White Horse, Silver Spear, Grand Commandant Gao

Chapter 7 Fierce Battle: Eight Formations Show Their Strength

Li Congke told Gao Xingzhou with no small amount of pride that he and Prince Jin were the same age. Li Cunxu once said, "Not only is this Indian the same age as me, but we are also similar in courage."

Gao Xingzhou offered a few compliments, and when asked his age, he discovered that Gao Xingzhou was actually the same age as him. (Note 1)

Li Congke was born on the 23rd day of the first lunar month. Considering himself older, he called Gao Xingzhou "Little Gao".

Gao Xingzhou found the name "Twenty-Three" awkward to pronounce and instead called him "A-San." Li Congke was displeased, feeling it was easy to confuse him with Shi San'er, but there was nothing he could do about it.

Now, Ah San, the military governor of Fengxiang, wants to raise an army to purge the court of corrupt officials and has sent a letter inviting the surrounding vassal states to lend a helping hand; however, the court has issued an edict to deal with the Dangxiang people himself and not to get involved.

On one side is the late emperor's son, the current emperor, who has been kind to him; on the other side are his close friends who have fought side by side and risked their lives together many times. It's a real dilemma...

Gao Xingzhou fell into deep thought for a long while. Seeing the expectant expressions on his two sons' faces, he gathered his scattered thoughts and continued to talk about the battle with Yuan Xingqin.

……

Gao Xinggui came to the front of the battle and loudly challenged a duel: "I and you both serve the Liu family. I defend the city for the Liu family, while you have presumptuously claimed the title of acting governor. Whose fault is it? Why trouble the soldiers today? I will fight you to decide the outcome."

Yuan Xingqin was fierce and skilled in horsemanship and archery, extremely confident in his own martial arts, and replied with only one word: "Agreed!"

With an arrow's width of space between the two armies, and the focus of tens of thousands of soldiers' attention, Yuan Xingqin rode out into battle.

He carried a large iron spear and circled the front lines several times. The soldiers, who were used to seeing Yuan Xingqin win battles on horseback, shouted loudly and slammed their weapons on the ground to cheer on their general.

The Jin army cheered when they saw Li Congke come out to battle. As for Gao Xingzhou beside him, no one in the Jin army recognized him and assumed he was Li Congke's cavalryman.

Unexpectedly, Li Congke stopped his mount, but instead, the rider spurred his horse forward, assuming a stance to confront Yuan Xingqin.

The Jin army's shouts suddenly weakened, and no one understood why Li Siyuan had sent an unknown junior general to fight against the powerful enemy.

After a moment of complete silence, whispers gradually began to circulate.

Who is this person?

"I heard he's Governor Gao's younger brother."

"They look impressive, but are they actually capable?"

"Don't get killed in one hit. If you can survive a few more rounds and escape with your life, that's already a good outcome."

Occasionally, there were differing opinions: "I see that this man is of imposing appearance. If the commander sends him into battle, he must have a good chance of success."

Gao Xingzhou paid no attention to the gossip behind him, focusing all his attention on his opponent.

He also wielded a spear, the tip of which gleamed coldly, its eight edges resembling the Eight Trigrams, and five steel hooks hidden within the tassel, shaped like plum blossoms.

The spear shaft is eighteen feet long and inlaid with silver wire, which can not only enhance grip strength, but also protect against the cutting of swords and blades, and reduce the impact of heavy weapons such as hammers and maces. It is the famous spear passed down by the Gao family for generations - the Bagua Plum Blossom Bright Silver Spear.

With his silver-maned white dragon steed and a gleaming silver willow-leaf armor helmet adorned with lion-shaped patterns, he seemed destined to be reborn as a white horse and silver spear master.

Both armies had their assistant generals on standby, ready to capture the enemy general or support their own generals.

Yuan Xingqin was already waiting at the front of the battle. Gao Xingzhou pulled on the reins, about to urge his horse forward, when he heard Li Congke shout from behind: "Be careful, don't die!"

Gao Xingzhou lightly touched the ground with the tip of his spear to indicate that he understood. Then, he lightly squeezed his boots against the horse's belly, and the horse accelerated from a trot to charge towards the enemy general!

When Yuan Xingqin saw a general charging towards him, a dangerous smile curled at the corner of his mouth. His experience in one-on-one combat far surpassed that of Gao Xingzhou, and he even seemed to be enjoying it.

Hopefully, this opponent will give me a good time and not be like an ordinary, mediocre general who gets killed in one move.

Despite his thoughts, Yuan Xingqin still raised his spear, unleashed his ultimate move—City Destroyer—and charged towards Gao Xingzhou!

One man, one horse, one gun—unstoppable, even a city can be destroyed.

In an instant, hundreds of steps closed the distance, and the two were about to be within range of each other, ready to thrust their guns at each other.

"drink!"

Yuan Xingqin unleashed the power of his dantian and aimed for Gao Xingzhou's face to stab him.

The military examination system of the Tang Dynasty involved shaping wooden figures into human figures, each wearing a square tablet on their head. Four such figures were arranged in pairs on a low wall. They rode into the training ground on horseback, thrusting their spears left and right, striking the tablets without falling to the ground; this was called "horse spear."

The spear is eighteen feet long, one and a half inches in diameter, and weighs eight catties. The wooden dummy's head plate is only three and a half inches square, and the best one is light and nimble.

To wield a long spear aimed at an object only a few inches long while galloping is a fundamental skill of mounted lance, which Yuan Xingqin mastered with unparalleled proficiency.

