Sweep Yuan

Chapter 145 The pool water is like ice, sealing away wronged souls.

Scattered densely among the withered grass were cold barbed wire spikes, which gleamed ominously in the sunlight.

Moreover, the closer to the center of the passage, the more densely these vicious things were scattered! So densely that even the withered grass could not conceal their presence.

What a vicious plan!

Aruhui's heart sank into an ice cave, but at this moment all the warhorses had already charged at full speed. The huge inertia did not allow the soldiers to make any turning movements. Knowing that there was danger ahead, they could only grit their teeth and continue charging over the corpses of their comrades and warhorses!

“Shoot!”

Chang Yuchun's chilling command was like a death sentence.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

On both sides of the passage, the twang of the Red Flag Battalion's bowstrings blended into a trembling sound of death.

At such close range and with such a dense array of targets, the Red Flag Battalion archers didn't need to aim at all. They simply mechanically drew their bows, nocked arrows, and fired. The whistling sound of the arrows tearing through the air seemed to instantly drown out the thunder of the horses' hooves!

In their pursuit of victory and to inflict as many casualties as possible on the enemy, they unleashed a speed of drawing their bows far exceeding their usual pace.

Arrows rained down on the narrow passage like locusts, instantly turning this "death passage" into a veritable slaughterhouse.

In the middle, barbed wire tore through horses' hooves and tripped warhorses, with the sounds of bones cracking and horses neighing filling the air.
Arrows rained down from both sides like a storm, the sounds of them piercing flesh, metal striking armor, the screams of the wounded, and the mournful neighing of warhorses mingling together, creating a scene resembling a living hell.

The charging Yuan cavalry fell in droves like stalks of wheat battered by a storm, their blood quickly staining the withered grass, forming shocking patches of dark red.

A few Yuan knights, relying on the speed of their warhorses, their superb horsemanship, and a bit of luck, charged through this death zone, covered in blood.

But many more comrades, along with their loyal or unwilling warhorses, fell forever in this passage less than a hundred paces long.

Corpses and dying warhorses piled up in layers, gradually blocking the already narrow passage. The speed of the cavalry charging after them was forced to decrease sharply, and the warhorses leaped in terror, trying to avoid the corpses of their own kind and the wailing wounded beneath their feet. The momentum of the Yuan army's charge was completely thwarted by the fierce attacks of the Eighth Battalion and the Third Battalion.

On both sides of the passage, the archers of Chang Yuchun and Wang Bi's troops, after continuous high-intensity rapid fire, had arms that were sore, numb, and swollen, and their fingers that were drawing the bows were trembling. They were no longer able to fire such a dense rain of arrows for a short time, and took advantage of the enemy's temporary slowdown in the charge to stop and catch their breath.

"Beat the drums! Advance!"

Chang Yuchun suddenly drew the sword from his waist, the blade pointing straight ahead!
The deafening sound of war drums thundered, and the soldiers of the Eighth Battalion moved at the command. The shield bearers roared in unison and slammed their shields heavily to the ground, while the spearmen held their spears level, the sharp tips gleaming coldly.

The massive casualties inflicted by the archers inspired the entire battalion. The entire formation, just like in their usual training, turned left like a moving steel wall, forming a gate-closing posture, and steadily and firmly pressed towards the passage entrance!
"Open up the chariot formation! Advance in formation!"

On the other side of the passage, Wang Bi, the commander of the Third Battalion, also promptly issued orders.

The supply wagons of the escort wagon formation were quickly pushed aside, and the soldiers of the Third Battalion also raised their long spears, forming a tight spear formation, and together with the Eighth Battalion, pressed step by step towards the remaining Yuan cavalry in the passage!
Without the speed boost, cavalrymen are like lambs to the slaughter when faced with advancing infantry in formation.

Some quick-thinking Yuan cavalrymen in the rear guard, seeing that the Red Flag Battalion infantry had advanced and exposed gaps in their rear, tried to turn their horses around and escape from there.

