svetikya Page 119
Page 119
Chapter 234: Cavalry Charge, Iron Hooves Shattering the Sky
Three thousand warhorses, panting heavily under the pressure of the armored knights, their eyes bloodshot, the skilled Guanzhong cavalrymen pressed their bodies down to their lowest point, gripping their three-foot-long armor-piercing lances tightly. The sharp tips of the lances also embodied the will to die. Between their bloodshot eyes was the center of the Liangshan army formation—they intended to use their unstoppable force to tear this tortoise-shell-like square formation in two and then annihilate it completely!
"Boom! Boom! Boom!!!"
However, just as the three thousand cavalrymen reached a position of two hundred meters, the Liangshan musketeers opened fire. Smoke billowed, thunder roared, and in an instant, the deathly silent battlefield burst into a blinding crimson. Hundreds of musketeers formed three lines, and hundreds of dark muzzles burst forth with terrifying red tongues of fire. The deafening thunderous roars continued, shaking people to the core, and the murky sulfur smoke rose like ghosts.
Beyond the thick smoke, the Kansai cavalry surged forward with overwhelming force. A hail of lead bullets rained down on the armored jungle, causing the heavy steel armor to dent and shatter violently. From the pierced armor plates, fine mists of blood sprayed in all directions. Countless warhorses neighed and leaped in terror, countless knights crashed backward, gushing forth scalding red springs from beneath their masked helmets! Rows of heavy cavalry were struck down as if by an invisible hammer, their armor shattered, their horses' bones broken, and they tumbled into the dust.
However, these Guanzhong people were neither defeated nor intimidated by Liangshan's intense firepower. The eyes of their warhorses and generals, after witnessing death and bloodshed, grew even more blood-red and terrifying. The rising blood mist even clung to and enveloped their limbs and bones, draping the remaining survivors in a blood-soaked cloak, like demons from the deepest hell, as they continued their charge! Charge! Charge!
In the next instant, the front-line Guanzhong cavalry, like a steel torrent, crashed heavily into the Liangshan spear forest. The sharp armor-piercing spears could easily pierce through the bodies of the infantry in front, the spears piercing through paper as if they were leather, and the muffled sound of spears entering flesh and the screams of infantrymen were endless.
Following closely behind the spearheads was a terrifying charge of men and horses as one, clad in heavy armor. One after another, tall horses crashed with the force of thunder into the dense, thick, and hard spear shafts that were tilted like a jungle of steel!
However, the thick, long spear shafts specially made by Liangshan were extremely tough. They were deeply embedded in the ground, angled against the frame, and held in place by the soldiers in the rear. Despite the impact of the horses, the spear shafts did not break but were bent upwards.
Moreover, the forces were reciprocal. The more fiercely the Guanzhong cavalry charged, the more violently they crashed, and the enormous reaction force was instantly transmitted to their horses! As a result, almost all the warhorses at the forefront were pierced and torn apart by the dense spears. One after another, the heavy horse carcasses, carrying the enormous momentum, willingly sacrificed their bodies to the Liangshan spear forest. Countless sharp spears pierced through the leather horse armor as easily as puncturing a leather water bag, penetrating the muscles, tearing open the internal organs, and warm horse blood gushed out like a bursting fountain, mixed with fragments of internal organs, and splashed in all directions like a torrential rain.
The situation for the mounted knights was equally dire! Even with the protection of sturdy, gleaming heavy armor, when the armored beast beneath them crashed to the ground and they themselves were propelled forward by the immense inertia, they were like iron balls thrown by a catapult, falling flat on their backs.
However, the impact continues!
The discipline of the Kansai cavalry made them disregard the horrific casualties of the vanguard. The rear ranks of cavalry, trampling over the mangled corpses of their comrades and the remains of their dying horses, accelerated once more, crashing into the Liangshan army formation, now stained crimson with blood and gore, their spear shafts adorned with bits of flesh and entrails! The corpses of fallen men and horses, the twisted and shattered weapons and armor, and the repeatedly trampled and churned pulp of flesh and blood formed a vast, viscous pool of gore before the spear formation! They did not hesitate to trade their lives with the front ranks of cavalry!
