Chapter 157: Battle of Xixia Stone Valley (Part )

At sunrise, the sky was unusually dim, the stone valley in Xixia was dark and deep, and the wind whimpered as it passed through the narrow valley.

The infantry team led by Yan Feishi and Zong Huaichang, under the dual torture of fatigue and hunger, struggled to maintain their formation and stepped into this danger-ridden area.

Yan Feishi had just entered the valley with his vanguard troops when he immediately sensed that something was wrong. He suddenly gave the order, "Stop moving forward!"

The team slowly stopped from beginning to end, and a solemn and murderous atmosphere filled the air.

Zong Huaichang quickly rode over from the rear army, stood side by side with Yan Feishi, and said in a deep voice, "Brother Yan, there may be something strange in the valley ahead. We can't go any further."

Yan Feishi nodded solemnly and replied, "Yes, we need to send someone to explore the valley to prevent any accidents. Besides, the soldiers have been traveling all night and are exhausted. We should let everyone rest and eat some dry food."

Zong Huaichang nodded and said, "I will organize people to explore the way and arrange for vigilance."

At the same time, Li Jinzhong and Sun Wanrong, who were living high up in the valley, watched the vanguard of Zhou's army enter the valley entrance, and then the entire army stopped.

Sun Wanrong urgently suggested: "Khan, the Zhou people have been alerted. We should not delay any longer and should launch an attack immediately!"

Li Jinzhong did not hesitate to hear this and decisively ordered: "Let Li Kaigu, He Axiao, Luo Wuzheng and others attack from both sides of Huangzhang Valley to annihilate this Zhou army."

The messenger passed on Li and Sun's orders, and in an instant the Khitan army rushed in from all directions like ghosts, with shouts of killing shaking the earth.

When Yan Fei Shi saw that the Khitans were indeed attacking, he immediately shouted loudly, trying to wake up the tense nerves of the soldiers: "All troops, be on alert! There is an ambush!"

However, the long march had made the team extremely tired, and coupled with the sudden change, many people were dispersed by the Khitan cavalry before they could react.

The Khitans used their cavalry to defeat their infantry and took advantage of their rest to wait for the tired Zhou army. The two Khitan armies led by Li and Sun, totaling more than 30,000 men, dealt with the Zhou army of less than 20,000 who were hungry and tired, and inflicted great casualties in a short period of time.

Although Yan Feishi and Zong Huaichang tried their best to organize a defense line, resistance was extremely difficult as they were at a disadvantage in terms of both numbers and physical strength.

In the morning mist, the two sides engaged in close combat, with swords flashing and blood splattering.

Seeing his soldiers being slaughtered by the Khitans, Yan Fei Shi was furious, so he went into battle himself to boost morale. He finally managed to stabilize the situation and repel several attacks by the Khitans.

However, the situation did not change. The rear of the Zhou army outside the valley was dispersed by the Khitan cavalry, and most of them were driven to the valley entrance and eventually surrounded.

Then the Khitans' attacks came like a tide, wave after wave. The Zhou army struggled to hold on and looked like it would collapse at any time.

The Khitan army was confident of victory, and Sun Wanrong was quite aggressive: "Khan, after we destroy this Zhou army, Danzhou and Pingzhou will be within our grasp, and the entire Liaoxi will be in our hands."

“By then, with the power of a great victory and according to Khan’s plan, we can conquer Liaodong in the east, subdue the Mohe in the north, and unite with the Xi people in the west. The future of Khitan will be bright!” Sun Wanrong had a beautiful dream.

Li Jinzhong is older, but calmer and more reserved. He stroked his beard and smiled, "This group of Zhou army generals are more tenacious than Zhang Xuanyu. They should not be underestimated. We should annihilate them first."

As if in response to Li Jinzhong's words, Yan Fei Shi once again organized his troops to attack the Khitan army in Huangzhang Valley, attempting to kill their only way to survive.

"Quick! Send another attack to the valley entrance!"

