Chapter 56: The Defeated Soldiers Overrun the Main Camp

  Shi Jin saw Chen Da go to relieve the siege, so he gathered his mind and continued to collect this group of official cavalry. After a killing spree just now, that cavalry regiment had been killed by Shi Jin until it was scattered. Shi Jin emerged from the enemy array, with blood all over his body and horse. The bright red liquid dripped into the grass with the galloping of the horses. Shi Jin pulled the reins, turned his horse's head, smiled slightly at the slowing official soldiers, and then patted his horse to charge towards the core of the enemy array again.

  Those officers and soldiers hastily restrained the momentum of their horses, but it was still a few beats too slow. The cavalry had not yet adjusted its formation when Shi Jin led his troops to charge over again with great momentum.

  Shi Jin rode forward, his long spear flashing in the sunlight. With a swift motion, he knocked aside the stunned soldiers and officers, sending them tumbling to the ground. The brothers following close behind also broke through the enemy lines with ease, their spears dancing in the air as they charged forward. Wherever their spearheads passed, there were casualties. Shi Jin's troops advanced under the cover of a hail of arrows, starting from his position at the forefront and expanding outward in a broad front. The more they pressed forward, the denser the spear thrusts became. Shi Jin thus broke through the enemy lines with ease, creating a large gap in their formation in an instant. It was only then that the vanguard of the government troops began to react, hastily retreating towards their main camp on horseback. However, the rear guard was thrown into chaos by Shi Jin's bold and daring charge, becoming jammed together in disarray, with no semblance of order or discipline.

  Shi Jin thrust his spear and knocked down an officer from the rear team, then controlled the spear with his left hand and exerted force with his right hand. Looking at the numerous officers in front of him, he launched a series of swift and successive stabs. The spearhead pierced through armor and traversed the chest cavity, directly striking the heart. With one stab, he broke through, then withdrew his spear to stab again. Shi Jin's spearhead was like a dragonfly touching water, and all that could be seen were bursts of blood flowers exploding from the backs of the officers in the rear team, without any visible obstruction to Shi Jin's movements.

  Shi Jin continued to kill his way forward, seeing that the cavalry troops summoned from this province were nothing special. He didn't stop his horse and wherever the government soldiers fled, he led his troops to attack there. Shi Jin, who had just been strategically defending, now thoroughly began an aggressive offensive. As they charged and killed in a bloody manner, the number of government soldiers rapidly decreased.

  Shi Jin chased the government soldiers for a long time, watching them flee in disarray towards their main camp. He looked down on them even more in his heart. At this moment, he didn't know if that Director Meng was sitting in the main camp or not. If he saw with his own eyes how his cavalry regiment had been defeated so badly, he wondered what kind of thoughts he would have. Perhaps he would be so angry that he couldn't speak. Shi Jin thought about it and looked towards the government soldiers' main camp. At this moment, they were running closer, and they could see more clearly than when they were on the city wall looking out at a distance. They saw that there were still some guards standing at the entrance of the camp, who opened the gate wide to let their troops in when they saw them fleeing back. Shi Jin saw it with his own eyes, and the competitive spirit in his heart arose. He led his brothers to urge on their horses, tightly pursuing the cavalry's rear team.

  As He Zhi's troops followed the government soldiers to kill them at the camp, those few defending government soldiers finally saw through it. It turned out that the group with silver helmets and armor mixed in the rear team were not all their own people. However, at this moment, it was too late to close the gate of the camp, and amidst the chaos, someone on the gate shouted to shoot arrows. But looking down from above, the rushing cavalry had similar uniforms, and it was impossible to distinguish between friend and foe. Occasionally, a glance saw the rear team killing the front team, but due to the speed being too fast, there was no time to aim and shoot, and they entered the city in a flash, missing the opportunity.

  This shocked the officers and soldiers guarding the village, and those who were braver shot a few arrows hastily, while those who were timid dropped their bows and arrows and scattered in all directions, fleeing on horseback.

  The official cavalry had planned to use the marksmen from the village to pin down the enemy's vanguard, allowing them to enter the village and regroup before launching a counterattack. But unexpectedly, Shi Jin's group fought with such ferocity that not only did they hold their ground, but also managed to break into the village. The leader of the troops was taken aback, realizing that he had brought disaster upon himself by letting the enemy in. Not only would he be unable to report back to Commander Meng, but the imperial court would also not let him off lightly. Being exiled and forced to serve as a soldier might be the best outcome; otherwise, he feared he would end up with his head on a spike.

  He thought to himself, anyway, it's all death, why not die in battle and get a good name out of it. At least his family wouldn't be implicated. With this noble idea firmly in mind, he quickly reined in his horse and made a small circle around the camp before turning back to lead his troops to attack again.

  He let out a long, loud "Kill!" and whipped his horse into a gallop, looking like he was going all out. But after only a few strides, he realized that none of his men had followed him. When he turned to look back, the group of soldiers had already scattered in all directions. As the saying goes: "A defeated army is like a landslide." This time, the leader really learned his lesson.

  But before he could even sigh, to express the "heart to save the country, no strength to return to heaven" tragic, was pierced through the shoulder by Shi Jin's troops, and fell off the horse. A row of iron hooves trampled over, even the silver helmet was crushed, and the corpse was nowhere to be found.

  ……

  At this moment, behind the large camp of officers and soldiers, on the waist of a mountain, a figure stood tall among the trees, surrounded by many soldiers. The fierce warrior wore a helmet with frost and sun on it, with a bunch of green tassels scattered on top, wearing a suit of armor with plum blossoms and elm leaves inlaid, tied around his waist with a red silk belt, with beast faces covering his heart, wearing a white gauze robe with a purple tassel flying ribbon, wearing a pair of yellow leather boots with a thick sole. The man stood firmly on a protruding rock, one hand holding his waist and the other holding a large golden-backed knife, quietly looking at the foot of the mountain, where the brutal camp was like a hellish Asura battlefield. A faint smile floated across his face, and a hint of joy appeared in the corner of his mouth.

  "Report! The bandits, leading over two thousand troops disguised as our army, have broken into the main camp!" A silver-armored officer rushed forward, kneeling on one knee, and made a hasty report with his hands clasped together.

  That man was unmoved, as if he hadn't heard what the officer was saying, and continued to gaze down quietly. He watched as a highly organized torrent quickly swept through the camp amidst the chaos.

  A general followed him, endured for a moment, but the fiery temper could not be suppressed, took a step forward from the ranks, clasped his hands together and said: "Director, the wonderful plan has been successful, why not..."

  Meng Du stood there with his face turned away, listening to his words, and simply raised his palm to his shoulder.

  As soon as the general saw this gesture of silence, he immediately stopped speaking and swallowed the rest of his words.

  Meng Dujuan took a deep breath, gazing intently at the bottom, and said with great relish: "Although it's a turtle in a jar, it's not yet ripe. It needs to be simmered over low heat for a while, and only then will the meat be flavorful. And when you eat it, it'll be refreshing, don't you think?"