The Liangshan soldiers were also shocked. They had never seen such a bloodthirsty and terrifying cavalry legion. For a moment, they were somewhat afraid of being defeated. However, at this moment, the advantage of one of Liu Hong's policies was demonstrated: he promoted many veteran soldiers to become captains, lieutenants, squad leaders, and sergeants in the new legion.
In other words, at least one-tenth of the soldiers in Luan Tingyu's Third Army Corps were veterans. At this most critical moment, they directly cursed out loud.
"Everyone! Hold them off! Once our formation is broken, can you outrun the enemy's horses on two legs? We can only leave alive if our lines aren't breached!!!"
Under the veteran's roar, the Liangshan troops regained some fighting strength. Yes, they might not die here, but once their formation was broken, they would be doomed. As long as they held on, there was always a way!
For a time, the Guanzhong cavalry faced the Liangshan army with extreme difficulty in advancing their battle lines. Each step brought up sticky bits of flesh and blood, their speed plummeted, and their impact greatly diminished. Before the thousands of spears united in their hatred of the enemy, they were like trapped beasts in a pool of blood, possessing strength but unable to unleash it! The torrent of their charge had become like mud oxen struggling in a pool of blood, constantly being dissolved in the blood.
In that instant when their speed was slowed, the musketeers at the rear of the Liangshan formation were like the Grim Reaper! A dense barrage of bullets, like a rain of locusts, flew over the heads of the spearmen in the front ranks and slammed into the armored cavalrymen who were struggling and moving slowly in the blood and mud. They were hit so hard that scraps of metal flew everywhere and blood splattered everywhere, but as long as they were not dead, the Guanzhong men would continue to fight! If their lances broke, they would use scimitars; if their swords were chipped, they would even charge with their bare hands!
Both sides were bloodthirsty. The Liangshan troops achieved a very high kill ratio in the initial musket fire, but after the heavy cavalry charged into the square formation, they caught up with the score in a fierce charge and slash. After round after round of fearless charges, the casualty ratio of the two sides remained at one to two, meaning that Liangshan only needed to sacrifice two infantrymen to exchange for one Guanzhong cavalryman.
Though scarred and battered, the steel forest remains stubbornly unyielding! Beneath this forest of spears and in the blood-soaked mud ahead, piles upon layers of centaur corpses, each half a person's height! The bottom layer is unrecognizable, trampled into a viscous, crimson pulp of metal fragments, horse meat, human bones, and entrails.
The middle layer consists of twisted, broken, and intertwined horse carcasses and the remains of armored knights, with spear shafts piercing through them like grotesque iron trees and silver flowers.
On the top floor lay the wounded, still struggling and twitching weakly, having just collapsed. Crimson blood flowed and spread like streams in this horrific area, converging into a veritable mountain of corpses and a sea of blood!
Chapter 335: Guan Shenglong and Demon in One Body
At this moment, Guan Sheng and Luan Tingyu were both extremely shocked.
Guan Sheng hadn't expected that his cavalry charge would be ineffective. Instead, he was stopped by this strange square formation and the battle on the front line turned into a stalemate. It seemed that if he wanted to win, he would have to kill Luan Tingyu here!
Luan Tingyu was also shocked. These heavy cavalrymen weren't as powerful as armored cavalry, and their defenses were only so-so. However, they were faster and more ruthless. These Guanzhong men seemed fearless. One cavalryman, after being stabbed off his horse by three or four spears and breaking his right leg, crawled towards the Liangshan army formation, wielding his saber and severing the calves of two Liangshan soldiers before finally being killed by a few more spears.
Suddenly, the raging lava flames flowing wildly around Guan Sheng mysteriously collapsed and solidified inward, transforming into a sky-covering Green Dragon Crescent Blade, held in the dragon's claw. At the core of its massive flames, a deep, eerie light, like that of an infernal hell, suddenly appeared, as if connecting to another scorching dimension.
The surrounding light, sound, and even the turbulent energy currents were mercilessly swallowed and compressed! The entire space was like a canvas being kneaded and folded by an invisible giant hand, forming a brief but deadly spatial collapse zone surrounding the fire dragon.
Luan Tingyu remained calm and composed, using the same rolling thunder to construct a six-sided thunder rod as large as a mountain to meet Guan Sheng. However, the moment the flaming blade touched the thunder rod, the terrifying thunder rod was actually cut in two by Guan Sheng's single strike! The chaotic thunder energy exploded, scattering in all directions!
