The Golden Family, rising from the Western Regions

Chapter 210 Conquering the Deer Across a Thousand Miles, Devastating the Royal Army
Before dawn, the grassland was bathed in a thin veil of indigo, and Wang Tingjun's camp lay like a silent behemoth amidst the undulating waves of grass.

A squad of soldiers from the Fifth Academy, dressed in worn-out fur coats, slowly patrolled the military camp in the night wind.

The warhorse moved slowly forward, its hooves treading on the frost-covered wild grass, its spear pointing to the sky, like a bamboo forest swaying gently in the wind.

When they reached the flank of the camp, on a hillside, they gently reined in their warhorses.

"Those Golden State people haven't left yet?"

"I've been here all night."

"Why are you neither fighting nor retreating?"

"Of course they're going to wear us down. With these few hundred Jinzhou soldiers standing here, we'll have to send out several times that number of troops to defend against them."

The soldiers of the Fifth Academy on patrol whispered among themselves. Through the faint light of dawn, they could vaguely see several hundred Jinzhou soldiers standing on a hillside in the distance.

They neither left nor fought, and just kept at it with Wang Tingjun.

Tomorrow night, another batch of Jinzhou troops will come to continue the stalemate; they're as stubborn as a leech.

If Wang Tingjun dares to send troops to pursue them, they will surely fall into the trap of Jinzhou Army and suffer heavy losses.

Therefore, Yelü Zhilugu has already issued an order that as long as they do not attack, they should be treated as if these Jinzhou troops do not exist.

"Hmph, how did we fight this battle? With so many troops, we can't even defeat a mere Jinzhou bandit?"

"If you ask me, we shouldn't have retreated back at the Sihun River; we should have just fought our way through."

The soldier had barely finished speaking when the squad leader reprimanded him, "Shut up! Do you want to die?"

"You dare question His Majesty's decision?"

"Of course we wouldn't dare question it, but we can't stop others from talking." The soldier shrank back, his voice becoming much softer.

"I've heard that the soldiers of the Tuju and Wuhuai tribes harbor considerable resentment towards His Majesty. I've also heard that the kings of these two tribes, along with King Yishisi, have been frequently gathering together these past few days."

"Are these six departments going to abandon us and run away?"

"Where can they run to now? If they want to run, they can only do so after they cross the Ili River."

"The four tribes of Yishi suffered heavy losses at the Sihun River. I heard that because of this, the four kings had a big argument with His Majesty in the main tent, and they were threatening to kill the Privy Councilor Tayanggu to vent their anger."

"But the main force of the four departments of the Yishi has been almost completely wiped out, and those left to guard the royal court are just a group of old and weak people. How could the king possibly look at them with any respect?"

"Given the lessons of the past, no wonder the Tuju and Wuhuai tribes are becoming increasingly alienated. If this continues, even the Vital people might cause trouble."

These soldiers had been on duty for the entire second half of the night, and now it was early morning. They were exhausted and full of resentment, so they could only vent their emotions by chatting with each other.

But just then, a soldier suddenly said, "Hey, what are those Jinzhou soldiers doing?"

Following the sound, everyone looked and saw a group of Jinzhou soldiers approaching a hillside a few hundred meters away in the darkness, fiddling with something strange.

It was too dark to see clearly, but it instinctively made people feel uneasy.

"Dieluo, go and inform Lord Shi Lie of this matter. We'll stay here and watch over things. Go quickly and come back soon," the team leader shouted sternly.

The Jinzhou army had approached the royal camp many times before, but these were just ordinary harassment.

Although they had gotten within a few hundred meters of the main camp, their numbers were only a few hundred.

It doesn't look like they're about to launch an attack.

"They're definitely planning to harass us. Once they get close, we'll rush out and kill these Golden State scoundrels."

"But don't chase too far, lest you fall into an ambush," the squad leader said to his soldiers.

Just as the royal soldiers were preparing to engage, the artillery positions of the Jinzhou army in the distance were already ready.

"Prepare your guns!"

"emission!"

With a shout from a centurion of the Divine Machine Battalion, forty Tiger-Supreme Cannons roared in the silent night sky.

"Boom boom boom~"

Before the royal soldiers in the camp could react, they saw blinding red lights explode on the distant hillside and shoot into the sky.

The shrill sound of cannonballs tearing through the air was like the wailing of death. They traced arcs across the night sky and fell straight into the royal army camp.

