Chapter 1043: Fleeing in Disarray

"Retreat!"

Wesley hesitated again and again before issuing the final order.

"Yes, General," the officers replied crisply.

They were eager to evacuate the first trench line as soon as possible.

Before building these fortifications, they had never expected the Great Song army to be so terrifying.

They had merely regarded them as an army on the same level as their own, or at most, slightly higher.

But once the war began, it instantly tore apart their illusions and brought them crashing into reality.

It was one thing that the Great Song army's muskets and Artillery were superior to theirs.

According to reports from soldiers who fled back after the charge, every Great Song soldier was well-trained.

Not only were they fearless in the face of death, but their combat skills were also highly advanced.

Even when it came to fighting with the Bayonet, they did not gain any advantage.

This was also the reason why the Coalition collapsed so quickly once the Great Song army launched its counterattack.

All in all, the enemy they faced had no obvious weaknesses.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat!"

Having received the order, the officers crouched low as they moved through the trenches, demanding the soldiers to withdraw.

The Coalition soldiers, as if granted amnesty, scrambled to their feet and retreated toward the rear along the longitudinal passages of the trenches.

Their movements were quickly observed.

Qin Shan and Guan Tong made almost the same decision at this moment: to pursue the victory.

"Doo-doo-doo..." The clear, soaring sound of the charge bugle echoed across the battlefield.

"Kill!" Hearing the bugle, the soldiers charged forward one after another.

In an instant, a dense mass of the Great Song army swarmed toward the Coalition's trenches.

Among them, the Azure Dragon Army was in the front, and the Vermilion Bird Army was on the flanks.

The sudden charge of the Great Song army caused the Coalition soldiers, who were preparing to withdraw, to panic even more.

The Coalition soldiers ran south as fast as their legs could carry them, fearing they would be left behind by the others.

They didn't even care about the crates of ammunition in the trenches, only clutching their own Rifled Musket.

The Artilleryman also had no time to haul away the Field Artillery, so they simply abandoned the guns and fled with the other soldiers.

The entire trench fortification turned into a chaotic mess.

However, Wesley had already anticipated that the withdrawal might become chaotic, so he specifically left five thousand soldiers on the flanks and the front to cover the retreat.

He knew very well that if he did not do this, an orderly withdrawal would truly turn into a rout.

But just like all his previous tactics, they had to be discounted in front of the Great Song army.

This retreat arrangement was the same.

The combat effectiveness displayed by the Great Song army made Wesley's jaw drop once again.

The Great Song soldiers during the charge seemed to have received some kind of buff.

They were agile and coordinated, dodging and weaving through the area between the two sides' trenches while under the fire of the Coalition soldiers.

At the same time, they charged one after another, fearing no casualties.

Under such high-intensity charging, the firepower of the Coalition soldiers appeared insufficient.

It was simply unable to effectively curb their offensive momentum.

The most fatal thing was that their Rifled Musket were very troublesome to reload.

Every time the soldiers finished firing, they had to stand the musket up to reload, wasting a lot of time, which made their already insufficient firepower even worse.

Conversely, the Great Song soldiers were very nimble when reloading.

This allowed them to effectively suppress the Coalition soldiers during the charge and weaken their firepower.

"General, if we don't leave now, it will be too late." As Wesley was observing, an officer grabbed his arm.

Wesley let out a heavy sigh and turned to leave.

The five thousand soldiers he left behind were destined not to survive, and this retreat would even become an indelible stain on his military career.

"Bang, bang, bang...", "Boom, boom, boom..."

Sure enough, he hadn't walked even a hundred meters before he suddenly heard the sound of the enemy's Hand Grenade exploding.

This meant the Great Song army had reached the Coalition trenches.

Without looking back, Wesley gritted his teeth and continued toward the second line of fortifications.

Just as he walked four hundred meters, he couldn't help but look back again.

At this moment, the Coalition soldiers responsible for covering the retreat had completely collapsed and were fleeing the trenches, while the Great Song soldiers in green uniforms were in hot pursuit, continuously shooting down the Coalition soldiers.

"Hahaha,

It's just like a cat chasing a mouse." The process of the Coalition soldiers' withdrawal did not escape the eyes of Zhao Xu and Zhou Yi.

Seeing the Western Lands Allied Forces in such a sorry state, Zhou Yi couldn't help but laugh out loud.

A smile hung on the corner of Zhao Xu's mouth, and he felt a sense of relief in his heart.

Now, he had finally vented his pent-up anger.

Ever since the internal chaos in the Great Song, these Westerners had been like lingering ghosts, constantly creating trouble for him.

Now, after knocking down one scapegoat after another pushed forward by these Westerners, he was finally facing them head-on.

If he didn't beat them until even their own parents wouldn't recognize them, how could he face the soldiers and civilians who died in the war?

"Hmph, they won't find it so easy to escape," Zhao Xu said.

Before the war, he had learned that the Western Lands Allied Forces had built two lines of fortifications.

The second line of fortifications is on the edge of the port within the strait, which is to facilitate their safe withdrawal from Malacca should they be defeated.

However, the Coalition losing the first line of fortifications meant that their forts on both sides of the strait were exposed to the Da Song army.

As long as these forts are captured, the Da Song fleet can safely sail into the strait.

As for the port fortifications, the number of nearby forts is limited.

By then, even if it means risking the sinking of a few Warships, he must prevent the Coalition from retreating back to Tianzhu.

Having made up his mind, he said to Zhou Yi, "We are no longer needed here; prepare to annihilate the Westerners' navy next."

"Yes, Your Highness." Zhou Yi realized something, and his expression became excited.

He was not content with merely playing a supporting role in this war.

If not for the concern that the forts on both sides of the strait would pose a threat to the fleet, he would have already led the fleet to charge into the strait and annihilate the Western Fleet hiding within it.

Therefore, if the Azure Dragon Army and the Vermilion Bird Army could successfully uproot the forts on one side of the strait, they would be able to act without any scruples.

As the two were speaking, a scout ship responsible for relaying battlefield conditions returned.

The captain of the scout ship boarded the deck and said to Zhao Xu, "Your Highness, General Pan Zhang has launched a full-scale offensive; the Western Lands army cannot hold on and is fleeing toward the strait."

"As expected of Pan Zhang, he didn't lose face for the Marine Corps." Zhou Yi chuckled twice.

Zhao Xu nodded and briefly asked about the process.

Compared to Qin Shan, Pan Zhang clearly adopted a different tactic.

After the Artillerymen and the fleet bombarded the enemy's positions, he immediately launched a charge.

If the charge did not go smoothly, he would have the soldiers retreat and continue the bombardment.

However, this time he would focus the bombing on areas where the enemy's counterattack was strong, and then launch a charge again.

Repeating this three times, he tore open a gap in the enemy's defensive line, killed his way into the Western Lands Allied Forces' Trench positions, and forced them to choose to retreat.

"As expected of the Frank, they raise the white flag the fastest." Zhao Xu curled his lips.

Logically speaking, even if the defensive line is breached, one should still fight for a while.

But their commander immediately chose to retreat, which is clearly related to their command style.

And as far as he knew, the one guarding the southern fortifications was a Frank General.

This made some sense.

Of course, he was only mocking; one cannot infer the result from this alone.

But in fact, this Frank General had clearly suffered a mental collapse under the sharp offensive of the Marine Corps.

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