sjar Chapter 1141 The Battle for National Destiny (7)
Chapter 1141 The Battle for National Destiny (7)
The collapse was like an avalanche, beyond human control.
Even though the Tibetan generals shouted desperately and even personally killed several deserters, they could not stop their soldiers from fleeing.
The impenetrable 'wall' shattered into countless panicked individuals, pushing and trampling each other, desperate to get as far away as possible from the terrifying Qing army behind them...
Wang Sanchun stood under the commander's flag, his face showing no sign of relief.
He knew that defeating the enemy was the right thing to do, and what he needed to do was to expand the results and turn this defeat into a war of annihilation.
"Order Yueyun to send heavy cavalry along both flanks to drive away the fleeing soldiers and divide the enemy lines, but do not go too deep, and be wary of the enemy's desperate counterattack."
"Order the musketeers and crossbowmen to advance and maintain pressure, and do not allow the routed soldiers to regroup."
The messenger shouted, "Understood!"
The sound of the war drums suddenly became even more violent, like thunder before a hurricane.
A huge crimson flag was raised at the highest point of the central army, signaling the start of a full-scale attack!
The Qing army battalions, which had previously maintained a relatively intact formation, were now completely unleashed at this moment.
"kill--"
"Drive out the enemy and defend our borders!"
"Long live the Emperor! The Qing Army is mighty!"
Roars erupted from all the formations, converging into an even more powerful sound wave.
The musketeers were no longer content with advancing slowly and firing; they shouted, raised their bayonets, and charged ahead of the retreating Tibetan soldiers.
Swordsmen and spearmen followed closely behind, their pace quickening until it became a collective charge!
The entire Qing army line resembled a slowly opening steel maw, devouring the routed Tibetan army.
On the flank of the battlefield, Yueyun received orders.
Looking at the chaotic battlefield in the distance, he quickly understood Wang Sanchun's intention after a moment's thought.
He raised his silver spear, pointing it towards the area where the fleeing Tibetan soldiers were most concentrated and closest to the main Tibetan position. In a cold voice, he ordered, "Divide into teams of a hundred men each, and take turns charging to drive away the fleeing soldiers!"
"Remember, disperse them as soon as possible, do not linger in the fight!"
"Yes, sir!" the generals under his command responded in unison.
The armored cavalry, having reorganized their formation, started moving again, transforming into dozens of agile squads that, like sheepdogs herding sheep, fiercely wedged themselves into the fleeing Tibetan soldiers from the flanks.
Wherever the horses' hooves went, the routed soldiers fled in even greater terror, involuntarily being driven towards their own rear ranks.
. . . . . .
The main battlefield.
The new recruit from Sichuan finally caught up with the veteran.
The veteran didn't say much, but gave him an approving look and gestured for him to follow.
Everyone experiences fear; no one expects a new recruit going to the battlefield for the first time to overcome the fear of death.
But if he catches up at this time, it means he has the potential to be a good soldier.
If he fails to keep up... then it's not fear, it's cowardice.
Sorry, the Qing Army does not accept cowards.
The recruit was breathing heavily, not out of fear, but because of an excitement that he didn't know where it came from.
He saw ahead that a Qing army musketeer caught up with a staggering Tibetan soldier and swung his musket butt, smashing it hard on the back of the Tibetan soldier's head.
After a dull thud, the wounded soldier collapsed to the ground.
Nearby, several swordsmen and shieldmen immediately stepped forward, thrusting their swords into the opponent's body from different angles, blood gushing out like it was free...
The bloodiest side of war was being laid bare before him.
"What are you staring at?! Look ahead!"
The veteran's low shout exploded in his ears, and at the same time, a strong force pushed him to the side.
The recruit stumbled and then there was a whooshing sound.
An arrow, shot from an unknown direction, grazed his shoulder armor and embedded itself in the frozen ground behind him, its fletching still trembling.
He was immediately terrified and broke out in a cold sweat, quickly gripping his spear and looking ahead.
Just a dozen steps away, a small group of about twenty or thirty Tibetan soldiers did not flee.
Instead, led by an officer with colorful feathers stuck in his helmet, they formed a makeshift circular formation and attempted to put up a last-ditch resistance.
This group of Tibetan soldiers were all heavy infantry, armed with shields and bows, and were quite formidable in combat.
Three or four Qing soldiers who had charged too fast had already fallen to their swords and spears.
"Damn it, there's still a tough nut to crack!" the veteran spat, but his eyes gleamed with even greater excitement. "Perfect! Chasing rabbits is boring, I love gnawing on tough nuts!"
"Kid, stick close to me, our men are coming up!"
Sure enough, as the small conflict broke out on their side, a Qing army infantry company nearby was rapidly approaching.
The company commander was a burly man with a scar on his face. He glanced at the small Tibetan formation and grinned, "Hey, there are a few tough guys here!"
"Brothers, surround them! Swordsmen and shieldmen, hold the front, spearmen, aim and thrust!"
"Archers, shoot down those peeking out!"
The command was clear and concise. Dozens of Qing soldiers quickly deployed, with swordsmen and shield bearers in front, forming an arc-shaped wall with their shields as they slowly approached.
The spearmen extended their spears from the gaps in the shields, like hedgehogs spreading their quills.
Several archers patrolled the perimeter and, seeing someone in the Tibetan formation attempting to shoot an arrow, fired one.
The Tibetan officer was pale, but he continued to roar, encouraging his men in Tibetan.
The veterans led the new recruits, and the troops slowly approached the circular formation, getting within a dozen steps of it.
