Chapter 158: Battle of Xixia Stone Valley (Part )

With Zhao Ji's cavalry charging in the south and Yan bandits Shi and Zong Huaichang's troops trying desperately to break out in the north, the Khitans were caught in the middle and were in a somewhat unfavorable situation.

Seeing that the situation was not good, Sun Wanrong was anxious: "Khan, we are now being attacked from both sides. The situation is not favorable. Why don't we withdraw our troops while we are ahead?"

Li Jinzhong's eyes flashed with cold light, and he said ferociously: "The Zhou army reinforcements may look powerful, but in fact they only have a few thousand people. Even if we add up the Zhou army in the valley, we still have fewer troops than us. What are you afraid of!"

"What's more, the Zhou army in the valley has been surrounded and attacked for a long time. It is already the end of its strength. You personally lead the army to attack and can't let them escape! I will personally command Li Kaigu and Luo Wuzheng to destroy the cavalry outside!"

After saying this, Li Jinzhong rode away without waiting for Sun Wanrong to answer.

Upon hearing this, Sun Wanrong wanted to persuade the emperor, but Li Jinzhong had already left, so he had to lead his personal soldiers to suppress the Zhou army in the Stone Valley of Xixia.

Zhao Ji was also blood-thirsty. Relying on his bravery and armor, he charged left and right in the Khitan army as if he was in an empty space.

Although the Khitan army relied on ambushes and geographical advantages to inflict heavy losses on the Zhou army led by Zhao Wenhui, Zhang Xuanyu and Yan Feishi, they were still at a disadvantage in terms of combat power against Zhao Ji's elite cavalry.

Although Zhao Ji was killing people everywhere, he knew very well in his heart that the cavalry under his command had suffered a lot of casualties after several charges, and the surrounded infantry of the Zhou army were only holding on by the desire to survive.

It is difficult to change the situation just by relying on your own courage and recklessness.

There are only two options now. One option is to concentrate the troops, break through the Khitan encirclement, and rescue the besieged Zhou army, so that the goal can be achieved.

Another way was that Zhao Ji saw Li Jinzhong's large flag slowly approaching him.

Li Jinzhong had no intention of going into battle personally. He just urged the big banner to make a gesture, inspire the morale of the Khitan army on the front line, and force them to fight Zhao Ji to the death.

Zhao Ji angrily killed several Khitan cavalrymen, and his eyes passed through the smoke-filled battlefield to look at Li Jinzhong's gaudy and incongruous banner.

"Brothers, follow me and go straight to Li Jinzhong!" He raised his arms and shouted, pointed his long spear, and rode his horse towards Li Jinzhong's banner.

Upon hearing the order from their commander, Shen Tao, Xiao Bao and others killed the surrounding Khitan soldiers and followed Zhao Ji.

The Zhou army quickly gathered a stream of cavalry, broke through all barriers along the way, and arrived directly in front of Li Jinzhong.

Li Jinzhong was stunned when he saw this. He overestimated the combat capability of the Khitan army and underestimated the destructive power of nearly 4,000 Zhou cavalry.

Seriously speaking, four thousand well-trained and well-equipped armored cavalry, used properly, are enough to change the outcome of many battles.

When Li Jinzhong was in a trance, Zhao Ji held the lance in his right arm and the sword in his left hand, and killed anyone who stood in his way. He was less than a hundred steps away from Li Jinzhong.

"Khan, the Zhou army is too powerful. Let's avoid them for the time being!" The attendants around woke Li Jinzhong up.

"Stop him, stop him!" Li Jinzhong tried to stay calm and ordered the attendants around him to delay Zhao Ji's troops.

When the attendants and generals around him rushed forward, Li Jinzhong himself rode away without saying a word.

As soon as Li Jinzhong's banner retreated, the situation on the battlefield began to turn around, and the Khitan army's offensive gradually could not be sustained.

When Sun Wanrong saw Li Jinzhong's banner retreating, he knew that the situation was not good.

He immediately rode up to Li Jinzhong and said, "Khan, let's withdraw our troops!"

