Chapter 104: Coercion and Temptation

  "Kill!" Zhang Liao's eyes were wide with excitement, his voice loud and clear. He stabbed the two Yellow Turban soldiers with his long spear, knocking them to the ground. He kicked his warhorse hard, galloping forward at full speed, shouting repeatedly: "Keep up the pace! Keep up the pace!"

  One hundred cavalrymen followed closely behind him, breaking through the Yellow Turbans' blockade, charging out of the battlefield, circling around and killing their way back.

  They were like a butterfly, fluttering around the Yellow Turbans and then flying away, not giving them a chance to surround.

  Zhang Liao knew that he didn't have the same level of combat power as Lü Bu, and couldn't break through the Yellow Turbans' battle formation. He could only use his cavalry's speed to launch a quick attack and then retreat. If he were surrounded by the Yellow Turbans and lost his speed, his few hundred horsemen would become lambs waiting to be slaughtered, and it wouldn't take long for them to be killed off completely.

  Without him, Niu Fu would fall into a passive state, be shaken and collapse.

  They had been fighting for half the night, and Zhang Liao was very tired, but he dared not give up. He knew that the longer he held on, the more time he could buy for the Emperor. He had already sent out over a dozen scouts, and as long as one of them encountered the Emperor's main force, the Emperor would abandon his plan to intercept Guo Tai and rush here to attack Yang Feng from the side.

  The reason for this confidence is that Zhang Liao has been studying with the Emperor for some time, learning military strategy from Huangfu Song. Their communication was the most frequent, and he grasped the Emperor's military thinking most accurately. He believed that after the Emperor knew of this situation, he would not entangle with Guo Tai, but would definitely use the speed of the cavalry to come and attack Yang Feng's main force.

  Jia Xu's plan was based on this understanding. Zhang Liao agreed with Jia Xu's plan, also for the same reason.

  "Kill!" Zhang Liao raised the long spear in his hand, turned around, and let out a battle cry to the knights behind him.

  "Kill!" The knights raised their weapons in hand, tacitly changing formation. To conserve energy, they took turns charging and killing, with those on the outside using spears and swords, while those sandwiched in between used bows and crossbows, allowing them to get a brief respite. Although this time was short, it allowed them to recover as much as possible. If not for this, they would have collapsed from exhaustion long ago, and it would have been impossible for them to fight until now, with casualties still kept at an extremely low level.

  Under Zhang Liao's leadership, they charged into the flank and rear of the Yellow Turbans, with long spears thrusting, battle knives slashing, and bows and crossbows firing in unison, killing dozens of Yellow Turbans, cutting off a corner of their large formation, and then floating away.

  Faced with the swift and agile cavalry, the Yellow Turbans were at a loss. The best way to deal with cavalry was to form dense formations and use strong bows and crossbows to shoot in unison. This was how the Han army defeated the nomadic tribes on the grasslands. However, the Yellow Turbans lacked supplies and did not have enough bows, crossbows, and arrows, nor were there many long spears. Faced with these cavalrymen, they could only rely on human lives to fight hard, suffering heavy casualties and low morale.

  In front of the Yellow Turbans, Niu Fu led three thousand infantrymen, advancing steadily forward, gradually wedging into the vanguard of the Yellow Turbans.

  Niu Fu divided his 3,000 infantrymen into three teams, with the left and right teams each having 500 men, led by Hu Che Er and Xu Huang respectively. Hu Che Er was Niu Fu's trusted aide, a strong and brave man of the Xiongnu tribe, known for his exceptional strength and bravery. Whenever Niu Fu went to battle, he would often order Hu Che Er to lead the vanguard in breaking through enemy lines. Xu Huang was an official from Hedong Commandery, whom Niu Fu got to know only after arriving in Hedong. After several battles, Niu Fu discovered that Xu Huang had both bravery and strategic thinking, and thus promoted him to be a garrison commander.

  Hú Chì'ér held a heavy wolf-toothed club in his hand, roaring like thunder, the wolf-toothed club danced in the air, and those who approached were swept away.

