weaving

Chapter 1424 The Myth Shattered
Yuan Zongdi, the general of the rebel army, originally wanted to resist to the end and drive the government troops out of his own camp.

But when Lin Fangping led his musketeers up, he immediately felt overwhelmed and frustrated. Especially when the Zhuque Battalion's chariots advanced and the cannons roared, Yuan Zongdi knew that the situation was hopeless and that it would be impossible to turn defeat into victory.

At the same time, he also learned that the rebel king's banner had been cut down, causing unrest in the army. He was also ordered by the rebel king to lead his troops to retreat ten miles before making further plans.

He immediately led his cavalry in a hasty retreat.

The troops of the rebel army were thrown into disarray by the fall of their commander's flag, and they retreated while fighting, fleeing in droves.

Upon hearing this, the Earl of Yongning immediately ordered all units of the Yongyi Army to cease their pursuit of the rebel army. He only ordered the cavalry under Li Fuming of Shanxi and Wang Pu of Datong, as well as the newly arrived Chen Yongfu and Hu Zichen, to each lead their cavalry in pursuit of the rebel army, but restricted them to pursuing the enemy for only five li.

Then, Wang Pu and Li Fuming led their cavalry to patrol and scout the north direction, while Chen Yongfu and Hu Zichen patrolled the outer perimeter on the left and right flanks respectively. If they encountered enemy soldiers, they should stop them from approaching and should not pursue them rashly.

As for the remaining troops of the Yongyi Army, they were tasked with clearing out the remaining rebels, cleaning up the battlefield, repairing the camp defenses, and consolidating the defensive line within the rebel camp area to prevent a possible counterattack by the rebels.

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Today's battle lasted from Chenshi (7-9 AM) to Shenshi (3-5 PM), a total of nearly five hours. Even if we start counting from when the Yongyi Army launched its fierce attack at Wushi (11 AM-1 PM), it was still a hard-fought battle that lasted for almost three hours.

For both the Yongyi Army and the Chuang Army, the physical exertion was enormous, especially for the various units of the Yongyi Army. After all, they wore heavier armor than the Chuang Army soldiers, which naturally required more physical exertion, but also reduced their own casualties.

Judging solely from the casualty ratio of both sides, the Yongyi Army achieved an absolute victory in today's battle.

As the attacker, even if a surprise attack is successfully launched, it will inevitably result in heavy casualties and a high probability of failure.

However, the performance of the Yongyi Army today was extremely outstanding. As the main attacker, their casualties were less than one-tenth of those of the defending side, or even less.

In this battle, the rebel army lost nearly 10,000 cavalrymen alone. Of course, not all of them were casualties; some were captured by the Yongyi Army, and some escaped in the chaos. It is unknown whether they will rejoin the army later.

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According to the preliminary battle results compiled by the Yongyi Army:

The Yongyi Army cavalry suffered 374 dead and 821 wounded, including 79 seriously wounded and the rest slightly wounded.

Seventy-three infantrymen were killed and two hundred and fifty-one were wounded, of whom only seventeen were seriously wounded and the rest were slightly wounded; while the musketeers only lost thirteen men and were wounded only fifty-four, all of whom were slightly wounded.

Of course, the fewest casualties were among the vehicle crew and artillerymen, since they were mostly positioned in the rear. If they suffered heavy casualties, the Yongyi Army would be defeated.

The spoils of war were also quite plentiful:
There were more than 5,400 warhorses, of which only 3,800 were good horses, less than half of the captured horses. The rest were all wounded horses, and because of the hot weather, they could not be preserved, so they had to be killed and eaten immediately as a reward for the brave soldiers.

Of course, some warhorses escaped and scattered in the surrounding wilderness, and could only be slowly searched by the cavalrymen on guard outside.

In addition, there were more than 20,000 weapons and more than 2,000 sets of armor, most of which were broken. There were also some dilapidated military tents, banners, and so on.

The most precious item was the large banner of Li Zicheng, the rebel king, brought back by Chen Zhongshi, a cavalryman of the Third Company, First Division, Left Division of Xuanfu Town. He was awarded the first merit for this. Others who received the first merit included Wang Erzhu, who bravely cut down the flagpole, and Shi Dashuan, who rammed the flagpole with his body.

However, because the rebel army was disciplined, the rebel soldiers had very little money hidden away, and what they found when they searched the bags while cleaning up the battlefield was nothing compared to what they used to get.

Furthermore, the harvest of grain, fodder, gold, and silver was minimal, almost zero!
This was mainly because the rebel army was also running out of food and supplies, with almost no reserves, and their main camp was located in Zhuxian Town to the south, where the army's only food and supplies, as well as a large amount of gold and silver, were stored.

According to battlefield statistics, the enemy forces suffered heavy casualties in this battle.

The rebel army suffered over 3,300 casualties and captured 3,735, of whom 321 were seriously wounded, 564 were slightly wounded, and 2,850 were uninjured.

The rebel army suffered over 5,700 infantrymen killed in action and captured 7,873, of whom 219 were seriously wounded, 1,921 were lightly wounded, and the remaining 5,733 were uninjured.

There were also more than 60,000 prisoners of starvation, laborers, and servants. Due to the sheer number of people, only a rough estimate can be given for now. Further detailed statistics will be needed later.

Preliminary data from the battlefield shows that the rebel leader suffered heavy losses in this battle.

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"Commander, the battlefield at the Dragon King Temple is still being cleared, and the fortifications also need repair. Your status is too high; you should not venture into dangerous territory lightly," the old strategist Sun Shixiang advised Yongning Earl Zhang Cheng.

“Sir, you are overthinking it.” The Earl of Yongning disagreed with this statement.

Hu Yiwen then stepped forward to advise, "Commander, although Li has been defeated, his main force is still intact. We must guard against him leading a counterattack to restore morale!"

"Hahaha……"

The Earl of Yongning laughed for a while before saying, "Counterattack? Do you think that traitor Li still has the strength to counterattack the Dragon King Temple?"

He walked out of the command tent, bathed in the setting sun, and said, "Li the traitor has a camp with deep moats and high walls, yet it could not withstand a day's fierce attack from my army. Now that the camp he relied on is gone, what courage does he have to attack my strong camp and powerful cannons with his flesh and blood?"

Sun Shixiang and Hu Yiwen were immediately rendered speechless by his question. They exchanged glances but did not respond.

However, Sun and Hu remained silent, but Liu Chengzhu stepped forward and said, "Commander, the enemy army has just suffered a defeat and their morale is low. Why not take advantage of this great victory, press on, and wipe out the enemy Li in one fell swoop?"

Upon hearing this, the Earl of Yongning glanced back at him, then shook his head and said, "Just as Gongqiao said, 'Although the traitor Li was defeated, his main force is still intact.'"

Although my division achieved a complete victory, the soldiers were exhausted both physically and mentally after fighting all day. Moreover, the gunpowder, shells, and cannonballs had been used up in great numbers today, and they needed rest and resupply. It was truly not advisable for them to fight any further.

"Mingyuan, prepare the horses and lead the central army to the Dragon King Temple with me."

"Yes, sir." Zhang Mingyuan responded loudly, turned around and went to prepare a horse for Marquis Yongning, Zhang Cheng, and assembled the central army guards.

Only then did the Earl of Yongning turn around. He looked at Sun, Hu, Liu, and the others, and said with a smile, "From this day forward, the myth of the invincible rebel leader is shattered, and the balance of power in Henan will shift from offense to defense!"