He even had the leisure to whisper to the new recruits, "Watch closely, you can't just charge in to deal with these tough nuts to crack. You have to wear them down first, disrupt their formation..."
Before he could finish speaking, the company commander roared, "Throw!"
Seven or eight Qing soldiers standing behind the shield bearers suddenly threw what they were holding.
Several round objects traced arcs, flew over the shield wall, and crashed into the Tibetan formation.
Although most of it was blocked by the shield, this thing wasn't originally intended to be used to smash people.
Boom—
The next moment, the grenade exploded.
Several unlucky individuals were hit by the shards, letting out inhuman screams, causing a noticeable commotion within the circular formation.
"Now! Swordsmen and shieldmen, charge!" The company commander seized the opportunity and gave the order.
The front-row swordsmen and shield bearers roared in unison, bracing their shields with their shoulders and slamming them hard into the Tibetan shield formation.
Bang—Crack!
Splinters flew everywhere, and the Tibetan formation was knocked inwards.
"Pikeman—Thrust!"
At the moment of impact, more than ten spears pierced through the gaps in the Qing army's shields.
The angle was tricky, and the force was fierce!
Pfft, pfft!
The dull thuds of spears piercing flesh rang out one after another.
Several Tibetan soldiers on the outer edge of the circular formation were immediately stabbed down, their screams filling the air, and a gap appeared in the formation.
"Charge in!"
The company commander took the lead, slashing aside a spear thrusting towards him with his sword and crashing into the gap.
The melee began.
The veteran growled, "Stay close to me!"
Holding a shield in one hand and a spear in the other, he followed closely behind and charged in.
In a moment of impulsiveness, the new recruit also grabbed a spear and followed behind him.
The space inside the circular formation was too small to freely wield weapons.
The veteran was experienced and didn't try to outmuscle his opponent; he simply used his shield to firmly protect his front.
Once the opportunity is seized, the spear strikes like a venomous snake, swiftly stabbing the opponent's lower body.
He immediately stabbed a Tibetan soldier to the ground, then turned and roared at the new recruits, "What are you standing there for! Stab!"
"Aim for the nail seams, face, and neck; don't be stupid and try to stab the armor!"
The recruit was jolted awake as a ferocious face swung a knife at him.
He subconsciously followed his usual training pattern, thrusting his spear straight forward.
The target is the armpit exposed when the opponent swings their knife, where the chainmail joints are usually weaker.
The spear tip sent a sharp, penetrating sensation as it was initially blocked, followed by a bloodcurdling scream from the opponent.
The warm liquid splashed onto the recruit's hand, startling him so much that he pulled his spear back.
Looking at the Tibetan soldier again, he was already clutching his wound and staggering backward, when he was finished off by another Qing soldier.
"Well done!"
The veteran, despite being busy, actually praised him, though his tone was more like saying, "At least he wasn't completely stupid."
The battle was over in minutes.
Although the Tibetan soldiers who put up a stubborn resistance were brave, they were quickly wiped out due to their overwhelming disadvantage in numbers, equipment, and coordination.
The officer with the plume on his helmet was eventually beheaded by the company commander himself, his eyes wide open in resentment until his death.
More than twenty more corpses were added inside and outside the circular formation.
The new recruit, leaning on his spear, was slightly out of breath. He looked at the blood spreading at his feet and the corpses in various ways, and smelled the strong, dizzying stench of blood. His stomach churned.
Strangely, apart from physical discomfort, there was no intense fear as expected.
Even... when he saw the enemy he had stabbed fall, besides a moment of shock, he felt a faint sense of pleasure.
"Not bad, didn't wet your pants the first time you've seen blood." The veteran walked over and patted him on the shoulder with considerable force.
The recruit grinned and forced a smile.
The veteran walked to the body, squatted down, took out a knife from his waist, and cut off the man's ear.
He then walked over and slapped the ear into the recruit's hand.
The recruit was startled and instinctively wanted to throw the ear away, but the veteran sternly stopped him: "Keep it safe!"
The new recruit shook himself up, but didn't dare throw it away.
The veteran said solemnly, "You can't be picky about anything, this is your future, understand?"
"With this, go back and record it. You will then become a legitimate member of the Qing Army, and everyone will treat you as a comrade."
"If you read some more books and learn a few more words, you might be able to become the class monitor someday."
Upon hearing this, the new recruit instinctively gripped his ear tightly.
Then, curiously, he asked, "Is it enough to just take an ear?"
The veteran looked at him as if he were an idiot: "Of course not, there need to be at least three eyewitnesses to testify for you."
The recruit hesitated and said, "But... I didn't kill that person."
He remembered clearly that he was the one who stabbed him, but it was another swordsman and shieldman who delivered the final blow.
The veteran chuckled, "Don't worry, that guy was trained by me too, he won't try to take it from you."
"This is the first enemy you've killed. It's always the standard practice in the military. You should do the same when you encounter new recruits in the future."
Sure enough, the swordsman and shieldman in the distance looked this way and winked at the new recruit.
The new recruit felt a warmth in his heart.
The veteran said again, "Let's go, keep chasing! The battle isn't over yet!"
The new recruits looked up and gazed into the distance.
On the snowy plains, the crimson flags of the Qing army fluttered everywhere.
The pursuit continued, and the fleeing Tibetan soldiers scattered across the mountains and plains like gazelles being driven by a pack of wolves.
He nodded vigorously, gripped the blood-stained spear in his hand, and followed the veteran into the surging tide of Qing soldiers once again.
Further away, the majestic lion banner of the Tibetan central army remained unmoved, and its formation was still solid, clearly indicating that the main force was still intact and that Gar Tongtsen had not given up.