Chapter 979 Killing the King

The Chu army formation was currently enduring immense pressure from all directions, with various Yan army troops seizing every opportunity they found to try and pierce through it.

However, when that unit of heavily armored cavalry appeared on the battlefield, from Xiong Tingshan down to the lowest Chu soldiers, everyone was instantly drawn to it.

There was no other way; such terrifying momentum made it impossible to ignore.

Three thousand heavy cavalry might seem like a small number compared to the vast battlefield where hundreds of thousands of soldiers from both sides were clashing, but sometimes, a piercing strike at a key location was enough to determine the entire course of the battle.

"Intercept with cavalry! Move out!"

Xiong Tingshan immediately ordered from his command post.

What the Chu Kingdom valued most was its cavalry; these past years… no, to be precise, the Chu Kingdom's pursuit of cavalry had never ceased.

The so-called invincible Chu infantry was the most feasible solution for dealing with the Shan Yue tribes in the Chu region's terrain, but in foreign wars, everyone knew the importance of cavalry.

Otherwise, the Situ family wouldn't have been able to hold off the Chu Kingdom from advancing north with just Zhennan Pass.

Under Xiong Tingshan's command, two gaps immediately appeared in the formation, and two Chu cavalry units rapidly charged out to intercept the heavy cavalry.

This was a painful decision, because once these two Chu cavalry units were sent out, they would no longer have the protection of the main formation. Whether they succeeded in stopping the sudden appearance of this terrifying Yan cavalry or not, these two Chu cavalry units would not be able to return.

Even if they successfully completed their mission, they would be entangled and annihilated by the surrounding sea of Yan cavalry, who were like hungry wolves.

No one would use cavalry like this unless absolutely necessary, and Xiong Tingshan had now reached that point.

Without even needing to think, he could deduce the consequences of allowing this heavy cavalry to collide with his own formation. On this vast plain, once the formation was broken, the Chu army would lose its protection and become flesh for the Yan dogs to tear apart.

The heavy cavalry's charge continued.

The knights' gazes were like iron, because their Prince was at the very front!

The pixiu beasts and sturdy horses that could bear the heavy armor were also breathing heavily, not from exhaustion, but because the wildness and violence emanating from the pixiu at the front ignited all their emotions, making the blood in their veins seem to be burning.

The Chu cavalry charged from both flanks. Relatively speaking, Zheng Fan, who was charging at the very front, wasn't bearing the brunt of the pressure, because the Chu cavalry's appearance was like two hands reaching out to stop them, pinching the shoulders first, not the head. Only the tail end of the Chu army swept past Zheng Fan.

The pixiu, finally getting a chance to fight in battle, displayed its extreme quality. It shifted its body to the side, not only without reducing its speed but also creating a gap for its master to pierce through.

"Pfft!"

The tip of the Black Dragon Banner directly sent the Chu knight in front flying. The terrifying force, though it didn't break his armor, was enough to shatter his internal organs.

The next moment,

the pixiu pulled again, and Zheng Fan waved the long banner, sweeping down three more Chu knights in succession.

Then,

Zheng Fan lowered his body, dodging a lance.

The pixiu slammed its body hard, knocking over the Chu knight and his horse.

Whether it was the Prince above or the pixiu below, they hadn't had many opportunities to personally charge into battle these past years, but the pair cooperated extremely well at this moment.

The Prince was, after all, a peak Fourth Rank expert. Compared to Tian Wujing and Yu Huaping, he could only be considered mediocre in talent, but compared to ordinary people, he was still a rare genius among ordinary people.

Not to mention the pixiu. How many pixiu were there in the entire Yan Kingdom?

Moreover, Zheng Fan's pixiu had been subjected to small experiments by the Demon Kings in their spare time. Since it hadn't been tortured to death, it must have been tortured to become even stronger.

After Zheng Fan once again stabbed down a Chu knight, he subconsciously looked back at his rear after completing a round of charge.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The heavy cavalry forcibly crushed the battlefield with a狂霸 (kuang ba, overwhelming and domineering) posture. The Chu cavalry were like paper in front of them, charging up only to be crushed underfoot, like a group of children trying to stop a group of strong men, completely vulnerable.

This was to be expected. In ordinary cavalry clashes, life and death often hinged on a single moment. If you couldn't take down your opponent, you were likely to be taken down the next moment.

The way to deal with heavy cavalry was simple: kite them from the outside, exhausting their stamina. Once successful, the heavy armor would become a burden, and the situation would directly reverse.