Guan Sheng's eyes flashed with ferocity. His Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, burning with cyan-gold demonic flames, continued its downward slash, striking Luan Tingyu's chest with devastating force. The seemingly indestructible, jet-black dragon scales were instantly pulverized, like grease under a hot blade, emitting a chilling sizzling sound. Countless dragon scales melted, twisted, and cracked rapidly under the impact of the dragon fire! Numerous fragments of the red-hot, melted black scales scattered and flew in all directions under the impact of the raging torrent of dragon fire energy!
The massive body of the black thunder dragon arched, convulsed, and stiffened violently! The golden lightning that wrapped around its body, like severed chains, erupted and flashed wildly, then broke and dissipated inch by inch.
For the first time, those dragon eyes, pulsating with golden plasma, revealed shock, excruciating pain, and the terror of having their very essence torn apart! The light rapidly dimmed.
What gushed from that huge wound was not only blood, but also countless golden lightning bolts, surging forth like water bursting from a dam.
Something's wrong! ! !
Luan Tingyu was horrified by Guan Sheng's knife strike.
The power was too high, and the speed was too fast. I had just fought Guan Sheng for twenty or thirty rounds and had a basic understanding of her. Although she was powerful, she was definitely not this powerful.
This attack was practically, practically, like a deadly strike unleashed by Liu Hong during a diving charge! Double the damage!
If Guan Sheng hadn't used the charge attack to amplify his power several times over, how could his damage have suddenly increased to this extent?
But she was clearly standing still! With such a massive size, she would need to accelerate from at least 300 meters or even further to launch a charging attack.
She was simply swinging her sword in place; she had no room to charge or accelerate!
Luan Tingyu covered her wound and looked at Guan Sheng with surprise and doubt, not understanding how she had just delivered such a stunning blow; it was too exaggerated.
"Do you think I'm like you, only possessing demonic power? Haven't you heard of the term 'dragon blood'? My ability to transform into a blue dragon isn't due to my demonic power, but rather the power of dragon blood."
Guan Sheng spoke calmly, his simple words sending a chill down Luan Tingyu's spine.
Yes, dragon blood ability users! Legend has it that all Han Chinese are descendants of an ancestral dragon, which possesses all known and unknown abilities in the world, and is omniscient and omnipotent.
However, His offspring can only inherit one of these abilities.
Those with dragon blood were quite numerous during the Qin and Han dynasties. However, they are now extremely rare, and people generally can only enhance their power by signing contracts with demons and acquiring demonic power.
However, the Dragonblood users did not disappear. Liu Hong possessed both Dragonblood and Demon power, and Guan Sheng also possessed both of these powers?!
Her transformation into a dragon was due to the power of dragon blood bestowed upon her.
So, that inexplicably powerful attack, which was almost a fatal strike, was her Demon Messenger ability?
Luan Tingyu broke out in a cold sweat, unable to determine Guan Sheng's other ability for the moment. He prepared to retreat, create distance, and probe with a ranged attack.
But at that moment, Guan Sheng reached out her hand again, and space seemed to fold open in her palm. Luan Tingyu, who was clearly a hundred meters away from her, suddenly became within arm's reach.
At this moment, Luan Tingyu finally understood Guan Sheng's ability: spatial folding!
The first time she used this ability, she folded the space more than 300 meters behind her together. Although she only took one step forward, she had already accelerated and run more than 300 meters. As a result, what seemed like an ordinary slash was actually a charging attack that Guan Sheng had gathered all his strength to unleash!
The second time, she completely folded the space between Guan Sheng and Luan Tingyu, causing the two, who were hundreds of meters apart, to suddenly become very close!
Although Luan Tingyu understood Guan Sheng's abilities, it was too late; she was caught off guard by Guan Sheng's demonic power. She was pulled directly in front of Guan Sheng, with nowhere to hide or avoid it.
Guan Sheng once again folded space, allowing himself to walk three hundred meters in one step, completing his charge and gathering power. He then used the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade, constructed entirely from the azure-gold dragon fire, to slash downwards with earth-shattering force once more!
