Chapter 23: Lying on Ice (5)

These Tang people only know how to use deceptive tactics!
Yin Ziqi sneered disdainfully before walking back under the shade of the tree to rest.
Using deceptive tactics once is surprising; using it twice is just pretentious! Zhang Xun is nothing but a pretentious man! Yin Ziqi formed this judgment about Zhang Xun in his heart.
“Uuuu—uuuuh—uuuuh!”
The deep sound of horns rang out again, but Yin Ziqi ignored it.
“Dong dong! Dong dong dong! Dong dong dong!”
The resonant sound of drums also came again, yet Yin Ziqi remained unmoved.
No matter how many troops they have, I will stand firm—this was Yin Ziqi’s mindset at that moment.
If even the rebel commander acted in such a resolute manner, his soldiers surely had no reason to worry. Even if the sky fell, someone taller would hold it up—why worry? So, those who were supposed to cook continued cooking, and those who were supposed to joke continued joking. The rebels piled up the newly harvested wheat into bundles and chatted cheerfully.
“Uuuu—uuuuh—uuuuh!”
The deep horn sounds rang out again. Yin Ziqi slightly opened his eyes and glanced toward the city walls. But instead of the Tang troops boasting on the walls as he had imagined, the Tang troops actually came out to fight!
Nan Jiyun led a thousand cavalry out of the city!
With swift speed and fierce momentum, the thousand cavalry charged straight at Yin Ziqi’s camp!
The rebels had just sat down, ready to start a fire and cook—how could they expect the Tang people to actually charge out? Caught off guard by Nan Jiyun’s attack, many rebels panicked and knocked over their stoves, scalding themselves and crying out in pain.
But Nan Jiyun showed no mercy. Seizing this opportunity, he whipped his horse forward bravely. Behind him were over a thousand determined Tang warriors.
From the moment they followed Nan Jiyun out of the city, they had resolved to die fighting for their country. But what did death matter? If their deaths could ensure the safety of Suiyang City, they would die a thousand times without regret!
What the Three Lords of the Southern Regions could do, they could do too!
At this point, this cavalry force was no longer fighting with mere swords—they fought with willpower, an unyielding will like steel!
“Brothers, follow me! Let’s give these ignorant rebels a good lesson!”
Nan Jiyun had long been frustrated. Now that he finally had the chance to fight outside the city, how could he not seize it? Wielding a long sword, he charged into the enemy camp and began slashing. In little time, he had killed several rebels.

The more than a thousand Tang cavalry were all elite troops carefully selected by Zhang Xun, comparable in strength even to the rebels’ elite force—the Yeluohe. At this moment, they followed closely behind Nan Jiyun’s horse, swinging their swords to strike. In just a short while, they carved a clearly visible bloody path through the enemy camp and continued to widen it.

They were well aware of their mission upon leaving the city. The enemy forces, across all their units, numbered over a hundred thousand, while they themselves had only a little over a thousand cavalry—far too few to confront them head-on. Their only chance was to follow General Nan, slay enemy commanders, seize flags, and crush the rebels’ morale!

“Brothers, don’t linger in battle! Charge in and follow General Nan to seize the flags!”

Zhou Hu, Nan Jiyun’s personal guard, understood the purpose of their mission and kept shouting to keep his comrades focused.

“Charge forward! Follow General Nan to seize the flags!”

“For the Tang Dynasty, brothers! For the Tang Dynasty!”

Though they were only a thousand in number and the enemy forces were a hundred times larger, what did that matter? As long as there was even a sliver of chance, they would make their choice.

With their horses trampling through the wheat fields, the Tang cavalry rushed into the rebel camp like lightning, instantly creating a bloody peony in the enemy ranks.

A bloody peony—of unparalleled beauty.

A group of spearmen rushed over in haste to stop them. Nan Jiyun’s lips curled slightly as he took a long spear from his guard and swung it horizontally, sweeping through the enemy ranks. In moments, several rebels were knocked down.

Cries of pain echoed continuously, but Nan Jiyun remained unmoved!

Their mission upon leaving the city was singular: to slay enemy commanders and seize flags! Other than that, neither he nor Suiyang had any other choice. These a thousand cavalry carried the hopes of nearly a hundred thousand people in Suiyang!

They had no choice!

“Die!”

Nan Jiyun retracted the tip of his spear slightly, gathered his strength, and thrust forward, lifting an enemy general into the air.

“Die!”

With a fierce swing, he flung the struggling enemy general aside. There was a dull thud as the general crashed into the wheat field, raising a cloud of dust.

“Kill! Kill! Kill!”

Seeing Nan Jiyun slay an enemy general, the Tang cavalry’s morale soared. They cheered loudly, supporting their general.

