xymnovel 112: Great Victory
112: Great Victory
With the addition of the fifth squad of Mo Dao soldiers, Zhang Yi also joined them, preparing to use the momentum of the Mo Dao attack to break into the central army and eliminate the Tibetan general.
When the Tibetan army in the rear saw the Mo Dao soldiers slaughtering them like cutting melons and vegetables, they began to feel a little fear.
At this moment, thick smoke reappeared in the rear, and many Tibetan cavalrymen even began to turn back and rush to the rear. Upon seeing this, Su Wen knew that Li Zhong, whom Zhang Yi had previously ambushed, had once again launched a surprise attack on the rear and set fires.
It seemed they had escaped the Tibetans' pursuit yesterday. Seeing this, Su Wen finally breathed a sigh of relief.
As Zhang Yi drew ever closer to the central army camp, the guard battalion, including the deputy general protecting the Tubo general, also began to rush forward and engage in battle with the five squads of Mo Dao soldiers.
At that moment, Zhang Yi raised his spear and, without saying a word, threw it forcefully at the Tibetan general.
The spear flew like an arrow, and although it missed its mark, it made the Tibetan general feel uneasy. Moreover, because of the attack from the rear, a large number of Tibetan soldiers began to flee.
This is how ancient armies fought: when one soldier deserted, the rest would follow suit. In particular, the vanguard of the Tibetan army consisted almost entirely of armored men, making them an elite force.
When elite troops begin to die in large numbers, and the casualty rate rises, the unarmored soldiers in the rear begin to feel fear.
Zhang Yi drew his double maces from his back and charged straight at the Tibetan general on horseback!
Upon seeing this, the Tibetan general frowned, gripped his broadsword tightly, and shouted, "Giddy up!"
He showed no fear and charged straight at Zhang Yi.
A blade swung out, but Zhang Yi dodged it by crawling down. He then swung his mace with his left hand and thrust it into the Tibetan general's armpit. Although the mace couldn't break through the armor, it still caused the Tibetan general pain. Zhang Yi immediately stomped his feet and jumped up, swinging his mace with his right hand and delivering a powerful blow to the Tibetan general's head.
All of this happened so fast that a single blow left the Tibetan general with a broken head, causing him to fall from his horse and die on the spot!
Battles on the battlefield are different from ground combat; often, it's a one-hit kill with no chance to make a second move.
If you miss the first time, it's hard to get a second chance.
After jumping off his horse, Zhang Yi did not hesitate. Grabbing his double maces, he charged into the Tibetan army. At this moment, he swung the double maces with great force, and their destructive power was unleashed under these circumstances.
Even armor couldn't withstand a single blow from the mace. Seeing the general dead, the Tibetan deputy general didn't hesitate and shouted, "Retreat!"
Actually, whether he said it or not didn't make much difference, because the Tibetan army behind them had already scattered and fled, and some cavalrymen had even disappeared without a trace.
Once the army starts to flee, it will be a great defeat. The moment Zhang Yi killed the soldier holding the general's flag and broke the flag, that was the moment.
A crushing defeat turns into a rout, and once the rout begins, no one can regroup and organize the troops.
Even the Tibetan king could not stop it, because at this moment, whoever stood in front of the fleeing troops would be killed without mercy.
When Zhang Yi and his Mo Dao team saw the Tibetan army begin to flee, they did not pursue them. At this point, pursuing them would easily lead to a desperate counterattack from the fleeing troops, and there was no need to pursue them and risk injury or death, especially since their army was not large.
If they chased after them, they could only kill a very small number of people.
Especially during the rout, everyone was running around in a panic. At that time, there was no direction at all; they were just running around aimlessly, hoping to escape.
Zhang Yi stood there, took a few deep breaths, and calmed himself down.
The Tibetan soldiers were throwing away whatever they had at this moment, wanting nothing but to run fast. Those wearing armor would even take it off as they ran, just to run even faster. And because armor was expensive, if they lost their armor, the pursuing troops would pick it up.
The soldiers of the Fubing (府兵) had to buy their own armor, weapons, and warhorses. So, when faced with a pursuit battle, they would pick up any fallen armor they saw, because the armor they picked up was theirs and they didn't have to hand it over.
This is the advantage of the Fubing system. They are like shareholders. After winning a battle, they can obtain the enemy's armor. The more they collect, the more they earn.
Guo Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief after witnessing the great victory. He turned to look at Su Wen, who was completely relaxed above the city wall, smiled, and then shouted loudly, "Imperial Envoy Su, you can order the people in the city to clean up the battlefield. My Mo Dao Army only needs the equipment of the enemy cavalry!"
Su Wen didn't understand the reasoning behind it, but Guo Zhiyun's words must be reasonable.
Su Wen looked at Xu Ge beside him and said, "Xu Ge, go and give the order!"
Xu Ge responded and turned to leave. At that moment, Cui Lingyu, dressed in armor, passed by Xu Ge and whispered, "Tell the people not to fight. The court will reward them later. Don't let this ruin the harmony between us!"
Xu Ge responded.
When Su Wen saw Cui Lingyu approaching in armor, he smiled slightly and said, "Lingyu, you've won. Dunhuang is now unbeatable!"
Cui Lingyu smiled and walked towards Su Wen, responding in response!
......
Time flies, and several days have passed in the blink of an eye.
Dunhuang County has returned to its previous bustling atmosphere, as if nothing had ever happened.
Guo Zhiyun led his Mo Dao (陌刀) team away from Shazhou the day after the battle and returned to Hezhou. Su Wen learned that Guo Zhiyun had begun to reorganize his troops, preparing to launch a major attack on the Tubo (Tibetan) forces.
As the military governor of Longyou, Guo Zhiyun had the right to promote people. He ignored those people in the court and directly promoted Zhang Yi to Zhechong Duwei (a fourth-rank official in the Zhongfu), and concurrently appointed him as the acting governor of Shazhou. As for the appointment of the governor, it still needed to be personally selected by the emperor.
After all, Zhang Yi had made a great contribution this time. As for Su Wen, Cui Lingyu, Xu Ge, and Cui Bi, they needed to return to Chang'an immediately to report the whole case to the Emperor.
Of course, the most important reason was that the twenty or thirty boxes of gold ingots, as well as the bloody battle against the people of Dunhuang County in Shazhou, required a reward from the emperor!
Before departing, the four men bowed to Zhang Yi in farewell, and then, with more than ten carriages of various sizes and dozens of soldiers, headed to Chang'an in Yongzhou!
Yongzhou, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, was the center of the Tang Dynasty, and its prosperity needs no further explanation.
Chang'an has a total of 108 wards. Chang'an is divided into three layers: the palace city, the imperial city, and the outer city. The palace city in the middle is divided into Taiji Palace, Taiming Palace, and Xingqing Palace, which are the core of the capital city and are known as the Three Inner Palaces. They are mainly the office and living areas of the emperor and his concubines.
Among them, the Taiji Palace, which faces south and sits in the center, is the most prominent, symbolizing the emperor's supreme ruling position.
Below to the south are the offices of the country's three provinces and six ministries.
The outer city was the living area of the people. Zhuque Avenue in the middle of the right divided the entire outer city into two parts: the eastern part was called Wannian County, and the western part was called Chang'an County, which was named after the phrase "Chang'an for ten thousand years".
There are eleven main streets running east to west and fourteen main streets running north to south within the city, dividing the entire Chang'an city into independent and well-organized areas, each of which is called a ward!
Chang'an strictly adhered to the principle of separating wards and markets. Therefore, there was a market in the east and a market in the west, which was the source of goods for purchase!