Red Mansion: Seizing Jiangdong, starting with pirates

Chapter 267, Chile Sichuan Battle

On this day, Zhou Shuan had a good night's rest.

When he woke up the next day, Dore had already prepared the cattle and sheep.

With a wave of his hand, Zhou Shuan ordered the cattle and sheep to be slaughtered and cooked in the army. The aroma of meat filled the air, greatly boosting the morale of the troops.

Zhou Shuan then summoned all the senior officers of the Huaiyin army into the main tent to discuss matters concerning the major battle the day after tomorrow.

The most important part is undoubtedly the location of the decisive battle.

The generals had various suggestions on this matter.

Some suggested a decisive battle near Yinshan Mountain, where an ambush could be set up and the hidden troops could charge out to crush the enemy in one fell swoop.

Some suggested luring the enemy to a valley called Kowloon Bay and annihilating them.

Some generals even suggested using fire...

Zhou Shuan rejected all of these suggestions.

He said:

"I am new to this place and am not familiar with the enemy's tactics or the surrounding terrain. I cannot presume to talk about setting up an ambush, for fear that the plan will fail and we will fall into the enemy's trap."

This battle is only for the purpose of establishing our reputation, not for winning. Therefore, we should engage in battle on the plains, fighting openly and honorably, with cavalry supporting us and infantry assisting us.

If we win, there is no need to pursue; if we lose, we must retreat in an orderly manner. I will send a special army to support you, and tell your soldiers not to panic.

Upon hearing this, the officers knew that Zhou Shuan was cautious, so they all agreed.

Afterwards, Zhou Shuan discussed with everyone which formation to use against the enemy, who would be the vanguard, and who would be the rearguard. All the plans were finalized. At noon, the beef and mutton were cooked until tender, and the whole army enjoyed it together.

Thus, the day of the decisive battle arrived.

The soldiers marched in formation, upright and dignified, their purpose being the fertile grassland occupied by Tuolei, a place called Chilechuan.

This is a vast grassland, lush with water and grass, making it an excellent pasture.

There were no hills or slopes around, making it unsuitable for ambushes. Zhou Shuan chose this place as the battlefield to confront Tuo Lei head-on and see who was stronger.

Tuo Lei received the challenge and led his troops to form a battle array at Chiluchuan to meet the enemy.

Of course, he could also choose to avoid a fight and hand over the place to Zhou Shuan.

But wouldn't that confirm their reputation for being cowardly?

At that time, I'm afraid his reputation will be greatly diminished, and even the small families that he has finally managed to gather will betray him.

Therefore, Tuolei had no choice but to fight.

In the battle between the two armies, Tuolei had more cavalry, which was their only advantage.

Zhou Shuan also had a considerable number of cavalry, as well as four thousand fully armed heavy cavalry, which gave him the confidence to fight Tuo Lei on the plains.

A heavy horn sounded.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The warhorse shrugged its hooves, then broke away from the battle at a military command.

Four thousand heavy cavalry and nearly ten thousand Adil tribe cavalrymen sprang into action.

The Adil tribe's cavalry moved in front to provide cover, while the Huaiyin army's heavy cavalry moved behind, using a running start to increase their speed.

On Tuo Lei's side, his general Chen Zhengdu brandished his long spear and led his troops out as well.

As the game progressed to halftime, both sides launched shots, resulting in casualties on both sides.

Then the battle formations clashed, and men and horses fell to the ground.

Chen Zhengdu led his men in a charge, advancing fearlessly, but they had to stop when they encountered heavy cavalry.

After a long run-up charge, the heavy cavalrymen, their iron armor and lances transformed into unparalleled steel war chariots, charging forward with tremendous force, unstoppable by human power.

At this moment, even the cavalry themselves could not slow down quickly enough; any men or horses that stood in their way would be smashed away by the steel.

Chen Zhengdu instantly realized the danger and hurriedly reined in his horse to retreat, ordering his soldiers: "Detour, detour and engage, don't fight head-on!" Chen Zhengdu then led a portion of his troops to bypass the enemy from the right.