But the Chu people simply didn't have the time. Even if these Chu cavalry kited them and fired from the outside, the heavy cavalry could completely ignore the arrows and directly complete their mission of colliding with the Chu army's formation.

On the command post, Xiong Tingshan watched all of this in disbelief. He knew that the chances of stopping them were slim, but he really hadn't expected his own cavalry to be so vulnerable.

Everyone, in fact, had limitations.

For example, if Zheng Fan were to lead an infantry unit to suppress the Shan Yue in the mountains or to fight the indigenous people in the southwest of the Qian Kingdom, he would be confused and unaccustomed after being separated from the habitual thinking of deep cavalry maneuvers.

Xiong Tingshan was the same. Without genuinely commanding a large-scale cavalry corps and constantly summarizing experience and lessons learned through practice and real combat, it was difficult to truly grasp the essence of cavalry in the war mode. In this regard, Xiong Tingshan was actually very excellent. As one of the few remaining elite generals of the Great Chu, he understood.

But the problem was that this heavy cavalry, which Liang Cheng had cultivated and trained for several years, had already exceeded the scope of traditional cavalry warfare.

Just these nearly thousand pixiu beasts. In the past, only officials who had reached a certain rank, similar to Xu Wenzu when he was a Pacification Commissioner, were qualified to be assigned one.

From mounts, to armor, to weapons, to training, to maintenance, and then to how to maintain the ability to quickly mount and charge into battle after going to the battlefield, every detail had to be precipitated with a large amount of war wisdom.

In short, this wasn't just three thousand simple cavalrymen clad in thick armor, but a legion composed of three thousand beasts!

The Chu cavalry's failure, to a certain extent, slowed down the Yan army's charge, but the problem was that after witnessing their own cavalry being "chopped like vegetables," the shock that the Chu army's frontline infantry suffered, and the rapid decline in morale caused by this shock, was enough to offset this slight decrease in speed of the Yan army, and even exceed it.

In this world, there were things more terrible than death, and not a few.

These Chu soldiers, as the Great Chu royal family's forbidden army, were indeed elites, and it was also true that they were willing to fight to the death, but when they saw this kind of battle, the physiological discomfort alone was enough to destroy their will in a short time.

Facing a cavalry charge in the front was already an immense pressure,

facing a heavy cavalry charge…

"Shoot!"

The Chu army officers began to order the shooting of arrows. The incoherence of the arrows being shot showed just how bad the Chu army's psychological state was.

Faced with the incoming arrows,

Zheng Fan immediately prostrated himself. The pixiu under his crotch thoughtfully raised its neck. It was armored all over, it wasn't afraid. Even if the armor was pierced, it didn't matter. It was thick-skinned.

After all, its master had finally brought it on a charge, and heaven knew when it would have to wait until the next time.

After all, there were thousands of younger brothers behind it watching it, how could it slack off?

The sound of arrows hitting armor was constantly heard.

Some arrows still hit Zheng Fan, but they were basically on the outer perimeter of his body, not touching any vital parts.

And previously, when Zheng Fan was wearing royal robes, the wind moved thousands of troops, but only couldn't move his hem. Was it really just because the royal aura suppressed it?

It was purely because… this set of royal robes had hidden secrets. It was very heavy. The outer decoration was a kind of needlework, and the inside was woven with mithril threads.

Wearing it was equivalent to having a set of soft armor embedded in the royal robes, and it was extremely tough soft armor, several times better than leather armor.

This wasn't Si Niang's handiwork. When Ji Lao Liu made this set of Regent's robes in the palace, he took into account Zheng's "cowardly and afraid of death" personality, so he made extremely intimate arrangements.

It was also fortunate that the Regent of Great Yan was a Fourth Rank martial artist. If it were an ordinary person, wearing this set of royal robes would make it impossible to even walk!

The distance,

shortened,

shortened,

here it comes!

Zheng Fan clamped the flagpole tightly,

the pixiu let out a roar,

facing the spears stabbing out from between the Chu army's shields, it didn't even dodge, it smashed directly into them!

"Bang!!!"

This smash directly created a gap. The shields broke, the shield bearers were sent flying, and even the spearmen were knocked over.

However, the pixiu's hock was hit hard. The Chu people had also placed things on the ground, causing the pixiu's balance to be completely lost at this moment.

Zheng Fan sensed this situation and immediately threw out the Black Dragon Banner, then slapped the pixiu's back with his palm, separating himself from the pixiu.

"Buzz!"

The pixiu fell, sliding on the ground, and knocked away many more Chu soldiers. Then, it surprisingly got up again quickly. Several arrows and two spears were already stuck in its body, but it still raised its head, displaying the majesty of the Great Yan's totem beast.

