webnovelfull Chapter 317: More than half of the personnel have been reduced
Chapter 317: More than half of the personnel have been reduced
I don’t know what the archers of the border army are doing. Although the order has been given, no arrows are flying.
In just a few breaths, the Qingshui Army's cavalry rushed to the front.
The border soldiers standing in the front row threw away their spears and ran to the left and right.
The archers behind also scattered.
The team of nearly two thousand people collapsed in an instant.
The commander standing at the end of the team was dumbfounded, and the long sword dancing in his hand also froze in the air.
He knew that the border troops' combat effectiveness was insufficient, but he never imagined it was so insufficient.
I was frightened by the other person's aura.
The Qingshui Army cavalryman who was rushing in the front swung the steel knife in his hand, turned around the side of the horse, and seeing that there was no one to chop, he urged his mount and rushed towards the commander who was standing behind with a long knife in his hand.
Seeing this, the commander immediately turned his horse around and ran away.
The charging warhorse has reached its maximum speed, which is far from comparable to a warhorse that is just starting out.
In the blink of an eye, the warhorse rushed forward.
The border army commander was still crouching over and beating his horse hard when he felt a chill on the back of his neck and his consciousness instantly fell into darkness.
The Qingshui Army's cavalry roared past, crossed the battlefield a hundred steps, reined in their horses, and turned their heads.
After being dispersed, nearly two thousand border troops did not run far.
Most of the soldiers ran a few dozen steps into the field, then turned and looked at the Qingshui Army cavalry.
When the thousand cavalrymen circled their horses and turned back, the border soldiers immediately knelt on the ground.
Many soldiers shouted loudly, demanding to surrender to the Qingshui Corps.
When Li Donglai and his men arrived, the border soldiers had already been gathered together and were standing aside waiting.
Li Donglai ordered his generals to take a group of troops and send the prisoners of war back to the border army camp.
The others continued to move forward to catch up with the main force of the border army.
Cui Yong's Jia Camp had three thousand cavalrymen.
These are the elite troops of the border army and also Cui Yong's personal guards.
These soldiers eat well, dress well, and are well treated.
Therefore, they followed Cui Yong loyally, their armor still bright and their troops in order.
Of course, Song Yi, Kong Jin and Li Yu, the three senior generals of the border army, also have their own guards.
These troops formed the core of the border army.
When the border troops stopped advancing again after the second night to rest.
Of the nearly 40,000 troops, more than half have been killed.
More than 20,000 soldiers have disappeared.
Cui Yong's face turned pale, his eye circles became dark, his cheeks sunken, and he looked much older.
Cui Ying stayed by his side the entire time, feeling sorry for his father but helpless.
When they camped again, Cui Yong called Song Yi, Kong Jin and Li Yu over.
Several people gathered around General Cui in silence.
After a while, Cui Yongcai said in a deep voice.
"Looking at the current situation, even if we bypass Weiyuan, I'm afraid there won't be many troops left. What can you do?"
It was still Song Yi who spoke first.
"General, even though the army's morale is unstable, as long as we can bypass Weiyuan and enter the heart of Zhenxi, we can go to the capital and unite with Su Dutong. The capital will remain stable. Let Lin Feng face the Tartars alone."
Cui Yong remained silent.
"How many men do we have left?"
Several people pondered for a while.
"Except for the elite guards, I'm afraid we won't be able to keep many of the others."
Kong Jin said solemnly.
Song Yi sneered and said, "Even if we only have guards, we still have nearly 10,000 elite cavalry. In the heart of Zhenxi, our border army is still the boss."
Cui Yong shook his head dejectedly.
"There's no need to mention the eldest and second oldest. Now in Zhenxi, no one can suppress Lin Feng. He has become so powerful."
Song Yi glanced at everyone.
"The imperial court doesn't care about us, but Prince Fu is powerful, perhaps..."
Cui Yong waved his hand to stop him from continuing and said with a sullen face.
