Chapter 257: Iron Walls Close In, Annihilating The Iron Falcon
“What did you say?”
In the military horse farm, within the Western Xia Army’s large camp, a commotion arose in the large tent.
Waiming Shian suddenly stood up from the commander’s seat, his face full of shock and disbelief, his gaze fixed deadly on a scout kneeling in the tent.
The other generals wore the same expressions, their eyes wide, full of astonishment.
“Impossible, absolutely impossible.”
“Is Li Anquan a waste?”
“This is over twenty thousand troops.” Liangzhou Garrison Commander Yeli Duowen grabbed the scout on the ground.
His face ferocious, spittle spraying all over the other’s face.
He even disregarded the honorific for Li Anquan, cursing him as a waste.
The scout also looked innocent, his face mournful as he said: “It’s true, General.”
“Northern Frontier barbarians lured the Prince’s army to assault the city at night, then ignited the pre-prepared fodder, burning down the entire Shanle City along with our brothers.”
“Over twenty thousand brothers, all gone.”
“Too tragic, wuu wuu wuu~” The soldier said indignantly, recalling that scene still made him shudder.
The scout’s words finally extinguished all the fluke hopes in everyone’s hearts.
They finally realized that the over twenty thousand troops under Li Anquan were truly finished.
Not only that, the Northern Frontier Army in the central route pressed straight in, looting two batches of grain heading to the military horse farm, severing the connection between the Western Xia Army’s main force and Liangzhou City.
At this moment, over forty thousand Western Xia Army main force were completely surrounded in the narrow corridor between Qilian Mountains and Yanzhi Mountain.
Isolated and without aid!
“Damn Li Anquan, we’re all going to be killed by him.”
“Does he even know how to fight? It’s simply nonsense.”
“How did His Majesty appoint him as Deputy Marshal back then? Now we’re all implicated by him.”
“One incompetent general dooms the entire army.”
The Western Xia Army generals in the tent erupted like a pot boiling over, loudly denouncing and cursing.
This concerned the victory or defeat of the war, everyone’s lives and fortunes; even if Li Anquan was a prince, or even the Emperor, they would pull him down.
And as the commander, Waiming Shian also showed anger and despair, feeling powerless all over, slumping back into his chair.
Muttering to himself: “Li Anquan.”
“You have doomed Great Xia’s national destiny!”
At this moment, his heart was full of regret; he had actually let Li Anquan command the central route army.
However, the real reason was that the Northern Frontier barbarians were too insidious and cunning, using such inhuman means of burning the city.
“Enough, all of you shut up.”
Waiming Shian’s face was ferocious as he angrily slapped the table.
The generals in the tent instantly fell silent, all looking at him obediently.
“Although the flanking army led by Zhenyi Commandery Prince is gone, we are still here.”
“Great Xia’s army has not yet been defeated.” Waiming Shian said in a deep voice.
After digesting the news of Li Anquan’s defeat, he seemed to transform back into that invincible Great Xia famous general.
Great Xia had not yet lost; he still had over forty thousand troops under him.
In the northern route, Tuoba Mayu still had ten thousand cavalry under him.
“How much provisions remain in the army?”
Waiming Shian asked the general responsible for logistics.
“Three days from now, there was supposed to be a shipment of thirty thousand shi of grain arriving, but it was looted by Northern Frontier barbarian cavalry.”
“I’m afraid subsequent provisions will be hard to deliver.” The general said with a worried face.
“Currently, the remaining provisions in our army are only enough for the main force for eight days.”
Hearing this, the generals in the tent erupted in commotion again, whispering among themselves.
Every face was full of worry and tension.
Eight days!
This time felt more like a death countdown for the Western Xia Army.
After eight days, with grain exhausted, were the soldiers to eat grass?
Therefore, they must withdraw.
Normally, eight days would be enough to withdraw to Liangzhou City, but now surrounded by Northern Frontier armies.
Returning to Liangzhou City would be extremely difficult, even twice the time might not suffice.
“Everyone, our army has reached the most dangerous moment; one misstep and we face eternal damnation.”
Waiming Shian’s white beard trembled slightly, his turbid eyes sweeping over the generals, his voice aged, tone low and said.
“In the current situation, our army cannot seek short-term victory; we must prepare for prolonged combat.”
“Therefore, this commander decides to withdraw at dawn tomorrow.”
“Cook at the third watch, break camp at the fifth.”
“Also maintain vigilance against Northern Frontier cavalry sneak attacks amid the chaos.”
As his words fell, the generals’ faces were full of solemnity, all shouting: “Understood.”
They had already failed in this war.
The urgent priority was to preserve this army.
After all, in this army, aside from the new recruits later summoned from Liangzhou City, the rest were elite forces from Great Xia.
If all lost here, Great Xia would be severely crippled.
