Chapter 645: Are You Kidding Me?
A long, strung-out convoy would, of course, be a nightmare to defend.
But if they panicked and immediately bunched together, it would unmistakably signal to the enemy, "We've spotted you!"
The enemy would then launch a swift attack, and the convoy would struggle to defend both its front and rear.
Zao Ying murmured, "If they're planning an ambush, they'll wait until we're right beside the village to strike. We need to assemble the convoy into a defensive circle while we're still a good distance away."
Tie Niaofei grinned, "Heh, I might just have an idea for that."
With that, he turned to Zheng Daniu. "Pretend you're starving, go to the first cart, rummage around for food, and then 'accidentally' knock it over."
Though Zheng Daniu wasn't the sharpest tool, even he grasped the plan this time. "Huh? If the first cart flips, the others will crowd around to see what happened, all bunching up!"
Zao Ying let out a low chuckle. "Exactly, Daniu. Now go, quickly, pretend to be hungry and search for food."
Zheng Daniu rubbed his stomach and grinned, "No need to pretend, I really am hungry."
No acting required, indeed!
He loudly rummaged through the cart for a good while, then seized a large sack and gave it a mighty tug. The sudden shift threw the cargo off balance, and with a lurch, the cart tipped over with a resounding crash.
The horses pulling it neighed sharply in alarm.
The second cart, following close behind, immediately bumped forward, its front ramming into the rear of the first. The third, then the fourth, followed suit...
The gaps between the vehicles vanished in an instant.
The fifty carts rapidly linked up, nose to tail, resembling a massive caterpillar curled in on itself.
True to their prediction, the bandits lying in ambush within the village remained utterly silent.
It was then that Tie Niaofei and Zao Ying bellowed almost in unison, "Convoy leaders, connect the front and rear! Form a circular defensive array!"
Zheng Daniu let out a ferocious "Aooooh!" grasping the overturned cart with both hands. With a mighty, singular effort, he brute-forced the massive vehicle back onto its wheels.
This display of superhuman strength utterly stunned the bandits lurking in the distance.
Simultaneously, the lead cart and the last cart began to circle, rapidly moving to meet each other.
In that instant, the bandits finally understood: they had been played!
Their opponents had seen through their ambush from the start.
Cao Cao burst from his hiding spot, shouting, "The ambush failed! Prepare for a frontal assault!"
His trusted lieutenant, Dongshan Hu, sprang from one of the village houses, leading a detachment of men in a charge towards Tie Niaofei.
Another formidable general, Chuang Tatian, erupted from the small woods outside the village, likewise leading his own group to engage Tie Niaofei.
Yet, their emergence now was fatally late.
The first and last carts of the convoy had already, with astonishing speed, guided the formation to link up, nose to tail. In a blink, the entire convoy had transformed into a colossal defensive ring.
The draft horses were swiftly led into the center of the circle, and the infantry responsible for the carts likewise retreated into its protected core.
Tie Niaofei and Zheng Daniu, too, pulled back within the ring.
The massive carts, arrayed in a circle, now served as a makeshift wall, shielding everyone inside.
But Zao Ying, leading her three hundred cavalry, did not join them inside the circle. Instead, she let out a sharp whistle. "We're charging! No need to get in the infantry's way here!"
"Alright, then!"
"Let's ride!"
The cavalry simply picked a direction and burst forward.
This seemingly random direction, by a stroke of ironic fate, was aimed squarely at Chuang Tatian, who had just emerged from the treeline.
Chuang Tatian, Cao Cao's second-in-command, was notorious for his ferocious, almost suicidal bravery in battle. But after just a few strides forward, he saw the enemy's large cavalry contingent deliberately shift course, bearing down directly on his position.
The sight sent a jolt of terror through Chuang Tatian, leaving him momentarily paralyzed.
No matter how valiant he was, he was still infantry. How could he possibly hope to best a cavalry charge?
A head-on collision with warhorses? No man could endure that impact.
Chuang Tatian hastily bellowed, "Halt! Halt! Raise your spears!"
His men, who had been charging forward, short swords glinting, abruptly screeched to a halt. Those with blades instinctively recoiled, while the spearmen surged forward, hundreds of long spears rising to form a bristling, hedgehog-like defense.
Zao Ying offered a silent nod of approval. *These bandits are truly improving after years of rebellion,* she thought. *The speed at which they formed that spear wall is nothing like the rabble from just a few years ago.*
However...
It did little good.
After Lao Nanfeng's single training session with Zao Ying's cavalry, every rider had mastered the tactics of the border light cavalry. Their primary command: "Shoot!"
Armed with Kaiyuan bows and hand crossbows, the cavalry made no move to directly impact the spear formation. Instead, they unleashed a volley of arrows, simultaneously reining in their mounts and circling around Chuang Tatian's forces.
Immediately, several of Chuang Tatian's men collapsed, struck by arrows, their screams piercing the air.
Chuang Tatian cursed, "Damn it! Dongshan Hu, while I'm keeping these riders busy, you bloody fool, get moving and attack their convoy!"
Meanwhile, the other formidable bandit leader, Dongshan Hu, was already surging towards the circular formation of carts.
With fifty carts, each escorted by two or three men, the cart formation held a mere hundred or so defenders. Their fighting strength appeared vastly inferior to the three hundred cavalry.
Dongshan Hu didn't even spare a glance for these supposed "Jin merchants." He figured, as long as he closed the distance...
Zheng Daniu bellowed, "Don't let them get close!"
As his roar died out, Zheng Daniu swung his arm, sending a fuse-lit hand grenade soaring toward the bandits.
This was Zheng Daniu, after all!
The silver medalist in throwing events at the Gao Family Village Militia games.
And a foundational grenadier of Gao Family Village.
His throw sent the grenade flying a staggering eighty meters.
It soared both far and high.
The dark, compact iron sphere descended right into the midst of Dongshan Hu's bandit contingent.
"BOOM!"
With a deafening blast, several bandits in the vicinity crumpled to the ground simultaneously.
Every bandit froze, utterly dumbfounded. "What in the devil was that?"
"BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!"
Musket fire erupted. The hundred-plus "cart drivers" were, in fact, all skilled musketeers.
What's more, every single one wielded the superior, rapid-firing Chassepot Rifle.
Once those things started spitting fire, it was less a battle, more a conflagration of coin.
Bullets were burning!
And with them, the lives of the enemy.
Dongshan Hu's men dropped in droves, a sudden, horrifying swath.
The damage inflicted by musket fire far surpassed that of arrows; those struck down died instantly, and any who somehow clung to life were left gravely wounded.
Dongshan Hu was utterly dazed, so disoriented he could barely tell up from down, let alone which direction he faced.
After a fleeting moment of stupefaction, a trusted subordinate tackled Dongshan Hu from behind, slamming him to the ground. "Third Master!" he roared, "Don't just stand there gawking! Get down! Get down!"
Dongshan Hu finally snapped back to his senses a little, flattening himself against the earth, not daring to lift his head. He blurted out incredulously, "Are you kidding me? With that kind of firepower, why are they pretending to be Jin merchants? Wouldn't it be much better if they just revolted?!"
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