Zheng Fan, who had landed, drew the Wuyadai from his waist as quickly as possible.

However, before the surrounding Chu soldiers had time to encircle him, and before Zheng Fan had time to properly display the saber techniques he had been practicing every afternoon for these years in the midst of thousands of troops,

from behind,

a terrifying impact resounded directly in one area!

It was like stacking blocks. The Chu army's front formation was flattened as a whole. All the Chu soldiers who dared to block the way were instantly turned into mincemeat. The chilling momentum continued to push forward after breaking through the outermost line.

This was a battlefield, but the heavy cavalry was… forcibly pushing through on the battlefield!

Zheng Fan held the saber, standing there. After the heavy cavalry rushed over, they consciously bypassed their Prince and continued to advance. There were basically no opponents to speak of around Zheng Fan.

Originally, he was at the front line, but now, the front line was in front of him.

If viewed from the perspective of a hawk circling above, the Chu army's formation, which was originally as solid as a rock, was like a thick finger directly crushing it all the way, breaking open a large gap.

However, after this charge, the casualties of the heavy cavalry would also be very large. Their heavy armor was their greatest protection, and at the same time, their greatest threat.

Once they fell off their horses, they were likely to suffer a fracture, and at the same time, the comrades behind them simply wouldn't have time to pull them away and dodge, so they could only be trampled.

And once the momentum was formed, they simply had no ability to turn around. Firstly, the strength of the knights themselves and the pixiu made it difficult for them to make another breakthrough in a short time, and secondly, it was difficult for them to turn around.

Therefore, there were already many heavy cavalrymen who had fallen into the Chu army's encirclement, unable to even move, and could only be suppressed and killed.

One round of charge,

nearly half dead or injured!

This was an absolutely terrifying attrition rate, but from the perspective of a war commander, it was extremely worthwhile.

Because the Yan army from all sides on the periphery had already begun to cut in frantically along this breached gap. If the Chu army's formation was compared to a tortoise shell, then now, the tortoise shell was broken, and the soft flesh inside would become the most delicious delicacy.

The Chu army's collapse was already inevitable, and it was already happening.

Zheng Fan held the saber. He didn't choose to retreat at this time, but continued to advance.

However, Zheng Fan soon realized that his advance was now futile. Not only were the heavy cavalry in front of him, but the Yan army cavalry who followed up had also rushed in front of him.

The Prince gritted his teeth. He hadn't killed enough yet, but he could only helplessly turn his head and walk toward where his pixiu was. After maintaining a standing posture to welcome the heavy cavalry's deep penetration, the pixiu finally couldn't hold on and knelt down there.

Zheng Fan looked at it and saw that this guy still had the energy to make eye contact and communicate with him, so he knew that this guy wasn't going to die.

He reached out and began to help it pull out the arrows embedded in its body. They had entered the flesh, but not deeply, and it also knew how to use its muscles to clamp the wound to stop the bleeding.

However, just as Zheng Fan was about to pull out the broken spear, a Chu soldier's corpse that had been lying on the side suddenly leapt up and rushed to Zheng Fan, pulling a scimitar across Zheng Fan's neck.

Zheng Fan's figure flashed quickly. The scimitar failed to break through his throat, but it slashed at his chest.

Zheng Fan covered his chest with his left hand. His Qi and blood were disrupted, his royal robes were torn, and a bloody wound appeared on his body.

This was definitely not an ordinary soldier. If the ordinary soldiers of the Chu Kingdom could have this strength, then the Great Chu would have already gone to heaven.

The assassin didn't give Zheng Fan a chance to continue breathing and stuck to him again.

The pixiu let out a roar and forcibly got up, intending to help.

But the Wuyadai in Zheng Fan's hand took the first step to block. After three consecutive exchanges, Zheng Fan only felt his Qi and blood surging throughout his body, and his throat tasted sweet, but the assassin, in the end, couldn't get close to his body again.

And at this time, some Yan troops nearby had already discovered this situation and were quickly surrounding him.

The assassin knew that he didn't have much time left. After Zheng Fan blocked another slash, three short arrows actually shot out from his sleeves.

However, this attack didn't have any unexpected effect.

For Zheng Fan, since you could pretend to be a soldier and play dead, how could you not be wary of your hidden weapons?

The Wuyadai waved out a blade Qi in advance, sweeping away all the hidden weapons.

The assassin's eyes narrowed. Just as he was about to continue to attack, two Yan cavalrymen charged over, slashing with their sabers and forcibly forcing the assassin back.

