Chapter 197 A brutal ambush to avenge a century of shame!
In the narrow valley, the sound of sharp arrows piercing the sky was shrill and piercing.

The desperate wails mixed with the trampling of horses' hooves made the scene chaotic, and the air was filled with the smell of blood, which was suffocating. The northern barbarian cavalry fled in all directions in the rain of arrows. Before the rebels launched an attack, it was already a tragic scene.

"How... could this happen?" Tan Tai'ao's heart seemed to be bleeding. The scene before him was unbelievable to him, as if everything was a nightmare. His heart was filled with anger and regret, and he shouted angrily: "Everyone, retreat, retreat!"

But his voice was drowned out by the chaos and no one listened.

The moment they heard the shrill whistling sound, the cavalrymen felt something was wrong and became alert. However, they did not expect that the shrill sound was the sound of a sharp arrow piercing the sky.

It was dark at night, and by the time they saw the dense rain of arrows, it was already too late. They could only watch the rain of arrows continue to shoot at them, without any chance to react at all.

Tan Tai'ao's face turned paler and panic surged in his heart. He originally thought that the distant fire was the reinforcements sent by the Khan, and his heart was full of pride and confidence, but he did not expect that the fire was actually an ambush set up by the rebels early in the morning.

At this moment, his fantasy was ruthlessly shattered, and anger and despair intertwined, almost suffocating him.

This time, the rebels did not set up an ambush on both sides of the canyon, but they set up an ambush at the exit of the canyon, which was beyond his expectations.

Previously, he was somewhat complacent, thinking that he had made foolproof plans and eliminated all possibilities of ambushes, but in the end, he was still one step behind and was still taken advantage of.

"Damn Lin Zhongyun!"

He let out a hysterical roar, his face full of ferocious and fierce expression. The tragic scene before him made him feel extremely angry, his anger surged like a tide, and he secretly cursed Lin Zhongyun in his heart.

At this moment, he realized that he might really fall here, and this canyon might really be his grave.

He roared, trying to wake up the cavalry around him, but the chaos around him made him helpless. The horses neighed in fear, and the shouts of the cavalry were like tearing the air, making people feel desperate.

Boundless anger burned in Tan Tai Ao's heart, but it seemed that nothing could change the tragic situation before him.

At this moment, the cavalry who had turned around and fled suddenly turned back, with an expression of extreme despair on everyone's face.

Tan Tai Ao couldn't help but look in the direction of the sound, and saw that where they came from before, clouds of black smoke continued to rise, and flashes of fire were visible in the sky, as if it was a sign of the coming of doomsday.

"Hurry, hurry up!" The cavalry shouted in panic, but Tan Tai'ao felt a little uneasy, "Could it be that the rebels..."

In an instant, a raging fire broke out at the entrance of the canyon behind them, illuminating half the sky red in the dark night.

"This……"

Liu Jiuren's eyes were fixed on the burning flames, and boundless anger rose in his heart. Once upon a time, he was also pulled down by such a fire and became a rat crossing the street, a person that everyone wanted to kill.

There is no doubt that this is another work of Lin Zhongyun.

"Lin Zhongyun, it's you again this time!"

He drank with almost gnashing teeth, his eyes furious. The scene before him reminded him of the wildfire in Chuzhou City that had dyed half the sky red, and reminded him of the past that he could not bear to recall.

The blinding smoke suddenly poured into the canyon, accompanied by the continuous shooting of sharp arrows, and a tragic scene unfolded before his eyes. The smile on Tan Tai Ao's face had disappeared, and only endless anger and panic remained.

At this moment, Cui Hao ran over with a look of embarrassment on his face, wailing anxiously, "General, the rebels have blocked the entrance to the canyon and set it on fire. They are going to burn us to death in this canyon!"

"what?"

He felt dizzy, and never expected that the thing he was most worried about had happened. Now the rebels were blocking the entrance to the canyon and had set a fire, completely cutting off their retreat from the canyon.

As he had said before, this extremely narrow canyon could help them escape the pursuers of the rebels, but it was also because of this terrain that they were completely trapped here.

There was a dense rain of arrows in front and thick black smoke behind, making it almost impossible to breathe.

They were either shot into a hedgehog by sharp arrows or burned to death here. Even if they were lucky enough not to be burned to death, the thick smoke alone would be enough to choke nearly 10,000 of them to death here.

Finished!

It's really over now!
Tan Tai'ao's face was filled with grief and anger, and his heart was filled with panic.

He clenched his fists, his heart filled with powerlessness and anger, as if since he faced the rebels, he had not won a single battle, let alone gained any advantage.

