Chapter 168: Gao Yingxiang
The fallen knight fell heavily on the rain, and the splatters of mud and gushing blood mixed together and turned into a strange dark red.
"Boom—"
A thunderclap suddenly came from above the sky, and in an instant it overwhelmed all the sounds in the world.
The thunder fell, and the rain became heavier for a few minutes, and it was about to turn from medium rain to heavy rain, and the originally gloomy sky also darkened a little.
The cold rain wet the armor on Gao Yingxiang's body, and the bone-eroding chill invaded him from all directions.
Gao Yingxiang's mind was clear at this time, and he was not carried away by this sudden change.
Over the years, he has encountered countless dangers in battle, many times almost dying, but he survived in the end.
Gao Yingxiang knew very well that he must not panic at this time.
After Sun Chuanting led his troops into the valley from outside the valley, he camped on the spot at Beishan and Yukou without any other moves.
It is impossible for the people under Sun Chuanting's command to sneak into the southwest from under the noses of the scouts he sent out, and it is absolutely impossible for them to be blind
And this sudden attack of the Ming cavalry came from the southwest, from their rear.
Gao Yingxiang's face was pale, I was afraid that his plan had been seen through by the officers and soldiers from the beginning.
This army of officers and soldiers and cavalry may have followed them all the way along the plank road from Hanzhong Mansion.
At that time, all their attention was on the front of the plank road, and they didn't even think that there might be other people behind them.
It's dark under the lights.
But even if you figure it out, it won't help you in any way.
A dull symphony echoed in Gao Yingxiang's ears, the sound of the horse's hooves slapping on the rain.
Gao Yingxiang drove the war horse like a full speed in front of him, and he looked back behind him.
The officers and soldiers and cavalry who had rushed straight before were closely following him less than a hundred paces behind him at this time, and the officers and soldiers before him drove their horses to the forefront of the cavalry formation.
On his left and right, there were two other cavalry teams of hundreds of people.
One blocked his way to retreat to Xianyou Temple, and the other blocked his way to the army to the north.
Gao Yingxiang's heart was cold, there was actually only one road left for him now, and he could only go all the way to the east.
But to the east is the Jedi, a continuous mountain that is simply impassable.
There is no way to go to heaven and no door to enter the earth, perhaps this is how to describe his current situation.
"Into the mountain!"
Gao Yingxiang did not hesitate, going east was a dead end, but he had no other choice.
Now the only chance of life is to enter the mountain, occupy a high slope, and hold on as long as possible......
Gao Yingxiang turned his head to look at the north, the gloomy sky and the sound of thunder unconsciously made the soldiers who were fighting in Yukou not notice everything that was happening in the rear, and because of this, it did not cause much turmoil.
The location of the Chinese army originally set up by Gao Yingxian was not far from the mountain range to the east, and it was soon under the foot of the mountain.
Compared to the rest of the mountains, the eastern mountains are steeper and steeper, and many places are not pedestrianized.
"Dismount, climb up!"
Gao Yingxiang's eyes swept over the entire mountain, and he selected a high slope at a glance, and then issued a new military order without hesitation.
In times like these, every minute counts.
Hearing Gao Yingxiang's military order, a group of guards dismounted without hesitation.
At this time, there were only more than 70 people left in the personal guard cavalry guarding Gao Yingxiang's side.
In order to ensure the retreat, the rest of the people went to delay the time, and they had already entered the Yellow Spring.
A group of guards protected Gao Yingxiang at the front, pushing Gao Yingxiang and looking at it and quickly walking towards the high slope.
The guards of the palace guarded their tails with swords and shields, and retreated with their backs to each other.
When Gao Yingxiang climbed the high slope, Chen Wang had already rushed to the high slope at this time, and Zhou Yumao and Zhao Huailiang also came from the north and south with their troops, and surrounded the high slope that Gao Yingxiang climbed almost impassable.
At the foot of the high slope, there was a burst of neighing, and a boundless evil aura filled the rain, and even the heavy rain curtain could not stop it for half a minute.
Gao Yingxiang's heart was cold, and he looked up to the north.
In the midst of the Jedi, the cavalry surrounded by officers and soldiers is roughly estimated to be more than 1,000 cavalry, and he only has more than 70 personal guards under his command, and it is absolutely impossible to turn defeat into victory.
The only chance to survive now is actually in the Yukou battlefield.
If the soldiers under his command can win the Yukou battlefield, and only need to hold out until the front army returns, then maybe he can still survive.
It's just that whether you hold on for enough time or be able to win, this is undoubtedly an extremely difficult thing.