In an instant, the sky seemed to be torn apart, and a burning rift was cleaved open in the surging dark clouds. The once invincible, enormous thunder dragon was mercilessly pierced, torn apart, and vertically cleaved in two by the Azure Dragon Crescent Blade right between its brows! The demonic lightning, which had condensed into fangs and sharp horns, shattered inch by inch like glass being hammered! The massive black dragon's body suddenly straightened, and a violent, out-of-control tremor swept over its entire body!
The countless bolts of lightning that formed the dragon's body, having lost their core's support and the restraint of their power, instantly transformed from an orderly ferocity into a chaotic, rampaging frenzy. Thick pillars of lightning shot out in all directions, like giant serpents whose central organs had been severed, lashing wildly at the sky and earth. Countless tiny electric snakes, like exploding fireworks, screamed and scattered in all directions, illuminating the sky for hundreds of feet around them like an apocalyptic inferno. The thick, pungent smell of sulfur, amplified by the instantly ignited air, expanded into a scorching shockwave that crashed down!
At this moment, the enormous dragon body, vertically cleaved in two, resembled a sandcastle phantom drained of all its demonic power, rapidly collapsing, crumbling, and disintegrating from its head down. The golden lightning that formed the dragon's body was no longer a raging serpent of electricity, but rather peeled away and evaporated in large swathes like melting candle wax. The terrifying roar instantly transformed into a series of mournful shrieks filled with pain and resentment, but these were quickly and completely drowned out by the violent tearing sound of the lightning itself.
In the blink of an eye, the terrifying dragon shadow that blotted out the sky above was gone. A charred and twisted figure, like a vulture with broken wings, fell straight down from the core of the collapsing lightning, crashing heavily to the ground, helplessly spitting blood.
Chapter 336: Wu Song, the Pilgrim, Unrivaled on the Battlefield
For a moment, the entire battlefield fell silent. Everyone stared in disbelief at the center of the battlefield, never expecting that the extremely powerful Luan Tingyu would be defeated by Guan Sheng. Guan Sheng seized this opportunity and led three thousand Guanxi Iron Cavalry in a frenzied charge, determined to crush Liangshan's strange formation in one fell swoop!
The earth groaned and trembled in despair. Tens of thousands of blood-soaked hooves pounded the mud, each approach like the knocking drums of death. Guan Sheng, though victorious, was utterly exhausted by Luan Tingyu, unable even to maintain his dragon form, reverting to human form. Wielding his ancestral Green Dragon Crescent Blade, he led his troops in a charge, his target the heavily wounded and fallen Luan Tingyu!
"Protect the Commander of the Army!" The voices of several guards were hoarse, but carried an undeniable iron will. A large number of personal guards fought to the death under Guan Sheng's blade to rescue Luan Tingyu. Guan Sheng charged left and right, cutting down thirteen personal guards in succession. No one could withstand three of her blows! Blood flowed like a river. One who came, died. Two who came, died together.
However, these personal guards bought time with their lives. The surviving guards rescued Luan Tingyu and placed her, who was seriously injured, under the protection of the main army, and slowly retreated.
Seeing the enemy retreat, the Guanzhong cavalry roared in unison! The blood-red mist that enveloped them soared into the sky! Like gods of blood, the Liangshan army formation, under the terrifying pressure and charge of these blood knights, was like a reef being battered by giant waves, its edges constantly crumbling and collapsing, yet it gathered and contracted towards the core with astonishing resilience.
"Retreat! Retreat!!!"
Seeing that the situation was hopeless, the commanders ordered the army to retreat, with the front line becoming the rear, and slowly retreating towards the three mountains. The formation remained intact during the retreat, and the elite troops were like an iron wall, with spears piled up like a forest and muskets densely packed like rain. While retreating, they were still fighting a bloody battle with Guan Sheng's Guanzhong army!
Guan Sheng was getting impatient. Why wouldn't this damned Liangshan formation break? She led a unit of troops that had lost their momentum in a retreat, only to have two more soldiers shot in the back and fall dead. The troops beneath her retreated to a position a hundred meters away and launched another devastating cavalry charge! The iron wall of Liangshan instantly caved back several steps. The spearmen and shield bearers at the front were immediately stabbed to death by long spears, and the spearmen in the rear were also knocked so hard that blood seeped from their mouths and noses. The mud and water under their feet were kicked up by the enormous recoil, but they withstood the impact and did not collapse!
