Chapter 67: A spear!
"Your Highness, please be careful!"
Li Yuanji swung his horse lance, and the cavalrymen behind him all grasped the hilts of their swords.
Qu Tutong quickly gave a warning.
Li Yuanji nodded and urged the horse under him to rush out.
A thousand cavalrymen followed Li Yuanji out like a tide.
The horse's hooves did not make any "clattering" sound when they hit the ground. The accumulated snow hid the sound deeply at the moment the hooves fell.
Li Yuanji rushed from the left wing of Liereng, bypassed the battlefield of Liereng, and ran towards the road heading north of Liereng.
…
The camp is lined up on the battlefield.
Qin Qiong held a long spear in his hand and fought against Gao Yaxian's troops.
It is not known whether Liu Heita did not trust Gao Yaxian or Gao Yaxian had some grudge against Liu Heita, but the troops Liu Heita sent to Gao Yaxian were not strong.
Even with Su Dingfang's advice to Gao Yaxian, Gao Yaxian still failed to lead his troops to attack the Lieren camp.
Qin Qiong did not stay in Lieren Camp. When Gao Yaxian's troops appeared five hundred steps outside Lieren Camp, Qin Qiong took the initiative to lead his troops to attack.
The two sides started fighting outside the Lieren camp.
Qin Qiong wielded his long spear, pressing Gao Yaxian's vanguard soldiers so hard that they could not breathe.
Gao Yaxian kept an eye on Qin Qiong's movements while urging his troops to charge.
Su Dingfang held a horse spear in his hand, helping Gao Yaxian defend against arrows flying from all directions, while loudly persuading him, "Father, since our whereabouts have been exposed, it is not appropriate to fight here any longer!"
They came to launch a surprise attack on the Lieren camp, not to confront Qin Qiong head-on.
If the sneak attack fails and you are discovered, you must retreat quickly.
If you keep on getting entangled, you will get nothing good.
The fact that Qin Qiong dared to come out of the Lieren Camp to fight meant that he was sure that they could not capture the Lieren Camp.
"What are you afraid of?!"
Gao Yaxian glared and shouted, "Our troops are twice as many as the enemy's. It's snowing heavily, and even if the enemy asks for help, it will take a while for the reinforcements to get here.
As long as we can withstand the enemy's momentum, we can counterattack and enter the Lieren camp."
Su Dingfang glanced at the soldiers fighting on the battlefield and gritted his teeth and said, "If you were leading the elite troops from before, I would never say anything if you said this.
But the troops that the king assigned to my father were not even half of what they had before.
As soon as Qin Shubao charged, they were completely defeated.
It is simply impossible for the father to resist Qin Shubao's momentum and counterattack the Lieren Camp."
The king that Su Dingfang mentioned was Liu Heita.
Liu Heita's rebellion had just begun, and although he had many followers, they were of mixed character.
There were some of Dou Jiande's former subordinates, some of Wang Shichong's former subordinates, and many people who defected from the Tang Dynasty. In addition to the common people who were recruited along the way, the difference in the combat effectiveness of the troops under his command was huge.
The strong ones can compete with the elite troops of the Tang Dynasty, while the weak ones are just a group of vagrants and bandits who cannot withstand the charge of the Tang Dynasty troops.
Although the army led by Gao Yaxian was not the weakest, it was also relatively weak. In a head-on confrontation, they were no match for Qin Qiong's troops.
Gao Yaxian stared at Su Dingfang and said through gritted teeth: "We can only win this battle, not lose. If we lose, we will be under the king's hands and will never be able to make a comeback.
If we don't step forward, who will go to Li Tang to avenge Dou Gong's blood feud?"
Su Dingfang was well aware of Gao Yaxian's situation under Liu Heita.
Liu Heita did not trust Gao Yaxian because Gao Yaxian had held a high position under Dou Jiande in the past, and most of Liu Heita's subordinates were Dou Jiande's old subordinates.
If Gao Yaxian could win over Dou Jiande's former subordinates, he would most likely replace Liu Heita.
Therefore, Liu Heita was always on guard against Gao Yaxian.
This time, Gao Yaxian was sent out to launch a surprise attack on the Lieren camp, but no one expected Gao Yaxian to win.
After all, Liu Heita had sent people with nearly 10,000 elite soldiers to attack the Lieren Camp three times before, but he failed to capture the Lieren Camp. It would be even more impossible for Gao Yaxian to capture the Lieren Camp with 6,000 miscellaneous soldiers.
Su Dingfang didn't care about his status under Liu Heita, nor did he care whether he could help Dou Jiande get revenge. He only cared about Gao Yaxian's life and death.
"Father, if we die, there will be no one to avenge Lord Dou!"
Su Dingfang growled at Gao Yaxian.
Gao Yaxian stared at Su Dingfang with red eyes, "This may be our only chance!"
Since the defeat of Wang Shichong and Dou Jiande, the Li Tang dynasty had become a foregone conclusion, and it was only a matter of time before the Li Tang dynasty unified the country.
Gao Yaxian saw no hope of avenging Dou Jiande, so he took Su Dingfang and hid incognito.
After Liu Heita rebelled, he was unstoppable and frantically captured cities and seized territories in Hebei.
This gave Gao Yaxian hope of revenge for Dou Jiande, so Gao Yaxian took Su Dingfang and joined Liu Heita's camp.
Once Liu Heita was defeated, he would most likely never be able to avenge Dou Jiande, so he was unwilling to give up this opportunity.
“Swoosh…”
A sharp arrow passed between the two of them, and Gao Yaxian and Su Dingfang were both startled.
Then more sharp arrows shot over.
Su Dingfang gritted his teeth and stood in front of Gao Yaxian.
