Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 308 Death

Call——

The warhorse with its forelegs severed lay groaning in a pool of blood, with an armored cavalryman beneath it. The cavalryman, however, had four spears stuck in his body, his face was ashen, and he had been dead for some time.

The other cavalrymen weren't much better off; they were either covered in arrows or wounded by spears, their bodies covered in blood.

Their blood flowed onto the ground, mixing with other blood to form spiderweb-like streams that melted the frozen soil.

Changsun Fei stepped onto the snow and mud, his left eyelid trembling slightly.

These few thousand infantrymen alone killed or wounded more than two thousand of his elite cavalry, and his warhorses suffered losses of up to 60%.

Of course, these are not major problems. If cavalry is lost, more can be recruited; if warhorses are lost, they can be trained again. What Wei has no shortage of is warhorses and herdsmen.

However, the Jin people's spirit of fighting to the death and refusing to retreat truly surprised him.

This is an enemy we have never encountered before.

Whether it was the Yan army, the Xiongnu, the Rouran, or the Qiang, all who encountered his cavalry collapsed at the mere sight of him.

In the Battle of Chaibi, Yao Ping's 40,000 men were blocked by his few thousand cavalry and were unable to move.

However, these Jin soldiers, facing his cavalry, did not retreat an inch...

The Jin people in the north were mostly submissive and dared not even raise their heads in front of the Xianbei people. They allowed themselves to be beaten and scolded, and rarely fought back, which was completely different from the Jin army in front of them.

This led Changsun Fei to wonder if he was facing Murong De's Yan army, not the Jin army...

"kill!"

On the battlefield, the thousand or so surviving Jin soldiers huddled together atop piles of corpses, still roaring in anger.

Although the voice was weak, it was extremely penetrating, seemingly suppressing even the howling cold wind.

“Tell them that as long as they surrender, I will not only spare their lives, but I will also recommend them to His Majesty, and each of them will be allocated land!” Changsun Fei’s eyebrows twitched.

His attendant loudly relayed his words.

"Bah! These lands have always been ours, we don't need you barbarians to pretend!"

"Come and prepare to die!"

"Changsun Fei, I..."

Curses and laughter mingled together.

A Jin general stepped forward, six or seven arrows piercing his chest, his left arm severed, and the blood on his body frozen solid. "How could my Northern Army surrender to the barbarians? Zhao Yuan of Jianwei Army is here. Changsun Fei, come and fight to the death!"

His voice carried a hint of arrogance.

The surrounding Xianbei cavalry were furious and raised their spears again, waiting for Changsun Fei's order.

"Send them on their way, leave no one alive!" Changsun's fat face trembled.

An unknown junior officer dared to be so insolent in his presence...

The horses galloped again, just like before, with heavy cavalry in front and light cavalry flanking from the left and right. After a burst of mounted archery, the heavy cavalry tore through the infantry formation.

Although simple, this tactic has an overwhelming advantage over infantry.

Many Jin soldiers on the pile of corpses could no longer even lift their upper arms, allowing the Wei cavalry to trample their bodies. Before dying, they plunged their daggers into the bellies of their warhorses...

"You barbarians, prepare to die!" Zhao Yuan, wielding his sword in one hand, led fifty or sixty armored soldiers down from the pile of corpses.

Facing the long spears of the Wei army.

Call——

The warhorse screamed again, and blood and flesh flew everywhere.

Zhao Yuan's body was hanging on the long spear of the Wei army's iron cavalry, but his eyes were wide open, staring at Changsun Fei not far away.

After nearly two hours of fighting, the war finally came to an end.

There were still twenty or thirty wounded Jin soldiers left on the pile of corpses. Unable to struggle, they all raised their swords and committed suicide.

A few streaks of blood were scattered by the turbulent wind and landed on Changsun Fei's face, still slightly warm. Of the eight thousand elite cavalry, only five thousand remained, most of them wounded.

The casualties among the people were bad enough, but the losses among the warhorses were even more severe.

Without warhorses, Changsun Fei lost his advantage...

Before they could catch their breath, several scouts came from the north, reporting in alarm: "Report! A 2,000-strong Northern Army cavalry force has launched a surprise attack on our infantry camp!"

In order to pursue and kill this Jin army, Changsun Fei left his infantry behind at Yangwu.

The distance to Bolangsha was not too far, but the cavalry had suffered heavy casualties and were exhausted. Even if they made it back, they would be lambs to the slaughter.

The vanguard commander, Gouwuti, scoffed, "With over 11,000 infantrymen, what can 2,000 cavalrymen do to me?"

If it weren't for this fierce battle, Changsun Fei would have shared his opinion, but things are different now.

The Jin army's infantry could hold off his cavalry, but his own infantry might not be able to hold off the Jin army's cavalry.

The Wei state was not known for its infantry, and its training and equipment were far inferior to those of the Jin army. Even their morale was much lower. Many of the infantrymen were actually Jin people from the north. Whether they could fight to the death against the Beifu army was another matter entirely.

"Order us to rest for two hours, then return with me to provide reinforcements!"

Changsun Fei only hoped that they could hold out for a little longer.

But the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

Just an hour later, a scout, covered in blood, came running from the north, reporting, "The Northern Army... has breached our camp! Our General Zheng Lu has been killed by the enemy general Mao Dezhu! Over three thousand of our soldiers have been killed, and the rest have fled..."

"Qiu Mulingchong deserves to die!"

Changsun Fei's vision went black. Although he was mentally prepared, he did not expect that more than 10,000 people could not even last two hours.

Qiu Mulingchong was one of Tuoba Gui's twenty-one loyal followers. He was a seasoned general with considerable strength, but unexpectedly, he died in battle...

This shows that the Northern Army cavalry was extremely powerful, no less so than his elite cavalry.

Gouwuti asked unwillingly, "How many casualties did they suffer?"

"Nearly half of the casualties..."

"We exchanged over 11,000 of our men for a mere 1,000 of their cavalry?" Gouwuti laughed in anger.

A gust of cold wind swept by, and Changsun Fei felt a chill in his heart.

Judging from the results, the two sides were evenly matched, but in terms of the impact, the Wei army lost.

Changsun Fei's troops were the most elite force in the Wei army, no less than the imperial guards led by Tuoba Gui, and now they have been basically decimated.

Although the Jin army suffered heavy casualties, it was not an elite force, but rather a local garrison in Yingchuan.

The true elite of the Jin army was at Fangtou.

If his casualties are so great, then the situation of Tuoba Hena, Yulidi, and Gongsun Biao on the Fangtou side will be extremely dangerous.

"Go to Fangtou immediately to warn them not to make any rash moves and to wait for me to lead my troops to arrive!"

Changsun Fei wiped the cold sweat from his face and suddenly felt as if he had fallen into a trap.

It takes at least three days to travel from here to Fangtou.

His cavalry had been decimated and were exhausted; by the time they arrived, they would be at their last gasp.

Moreover, the Northern Army cavalry wouldn't let him pass easily.

The other party's intentions have always been clear: to stall me, to restrain me, and to prevent me from going to Fangtou...

"I'm afraid we are willing but unable to do so now. We should quickly report to His Majesty and ask him to send a large army to provide support." Gouwuti also realized the seriousness of the problem.

However, the journey from Luoyang to Fangtou is even longer.

Even for cavalry, it would take at least ten days in this weather.

Ten days later, everything settled down...

(End of this chapter)