eurekapd Chapter 1140 The Battle for National Destiny (6)
Chapter 1140 The Battle for National Destiny (6)
On the snow-covered plains, the smell of gunpowder and blood was so thick it was impossible to ignore.
The Tibetan vanguard suffered a devastating blow under the dense barrage of fire from the Qing army's musket squad.
Brave warriors fell in droves, the momentum of the charge was abruptly halted, and the formation began to fall into disarray.
At that moment, the Tibetan general looked frequently towards the flanks of the battlefield, his face showing even greater worry.
It turned out that Yueyun's heavily armored cavalry had completely scattered the two groups of Tibetan cavalry.
Instead of rushing back to their main camp to rest, they regrouped on the outer flanks under Yueyun's command.
They slowed their horses, but their formation remained impeccable. The white breaths exhaled by the riders and horses blended together, like the panting of a lurking beast.
Without a doubt, if the formation here falters, these armored cavalry will charge in without hesitation and tear off a large chunk of flesh.
With muskets blocking their path in front and heavy cavalry lurking on their flanks, the two pressures clamped down on the Tibetan army like iron pincers.
Even with the highest morale among these elite troops, the inevitable wavering of their spirits began when faced with an obvious defeat.
Standing under the central command flag, Wang Sanchun scanned the entire battlefield, keenly noticing the subtle changes in the Tibetan army's formation.
The advance of the frontal formation slowed down significantly, and even came to a standstill.
The soldiers in the front ranks, stimulated by the musket fire, began to instinctively shrink back, and the follow-up troops also became hesitant and sluggish.
Further away, in the back rows of some formations, one could even vaguely see scattered figures breaking away from the ranks.
That was the first sign of collapse, indicating that the enemy's formation was in disarray and their morale was on the verge of collapse.
Wang Sanchun's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and without any hesitation, he decisively seized this fleeting opportunity.
He drew his sword and shouted to the messenger beside him, "Order the entire army to switch from defense to offense and press forward!"
"Banner—All troops, advance!"
The order was transmitted through bugles and instantly spread throughout the entire army.
Woo-woo-woo-woo
The deep, resonant sound of bugles rang out for the first time in the Qing army formation.
"coming!"
In the forward infantry formation, the old soldier who had been half-closing his eyes suddenly opened them wide, his eyes flashing with a hungry wolf-like green light.
He rubbed his hands, which were stiff from the cold, and growled at the bewildered recruits beside him, "Get ready, move your hands and feet, warm up. This place is freezing cold; if you stand here too long, your bones will freeze!"
Before the new recruits had fully recovered from the shock, they instinctively asked, "Is it...is it our turn to charge?"
"Charge my ass!" the veteran chuckled, but his tone was full of excitement. "It's not time to charge yet, but at least we won't have to stand here freezing."
"We'll be moving forward with the main group soon, see? The guys in front are already moving!"
The new recruits looked in the direction the veterans pointed.
Ahead, the three musketeer squads had ceased firing from their positions.
At the officer's command, they quickly raised their muskets horizontally forward and slowly advanced.
The musketeers, having finished reloading, were still looking for opportunities to fire and suppress the somewhat chaotic Tibetan lines.
With the musketeers in the lead, the infantry phalanx of swordsmen, shieldmen, and pikemen, which were originally the backbone of the infantry, also began to move.
They followed closely behind the musketeers, about twenty or thirty paces behind, and slowly advanced.
The new recruit was among them, and he hurriedly strode forward, following his comrades.
After taking a few steps, he looked back curiously.
But then they saw that the archers and crossbowmen were also moving behind the infantry formation.
They jogged and dispersed to both sides of the infantry formation, drew arrows from their quivers, nocked them, and followed slowly.
The entire Qing army's massive formation, like an awakened giant, began to roll forward as a whole.
"Don't look back!" the veteran scolded. "In battle, you can only look ahead; that's a military order!"
The new recruits quickly looked away and followed the veterans, continuing to advance with the formation.
The sounds of gunfire growing clearer and clearer ahead, accompanied by the occasional screams of the Tibetans, filled their ears.
The stench of gunpowder and blood grew stronger, and beneath one's feet sank into the cold, hard frozen ground, occasionally tripping over what appeared to be stones or severed limbs...
In this atmosphere, the initial fear and tension slowly began to disappear.
He gripped the spear tightly, his fingertips burning slightly, and he became somewhat excited.
As they advanced, the musketeers at the forefront had already engaged in close combat with scattered enemy forces.
The new recruit couldn't help but say to the veteran, "Aren't we going to go? Shouldn't we be protecting them?"
The veteran looked at him with surprise: "Who's protecting whom?"
At that moment, a Tibetan warrior, perhaps having witnessed too many of his comrades' tragic deaths, had gone mad.
He roared, using his shield to knock away the short knife thrust by a Qing army musketeer, and then swung his battle axe at another musketeer.
"Watch out!" The new recruit saw this from a short distance away, and his heart jumped into his throat.
He instinctively wanted to rush forward, but the veteran grabbed him.
But the musketeer who was attacked showed no fear on his face, and even a hint of impatience.