Tuolei's remaining troops were torn in two by the heavy cavalry.

Zhou Shuan stood at a distance on a makeshift platform at the rear, observing the situation on the battlefield.

The heavy cavalry achieved their pre-planned tactics, successfully cutting off the enemy forces. However, thanks to the timely flank maneuver by the Han general, the enemy's losses were not as great as expected.

Zhou Shuan then ordered his infantry to advance, and also deployed the remaining several thousand light cavalry to the battlefield to assist the heavy cavalry, focusing on encircling and killing Chen Zhengdu.

Zhou Shuan himself had risen through the ranks from the bottom and possessed some martial arts skills, but he had no intention of personally taking to the battlefield at this moment.

What a joke! He risked his life to rise to this position from among piles of corpses, how could he possibly risk going to the front lines again?
The commanding officer then waved his flag as ordered, and the charging heavy cavalry, following the signal, joined forces with the light cavalry sent by Zhou Shuan to surround and kill Chen Zhengdu.

The infantry advanced steadily from the rear, with shields, spears, and crossbows working together. Rows of fully armed Huaiyin soldiers formed a winding high wall, gradually compressing the living space of Tuo Lei's cavalry.

As time passed, the battle intensified, blood stained the grass, and tender new leaves were crushed by iron hooves.

The Huaiyin army gradually surrounded them.

Gong Yulie led his troops in several charges, but they could not break through the Huaiyin army's formation at all.

A familiar fear surfaced in my mind.

The injury to my ribs is still throbbing.

"Great Khan, let's retreat! We can't win!"

The remaining soldiers also said to Tuolei in a disheveled state:

"Yes, Great Khan, let's retreat to the valley behind and ambush the Han people there!"

Tuolei, seeing his own living space being squeezed step by step, also began to waver. After thinking for a moment, he gave the order:

"Alright, let's retreat. Gong Yulie, you take some men to meet General Du and help him retreat. We'll retreat towards the valley!"

Gong Yulie accepted the order and led his men to rescue Chen Zhengdu, who was surrounded.

Chen Zhengdu was surrounded by a large number of cavalry at this moment.

He was extremely capable in combat, leading his men to charge left and right, breaking through the encirclement of the Huaiyin army several times. However, in the end, he was outnumbered and outmatched, and was surrounded by three waves of cavalry.

Among them were light and heavy cavalry from the Huaiyin Army, as well as cavalry from the Adil tribe.

The three types of cavalry surrounded Chen Zheng from both the front and the rear, leaving him with no chance of survival.

However, the more desperate the situation, the clearer Chen Zhengdu's mind became.

His subordinates were extremely anxious and asked Chen Zhengdu:
"General, we are now facing Adil's warriors in front, Han heavy cavalry on the right, and light cavalry attacking from behind. Our horses are exhausted. What should we do now?"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhengdu quickly pondered the matter. Suddenly, he grasped the crux of the problem and asked:

"Are our horses exhausted?"

The subordinate said, "The battle was too intense; many horses have collapsed and can no longer support the weight of the soldiers!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Zhengdu patted the warhorse beneath him.

Indeed, he found that even the saddle was soaked with sweat, and the warhorse was panting heavily, clearly exhausted.

His horse was a famous steppe horse given to him by the former Khan Kah, named Chiyun, which means "a touch of white amidst crimson".

This horse's stamina and speed are unmatched by ordinary horses. If even his horse is so exhausted now, what about those heavy cavalry...?

"Order for the entire army: Break out to the right!"

Chen Zhengdu gave the order.

If he guessed correctly, the heavy cavalry of the Huaiyin Army had basically reached their limit.

Although heavy cavalry consist of one rider and three horses, the thick armor worn by the rider and the armor on the horse are extremely heavy, so the consumption is naturally several times that of ordinary cavalry. They are probably at their last gasp now.

(End of this chapter)