"Let's not waste any more time. We must bypass Weiyuan as quickly as possible and enter the hinterland of Zhenxi. We won't be safe until we reach the city."
Kong Jin said worriedly, "I'm afraid the Qingshui Army will intercept us from Weiyuan."
Li Yu shook his head: "We left in a hurry, and they didn't have time to intercept us."
Suddenly, Song Yi turned around and looked around.
"General, where is Military Advisor Mo?"
Everyone looked around in confusion, but there was no sign of Mo Yong.
Cui Yong shook his head and sighed, "Let him go. Perhaps he will have a better future."
Everyone was speechless for a while.
Song Yi pondered for a moment: "Lin Feng is cunning and treacherous, and he is full of tricks. He will definitely ambush us on the road ahead. We have to be on guard."
Kong Jin said with a frown.
"Lin Feng did not lead the team personally this time."
Cui Ying interrupted: "His subordinates are not easy to deal with either. They learned his tricks and are as cunning as devils."
Cui Yongyi waved his hand and said, "Let's go. Move forward as quickly as possible so they don't have time to make arrangements."
Everyone obeyed the order, stood up and went to greet the troops, and set off to break camp.
Li Donglai chased the border army neither slowly nor hurriedly.
While gathering the fleeing border soldiers, he waited for Hu Jincai's intercepting troops ahead.
When the frontier troops were blocked, he would lead his troops to attack and would surely defeat them in one fell swoop.
Hu Jincai's return journey was much faster than the border troops' taking a long detour.
It only took a day and a half to get back to Weiyuan County.
After returning to the city, he immediately sent out cavalry to closely monitor several places where border troops might pass.
Just wait for the border army to pass by and then launch a surprise attack.
Hu Jincai was not nervous. After all, the combat effectiveness of the border troops was rubbish.
We have more than 10,000 troops on our side, and we only need 5,000 or 6,000 cavalry to defeat the enemy.
The others were divided into two groups, gathering from both wings to chase and kill the fleeing soldiers.
According to Hu Jincai's estimation, the border troops that had reached this place must have at least 20,000 troops.
But when he saw the team moving forward gradually in the distance, he asked his subordinates around him in confusion.
"Look carefully, how many people are there in the team ahead?"
Several guards and generals leaned their hands against the sun, carefully identifying the troops in the distance.
After a while: "General, I think it's over ten thousand."
"General, I don't think there are ten thousand people."
"General, about fifteen thousand."
Several people gave their own answers. In short, the number would not exceed 15,000 people.
Hu Jincai chuckled.
"The army here is truly disorganized. We've come all the way here, and yet so many of them have deserted. General Cui Yong has failed miserably."
Everyone nodded frequently.
Then Hu Jincai waved his hand.
"The remaining ones are all elite troops from the border area. Everyone, cheer up and attack them with one push."
The generals responded in a deep voice, rubbing their hands in readiness.
Hu Jincai turned his head and looked at his guard captain.
"Gong Sanpao, you will lead a 500-man guard team to capture and kill high-ranking military officers. Capture those you can, and don't hold back against those who resist."
"Yes, General, don't worry."
Hu Jincai shouted again, "Even a lion will use all its might to fight a rabbit. Don't underestimate anyone. Do your best to kill the enemy and protect yourself. This is what General Lin often tells us. Remember it."
The generals and officers around responded loudly.
Hu Jincai took a deep breath when he saw the border troops approaching.
"Divide into three teams, left, center, and right, and charge for me!"
All the generals led their troops according to the formations that had been arranged long ago and began to speed up their horses.
The border army's A-battalion led by Cui Yong was walking in the front and saw a large group of cavalry rushing out from a distance.
They reacted quickly, immediately mobilizing archers, forming two rows, and drawing their bows and shooting arrows.
A black rain of arrows rose into the sky, drew an arc in the air, and fell into the charging cavalry.