They had no numerical advantage, no advantage in armor or weapons, no advantage in supplies—but they had spirit!

As long as there was spirit, there was life; without spirit, there was death!

Yin Ziqi was terrified. With the help of his officers, he rushed to the battlefield and began giving orders to his generals.

“Cui Boyuan, quickly lead five hundred sword and axe warriors to block the gap—under no circumstances let the Tang forces break through!”
“Xing Wannian, swiftly assemble a thousand archers to seal off the Tang cavalry’s path. If they try to charge, shoot them fiercely. I don’t believe their bodies are made of iron or copper, impervious to blades and spears!”
After making these arrangements, Yin Ziqi felt a bit more at ease.
Why worry? The Tang had only a thousand cavalry, taking advantage of the soldiers’ underestimation. Once the soldiers calmed down and formed a proper formation to face them, those Tang cavalry would be worthless.
Yin Ziqi smirked coldly, took a drumstick from his personal guards, and went to the center of the formation to beat the drum and boost the soldiers’ morale。……
Yet things did not develop as Yin Ziqi had planned.
The sword and axe warriors led by Cui Boyuan were utterly unable to stop the lightning-fast Tang cavalry. These Tang riders ignored the soldiers blocking their path, slashing down at them with deadly intent, ready to die together.
How could these sword and axe warriors possibly fight to the death against such madmen? Faced with the Tang cavalry’s desperate tactics, they had no choice but to lower their weapons and retreat, clearing a path for the Tang forces.
Once people disregard life and death, nothing can stop them!
These were warriors ready to die, true heroes!
“Follow me and raise the flag!”
Nan Jiyun felt his blood boil as he swung his sword aside the last arrow shot at him and roared.
“Seize the flag! Take it!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
Why not carry a sword as a man, and conquer fifty provinces?
Gazing westward at Qinchuan, his eyes held not only tears of sorrow。……
As a man, if one cannot defend his homeland, protect his wife, and fight against enemies, how can he stand in this world?
This was the responsibility of a Tang man, the responsibility of a Tang general.
Nan Jiyun wished he could use his sword to slay all evil in the world.
Raise his arm, draw a circle, swing the sword!
With a single fluid motion, Nan Jiyun chuckled lightly—killing was so simple after all.
Closer, closer! He was so close to Yin Ziqi that he could even see the panic and fear in the other man’s eyes.
Haha! Who says the Tang has no heroes? Who says Suiyang has no warriors!
“You dog thief! Pay with your life!”
Nan Jiyun roared, tightened his grip on his horse, and charged at Yin Ziqi。……
Dusk in Suiyang City.
Zhang Xun, along with the city’s defense generals, personally celebrated Nan Jiyun and his soldiers.
Though the celebration consisted of only a bowl of thin porridge and a few cups of weak wine, it was extremely precious in these difficult times.
“Nan Ba, you’ve achieved great merits this time!”

Zhang Xun patted Nan Jiyun’s arm, his face filled with a smile. Though he had previously deceived the enemy forces by sounding horns and beating drums on many occasions, sending a single force of a thousand cavalry deep into the rebel camp and advancing triumphantly to seize their flag could still be considered a miracle. And this miracle was achieved by Nan Jiyun and his troops.
“Lord Zhang, please don’t say that. I only wish I could slay those rebel generals!”
Nan Jiyun waved his hand and said, “Yin Ziqi was also a military commander, yet at a critical moment he hid behind the main army like a coward—how ridiculous.”
Zhang Xun stroked his beard gently and said, “Rebel generals are all cowards who fear death. Perhaps that’s why, despite outnumbering our troops by many times, they haven’t been able to capture the city after so long.”
Xu Yuan, who was standing nearby, nodded slightly and said, “Lord Zhang is right. Although the rebels have a large number of troops and fine armor, most of them are hired soldiers without a firm determination to win. In contrast, our troops are fighting with all they have, with nothing to lose. In this comparison, we have an advantage.”
Zhang Xun sighed sadly and said, “After this battle, the morale of the rebels will surely plummet. If the imperial court could send another ten thousand troops, the siege of Suiyang could be lifted.”
At these words, silence fell over the hall.
Suiyang was the gateway to the Jianghuai region, and its strategic importance was self-evident.
For nearly three months, a hundred thousand rebel troops had been besieging the city, but for some reason, the imperial court had not sent reinforcements to Suiyang.
“The imperial court has its own difficulties!” Xu Yuan patted Zhang Xun’s arm and shook his head helplessly.
Chang’an was the heart of the empire, while Luoyang was the stronghold of the puppet regime. Compared to these two places, Suiyang naturally seemed unimportant.
He had long heard that the emperor had sent generals like Guo Ziyi and Li Guangbi to attack Chang’an. It seemed the emperor intended to abandon this strong city of Suiyang.