However, just as they saw a glimmer of hope, the thunderous sound of hooves drew near—the elite cavalry, like tigers released from their cages, had already charged fiercely towards them! The Yuan cavalry were terrified and quickly turned around again, fleeing in disarray like headless flies.

The Yuan army had lost all courage and completely collapsed, scattering and fleeing in all directions.

The elite cavalry moved with impunity, easily breaking through the chaotic rear of the Tatar cavalry.

Seeing the enemy routed, Li Wu roared excitedly:
"Huang Siwen! Take your team and chase after those who escaped! The rest of you, keep killing! Don't let a single one escape!"

When Aruhuige charged, he deliberately fell to the middle of the column. If his mount hadn't unfortunately stepped on the caltrops and thrown him over, he might have been able to escape. Now, struggling to get up, covered in mud and blood, he saw the two Red Flag Battalions closing in from both sides of the passage.

Judging from the fact that Wang Bi's Third Battalion on the left looked slightly weaker, he thought it might be a breakthrough point. He immediately leaped onto a lost warhorse, drew his scimitar, and tried to gather the remaining troops.

"Don't panic! Charge to the left! Charge with me—ooh!"

Aruhui's conspicuous iron armor had already caught Chang Yuchun's attention. Before the man could finish speaking, a powerful wolf-tooth arrow, accompanied by a piercing whistle, pierced through the air and precisely struck his vulnerable neck!
Aruhui's body stiffened abruptly, the fierce light in his eyes vanished instantly, and with a face full of astonishment and resentment, he fell heavily off his horse.

Although their commander was dead, the instinct for survival drove the remaining cavalrymen to whip their horses fiercely, stepping over the corpses of their comrades and their dying warhorses, and desperately fleeing towards the seemingly weak area to the left before the Red Flag Battalion soldiers could complete their final encirclement.

"ignition!"

"cast!"

In the formation of the Third Battalion, more than ten specially selected grenadiers with tall stature and long arms responded in unison.

They skillfully lit the round iron lumps in their hands with matchlock ropes, and with sparks crackling, they threw them with all their might at the fleeing Yuan cavalry!
“Boom! Boom! Boom—!”

Deafening explosions rang out one after another!
Flames and black smoke suddenly rose up, and scorching air waves carrying fine iron filings and fragments flew everywhere!

The actual lethality of a thin-shelled grenade is actually quite limited, but the thunderous roar and terrifying smoke and fire are incredibly intimidating to creatures who have never seen such a weapon before!
The warhorses were terrified, rearing up with neighs, spinning in place, or bucking and thrashing about uncontrollably, instinctively trying to escape this unknown source of fear. Even the warhorses of the elite cavalry pursuing the Tatar cavalry in the rear were affected, showing some agitation, and the knights had to struggle to control their reins.

Taking advantage of the moment when the Tatar cavalry were disoriented and in disarray by this "bolt from the blue," the encirclement by the Eighth Battalion and the Third Battalion was finally completed.

The surviving Yuan cavalry were trapped between the narrow passage exit and the river bend, like caged beasts caught in a trap. Even if they wanted to turn back, the cold blades of the elite cavalry had already blocked their retreat.

Looking at the panicked and futilely struggling Yuan soldiers on the riverbank inside the passage, Chang Yuchun suppressed his surging fighting spirit and the thrill of personally killing them. Remembering the name "Bo Ren" given to him by the marshal, he took a deep breath, gathered his strength, and roared across the land:

"Dismount! Drop your weapons! Surrender and you will be spared!"

After annihilating the Yuan cavalry, Shishan urgently interrogated some of the prisoners and learned that the Yuan commander-in-chief, Chelibuhua, had retreated in a panic early in the morning, and that a large amount of grain and supplies in the camp could not be transported away.

Shi Shan realized that this battle might be able to further expand the results, so he immediately ordered Li Wu to send out a cavalry unit to take over the Yuan army camp to prevent it from being destroyed by the enemy. He also ordered the Xiaoqi Battalion and Dingyuan Cavalry to go forward and investigate the situation of the main Yuan army crossing the river.

Pond and riverbank.

Chelibuhua and his elite confidants were among the first to cross the river safely.