The formation was deformed under pressure, but it never fell apart under the forging of the core will!
The soldiers exchanged positions, the wounded were quickly replaced, and the rear ranks filled the gaps. The entire moving army formation was like a wounded giant tortoise, moving slowly but with its armor tightly closed, holding firm and refusing to retreat!
Guan Sheng had no choice but to lead his cavalry in repeated charges. The Guanzhong cavalry were like a raging storm, crashing against the waves. The Liangshan formation, on the other hand, was like a towering reef or a large ship crossing the sea. The ultimate cavalry charge met the ultimate infantry defense, and the two sides fought a bloody battle, with neither side gaining the upper hand!
However, Guan Sheng was ultimately superior in skill. The Liangshan commander was defeated head-on, while the Song army commander won a great victory. This caused the morale of the Liangshan army to plummet. Under the relentless charge of the Guanzhong cavalry, and amidst the frantic accumulation of casualties, the Liangshan army gradually began to collapse.
At this moment, Guan Sheng had barely recovered and transformed into a blue fire dragon for the second time, hovering in the sky like a nightmare, casting his towering and terrifying shadow in front of the Liangshan army.
Helpless, three commanders from Luan Tingyu's forces rushed out: Flying Tiger Hu Cheng, Sick Guan Suo Yang Xiong, and Desperate Saburo Shi Xiu. These three warriors immediately engaged Guan Sheng in battle, but Guan Sheng, undaunted, fought three against one! A terrifying dragon's breath spewed forth a world-destroying inferno, the dragon flames filling the sky, even compressing and solidifying into a blazing ray of light, like a bursting blue spear. In an instant, it pierced the universe, burning the sky to ashes. The high-temperature spear melted iron armor, ignited leather clothing, and burned flesh, severely injuring Shi Xiu, who had no time to react or parry.
Then, her two azure dragon claws, gripping the azure flames, condensed into two azure dragon crescent blades that blotted out the sky. At the same time, she fought fiercely with Hu Cheng and Yang Xiong. After only three rounds, she seemed to have recovered and began to gather her dragon breath again, preparing to unleash it a second time!
At this critical moment, a roar like thunder, or even more like the furious roar of a Vajra in Buddhism, suddenly came from the flank of the battlefield! The sound contained the pure violence of subduing dragons and tigers and an overwhelming and unstoppable violent power.
From behind a low hill, two agile and powerful figures suddenly leaped up, their momentum seemingly tearing through the sky! One was Dai Zong, his legs bound in a vest, moving with incredible speed. The other was a tall woman, also bound in a vest, charging forward at breakneck speed, wielding two snow-white iron ring-shaped swords inhabited by two demons—it was none other than Wu Song, the Pilgrim!
Behind the two, reinforcements from the Liangshan Second Army Corps also arrived on the battlefield.
Wu Song's eyes widened in fury. The two monk's knives in his hands were as light as a feather, transforming into two red and purple lightning bolts that tore through the gloomy rain curtain! Without the slightest hesitation, she crashed into the flank of Guan Sheng's elite cavalry like a meteorite falling from the sky. Combining infantry and cavalry, with the swing of her two monk's knives, men and horses were shattered. She was unstoppable, her target was Guan Sheng, yet she cleverly separated Guan Sheng from the retreating remnants of Liangshan.
Guan Sheng took a deep breath and unleashed his accumulated dragon breath at Wu Song. The earth-shattering cyan spear once again pierced through the universe and shook the earth!
Wu Song didn't dodge; instead, he activated his Vajra Indestructible Technique, using terrifying damage reduction to withstand Guan Sheng's dragon breath. Although he was burned to a crisp, his clothes and hair ablaze, making him look like a disheveled fireman, he still charged forward. To Guan Sheng's astonishment, his physical body broke through the sea of azure light and fire in the dragon's breath, rushing to her front. Then, he slashed his blade hard across her nose, causing Guan Sheng to bleed profusely!
What the hell is this? Withstanding dragon breath with my bare hands is one thing, but a single-handed sword broke through my dragon scales?!
Guan Sheng was greatly alarmed, somewhat unsure of Wu Song's tactics. In addition, he had been too exhausted from fighting Luan Tingyu, and his fighting spirit was temporarily dampened.
