Chapter 89: Yi Shui Blocked Up!

The main function of the commander's flag is to indicate the identity and position of the commanding general.

With the commander's flag raised high, the soldiers know where the main general is, using it to encourage military morale.

When the commander's flag advances, the army formation advances.

When the commander's flag retreats, the army formation withdraws.

If the commander's flag falls and topples, it means the main general is finished or has fled, and the soldiers' morale collapses.

When Murong Jun faced a crisis, he left his own commander's flag, along with most of his personal guards, to his younger brother Murong De, to split up and flee, using them to draw away pursuers.

As expected, the steel behemoth and the Gluttonous Army's cavalry both charged toward the commander's flag.

Truly worthy of being a ruthless figure historically known for cunning military tactics, who defeated and captured Ran Min.

His own younger brother, at the critical moment, was also thrown out as bait.

"Lang Zhu~~~"

One incense stick later, a colonel rode up to the side of the stopped Hundred-Ton King Mining Truck and called out loudly, looking up.

The thick car window slowly rolled down, and Lin Dao poked his head out. "What is it?"

"There is no enemy main general at the commander's flag, only a half-grown lad."

"Interrogated the survivors; they say he is the little son of the False Yan's Murong Huang."

This is to ask how to deal with him.

"A wolf cub grown up still eats meat."

"They are already eating meat right now!"

The colonel understood and immediately turned his horse around to handle it.

Historically, Murong De incited Fu Jian to campaign against the Eastern Jin, resulting in Fu Jian's crushing defeat at the Battle of Fei River.

Murong De took the opportunity to try to kill Fu Jian and seize the Former Qin, but failed to succeed.

Later he declared himself emperor and established the Southern Yan, surprisingly living to seventy years old.

In this era where the average lifespan is less than thirty years, how much meat must he have eaten to live that long~~~

This precisely verifies that saying.

The good die young, but scourges last a thousand years.

At this very moment, the Murong De in this time and space no longer has any chance to eat meat.

Pushing open the car door, Lin Dao climbed down the ladder.

The first thing he did after getting down was rub his legs.

No helping it; driving this truck produces incessant vibration, shaking his legs until they trembled.

Last time after using it he didn't refuel; this time using it again counts as completely running out of fuel.

Without fuel, it truly becomes a paper tiger that can be seen but cannot move.

The Gluttonous Army cavalry found a horse for Lin Dao.

A squad of cavalry escorted Lin Dao to rush to the riverbank; the others continued on horseback to pursue the routed Xianbei soldiers.

As for the Hundred-Ton King Mining Truck still here, a squad of cavalry naturally remained to guard it.

"Great Commander."

Seeing Lin Dao approach, Ran Min's generals all stepped forward to pay respects.

Lin Dao nodded and asked, "How is it?"

"The barbarians charged several times," Ran Min responded. "All were driven back."

The ten-odd thousand cavalry around Murong Ke are the last intact legion of the various barbarian departments on this vast battlefield.

So many cavalry, placed on a suitable battlefield, even possess the capability to destroy a nation.

But now, they are besieged on the Yi Shui riverbank, in a narrow area.

"No more waiting." Lin Dao nodded calmly. "Go up, finish them off."

The order from the Great Commander — no one dared disobey.

Large batches of strongmen rushed out of formation, using iron pincers to snap the iron wire net.

Swinging hammers, they smashed the wooden stakes fixing the iron wire net, clearing a road for advance.

Slow war drum sounds rose; the Gluttonous Army armored soldiers took out liquor-filled chocolates and White Rabbit Milk Candy, drank water and swallowed them to replenish stamina.

Wearing armor and holding spears is a very tiring thing.

Every bit of strength on the battlefield is extremely precious.

The more strength recovered now, the more chance of victory when engagement comes later.

The war drum beats gradually accelerated.

The armored soldiers began to gather close, forming up into a dense formation.

They held their long spears upright, advancing slowly under the high heat.