After barely managing to muster two thousand soldiers, he abandoned the mess of organizing the river crossing to his unfortunate deputy general as if shaking off sticky snot, and then rode off towards Qingliu City, the seat of Chuzhou, without looking back.

With such a cowardly commander who abandoned his troops like trash, the morale of the army collapsed instantly.

The generals who remained on the west bank had no thoughts of loyalty to the emperor and serving the country or deep camaraderie among their comrades.
At first, the situation was able to maintain a fragile order.

Although each unit, driven by self-interest, refused to allow the grain and supplies, which carried the lifeline of the entire army, to cross the river first, they used the high-sounding excuse that the supply wagons were cumbersome and slow, which would block the passage and affect the speed of the army's withdrawal.

But at least he could suppress his anxiety and reluctantly follow the previously agreed-upon sequence, queuing up to wait to cross the bridge.

However, when the remnants of Aruhuige's army, scattered and dejected, rushed to the riverbank, the last thread of reason that held them together snapped completely!
"The cavalry are coming! Run!"

"Get out of my way! Get out of my way!"

"Get out of my way! Get out of the way!"

Panic swept across the entire west bank of the river like a plague.

The generals stranded there were deathly pale. Military discipline, order of command, camaraderie—all turned to dust before the shadow of death! The instinct for survival overwhelmed everything. The crowd surged like a swarm of wasps, rushing madly toward the two pontoon bridges that symbolized their way out.

In an instant, order vanished, and purgatory descended upon the world.

The two pontoon bridges are not narrow, and if people pass through them quickly in turn, the efficiency is acceptable.

But at this moment, scrambling, pushing, cursing, and screaming became the only melody.

Those who were weak were pushed to the ground, and countless pairs of panicked military boots trampled them mercilessly, the sound of bones cracking drowned out by the even greater clamor. A wounded soldier with a broken leg lay on the bridgehead, desperately reaching out his hand, only to be mercilessly crushed by the surging crowd behind him.

The strong ones brandished their swords and spears, smashing them down on those blocking their way, just to move forward an inch more.

During the shoving, someone was forced off the bridge.

"Puff! Puff!"

The biting cold caused the people who had fallen into the water to let out inhuman screams. Unwilling to sink, they instinctively reached out and clung tightly to the edge of the pontoon bridge, grabbing onto anything they could reach—the ankles of their comrades, their trouser legs, even the tips of their guns!

"Let go! Get out of here!" The captured soldier was terrified. In order to break free from this "deadly hand," he did not hesitate to draw his waist knife, raise his gun, and slash and stab his comrade struggling in the water! Warm blood instantly spread in the cold river water.

The soldier wielding his weapon lost his footing and was violently pushed aside by the even more frenzied crowd inside, screaming as he fell into the river. And so, a new wave of desperate dragging and struggling began, a new carnage unfolding repeatedly in the water and on the bridge…

Those on the bridge ignored it all, even trampling over their fallen companions to speed up their run. Their eyes were fixed only on the opposite bank, on their path to survival. On the riverbank, mountains of grain sacks, wagons laden with wealth, and even the dead packhorses were now nothing but neglected garbage.

Just then, smoke and dust rose from the western plains!

Li Wu and Guo Xing led two Red Banner cavalry units, appearing like two torrents of steel at the edge of the Yuan army's terrified sight. The fluttering red flags, the forest of spears, and the thunderous roar of hooves became the final straw that broke the camel's back!
"The Red Flag Bandits are here—!"

"Run! Cross the river! Cross the river!"

The chaos on the pontoon bridge instantly escalated into a complete, hysterical collapse! The last vestige of pretense of order shattered, and the last shred of humanity was utterly torn away. For that narrow bridge, for that sliver of hope, the remnants of the Yuan army were reduced to beasts tearing each other apart.

Li Wu reined in his horse and, upon seeing the horrific scene on the banks of the pond, which resembled a living hell, was first stunned. Then, he grinned widely and burst into deafening laughter:

"Hahaha! A bunch of idiots! Today it's my turn to open a lucky draw again, come and kill them all!"

(End of this chapter)