joining forces, but to stop them, they would have to charge the Huainan Army head-on.

But at this time, the Huainan army had formed dense formations. If they clashed head-on, they would surely suffer heavy casualties.

On a hill, Wang Chuan, the commander of the Black Armored Iron Cavalry, looked at the battlefield before him, his brows deeply furrowed by the intense fighting.

“General, Prince Zhao’s power is waning. Now that the Prince of Huainan has also brought troops, coupled with Prince Yong’s army, Prince Zhao will certainly be unable to resist,” Wei Shaojie, his deputy, stood beside Wang Chuan.

Wang Chuan frowned upon hearing this. He said, “What do you mean, Captain Wei? Isn’t this boosting others’ morale and diminishing our own prestige?”

“General, you are mistaken. As the saying goes, ‘a wise man knows when to submit.’ Prince Liang and Prince Yan are dead, and the barbarians are fighting in Goryeo with Japan, so they cannot send troops to assist. Prince Zhao will not be able to escape this calamity. Moreover, even if the barbarians send troops, how can they easily defeat the combined armies of Prince Yong, the Prince of Huainan, and Xiao Ming?”

Wang Chuan snorted softly, “So what? Even so, we can only fight to the death.”

Wei Shaojie sighed. He looked at the battlefield again. At this time, the musketeers and the Prince of Huainan’s army were getting closer and closer, while the Black Armored Iron Cavalry were becoming increasingly helpless, only able to watch as the chariot formation and the Huainan Army converged.

When the chariot formation and the Huainan army merged, the Huainan army soldiers immediately entered the chariot formation and, together with Prince Qi’s army, formed an even more formidable chariot formation. At this point, even if there were still infantry present, they probably wouldn’t be able to easily break through this chariot formation.

Di Ying saw the Prince of Huainan at this moment. He said, “Your Highness, the Huainan army must follow the chariot formation.”

The Prince of Huainan breathed a heavy sigh of relief. He said to Di Ying, “I will temporarily hand over full command of the Huainan army to you.”

Di Ying felt a headache coming on. In just this short time, the Huainan army had lost over ten thousand men. Fighting cavalry on flat terrain probably terrified the Prince of Huainan quite a bit.

“In that case, this subordinate will presume.”

Di Ying said, and immediately dispersed the Huainan army among the various chariot formations, placing the Huainan army’s provisions and supplies in the center of the chariot formations.

At the same time, he had the pikemen protect both sides of the chariot formation, forming a rectangular shape, and marched towards Juyong Pass.

Facing the continuously moving chariot formation, the Black Armored Iron Cavalry continuously charged, but the increasingly tight defenses of the chariot formation left them helpless.

Wang Chuan and Wei Shaojie witnessed all this with growing anxiety. He said to Wei Shaojie, “You immediately lead 20,000 cavalry to Juyong Pass. I will lead the Black Armored Iron Cavalry to follow them. If there’s an opportunity, delay their speed towards Juyong Pass.”

“Yes, General.” Wei Shaojie assented and immediately led his men towards Juyong Pass.

Now, they were clearly unable to stop this batch of soldiers from reinforcing Juyong Pass; they could only go to Juyong Pass to converge.

Di Ying and Prince Huainan’s expressions gradually relaxed. For the next three days, they marched and rested. Prince Huainan also learned a lesson; he had the supply wagons, which transported provisions, also protect the army like chariots to avoid cavalry attacks.

The two armies simultaneously advanced towards Juyong Pass.

At the same time, Chen Xinran, who was resting in Yanzhou, also received news of Juyong Pass being besieged.

He immediately ordered a small number of soldiers to guard the city, and the majority of his soldiers set off for Juyong Pass.

Three days passed in the blink of an eye. During these three days, the barbarians and Deng Yuan repeatedly launched attacks on Juyong Pass, but were repeatedly repelled.

Under the fierce firepower of muskets and cannons, both the barbarians and Deng Yuan suffered losses.

Niu Ben was also having a hard time. After three days of bitter fighting, his soldiers suffered many casualties, and ammunition dwindled day by day. If this continued, it would be extremely disadvantageous for them.

On this day, after repelling another round of attacking soldiers, Niu Ben habitually picked up his telescope and looked into the distance. At this moment, the Western Expeditionary Army musketeers, protected by a chariot formation, appeared in his sight.

Niu Ben immediately burst out laughing. He said, “The time for a decisive battle has come! Deng Yuan, this general will meet you now!”