Chapter 649: Purgatory
The fire started really a cottage.
Different from ordinary cottage fortresses, Biluo Village has built a wooden wall from the foot of the mountain to within a hundred zhang, enclosing most of the hillside, just like a large village. At this time, the entire wooden wall was already on fire, and the flames were dozens of feet high, so it was no wonder that the black smoke could be seen rising from twenty miles away.
"There is a team of officers and horses blocking the road ahead, about three hundred horsemen! Boss Stone, what should we do?" Li Hu galloped back from the front and shouted loudly. He rode the yellow horse that he had snatched from Yu Jue's hand that day, and he was the most hode of all the mounts, and he was responsible for opening the way at the front of the line.
Chu Yiyi said: "We have been on the road for two days and two nights, and the people are sleepy and the horses are tired, so it is better to ......."
Before she could say far away, she only heard Hua Bushi shouting in a deep voice: "Pass my order, rush over in one go, annihilate the officers, soldiers and horses, and leave no one alive!"
After several days of hurrying, everyone was exhausted, and there were three hundred cavalry on the opposite side, more than the Thunderbolt battalion, and it was not suitable to fight under such circumstances, and Hua Bushi certainly knew it. But seeing that Biluo Village was on fire, it was obviously broken by the official army, and the death of tens of thousands of people in the village was uncertain, and I don't know what happened to Xiao Ningning's family now, this eldest young master was so anxious that he just wanted to rush to the cottage immediately, and he couldn't take care of a lot!
Ximen Tong raised the reins of his horse and went out of the column, and shouted sharply: "All the disciples of the Thunderbolt camp are here, one flag, two flags, and three flags, forming a wedge formation, and four flags and five flags will return to protect the two wings! Listen to my order to charge, break the enemy in one fell swoop, and not let go of a single officer or soldier!"
"Destroy the enemy in one fell swoop!" The two hundred disciples shouted in unison.
After all, the Thunderbolt Battalion is an elite combat unit that has undergone strict training, and although it is tired at this time, under the order of Ximen Hitomi, they all cheered up, and formed an attack formation in just a moment.
This was the first battle of the Perak Battalion. From Hunan to Yujing, Hua Bushi has not really used this war department of Liliang, when passing through the Bukou Bridge and attacking Huaiqing City, although several times almost shot, but Zuihou still avoided a head-on conflict with the imperial court officials and troops, but he didn't expect that today's first battle came so suddenly, and the Thunderbolt battalion would inevitably have to fight with the cavalry of the official army after all.
The men and horses of the "Evil Dog Gate" galloped to the ground, and the three hundred officers and soldiers on the opposite side had just discovered it, but they immediately realized that the comers were not good, and began to adjust their formation to meet the enemy. Although these cavalry moved a little slower than the Thunderbolt battalion, they were also quick to react, and they quickly put themselves in an engagement position!
When the Perak battalion charged at full speed, the officers and men and cavalry had already lined up in formation, and they also rushed straight towards each other with shouts! The horses of both sides were not slow, and they were hedging against each other in this way, and in the blink of an eye, the two armies were less than a hundred feet apart.
It was an encounter for which neither side was fully prepared. Although the Perak battalion was not in the best condition due to the exhaustion of the journey, the cavalry on the opposite side did not realize that such a battle would take place. Zuo Liangyu got the news that the main force of the 36th Battalion Righteous Army was still hundreds of miles away in Huaiqing City, and it was impossible for him to return to help so quickly, and the reason why he sent this horse team to guard the mountain road east of Biluo Mountain was just in case.
These 300 officers and soldiers were all heavy cavalry wearing armor, and the weapons in their hands were halberds as long as a few feet, while the Perak battalion was all dressed in green clothes, although they also carried swords, they did not even wear leather armor, and they could only be regarded as light cavalry at most.
In addition to the quality of the mount, the side with a thick spear will definitely have an advantage in the cavalry hedging on the battlefield, but the current result is very wrong. The horses of both sides rushed to within fifty feet, only to hear a dense sound like bursting beans, white smoke flying, tongues of fire flashing wildly, but it was the muskets of the Thunderbolt camp that were fired.
It is not easy to fire muskets at full speed, and it is extremely difficult to get accurate, but when the disciples of the Perak Battalion were trained in Wuyang City, horseback shooting was one of the most important contents, and now the charging formation of the official cavalry is very dense, even if it is not very accurate, it may hit the target next to it indiscriminately.
After a row of gunshots rang out, the thirty or forty horsemen in front of the officer's horse team had been shot one after another, fell off their horses, and more than a dozen war horses stumbled and fell.
There were 300 heavy cavalry of officers and soldiers, and the damage of 30 or 40 cavalry was nothing, but at the moment when they were charging with all their strength, the dozens of cavalry in front were suddenly shot and fell to the ground, and the cavalry that followed closely behind did not have time to react and crashed straight into it. All of a sudden, many people and horses squeezed together and rolled into a ball!
By the time the cavalry in the rear row stopped in a hurry, the originally neat charging formation had become a big mess.
