Chapter 221: Defend the enemy beyond the border! The war begins!

Tai'an City.

Zhao Chun, who received the intelligence, finally breathed a sigh of relief, "Beiliang has finally sent troops!"

The plan he and the imperial teacher Yuan Benxi planned to drive out the wolf and devour the tiger has now reached its final stage.

But since two years ago, he has repeatedly urged King Xu Xiao of Beiliang to send troops to attack Li Changan, but Xu Xiao refused to move.

Emperor Zhao Chun was completely puzzled as to why the domineering King of Beiliang could tolerate Li Changan becoming more powerful behind him.

Yuan Benxi guessed that Li Changan should have reached some kind of agreement with Xu Xiao, so the two of them were in a tacitly peaceful state.

But even Yuan Benxi couldn't guess where Li Changan got the bargaining chips to negotiate terms with Xu Xiao.

It was not until Xu Fengnian returned to Beiliang and Li Changan released the news that Xu Fengnian had been imprisoned for three years that the court realized the situation.

Yuan Benxi also took a breath of cold air. Li Changan was actually able to hide such big news, and Fushuifang had no way to deal with it.

It can be imagined that Li Changan has now really grown into a behemoth.

Although the territory is not large and the army has only hundreds of thousands of soldiers, its strength should not be underestimated!
"Teacher, Xu Xiao actually dispatched the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry and the Iron Pagoda. These are his strongest cavalry."

Yuan Benxi's expression was also much more relaxed. "Li Changan's army is not weak, but I'm afraid it can't stop Beiliang."

"But if Beiliang wants to completely eliminate Li Changan, it will inevitably suffer heavy losses in military strength."

"Your Majesty is wise. This grand plan of driving the tiger to devour the wolf has finally been accomplished!"

Zhao Chun said, "I hope Li Changan is crippled, but not swallowed by Xu Xiao, otherwise Xu Xiao will occupy the four states."

Yuan Benxi said, "I will ask Zhao Gou to investigate as soon as possible, and add fuel to the fire when necessary to profit from it."

"Li Changan has taken back the three counties of Shazhou, which can be regarded as a contribution to the court. My Liyang territory has expanded again."

"As long as Beiliang is seriously injured, it will follow the imperial court's lead!"

The capital of Beimang.

In the residence of Tuoba Bodhisattva, the King of the North Court, General Zhong Shentong and Spider Web leader Li Mibi came to meet him.

Zhong Shentong said excitedly, "Your Majesty, the spies in the army sent a pigeon message saying that Beiliang has sent out 110,000 troops and they have already left Jiayu Pass!"

"This is a rare opportunity. If we send troops to the northern part of Shazhou, we will be able to wipe out Li Changan in one fell swoop!"

The deaths of Hong Jingyan and Zhong Liang in Beiliang have always been a source of worry for Zhong Shentong, and he has been thinking about it all the time for the past two years.

Li Mibi, the leader of the Spider Web, remained silent, obviously disagreeing with the view of this magical power.

The existence of Shazhou can not only contain Beiliang, but also split the Liyang Dynasty into pieces. No matter how you look at it, it is not right to send troops to Shazhou.

The land of one state is insignificant to the giant Beimang.

As expected, Tuoba Bodhisattva said in a deep voice, "Your Majesty has already made the decision on this matter."

"Personal grudges are nothing to worry about. General, you have to think about the overall situation. It is our long-cherished wish to flatten Liyang and unify the world!"

"Isn't the bloody battle between Li Changan and the Northern Liang Army our best chance to conquer Northern Liang?"

"Li Changan is trapped in a corner and has no significance. Keeping him here can still contain Xu Xiao, but how can he help the Liyang court destroy Shazhou?"

The truth is so simple, it's just that Zhong Shentong was blinded by personal feelings and was determined to avenge his brother.

"But my king, Xu Xiao is a very scheming man. He started clearing out the border tribes two years ago, so he can spare 100,000 elite troops now."