At the same time, Li Xiao in the Northern Frontier Army also received the battle report from Shanle City, even earlier than Waiming Shian.
“Bang~”
His palm slammed heavily on the table, but out of excitement.
“Haha~”
“Good, Luo Meng fought this battle beautifully.”
“With less than a thousand casualties on our side, he annihilated over twenty thousand Xia Kingdom infantry and cavalry.”
“He is already a qualified commander.”
Li Xiao laughed heartily, standing up and pacing back and forth in the tent.
Victory in the Hexi campaign was in sight.
Luo Meng did brilliantly in Shanle City.
Although the plan was proposed by Li Xiao, the specific execution was all by Luo Meng.
Exchanging over a thousand of our soldiers for twenty thousand Western Xia troops was a resounding great victory.
Even among our own over a thousand casualties, the vast majority were auxiliary troops from Gaochang Kingdom.
True Northern Frontier soldiers suffered even fewer losses, so after this battle, the Hexi campaign was more than half won.
“Order all units to bite the Xia Army main force, absolutely do not let them escape back to Liangzhou City.” Li Xiao commanded.
The Western Xia Army main force had fiercely attacked the military horse farm for so many days without taking down the Northern Frontier main force.
Hoping for the Western Xia Army to fight with backs to the river? Too unlikely.
Waiming Shian was characterized by steadiness, extreme steadiness.
So, he was likely to seize this chance to shake off the Northern Frontier Army’s entanglement and lead the army back to Liangzhou City.
……
North of Ganjun Mountain, compared to the lush water and grass of the military horse farm and the fertile fields of the Ganyou oasis, the entire northern route appeared utterly desolate.
Even in the scorching summer, the land was full of barren sand and Gobi, with only a few spots showing some green grass and streams.
The further north, the more desolate.
Now, a great battle between two cavalry legions erupted in this desolate Gobi.
“Brothers, kill for me.”
“For each head taken, reward three strings of cash.”
“Kill all those Northern Frontier barbarians.”
Tuoba Mayu waved his spear, roaring loudly, leading ten thousand troops in a fierce charge against the Northern Frontier Army.
The standard of three strings of cash still originated from the Northern Song.
Northern Song was wealthy, rewarding three strings of copper coins per enemy head, but in actual distribution, it wasn’t always precise; some soldiers were lucky to get one string.
Comparatively, Northern Frontier rewarded two strings per head, slightly less, but the rewards were disbursed solidly.
Who dared to embezzle, Li Xiao’s knife was not merciful.
Under fair conditions, Northern Frontier soldiers’ combat strength was naturally formidable.
Western Xia naturally perfectly copied the Northern Song standard, including the embezzlement practices.
But at this moment charging at the forefront were Western Xia’s ace cavalry unit, the renowned Iron Falcon.
Uniformly armored cavalry.
Moreover, these soldiers’ statuses were not simple; they were offspring of Western Xia nobles and tribal leaders.
No one dared embezzle their rewards.
Plus the stimulation of family honor and promotions, a thousand Iron Falcon charged like a steel torrent across the Gobi, kicking up several zhang of sand and dust, blotting out the sky, rolling toward the Northern Frontier Army.
“Fire the cannons.”
When the Iron Falcon were about five hundred meters from the Northern Frontier Army formation, the Tiger Zun Cannons began to exert power.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
Cannonballs smashed into the Iron Falcon formation like meteors, the continuous explosions deafening.
Accompanied by iron nails bursting in all directions, war horses within two zhang instantly emitted shrill neighs.
Though the war horses wore armor, it only protected vital parts; those injured in the belly or legs thrashed in pain or lay sideways on the ground, flinging their riders heavily off.
Injured cavalry rolled and wailed in blood pools, only to be mercilessly trampled by subsequent uncontrolled war horses.
The Iron Falcon’s proud linked horse formation instantly fell into chaos, severed horse legs, shattered shields, and severed limbs tangled together.
Seeing this, Tuoba Mayu’s face turned ferocious, his eyes surging with fury.
“Despicable Northern Frontier barbarians, dare not fight my Iron Falcon face-to-face like warriors, specializing in these shameless tricks.”
Tuoba Mayu roared in anger, shouting loudly: “Brothers, Northern Frontier barbarians are right before us, charge~”
“Kill!”
The Tiger Zun Cannons’ damage to the Iron Falcon was ultimately limited; after another volley taking out dozens of Iron Falcon, Tuoba Mayu drew closer to the Northern Frontier formation.
“Withdraw, quick withdraw~”
Wei Xuan at the front roared loudly, ordering his cavalry to retreat immediately, using horse carriages to turn the Tiger Zun Cannons around and flee.
Seeing this, Tuoba Mayu laughed wildly.
“Northern Frontier barbarians, nothing more than this.”
In his view, Northern Frontier people relied on these sharp gunpowder weapons to win so many battles.