Gao Yingxiang stood in the rain, the rain continued to drip from the sky, and the rain continued to fall from his eyes along the edge of the helmet.
He knew very well that if the commander of the first army was lost, it would affect the morale of the army, and he could only pray that the situation on his side had not been discovered, and the front army would break through the camp at Yukou.
But soon, Gao Yingxiang's expectations were disappointed.
In his field of vision, Gao Yingxiang saw more than ten teams of cavalry with more than 100 people heading towards the Yukou battlefield from behind.
The style of the flags and the armor they wore were similar to those of the officers and soldiers who were surrounded under the high slope at this time.
The scales of victory had shifted in their direction, but when the Ming cavalry suddenly attacked from the rear, the situation on the battlefield had taken a sharp turn in an instant.
Gao Yingxiang watched as the cavalry of the Ming army cut in from all different directions, causing a lot of commotion.
"Winter!" "Winter!" "Winter!"
In the Beishan camp and the Yukou camp, the war drums of the Ming army in the two camps increased by several degrees.
The wrestler who beat the drum mustered all his strength and beat the war drum in front of him frantically.
Everyone knows that the decisive moment has come.
The drums sounded like thunder, and the Ming troops in the two camps had already noticed the change in the situation on the battlefield.
They sat in the north and faced south, and when Chen Wang led the cavalry down the western mountain, they saw all the scenes.
They saw Chen Wang leading the cavalry all the way down the mountain.
They saw the purple Daxu belonging to Gao Yingxiang fleeing eastward in a hurry.
They also saw the cavalry that rushed down from the western mountain, and from it separated more than a dozen cavalry units, and headed towards the rear army of the invading army.
Although there were only about 1,000 cavalry in the dozen or so units, their formations were scattered and roaring, but they seemed to be all over the mountains.
"Reinforcements!"
In the Yukou camp, all the Ming troops were ecstatic, and they saw the fiery red flags fluttering in the wind and rain behind the army.
At this time, the rear formation of the invading army had fallen into chaos, and then soon the chaos was not only spread among the rear army, but also the tens of thousands of intruding troops who were fighting fiercely under the Yukou and Beishan began to be confused.
More and more people noticed the Ming cavalry that was killed from the rear, and they also noticed that they didn't know when, the purple daxu that belonged to Gao Yingxiang had also disappeared from their rear.
"Raise the flag and beat the marching drum!"
Sun Chuanting rode on a war horse, holding a sword and shouting angrily.
This is the best opportunity to crush the entire intrusive army in one go, and it must not be let go easily.
He even put on his armor and went to the front.
Sun Chuanting led a group of guards to the front line of the battlefield, which completely aroused the blood and courage of the Ming army.
In Heishuiyu, all the Ming troops had already seen the patrol flag representing Sun Chuanting fluttering at the front of the battlefield.
All the generals and colonels in the Ming army are crazy forward, Sun Chuanting as the governor, his banner is still in front, they are military generals, who dares to fall behind?
Seeing that victory was coming, ordinary soldiers also took the lead bravely.
As early as when Sun Chuanting summoned all the troops to come, he made up the military salaries they had been owed, and ordered before the battle that the military merits obtained would never be deducted half a point, as long as they were defeated, the whole army could be meritorious, and those who fell into the battle first would be rewarded ten times.
There is no shortage of money, and the reward is abundant.
The generals use their lives, and the soldiers naturally dare to fight for their lives.
"Kill!"
The shouts of killing came out from the Ming army's formation one after another, and the sound was deafening, almost wanting to pierce the clouds and crack the stones.
The morale of the Ming army was like a rainbow and its courage was unstoppable.
On the contrary, the morale of the army at this time has completely fallen to the bottom.
They were trapped in the valley of thousands of mountains, the grain and grass in the army had already been exhausted, and the last meal they ate was the flesh and blood obtained from killing the mules and horses of logistics.
The drive for them to fight for their lives is just for a way to survive, and Gao Yingxiang's agitation.
They have been following behind Gao Yingxiang, and many of them are loyal to Gao Yingxiang.
They followed Gao Yingxiang all the way to the south and the north, all the way to the thousands of miles, although they were defeated, but the officers and soldiers could never help them.
But at the moment, the leader Gao Yingxiang, who they have been following, is uncertain about his life and death.
And in the rear appeared a brigade of cavalry of the Ming army.
Under the enemy's back, hungry and cold, the boss is missing, and he is in a desperate situation.
If they were the Qi family's army, they might be able to continue fighting in this desperate situation.
