Chapter 9: Gao Ping (3)

A group of wounded soldiers, after the conclusion of the decisive battle, received assistance from the civilian laborers who had been conscripted to transport supplies and perform various tasks. They were sent to the rear camp for accommodation

Heaven, Zhou Jun's arrival is truly timely!

Guo Shao's spirit was already quite exhausted, yet he felt a slight sense of relief, grateful that he was still alive... Otherwise, he might have become one of the countless corpses, hastily pushed into some mass grave and buried in a haphazard manner

Unexpectedly, Yang Biao did not respond after hearing this and truly left. Guo Shao sat there, feeling quite uncomfortable, but he did not blame Yang Biao. At present, the chaotic soldiers were fierce, and the troops of the Xiaodi army were scattering. The surrounding Zhou army was dwindling, while Yang Biao stayed behind to confront the organized enemy forces. Both of them would perish. Any wise person should make a decisive decision at this moment

Guo Shao struggled to stand up; as he exerted a bit of force with his legs, the muscles in his thighs pulled at the wound and the arrowhead embedded in his flesh, causing a piercing pain. An enemy soldier spotted the living Guo Shao and rushed over to stab him with a spear, but the force was insufficient. Guo Shao immediately seized the spearhead and pulled it back. The enemy soldier was taken aback, nearly losing his weapon to Guo Shao, and hurriedly gripped the shaft tightly, pulling it towards himself. Unexpectedly, Guo Shao quickly changed the direction of his force, pushing forward, which toppled the enemy soldier and allowed him to seize the spear.

The arrow wounds and bruises on the two individuals' torsos were not severe, but the deeper wound was the arrow injury on Guo Shao's left leg. A small portion of the arrow remained lodged in the wound, and it needed to be extracted. After Guo Shao removed his armor, he hurriedly examined the damaged area on his abdomen that had been pierced, confirming that there were no fragments or impurities in his wound. If not handled properly, the wound could become infected and festering; in this era, there were no medications available, and even a life that had narrowly been saved would still be at risk of ending.

"I will carry you," Yang Biao said affirmatively, without any tone of inquiry. He directly grabbed Guo Shao's arm and placed it on his shoulder, then picked up the long knife and walked away

Yang Biao inserted his long knife beside him, took out a short knife from his bosom and bit it in his mouth. He then lifted Guo Shao's protective armor without saying a word, and with the short knife, directly severed the arrow shaft, discarding the rear section. Guo Shao was tormented by intense pain, gritting his teeth to suppress his cries, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. He spat out the blood in his mouth, which had a sweet and metallic taste, likely not his own blood, but rather the blood that had splattered on him from the earlier killing.

Guo Shao sensed that he was about to be besieged by more people, and his heart sank in despair. It seemed that he would truly be cut down on the battlefield. Initially, he had devoted himself to achieving success on the battlefield; for whom was he fighting, and why was he so determined to stand out at the cost of his own life?

But soon, two bows were drawn with arrows raised. With two swift sounds, Guo and Yang were each struck by an arrow, but fortunately, their armor protected them, and the wounds did not seem to be deep

"Brother Yang, I will never forget your kindness today." Guo Shao immediately felt a glimmer of hope.

In this battle, General Zhou turned defeat into victory

Upon seeing this, the enemy soldiers did not advance but instead shouted loudly towards the rear, quickly attracting the attention of more enemy troops

As soon as the words fell, a group of enemy soldiers approached from nearby, one of whom charged forward with a long spear. Yang Biao ceased his conversation and met the charge, sidestepping and striking the man's helmet with a heavy blade, causing the enemy soldier to clutch his head and scream in pain. Seizing the opportunity, Yang Biao positioned himself to confront the subsequent enemy soldiers. Guo Shao gritted his teeth and followed closely behind, pressing down on the face of the fallen enemy soldier to deliver a finishing blow. He swung his dagger and thrust it fiercely towards the man's forehead, "No!" The terrified scream was almost in a sobbing tone.

Guo Shao let out a sigh of frustration and cursed, "So many people are not hit, yet I am the one who gets hit!" Yang Biao asked, "Can we still walk?" Guo Shao replied, "I fear we cannot."

The small infantry battalion was left in a state of utter devastation, the military flag had fallen, and the soldiers were at a loss as to where to go. Surrounded on all sides by enemy cavalry, escape was as difficult as ascending to the heavens. Even more disastrous was the encounter with the second wave of advancing Han infantry, leading to a close-quarters melee that was unbearable to describe.

The other infantry soldiers, seeing their bravery, dared not advance for a moment and only surrounded them from all sides. Because Guo Shao had difficulty with his legs and Yang Biao did not take the initiative to attack alone, there was a brief standoff. Then, one could hear Yang Biao's breathing, which sounded like a bellows, as the long-handled iron knife in his hand might have been somewhat heavy, and after such continuous fighting, his physical strength was beginning to wane

"Drink!" Yang Biao glared with wide eyes, poised to sweep with his long weapon, relying on the last remnants of his strength for a final struggle

Guo Shao and others withdrew from the battlefield due to injuries, but the battle continued, with the fighting persisting until the afternoon. The Northern Han army suffered a great defeat, and the Khitan troops retreated; the Zhou army continued to advance, pursuing and annihilating the remnants of the Northern Han forces

The phrase "for the sake of heaven" is truly just a polite expression. Injured Guo Shao is not so impatient with life that he would want Yang Biao to abandon him and run away; however, that statement slipped out of his mouth, and he himself did not know why he said it. Perhaps it is similar to someone who rushes to pay the bill, who sometimes does so insincerely and does not actually wish to pay.

... ...