Every time they advanced a distance, officers of various departments would loudly scold, waving whips to straighten the formation.

In cold weapon era combat, formation is the primary factor.

Maintain the formation, and even armored cavalry charges are not feared.

If the formation falls into disorder, that is leaving it to the enemy to harvest.

The cow horn bugle sounded from the opposite side.

Murong Ke understood the moment of life and death had arrived.

He chose to fight to the death, sending out all cavalry still able to move.

Before, the iron wire net blocked them, so they could not charge.

As for now, if not fighting desperately at this time, then when!

This time there were no interspersed harassing attacks, no arcing arrow rain.

At a moment of life and death, the bravest batch of Xianbei cavalry, embracing a resolve to die, covered their warhorses' eyes and desperately accelerated forward.

This was preparing to use the flesh-and-blood bodies of men and horses to forcibly crash open a path to survival.

The Qi Huo Army's drumbeats rapidly grew dense.

Soldiers of the various departments roared in anger one after another, raised shields, thrust the butt ends of their long spears into the mud, and rested the shafts on their shields.

A spear formation like a forest, slanting toward the sky.

The Qi Huo Army used the zhuang as its tactical unit; each army formation numbered several hundred men.

Seen from afar, they looked like hedgehogs bristling with spikes.

As the Xianbei cavalry drew near, the archers and crossbowmen inside the Qi Huo Army formations began loosing arcing shots.

The Longcheng Armored Cavalry, both men and horses fully armored, could withstand such arrow rain.

But right now they had no way to crawl out from underground.

The light cavalry lacking armor instantly fell in swathes.

The light cavalry were fast; having endured two waves of arrow rain, they had already reached the front of the formation.

Embracing a death-defying resolve, they pressed their whole bodies against their horses' backs and drove the warhorses straight into the spear formation.

Warhorses weighing several hundred catties, empowered by speed, unleashed astonishing impact force.

The front ranks of the Qi Huo Army were instantly knocked down in swathes.

The following Xianbei cavalry surged forward like a tide, unceasing, fighting with reckless disregard for their lives, trading life for life.

Quite a few of the Qi Huo Army formations showed signs of loosening.

Hundreds upon thousands of cavalry throwing their lives into a headlong charge — the scene was extremely spectacular.

Such a tragic and fierce spectacle made Lin Dao's blood boil with excitement.

At the same time, in his heart he was pondering: faced with a death-defying cavalry charge of this scale, how should one respond?

"First bombard with cannons; when they get close, use spears to strike."

"Before the formation, best to dig moats, horse-trap pits, and emplace palisades and cheval de frise."

As the number of battles increased, Lin Dao's experience regarding warfare was also rapidly strengthening.

Humans' learning ability is extremely formidable.

On the battlefield, as the corpses and wounded of men and horses gradually piled up, the Xianbei's impact intensity finally began to decline.

The rear-rank Qi Huo Army soldiers swiftly stepped forward, long spears in hand, thrusting, sweeping, and smashing at men and horses.

Several long spears thrusting out together — even a martial arts master could not withstand it.

There were also soldiers who took off the hammers and axes at their waists and other short weapons, bludgeoning and smashing the fallen Xianbei cavalry.

Then they smashed the Xianbei cavalry's horse legs.

Its ferocity was entirely aimed at smashing everything to pieces.

If animal protection people saw this scene, they would probably be heartbroken.

Three-meter-plus seamless steel pipe long spears kept stabbing and killing, stabbing men and horses alike, even prioritizing stabbing horses.

When the massive horses fell, they could effectively block the subsequent Xianbei cavalry's charging momentum.

This was a collision of life, without any flashiness.

On the battlefield covered with men and horses, there was almost no room to maneuver or dodge.

It was all straightforward, head-on desperate fighting.

By comparison, the fully armored Qi Huo Army held the advantage in this kind of death-struggle combat.

The armor on their bodies blocked most of the Xianbei cavalry's attacks.

