Chapter 155: Pursuing the North (Part 4)

That Tujue warrior, whose brain was clearly fried by alcohol, didn't even have time to utter a scream before he was impaled and flung into the air by Xu Le’s horse-lance, scattering a spray of blood before crashing heavily to the ground.

During this charge, Xu Le felt practically no pressure at all.

The so-called Vanguard Battalion was far inferior even to Shi Chaozhi’s battalion.

At that moment, Xu Le couldn't help wondering: Could it be that under Wang Rengong's command, the more favored and heavily provisioned a unit was, the more utterly worthless its combat effectiveness became?

This thought happened to hit the nail right on the head.

As an outsider governing Mayi Commandery while the far more popular general Liu Wuzhou held the hearts of the people there, Wang Rengong naturally had to suppress the native Mayi Yingyang garrison soldiers. He either installed his own household retainers and generals in command, recruited elite fighters from all directions, or even enlisted alien tribesmen into his army, bestowing upon them generous stipends and superior equipment to keep the local Mayi Yingyang factions down.

Yet because he had expanded his army too rapidly without allowing sufficient time for integration, the so-called elite battalions—composed mostly of outsiders—proved to be exceptionally poor in combat capability.

Although the Mayi Yingyang Garrison was not as elite as the Heng'an Garrison, being stationed on the frontier meant it still possessed veteran soldiers who had endured hardships and battles. Yet these men were always suppressed and never once gained Wang Rengong's trust or heavy employment.

Thus, from crushing Shi Chaozhi to destroying the Vanguard Battalion, a single charge was all it took for Xu Le to decide the outcome!

This fleeting guess was quickly buried deep in Xu Le’s mind. He didn't spare another glance at the fallen Tujue warrior. With his horse-lance pointing straight ahead, he led his main force charging forward once more!

Since the enemy was such, he would press the advantage and make Wang Rengong hurt even more!

Sixty iron cavalrymen, with Xu Le acting as the cutting edge, galloped wildly across the road, biting relentlessly at the heels of the Vanguard Battalion troopers who were turning to flee!

Only after Xu Le had led his charge and built up their galloping momentum did those Vanguard Battalion troopers realize they needed to turn and run. How could they possibly pick up speed in an instant?

Not to mention that they were riding with two horses per man, and their mounts had already exhausted nearly half their stamina. In their panic, they had no time to change horses, doubling the drag on their speed.

Along the great highway, the Vanguard Battalion cavalrymen—who had always been immensely arrogant and overbearing within Shanyang City—scattered blindly in groups of threes and fives. Meanwhile, the main force led by Xu Le swept across the highway like an unstoppable torrent of iron.

Any Vanguard Battalion trooper caught in this iron current was engulfed before he could even utter a scream!

Dust billowed, hooves thundered like rolling thunder, and the sixty cavalrymen charged forth like an unyielding wall. The entire road seemed to tremble violently!

The Vanguard Battalion cavalrymen, who had boasted endlessly of their elite status, never expected to be struck over the head like a falling club not long after leaving Shanyang City. Under such overwhelming momentum, not a single one of them mustered the will to resist. Due to their abysmal unit cohesion, no one stepped up to cover the rear or buy their comrades a chance at survival; they merely scattered in all directions like headless flies. Those with good luck managed to struggle and escape, while those with bad luck were inevitably doomed beneath Xu Le's iron hooves!

Among the ranks, the manor retainers of the Xu family village who had survived the battle at Tingbing Mountain found their faith growing even firmer.

Though this era was difficult, first with Elder Xu and now with Young Master Le, they would always forge a path forward for them!

As long as they followed Young Master Le’s figure!

Meanwhile, on a nearby hill, Chen Fengpo and his men stared in dazed shock at the scene unfolding before them.

Most of these local Yingyang soldiers had been assigned to logistics and overseeing the corvee laborers to ensure military supply lines. For Chen Fengpo and his men, who knew the terrain and people well, this job was second nature.

