Chapter 1106: Seeking to Live
On the top of the plateau, Wei soldiers poured out of the formation like a tide. Tens of thousands of fresh troops who had been waiting for the battle for a long time rushed down the slope, with two thousand elite cavalry leading the way in front and the infantry formation in the back.
The prisoner carts carrying Wei Can and other Jinzhou captives were still pushed to the front of the battle formation, with five hundred armored cavalrymen pulling them. The entire battlefield was filled with the shouts of the Wei army: "Jinyang has been conquered, throw away your weapons and don't kill!"
The Wei army's shouts deliberately confused Jinzhou and Jinyang, but it was difficult to shake the enemy's morale with just a few shouts. Although Wei Can and others, who served as witnesses, were powerful people in Qi, they could not guarantee that everyone in the army knew them.
But as long as the captains and generals knew them, it would be enough. If these people were panicked and suspicious, this emotion would directly infect their subordinates, the armored soldiers. Although these people knew that Wei Can and others were guarding Jinzhou instead of Jinyang, if Jinzhou was lost, Jinyang would be in danger. They were now far away in the northern part of Shangdang, which was blocked by mountains and ridges, so they were naturally worried about the current situation in Jinyang.
"King Changle, is what the Wei army said true or false? Has Jinyang really been conquered by the thieves?"
Some Qi army generals bravely approached the front of the Wei army and shouted loudly to ask questions. However, this was not a discussion at the moment. Their behavior itself revealed panic, and shouting would only infect more people.
The Wei army soldiers naturally would not give them the time and opportunity to talk calmly. After defending the camp for most of the day, they finally took the initiative to launch an attack. Accompanied by the exciting sound of war drums, they all held weapons and bravely killed the enemy.
Li Tai was fully armed at this time, personally leading the charge, with the big banner behind him fluttering in the wind, indicating the location of the commander to the soldiers and also expressing his confidence in winning the battle.
On the other hand, the situation in the Qi army was very bad. Not to mention how much the Wei army's psychological attack had shocked everyone, the fact that its front-line commander Xue Guyan was chased and killed in the battle had already caused the morale of the Qi army to be greatly reduced. Without a unified command, they fell into chaos of fighting on their own.
"The thief general Xue Guyan is dead, you guys abandon your weapons and don't kill him!"
The corpse of Xue Guyan was lifted high by the Wei army knights with spears, and they ran back and forth between the battle lines of the two armies and shouted.
Under this multiple blow, some Qi army soldiers finally couldn't bear it anymore, and dared not stay on the plateau to continue fighting the enemy, but withdrew and fled to the rear.
But now the Qi army has gathered tens of thousands of troops on this ridge. The formation is too dense, and it is very difficult to retreat. They are crowded and trapped in the same place, crying loudly, so that the riot has not spread to the whole formation.
However, as the large force of the Wei army rushed to the front and began to fight the enemy, the situation changed again.
Although there were also Qi soldiers on the battlefield at this time who fought with their survival instincts and under the organization of their respective captains, they were not the mainstream on this entire front. Most of the soldiers were still frightened and uneasy, and it was difficult to concentrate on the battle.
The Wei army soldiers who launched the attack at this time were by no means a weak mob. Both their combat effectiveness and fighting will were very strong. The Qi army was naturally difficult to be an enemy in such a state. After a short resistance after a hasty fight, a large number of casualties began to occur, and they continued to fall under the butcher knife of the Wei army.
As the Wei army's front line advanced further, those Qi army soldiers who were still fighting on the battlefield soon found that they were deeply trapped in the enemy's formation. They looked around and saw fierce enemy troops. If they relaxed or ran out of energy during the battle, they would be chopped down by random swords!
"The enemy is fierce, retreat, retreat..."
Under the fierce attack of the Wei army, the Qi army, which lacked a complete offensive and defensive formation, immediately fell into a disadvantage. As casualties increased in the battle, the front-line soldiers all rushed to retreat.
As the crowd pushed and crowded into a group, it became more difficult to spread out the formation. Even waving weapons to fight the enemy became quite difficult. They could only be dragged back by the crowd under the waving of the enemy's butcher knife.
Because the formation was too dense, the impact of the retreat in the front was quickly fed back to the back of the formation. The army moved backward as a whole, and some soldiers standing on the bank of the Tongdi River were directly squeezed into the river.
"No retreat, fight quickly and kill the enemy!"
At this time, the imperial guards Baibao Xianbei soldiers supervising the battle on the south bank still abided by the emperor's order and did not allow these soldiers to retreat to the south bank. Even those soldiers who were squeezed into the river were urged to continue to go ashore to kill the enemy. Those who dared not to obey were shot immediately.
But no matter how fiercely these supervising soldiers tried to stop them, it was still difficult to stop the soldiers from fleeing. Not to mention the fierce offensive of the Wei army, the front-line battle formation was crowded and completely out of order, and it was difficult to persist in the battle. If they continued to stay on the battlefield, they would only be greeted by a one-sided massacre!
Even ants are greedy for life, let alone people? When they knew that they were invincible and there was no point in continuing the battle, these Qi army soldiers certainly could not defend the battlefield. Even if they were asked to withdraw to the south bank to reorganize the battle formation, it would be much better than staying on the battlefield and waiting to die in the crowd!