"There are still strong troops guarding the Liangmang border now, so it's hard for them to take advantage of it."

At this time, Li Mibi said sinisterly, "Everyone in the world knows Xu Xiao's ability. He fought his way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood."

"His weakness is this son. If Xu Fengnian dies in Shazhou, what will Xu Xiao do?"

Tuoba Bodhisattva looked appreciative, "If Xu Fengnian dies, Xu Xiao will definitely send more troops to avenge his son. Then our chance will come."

"General, don't hesitate any longer. Gather your troops first. Your chance to march south and make achievements has come!"

"Mr. Li, the matter of Xu Fengnian's death in Shazhou is now in your hands!"

Outside Jiayuguan Pass.

Xu Fengnian led a huge army and finally set foot on the land of Shazhou.

His idea was simple. He wanted to first destroy a few counties in Shazhou and let the soldiers and people in Shazhou know the power of the Northern Liang Army.

The cavalry was on both sides, the infantry was in the center, and with Qi Dangguo and Yuan Zuozong, the entire army marched in an orderly manner.

On the first night, Xu Fengnian received unexpected news.

In the central army tent, the scout reported, "Your Highness, Li Changan is leading 80,000 troops and is already 500 miles away!"

When Xu Fengnian heard the news, he sneered, "The Beiliang army came to attack, but Li Changan didn't defend the city. Is he going to fight us directly?"

Many generals in the tent were amused by the news.

"Does Li Changan think he has the halberd warriors of Western Chu if he dares to fight us instead of defending the city?"

"He really doesn't know how high the sky is and how deep the earth is. The Iron Pagoda can rush him in one go!"

"Sir, I am willing to lead the charge!"

These arrogant and brave generals were all veterans of many battles, and they looked down on Li Changan, who had only grown up for two or three years.

However, Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo did not dare to be careless at all. Firstly, they knew the importance of this battle, and secondly, they knew how powerful Li Changan was.

In order to maintain the army's combat effectiveness, Xu Xiao did not let the entire army know some news that was unfavorable to Beiliang.

However, Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo knew very well that the Black Armor Army and the White Horse Volunteers were by no means ordinary people.

Of course, even in the eyes of these two people, the Northern Liang Army is bound to win!

Because the current Northern Liang Army was developed on the basis of veterans who swept through the six kingdoms, its tactics are more mature and its combat power is more complete.

Especially the world-famous Iron Pagoda and the Great Snow Dragon Riders, but it was the first time for them to deal with the same enemy at the same time!
However, this atmosphere of arrogance and underestimation of the enemy is by no means a good thing.

Yuan Zuozong snorted coldly and said, "A proud army will be defeated! We must win this battle, but we must not underestimate the enemy."

With Yuan Zuozong's prestige in the army, as soon as he opened his mouth to scold, the generals in the tent suddenly fell silent.

The steady Qi Dangguo said, "Li Changan was able to sweep across the Western Regions and the Western Rong. He is definitely not an easy person to deal with."

"Besides, he also has 5,000 monk soldiers and 10,000 Xirong Hu soldiers to help him. He should not be underestimated."

The two veterans suppressed the impetuous atmosphere, and Xu Fengnian continued, "You should all know how important this battle is to Beiliang."

"If anything goes wrong, Beiliang will face tremendous pressure from Beimang and the imperial court."

"So, for the sake of Beiliang's great cause, please put aside your arrogance and make sure everything goes well."

Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo both nodded. Xu Fengnian had indeed grown a lot. Although he was eager for revenge, he was still calm and knew the importance of things.

This is of course a great thing for those who support Xu Fengnian.

Xu Fengnian added, "Since Li Changan dares to fight directly, we don't have to besiege the city and fight the turtle."

"All troops should rest and regroup, and choose a day to fight Li Changan!"

Beiliang finally sent troops, and Li Changan was also waiting for this day.

Li Changan started preparing as early as a year ago.

This battle is a frontal battle between Shazhou and Beiliang. We can no longer wait for the enemy to reach Jinchang City as we did before.

