Chapter 55: Lifting the Siege, Two Dragons Emerge from the Water
Shi Jin met the vanguard cavalry of the government troops head-on. They were seen pulling a long square formation, waving their long spears and shouting wildly as they approached. The entire formation was like a powerful big hand, with a speed that was too fast to cover one's ears, from far to near, trying to crush Shi Jin's team in one grasp.
Shi Jin gazed at him with an unchanged expression, and instead clamped his legs tightly around the horse's belly, bravely leading the troops to charge forward. In a flash of lightning, the two armies clashed.
Shi Jin swung his long spear, and as the government soldiers approached, he struck with a single whip. This one spear was withdrawn, and in an instant, four or five government soldiers fell from their horses, only to be trampled by the galloping iron hooves into minced meat. Shi Jin's spear did not pause, and on this side, he shook off a flower spear and stabbed another person blind, then swept across with one spear, using the sharp spearhead to parry the incoming spear and shield. Borrowing the horse's strength, his arm used force to push, and in that instant, he pushed three attacking cavalrymen off their horses, followed by a chorus of mournful cries.
In this confrontation, both sides relied on the speed of their horses to swiftly advance, and the force of their arms also increased several times. The back-and-forth battle was often decided in the blink of an eye. In this head-on collision of cavalry, life and death were uncertain, with half relying on luck and half on skill. Shi Jin happened to be someone who possessed both, his horse galloping non-stop as he charged forward, striking down enemy generals with every move. It was truly a case of "every shot hitting its mark, every strike being fatal". The sharpness of his eyes and the precision of his strikes were also thanks to his master Wang Jin.
Shi Jin followed Wang Jin to practice horseback riding and archery. Wang Jin would often stick red paper strips on the willow branches in the forest, then ask Shi Jin to ride his horse quickly through the forest and pick up the red paper strips with his bare hands. At first, Shi Jin rode his horse into the forest at full speed, but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't pick up a single strip of red paper. Wang Jin wasn't disappointed, as it was already difficult to control the horse and ride through the trees. This skill wasn't something that just anyone could learn, and it was one of Wang Jin's secret techniques. However, Wang Jin saw that Shi Jin had great physical ability and quick reflexes, and he considered Shi Jin to be his most promising disciple, so he decided to teach him this advanced technique. After Shi Jin rode a few more times, Wang Jin began to teach him the secrets of quickly picking up the red paper strips. Shi Jin followed his teacher's instructions and rode back and forth several dozen times, gradually improving from barely picking up one strip and tearing it in half, to picking up several strips without damaging them. Later on, after a period of intense practice, Shi Jin was able to ride his horse through the forest with ease, picking up the red paper strips as if they were floating in the air.
At first, Shi Jin didn't understand and didn't know what the point of all this running around was. Only now that he's had a thrilling fight all the way here did he finally realize it, and indeed benefited greatly from it.
At the moment when the two armies clashed head-on, to onlookers, the horses seemed extremely fast, and the incoming people were often just a flash of armor and gun shadows, while they themselves were still sitting safely on their horse one moment, and possibly beheaded the next. But for Shi Jing, wielding his spear and making thrusts, every move was clearly etched in his mind. Not only could he see the faces of the incoming people clearly, but even the direction of the moves they made fell into his eyes.
Shi Jin swung his long spear like a flying dragon in the sky, spinning it twice on top of his head before charging towards the several cavalrymen beside him, cutting them down along with their helmets and armor until they were a bloody mess. Shi Jin added more force to his swing, bringing the spear's rotation from the right side downwards, cutting off two more cavalrymen who had approached from behind, severing them from shoulder to hip. He then paused for a moment before sweeping the spearhead horizontally in front of him, cutting down several more horsemen and sending them tumbling to the ground.
Shi Jin followed closely behind a team, taking advantage of Shi Jin's unstoppable momentum, and swung his long gun widely, cutting down the government army. In no time, the blood of the government soldiers stained the clothes of Shi Jin's cavalry, contrasting with the gloomy sunset, it was a shocking bright red. They were like a sharp and bloody blade, cutting the government army's neat square formation into pieces.
At this moment, Chen Da also led his troops to kill from the west gate. Those wounded and exhausted wooden knife infantry were like fish meat on a board under their iron hooves. Chen Da and others raised their long guns and trampled them with a gallop, easily lifting the siege around the west city gate. Chen Da ran back and forth several times, and when he looked back, there were only about 100 soldiers left under the west city gate, who were naturally suppressed by the archers on the city wall and could not make any waves. Then he loosened his reins and rode to kill at the north gate again.
When Chen Da turned the corner of the city, he took a distant glance and saw that the soldiers under the North Gate were killed or injured in a tragic manner. At this moment, a cloud ladder for attacking the city was also pushed down by the defenders of Huayin County, and more than a dozen soldiers on the ladder fell to their deaths while shouting. Already, dozens of strong men at the bottom of the city were carrying a battering ram, shouting slogans and exerting force one after another, and the huge sound of the impact on the city gate shook hundreds of soldiers who were holding knives and arrows around it, also shaking Chen Da's urgent heart.
Chen Da saw that the remaining enemy soldiers were only over a thousand, and he was also worried that the city gate would be smashed open in one of the collisions. So, he quietly made up his mind, and instead of continuing to charge and kill around the perimeter, he rode straight to the city gate and rushed forward.
The defenders only focused on blocking the arrows shot from above, hoping that the attacking troops could quickly break open the gate and rush in. By the time they noticed Chen Da's cavalry, it was too late. The first few soldiers who had just swung their clubs over their heads hadn't even had time to strike when Chen Da's horse charged forward, knocking them down. The following cavalry arrived one after another, and wherever the iron hooves passed, there were only screams of agony and torn flesh.
Chen Da gripped the eighteen-foot steel spear tightly in his hand, and with a glance at the surrounding government soldiers, he launched a flurry of slashing attacks. The government soldiers below the city wall were instantly thrown into disarray, the wooden knife infantry was restrained by the iron cavalry, and the long gun soldiers, due to the suddenness of the incident, were unable to organize an effective defense for the time being, some retreated, others charged forward, and they all became entangled in a chaotic mess.
Chen Da took one look at the situation and his heart was delighted, so he let out a loud battle cry and led the rear cavalry in a fierce charge. Chen Da was the first to reach the East City Gate, where he suddenly pulled on the reins, and with a single leap of his horse, he cleared the battering ram that was still crashing into the gate. As his mount hung in mid-air, Chen Da swept his spear sideways, beheading four men to his left and right. The cavalry following close behind him divided into eight columns, and wherever their spears passed, blood and flesh flew through the air.
As soon as a cavalry team rushed past, the officers and soldiers under the city were killed and scattered. Chen Da pulled one side of the reins, cut across the horizontal direction of the city gate, and walked along the arc-shaped attack route. Along the way, he charged and killed, circling to the outer perimeter of the officers and soldiers, starting to come and go, killing two or three times. When Chen Da returned to the foot of the city wall again, the officers and soldiers were already wounded and dead, with only a few remaining. Chen Da was satisfied in his heart but did not dare to rest for a moment, continuing to gallop around the city wall without stopping, ensuring that the other two gates were also safe and sound.
But the more Chen Daqi's horse went down, the more frightened he became. By the time they had run halfway, the ominous feeling in his heart grew heavier and heavier, suffocating him to the point of breathlessness. The number of slain government soldiers decreased as they passed by, and when they reached the East City Gate, there were hardly any signs of government soldiers left.
