The prince is more stable

Chapter 211 Massacre and Looting
The soldiers were ecstatic. They couldn't even believe that this great victory was achieved by their own hands.

The formation had been loosened, everyone was cheering, roaring with ecstasy, venting their long-suppressed emotions, and silently estimating the rewards from the court.

Human joys and sorrows are not shared, at least not at the moment.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked at the soldiers who seemed to be in a carnival, but he felt very calm.

It’s just a victory, is there any need to be so happy?
It is natural for hot weapons to crush cold weapons. This is no longer a question of weapons, but a question of one civilization replacing another.

If five thousand musketeers were defeated against three thousand cavalrymen, it would be a miracle.

Perhaps as the number of victories increases, the soldiers will gradually get used to victory, just as they have gotten used to defeat over the years.

Amidst the cheers that reached the sky, Zhong Jianzhong rushed over and pressed Zhao Xiaoqian's shoulders with both hands.

"Marquis, we have won, we have won, and it is a complete victory. We have wiped out over 3,000 enemy troops, and none of our troops have suffered any casualties!"

Zhong Jianzhong roared wildly with his mouth wide open. Zhao Xiaoqian could even see his tonsils shaking deep in his throat.

"I know, I know. You guys are so great." Zhao Xiaoqian said perfunctorily.

"Marquis, you are in a bad mood. Why don't you look so ecstatic?" Zhong Jianzhong was very dissatisfied with his calmness.

"Yeah! We won! We won!" Zhao Xiaoqian raised his hands high, widened his eyes, and roared like a madman at the top of his lungs.

Then, Zhao Xiaoqian instantly regained his composure and asked, "How was it? Are you satisfied with the performance? I know nine ways to celebrate, nine!"

Zhong Jianzhong stared at him blankly for a while, then turned around and jumped and shouted while hugging other soldiers.

The County Marquis is... not sociable!

Chen Shou walked over with an excited look on his face, and it seemed that he also wanted to have a victorious interaction with Zhao Xiaoqian.

Zhao Xiaoqian raised his hand to stop him: "Don't try this on me, I'm going to get angry!"

Chen Shou had to try hard to remain calm.

"The musket made by the prince is really powerful. I never thought that such a piece of iron could wipe out 3,000 enemy troops without any movement. Prince, you should be recorded in history and worshipped by future generations." Chen Shou said sincerely.

"Would it be enough to be recorded in history? I want to have my name engraved on a stele, my portrait printed on paper money for the dead, and my image posted on the door..." Zhao Xiaoqian frowned as he looked at the soldiers who were still reveling, "What's the big deal? Are they still celebrating?"

"Lao Zhong, it's almost done. There's still work to be done. Clean up the battlefield immediately and charge into the Henan Army Headquarters in formation. Hurry!" Zhao Xiaoqian shouted.

Zhong Jianzhong and his soldiers finally woke up from their joy.

Yes, there is still work to be done. After the victory, of course we need to clean up the aftermath, count the results of the battle, and collect the spoils.

So Zhong Jianzhong hurriedly gave orders, dividing the 5,000 men into ten command groups and assigning each of them tasks.

On the battlefield where the smoke had cleared, the soldiers of the Dragon Guard Battalion gathered the corpses of the Western Xia army. Of course, the experienced veterans knew that they had to make a final kill before counting the enemy corpses.

Some enemy soldiers hide in the pile of corpses and pretend to be dead in an attempt to escape. In this case, finishing them off is a necessary procedure.

Regardless of whether the body is dead or not, each body must be stabbed a few times to make sure it is dead before being carried to the collection area.

Three other commanders led their soldiers into the Henan Army Headquarters.

Henan Military Division was an important town in Western Xia. To be precise, it was actually a simple city with government offices, residential houses, markets, and even brothels, gambling houses and other entertainment venues.

Not only soldiers lived there, but also ordinary Xixia people and merchants passing by to stay overnight.

The news that the Western Xia army had been completely annihilated had already been passed back to the military headquarters. When the Song army rushed into the Henan Military Headquarters, there was chaos inside. Countless Western Xia people packed up their belongings and fled in panic out of the city.

There were also Western Xia soldiers left in the city, about several hundred of them. They were unwilling to surrender, so they took up arms, formed into formations, and fearlessly launched a final resistance against the Song army.

The outcome of the resistance was no surprise. After several rounds of volleys, all resistance was in vain, and hundreds of Western Xia soldiers eventually fell on the way to the charge.

The Song army also gave them the last bit of decency and killed them all without leaving a single one alive.

What followed was a bloodbath of slaughter and looting, a scene resembling hell on earth. The city was ablaze, corpses littered the ground, and the helpless cries of the elderly, women, and children were heard.