Li Changan had managed Shazhou with great difficulty. Given Xu Fengnian's style and the Beiliang Army's discipline, the Beiliang soldiers would definitely wreak havoc along the way.

Therefore, Li Changan’s idea this time is to keep the enemy out of the country.

One third of the four elite warrior units, the Black Armor Army, the Mo Dao Soldiers, the White Li Soldiers, and the White Horse Yi Cong, have already broken through to the third rank. Especially the Black Armor Army and the Mo Dao Soldiers, these two powerful units that merged with the template four years ago, half of them are at the third rank, and the rest are all at the peak of the fourth rank.

The strongest army of Beiliang was also a mixture of warriors and ordinary people.

The next morning after Li Changan arrived at the battlefield, Xu Fengnian received a declaration of war.

In the central military tent, Xu Fengnian opened Li Changan's declaration of war, which contained only a few simple numbers.

"Useless, I will catch you again."

Xu Fengnian gritted his teeth, suppressed the anger in his chest, and agreed on a time for the decisive battle with Li Changan's envoy.

Yuan Zuozong and Qi Dangguo were both relieved to see Xu Fengnian was so calm.

Of course, they did not expect Xu Fengnian to really deploy his troops. It would be good enough as long as he could avoid causing chaos, sit firmly in the center of the army and stabilize the morale of the army.

Three days later.

On the endless plains outside the Great Wall, the Shazhou Army and the Beiliang Army confronted each other from a distance. It was a real battle between two powerful armies without too many fancy calculations.

Because both sides are experienced armies, they will not be able to exploit too many loopholes by the other side, so it will be a real clash of strength.

On the Shazhou Army side, the main force of the infantry was composed of refugees, plus the Bai Li soldiers, the Black Armor Army, and the monks of the Waleng tribe, a total of more than 40,000 people.

The refugees were warlike by nature and hated Beiliang to the core. After more than a year of training and actual combat with the foreigners, the combat effectiveness of these infantrymen was no weaker than that of the old soldiers of Beiliang.

There was nothing fancy about the face-to-face charge of the infantry; the outcome of the battle depended on the outflanking of the cavalry on both sides.

Whichever side's cavalry gains the advantage and successfully charges to the side and rear of the other side's infantry phalanx, it will basically be a one-sided massacre.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The war drums of both sides have sounded. Nearly 100,000 people are scattered across a plain of several miles. After several rounds of arrow rain, they began to charge.

"Kill Liang Gou and capture Xu Fengnian alive!"

"Charge! Drive the Beiliang people out of Shazhou!"

"Let the Beiliang soldiers go and never return!"

Before long, the two sides engaged in close combat, spears and halberds clashed, and blood began to splatter on the long battle line.

The Tang Dynasty infantry, composed of refugees, were full of resentment. For many years, they had been passively beaten by the Northern Liang soldiers when they encountered them, and they would withdraw when the Northern Liang soldiers were happy with their beatings.

Now that these refugees have finally been armed, with bright armor and sharp weapons, how can they not seek revenge?

The Beiliang infantrymen are all veterans, each of them is extremely fierce, and will only become stronger when encountering a strong enemy.

At one end of the battle line, a group of black-clad and Mo Dao-wielding soldiers were very conspicuous. These people launched a unilateral massacre against the Beiliang soldiers.

Although their main role is to guard against cavalry, it does not prevent them from killing the enemy's infantry before the cavalry arrives.

The cold and sharp Mo Dao easily pierced through the breastplate of the Beiliang soldiers. Even if the opponents were full of passion, they could only die on the battlefield.

Gradually, the Bai Li soldiers and Mo Dao soldiers at both ends of the battle formation easily changed the local battle situation and achieved a crushing victory.

These third and fourth rank warriors can break through five or six armors with one strike of their swords, which makes killing people extremely convenient.

The right wing of the Northern Liang army.

Qi Dangguo looked at the battlefield anxiously. The enemy's cavalry had not yet moved out, but the Tang army's infantry, despite being outnumbered, was gradually gaining the upper hand.