When Chen Fengpo first heard that Xu Le intended to throw his meager forces into blocking Wang Rengong's vanguard head-on, he thought Xu Le had lost his mind.

At a time like this, why not head north to merge with Liu Wuzhou’s main force instead of waiting around? Even if Wang Rengong's grand army surrounded Shenwu and they were trapped in a desperate city, it would still be better than this suicidal course of action!

True, Young Master Le was matchless before his horse, having defeated Shi Chaozhi’s battalion of Mayi elite cavalry in one stroke at Tingbing Mountain.

Yet Wang Rengong possessed five or six battalions of those very Mayi elite cavalry, and among them was the even more formidable Vanguard Battalion!

Prefect Wang had recruited strong men from various tribes and treated them with heavy pay. Chen Fengpo had witnessed their horsemanship: they practically grew up on horseback, capable of leaping freely between two galloping horses and even firing arrows while standing upright in their saddles!

Not to mention the bizarre attire and fierce appearances of those alien cavalrymen, which were enough to send a chill straight to one's bones.

No matter how formidable Young Master Le might be, surely he couldn't surpass the Vanguard Battalion, could he?

Yet, bound by Xu Le's command and grateful for having had their lives saved—and most importantly, because Xu Le had gathered all their families together and sent them north under Han Xiaoliu's protection—Chen Fengpo had no choice but to grit his teeth, marshal the laborers, and follow Xu Le straight toward Shanyang City.

Along the way, many laborers had fled, and for no other reason than that Xu Le’s move was simply too terrifying. Thanks only to Chen Fengpo's dedicated restraint and strict discipline, a little over a hundred laborers remained with them now.

When Xu Le spotted the enemy's tracks and formed a battle line across the road, Chen Fengpo led the laborers back to high ground. Everyone tightly gripped their pack animals and mounts, and the moment things went wrong, Chen Fengpo would undoubtedly turn tail and flee north to find his family. In these chaotic times, even if they died, a family should die together.

Yet this gamble defied Chen Fengpo's expectations from the very beginning.

The performance of the Vanguard Battalion was even more worthless than Shi Chaozhi's battalion!

Though Shi Chaozhi's battalion wasn't much to speak of in combat, their core consisted of Wang Rengong's household retainers, giving them a decent level of cohesion.

The cavalrymen of the Vanguard Battalion, however, were nothing more than a tray of loose sand.

First, they failed to spot the dust kicked up by Xu Le and his men before the latter formed a battle line to block them. Then, the moment Xu Le led his charge, they scattered like birds and beasts, only to be hunted down tail-to-tail by Xu Le's pack like falcons preying on hares!

Chen Fengpo's jaw practically hit the ground, while the Shenwu laborers, who had been ready to run away at a moment's notice, were now bursting with high spirits, loosening their reins, clapping their hands, and shouting cheers of encouragement.

"Well slain by Young Master Le!"

"That'll teach these outsiders to ride roughshod over us Mayi people! We have plenty of heroes and stalwart men in Mayi!"

"Strike while the iron is hot and take Shanyang City as well!"

Several of Chen Fengpo's old subordinates crowded around, lowering their voices to ask, "Old Chen, since Young Master Le—recently taken in by Garrison Commander Liu—is this fierce, just how terrifying must the Heng'an soldiers be? Judging by this, won't this entire Mayi Commandery soon bear the surname Liu?"

The garrison soldiers were filled with an uncontrollable excitement. Having had no choice but to submit, they now discovered that their new backer was incomparably ferocious!

Could it be that through a twist of fate, they had actually made the right choice? In the future within Mayi Commandery, they might even rise to greater heights! If so, this would be a blessing in disguise!

Chen Fengpo closed his mouth, a bitter expression on his face devoid of much excitement, and merely muttered under his breath:

"But Garrison Commander Liu doesn't have any grain..."