Ma Shiying, who was in the middle army, saw the thieves and horsemen coming around behind him, and his face that was red just now suddenly turned pale.

The number of officers and soldiers was too small. In order to resist the attack of the thieves, they had pressed all the officers and soldiers up to resist the charge of the thieves. Only the civilians and the cavalry supervising the battle were left in the rear.

Now there are nearly a thousand thieves and horsemen taking a detour to attack the carriages and horses. It is impossible for a few recruited civilians to live in low-end accommodation. If the chariots and horses are robbed this time, and the thieves drive the civilians to attack the formation, then this war will be terrible.

It's going to be a complete failure.

Thinking of the tragic defeat, Ma Shiying's face was filled with despair. If he were defeated today, not only would his career come to an end, but he would also be severely punished by the court, and it would be difficult to save his life.

The fighting on the battlefield has reached a fever pitch. The officers and soldiers and the bandits have been mixed together, making it difficult to separate them. The bandits are numerous and powerful, and the officers and soldiers are well-equipped and have strong combat effectiveness. The two are temporarily evenly matched. It depends on which side comes next.

If you can't hold on any longer, you'll be defeated first.

Li Wensheng was among the civilians, with a sergeant guard beside him, and his face was pale.

He was just a little scholar who could only write judgments on weekdays. He had never seen such a battle. Now that he saw the bravery of the thieves and horsemen, he was so frightened that he almost ran away.

But thinking that if he escaped like this, his future career would come to an end, he mustered up his courage, looked slightly serious, and looked at the approaching cavalry army with a determined look.

The officials around him were focused on saving their lives, and said anxiously: "Sir, the bandits are coming with great force. We don't have soldiers and it's difficult to resist them. It's better to stay away from the edge for now."

"Sir, you are involved in the safety of this mansion, so you can easily be in danger. It is better to leave now and keep it as a useful body."

"Master Fu, the thieves are here, we should leave as soon as possible, otherwise it will be too late."

The officials nearby tried to persuade him, but Li Wensheng turned a deaf ear and just looked at the battlefield with determined eyes.

The officials were even more anxious when they saw it, but the magistrate refused to leave. If they escaped by themselves, they would be dead if they went back. At the moment, they could only accompany Li Wensheng in fear, and everyone planned to escape immediately if the situation was critical.

Li Wensheng was wearing a crimson robe and sitting on a horse with a majestic look on his face. He was accompanied by various officials. He looked like a high official at first sight.

The people around him were all surprised when they saw him sitting so steady as a mountain, and for a moment they forgot their fear.

The biggest characteristic of crowds of people is blind obedience. In the team of carriages and horses, Li Wensheng stood firmly in the team like a magic needle that fixes the sea. It also gave the people a backbone. They all surrounded them and gathered in groups one by one.

Behind this high official.

Seeing groups of civilians gathering behind him, Li Wensheng couldn't help but feel arrogant. He was originally just trying to support his career, but now the people are following him. This kind of public support makes him more confident.

The scene was chaotic. Li Wensheng mustered up his courage, patted his horse and wandered away, saying loudly: "The bandits are coming with great force, and I know that you are afraid. But you are recruited laborers. According to the national law, if you escape, you will be punished. You wait

Even if you escape today, the country's law will still not spare you tomorrow. In this case, your family will be implicated in the crime and your labor will be in vain. Why not sacrifice your life today to serve the country and repel the thieves? I will ask the court to pay more pensions to help you all?

"

Li Wensheng, who was full of official authority, rode his horse and announced. His voice was so exciting that the people all stopped and listened.

When I heard that I would be punished for running away and my family would be harmed, I couldn't help but hesitate. Then I heard that there was a pension and reward, and my eyes were somewhat moved.

Li Wensheng's remarks were more than just a common man's. When the other officials saw them, they couldn't help but admire him greatly. They secretly sighed that Li Wensheng was usually strict and arbitrary, but they didn't expect that he was also a capable person.

Using words to persuade the people is the basic skill of an official. Li Wensheng stabilized the situation. Of course, the other officials could not miss this opportunity and stepped forward one after another.

"You are also great men. You have one breath of life. The thieves have the same arms and legs as you. What is there to be afraid of? When the time comes, you will be beheaded to take credit and receive a reward of silver. Wouldn't you be happy?"