The soldiers knew that this was the only way to survive, so they had to fight for their lives. For a moment, they even disrupted the Khitan army's formation.

Seeing that the Zhou army might break out of the encirclement, Li Jinzhong became anxious: "Let's go, you and I will personally lead the army to fight and destroy the main force of the Zhou army."

Li Jinzhong's banner slowly moved toward the valley entrance, and the encirclement that was about to be broken was soon stabilized. The Zhou army's counterattack was suppressed, and their morale dropped to the freezing point, and they were about to be defeated.

Yan Fei Shi and Zong Huaichang were both injured and completely desperate. They were ready to make a last stand and sacrifice their lives for their country.

At this critical moment, the sound of horse hooves was heard in the distance, and clouds of dust rose from the southwest. The cavalry led by Zhao Ji arrived.

Li Jinzhong was outside the valley and received the news faster than the Zhou army inside, so he was caught off guard.

He wondered, "Where did this Zhou army come from? Could it be the government troops from Pingzhou coming to help?"

"According to General Xiao's intelligence, it is impossible that they are Pingzhou's government troops. Most of them are from Danzhou." Sun Wanrong asked Xiao Jingdao.

Seeing thousands of cavalry approaching, Li Jinzhong no longer cared to ask where the army came from, and urgently ordered: "Send a message to He Axiao and Luo Wuzheng, and have them lead their men to stop those cavalry. Don't let the reinforcements meet up with the trapped Zhou army!"

Led by the three big flags of "Zhao", "Yang" and "Zhang", the cavalry led by Zhao Ji rushed to the battlefield like a divine army descending from the sky.

He Axiao hurriedly led his cavalry to turn their horses around, intending to confront Zhao Ji's cavalry head-on.

Zhao Ji held a long spear and personally served as the spearhead of the cavalry charge, crashing into He A's small group with the force of thunder.

The wind whistled in his ears. Zhao Ji fell on his horse and came face to face with a Khitan general. Judging from his armor and clothes, he was of high status.

The Khitan people let out strange cries and waved their long swords to attack Zhao Ji.

When two brave men meet in a narrow road, the brave one wins. Zhao Ji did not hesitate or retreat at all. All he saw was the approaching blade. His body did not move, but his mind was focused on one point.

In a flash, he stretched out his right hand forward, and the several-meter-long spear pierced the enemy general's chest accurately like an angry dragon emerging from the sea, knocking him off his horse.

He Axiao, the executioner from another time and space who broke into the heartland of Wu Zhou and slaughtered countless people, was beheaded before he could become famous.

Zhao Ji didn't know that he had killed the main general of the Khitan army. He continued to swing the long spear in his hand, and in an instant several Khitan knights were stabbed to death.

After all, He A's small group had already fought a hard battle with the Yan bandits Shi and Zong Huaichang's groups, and their energy was exhausted. Now they were facing Zhao Ji's new forces, and their main general was killed, so they immediately retreated.

The enemy army retreated, and the Zhou cavalry took advantage of the victory to pursue and immediately killed them.

The Khitan army divided its forces to intercept Zhao Ji, so the number of Zhou army infantry troops besieging the valley was naturally reduced, and the pressure on Yan bandit Shi and Zong Huaichang was greatly reduced for a while.

When the Zhou army soldiers at the valley entrance sensed the movement outside, their desire to survive became even stronger, and they rushed out on their own initiative without the order of their generals.

"It's reinforcements, reinforcements are coming... reinforcements are coming!" Zong Huaichang, who had originally given up hope, suddenly cheered up.

Yan Feishi saw the three flags and said excitedly, "Zhao, Yang, Zhang, it's General Yang, General Zhang, General Zhao is here!"

"Reinforcements have arrived! Brothers, follow me!" Yan Fei Shi waved his gun and shouted, leading the remaining infantry to break out.

Zong Huaichang also commanded the remaining soldiers to fight a desperate battle with the Khitan army, striving to find a way out of the valley.

(End of this chapter)