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Su Jin and others underestimated the tenacity of the Kazakh cavalry, or perhaps they underestimated Mu Yisuifeng as a person.
Mu Yisuifeng was able to quickly organize his troops and fight back despite suffering such heavy casualties. This could even be said to be a miracle.
This was the first real bloody battle since Qin Mu entered Central Asia. The fierce battle on the west bank of the Talas River had reached a fever pitch. The sound of countless iron hooves shook the sky, as if the sky was about to collapse and the sound was like the sound of the river.
The second batch of Qin troops in the river were still desperately trying to cross the river. Li Tianfang and his men had only a few hundred cavalrymen fighting fiercely. The enemy was ten times their number. Even if they were fighting for their lives, Li Tianfang's few hundred men and horses could not hold out for long.
In the brutal fight, the once vigorous soldiers fell under their horses with screams, and no one was sure whether they were friend or foe. They were soon trampled by the iron hooves and were no longer human.
The strong smell of blood drifted across the east coast with the wind, making people want to vomit. Countless blood gathered into trickles and flowed into the Talas River, turning the river surface dark red.
Li Tianfang was covered in blood and had two knife wounds on his body. Countless enemies kept rushing towards him like hungry wolves. The five hundred men and horses he had brought across the river were getting fewer and fewer, with less than two left. Those who were still alive were basically the same as him, with almost everyone having wounds on their bodies. They were so tired from killing that their hands were weak. Both the enemy's and his own bodies were stained red with blood.
Duoji hacked away with all his might, knocking another enemy centurion off his horse. He turned around and shouted to Li Tianfang, "General, retreat to the riverside, retreat to the mudflats..."
Li Tianfang swung his sword and shouted back, "We can't retreat here yet. We must charge downstream at least a hundred steps. Kill!"
A hundred steps away, if it was normal, for the cavalry, it would only take a blink of an eye, but at this moment, the two armies were already entangled, surrounded by layers of enemies, constantly attacking, how easy was it to rush downstream a hundred steps
Duoji knew why Li Tianfang had to rush downstream another hundred steps, because the second group of troops were crossing the river, too close to where they were fighting. If they retreated directly, the enemy would press forward, and the hundreds of troops crossing the river would be hit by countless enemy arrows. I'm afraid no one would survive.
But now, if they did not retreat, the enemy would be afraid of the guns and artillery on the east bank and would not dare to attack the troops crossing the river.
"Kill!" Doji was so angry that he slashed with his sword as fast as the wind. He had given it all and took the lead to rush downstream.
One hundred steps, this is a road paved with blood and corpses, countless enemies rushed forward one after another. In order to win a glimmer of life, Duoji and his men also charged forward at the risk of their lives, scenes of knife flashes, roars, puffs of blood, exposed wounds, thousands of horses neighing, yellow dust everywhere... ...
After finally advancing a hundred steps, Li Tianfang had only about 80 men left, fighting and retreating. They rushed to the mudflats on the west bank. The mudflats on the river bank were much lower than the embankment, so the thousands of enemies who were crowded on the shore and shooting arrows were exposed to the guns of the Qin army.
The enemy shot down waves of arrows, whizzing like locusts. Li Tianfang and his men could only hide behind their horses, and some were even forced to jump into the river.
"Hit them, hit them hard!" Li Sheng on the east bank was furious. He finally got the chance to vent his anger. The flintlock soldiers who had been lined up on the east bank immediately pulled the trigger.
Bang bang bang... ... ... ..
Bang bang bang... ... ... ..
Bang bang bang... ... ... ..
Roaring bullets were fired with whistling sounds. The enemies on the west bank could not see the situation on the east bank at all due to the dense yellow dust. They were still rushing forward with all their might. It was not until fierce gunfire was heard on the east bank that they woke up from their dream.
Bullets whizzed in like rain, and the Kazakh army was once again swallowed by death. For a moment, people howled and horses neighed, their bodies were covered with blood holes, and they fell to the ground with a bang.
The Qin army's three-stage firing array cycled back and forth endlessly. In order to strike at the enemy's arrogance, bullets gushed out like crazy, row after row. The Kazakh army on the west bank also fell down row after row. The scene was so tragic, like a huge wave rushing over a sand wall, causing the sand wall to fall down piece by piece... ... ...
"Did you see it? Quick, aim the rockets at the enemy's flag and blow it up!" As rows of enemies fell, Mu Yisuifeng's flag was revealed in the dense yellow dust.
As the saying goes, when shooting a man, shoot the horse first; when capturing a thief, capture the leader first. At Li Sheng's urging, several rockets quickly aimed at Mu Yisuifeng's flag. Chirp! Chirp, chirp, chirp... A total of five rockets, with scorching flames, flew towards the direction of Mu Yisuifeng's flag.