But in reality, Northern Frontier barbarians were no different from Naiman people or Kereyit people.
All a bunch of bullies who feared the strong.
The biggest difference between Western Xia cavalry and grassland cavalry was their high armor rate, so in direct melee, aside from Jin Dynasty Iron Pagoda, Western Xia cavalry dared to fight anyone.
If Northern Frontier barbarians truly dared face the Iron Falcon head-on, that would be suicide.
Their turning to flee was, in Tuoba Mayu’s view, only to be expected.
“Brothers, kill for me.”
Tuoba Mayu waved his spear, roaring loudly.
Leading his army to continue pursuing and killing the Northern Frontier defeated soldiers.
As the pursuit deepened, the Western Xia cavalry formation gradually scattered, distances between them widening, the Iron Falcon war horses slowing, great physical consumption.
Just as Tuoba Mayu prepared to let the Iron Falcon rest and continue pursuing with light cavalry.
From the army on the left near Ganjun Mountain suddenly came tragic shouts and war horse neighs.
“What happened?” Tuoba Mayu was greatly startled.
He quickly turned to look, shocked and losing his voice: “Northern Frontier cavalry?”
“How could they appear there?”
Tuoba Mayu’s heart surged like a massive wave.
Only to see on the hill to the left, a large force of Northern Frontier cavalry suddenly appeared.
Holding high the sun and moon battle flag with red edges on white background, they crested from the other side.
Endless cavalry numbering thousands occupied the hill everywhere, their war cries shaking the sky.
Their ferocious aura like a snowfield before an avalanche, cold air rushing along blade edges straight at the Western Xia formation.
Some Northern Frontier troops were using Divine Arm Crossbows for long-range shooting.
“Kill~”
Da Hu drew his cavalry saber, shouting sharply.
His Northern Frontier soldiers roared in unison, gripping spears tightly, charging down from above at the Western Xia soldiers.
And straight ahead, Wei Xuan and Li Donghe reined in their war horses, exchanging a distant glance, both shouting.
“Xia Kingdom cavalry are already surrounded by us.”
“Warriors, follow me to kill back.”
Wei Xuan, clad in battle armor, gripping a spear, roared loudly.
This plan was devised by him, using the forces of his and Li Donghe’s two myriad household commands as the main force, feigning defeat and scattering.
In the process, continuously stretching the Western Xia army formation, consuming their war horse stamina.
Waiting for Da Hu to lead the army for the final strike.
“Kill~”
Wei Xuan and Li Donghe led their armies to counterattack.
At this moment, Tuoba Mayu’s face changed drastically: “Damn, we’ve been tricked.”
He hadn’t expected this to be a trap, with another Northern Frontier cavalry force hidden here.
Worst of all, this ambush included a force of armored cavalry.
The other Western Xia soldiers were also thrown into panic by this scene, some shouting loudly: “We’ve been surrounded.”
“The Northern Frontier barbarians ahead are also charging back.”
“What do we do?”
The Western Xia cavalry war horses slowed, soldiers’ faces showing fear, even the horses’ hooves stamping restlessly on the yellow earth.
Tuoba Mayu knew clearly that retreating now would lead to total army collapse, so with a ferocious face he roared.
“Don’t panic, Northern Frontier barbarians are nothing to fear, follow me to charge through.”
“Kill~”
The blazing sun baked the Gobi into scorched earth; the Northern Frontier Army’s five hundred armored cavalry in black iron armor gleamed coldly, like moving steel fortresses rampaging across the land.
At this time, Western Xia cavalry were exhausted and demoralized, instantly falling passive against the fresh Northern Frontier iron cavalry.
“Boom~”
The next moment, flying sand flew in the Gobi, the battlefield turning into a hell of black, white, and red; war cries, weapon clashes, dying wails shook the distant yardang landforms with a “buzz”.
After a long time, Western Xia cavalry left corpses everywhere, disheveledly retreating from the battlefield.
Northern Frontier cavalry pursued all the way until the Western Xia Army fled into the mountains before stopping.
“Damn Northern Frontier barbarians, even more cunning than foxes on the grassland, how did we fall for their treachery!”
On a hill at the foot of Ganjun Mountain, the Western Xia Army camped on the spot; Tuoba Mayu grimaced in pain, roaring in fury.
Behind him, an army doctor was treating his wound.
In the battle, Tuoba Mayu led from the front; fortunately, his iron armor blocked most damage.
But on the retreat path, a Divine Arm Crossbow bolt struck his back, penetrating over an inch into the flesh.
Not fatal, so he still had strength to curse the Northern Frontier Army.
Nearby, the other cavalry generals also looked grim.
“Yes, who would think Northern Frontier Army so treacherous; we were careless.”
“But complaining now is pointless; think of a way out.”
“Too many wounded brothers, urgently need treatment.”