"Boom boom boom~"

Many tents collapsed, and wagons used to transport supplies and food were also smashed.

"what sound?"

"It's thundering?"

"No, no, no, this isn't thunder, it's Thor getting angry."

"This is the Golden State Army's shaman performing a ritual, summoning Thor to destroy us."

"Back in the Sihun River, it was this kind of thunder that killed many, many of our brothers."

The deafening roar jolted all the soldiers awake. A cacophony of sounds erupted, and many soldiers began to panic, shouting and yelling in the darkness.

Panic spread like wildfire.

Just as the soldiers grabbed their weapons and rushed out of their tents, a second wave of artillery fire followed.

This time, the Divine Machine Battalion used its most powerful weapon.

Forty exploding shells exploded in the densely packed camp area, and thousands of fragments from the cast iron shell casings poured down like a torrential rain. Many soldiers' bodies were torn to pieces in the blast wave.

Splattered entrails splattered on the faces of their comrades in the back row, and warm blood flowed into streams along the grooves of the shields.

Startled by the shells, many warhorses let out mournful neighs, and some even suddenly reared up, kicking away the soldiers who came to comfort them.

Some people dropped their weapons and ran for their lives, only to be blown to pieces by subsequent artillery shells.

Some people trembled as they raised their shields to try to block the attack, but were sent flying backward like kites with broken strings in the explosion.

The Divine Machine Battalion only had forty Tiger-Supreme Cannons. Although they could not inflict much direct damage on the royal soldiers, they did severely damage the morale of the royal army.

The newly formed military formation was blasted open with many gaps, and the soldiers cried out, shoved each other, and ran blindly over the corpses of their comrades.

On the distant grassland, Li Xiao stood amidst the army, clad in dark gold cotton armor. The black dragon patterns on the armor shimmered with a cold halo in the morning light, like solidified lava.

More than a thousand imperial guards stood solemnly around the perimeter, each holding a hook-and-sickle spear that was polished to a gleaming shine, its blades reflecting a sharp glint in the dim morning light.

On both flanks and directly in front of the army, countless soldiers formed a continuous torrent of steel, their three-colored cotton armor blending into a colorful wave under the morning light.

The Kuril army's mixed leather armor and captured iron armor were like mottled reefs scattered among the rocks.

Spears stood like a forest, banners blotted out the sun, and tens of thousands of soldiers held their breath in anticipation. Only the snorting of warhorses and the rustling of armor filled the silence.

"Whoosh~"

A moment after the Tiger Cannon roared, Li Xiao suddenly drew his cavalry saber, its cold light flashing like lightning, the blade drawing a sharp arc in the air.

A cold, stern voice echoed across the grassland: "annihilate the royal army! Kill!"

In an instant, the sound of hooves thundered and the clang of halberds filled the air as countless cavalrymen charged out like arrows released from a bow, rushing toward the enemy lines.

The moment the cannons roared, Yelü Zhilugu, who was sleeping fully clothed, sat up abruptly and shouted, "Guards! Guards!"

As he shouted, he drew his scimitar and charged out of the tent. The imperial guards of Pishi, led by Tayanggu, surrounded him to protect him.

"Your Majesty, the Jinzhou army is attacking."

"They are using that mysterious weapon, and our army has suffered heavy losses."

Tayanggu looked horrified. The sight of the camp before him reminded him of the Battle of Sihun River a few days ago.

The same routine: the Golden State Army uses these terrifying weapons to blast away soldiers, and then it's the turn of the light and heavy cavalry to charge.

Sure enough, after the shelling stopped, someone shouted, "The Jinzhou cavalry are coming!"

"They are in the East, there are many, many people there."

"There are some in the west too~"

Yelü Zhilugu looked up at the sky in horror, but could only see a faint glimmer of dawn. The grassland was still pitch black, and he could not see how many Jinzhou troops had arrived.

Judging from the sounds, there are at least ten or twenty thousand people.

"Kill them! Stop them for me!"

"Tell all soldiers that for every enemy soldier killed, the reward is ten sheep!"

Yelü Zhilugu shouted loudly, "This is quite a lot of money."

Having already come this far, and knowing that we could cross the Ili River in just two more days, I was truly unwilling to give up.

Although the camp was thrown into chaos by the artillery fire of the Jinzhou army, Yelü Zhilugu had already made many preparations to guard against a night attack by the Jinzhou army.