Behind Wu Song, Shi En, the Golden-Eyed Leopard, also led the elite troops of Liangshan to rush over to rescue Luan Tingyu!
Seeing that reinforcements had arrived and that their own soldiers were exhausted, Guan Sheng pondered for a while and finally ordered a retreat. In this battle, 1,000 of the 3,000 Guanzhong cavalry were killed or wounded. However, after Luan Tingyu's defeat, the morale of Liangshan was unstable. While retreating, they suffered heavy casualties while inflicting casualties on the enemy. In the end, 3,000 were killed or wounded, and the ratio of casualties was fixed at one to three.
Guan Sheng felt a pang of regret. He only had 10,000 cavalrymen, all of whom were battle-hardened veterans from the Western Xia battlefield. In this battle, one-tenth of them had been killed or wounded. This casualty ratio was outrageous. How could Liangshan's infantry withstand such attacks?
Wu Song was also somewhat surprised. Although the Guanzhong cavalry's defense was not high, their charge was terrifyingly lethal. Luan Tingyu's Third Army had five thousand men, but three thousand were wiped out in one fell swoop, the commander was seriously injured, and the entire army was destroyed. Were these Guanzhong people really that powerful?
Chapter 337: A Strategic Maneuver Leads to Victory in Retreating the Troops
At this moment, the battle situation east of Mount Tai has become extremely dire. This is not like the area west of Mount Tai, where Liangshan has only established a foothold in the last two years. Their foundation is too shallow, and only Dengzhou is under their actual control.
In places like Qingzhou, Liangshan implemented a policy of distributing land to win over peasants, rather than occupying county towns. This is why Luan Tingyu's Third Army was stationed on the Three Mountains. If landlords and wealthy people near Qingzhou caused trouble, Luan Tingyu could immediately lead his troops from the Three Mountains to suppress and kill them, which made Qingzhou the third base.
Now, Guan Sheng has crippled Luan Tingyu's third army. Seeing that Liangshan is about to be defeated, Guan Sheng's army is also carrying out a sweeping operation in the local area. With the support of the imperial court, the local wealthy landowners and landlords of Qingzhou are convinced of Liangshan's weakness. They directly broke their agreement with Liangshan and took back the land that Liangshan had taken away and distributed to the peasants!
To establish their authority, they even arrested the farmers who had protested most fiercely during the previous land redistribution movement and tortured them to death in front of everyone at the village entrance! They used every possible means to inflict cruel torture, including slow slicing, dismemberment by five horses, and being mauled by wild dogs!
The peasants wanted to rebel, but they found that all these wealthy landowners had the support of government troops. Zhang Shuye had fought against Liangshan for four years and had a deep understanding of Liu Hong's fighting style. Now that he had troops, he persuaded Guan Sheng to send cavalry to patrol the fields and assist the landlords in launching a counterattack against the peasants. Several peasant uprisings and rebellions were easily crushed and wiped out by the Guanzhong cavalry, who were as swift as the wind and as fierce as fire. Almost every village was bleeding.
Guan Shengzhi was smug. Seeing that the Three Mountains had been crippled and could not pose a threat for the time being, he sent Zhang Shuye to lead his troops to continue in Qingzhou, working with all the wealthy landowners to clean up the Liangshan corruption in hundreds of villages, and then continue to advance steadily.
He personally led the main force to attack Huangxian and Penglai, attempting to take down Liangshan's capital in Dengzhou.
Meanwhile, Lu Junyi, Shi Wengong, and Dong Ping led three groups of troops to ambush Liangshan's possible approach routes on both sides and behind them.
In Guan Sheng's plan, once the Liangshan reinforcements arrived, he would immediately divide his forces, ordering his deputy general, Chou Junma Xuan Zan, to block Huang County, while he would lead the main army to confront Liangshan head-on.
Subsequently, Lu Junyi appeared on the left wing, Shi Wengong on the right wing, and Dong Ping led his troops to the rear, forming a four-sided encirclement of the Liangshan reinforcements!
As for Liangshan attacking its own three detachments first? That's impossible. There are seven prefectures and thirty-six counties east of Mount Tai. The three detachments were already secretly stationed there, and could even switch their garrisons constantly within the county towns. Unless Liangshan's reinforcements could conquer and occupy all seven prefectures and thirty-six counties in one go, it would be impossible for them to wipe out the three ambushes first.