His heavy iron spear weighed over thirty catties, four times the weight of a standard cavalryman's spear. A single thrust of the spear was incredibly powerful, capable of killing anyone who touched it. The spearhead didn't even need to hit directly; a mere graze from the blade was enough to inflict a fatal wound.

Back then, Xia Luqi, with the domineering power of the Six Harmony Spear, barely managed to fight him to a draw. Can this young man in front of us withstand him?

"Clang!"

"Um?"

Yuan Xingqin's move, "Crushing the City," utilizes the momentum of a warhorse's charge. It's common for those with weaker physiques to lose control or even drop their weapons. However, Gao Xingzhou easily caught it, his spear as steady as a rock, firmly holding the central position.

Before Yuan Xingqin could think about how his opponent had blocked his killing move, his arm was immediately shaken, and the two guns clashed and rang out, each deviating from its original target.

When two horses are crossed and their stirrups face each other, it is called "opposite stirrups".

Gao Xingzhou changed his straight thrust to a horizontal sweep, and used the move "Jingde's Backward Drag Whip", which is said to have been created by Yuchi Gong, a general in the early Tang Dynasty. He slid his right hand to the end of the spear, spun the spear shaft horizontally with one hand, and lashed it at the enemy general in the waist!

Seeing his swift change of tactics, Yuan Xingqin straightened his arms and responded with the "Erlang Carrying a Mountain" style.

clang!

Both spears possessed a spinning force, and upon clashing again, they bounced off in opposite directions. Both men felt a tremendous force, which they then channeled into their waists, firmly settling into their saddles to neutralize and dissipate the impact.

There is a saying about spear techniques on horseback: "Zhang Fei's spear goes first on the left, then leaves a foot behind as a whip-like trail."

This means that when launching an attack, one should seize a favorable position on the left side of the enemy general; when thrusting the spear, leave a section of the spear shaft so that when the two horses pass each other, one can turn the spear shaft and thrust it back to strike.

Gao Xingzhou's moves were in accordance with the rules and had nothing special about them, but they were so natural that they seemed to flow like clouds and water.

The two had previously served in the Yan army but had never had the opportunity to spar. Now, after exchanging blows, they immediately realized that they were formidable rivals.

"interesting."

Yuan Xingqin perked up. Gao Siji had passed away early, and he had once thought that the Gao family's reputation for "white horse and silver spear" was an exaggeration, but it turned out that they really had real skills.

At this moment, cheers erupted from the Jin army ranks, not only to applaud Gao Xingzhou, but also because their commander, Li Siyuan, had personally come to the front lines to watch the battle.

In the second round, Yuan Xingqin did not take the initiative to attack, waiting for Gao Xingzhou to make the first move.

The spear was the most commonly used weapon by military generals, and battles involving spear combat were extremely common. Yuan Xingqin was well aware of this; when fighting, each man thrust at the other in a straight line, speed alone was not enough to kill the other.

If the spear is used skillfully, a single deflection can disrupt the opponent's attack and kill them.

Yuan Xingqin and the others were attacked by Gao Xingzhou's spear thrust. Gao Xingzhou used a "Searching for the Snake in the Grass" technique, sweeping the iron spearhead across the head, blinding the eyes and slicing off the skull. Many generals died from this move.

Gao Xingzhou indeed launched a spear thrust.

Yuan Xingqin swung his spear to meet the attack, but immediately sensed something amiss. The spearhead felt as if it were being gripped by a fist, which greatly surprised him.

With five hooks flying high, he could easily capture and seize enemy soldiers.

Gao Xingzhou used a twisting technique, trying to dislodge the spear, but Yuan Xingqin fought back fiercely, and the two spears became entangled, their red tassels flying everywhere.

The two riders charged from opposite sides, then rode side by side for several dozen paces before separating and galloping off to the left and right respectively.

"Twenty-three, what do you think the outcome of the match will be?"

Hearing the question, Li Congke grinned: "Godfather, of course I hope Gao Xingzhou wins. But we'll only know the result after the fight."

Li Siyuan remained noncommittal, then turned to the other person beside him and asked, "Jingtang, what do you think?"

The man had a cold and unsmiling expression. After a moment's thought, he said, "These two are both fierce generals. If they fight, there will surely be casualties. It would be best to recruit them both."

"Ha ha ha ha."

Li Siyuan laughed heartily: "We, father-in-law and son-in-law, are of one mind. Let's observe the battle first, allow them to display their martial arts skills, and then we'll resolve the matter."

Yuan Xingqin and Gao Xingzhou were both from Youyan and were skilled in horsemanship. They could control their warhorses at will using only their legs without needing to hold the reins, and they could use their guns in both hands to attack and defend.

The two no longer expected to defeat their opponent in one move. They exchanged blows, switching between offense and defense, patiently waiting for their opponent's stamina to wane and reveal an opening.

Unfortunately, both were men of exceptional physical strength and endurance, and after dozens of fierce battles, neither could gain the upper hand. Only when their warhorses were exhausted did they return to their positions to rest briefly before changing horses and continuing the fight.

Yuan Xingqin unleashed his mighty iron spear, its power covering an area of ​​about ten feet in front of his horse; Gao Xingzhou defended steadily, his spear transforming into a ball of silver light, dense and without gaps, and any counterattacks he made were always fierce.

From dawn till dusk, the two armies clashed fiercely, their forces evenly matched, resulting in a stalemate. (Note 2)