Zheng Fan didn't continue to haggle and began to retreat quickly, not because he was afraid, but because he needed a few breaths to calm his Qi and blood. When he was charging and fighting before, his consumption was already very high. Fighting a few more moves with the assassin increased the agitation of his own Qi and blood.

"My lord."

A'ming's voice appeared behind Zheng Fan.

"You're late," Zheng Fan said with a smile.

"No."

Zheng Fan turned his head and realized that A'ming's chest had been completely shot through by a black arrow. White smoke was rising from the bloody part of the arrow, obviously coated with poison.

A'ming's gaze looked to the west, where a Chu soldier was glaring at him with extreme anger. His arrow had failed to succeed.

However, his regret didn't last long. His head was immediately cut off by a Yan cavalryman who followed up.

At this time, a team of Yan cavalrymen began to consciously protect Zheng Fan, surrounding and guarding him.

A'ming silently pulled the arrow out of his body.

"It's really been a long time since I've been shot. I'm a little unaccustomed."

"How's the poison?"

A'ming shook his head and said, "My lord, don't worry, it's not a big problem for me, but the recovery time may be a little longer."

"It was my willfulness," Zheng Fan said.

A'ming smiled and said, "Even if I wasn't here, I don't think my lord would have died under this arrow. We've always joked that my lord has bad luck on the battlefield, always easy to dodge open spears but difficult to guard against hidden arrows, but the problem is, haven't we all been helping my lord block them all these years?

This is what we should do, and my lord is not someone who should die."

Zheng Fan reached out and patted A'ming's shoulder, saying:

"It's a pity that I didn't reach the Third Rank."

"It's not flattery or anything, but I was quite touched to see my lord charging in front just now.

My lord,

continue, I can still block a few more arrows for you, just have your fill."

"Okay."

Zheng Fan reached out, and a Yan cavalryman dismounted, giving his mount to the Prince. Zheng Fan mounted the horse, held up his saber, and greeted the surrounding knights:

"Pass down the order, all troops, chase across the Wei River in one breath for this King!

Wherever the Chu army escapes to,

we,

will chase them there!"

"Yes, sir!"

In the distance, the Chu army began to collapse, and the Yan army began to continue to advance, striving to destroy all the Chu army's formations as quickly as possible.

A similar scene was happening in many battlefields.

Everywhere were Yan troops chasing prey, and everywhere were Chu troops fleeing south.

The Great Chu elites, who had been advancing triumphantly a few days ago, had now completely degenerated into demoralized defeated soldiers.

A hundred years ago, the first Zhenbei Marquis defeated the invading Qian army of 500,000 men.

Today, the Regent of Great Yan defeated the invading Chu army of 500,000 men.

Although the fighting on the battlefield was still continuing, and the war hadn't completely ended, looking at the current situation, it was already safe to shout that:

The Chu Kingdom, in this battle, had been completely defeated!

……

Xiong Tingshan held a long saber, surrounded by more than two hundred of his personal guards, but on the outside, there were thousands of Yan cavalrymen surrounding him.

The ground around him was littered with the corpses of soldiers from both sides.

Xiong Tingshan gasped for breath, his tiger eyes glaring around.

At this time,

a team of brocade-clad cavalry appeared, joining the encirclement. Their clothes were so obvious in the Yan army's generally black style.

A figure wearing royal robes also appeared in that group of brocade-clad figures.

The Prince raised his hand,

and the Yan cavalrymen who had been drawing their bows and arrows put them down one after another.

Xiong Tingshan roared:

"Zheng Fan, your royal robes aren't that much different from your Yan Emperor's dragon robes!

I just don't understand,

why don't you want to be that Emperor!"

Zheng Fan sat on his horse, looking at Xiong Tingshan in the distance,

and said:

"Didn't you, Xiong Tingshan, rebel to become the Chu Emperor either?"

Xiong Tingshan laughed loudly:

"That's because I couldn't beat my fourth brother, so I admitted defeat and lowered my head. What about you? That Yan Emperor, I admit he's a wise ruler, but you may not be able to beat him. No, how could you not be able to beat him!"

It could be heard that Xiong Tingshan had been defeated in this battle. At this time, the Regent in his eyes was no different from the Jinnan Prince in Nian Yao's eyes back then.

Zheng Fan replied:

"It's precisely because it's too easy to beat him that I'm too lazy to bother."

"Hahahahaha……"

"Why didn't you run?" Zheng Fan asked.

After the central army was defeated, Xiong Tingshan could have led the elites around him to escape south first, and in this chaotic situation, it would be difficult for the Yan army to mobilize enough troops to focus on chasing him alone.