While the Xianbei cavalry could not withstand the Qi Huo Army's long spears and hammers.

The ground was covered in viscous bloodstains; the earth was soaked through, and lifting a leg to step on it was slippery beyond measure.

As the bravest batch of Xianbei cavalry were consumed to exhaustion, their fierce charge also declined accordingly.

The heavily depleted Qi Huo Army formations gradually halted to reorganize.

Subsequent formations advanced to replace them, treading on the blood-soaked corpses and wounded everywhere, keeping time with the drumbeats as they continued forward.

"Yong Zeng."

Lin Dao turned his head to look at Ran Min: "If we release cavalry to counter-charge at this moment, wouldn't it achieve twice the result with half the effort?"

Ran Min was startled in his heart; the Grand Marshal learns truly fast — he can already read the battlefield situation to this extent.

Indeed, the Xianbei cavalry's death-defying charge momentum had been shattered.

Seizing the opportunity of their low morale and disordered ranks to unleash cavalry for a charge and slaughter would certainly produce a good effect.

The Qi Huo Army's cavalry had long since been sent out to pursue and kill the fleeing barbarian soldiers.

This is a strategic objective: to consume the barbarians' vital strength as much as possible.

The force besieging the Yi Shui riverside at this time is a tactical-level consideration.

Even without cavalry, the foot soldiers with fighting spirit bursting (high rewards) and morale flourishing (holding the advantage) could still annihilate this Xianbei detachment.

"The enemy's sharp spirit is already spent." Lin Dao laughed heartily, waved his hand and instructed: "Annihilate them!"

Drumbeats grew urgent once more.

The Qi Huo Army's many formations gradually accelerated forward.

The remaining Xianbei troops had already been half-encircled in a narrow area on the Yi Shui riverbank.

Their counter-charges had never ceased, and they even occasionally achieved not-small breakthroughs in certain sectors.

But from the overall big picture, the Xianbei's total annihilation was only a matter of time.

As the distance drew ever closer, the Xianbei's men and horses began to crowd together.

On the Qi Hu Army's side, bows and crossbows were unleashed at will, falling among the dense crowds, repeatedly drawing cries of agony.

The Xianbei cavalry lacked armor, and their numbers were dense, so the casualties inflicted by bows and crossbows were enormous.

They counterattacked as well, loosing an arrow rain even greater than that of the Qi Hu Army.

But the Xianbei cavalry mostly used horse bows, and against the fully iron-armored Qi Hu Army, they were completely countered.

Driven to a desperate strait, their morale completely collapsed.

Finally, someone could no longer bear it, turned around, and jumped into the Yi Shui.

Immediately, more and more Xianbei cavalry jumped into the Yi Shui River.

Large numbers of Qi Hu Army surged forward, madly slaughtering the routed soldiers.

The bow and crossbowmen advanced, continuously shooting arrows into the river.

Among the people of the nomadic tribes, very few were skilled swimmers.

Moreover, after fighting for so long, those who were hungry and exhausted had no strength left.

Many Xianbei people floundered and sank into the water, never able to surface again.

The famed general of a generation, Murong Ke, lay prone on horseback, clutching the horse's neck tightly as he floated toward the opposite bank.

As long as he could swim to the opposite bank, he could escape with his life.

"Whimper!"

A crossbow bolt, carrying a whistling sound as it split the air, came screaming in and precisely struck the back of Murong Ke's neck.

He instantly lost his strength, his body went limp, and he fell into the Yi Shui.

After several struggles of sinking and floating, he soon disappeared beneath the water's surface.

Hundreds of thousands of barbarian corpses filled the river channel.

The Yi Shui was blocked!

Lin Dao slowly rode his horse to the Yi Shui An Bian.

Gazing at the Xianbei cavalry struggling desperately in the water, he remained speechless for a long time.

He raised his head to gaze at the Sky, and whispered to himself in a low voice.

"Did you see it?"

"I have avenged you!"

End of Chapter