“Brothers’ carried grain is running low; are we to eat grass on the mountain?”
As for crossing Ganjun Mountain?
Not something ordinary armies could do; even with local guides, half the soldiers making it out would be fortunate.
“Northern Frontier barbarians’ camp is guarding below the mountain; at dawn tomorrow, we charge down and catch them off guard.”
Tuoba Mayu said in a deep voice; sitting and waiting to die wasn’t his style.
If holding the mountain, they would starve eventually; better to fight the Northern Frontier barbarians to the death while there’s a chance.
The northern route war intensified until one day, a scout ran in terrified to report to Tuoba Mayu.
“Great General, a cavalry army of three to four thousand from Liangzhou City direction, flying a yellow sun and moon battle flag.”
Hearing this, Tuoba Mayu was utterly stunned, roaring in disbelief: “Impossible?”
“How could Northern Frontier cavalry appear behind us?”
The Liangzhou direction was Western Xia territory, crucial for the Western Xia Army’s grain route safety.
Now, a Northern Frontier cavalry legion appeared?
Tuoba Mayu felt it absurd, followed by terror.
Had Liangzhou City fallen?
Was it the central route’s Li Anquan or the southern route’s marshal who failed to stop the Northern Frontier Army?
Soon after, a flowing golden glow rose from the eastern horizon.
Thousands of Northern Frontier cavalry in bright yellow cotton armor surged like the sun breaking through clouds from the horizon.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
Hoofbeats from far to near, becoming deafening thunder.
Kicking up yellow sand sweeping the Gobi like endless sandstorms blotting heaven and earth.
The yellow-bottom white-edge sun and moon battle flag whipped wildly amid the galloping war horses.
This army was Luo Meng’s own myriad household command, over three thousand troops, including five hundred armored cavalry from the Fourth Garrison.
Meanwhile, the three main officers of the Sixth Garrison also received Luo Meng’s news.
“Among our three-route army, the central route had the fewest troops, but unexpectedly it was the central route that first defeated the enemy.”
“To think we need that kid Luo Meng’s help; what a disgrace!” Li Donghe said with a sigh, full of unwillingness.
“Commander, no need to mind; our opponents were never simple.” Wei Xuan saw it openly, not so sentimental; after all, eliminating the enemy was what mattered.
Moreover, Luo Meng’s arrival would greatly reduce Sixth Garrison officers and soldiers’ casualties.
Da Hu nodded lightly: “Iron Falcon, guard troops, Liangzhou cavalry, Helan iron cavalry, etc.; nearly all Western Xia’s elite cavalry faced us.”
“We were just one step slow; no disgrace.”
“Besides, haven’t we already crippled the Western Xia cavalry!”
“In the end, brother-in-law seems like he’s here to pick the peaches.” Da Hu chuckled.
No choice; the northern route Western Xia cavalry were elites, and their Sixth Garrison specialized in fighting elites!
Not that they couldn’t totally eliminate them, but it would cost the Sixth Garrison greater casualties.
Planned to slowly grind the Western Xia cavalry to death, but Luo Meng cut off their rear.
“Anyway, we can’t let that kid Luo Meng take all the credit.” Li Donghe said.
Then issued orders for a general assault, converging east and west with the Fourth Garrison to annihilate the Western Xia Army.
“Boom boom boom boom~”
The Divine Machine Camp fired first, Tiger Zun Cannons roaring, smashing into the Western Xia Army.
Immediately after, Li Donghe and Luo Meng each ordered their Black Armored Army to attack.
Fourth Garrison and Sixth Garrison each had five hundred armored cavalry charging from two directions.
Iron cavalry thundering, the earth trembling slightly under their tread, kicking up several zhang of yellow sand like two black giant dragons sweeping toward the Western Xia Army.
Northern Frontier cavalry followed closely, forming an iron wall encirclement.
In this desperate situation, Western Xia Army morale completely collapsed.
Amid endless war cries, blood-soaked Tuoba Mayu looked indignantly and resolutely toward Xingqing Prefecture.
He said mournfully: “I, Tuoba Mayu, am a sinner of Great Xia!”
“No face to face His Majesty, no face to face Great Xia subjects.”
With that, he suddenly drew his war saber, placing it across his neck.
“Pfft~”
Accompanied by a muffled flesh sound, blood spurted out; the remaining few personal guards were stunned, disbelievingly dismounting to hold Tuoba Mayu’s corpse.
“Great General, Great General~”
In this battle, the Northern Frontier Army won a complete victory.
Annihilating over four thousand Western Xia officers and soldiers including the Iron Falcon, capturing over five thousand, with a few soldiers fleeing into the desert and Ganjun Mountain amid the chaos.
Planned to end the Hexi campaign in this chapter, but after writing found it disjointed, like starting strong but ending weak, unclear cause and effect, so had to extend one more chapter…