He shifted his body to the side and back, simultaneously gripping the flintlock rifle barrel with both hands. With the metal-trimmed buttstock, he swung it upwards like a sledgehammer, aiming a vicious blow at the Tibetan warrior's chest and abdomen.
boom--
The Tibetan warrior's eyes bulged out suddenly, and he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with pieces of internal organs, causing his battle axe to fly out of his hand.
Immediately, he was smashed like a burlap sack, his feet leaving the ground, flying backward, crashing to the ground, twitching twice, and then falling silent.
"hiss......"
The new recruits gasped when they saw this.
Can a musket really be used like that?
No... how could a musket exert so much force?
This power is probably even stronger than a blunt hammer!
"See that?" the veteran chuckled coldly from the side. "Who's protecting whom?!"
"These musketeers are even more ruthless than us when they get going! If they swing that iron lump around and smash it down, no amount of armor will matter!"
The recruit nodded: "I've seen it."
The old soldier continued, "Do you really think those who shoot muskets are cowards? Those muskets are much heavier than the spear in your hand. Your hand will go numb if you try to hold them for a while."
Once the suppressive fire of the muskets was gone, some of the Tibetan soldiers in the rear calmed down and, under the shouts of their officers, began to regroup and launch a counterattack.
Although the musketeer was also quite skilled in close combat, he swung his musket around like a hammer, smashing the Tibetan soldiers until they coughed up blood repeatedly.
However, their numbers outnumbered them, and for a time they formed a considerable countercurrent.
However, the Qing army's offensive was tightly linked, giving them no chance to catch their breath.
"Archers, listen to my command! One hundred paces ahead, launch—fire!"
From the flank and rear of the infantry formation, the command of the archer officer rang out.
hum-
A chilling sound of bowstrings vibrating filled the air.
The next second, countless black dots rose into the air, tracing graceful parabolas as they passed over the heads of their own infantry and musketeers.
Like raindrops, they fell on the heads of the counterattacking Tibetan army.
Puff puff puff puff—
The sound of the arrow falling was not loud, but it brought with it a continuous series of screams.
Katsura samurai's heavy armor offered limited protection against lead bullets, and was equally ineffective against armor-piercing arrows falling from the sky.
Their previous opponents were the Tuyuhun, a group of kingdoms in the Western Regions, who used outdated arrows.
The Qing army used armor-piercing chisel arrows, which could even penetrate iron armor at a range of eighty meters.
Furthermore, it is equipped with a three-edged barbed hook, which, due to its hooking effect, is difficult to pull out directly after entering the flesh, and the wound will expand in a trumpet shape.
Sharp arrows pierced through the weak points of the chainmail, embedded themselves in the leather armor, and struck the face, neck, and shoulder blades...
The Tibetan soldiers who were gathering were immediately cut down like wheat, and another swathe of them fell.
Musketeers closed in and hurled arrows from the front, while infantry steadily pressed in from the flanks. Arrows rained down from above, and heavy cavalry from the Qing army were also watching them intently from both sides.
Under multiple blows, the morale of the Tibetan Empire finally gave way, and a collapse began to occur!
"I can't hold on any longer!"
"We've lost! We've lost!"
"Back off quickly!"
"Devils! They are devils!"
The retreat began locally and then quickly spread to the entire front line.
Some dropped their shields, others threw away their spears, and turned to flee.
The supervisory team tried to stop them, and cut down several people, but their efforts were instantly overwhelmed by the overwhelming tide of retreat.
Once the collapse begins, it can never be stopped!
Some of the routed soldiers even raised their knives at the soldiers supervising them, saying that those who blocked their way to survival deserved to die more than the Qing army!
"Now!" The veteran's eyes flashed with ferocity, and his lazy demeanor vanished.
He suddenly thrust his spear forward and roared at the dazed recruit beside him:
"Hey kid! Stop staring like an idiot! It's our turn!"
"When the bugle sounds the charge, follow me and charge forward. It's time to grab heads and earn merit!"
The new recruit was stunned, and was about to ask what the bugle call was.
At that very moment—
"Beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep, beep beep beep beep!"
As the familiar bugle call sounded, the new recruits immediately noticed that the eyes of all the soldiers around them had changed.
The veteran beside him was like a tiger released from its cage. With a low roar, he charged forward with his spear towards the Tibetan soldiers who had their backs to him!
The new recruit shuddered at his shout.
"Hey! The political commissar hasn't given the order yet!"
He subconsciously turned around to look for the dark-skinned political commissar, only to find that the man had rushed forward even earlier than the veteran.
A soldier walked past him and shouted, "Don't just stand there like an idiot! No orders are needed, the bugle call is the order!"
He then raised his spear and charged through the crowd, roaring.
Hearing these words and watching the veterans' swift backs, the new recruits finally felt their surging passion ignite.
Fear vanished, leaving only one thought:
Charge! Follow me, brother! Kill the enemy!
"kill--"
He let out a roar he had never imagined, and following in the footsteps of the veteran, he joined the surging tide of the Qing army's all-out counterattack.
On the snowy plains, the balance of power has shifted!