Li Jinzhong's expression was green and red, like a gambler who had just won a big prize but lost it all again, feeling extremely unbalanced. Sun Wanrong saw Li Jinzhong's hesitation and understood his current state of mind, so he advised him again: "Khan, we have already won enough in this battle."

"According to your plan, we can use this great victory to annex the livestock and population of the Xi and Mohe peoples and strengthen ourselves. This is the most important thing. If we continue to fight, if the Zhou army sends another large army to support us, we will be completely destroyed here."

Li Jinzhong turned his head and looked at Sun Wanrong. Sun Wanrong spoke calmly, but his face was flushed red. It seemed that his Sun Aocao's troops had also suffered heavy losses.

The two were nominally superiors and subordinates, but in fact they belonged to different tribes and were almost equal in strength.

Li Jinzhong was more powerful and prestigious, so he was ranked first, but Sun Wanrong could also act independently from Li Jinzhong. The official positions and ranks conferred on the two by Li Tang and Wu Zhou were similar.

"Well, let's withdraw our troops." Li Jinzhong said helplessly.

He took a deep look at the big banner with the word "Zhao" on it in the distance, and at the invincible Zhao Ji, as if he wanted to imprint this person in his heart.

Since the Khitan army decided to withdraw, the troops that were left behind by Li Jinzhong to delay time unfortunately became victims and fell into an even more unfavorable situation.

A big bearded man blocked Zhao Ji's way. He spoke Chinese fluently.

"I never thought that a green boy could be so powerful. Please leave your name. I, Li Kaigu, will not kill nameless people!" Li Kaigu deliberately wanted to talk to Zhao Ji to delay the time for Li Jinzhong to escape.

Zhao Ji originally didn't want to waste time talking to the Khitans, but the name Li Kaigu still made him feel uneasy.

So Zhao Ji, who was going to kill Li Kaigu, showed mercy and just knocked Li Kaigu off his horse, sparing his life.

"Catch him!" Zhao Ji commanded his soldiers to capture Li Kaigu, then looked up and looked into the distance.

Li Jinzhong's banner was seen moving farther and farther away, and the Khitan army began to retreat in an orderly manner, with signs of retreat becoming increasingly obvious.

At the same time, the Khitan defense line that blocked the Xixia Stone Valley also quietly collapsed. The remaining troops under the command of Yan Feishi and Zong Huaichang seemed to have broken free from their restraints and rushed out of the siege in one go.

Although Zhao Ji wanted to pursue the victory, the disintegration of the Zhou army in the canyon became an obstacle to his progress.

These soldiers, who had just escaped, instantly lost their order and fled in panic, inadvertently blocking Zhao Ji's pursuit of the Khitan.

In desperation, Zhao Ji had to send out some of his men to help Yan bandit Shi and Zong Huaichang to restrain the defeated soldiers and gather the fleeing troops.

Then he had no time to greet Yan Fei Shi and Zong Huaichang, but instead gathered his remaining cavalry and followed behind the retreating Khitan army.

After a long journey and continuous fighting, the physical strength and willpower of these accompanying soldiers have reached their limits.

In addition, the terrain around Xixia Stone Valley is complex, so it would be very risky to pursue him. If things go wrong, we might end up following in the footsteps of Boss Cao in Luoyang and Wancheng.

Khitan Army Marshal Sun Wanrong personally covered the rear, which further discouraged Zhao Ji from pursuing and expanding the victory.

Therefore, Zhao Ji had to give up the pursuit and instead ensure that the Khitan army would not take the opportunity to counterattack. After confirming that it was safe, he led his team back to meet up with Yan bandit Shi and Zong Huaichang.

The two men had tried their best to organize the defeated soldiers and commanded them to start cleaning up the battlefield.

The battle lasted from early morning to noon. The sky was covered with dark clouds and it began to rain. The blood dyed the battlefield red. The Xixia Stone Valley, which had swallowed countless lives, looked even more sad and desolate.

(End of this chapter)