Furthermore, even if they were discovered, it would still take Liangshan two days to set up camp, two days to build artillery positions, and another two days to capture the county town. Gaotang also fell in six days.
These six days are enough for the rest of the Shandong troops to quickly return to their posts and launch a decisive attack from the center.
If Liangshan doesn't come to their aid, Wu Song alone, with only one army, couldn't possibly hold out for long against Guan Sheng's forces, which outnumbered them by dozens of times. The three mountains have already been crippled. Once Penglai is captured, the banditry east of Mount Tai can be resolved, Liu Hong's wings can be clipped, and then the army can return to Jizhou to slowly gnaw at Liangshan Marsh, or at least surround it and wear it down.
Guan Sheng's problem-solving approach was very correct, playing to his strengths and avoiding his weaknesses, and combining feints with real attacks. If Liu Hong had really gathered a large army and marched into Guan Sheng's ambush in Shandong, the outcome would have been uncertain.
However, Wu Yong's strategy was even more brilliant: Guan Sheng, your military strategies are impressive, but I have a way to make you unable to use them at all.
Wu Yong left Liangshan and went to the Ghost Fanlou near Dongjing (Kaifeng). There, he gathered all the ruffians, scoundrels, merchants, and spies that Liangshan had planted in Dongjing and began spreading rumors that Guan Sheng was arrogant and looked down on Gao Qiu for his sycophancy in becoming Grand Commandant, and that the court was full of treacherous officials who had ruined the country. He frequently made remarks that insulted the four great traitors: Cai Jing, Gao Qiu, Tong Guan, and Yang Jian. The people of Guanzhong (Shaanxi) nodded in agreement, feeling proud and arrogant in their military camps, and angrily denouncing the treacherous officials who had ruined the country.
The people of Tokyo naturally thought Guan Sheng was right, and since she was a direct descendant of Guan Yu, they admired her even more.
These words were very unpleasant to Gao Qiu and his men—who do you think you are, Guan Sheng? If it weren't for my support, you would just be a lowly patrol inspector in Pudong. What right do you have to criticize state affairs?
At this moment, even more troublesome news arrived: Song Jiang had led his men to raid Daming Prefecture, and Beijing, one of the four capitals of the Song Dynasty, had fallen. All the high-ranking officials, including Liang Zhongshu, had been captured. This news exploded like a bolt from the blue in the capital! Gao Qiu immediately dispatched officials to the Shandong front, ordering Guan Sheng to lead his troops back to rescue Beijing! Forget about Shandong, Daming Prefecture was the most important! Cai Jing was even more frantic, urging Guan Sheng to hurry back and rescue his daughter and son-in-law!
Guan Sheng was also scratching his head. Should he leave? This was a crucial moment for recapturing Shandong; how could he leave?
Thanks to Liangshan, the peasants in Shandong were also well-equipped and strong. These victories were all due to the swift and fierce attacks of the Guanzhong cavalry. The local wealthy man even hanged a large number of troublemakers, which offended the people of Qingzhou.
If I leave, I can imagine what will happen here! If these wealthy men are beaten to death by the people, then all the efforts of the past month will have been wasted. All the land outside Qingzhou County will belong to Liangshan. Wu Song and Luan Tingyu will be able to recover and regroup. No matter what, I absolutely cannot leave!
Thinking of this, Guan Sheng immediately wrote a letter to Gao Qiu, personally explaining all the problems on the Shandong front and the necessity of his inability to leave. He even asked Gao Qiu in return: Does the Song Dynasty really have no one else? Are you sending an army to save Beijing?
The answer is that there are indeed no extra troops. Tong Guan's Guanzhong Army, Hedong County Army, and Taiyuan Army are directly facing the Western Xia. It would be good if they could spare 10,000 elite troops. It is impossible to spare any more.
With Hebei under siege for so long, the fighting capacity of the Imperial Guards in Beijing and Tokyo was mediocre, and the corruption problem in the border troops became increasingly serious. The last troops in Hebei were all taken away by Guan Sheng. Tokyo did have troops, but Gao Qiu dared not gamble—damn it, Guan Sheng took troops from Beijing, and Liu Hong went to attack Beijing.
If I send troops from Tokyo to rescue them, will Liu Hong dare to attack Tokyo?