So after the initial panic, the soldiers returned to their positions under the scolding of their respective commanders.

But then, the sound of arrows piercing the air was like a torrential downpour. Just as the Wang Tingjun infantry formed a human wall with their shields, a dense rain of arrows tore through the morning mist.

The iron arrows stuck into the elm shield, making a dull, teeth-grinding "thud."

However, the soldiers in the back row were left without cover, and their screams pierced the air above the camp.

Some people had their throats pierced, their hands gripping the arrow shafts tightly, blood gushing out from between their fingers.

Some were pinned to their shields by arrows, and the impact sent them staggering backward, piling up with their companions behind them into a twisted heap of flesh.

"Archers, counterattack!" The centurion's roar, mixed with the clanging of metal, echoed through the camp.

Wang Tingjun's arrows rained down into the darkness, but apart from the roar of warhorses, only the faint clanging of metal could be heard.

"Dangdangdangdang~"

Arrows rained down on the black-armored soldiers' armor, bouncing off without even touching their fur, except for those that happened to hit the joints.

This, on the contrary, fueled the ferocity of the Black Armor Army.

"Black Armor Army, crush them!"

Beneath his iron-clad mask, Zhang Xianfeng brandished a large spiked club, mounted a sturdy warhorse, and let out a powerful roar.

He led over a thousand black-armored soldiers in a charge towards the royal camp.

"kill!"

The spiked club left afterimages in the air before crashing heavily into the first barricade.

The thick log exploded instantly, sending wood chips and barbed wire flying everywhere.

The swordsmen and shieldmen in the front row were terrified. Before they could even raise their shields, they were rammed by the heavy cavalry of the Black Armor Army, their bodies crushed into mincemeat under their iron hooves.

The wedge formation formed by the Black Armor Army was like a sharpened giant axe, mercilessly cleaving through the Royal Army's defenses.

The spiked club smashed helmets, the saber severed necks, and the iron hooves trampled shields. "Block it! Block it! Those who retreat will die!"

Wang Tingjun's shouts were drowned out by the deafening battle cries.

Wherever the black-armored army passed, corpses piled up like mountains, and blood soaked the grass. The rising sun dyed this battlefield of carnage a thick crimson.

The Black Armor Army's charge did not stop, and the attack from the cavalry of the three towns followed closely behind.

Countless elite cavalrymen clad in cotton armor charged forward with overwhelming force.

With a swing of his spear, he pierced through the enemy's chest in an instant; with a slash of his scimitar, headless corpses appeared one after another behind him.

The Jinzhou army slaughtered indiscriminately under the morning light, as if the entire grassland was trembling under the oppressive force of this torrent of steel.

Amidst the chaos of the camp, a burly, balding, bearded middle-aged man shouted urgently.

"Khudula, they have already broken in, and our Wuhuai tribe's soldiers cannot hold them off."

Opposite him, a middle-aged man also on horseback shouted back, "Even our Tuju tribe can't hold them off!"

"The Jinzhou bandits are too powerful."

These two were the kings of the Tuju and Wuhuai tribes, two of the eight tribes of the Khitan.

Most of the soldiers of the four tribes of Yishi were captured by Li Xiao, and now only the two powerful kings remain in the six tribes of Khitan.

As soon as he finished speaking, King Yishisi arrived with a troop of cavalry and said to the two men, "Khudula, Temege, retreat quickly."

"We've already exhausted all four of our forces, do you want to end up like us?"

These words struck a chord with the two men, and without the slightest hesitation, Temege shouted, "Alright, our Wuhuai tribe will withdraw, we'll stop fighting."

He even made excuses for himself, saying, "The Jinzhou army is also an army of our Great Liao. This civil war is meaningless."

The king of the Tuju tribe nodded in agreement, saying, "That's right. Your Yishi tribe is almost wiped out for Yelü Zhilugu's kingdom."

"But how did Yelü Zhilugu treat you?"

"I don't want to end up like that."

Having said that, Hudula raised his spear and shouted, "Men of the Tuju tribe, listen to my command and break out of the encirclement!"

"go home!"

The sky was just beginning to lighten, and visibility was still not very good.

Moreover, the Jinzhou army and the Wangting army are roughly equal in number, and they have not yet been able to completely encircle the Wangting army.

These people still have a good chance of breaking through.