"Father, please wait here for a while. I will go and get Qin Shubao's head for you. If I die in battle, I hope you will lead the troops to retreat quickly!"
Su Dingfang turned his back to Gao Yaxian, gave him some instructions, and prepared to rush out with his lance in hand.
Gao Yaxian suddenly swung his knife at Su Dingfang's horse.
Su Dingfang was shocked.
The horse under Su Dingfang's crotch was hit by a knife, neighed in pain, and raised its front hooves.
Gao Yaxian grabbed Su Dingfang and put him on his horse. Facing Su Dingfang's astonished eyes, he said with a complicated expression: "You called me father, how could I watch you die?
I owe Dou Jiande a life, but you don’t.”
After saying this, Gao Yaxian raised his hand, threw Su Dingfang off the horse, and rushed out on his horse himself.
Gao Yaxian had been leading troops for many years, and he knew very well that the moment Qin Qiong rushed out of the Lieren camp, he would lose more than he won.
The reason why he didn't retreat was that if he retreated, he would never have another chance.
He owed Dou Jiande a life, and he had to pay it back.
He wanted to give it a try, to try for that very slim chance of victory.
"Father!"
After Su Dingfang stood firm, he shouted at Gao Yaxian's back with red eyes.
Gao Yaxian had already rushed out three feet.
Soon, Gao Yaxian rushed to the front, raised his spear and fought with Qin Qiong.
Su Dingfang grabbed a horse and chased after him.
After a while, he caught up with Gao Yaxian and fought Qin Qiong together with Gao Yaxian.
Gao Yaxian felt happy and heartbroken when she saw Su Dingfang appear beside her.
But this emotion did not stay in my heart for long before it turned into despair.
Just when Gao Yaxian and Su Dingfang were fighting against Qin Qiong together.
Qu Tutong appeared on the battlefield with his men. The crossbowmen all picked up their crossbows, raised their sights (a simple sight with a three-inch-high ruler-like object on the top of the crossbow), and shot crossbow arrows.
A round of arrows rained down, and two thousand armored soldiers led the way, followed by two thousand infantrymen, and they charged towards the battlefield.
The moment the two thousand armored men appeared, Gao Yaxian's troops ran back without saying a word.
Everyone on the battlefield of the Lieren Camp knew very well what armor meant on the battlefield.
Two thousand armored men in a head-on confrontation are enough to overwhelm Gao Yaxian's six thousand men.
"when!"
Qin Qiong raised his lance and lashed at Gao Yaxian. Su Dingfang was quick-witted and quick-handed. He deflected Qin Qiong's lance and smashed it down hard.
As Qin Qiong dodged, Su Dingfang didn't even bother to retract his lance. He grabbed Gao Yaxian's horse reins and ran backwards.
By the time Qin Qiong reacted, Su Dingfang and Gao Yaxian had already turned their horses around.
Qin Qiong raised his lance and thrust forward.
Su Dingfang threw a knife without even looking back.
As Qin Qiong blocked the attack, Su Dingfang had already dragged Gao Yaxian a dozen feet away.
Gao Yaxian let Su Dingfang drag her to run, and in the end he simply rode the horse himself.
The moment Qu Tutong appeared with his armored troops, Gao Yaxian knew that he no longer had any chance of winning.
Su Dingfang risked his life to give him a chance to escape.
When Su Dingfang entrusted his back to Qin Qiong, it was equivalent to entrusting his life to Qin Qiong.
Qin Qiong only needed to catch up and strike with his spear, or draw his bow and shoot an arrow, and Su Dingfang would be dead.
Since he could no longer help Dou Jiande to get revenge, he could not let Su Dingfang down again.
Gao Yaxian ran with tears rolling down her eyes.
He ran three feet away, tears already streaming down his face.
Qin Qiong had urged his horse to catch up, and Su Dingfang, who was a little slower, had become Qin Qiong's meal.
Su Dingfang was ready to die. His face did not show sadness, but rather a hint of melancholy.
"Your Highness has ordered that we capture him alive!"
Qin Qiong's horse lance had already pierced Su Dingfang's chain mail, and Qu Tutong suddenly shouted.
Qin Qiong's expression froze, and he thrust his lance forward another half inch before retracting it.
Your Highness has an order?
His Royal Highness the Prince of Qin?
Qin Qiong put away his spear, and a stream of blood gushed out from Su Dingfang's wound.
Su Dingfang groaned, gritted his teeth and continued riding his horse.
Qin Qiong urged his horse to continue chasing, and while chasing he turned his spear into a whip and lashed at Su Dingfang.
The horse lance grazed Su Dingfang's armor several times.
Qin Qiong put away his lance, bent his bow and drew his arrow, then shot an arrow at the horse under Su Dingfang's crotch.
The horse felt pain, but did not raise its front hooves. Instead, it neighed, shook its head, and ran faster.
Qin Qiong chased them all the way out of the camp.
I saw a group of people kneeling down and asking for surrender.
Those who escaped first.
Gao Yaxian and Su Dingfang also reined in their horses, their faces looking as pale as death.
On their escape route, a group of cavalrymen were already waiting in formation.
The leader carried the lance on his shoulder and stretched his head, seeming to be looking at them carefully.
"Dingfang... I'm sorry for your hardship..."
Gao Yaxian had a bitter look on his face. After whispering something to Su Dingfang, he suddenly raised the sword in his hand.
"Father, Marshal!"
Su Dingfang screamed and tried to snatch the sword from Gao Yaxian's hand.
It's just that someone is faster than him.
“Whoosh!”
A long spear flew from the sky, brushed Gao Yaxian's arm armor, pierced through the horse's butt, and stabbed into the ground. The vibration of the spear tail pushed Gao Yaxian, who was sitting unsteadily, off the horse.
This spear shocked everyone present and made their eyes widen.