Unless he was particularly unlucky, the chances of Xiong Tingshan escaping were still very high, given that so many defeated soldiers were used as cover.

"Zheng Fan, Regent, hehe, you should know why we gambled everything this time.

Rather than being slowly bled to death by you and the Yan Kingdom behind you, it's better to take advantage of the remaining fighting power and gamble on a possibility, maybe we can still turn the tables.

Now, we've lost the bet.

What's the point of going back?

If I really wanted to continue to eke out an existence, why would I come here?

Zheng Fan,

if you had revealed your identity in that carriage back then, and not used the guise of Mr. Xiao Su, and just said that you were Zheng Fan, my fourth brother might have really married his sister to you.

You could have been made a Prince in my Great Chu too.

Tell me, is there any possibility of that?

Would my Great Chu's national fortune not be what it is today?"

In fact, in recent years, the Chu Emperor had never stopped trying to win over Zheng Fan, from hoping to echo and help Zheng Fan establish a state in Jindong at the earliest, to later even saying in a letter that after Zheng Fan and Xiong Liqing gave birth to a son, he was willing to make this nephew the Crown Prince of Great Chu.

But Zheng Fan had never been moved by this.

Just like now,

his reply to Xiong Tingshan was also extremely blunt:

"There's no possibility of that."

"Why? Where is my Great Chu inferior to your Yan Kingdom?"

Zheng Fan smiled:

"Because,

I just feel that,

this Great Yan,

is just destined to unify this all under Heaven."

"There's no reason to be found?"

"There's really no reason to be found."

Xiong Tingshan took a deep breath, and slowly exhaled,

and called out again:

"Look,

after this battle, can my Great Chu still pose a threat to your Yan Kingdom?

So,

that scene under 玉盘城 (Yu Pan Cheng, Jade Plate City),

don't let it happen again;

they're all good lads, it's my incompetence that I couldn't lead them to victory.

You can't wipe them all out, it will only make the Chu people hate the Yan people even more, it's time for appeasement."

Zheng Fan said:

"When did you, Xiong Tingshan, think you were qualified to teach me what to do?"

"I don't have that qualification, a defeated general, where would I have any kind of farting qualification, I just pity my lads, they were all born and raised by their mothers and fathers.

Since the general trend is gone, and struggling is hopeless, I have to seek a chance to live for them."

"What do you have to seek with?"

"I won't leave, I'll just stay here, waiting for you;

to send my head into your hands, and then let you take my head to let them put down their resistance and surrender.

You, the dignified Regent of Great Yan,

could it be that you still need this blood to create your fame now?"

Zheng Fan didn't speak.

Xiong Tingshan held the saber in one hand, clamped it in the position of his neck, and ordered:

"All of you, put down your weapons and surrender!"

None of the surrounding guards moved.

"This King, is not dead yet!"

The guards put down their weapons one after another, and knelt down towards Xiong Tingshan.

Xiong Tingshan looked at Zheng Fan,

and shouted:

"Take good care of this head of mine,

Son-in-law!"

"Pfft!"

Xiong Tingshan used his Qi and blood to control the saber, and cut off his head from his neck.

The head rolled on the ground,

the headless body fell backwards.

A guard leader, with tears in his eyes, picked up Xiong Tingshan's head, and slowly walked towards the direction where Zheng Fan was, and the brocade guards drew their bows and arrows.

The guard leader did not get too close,

but holding up Xiong Tingshan's head, he knelt down on one knee:

"Please accept the head, Son-in-law!"

Liu Dahu looked at Zheng Fan, Zheng Fan nodded slightly;

Liu Dahu rolled over and dismounted, walked over, took the head, and walked back.

After that,

the guard leader got up, and walked back, picked up a saber on the ground,

and shouted:

"My lord, wait for us!"

The blade, smeared across his neck, blood splattered, and he fell to the ground.

The more than two hundred guards kneeling beside Xiong Tingshan's body, picked up the weapons they had thrown down again;

"My lord, your subordinates are coming!"

"My lord, wait for your subordinates!"

More than two hundred guards all committed suicide, no one survived, and they all followed Xiong Tingshan.

This scene, made the Yan cavalrymen around them, also put away the previous teasing and smug expressions of surrounding the enemy leader, no matter what, in the army, they would always respect the brave lads, this, regardless of enemy or friend.

Zheng Fan's gaze moved away from there, and fell on the head that Liu Dahu was holding in his hands.

For a long time,

he ordered:

"Pass down this King's order, let the whole army know;

in this battle,

one prisoner is worth two heads."