"There are only a few hundred thieves. There are 40,000 of us civilians. Why are we afraid of them?"

Li Wensheng led the officials to control the situation, and the civilians gradually stopped panicking. Some thought that if they went back, they would be punished and exiled, so they might as well fight here and get a reward of silver. Those who had weapons were holding weapons, and those who did not began to dismantle them.

carriage, tools.

Li Wensheng was surrounded by hundreds of sergeants and hundreds of servants. Even if he couldn't defeat him, he could still escape. At the moment, he was holding on to the situation bravely.

The civilians in front of him gradually took shape, but Qi Shamu, who wanted to win in a fight, snorted coldly, pointed forward and shouted at the riders on the left and right: "Such old people can no longer hold their swords and guns steadily, we can do it with one blow."

Broken, or not?"

"Of course!"

"kill!"

As Qi Shamu shouted, all the riders also roared: "Kill!"

Most of these civilians were ordinary people, and they were accompanied by hoes instead of knife handles every day. They were definitely no match for thieves. However, they were stimulated by officials such as Li Wensheng, and most of them became desperate and would no longer just run away like before.

They all muster up their courage and hold their weapons nervously.

The civilians are not stupid either. They know that the bandits are powerful in battle, but a tiger cannot stand up to a pack of wolves. There are 40,000 civilians in front and behind, dozens of times more than the opponent. There is no chance of victory. Moreover, the prefect Li Wensheng is holding the battle here, and he is a high official.

None of them left, which shows that the situation did not endanger that moment.

"Chirp...!"

Qi Shamu swarmed up with his cavalry troops. As soon as he got close, he heard the sound of bowstrings in his ears. Then suddenly a shower of arrows appeared in the civilian camp. It turned out that the archers of the officers and soldiers who had withdrawn before were in the civilian camp. Now they drew their bows and fired.

Shooting, nearly a thousand arrows shot out with a sharp sound of piercing the air, covering the entire horse army under the rain of arrows. Many riders who lacked armor protection fell to the ground in an instant.

"The money and food are right in front of you, rush!"

Seeing more than twenty riders falling off their horses, Qi Shamu's face was filled with anger and he shouted loudly at the top of his lungs.

The thieves behind him were also aroused, and they all moved forward desperately, speeding up, and began to rush forward desperately.

The archers of the officers and soldiers only had time to fire two rounds and kill dozens of riders. The Taihang Mountain horse army had already crashed into the enemy's formation and they were fighting hand to hand.

"Hold!"

He stabbed an archer over hard, and Qi Shamu couldn't help but curse in pain. His horse army is the core of Changping Village. The soldiers are few and every rider is hard-earned. In this charge, the arrow fell from the horse.

There were more than twenty people, which made him heartbroken.

The momentum of the cavalry charge was terrifying, and its lethality was also astonishing. The civilians who lacked armor and weapons were instantly killed and wounded more than 200 people under the impact.

The civilians also pressed forward under the shouts of the soldiers. Although there were many people, most of them were no longer accustomed to the fighting field. Qi Shamu led the brigade to fight for a while, and then they retreated step by step. Those in front retreated, and those behind naturally retreated.

Unable to stop the formation, the officials and soldiers rushed forward to scold and kill, and then the rout was stopped.

Compared with the thieves and horsemen who marched forward bravely and wanted to rob money and food, the messy civilians were like headless flies, running around everywhere, and were forced by the officials and soldiers to fight.

Some civilian husbands knelt on the ground and begged, saying that they had mothers to support and wives and children to take care of. However, the ruthlessness of the battlefield could only leave them with their heads disfigured and lying in a pool of blood, serving as a warning to others.

Li Yi followed the horse army and watched the fighting, screaming, roaring, and begging around him. It was all like a hell on earth, with only bloody facts left, without any warmth or morality.

"Kill, kill, kill." Qi Shamu started to charge with a horse spear in hand. His martial arts skills are indeed superb. Every time he stabs with a spear, he can easily penetrate the civilian's heart or neck, and aim at the next target with gushing blood.

.

The rider behind him also knocked the horse's belly crazily, making the horse accelerate forward. No matter how hard the peasants rushed forward, they were all defeated in the blink of an eye, with hundreds of people killed and injured. The situation was horrific.