The troops of the Tuju and Wuhuai tribes left, and the four kings of the Yishi tribes also led their remaining troops, mingling among them as they broke out of the camp.

The news quickly reached Yelü Zhilugu.

The battlefield was filled with smoke and the shouts of battle were so loud they hurt your eardrums.

The Jinzhou army's offensive was like a surging tide, wave after wave. The Wangting army's defenses were on the verge of collapse, and soldiers kept falling with screams, their blood seeping into the scorched earth.

Yelü Zhilugu wore a jewel-encrusted iron helmet, and his gold-plated armor was covered in mud and blood. He held a long sword and was shouting orders to his soldiers to resist.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

Tayanggu rushed over, his face covered in sweat and dirt. He squeezed his way to Yelü Zhilugu's side and shouted at the top of his lungs.

"The troops of the Tuju and Wuhuai tribes have already fled, and the four kings of the Yishi tribes have also run away with their remaining troops."

Upon hearing this, Yelü Zhilugu's roar abruptly ceased.

He turned around abruptly, his expression one of shock, the words escaping from his throat as if bursting from a shattered chest: "What did you say? Say it again!"

Tayanggu shouted at the top of his lungs, "They've fled west! The Jinzhou army's Sun and Moon battle flags have already been planted in our rear camp!"

Before the words were finished, a deafening battle cry rang out in the distance, and the sound of the Jinzhou army's hooves struck everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.

"You treacherous bastard!"

"They are deserting in the face of battle. I will exterminate their entire clan and skin them alive."

Yelü Zhilugu roared angrily, his eyes bloodshot, veins bulging on his neck, and his gold-plated iron armor screeching as he breathed heavily.

"Once I defeat the Jinzhou army, I will wipe their tribes off the grasslands."

But before he could finish speaking, a sharp whooshing sound came, and Tayanggu suddenly pulled Yelü Zhilugu to the ground.

Arrows grazed past the iron helmet and embedded themselves in the war drums behind him, making a buzzing sound.

Yelü Zhilugu struggled to his feet and wiped the blood from his face.

Looking at the trembling arrow behind him, he felt his throat tighten, his body was covered in cold sweat, and even his legs began to tremble uncontrollably.

He was so close to meeting his ancestors.

"Protect the Emperor! Protect the Emperor!" Yelü Zhilugu cried out in terror, his face pale.

Tayanggu was also filled with lingering fear and cried out in terror, "Your Majesty, let's retreat too, or it will be too late!"

"The Jinzhou bandits are too fierce. Now that the situation is hopeless, we can always fight another day."

Yelü Zhilugu's eyes were bloodshot. Although he was terrified and his body was trembling, he still shouted angrily with righteous indignation: "You want me to escape? How can the Emperor of Liao desert his post and disgrace his ancestors?"

Tayanggu stamped his foot in desperation, grabbed Yelü Zhilugu's arm, and cried out, "Your Majesty, if we can preserve our health, we can regroup and avenge ourselves in the future!"

"You are of noble birth, as the saying goes, 'Emperor does not sit in a dangerous hall.'"

"The Great Liao can do without me, and it can lose these soldiers, but it absolutely cannot lose Your Majesty."

"For the sake of the Liao Dynasty, Your Majesty, please leave this place immediately."

Yelü Zhilugu gritted his teeth, his gaze sweeping over the chaotic battlefield before him. Seeing the tribes he had sworn allegiance to desert in the face of battle, he felt anxious, angry, and sorrowful.

But the harsh reality forced him to face the situation. He gripped his scimitar tightly, and as the Jinzhou cavalry drew closer, a hint of fear crept into his eyes.

With a trembling voice, he said, "Very well! For the sake of the future of the Liao Dynasty, I can only admit my shame before my ancestors today."

"withdraw!"

"Once we regroup, we will definitely not let that scoundrel Li Xiao off the hook."

After saying this, Yelü Zhilugu issued orders to the Pishi Imperial Guards and the Five Courts, instructing them to disperse and break out, and then regroup south of the Ili River.

Although some of them would certainly be besieged by the Jinzhou army, Yelü Zhilugu considered it a victory as long as more than half of them escaped to the south bank of the Ili River.

He still has a chance to regroup.

When the sun had fully risen, the fighting on the battlefield finally ceased.

The once lush green grassland now seemed to have turned into a scarlet carpet.