The strength of cavalry lies in the charge with horsepower, once it loses its ability to maneuver, it is equivalent to losing more than half of its combat power. The cavalry of the officers and soldiers stopped moving, and the two hundred cavalry of the Perak battalion had already rushed forward, slashing over the flanks of the officers and soldiers like sharp blades, and immediately cut down more than 30 officers and men.
"One flag, two flags, three flags, and a wheel to encircle and kill! Four flags and five flags are roundabout, and no one is allowed to be let go!" Ximen Hitomi shouted out with his internal force, even in the noisy chaos, everyone could hear it clearly.
This loud shout also reached the ears of the chief general of this team of officers and soldiers, a seven-rank commander.
If he had heard the other party shouting "Don't let anyone go" a moment ago, he would have thought it was a big joke. These heavy cavalry under his command were all elite men and horses stationed in Beijing, whether it was mounts, armor, or weapons and equipment, they were also a first-class choice among the official cavalry of the Ming Dynasty.
Unexpectedly, after a round of hedging, he lost two or three percent before he could get close, and his well-trained formation was all disrupted, and he knew that the combat strength of these knights on the other side was really not something that his cavalry could resist! At this time, when he heard the other party shouting "Don't let one go", not only could he not laugh, but he even had the heart to cry!
At this moment, Dan saw a yellow horse galloping like lightning, and a yellow-clothed murderer with messy hair on the horseback was holding a broadsword.
This yellow-clothed murderer was Li Hu, he galloped over with his horse, and cut off the neck of the enemy general with a sword, and the head of the Dutong rolled in the air and flew straight up before falling to the ground!
As soon as the commander died, the officers and horses lost their command, and the soldiers were huddled together, even more panicked and confused.
The sharp sound of the blade cutting through the armor, the sound of flesh being cut in, and the tragic cry of the knight being injured and falling off his horse are all intertwined in one place!
The Perak battalion's 200 elite cavalry were divided into five teams, three of which swirled around the officers and soldiers, slashing over the edge like razors, each of which could slash dozens of officers and soldiers, while the other two teams rounded the perimeter, intercepting the fleeing stragglers and constantly firing muskets at the officers and soldiers who were surrounded in the middle.
This kind of formation and tactics have been practiced countless times by the Perak Battalion during the dance of Yang, and they are extremely skillful, but now, the officers and soldiers who are surrounded in the middle have completely lost the power to resist.
After the time of half a pillar of incense, the war was over, and the heavy cavalry of the 300 officers and soldiers were all wiped out, and only at the cost of less than ten people, the disciples of the Perak camp pursued the fleeing stragglers, and sure enough, not a single officer or soldier escaped.
Seeing that the first battle of the Perak Battalion was a complete victory, Hua Bushi's face did not show any joy. He waved his hand and shouted: "Li Hu, Ah Tong, you open the way and rush up to Biluo Mountain together!"
After ※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※※ annihilated the 300 officers and horses, there were no more officers and troops in front of them. Everyone rushed to the mountain, but only to see that the inside and outside of Biluo Cottage were already blazing and a sea of fire.
The fire had apparently been burning for a long time, and there were no officers or troops here, so they must have been evacuated. After such a fire, it is impossible for anyone in the village to survive.
Li Hu and Ximen Hitomi commanded the disciples of the Perak Camp to cut down a few thick logs and smashed a gap in the burning wall. As soon as the gap appeared, Yang Jiangyi galloped in first.
At this time, it was dangerous to rush into the village, but Hua Bushi did not hesitate to ride his horse to follow. And seeing that the master entered, where would Li Hu and Ximen Tong fall behind, and the disciples of the Perak camp also followed.
Flames can also be seen everywhere in the village, but they are much smaller than the outer walls, because the area in the village is very large, and there were only a few low houses built in the village, but now they have basically burned down.
Hua Bushi was not a timid person, but he rode in through the gap in the wall, and the scene he saw in his eyes made his heart beat and creepy!
Just a month ago, when the eldest young master first arrived in Biluo Village, what he saw was a thriving scene. The whole cottage is a huge village, and all the villagers who live here live in peace and contentment. However, now, this once paradise-like Biluo cottage has become a purgatory on earth!
There was not a single intact building in the village, and a disgusting smell filled the air. Everywhere there were fallen corpses, scattered stumps, dried blood, and smoky ruins!
This is not a battlefield, but a slaughterhouse, because most of the people who have fallen here are unarmed and homeless.
On the roads, by the ditches, in the ruins of houses, many corpses were charred and blackened, and the disgusting smell emanated from these charred flesh. Although they have lost their lives, the expressions of horror and despair before they die still remain on their faces, which is unbearable!
Hua Bushi could barely breathe, and he was worried and anxious for days and nights, but he was still one step too late, and all he could see was a brutal killing! He could no longer tell whether it was anger or sadness in his heart, he only felt that his chest was stuffy, his mind was dizzy, and his body shook a few times, and he was about to fall from his horse.