Both sides were fearless and unafraid of death, so the war was even more brutal, and the battlefield was littered with broken limbs.

We can’t wait any longer. Qi Dangguo knows the importance of momentum on the battlefield.

He looked at the six thousand Iron Pagodas and the twenty thousand Northern Liang Iron Cavalry behind him, and a sense of heroism burned in his chest.

"Brothers, Beiliang hasn't fought a big war for many years!"

"Some people are already saying that Beiliang has lost all its fighting spirit and can no longer fight!"

"Tell me, what should we do?"

The Iron Pagoda's armor covered his face, and muffled sounds gathered together like thunder.

"Kill! Kill! Kill! Leave no one alive!"

Afterwards, the entire cavalry team was ignited with passion, and the atmosphere of the war to annihilate the country seemed to have returned again.

The predecessor of Tiefutu was the Manjia Camp, which was the true soul of the Northern Liang army.

Qi Dangguo looked at the large banner with the word "Xu" in the distance and said excitedly, "Everyone!"

"The full armor camp is already full of armor, what should we do!"

This sentence was so powerful that Tiefutu's pride and heroism were instantly ignited.

Six thousand people shouted at the same time, "Fight to the death! Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

Qi Dangguo used his true energy to raise his voice to the highest level, and shouted to the 30,000-odd cavalrymen behind him, "The day of a fight to the death has arrived!"

As he spoke, he turned his horse around, holding a silver spear, and leaped out first!

"Iron Pagoda, Northern Liang Iron Cavalry, charge!"

In an instant, the rumbling sound of horse hooves could be heard for miles. The sky was covered with dust on the right side of the Beiliang army, and the shouts of killing shook the sky!
Almost at the same time, the sound of horse hooves could be heard from all sides of the battlefield!
The Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, the Black Armor Army, and the White Horse Volunteers all began to charge.

The Black Armor Army faced off against the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry, and the heavy armored cavalry charged!
The White Horse Volunteers, 10,000 grassland light cavalry from the Huyan tribe, and 20,000 Tang cavalry rushed towards the Iron Pagoda.

Looking at the speed of the attack from the opposite side, Qi Dangguo couldn't help but feel his blood boiling.

"Brothers, Li Changan actually used light cavalry to charge the Iron Pagoda. He deserves a miserable death!"

Qi Dangguo, who was riding his horse at full speed, used his true energy to spread this sentence among the cavalry.

The six thousand Iron Pagodas instantly burst into fierce shouts, "Crush the Shazhou Army!"

"Kill them!"

"Kill! Massacre Shazhou!"

The sound of horse hooves rumbled, and the Baima Yicong also saw the Iron Pagoda.

Huo Qubing licked his lips and shouted loudly, "My men, we will wipe out the Iron Buddha. Today is the day to accomplish our mission!"

As soon as he finished speaking, another round of arrows shot out from the Baima Yi formation!
Only the Baima Yicong could ride and shoot steadily at such a high speed.

"Swish, swish, swish..."

Looking at the arrows flying all over the sky, Qi Dangguo sneered in his heart, when has Tiefutu ever been afraid of arrows!

Tiefutu didn't care at all. He kept whipping the strong horse with the whip and charged towards the rain of arrows!

"puff!"

An arrow shot by a third-rank warrior easily pierced through the head of an Iron Pagoda!
"laugh!"

Another arrow shot into the chest of an Iron Pagoda!
"Kick!"

The heavy iron armor of the Iron Pagoda was actually penetrated by arrows!

In an instant, the Iron Pagoda formation was in chaos, and hundreds of Iron Pagoda warriors were lost under a hail of arrows!

"Charge! Charge past the arrows!"

Although Qi Dangguo's attack speed did not decrease, he was extremely horrified in his heart!

how can that be!

How can a mere bow and arrow penetrate the Iron Pagoda!
I have fought wars all my life and have never seen anything like this!
(End of this chapter)