The scattered tents were stuck crookedly in the soil, the tattered royal flag was half-buried in a pool of blood, and the fabric fluttering in the wind was covered with tiny bits of flesh.

The corpses were piled up haphazardly, and the prisoners of war huddled dejectedly in the makeshift camp enclosed by ropes, their wounds still bleeding, their eyes filled with fear and despair.

They were being roughly pushed and shoved, with shouts from the Jinzhou army ringing out from time to time.

The air was thick with the stench of blood and gunpowder, and flocks of crows and vultures circled low overhead.

Every now and then it would swoop down and peck at the severed limbs on the ground, making "quack quack" sounds, adding to the desolation and misery.

Li Xiao rode his warhorse slowly across the bloody battlefield, the horse's hooves clattering over the corpses.

Upon arriving at the central command tent that originally belonged to Yelü Zhilugu, Li Xiao reined in the horses.

As far as the eye could see, there was chaos. The tents were tattered and broken, and the twelve imperial flags and twelve war drums, which symbolized the power of the Liao emperor, were also scattered and pushed to the ground.

The flag was repeatedly trampled by horses' hooves, and the blood and mud mixed together and congealed into clumps.

The central banner was broken in two, and the golden tassel embroidered with the character "Liao" hung in the pool of blood, trembling weakly in the morning breeze, like the last struggle of a dying person.

Everything before my eyes seemed to be silently telling the story of the fall of the overlord of the Western Regions.

The majesty that once rustled in the north wind is now nothing more than a blood-soaked rag.

The once mighty Liao emperor, who dominated the Western Regions, is now nothing more than a terrified stray dog ​​under the iron cavalry of Jinzhou.

"Grand Commander, news has come from the two commanders, Erhu and Luomeng, that they have each annihilated a royal cavalry unit, but neither of them has found Yelü Zhilugu."

"Currently, our various units in Jinzhou are continuing to pursue and kill the remaining enemy troops."

Tie Tou stayed by Li Xiao's side, protecting him at all times while also relaying the news that had just been reported by various departments.

Upon hearing this, Li Xiao nodded slightly: "Issue the order that all units should do their utmost to encircle and annihilate the remnants of the royal court's army on the Seven Rivers Grassland."

"But one must not venture deep into the south bank of the Ili River."

The Jinzhou army and the Wangting army were roughly equal in strength, and since they were fighting on the grassland terrain, it was impossible for the Jinzhou army to annihilate the Wangting army completely.

Yelü Zhilugu then ordered his various units to disperse and break out, making it even more difficult to capture him.

Although there were some regrets, Li Xiao's strategic intentions were achieved. Through this battle, the Jinzhou army greatly reduced the manpower of the main force of the royal court.

For at least five years, Wang Tingjun will not be able to recover its previous strength, let alone pose a threat to the Seven Rivers Grassland.

"Yes, sir." Tie Tou nodded heavily, then sent people to relay the order to the various departments.

In the afternoon, Gu Zizhong and Zhang Xinghua came to Li Xiao together.

"Grand Commander, the casualties and prisoners of war captured from each unit have been tallied."

"Our army captured more than 11,000 enemy soldiers, the vast majority of whom were infantrymen composed of Uyghurs and Karluks."

"Among the cavalry, the main force consists of soldiers from the Pishi Army and the Fifth Academy," Zhang Xinghua said in a deep voice.

"More than six thousand enemy soldiers were killed!"

"Our army suffered over 3,000 casualties."

The army of Kuli suffered the heaviest casualties, followed by the army of Qihe and the army of Damo. In contrast, the three towns of Jinzhou suffered the fewest casualties.

After all, most soldiers wore sturdy cotton armor, and the few new recruits had fought their way up from the Kuril army, so they naturally knew how to save their lives.

Overall, although this battle did not meet all of Li Xiao's expectations, it was of great strategic significance.

From this point on, the balance of power between the Northern Frontier and the Royal Court will shift.

The strategic defense phase has been transformed into the strategic offense phase.

Once Li Xiao has dealt with the Kangli coalition and stabilized the northern border, he will begin preparations to completely eliminate the threat from the royal court.

Of course, Western Xia was also a place that Li Xiao absolutely had to conquer.

The number of non-Han ethnic groups in the Jinzhou army is increasing, and there is an urgent need to replenish the army with Han Chinese blood to maintain internal stability.

(End of this chapter)