They originally thought that rescuing Cui Hao from the rebels was one of the few advantages they had gained, but now they were ambushed here, and it was obvious that the rebels intended for them to rescue Cui Hao.

He began to curse Lin Zhongyun madly in his heart. The opponent whom he had always looked down upon had now forced him into a desperate situation.

He could not accept such a failure, could not accept that he was trapped in this canyon, like a helpless little animal, at the mercy of others.

"Everyone, listen to me!" He finally calmed down and tried to make his voice firm. "We can't give up! No matter what, we must find a way to survive!"

"Meet the brave to win on the narrow road!"

Tan Tai'ao's eyes were bloodshot and blazing as he stared at the rebels opposite him, shouting in anger: "Charge! Everyone, charge forward!"

nowadays,
That's all he could do.

All hopes can only be placed on the hopeless and disadvantageous cavalry of the northern barbarians.

Only by rushing out can there be hope of survival!

However, the surrounding cavalrymen had been swallowed up by despair, their eyes were dull, as if they had lost their souls.

It's not like someone else had done that before. They rushed towards the rebels under a hail of arrows, trying to fight their way out.

But it was an attack from a whole rain of arrows. Even if the warhorse under his crotch was very fast, could it be faster than the speed of the sharp sword breaking through the air?
The result was undoubtedly tragic. Many people were stabbed like hedgehogs before they could get far, and fell off their horses. Their screams echoed in the canyon, which was horrifying.

It can be said that they were completely frightened by the scene before them, and their hearts were trembling.

Even though they call themselves grassland warriors, they are fearless and regard death as the glory and pride of warriors.

But what is happening before them now is no longer a charge, but a series of deaths.

How could they not be afraid?

Seeing that the people around him were indifferent, Tan Tai Ao became furious and roared loudly.

"Everyone, rush out. I will reward you with hundreds of cattle and sheep when I return!"

His eyes turned bloodshot as he roared. At this moment, this was all he could do to boost everyone's morale.

If we continue to stay here, we will only die. Charging forward may give us a chance of survival.

At this time, this is the only way he can arouse the fighting spirit in these people's hearts.

After saying this, he rushed out first. Even if there were mountains of swords and seas of fire ahead, he had to rush forward.

No matter what, these people cannot be wiped out at his hands, absolutely not!

However, as soon as he showed his head, another round of arrow rain came. The dense arrows poured down like a rainstorm, suffocating him.

For a moment, the whole canyon was filled with miserable wails and the sound of cavalry trampling. At this time, the canyon was like hell on earth, with blood flowing everywhere, broken arms and limbs mixed together, and corpses and horse corpses piled together in a mess, and it was impossible to tell which was the human body.

The bright red blood slowly flowed along the corpses, gradually gathering into a river. The warm blood emitted a faint heat in the cold air, and the air was filled with a pungent smell of blood that even the cold wind could hardly blow away.

At this moment, the scene before my eyes could be described as hell on earth.

Even though Li Zhongwu had been through hundreds of battles and thought he had seen the cruelty of war, he still felt a little nauseous when he saw the scene before him.

The strong smell of blood lingered between the ears and nose, like an unforgettable nightmare, making people sick.

But all this was planned in advance. If anyone is to blame, they can only blame the northern barbarians for being too ambitious. This is what they deserve for setting foot in the Central Plains. The cruelty of war has never changed, and only those innocent lives have paid the price in this battle.

He wanted to take a deep breath, but the strong smell of blood entered his mouth and nose, making him dizzy.

He tried his best to suppress his discomfort and called a guard beside him. He said in a calm and firm voice: "How is it? What are those noble families doing? Are they preparing to come to the rescue, or are they preparing to stand by and watch?"

"General, those noble families were still making moves, but after seeing the fire in the canyon, they all became obedient and quiet."

The guard answered respectfully, and at the same time felt that Li Zhongwu's question was in vain. Now that those noble families have seen the methods of the rebels, how could they act rashly?

"Yes!" Li Zhongwu nodded with satisfaction, and then continued to instruct: "Keep monitoring. Such a big commotion will definitely be seen by the Northern Barbarians. Be careful of their attack. If there is any unusual movement, report it immediately."

Although he said this, it was only for safety reasons. He did not think that even if the Northern Barbarians discovered what was happening here, they would send troops here.

Even if they sent troops over, the northern barbarian army in front of them would not be able to resist for much time. By the time they arrived, they had already cleaned up the battlefield and left.

However, although victory in this battle was in sight, Li Zhongwu still felt some regret.

If one wants to deal with the large army under Tan Tai Ao's command, there is no need for such a large-scale move.