Li Yi looked at all this and felt like a fire was burning in his heart. The traitors were short of food and had to grab food to survive. This was a fact. The imperial court needed food to distribute salaries and sent officers and soldiers to protect the food. This was also a fact.

But why was it that a group of honest and dutiful civilians were forced to go to the battlefield? On the one hand, they were forced by the court to accuse them, and on the other hand, they were regarded as obstacles by the bandits. They were caught in the middle and became the protagonists of this battle. But in fact, all

The interests have nothing to do with them.

Li Yi was so angry that he did not step forward to confront the frightened and desperate civilians. He led Zhu Qilong away from the team. He ignored the civilians who attacked him and killed several officers and soldiers supervising the battle. He scared the rest of the officers and soldiers and fled in panic.

Then he shouted sternly: "Those who abandon their weapons and kneel down will not die!"

Qi Shamu is not a murderous person. Although the civilians are weak, there are many ants that kill elephants, and his men are also somewhat reduced. Knowing Li Yi's intentions, he stopped chasing and led the people to shout: "Abandon your weapons and kneel down."

Those who live on earth will never die!"

The civilian husband had been killed a long time ago and was so frightened that he didn't have to run away now, and the thieves didn't continue to kill, but they all knelt on the ground, not daring to resist anymore.

When Qi Shamu shouted like this, his relatives and subordinates naturally obeyed the order. 1 But the horse soldiers in the other villages had murderous intentions on their faces. Even after hearing Qi Shamu's order, they continued to kill with anger on their faces, even though some civilians had already

Even though they knelt down and begged, they still refused to go around these poor people and just slashed at them with their swords.

Qi Shamu thought for a moment, but did not step forward to stop him.

The war was tense at the moment, and he didn't want to alienate the cavalry army because of the harm caused by some civilians, which would be detrimental to the next war.

Li Yi stared blankly at the bloody scene in front of him, his heart beating violently. He had fought battles and killed people, but they were all battlefields created for their own interests. Whoever had the ability would survive.

No matter how bloody it is, both sides will endure it. This is a fact.

But these people in front of them were killing purely out of anger and killing for the sake of killing. In their eyes, these civilians who were forced to go to the battlefield might just be cattle and sheep, because there was no mercy or intolerance in their eyes.

Li Yi felt that it shouldn't be like this. When he was in Anxin, his mother taught him to treat everyone kindly. Even enemies should be forgiven as long as they lay down their weapons. Cruelty and tyranny will be punished by God. She meant it.

Afraid of causing too many killings.

However, except for a few officers and soldiers who knelt down and begged for mercy, most of the people who were killed in front of him were unarmed civilians. Among them, there were many teenagers as old as himself, crying and begging, and the wailing sounds tightened his nerves.

It made his blood boil. He felt that these voices were so familiar. These people who were being killed seemed to be the villagers of Anxin. It was like they were refugees at the beginning, abandoned by God, hated by the court, and despised by wealthy families.

Forced, they are like a group of insignificant ants, without any dignity or rights.

Li Yi felt as if his heart had been stabbed hard, and his eyes were getting redder and redder.

More than three hundred out-of-control thieves and horsemen have gone crazy. They waved their butcher knives cruelly and mercilessly killed all the civilians they met. Even if they begged, they would cut off their heads and search them all.

property, and finally loudly demonstrated his bravery to his companions around him. The entire field was seeped with bright red blood. As the peasants in front were completely defeated, all the peasant teams were on the verge of collapse.

These thieves were too cruel. Several civilians who had no way to escape cried and ran towards Li Yi. A group of thieves chased them behind with swords and spears. The civilians ran over and found that Li Yi was blocking them.

On their way, they screamed in despair and then fell to their knees. The thieves caught up and attacked the people who were already kneeling begging for mercy with swords and guns. A man who looked like a father threw himself at the spear that was stabbing his son.

He went up and held on to the spear shaft tightly to allow his child to escape, but the child was nailed to death on the snow by a spear thrown by a bandit soldier before he could run a few steps.

This was a massacre and a shock. The thieves did not want to get caught in the turbulent flow of people again. What they were doing now was to use killing to defeat the psychological defenses of the civilians behind them.

When the thieves held up the severed heads in a showy manner, Li Yi suddenly let out a long and frightening roar. The thieves who had dismounted to search for property stopped their movements in fright, and looked at the people rushing toward them in horror.
To be continued...