  Xu Huang wielded a long axe, its shadow flashing, and both men and shields were shattered.

  Niu Fu led the Imperial Guard, fighting bravely and advancing forward with all his might.

  On their left, Li Jue led five hundred elite Western Liang cavalry in a relentless charge against the Yellow Turbans' right flank.

  Although the total number of troops was less than 4,000, only one-tenth of the Yellow Turbans, they were in high spirits and took the initiative, killing the Yellow Turbans who retreated in defeat.

  Yang Feng's face turned iron-green with rage, he had no idea what madness Cao Fu had contracted, actually wanting to engage in a life-and-death battle with him at an absolute disadvantage. Until now, not only was there no sign of fear, but the more they fought, the braver they became. What made him even more incredulous was that Niu Fu, who usually hid behind the central army command, had personally taken to the field, leading his most ferocious personal guard battalion in a charge at the very front. This greatly boosted the morale of the Liangzhou army, while also inflicting heavy casualties on the Yellow Turbans, to the point where Yang Feng was unable to gain an advantage and dared not launch a full-scale counterattack.

  He feared that during the division of troops to surround Niu Fu, due to the thin formation, he would be defeated by Niu Fu and lose his life.

  Yang Feng couldn't understand what madness had possessed Niu Fu. If he continued to fight with all his might, he would either die on the battlefield or drive the White Wave Army back to White Wave Valley - how could he possibly retreat all the way to An Yi? Yang Feng wouldn't misjudge the situation and fall into this dilemma of being unable to advance or retreat, staring at a piece of fat meat that he couldn't swallow.

  If he can't defeat Niu Fu and take down Anyi City, what face will he have to see Xun Yu and Guo Tai?

  Yang Feng rode a tiger and found it hard to get off, so he could only hold on tight, using the advantage of his troops' strength to slowly consume Niu Fu's morale, patiently waiting for an opportunity to counterattack.

  Niu Fu knew why he was going crazy, because Jia Xu had explained the reason to him on that bamboo slip. Dong Zhuo stood on the side of the imperial court and turned against Yuan Yi, who already considered him a traitor, leaving no room for retreat. With the emperor in danger and the imperial court defeated, Dong Zhuo would not have a good ending. To avoid this outcome, Niu Fu had to go to war and must at all costs entangle Yang Feng and Guo Tai's main forces, trying to buy time for the emperor to sound the alarm.

  For this goal, let alone the city of An Yi, let alone his three thousand troops, even Niu Fu himself can be sacrificed. What if there is a bit more loss? As long as the emperor does not lose, and Dong Zhuo's position is preserved, it will not be difficult to replenish five thousand or ten thousand people in the future. With Niu Fu's efforts to turn the tide, how can the Emperor not be grateful to him, and how can Dong Zhuo not be grateful to him?

  Whether Niu's family can rise to fame depends on whether they can hold off Yang Feng in this battle.

  The cow will certainly fight to the death, and will not retreat until the last man is defeated.

  Before the war, Niu Fu issued the most severe order: those who fought bravely would be heavily rewarded, while those who were cowardly would have their entire family killed!

  Great rewards must have brave men. Under the intimidation and temptation of Niu Fu, Yang Feng thought that the easy-to-get fat meat had turned into a hard-to-swallow bone.

  "Kill!" - Niu Fu tore off his helmet, smashing it to the ground, raised his bloody battle knife and let out a long, mournful howl.

  "Kill!" Hu Che'er swung his wolf-toothed club and smashed a Yellow Turban soldier's head, splattering brains everywhere.

  "Kill!" Xu Huang swung his great axe and split a Yellow Turban soldier in two, shield and all.

  "Charge!" Li Jue yelled, leaping off his wounded warhorse and onto an empty saddle of another horse, continuing to gallop like a sharp arrow, shooting towards the right flank of the Yellow Turbans.

  The drums were loud and clear, the war flags were fluttering, Niu Fu led three thousand infantry and cavalry, with no intention of turning back, charging towards Yang Feng's large formation, like a heavy hammer, striking again and again.