Entrepreneurship in the Late Tang Dynasty

Chapter 94 Chasing Death
With the Nanzhao generals wiped out, the remaining Nanzhao cavalry completely lost their organization, and everyone scattered like ducks, crawling and scrambling through the muddy terrain.

Large numbers of warhorses were abandoned in rice paddies and dirt roads. The flags of various families and tribes that were once protected with their lives were scattered everywhere and then trampled into the mud.

Because Bao Yidu's main force was stuck on the dirt road, these fleeing Nanzhao warriors ran down to the rice paddies on both sides.

But Lu Zhongyuan and Dang Shousu's two groups, who had been guarding the rice paddies on the left, rushed over directly. They formed groups of several people and chased after these Nanzhao soldiers, slaughtering them.

The two groups of soldiers who had just been fighting to the death were now venting their killing intent. These Tang warriors, who had been on the verge of life and death for many years, were by no means good people, whether in terms of mental state or moral character.

Lu Zhongyuan himself saw his two subordinates, after catching up with a Nanzhao warrior, each press the man's head into the mud, and no matter how much the Nanzhao man struggled, they just laughed loudly and showed no mercy.

Most of the infantry squads were those who had stayed on the dirt road. They had jumped into the rice paddies on both sides to clear the way for the cavalry to charge.

At this point, the Nanzhao army was completely defeated. Only then did Gao Renhou, Lu Zhongyuan, Wei Jingang, Han Tong, Qian Tiefo, and others, with half of their trousers rolled up and their muddy legs dragging, climb back onto the dirt road.

Having accomplished little, over five hundred Baoyidu infantrymen watched the Nanzhao soldiers scatter and flee, their eyes turning red with rage.

There were no queues or discipline anymore; they just charged forward, stabbed down, and cut off the heads of the Nanzhao soldiers.

Each one is a reward, each one is a stepping stone to higher positions.

So, from the donkey cart behind, he who had been happily watching his men pursue the fleeing enemy was now unable to laugh.

He yelled at Han Tong and his men, who were grinning maliciously in front of him:

"Damn it, gather all the warhorses! If even one is missing, I won't pay you a single penny! You damn bastards, all you care about is money, money, money!"

Zhao Da was worried that the soldiers in front would not be able to control the troops, so he directly ordered Sun Tai to take Beiwei and Yishelang to gather the scattered warhorses on the battlefield.

He couldn't afford to be careless. As long as he could absorb this batch of Nanzhao army's warhorses, Bao Yidu would be able to take off with wings.

But to Zhao Da's surprise, Han Tong and his men, who had just been focused on reaping heads, actually went to gather the scattered warhorses after hearing Zhao Da's shout.

Zhao Da was stunned and swallowed the curse words that were on his lips for the first time.

These killers seem a little different.

……

Throughout the entire battlefield, Bao Yi was relentlessly pursuing the fleeing enemy, but in a slightly wider area on the north side of the dirt road, the situation was somewhat different.

When the Nanzhao cavalry collapsed, six elite armored warriors dismounted early and retreated directly to this place.

These six men were armored guards of Monropa. They had been sent by Monropa to direct the cavalry to scatter along both sides of the rice paddies, and then they stayed here.

So when the main force was annihilated by the combined assault cavalry and armored cavalry of Bao Yidu, these six men actually survived.

But lacking warhorses, the six men couldn't escape and were now just struggling in a huddled mass on the open ground.

Qian Tiefo and Wei Jingang, who were leading the massacre, happened to arrive here with their troops. Seeing six armored warriors, they didn't even try to persuade them to surrender and charged straight in.

Qian Tiefo, clad in willow-leaf armor and wielding short-handled double axes, resembled an iron tower. Beside him, Wei Jingang wore bright armor, holding a shield in his left hand and a short-handled iron axe in his right. Behind each of them were two swordsmen and shieldmen and one archer.

Meanwhile, the Nanzhao warriors, also clad in iron armor, wearing tiger-skin helmets and wielding wave swords, charged forward.

These men were elite soldiers selected from the various military governors of Nanzhao, and were the platoon warriors of Mengluopa.

Don't be fooled by the fact that those fifty-odd negative-rank knights were slaughtered by Wang Jin's armored cavalry; it's not that these negative-rank knights were weak.

Just as the military governors of the Tang Dynasty relied on their personal guards, the military governors of the Nanzhao frontier also used personal guards.

Various types of "苴子" (juzi) were similar to the military guards of regional military governors.

And these six warriors in the rear guard? They were selected by the King of Nanzhao from among many warriors, so their fighting strength is self-evident.

Unfortunately, although these six samurai were armored, the wave swords they wielded had very weak armor-piercing capabilities. At the same time, the mournful cries of their allies could be heard everywhere on the battlefield, which greatly diminished the fighting spirit of the six samurai.

Even so, their strong sense of pride and honor led them to pick up their weapons and charge at the oncoming Tang soldiers.

Don't say that Nanzhao has no heroes. So what if we die?
Meanwhile, upon seeing that these six Nanzhao armored warriors not only refused to die on their knees but also dared to come forward, Qian Tiefo and Wei Jingang were immediately enraged.

They were both former members of the Baoyi Army, and whenever they saw these Nanzhao warriors, they would think of their brothers who had died tragically at the Baishu River. In the past, they often took in some Nanzhao prisoners, and even Duan Zhongjian's Nanzhao warriors, after surrendering to Baoyi, absorbed some of the previously captured warriors and quickly became squad leaders, on equal footing with them.