The troops had no time to pay attention to the two bloodied remnants, only occasionally did someone turn their head to take a glance, perhaps thinking that the two had gone mad

At that moment, a sharp sound of "ding" was heard, and Guo Sha felt as if his leg had been struck. Initially, there was a moment of numbness, but soon a wave of intense pain surged from his leg. He looked down and saw that a heavy arrow had pierced through his abdomen and lodged itself in his thigh. Stumbling, he nearly fell, forcefully driving his weapon into the ground, which allowed him to support his body and kneel on one knee.

A brief silence, so short that it was almost imperceptible. Suddenly, a large group of soldiers rushed in from all directions, shouting and waving their swords and guns as they frantically surrounded.

At that moment, Yang Biao suddenly turned back, cursing and swearing for a while, and came over to help Guo Shao up: "I saw that Zhou Jun has started to counterattack. If we hold on a bit longer, there might still be hope!"

Guo Shao was momentarily unable to contain his inner excitement. Supporting Yang Biao, he raised his arm and shouted to the cavalry, "Destroy the Northern Han, the Zhou army will surely win! Long live my Emperor..."

At this moment, the enemy and allies were intertwined, and just after taking a few steps, they encountered pursuers. Yang Biao, unable to maneuver with someone on his back, hurriedly threw Guo Shao down and engaged in combat with the enemy soldiers. After a while, when he returned, Guo Shao said, "Brother Yang, you go ahead; there's no need to worry about me."

At that moment, a general from the Northern Han army leaped forward. Yang Biao swiftly raised his long knife and launched a fierce attack. The Han general hurriedly drew his sword to counter, and they exchanged blows for several rounds, demonstrating considerable skill. The sword wielded by the Han general was too far away, putting him at a disadvantage; however, Yang Biao was already at the end of his strength and clearly not as vigorous as before. Finally, the Han general seized an opportunity; as Yang Biao thrust forward, he successfully dodged and immediately charged in. The situation took a sharp turn, as long weapons became very difficult to use at such close range.

By the pile of firewood, Guo Shao said: "Brother Yang, today you saved me from the pile of dead bodies"

Guo Shao smiled wryly and said, "From now on, let us treat each other as brothers. In this world, without brothers, it is very difficult to survive"

At the moment when he needed the other party the most, Guo Sha risked his life and lunged forward, intercepting with his shield knife. "When!" The clash of blades caused the knife edge to tremble violently. The shield knife Guo Sha wielded was a short weapon for self-defense, lightweight, and thus at a disadvantage in a collision; indeed, the Han general seized the opportunity to advance with his long sword, angling the blade to directly stab at Guo Sha's left shoulder. Unexpectedly, Guo Sha did not retreat but instead advanced, forcefully taking the blow on his armor, stepping forward significantly, while simultaneously raising his right hand, a half-foot-long dagger glinting coldly in the air.

The short dagger handle fits comfortably in the hand, allowing for flexible directional adjustments. In the moment of thrusting, the wrist tightens instantly. In the blink of an eye, outsiders barely catch a glimpse of the movement before the sharp tip of the blade plunges down. In an instant, Guo Shao moves like a startled rabbit, his body like a swift arrow, seemingly not resembling an injured person at all

At that moment, a clattering sound was heard, followed by a rain of arrows descending, with feathered shafts embedding themselves into the ground, as if a patch of reeds had suddenly sprouted. Someone shouted from behind: "The safety of the nation depends on this one action!"

Guo Shao and the others turned their heads to see a general of the Zhou army with a dark face, brandishing a weapon high above his head, riding a horse and shouting loudly, while a large group of armored cavalry behind him was urging their horses to accelerate. "Reinforcements have arrived!" Yang Biao exclaimed with excitement upon seeing this

Guo Shao's side, under Commander Wang, the entire regiment of over 500 men had long been in disarray, with soldiers fleeing in all directions. Guo Shao and Yang Biao coordinated their efforts, fighting while retreating, hoping to escape the area of defeat along with the tide.

The galloping warhorses, the agile young men, and the beautiful cherry guns, the Zhou army knights shouted as they charged forward bravely, one after another. Guo Shao could swear that he had never seen such a majestic iron-clad army in his life

Suddenly, the face of the Han general turned pale in an instant, his mouth opened in shock, and the muscles in his neck contracted. Guo Shao swung his short knife with such speed that it stirred up a gust of wind, causing the shoulder scarf around the Han general's neck to flutter. Blood sprayed all over Guo Shao's face

Yang Biao was seen executing powerful horse stances, wielding a heavy iron saber with an imposing flourish, accompanied by the sounds of clashing metal and human screams, unstoppable in his ferocity. Guo Sha, not skilled in the use of long weapons, held only a broadsword, specifically guarding against openings and blind spots around Yang Biao. The two had never fought side by side before, but now, on the battlefield, they coordinated their offensive and defensive maneuvers with remarkable synergy.

The enemy soldiers surrounding Guo Shao and others saw the Zhou army's cavalry regrouping for a counterattack and hurriedly turned to flee, no longer caring about anything else. In no time, countless Zhou cavalry surged forward, galloping past Guo Shao and the others.

Yang Biao said: "Neither of us owes anything to the other now!"

The arduous day has finally come to an end, and as night falls, a faint scent of blood lingers in the air, undispersed by the wind. In just one day, who knows how many lives have been lost! The Shanxi Basin corridor has always been a bloody path of fierce competition among warlords. How many wars have taken place on this ancient land? Perhaps no one knows. Now, countless living souls have once again buried their blood and spirits here, adding yet another story to the tapestry of history

Yang Biao wielded his long knife, thrusting left and right, and no one could withstand a single strike; Guo Shao protected his rear flank and the nearby area, and although the enemy was numerous, they could not approach.

General Guo Shijian! Yang Biao immediately noticed the emptiness behind him and turned to support Guo Shao's shoulder

Yang Biao glanced at him and said, "It's even now"