These soldiers wailed and begged, begging the South Bank Supervisor to let them go and allow them to assemble on the South Bank. However, these elite Baibao soldiers obeyed the emperor's orders. Before the emperor ordered the troops to move, they were determined not to let them go privately. They still waved their swords with gloomy faces to stop the retreating soldiers.
"Your Majesty, the Qiang bandits' counterattack is very fierce. The soldiers are all worried about the safety of Jinyang. General Xue Gu was killed in the battle. The situation on the battlefield is really bad. Can the soldiers be allowed to retreat to the South Bank temporarily?"
Seeing the fierce battle on the other side of the river, the casualties of their own army were heavy and it was difficult to resist, and a supervisor came forward with a worried face to advise.
However, Qi Lord Gao Yang's face was as gloomy as water at this moment, and he shouted angrily: "Don't retreat, let the Qiang bandits kill, even if we kill all the front line, there are still tens of thousands of divisions in the central army! When their swords are blunt and their men are tired, it will be time for me to kill the bandits! Tell the front line that those who can kill Wei Can and other scum who have lost land and humiliated the country will be rewarded with great merit!"
Such a reversal of the situation on the battlefield naturally made Gao Yang very angry. He thought that the enemy army was willing to leave, including luring passers-by into the battle to kill them, in order to withdraw the army. However, it was not until the reserve divisions of the Wei army rushed to the front battlefield that he realized that the enemy's target was actually him, and he was naturally extremely ashamed and angry.
At this time, on the northern battlefield, the Qi army, which had lost the supervision and organization, suffered heavy casualties, but even if they were allowed to go south, it would be difficult to reorganize and put into battle in a short period of time, which would squeeze the space of the current divisions of the central army.
If we allow these defeated troops to come south and are attacked by the enemy, the entire central army position will fall into chaos, and it will be even more difficult to fight. At present, the troops on the battlefield are blocked on the north bank. Although there are heavy casualties, it also forms a flesh-and-blood barrier to protect the central army. The enemy is now attacking in large numbers. If they want to attack the central army, they must kill through the battle formation. When the troops are exhausted, it will be time for the divisions on the south bank to counterattack!
After reiterating that the divisions on the north bank are not allowed to withdraw, Gao Yang sent a message to the troops on the left and right roads, asking them to abandon their current positions and concentrate all the troops that can be mobilized to the central army position for them to drive for the next counterattack.
After explaining these things, Gao Yang waved his hand to reject the proposal of his personal soldiers to withdraw to the central army tent, and went up to the viewing platform again. Looking at the large banner of the central army of the Wei army approaching, his eyes flashed with sternness. He drew out his sword and pointed it at the position below the banner, and shouted in a deep voice: "The victory or failure depends on this battle, and the Qiang thieves will die!"
Li Tai in the army seemed to faintly feel a resentful gaze on him. He shook his head to throw away the chaotic sensations and illusions on the battlefield, and his eyes swept across the battlefield. When he found that the enemy situation was particularly chaotic, he immediately sent soldiers to attack that place to expand the chaos.
As for himself, he no longer charged into battle like in previous years. Now, his mere appearance in the battle formation was quite a blessing for morale, but if he really had to go into battle to kill the enemy, most of the time it would only cause trouble. Even if there were kills and gains, the gains brought to the war were not enough to make the soldiers nervous.
The casualties caused by the Wei army's continuous fierce attack greatly aggravated the chaos of the Qi army. The Qi army soldiers in the battle formation were harvested like weeds. The enemy's attack had already made them terrified, and what really made them fall into ruin was the attack from their own side.
Under the order of Qi Lord Gao Yang, the supervising imperial guards on the south bank not only did not let the soldiers on the north bank pass, but intercepted them more tightly, and directly built a new line of defense on the south bank. These soldiers on the north bank were completely abandoned!
After a series of wailing and begging, what they got in return was the swords, spears and whips raised high by their own army. After recognizing this, many Qi soldiers on the north bank could not help but roar in despair: "We fought to the death for our country, how could we be bandits? Now we are being chased by the enemy, but the Supreme Lord did not send troops to rescue us, but refused to let us go outside the battle formation. Why is he so cruel!"
However, these tearful accusations did not receive any response, and the imperial guards supervising the battle on the south bank were just indifferent. Even if some imperial guards felt compassion and sympathy, they could only harden their hearts and turn a deaf ear to the cries and accusations of their comrades on the north side when they thought that if they disobeyed the Supreme Lord's military order, they would have to pay the price of their lives.
Many Qi soldiers dropped their weapons and prostrated themselves to surrender to the Wei army because they saw that there was no hope of retreating and escaping. However, although the Wei army shouted that they would not kill those who surrendered, in order to maintain the rhythm of the attack and not give the Qi army a chance to recover, they did not stop the offensive and recruit them. Instead, they ordered the light cavalry to drive those who surrendered to the side of the river, and then continued to attack the remaining Qi army.
"It is not a crime to ask for life, and those who stop me will die!"
There is no way to survive. Compared with the Wei army, which is already a mortal enemy, the friendly army on the south bank that cut off the retreat and abandoned them is undoubtedly more hateful. In despair, some Qi army generals simply led their troops to rush to the south bank, vowing to break out a bloody road and fight for a glimmer of hope.