Both men had received great favors from Zhao, and no matter what grievances they had, they would not say anything. However, this did not mean that they were not angry or resentful towards the Nanzhao people.

At this time, among the many Baoyi officers and soldiers who were pursuing the fleeing enemy, he and his companion, along with Han Tong and Sun Chuanwei, were the most ruthless, leaving almost no survivors.

Therefore, when the six armored warriors on the other side dared to resist, one can imagine the rage in Qian Tiefo and Wei Jingang's hearts.

Qian Tiefo and Wei Jingang each led four infantrymen and charged into the Nanzhao warriors from the left and right flanks simultaneously, while two crossbowmen followed behind and began to cock their crossbows.

Wei Jingang, wielding a round shield, charged forward, while the three Nanzhao warriors on the other side formed a small three-man formation to confront him head-on.

As he charged in, the warrior on the left side of the Nanzhao squad raised his wave sword and slashed at Wei Jingang, but was knocked away by Wei Jingang's own slash.

At the same time, the Nanzhao warrior in front of Wei Jingang also raised his sword and slashed at him, but he blocked it with the round shield in his left hand, while the iron axe in his right hand directly struck the breastplate of the warrior opposite him.

The short iron axe was a heavy weapon in itself, and its armor-piercing damage was far superior to that of the wave sword in the hands of the Nanzhao people. With just one slash, the armor plates on the chest of the Nanzhao warrior were shattered, and the man was knocked back repeatedly.

Just as Wei Jingang was about to deliver another blow to kill the armored warrior, he suddenly felt goosebumps on the back of his neck. Without thinking, he took a deep step with his left foot, twisted his waist and hips, and swung his left hand holding the round shield directly to the side and behind.

He hadn't forgotten this location; the Nanzhao warrior he had just blocked was right here. Sure enough, taking advantage of the opportunity when Wei Jingang slashed in front and exposed his back, the man aimed at the gap in Wei Jingang's helmet and slashed down with his sword.

But the Nanzhao warrior had no idea that Wei Jingang was so experienced in combat. Without even seeing him, he hurled his round shield at him.

Completely unprepared, the shield bash slammed heavily into the Nanzhao warrior's face. In an instant, a burst of blood erupted from his face, and he collapsed to the ground.

Wei Jingang was nearly killed, so he abandoned the Nanzhao warriors in front of him, turned around and stepped on the attacker's face. Then he slammed his iron axe down hard, smashing the man's head and helmet flat.

Wei Jingang had just killed one enemy and was about to attack the remaining two when the two shield bearers behind him rushed up.

One of them used his shield to knock over a Nanzhao warrior, then used his knife to stab into the seam of the helmet's neck guard.

The other one used his horizontal sword to stab directly into the breastplate that Wei Jingang had just shattered, and then used his shield to smash heavily onto the Nanzhao warrior's head.

These are the shield and shield bearers of the Tang Dynasty; only elite soldiers can wield these two weapons in battle.

From the moment Wei Jingang charged in to the moment the two shield bearers finished off the enemy, it only took a few breaths for them to eliminate the enemy on the left flank.

Around the same time, Qian Tiefo, who was in charge of intercepting the enemy on the right wing, also killed all three armored warriors.

Unlike the highly skilled fighting of Wei Jingang and his group, Qian Tiefo fully demonstrated what it means to overcome all techniques with sheer force.

Unlike Wei Jingang, who charged into the enemy ranks, Qian Tiefo walked into the enemy ranks almost at his own pace.

When the Nanzhao warrior swung his sword at him, Qian Tiefo didn't even try to block it, letting the sword strike his willow-leaf armor. However, after only a few pieces of iron broke off, the sword shattered.

Qian Tiefo's body swayed slightly, and his right hand's double-edged short axe smashed into the opponent's iron helmet.

In a single blow, the iron helmet was shattered, and the man's skull was flipped off, scattering a cloud of red and white matter.

Qian Tiefo felt no discomfort whatsoever and continued to stride forward, this time with his shoulders forward, charging like a wild boar over an armored warrior before unleashing a flurry of blows on the remaining Nanzhao warrior.

The fallen armored warrior had no chance to get up again, because the swordsmen and shieldmen protecting Qian Tiefo on both sides smashed his neck with their shields. In one blow, his Adam's apple was shattered, and he suffocated shortly after.

The Nanzhao warriors who were being slashed by Qian Tiefo also swung their swords wildly. At first, they were able to slash back twice, but they were soon killed by Qian Tiefo's wild sword strikes.

Even after killing the last Nanzhao warrior, Qian Tiefo didn't stop. He swung his double-edged axe, hacking and slashing until the man's chest was split open, and his internal organs and offal spilled out onto the ground.

But Qian Tiefo still felt he hadn't vented enough, so he panted heavily, his eyes bloodshot as he scanned the entire scene to see which enemies were still there.

Unfortunately, after they killed the Nanzhao armored warriors here, no one dared to stand on the entire battlefield anymore.

In the paddy fields and on the dirt roads, there were Nanzhao warriors kneeling in surrender, their beautiful headscarves buried deep in the mud, trembling.

This was truly a glorious and exhilarating victory!

(End of this chapter)