Boom! Boom boom boom...
Five fireballs rose up, illuminating the yellow dust. The Kazakh soldiers were swept into the air by the violent shock wave, and their broken limbs flew like rain.
Mu Yisuifeng was also knocked off his horse by the impact. The surviving soldiers nearby rushed forward screaming and helped Mu Yisuifeng up, but they saw blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, and it was obvious that his internal organs were injured. No matter how the soldiers shouted and shook him, he was still unconscious.
Bullets continued to rain down from the east bank, and the Kazakh soldiers, who were hit head-on, once again fled in panic.
Mu Yisuifeng was undoubtedly the soul of thousands of Kazakh cavalry. Once he fell unconscious, it would be impossible for them to reorganize quickly like they did the first time. The second batch of Qin troops that crossed the Talas River galloped in pursuit.
Although there were only 500 of them, they chased thousands of fleeing soldiers to death. After repeated heavy blows, and with their commander's life or death unknown, the thousands of Kazakh cavalrymen completely collapsed. They threw away their armor and weapons. Although they were numerous, they were like lambs, allowing the Qin army to kill them. Everyone was only concerned with escaping desperately, and no one dared to turn around and fight...
The main force of the Qin army on the east bank could finally cross the river with peace of mind.
But no one expected that this battle would be so brutal. Li Tianfang's first batch of 500 troops who crossed the river were almost wiped out. Li Tianfang also suffered two knife wounds and would probably need a month or two to recover.
There will always be casualties in war. Nearly 500 young and strong Tibetans were sacrificed. To be honest, Su Jin was not too heartbroken, but a lot of ammunition was wasted this time, which was what worried him.
Although they were unstoppable along the way and captured four or five cities and many nomadic tribes, in fact, they were not the main force of the Kazakh Khanate.
As they got closer and closer to Turkestan, the capital of the Kazakh Khanate, Su Jin realized that he would soon encounter the main force of the Kazakhs. The two thousand flintlock soldiers were not only his reliance for victory, but could even be said to be his magic weapon to save his life. If the bullets were used up, the Type 69 rifle would be almost like a firewood stick.
In many previous battles, he hardly used his rifle. He didn't expect to waste so much of it in this battle of Taras. How could he not feel bad
"Hurry up and count how many bullets and rockets are left." Su Jin ordered Li Sheng.
Li Sheng immediately replied, "Don't worry, General. I know what's going on. We have used 42 rockets in this battle, and we still have 278 rockets left. As for the rifle bullets, we have consumed about 20%, and we still have 80% left."
After hearing this, Su Jin felt a little relieved.
Although he felt sad about the hundreds of young and strong Tibetans who were injured or killed, that was only his inner feeling. It was impossible for Su Jin to act indifferent.
He had the bodies of the victims collected, buried solemnly and a monument erected, and the names of the victims recorded so that their families could be given appropriate compensation in the future.
The staff were also ordered to register all the property they left behind and keep it properly so that it could be sent back to their families in the future.
At the same time, Doji and others who managed to survive were all commended and rewarded, and Doji was even promoted to the position of centurion for his merits.
It is not possible to expect the horse to run without eating grass. In order to maintain the combat effectiveness of the army, these Tibetan soldiers must be rewarded and punished clearly without any ambiguity.
Anyway, the wool comes from the sheep, and all rewards, punishments and pensions are allocated from the spoils, and the court does not need to pay from the national treasury.
After crossing the Talas River, according to the military guide, the area all the way to the city of Turkestan is almost all plains, with few rivers and passes, which is more advantageous for Qin Mu.
That night, nearly 20,000 troops camped on the west bank of the Talas River. In order to find out the location of the enemy's main force, Su Jin sent out a large number of scouts overnight to investigate the enemy situation.
At five o'clock the next morning, the army cooked on time. As soon as it was daybreak, they broke camp and set out after breakfast. Tens of thousands of war horses galloped across the vast grassland. This season was the time when the horses were fat and high in autumn.
The scouts hadn't sent back any news, but Su Jin knew that Yang Jier's main force was waiting for him somewhere. A new round of bloody battle was inevitable. Could he win? To be honest, Su Jin wasn't completely sure. War was always full of uncertainties... ... ... .
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ps: The second update is here. Please keep up the good work, there are still eight hours. Let’s sprint one more time. Don’t stop. Don’t wait until the very end before you are stepped on by others. Please give me your monthly votes, brothers and sisters, go for it!
.(To be continued..)
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