Originally, they had made such a grand event, using both fire attack and siege, in order to target those aristocratic families. But they did not expect that those aristocratic families did not take the bait, but the big fish Tan Tai Ao came instead.

If the main forces of the noble families can be completely wiped out here, then this trip can be called perfect. He vaguely felt a sense of unfulfilled desire, as if behind this victory, there were still unfulfilled regrets.

Just as he was feeling a little regretful, the battle was drawing to a close. Although the Northern Barbarian Cavalry were still resisting, their resistance was becoming weaker and weaker as one person after another died.

Seeing that the time was almost right, Li Zhongwu did not hesitate and immediately ordered: "Everyone, dismount and kill!" His voice was as loud as thunder, spreading throughout the canyon and arousing the fighting spirit in the hearts of the soldiers.

"Annihilate these enemies who dare to invade us. Now is the time to avenge our brothers!"

"Kill!"

"Kill!" Following his command, the soldiers responded in unison, like a raging tide rushing forward.

"Kill all these northern barbarians in front of us!"

The morale of the rebels was extremely high, and they charged towards the only remaining Northern Barbarian cavalry in the canyon.

At this moment, they wanted to vent all the anger that had been suppressed for so long, and repay all the repression they had inflicted on the Northern Barbarians for hundreds of years.

It can be said that they and the Northern Barbarians are archenemies and have long-standing grudges.

Every year, the northern barbarians would come south to beg for money, and countless people would die tragically at the hands of their cavalry.

Before, they dared to be angry but not to speak out, but now, they can finally take revenge for all these grievances, and do it with their own hands, washing away all the previous shame with blood.

For a moment, above the canyon, there were shouts and cries of killing that broke through the clouds.

Listening to the deafening cheers, Li Zhongwu couldn't help but feel a surge of heroic feelings in his heart, but in addition to the heroic feelings, he felt more of an immense admiration for Lin Zhongyun.

For hundreds of years,

No one has ever been able to defeat the Northern Barbarians.

And now they have finally done it, and all this was under the leadership of Lin Zhongyun. This is simply an unprecedented brilliant achievement.

In the past, when he heard Lin Zhongyun say that he wanted to fight to the grassland and to the northern barbarians' lair, he thought it was just a chuckle, but now he believes that it is all true.

In the world today, there is only one person who can do this, Lin Zhongyun.

……

Different from the cheers on Li Zhongwu's side, there was a commotion in the Northern Barbarian camp.

In the dark night, the fire in the canyon was so dazzling and could not be ignored.

Even from far away in the North, you can see it clearly, after all, the canyon is not far from the North.

In order to keep abreast of the movements of the rebel army and highlight his great importance to the rebel army, Chagan Uli moved the Northern Barbarians' camp to the edge of the northern border, which was very close to both Yangzhou and Hanzhou.

At this time, everyone noticed the fire in the distance and wanted to go to rescue.

Inside the tent,

The air was depressing and everyone's face was filled with solemn expressions.

"No, I still have to go and save Tan Tai. He is a fierce general under my command, and I cannot let him die in battle like this."

Chagan Wuli stood up suddenly, and after thinking it over again and again, he decided to go and save Tan Tai Ao.

Seeing that Chagan Wuli was about to give orders, the middle-aged scholar beside him could no longer sit still and stepped forward to dissuade him, saying, "Khan, please think twice. I understand your feelings, but it is too late now. General Tantai... will surely die."

Yuan Chenghuan, who came to offer advice, also said, "That's right. Even if we rush over now, I'm afraid that when we get there, there will only be a mess and the rebels will have already retreated far away."

"enough!"

It would not matter if Yuan Chenghuan did not speak, but once he spoke, Chagan Wuli became even more furious. He shouted angrily: "What did you say before? That this plan is foolproof? That Lin Zhongyun would never have expected it? But what about now?"

"If it weren't for our alliance, I would have killed you long ago!"

Facing Chagan Wuli's aggressive questioning, Yuan Chenghuan's face turned pale, and he felt helpless. He lowered his head and said in a deep voice: "I underestimated Lin Zhongyun. I thought we were playing chess, but I didn't expect that Lin Zhongyun was also making moves."

He said this with a hint of bitterness in his tone.

In fact, this time, whether it was Tan Tai'ao's move to rescue the Cui family or the retreat route, they were all planned by him, just for the sake of a token of allegiance so that Chagan Wuli would believe in him.

However, the plan not only failed, but also caused trouble for him, which was not worth the loss.

Seeing this, the middle-aged Confucian scholar at the side stepped forward and spoke for Yuan Chenghuan: "Khan, don't be angry. Everything must be considered for the overall situation. As long as Mr. Yuan's plan succeeds, then the rebel army will..."

(End of this chapter)