The essence of war is fully revealed at this moment.

The victorious Song army showed no mercy. After entering the Henan Army Headquarters, they killed everyone they saw. Whether they were soldiers or ordinary civilians, they all became victims of the Song army's swords.

Then there was a frenzied looting. The Song army, like wolves and tigers, kicked in the doors of various government offices, military camps, merchant residences, and civilian homes, rolled up the valuables and ran away, and finally set the house on fire.

Zhao Xiaoqian and Zhong Jianzhong did not follow the Song army into the military headquarters. He did not like this scene, but he did not stop the Song army from doing so.

It sounds contradictory, but the Song army needed to establish its prestige and reputation through this battle.

As his reputation spread, Zhao Xiaoqian was even more pleased to have the Song army have a bad reputation and a vicious reputation in the mouths of his enemies, so as to completely change the previous image of the Song Dynasty as weak and incompetent.

The massacre of soldiers and civilians of the Southern Army Division at this moment was the way the Song Army gained the reputation of being a brutal force.

Zhao Xiaoqian didn't even feel guilty.

For many years, the Western Xia invaded the border towns of the Song Dynasty, and they treated the soldiers and civilians of the Song Dynasty in the same way.

So, what is there to feel guilty about? This is the evil karma sown by the Xixia people themselves.

In the Southern Army Headquarters, the Song Dynasty soldiers didn't think so much.

With the joy of victory, they plundered the money in the military headquarters, and all the money belonged to them. This was simply the happiest thing in life.

The Henan Military Headquarters is quite profitable. This military headquarters is located on the border between Song and Xia. In the past, after the Western Xia harassed the border villages of the Song Dynasty and looted the property of the people of the Song Dynasty, most of them were concentrated in this military headquarters.

Unfortunately, the person died and the money was not spent.

Dust returned to dust, and the property returned to the hands of the Song army.

Zhao Xiaoqian looked up at the sky. Judging from the Song army's rapid looting progress, they would not be able to finish the task within at least an hour, but time did not allow the Song army to delay any further.

The news of the fall of the Henan Army will spread quickly. If it attracts the reinforcement of the Western Xia troops from the nearby military garrisons, it will cause a big trouble.

"Lao Zhong, tell the soldiers to withdraw from the military headquarters within one stick of incense and continue on our journey. Take away the most valuable property and don't take any big things." Zhao Xiaoqian said.

Zhong Jianzhong hurriedly ordered someone to ride into the military headquarters to pass on the order.

"Marquis, today our army defeated the Henan Army Headquarters and wiped out 3,000 Xixia bandits. This is a great victory. I think we should send a fast horse to report the victory to the emperor. The emperor has been waiting for this news for too long." Zhong Jianzhong suggested.

Zhao Xiaoqian thought for a moment and said, "That makes sense. I'll immediately write a memorial announcing the victory and have it sent back to Bianjing by a fast horse eight hundred miles away."

Zhong Jianzhong added, "In this battle, the Marquis personally led the charge. It was under his wise command that our army was able to completely annihilate the Western Xia bandits without a single casualty. Remember to include this sentence in your memorial."

Zhao Xiaoqian was startled, then his face flushed: "Uh, I... lead the charge, and... lead the way?"

"Isn't this... inappropriate?"

Zhong Jianzhong said solemnly, "Of course it's appropriate. I'm just telling the truth. If the court doesn't believe me, feel free to send someone down to investigate. Anyone who dares to deny it will be chopped off with my own hands!"

Even though Zhao Xiaoqian had a thick skin like a city wall, he couldn't help but blush a little at this moment.

He knew better than anyone what had happened in the battle just now.

The soldiers in front of him fired volleys of shots, but he not only did not step forward to command, but hid behind the shield.

Now that Zhong Jianzhong said that he "led by example", Zhao Xiaoqian couldn't help but wonder if this guy was speaking sarcastically and scolding him.

"The Marquis of the County commended us for our contributions, and this general and my brothers have no objections. If it weren't for the flintlock rifles that the Marquis of the County crafted, today's encounter with the Western Xia army would have been a bloody battle. We'd be lucky to have a thousand of our 5,000 soldiers left. How could there not be any casualties?"

"It can be said that the lives of the five thousand brothers in my Dragon Guard Battalion were all saved by the County Marquis. If the County Marquis is not the first to make the contribution, who else is qualified to receive this credit?"

"Don't refuse, Marquis. Our Great Song has been a coward for too many years. Now my brothers and I only hope to win a few more battles to vent our anger. That's enough for us. We don't care about the credit or anything like that."

(End of this chapter)