GBP Chapter 460 Great Defeat
Chapter 460 Great Defeat
The rapid, fast-paced bugle calls echoed across the battlefield, startling both sides in the fierce fighting. The refugees didn't understand what it meant, and the Qionghai naval soldiers were hearing this bugle call for the first time in actual combat, so they were somewhat taken aback.
It wasn't until the special forces relentlessly pursued the old camp like tigers descending a mountain that everyone finally realized what was happening. Seeing the old camp fall and themselves unable to break through, the refugees lost their will to fight and began a slow, retreating retreat. Meanwhile, the Qionghai naval soldiers, emboldened by the resounding bugle calls, raised their bayonets and launched a counter-charge. With this shift in momentum, the mindsets of the attacking and defending sides reversed, and the tide of battle turned.
The refugee army fought with sheer willpower, lacking strict discipline. When things were going well, they were unstoppable; but once they faced adversity and showed signs of retreat, their defeat was catastrophic. Initially, only the main camp fled, but gradually nearby refugees followed suit. With the Qionghai Army's full-scale counterattack, the entire refugee army at the foot of Qiuyu Mountain collapsed. They came like a rising tide and retreated like a receding tide, their arrival and departure swift. Tens of thousands of people retreated like a tidal wave, with thousands of soldiers in red uniforms chasing after them—a truly magnificent sight.
Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong never expected that their old camp, which was originally their trump card, would become the fuse for the army's complete defeat. When tens of thousands of troops surged towards them like a tidal wave, they could not accept the fact that tens of thousands of people had been defeated by a few thousand.
On the battlefield, once one side loses the will to fight and retreats in disorganized fashion, the battle will inevitably turn into a one-sided pursuit, even if the two sides are vastly different in strength. Several thousand Qionghai soldiers, rifles in hand, strode after the army of refugees, herding them like sheep. Although the number of refugees was several times that of the enemy, they had no intention of turning around to resist. They had only one thought in their minds: I must run faster than the people next to me and let them become the victims of my blade.
The routed soldiers retreated to their own lines, their surging tide of people as powerful as a tidal wave, a momentum never seen during the attack. It seemed they were about to engulf Gao Yingxiang and Zhang Xianzhong.
Old ginger is spicier; after all, he had suffered countless defeats. Gao Yingxiang quickly adjusted his mindset, pulled on the reins, turned his horse around, and galloped away. Losing a battle wasn't the worst thing; he could regroup his troops, find another place, and gather refugees to rebuild his strength. It would be truly unjust to stand there dumbfounded and be trampled to death by the fleeing soldiers.
Zhang Xianzhong reacted a beat too slow; he was still lamenting the loss of his old camp and the tens of thousands of troops he had painstakingly assembled. Just as the throng was about to engulf him, a young general leaped onto his warhorse, sat in front of him, snatched the reins, and shouted, "Father, hold on tight!" He pulled on the reins, spurred the horse, and galloped away. Moments later, the surging crowd surged in, trampling the area beyond recognition.
Zhang Xianzhong snapped out of his daze, looked closely, and said gratefully, "My son Dingguo, thank goodness you were quick-witted, otherwise your father would have been in grave danger!"
This young general, barely a teenager, was Li Dingguo, one of Zhang Xianzhong's four adopted sons. Li Dingguo was the youngest of the four sworn brothers and had not yet led troops into battle on his own. However, he was very brave in battle and was well-liked for his age. In addition, he was handsome and was deeply loved by Zhang Xianzhong.
Li Dingguo held the reins, staring intently at the road ahead, and said without turning his head, "It is only right and proper for your son to save his godfather. However, godfather should not take the defeat too seriously; victory and defeat are common occurrences in war."
Zhang Xianzhong said with a self-deprecating laugh, "I never thought I'd need your comforting words at my age. Don't worry, I'm a man of my word. We've been fighting the government troops for years, and we've been defeated before. Once they stop pursuing us, we'll gather our scattered troops and start all over again."
However, the enemy did not do as he wished. They retreated for four or five miles, but the government troops showed no sign of stopping. They chased and pursued them relentlessly.
During the chase, the refugees' weapons fell to the ground. Everyone was only thinking about running faster, throwing away anything they could. Even so, many were exhausted and collapsed on the road, trampled into a bloody pulp by thousands of people. Even so, no one dared to stop and rest to replenish their strength, because the government troops were always lurking behind them. The slightest lapse in concentration could result in a gleaming bayonet piercing their heart at any moment.
The rout and pursuit had escalated from a 100-meter sprint into a marathon, something no one in the rebel army had anticipated. In the past, when they were defeated by government troops, they had been pursued, but it was always cavalry that caught up, and they would behead hundreds of enemy soldiers to report their victory. They had never been pursued so relentlessly on foot. The government troops were also human, with limited stamina, and had suffered countless ambushes while pursuing the bandits, so they had never dared to pursue so brazenly.
However, the Qionghai Army was clearly no ordinary force. Excellent training and nutrition gave their soldiers physical abilities far exceeding their opponents, and strict discipline ensured they maintained formation throughout the pursuit. While the initial charge was somewhat disorganized, officers at the battalion, company, platoon, and squad levels quickly regrouped their men, maintaining formation according to their assigned ranks, with almost no one falling behind. Maintaining a pursuit after defeating the enemy, thus wearing down the combined forces of Gao and Zhang, was a strategy devised by the Military Staff before the battle. Only in this way could they slowly whittle down the combined forces, which outnumbered them tenfold.
Not only were the soldiers in pursuit, but Commander Xu Yifan, General Liu Ye, and all the staff officers were also following behind, though they were all on horseback. The situation could change at any moment during the pursuit, requiring them to adapt to changing circumstances.
Liu Ye had mingled in equestrian clubs in his later years, so he was quite skilled at riding and could manage a slow trot without much trouble. Looking at the rolling crowd ahead, he lamented, "If only we had a few thousand cavalry, we could catch up and give them a good beating with sabers, leaving heads rolling, and our soldiers wouldn't have to struggle so hard on foot."
After running for nearly ten miles, both Zhang Xianzhong and Li Dingguo's warhorses were foaming at the mouth, clearly having reached their physical limits. Zhang Xianzhong couldn't help but complain, "Damn it, don't these soldiers ever tire of running? The horses are exhausted, yet they still keep chasing us!"
Li Dingguo jumped off his horse and said, "Godfather, I'll dismount and you can sit. At least there will be one less person's weight."
Zhang Xianzhong shook his head: "It's no use, the horse is exhausted, it'll collapse and die if we keep running." He jumped down and looked back. "Dingguo, there are so many people and it's all chaotic right now. I don't know where your brothers are. Go and gather some men, then turn around and fight the government troops! I don't believe the government troops can form a battle formation after chasing us this far. If we keep running like this, we'll be exhausted to death!"
Li Dingguo drew his sword and shouted, "Understood!"
Li Dingguo was well-liked in the army. When he raised his voice, even though most of the refugees were too tired to move, many still dragged their leaden feet and followed him to turn around and attack the government troops.