But they're not, they're just a bunch of rogues.
They do not have the conviction to defend their homes and the country, nor do they have the courage to sacrifice their lives and forget their deaths.
If you can beat it, you can fight, if you can't run, if you can't run, you can shoot, this is what they have always been the norm for.
The collapse of the army was so fast that no one reacted.
First of all, the rear army began to crumble because of the surprise attack of the cavalry behind them.
Then the troops under the command of Zhang Er, a thousand roosters under the Beishan camp, and Wang Cheng, the drill harrier, were the first to collapse.
When Zhang Er saw the cavalry of the Ming army in the rear coming, he directly killed Wang Cheng, who was commanding the battle of his subordinates on his side.
Then Zhang Er's personal guards swarmed up and killed the armor soldiers guarding Wang Cheng.
Zhang Er defected in front of the battle, and Wang Cheng's death triggered the collapse of the army under Beishan.
This was not a temporary idea, but a deliberate one.
As early as after Sun Chuanting led the army to block the pass, Zhang Er knew that he might not be able to escape this time.
So in the evening, he had already secretly sent someone to contact Sun Chuanting to negotiate the surrender.
Zhang Er is not the only one who wavered in the army.
In fact, the first person to find Sun Chuanting was not Zhang Er, but Huang Long.
He also had a part to say about the collapse of the army.
Zhang Er killed Wang Cheng, while Huang Long stabbed Liu Zhe to death.
When the situation changed drastically, Huang Long seized the opportunity and directly stabbed to death Liu Zhe, who was commanding the army to attack Liu Zhe at Yukou at that time.
Liu Zhe's death also triggered greater turmoil and collapse.
These things happened almost at the same time, and nearly 30,000 invading troops completely collapsed in an instant under such repeated blows.
Gao Yingxiang stood on top of the high slope, he didn't know what was happening in the army under his command at Yukou.
But he did watch his army descend into chaos and then quickly collapse.
Seeing that the last hope is gone.
When these things happened before his eyes, he was powerless, he couldn't do anything, he couldn't do anything......
Everything is the same as before, the same as when it was in Ansai.
Powerless......
The rain was getting smaller, and Gao Yingxiang's heart was cold.
Under the high slope, the sound of shouting and killing has already sounded, and the sound of swords entering the flesh, the sound of Jin Ge hitting each other, and the screams of pain have also come one after another.
Gao Yingxiang followed the sound and looked down the slope.
On the slope, a Ming army soldier wearing heavy armor was holding a big gun and a sharp blade, and was slowly advancing.
One by one, his guards were falling.
Gao Yingxiang looked at these old brothers who followed him, came all the way from Ansai, and fought thousands of miles one after another, falling under the knives of officers and soldiers, still powerless.
The slopes were not able to stop the advance of those Ming soldiers.
Gao Yingxiang slowly pulled out the Yanling knife on his waist, and the rain dripped on the knife surface, and then slowly dripped down the blade to the tip of the knife.
The Ming army had already attacked the top of the slope, and Gao Yingxiang's gaze passed over the group of Ming soldiers in front of him, and finally put it on the military attache who was heavily guarded in the center.
"Who are you?"
Gao Yingxiang's eyes were calm, although he already had an answer in his heart, he still wanted to confirm it.
"Hanzhong General, Chen Wang."
The military attache standing in the crowd was naturally Chen Wang.
He can't give Gao Yingxiang's military exploit to anyone.
Gao Yingxiang's question, Chen Wang did not refuse to answer.
Chen Wang looked at Gao Yingxiang, who was standing in the rain with a knife in his hand.
This was the first time he had seen Gao Yingxiang at such a close distance.
When he was in Xing'an City, he only saw Gao Yingxiang's Daxu and glanced at it from a distance.
And now Gao Yingxiang is standing in front of him like this.
From the unveiling of Ansai to the defeat of Heishuiyu, Gao Yingxiang has gone through a legendary life.
In the past nine years, Gao Yingxiang galloped to the northwest, turned to a land of thousands of miles, stirred up the world, swept the Central Plains, and all of them were shaken.
When Wang Jiayin and Wang Ziyong died one after another, it was he who provoked the girder belonging to the peasant army in the late Ming Dynasty and gathered the peasant army that had originally become a plate of scattered sand.
He relied on his own judgment to save the fate of the peasant army again and again, and led everyone to turn the corner.
In the past nine years, he has been fighting and fighting, and he has never bowed his head to the Ming Court.
Although until the end, he failed to succeed.
But there is no doubt that he is an amazing person.